doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Some LC Smith help?

Gentlemen,

Some of you know that a good of mine friend recently passed away, Zeke was a hunting mentor to me and a great guy.

Mrs. Zeke has given me an old LC Smith that was hanging around Zeke's shop for several years, we always talked about getting restored but we needed to find a forend first.

I don't have much experience with LC's, this is my first and I want to put it right.

The gun is number 120310 with a "0" stamped under the serial number and it's a hammerless, extractor gun with bushed firing pins. There are no markings except "LC SMITH" on each lockplate and the serial number on the water table and barrels. Am I correct that this 12ga is a 1903 Ideal Grade? I see that Ideals weren't engraved until after 1913

There's small piece of wood missing from the toe of the stock and the stock has some dings and dents but nothing that can't be fixed, also need a buttplate (or this one repaired). But there are no cracks behind the lockplates. Three position safety. POW grip.

Is that toplever bent or are they made with that much offset?

The 28" Damascus barrels have some nice dents in them but the bores are clean they ring like church bells. They are tight and on face.

Chambers are 2-3/4" and I seem to remember that this was normal for LC's of that time?

Bores are both .729 with long choke cones, over 6", RT.024, LT.035.

I see that 12brd has an LC forend iron and wood for sale on the BBS from a 12ga Featherweight, will this fit my gun? The forend is the first step.

thanks for any help,

RR

Recoil Bob,
Your gun is a 1903 gun, "0" grade, which was the predessor of the Ideal grade beginning in 1913. Most "0" grades were Damascus barreled, and your gun is choked F/F and has 2-3/4" chambers.
A replacement buttplate can be obtained from vintagegungrips.com, but the forend will be an issue. Do you need just the wood or the iron as well? Without seeing the barrel lug it's unlikely that the one you described will fit, as your gun is a "R" frame gun, as opposed to a FW frame. Your best bet is to find a complete pre-13 set for a 12 ga "R" frame gun that someone is parting out.
The toplever should be straight, and use extreme care if you choose to correct it. Have a gunsmith knowledgeable about Damascus barrels pass judgement, and use only low pressure shells (-8000 PSI).

Rob: It's a Regular frame 1903 non-ejector No. 0 grade with "Good Two Rod Damascus"

That top lever doesn't look right.

Dan May in Cato, NY could repair the stock and check the head of the stock for cracks
315-626-2605
info@classicgunstocks.com
http://www.classicgunstocks.com

Repro buttplates are available http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/buttplate.html

Lots more infro can be found under 'Shotguns', 'FAQ', and 'Photo Trail' on the LCSCA Home Page http://www.lcsmith.org/index.html

You might consider a research letter from the LCSCA also http://www.lcsmith.org/shotguns/researchdivision.html

Thanks guys, here are photos of the f/e lug, an R frame? I do need both the iron & the wood for the forend.

I would think that .024 & .035 would be more like M&F than F&F.






thanks,

Rob

The Featherweight frame was introduced in 1909.
It takes a 'snap on' forend (bottom)

Thanks Drew, from the pictures of my forend lug can you tell which one I need, the top rolling latch or the middle push button?

Neither, if you can find one, (needle in haystack) you need one with the bakelite dogs head insert (7/8")in the forend wood.
The roller release was on ejector guns or after 1919 on grades Ideal and above without ejectors. The Field grade was pull-off forend. The push button release (Curtis)was used on all non ejector guns from 1913-1919.

There is a chance the other forend wood and metal might fit if it is a Regular frame (R),or have to be fitted as even the lowest grades had some hand-fiting done at the factory. The "J" spring is where you might have a problem with the fit. The best way to tell is to take the wood from the metal and just try the metal to see if it fits.
The 0 grade became Ideal Grade after 1913.

"Neither, if you can find one, (needle in haystack) you need one with the bakelite dogs head insert (7/8")in the forend wood".

David:
I believe I am correct that the dogs head bakelite forearm inserts were standard on pre-13 Smith guns graded 2 and up; Grades 00, 0, and 1 Smith guns did not have the dogs head insert.

Thanks Tom, I thought it was on the Grade 1 also.