doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Lefever indicators

Last week on vacation in North Carolina I surprised myself by buying a very nice Lefever 12 gauge Automatic Hammerless, built in Syracuse 1907 (#57xxx)-- excellent straight-grained reddish wood, sideplates with all the soft casehardened color, barrels 95% blue, spotless (I mean PERFECT) bores. I believe it's DS grade, i.e. no engraving. Buttplate needs replacing, but otherwise all original. I owned one years ago and couldn't resist such a lovely gun at what seemed well under market value. My question has to do with the cocking indicators behind the fences: I can't remember how they are supposed to work. With snap caps in place the pins do not protrude, nor do they retract on pulling the triggers. Any advice?

Does a DS have cocking indicators? Look on the action flats for a grade letter. It may not be a DS...Geo

There's a cap letter "I" stamped behind the serial number on the flats.

There's a cap letter "I" stamped behind the serial number on the flats.

Aha. McIntosh says the DS and I grades "...were virtually identical and the I Grade has the dubious distinction of being the only grade that Lefever Arms ever dropped." In any case, there are pins behind the fences, but maybe these are not cocking indicators after all.

Then it's an I grade, but I didn't think they had cocking indicators either. If you gun has them (and it must because you're looking at them) and if they are working, they should protrude if the gun is cocked and withdraw flush as each barrell fires/the snap caps would make no difference. Is the barrell extension a "dolls-head"?...Geo

Nope. Barrel extension is flat sided, curved at the end.

I'll bet it doesn't have cocking indicators...Geo

It does not.

Thanks, Geo. If it did have indicators, would they be behind the fences? Maybe on this grade Uncle Dan just substituted dummy pins? In any case, it's still an elegant looking gun despite being bottom-of-the-line, and I have located an original buttplate.