This is going to be old hat for many of you here, but I decided to have my recently acquired Lefever GE 12ga re-case colored, and now that I have it put back together, I wanted to show it off. This is my first time having a gun re-cased, and I'm very happy with the work, done by Mike Hunter of Mike Hunter Restorations in Missouri. This is a rare 6lb 60z special order gun that I felt deserved a full restoration. Even though the barrels are a nice plum brown, I would still like to have them refinished at some point after the season is over, to bring out the damascus pattern. Anyway, here's some pics:

Great looking gun, Mark. That stock your handywork or the way God made it?...Geo

Thanks. The stock is 95% God

I love the simple beauty of the old SXS damascus guns. Pride in workmanship that lasts over a hundred years!!

I like it Mark, gorgeous gun.
John

Mark that is a beauty! Bobby

Very, very nice.

Thanks again. For folks here who don't visit the Lefever Forum, here's what it looked like when I bought it. It was pretty rough:



It also is the only Lefever I've seen with a factory original ribbed butt instead of a butt plate (the stock is serial numbered to the gun):



It's also missing cocking indicators, and it has a rare swamped rib. A very cool gun. I feel fortunate to own such an interesting piece of history, that will [hopefully] be death on birds this fall.

She's a beauty that for sure Mark but.........where are the hammers .

Rick

Very nice and I like the colors of the case coloring. When you get those Damascus barrels redone, this gun is really going to pop!

Be sure to send updated pics when that is done. Who are you going to send the barrels to?

I'm not sure yet. Probably Buck Hamlin or Keith Kearcher. I'm open to other possibilities too however.

No worries Rick, I've got that covered. I still have my Husky and I've got another 16 in the works that I'm hoping to turn into a custom show piece.

Mark,

That is a great looking gun. I sometimes wish mine was a straight stock also. I showed off your work to my family and friends over labor day weekend. The were all stunned at the results. We would make a great looking pair in the field.

Bill G.

Brad Bachelder Grand Rapids, Michigan does very nice work. 616-459-3636

Mark,

Do you have a pic of the ribbed butt after refinish? Did you recut it or leave as is? I am still kicking myself for not pulling the buy it now trigger on this gun- I had several questions for the seller and was probably reading the e-mail with answers when you bought it.

You could have saved some money if you'd let Ed Good do the CCH.

I'm sure you're right! Our guns might look good together too.

Wow, I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did then. I know what that's like though. I knew someone would snatch it soon if I didn't. I did re-cut the butt a bit, but not extensively. It does look better now:



As a special order gun with a 24xxx serial #, Uncle Dan apparently saw no need to stamp the grade on the frame either:

Very, very nice.

Here is one of its cousins -- another Lefever GE, this one with steel barrels. The case colors are older, and not as spectacular.

JERRY

How about a picture of the swamped rib?

From what I can see of the rib in the pics it appears to me to be a concave rib & not a swamped one. A swamped rib is one which drops down between the barrels rther than being raised thus level from breech to muzzle. Many early Lefevers are found with the concave form rather than flat.

Miller, you are correct, it is a concave rib. You mentioned that to me before, and I still got it wrong. Thanks for the correction. Again.