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Forums10
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,136 Likes: 601
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,136 Likes: 601 |
This will teach me to snoop around out-of-town gun stores. I was buying some ammo last week and ran across a clean old F-grade Lefever. Another heavy, American 12-gauge double (& I already have plenty) but....this one seems to be better than average. Damascus tubes, decent wood, clean and unabused. G-grades tend to be pretty common in my experience, this is probably the 1st F-grade I've ever seen up close or handled. What says the cognoscenti here?
Last edited by Lloyd3; 04/16/24 07:12 PM.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 276 Likes: 3
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 276 Likes: 3 |
If I had to choose, I would take the Lefever. I think the locking, and cocking, mechanisms are much simpler than the L.C. Smith. I have owned a few of each, and really appreciated the overall simplicity of the Lefever when disassembling/reassembling.
GMC(SW) - USN, Retired (1978-2001)
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2 members like this:
ChiefAmungum, Ted Schefelbein |
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 865 Likes: 38
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 865 Likes: 38 |
Per Dewey Vicknair :
DeweyDecember 16, 2020 at 5:04 PM
“ Almost anything is a better double than a Smith.”
But if you want a real expert’s bona fide ( best George Clooney “ soggy bottom boys voice) take on a Smith - go consult Pine Creek Dave!
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6 members like this:
John Roberts, Dan S. W., Kip, canvasback, gunmaker, Ted Schefelbein |
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,435 Likes: 316
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,435 Likes: 316 |
The head of the Lefever stock has more wood surface to transmit recoil, so finding this is not common Smith
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ChiefAmungum, Roundsworth |
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 480 Likes: 59
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 480 Likes: 59 |
LeFever wins, hands down. No contest, etc.
Chief
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1 member likes this:
graybeardtmm3 |
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Joined: Dec 2012
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Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,136 Likes: 601 |
Now Ted, you know I already have a good Spanish gun.
What started all this silliness was the beating my Arrieta was giving me on clays. These heavier American guns (8-lbs versus 6 1/2-lbs) are far-more comfortable to shoot high-volumes with and then... thanks to all of the insidious "gun-snobbery" here (& Mr. Vicknair of-course), I was able to obtain some very nice examples to shoot for a very reasonable outlay. I actually funded my last two guns by selling some classic American bamboo rods and some old American fly reels.
Are you noticing a theme here? "Classic American" stuff is still popular in this country and that includes many of our own doubles. Call it nostalgia, call it jingoistic, call me obtuse(!) but any gun that is still doing the job it was designed to do after 125-years is just fine with me (& frankly, it's got pretty good karma at that point too). For years, I couldn't afford any of the better American stuff (especially when I was younger) because it was massively popular with the generations that preceded mine. But now, after all the bad press it's been getting in the gun blogs for the last several years, the prices are quite reasonable. That Grade 2 Syracuse Smith I just got is very dramatic to look at(!) and it shoots just dandy on clays. I wouldn't want to lug it over hill & dale for upland stuff, but for waterfowl and even turkey it would be just the ticket.
To close here: I'll grant you... Pine Creek Dave is rather enthusiastic about his guns of choice, as is his prerogative. I promise you this: he's having a great time with them. As a Pennsylvania boy myself, I've been to his part of the world and it's downright lovely. I only wish I could just step out my door and have a gorgeous trout stream to fish and then almost endless wilderness to chase game in. We should all be so lucky.
Last edited by Lloyd3; 04/17/24 09:21 AM.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,435 Likes: 316
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,435 Likes: 316 |
21 Advantages and Improvements! 1903
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,496 Likes: 84
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,496 Likes: 84 |
I have been inside field grade Smiths but never a Lefever. I can say that on the field grade guns ( maybe higher grade interiors are better) that they are very roughly made. Surprisingly they work
John Quality Arms
John Boyd Quality Arms Inc Houston, TX 713-818-2971
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1 member likes this:
David Williamson |
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,496 Likes: 84
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,496 Likes: 84 |
Lloyd
I have an Arrieta that I shoot at clays extensively I like 2 3/4 dram loads Can shoot no issues When I shoot trap I shoot by myself and shoot 50 non stop
Maybe you are using 3 dram loads. I have some 3 dram loads but do not like them, so reserve for other shotgun
Stay well
John ARRIETA
John Boyd Quality Arms Inc Houston, TX 713-818-2971
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