doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Syracuse Elsie 10

A 10-bore Quality 3 gun from Syracuse, New York.

Massive breech balls and even bigger bolsters, no Fulton gun ever looked like this one.



Given the gun has serial number 16xxx, what would be the year of production? 1888?

Mr. Williamson, are you around here these days?

That's a beaut Clark...

Yeah...pretty neat.







Did a little digging this morning, only something like 750 hammerless guns were made in Syracuse, NY before Lyman Cornelius Smith sold his business to John Hunter Sr. in 1888. From my reading, this one seems to be an earlier gun, circa 1886?

No wonder you never see them.



For a sense of scale, 601 examples were made of this Quality 2 in 1890 (per Mr. Stubbendieck), and they were only just getting started.



Also, no more "Syracuse-type" heavy bolsters after 1890 so...a 1 year only version (wish this 12 looked as good as that 10).

My Grade 2

Hello Mike!

By my rudimentary understanding of the numbering for these guns, that one is fairly late? So...1888 or even '89?

Edit to add: Evidently, the serial numbers from this era were done in blocks, reading historic posts on the Elsie webpage has me believing that your gun is from 1887.

Does anyone know the purpose of the two shallow indentations on either side of the action top in front of and to the side of the top lever?

Good eye brother, and no
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=422253

I've got some time on my hands here today, so I'll add a few more "Elsie" pictures to this thread...







My...how things changed from 1886 to 1890, and then to 1891 (and nowhere near as pretty as the earlier Syracuse gun).

Yes Lloyd, still around.
They made 266 hammerless shotguns in 1886, started in late August 1886 and made 15 that month. I have the first one made in 1886, serial number 16000. From your first two digits of yours that would also be 1886.
Mike's Quality 2, 10 gauge with 30" barrels is from around late 1887- early 1888. I have his recorded in my records as having another set of hammer gun barrels serial number 10827 (which is avery early 1884 serial number, since they atarted at 10000.)

Serial numbers for L.C. Smith Syrause hammerless guns started at 16,000, 18,000, 19,000, 20,000 and some in the 22.000 range. I say some because many I have recorded in this range do not have a maker's name on the barrels and oddly enough I have a few in the 23,000 range that do have L.C. Smith Maker on the barrels. Serial number in the 17,000, 21,000, no guns found in the 24000 block, 25000,26000, 28000 and 29000 are all hammer guns. The L.C. Smith Fulton records start at 30000 and somehow the records for 1889 are lost.

Lloyd, could you please give me the full serial number of yours?

David:

If only it were mine. A Gentleman in Arizona (evidently) has the gun and he shared those pictures on the Parker Gun Collectors page with me.