doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Order of Options

The recent thread on the rather unusually configured Ithaca NID Grade 3E, got me thinking about the order of extra cost options and how commonly they occur on old American doubles. I'll discount recoil pads and twin ivory beads, and keep it to the four major ones -- automatic ejectors, single trigger, beavertail forearm, and vent rib.

While I have certainly never kept any meaningful figures to support this, my gut feeling is that if a gun has ONE option it will most likely be automatic ejectors. If it has TWO options they will most likely be automatic ejectors and a single selective trigger. If a gun has THREE options they will be automatic ejectors, a single trigger and a beavertail forearm. Finally in the FOUR option category, when you find that classic American double with a vent rib, it will normally have the other three options.

I have certainly seen every possible combination and permutation of the above options, and own a couple of them, but I feel this is the way it is most often. Anyone have a different opinion on the order of options?

Factory original Monte Carlos or cheek pieces appear so infrequently on classic American doubles I can probably count all I've ever seen without taking my shoes off.

This should be an interesting topic, thanks Reasearcher.

My experience would largely agree with your observations. I did have a Lefever Nitro Special with extractors and Single trigger though.

Here is a pic of my LC Smith Crown with a factory Monte Carlo type stock. The wrist is broken but Im going to try and fix it after harvest (the only way I could afford a Crown) It has Vent Rib, Bevertail Forend, Single Trigger, and Ejectors.

I havent attempted a letter yet but I bought it from the person who bought it from the grandson of the original owner.(Im fortunate, though saddened, that there are people who dont care about their heritage) The original owner was a Dentist with some patented dental inventions to his name. I havent researched it fully yet but it should make for an interesting story.

Interesting post. Of course, the auto ejector option came out when the other three did not exist, so we see that the most. I think, too, the options chosen were driven by brand of gun and grade of gun. My experience is that Ithacas, the NIDS, in higher grades were very likely to have all four options. I remember a Grade 5 NID at an auction and thinking I had never seen another with splinter forend, double triggers, and a regular rib. I assume most of the higher grades in NIDs were trap or skeet guns.

I have a Parker DHE that was shipped with double triggers, vent rib,32 inch tubes, beavertail, and ejectors. I don't know if the owner knew about Parker single triggers but this one has had a Miller installed after it left the factory.
bill

Add pistol grip stocks to the list, too.

R - good topic and I think you got it right. NID 4E Trap has all four (all five) as does M-21 Skeet. Will look at Parker tonight.

I have a Parker with the Parker SST and a vent rib and ejectors but no beavertail.


Your topic is interesting to me as I have often wondered how and why options were ordered....as we've seen from past price lists they can add seriously to the price tag. How many people said to themselves "Why order a D grade with all the options when I could practically get a B grade with no options....?"

I'll also bet a bunch of Parkers were ordered, especially lower grades, with the buyer having no knowledge that options were even available.

I didn't include the grip choice as that wasn't normally an "extra cost" option.

I've certainly seen all the variations. I've got a 20-gauge Ithaca built Lefever A Grade with single trigger, beavertail, Ithaca bridge-trestle recoil pad and twin ivory sights, but no ejectors; and an Ansley H. Fox A-Grade 16-gauge with double triggers extractors and a beavertail. The order for that Fox was quite specific in all sorts of details -- straight grip, wavey grain in the wood, monogram on the trigger guard, rib as narrow as practicable, right barrel 50% left barrel 60%, but just double triggers and plain extractors.

A gun I've always remembered as very interesting was a very late big 32-inch 12-gauge Parker Bros. VH-Grade with its only option a vent rib. I guess somebody decided he wanted a vent rib Parker and that was as cheap as he could get into one.

Dave, I have a #4 NID,straight stock,non ejector. with a ventilated rib and double triggers, It is choked like a trap gun.