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Does anyone know of a gunsmith who can replace a barrel on a LC Smith field grade shotgun. It was my grandfather’s shotgun, and was mistreated by a young relative in the 1970s. I’d like to return it to shooting status. I have contacted a gunsmith who is searching for a replacement barrel set, but would like to keep it original, within reason.

Thanks,

Steve

Do you mean repair, or replace?
If repair, what repair is needed?
If replace, there is a 12g Armor steel non-ejector Field grade barrel on ebay right now (not mine). It appears to have been blued over significant pitting on the external surface, and has extensive pitting in both bores L > R.
The 12g field grade barrels did tend to have generous wall thickness so honing, by a barrel expert, may be possible
(you'll need to cut and paste the link)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/205013647623?_skw=l.c.+smith+shotgun+barrel&itmmeta=01J9PV2W0NF1TAVA7CAN8P74WR&hash=item2fbbc40107:g:aGoAAOSwWQ1m9EaK&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKku58hWiF4VAyV8FWNtrCrpH6Jsf6gdCWPWaDmR5TsWr8RuJlYBaGENFOvJ2MU0BYwlt55Kji8BJJBbps3SIhqGoeX4TCof518MrEme%2Fu3K9WZ29tssdUG44bzPwu%2Bx%2BHhzxbhF36PA3bRH7V03Aym5Md5fLTYTxYSru4Na6Z%2BhRj1mLDXiP65ehY%2BVJ4F8%2BT3h41vDSNMKmAEmNEjapKc1Vh67PIkMGdH%2Fi3rDLa7YUlHDsmJ87SBPoqCIP2KGsRwx3dAZ5MSl6xhfBHys8CCmClqGx0w7r8tbk%2BMJCJmvgg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7TAi9vNZA

Small gauge barrels are going to be a real search.

Finding and fitting an original barrel will be difficult but not impossible. It will however probably cost more than the gun is worth. If it has sentimental value then the sky is the limit!

If it were me, the first person I would contact would be Jerry Andrews for advice and assistance.

I have contacted Jerry, and he has started a search for a replacement set of barrels, but I hope to find a gunsmith with the skill set to replace the right barrel. The gun has been in the family for nearly 100 years, and I’d like to pass it on to the next generation. I’m somewhat aware of the cost that effort would take. There’s a good chance the gun will end up being a wall hanger.

I have an OE Grade 12 gauge Smith. I bought a set of barrels from a junk pile at a gun show. They clicked right on to my gun and fit very well, as well as the original barrels. Some of us are just lucky.

Aaron Little can replace the right barrel....also Dewey Vicknair. Gunter Pfrommer also might could do it.

Stephen, it sounds like you wish to replace one bad barrel rather than the much simpler and cheaper task of fitting a set of orphan barrels to your frame. If so, it would be interesting to hear what Jerry Andrews thinks of that idea, and whether he gave you an estimate.

I thought about that possibility some years ago when I bought a 16 ga. G Grade Lefever that had been confiscated by a local Police Dept. The gun was stolen, and the crook sawed off the barrels to 9", making it illegal. They would not sell the sawed off barrels , so even sleeving was out of the question. I couldn't find a good orphan set, but found one with one damaged tube. So I wondered if it was possible to disassemble and then rejoint two good tubes. I never did find a second set of 16 ga. barrels with the opposite barrel I still needed.

I've never actually heard of anyone doing that, but it seemed plausible because there are some Lefevers that have two different serial numbers on the barrels, and the thought by some Lefever collectors was that some of them may have been returned to the factory to have a damaged tube replaced, and had the second serial number added. I can't imagine that would be a cheap or easy job, and would probably only make sense on a high grade gun, if it was possible at all. But with enough time and enough money, you could probably raise the Titanic, and get it sailing again.

eightbore was indeed lucky to find a perfectly fitting set of barrels for his 0 grade Smith. I lucked out the same way once with an orphan set of Syracuse Lefever barrels. The first time I fit a set of orphan barrels to a gun was also on a 00 grade L.C. Smith that I bought for $40.00 due to a blown left tube (obstruction burst due to snow). After several years, I finally found a good set that needed material removed to fit my frame. The other possibility is that material would need to be added to the hook by TIG welding or shimming. Of course, the width and height at the breech should match closely too, and firing pin separation has to be the same.

I started by carefully removing material from the hook using fine round files and round stones. I smoked the pin and hook and gradually achieved even better contact than the original set, but was still a little short of being able to close the gun. Then I made a real bonehead rookie mistake, and decided to remove a little material from the breech end of the barrels and extractors, never thinking that this would also make the rim recess more shallow, and affect headspace. I kept smoking the breech face and slowly cut-and-tried until I had good even contact at the breech and the correct clearance under the barrel flats, and finally the gun closed with that satisfying sound that a good tight L.C. Smith makes. I felt pretty proud of myself at that point. The top lever was right of center, and all seemed great until I decided to test fire it. I then found it wouldn't quite close with any factory loaded shell in the chambers.

I uttered a few choice expletives, and set the project aside, thinking about how I could cut the rim recess about .005" deeper to correct the headspace problem I had created. I didn't want to buy a reamer for one small job, so considered other options. A year or so later, I found a suitable milling cutter in a box of tooling at a surplus tool dealer, and altered it a bit by grinding between centers to get the correct 12 ga. rim diameter, and safely piloted to keep it centered in the chambers. I cut it by hand and finally ended up with a shooter with mismatched serial numbers. As I recall, my total investment in the gun, the orphan barrels, and the milling cutter was around $125.00... plus my time.

I don’t believe Dewey works on LC Smith guns at this juncture.

Best,
Ted

I would reach out to Bachelder as well. I contacted him regarding something similar about 7 years ago and at the time they had a good number of L.C. Smith barrels.