doublegunshop.com - home Forums Thread Like Summary - L.C. Smith 3E - special?

It sure looks like a factory checkering upgrade? It dang sure isn't a transplant with a fit like that! Matching Serial number under long tang.

Foxy joined the ages last September. Here is the obit: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/thedailynews/name/francis-morin-obituary?id=53023005 RIP.

Foxy sent me this photo, taken with his great friend Brad Bachelder, just a short time before I bought the 3E from him. Some of you who knew Brad might be interested in seeing it.

Gil pegged Francis pretty well. I will say this ...... he got under some people's skins, but it was unintentional. Francis was a true gentleman, IMHO.

I can't imagine splitting up a two barrel set! I am not a purist, per se, but that makes my head hurt.

Dewey Vicknair lambasted L C Smiths pretty hard. Some here think that he hung the moon.

So far, I have lost no sleep over Dewey's opinions.

Despite a penchant for driving some folks nuts, it wasn't intentional or mean spirited. He never met a tangent he wouldn't take. He was a good man. I once swapped grits for paper hulls with him. RIP, Foxy. Gil

LC Smiths are difficult to make sense of at times. I ended-up reading alot about them after I bought my Quality 1 gun (because the seller had ID'ed it as an O-grade & I could tell it wasn't). Pre-Fulton/Hunter Arms guns are really tough because the records for the Syracuse guns are either spotty or just don't exist (the Brits were way-better at record keeping in the 1880s). Graded American doubles are rare in this country (it seems we've mostly descended from the hoi-palloi here, sadly) and accordingly, are usually expensive. Some of them are lovely beyond belief however. With the changing times in this country (i.e. the Boomers ageing out and the urbanization of the rest of it) some of those better guns should eventually find their way onto the market. Since most folks in the gun fraternity tend to think Elsies are just low-end Field Grade guns now, the market for them might be depressed initially, but any examination of these better guns should be a revelation (for the folks who actually know fine guns).

Stan:

Thank you for that. This one seems to be a rather unique combination of items (3E, HOT, vent rib, 3-inch, ejectors, beavertail, and pre-1913). I guess I had thought the 3-inch guns were much later?

Yeah, Mr. Vicknair was pretty unkind to Elsie. If you're taking about a hard-used, un-cared for, 1940s Plain-Jane Field Grade with a broken stock then maybe I can understand his frustrations. The better (& earlier) guns seem to have alot more going for them.

Only one. With heavy duck loads it doubled with me once ....... 1 1/4 oz. duck loads. Pretty sure that was because of a double tap on the trigger by me. Never happened before, or since. My other L C Smith is a 16 ga., and also has a HOT, and never a "bobble" with it, even with 1 1/8 oz. crow loads.

Gorgeous gun. That checkering is awesome!!


Ol' Lefty

Stan very nice and interesting 3E. Your gun was made in 1905, on the underside of the for-end metal there is a 2 stamped which Hunter Arms stamped there to denote this gun had a second set of barrels, also the ventilated rib didn't come out until the 1920's and I believe the gun was sent back to the factory for the ventilated rib and re-enforced loop. In many cases there are no records of guns sent back for work. Also looks like a Jostam recoil pad.

Haven't seen Francis post in quite some time, hope he is doing well.