doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Opinions Please

For a straight gripped CE-Grade 28-inch 12-gauge in that condition, that aint bad. You may never find a similar or better CE-Grade for less. I sold a reblued 30-inch half-pistol grip CE-Grade with a big epoxied up crack in the head of the refinished stock and with a Pachmyre Olde English pad to one of our big dealers for over half that price many years ago! It was in the 292xx range, shipped May 1924, and had a Fox-Kautzky SST. Oh, it also had a small ring bulge in the left barrel! I shot a lot of Doves at the pond by the old hacienda on Camp Pendleton with that gun in 1972 and 3.

That Hawkins pad may be a bit newer then the gun, but is "period" and looks well fitted in the picture. Even if it is "right" a letter may not mention it.

Buy the gun. A CE in good metal shape, with a decent stock, is not to be allowed to pass for that money. If you do pass give me the name of the seller and I buy it. When you see A grades selling for more than $2,000.00 without ejectors in the same shape why pass up a higher grade gun with ejectors for not that much more? If that gun was at a name dealer it would be listed for at least a grand more. In fact you could buy it and use it for trade bait for other guns if you wanted to do it.

With the tang screws not indexed properly it is a sure bet that the stock has been off for repairs. I would take it off and glass bed the head and refinish the repair and smile all the way to the bank.
A nice gun!
bill

I am going to think it over this weekend and go back Monday for a serious in hand inspection. If there are no other wood issues, I am going to see if I can get him down some more and then perhaps buy it. I would be doing this JUST to use as bait to get another L.C. Smith for my collection. I like the gun, but it's not in my scope of things, which I may regret down the road! If I can't get it cheaper I will then kick it around a bit more. If I decide to pass, and my brother doesn't buy it, I will provide the sellers info...reluctantly as he does come up with some nice pieces for me and I don't want that messed up! LOL...reason for reluctance is while in the shop I learned of a nice condtion .410 L.C. Smith...now that is more like it

After another inspection, this time a serious inspection as I was rushed for time the other day, I found a few other areas of concern with the stock. It for sure has had some repair and there was a wood to metal fit issue that I was concerend about for further creating more cracks in the stock.

I told the owner that with these issues one would have to take it all down and inspect/glass bed/etc...and that with that cost invovled, his price was too high. He told me he couldn't go lower so I told him I would have to pass on it personally, but would let others know about it. Today he just spoke with me saying another person who collects doubles on his call list came in after I declined and bought it. He paid $3200 for it, my deal was for $2800, but I was not comfortable with the stock. So it's now off to another person's collection. Thanks for all the help and opinions. The pictures will be deleted from my website to free up room, thus they will not be viewable after this post.