I know of one I grade for certain that had damascus barrels and think there was a second. Too many miles and too many gun shows. I have also encountered one or maybe two that had twist barrels but have seen several on the internet. I figured that they were early production guns as a rule but who knows.
One other DS grade gun that I came across must have been an employee special. Stamped DS on the water table. It had Krupp steel barrels, cocking indicators, dolls head and the wood would have been home on a optimums grade gun. It was not for sale and the owner died a few years later. I offered him two plus grand for the gun 20+ years ago. Would have gone higher but did not want to make him mad, hoping he might sell it to me later. It was that nice looking of a gun. I have often thought about that gun and where it ended up. It most likely became one of the many "up graded" guns that are floating around as a higher grade gun.
If I had bought every "odd' or "unique" Lefever that I have come across I bet I would have a hundred different guns. Some features would be minor differences and others extreme. That is what sets Lefevers apart from the rest. He started so early and changed as production went, so his guns were a gradual progression with no clear sharp demarcation of features or mechanism. On top of that are the many guns built out of order or with features that had been discontinued. It is like his entire production was one long experiment of trying things and adjusting how thing worked. Funny thing is that just about all that he tried worked and has last more than a hundred years. That keeps me looking at any Lefever I come across at a gun show because you never know what you will find and learn. Maybe I find that employee special or some other one.
