Miller, correct me if I am wrong, but don't you shoot a Darne Halifax???Gil
Gil;
Let's say that I do own a 16 gauge Halifax @ 5lb 14oz. I have shot it, Some. From about 1970 to the present the vast majority of my shooting has been done with an FE grade Lefever. At that point in time, I was not as fully convinced of shooting Damascus as at present. I had a set of 26" Boehler Steel barrels made for it in Italy choked .012-.024 With it I have killed quail, woodcock, duck, rabbits, a few squirrels & a couple of Turkey.
My second most used gun was a J P Clabrough 12 gauge Damascus with 28" barrels choked .010/.010. I used it on quail, woodcock & rabbit using 1 oz loads of either #8 or #6 @ about 1150 fps.
Don't read me wrong, the Darnes are good guns but so are the Smiths. There are those who like either or both, those who like one but not the other & those who don't particularly like either. Purdey, Boss & H&H are well outside my budget, so frankly I'm like the Wise Old Owl, I don't truly give a Hoot what Mr Vickner thinks of the Smith. He probably doesn't like my Lefevers or the lowly Clabrough either, but I do.
Rinky Tinky or whatever Ted called it, I'll take the thumb push Smith safety over the abomination of the Darne safety any day of the week. Never had a problem with the safety on any Smith I ever owned. I too prefer sidelock guns over boxlocks. Admittedly the Lefever is not a true sidelock, but its handling is more like one than a boxlock. Notice sometimes that for a given length of barrel & pull a typical side lock is a wee bit longer than a typical boxlock. The triggers on the sidelock are from ˝-1 inch further back from the barrel breech. This gives a slight difference in balance point & handling, A feel I prefer.
This is primarily due to the placement of the locks. The Lefever has essentially an identical lock placement to the sidelock so the same feel.
Truly I only joined this discussion because of the idea that a complete L C Smith in 16 ga with an easily repairable stock by a proficient amateur should be either Nailed to a Cracker Barrel Wall or Parted out in Pieces was just more than my tolerance level allowed. In my "Personal" opinion for whatever it's worth either of those solutions is Sheer Ignorance of the value of the gun in question.
None of this is intended as a Personal Attack on anyone's opinion, just we all have different ones & I normally do not " Bad Mouth" another man's gun which he likes & suits him, even if I don't personally care for them myself. Sometimes though one just gets pushed over the Edge.
