I own or have owned most of the American guns mentioned, and have shot and hunted with all of them. I am partial to LC Smiths, but they can have stock issues that may cause problems for the inexperienced. The Fox Sterlingworth and the Ithaca NID are probably the two best choices for what you want. The biggest thing that both have going for them is that they were designed later than the others, so are strong and more likely to have more modern stock dimensions. The NID is probably not quite as elegant as the Foxes, but is plenty strong enough for modern off the shelf ammo because they were all built after the change in the pressure specifications in the 1920's. The LC Smith, the Fox and the NID all have the rotary bolt breech lock up which I have never see shoot loose, and the NID's are probably to be found at the lowest price of the three.
Last edited by Tom Martin; 05/15/11 08:30 AM.
