doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Resurrection of the Lefever

The Lefever complicated??? Have you ever seen the guts of a Lefever, John? If you have, you would know that there is nothing complicated about this gun, thats what made the Lefever great, it adhered to that time honored principle of "K.I.S.S." or Keep It Simple Stupid.
Anybody with fitted turnscrews, a small brass punch, needlenose plyers and a small brass mallet can have a lever apart and in bits & pieces in under 10 minutes. The parts are big and robust and could be easily duplicated, the springs are very simple and there's not alot of complicated inletting in the stock area.

In my opinion, most of the cost in building a new Lefever would be in all the laborious hand finishing that a doublegun enthusiast demands. The gun itself is as simple as it gets.

Looky here, not too complicated...(dont mind the position of the sear/trigger springs, I accidently put them in upside down....even then..the gun worked just fine, go figure)

I think the LeFevers are beautiful guns - about as graceful as you can get. They require little effort to open and close. And I agree that they are fairly simple. That said, I've never been especially impressed with the bolting system; there's little bearing area and the one's I've owned or looked at had none of the adjustments that some write about. So, in my best thread-stealing manner, I pose a couple of questions: 1) Do any of you put a goodly number of rounds through LeFevers and what are your experiences, and 2) have you ever seen a Lefever that has run out of bolting?

Thanks, guys.

Perhaps I should have said complex to make i.e. the contours of the receiver to machine, file, and polish, along with the mechanism itself.
JR

Like I said and as the pictures show....the mechanism is anything but complicated.

And to answer the other question, no, I have never seen a Lefever that has "run out of bolting", I can't even see how a Lefever could ever become loose???? All it takes is the right turnscrew, a small turn of the ball screw and wha-laa....it can be as tight or as loose as you want it to be. Hence the ealier comments about the Lefever being made to practically never wear out. So simple its scary, why no other manufactures, here or elsewhere ever adopted the ball and socket joint is beyond me. The top bite of the Lefever is somewhat similar to the Westley top bite and it seems to serve both guns very well.

Dustin

Ithaca5E, the miscellaneous adjustment features that you say you have not seen on any Lefever are not a neccesary part of a reproduction gun. The main adjustment that would be included would be the ball/socket assembly. The other adjustments are not neccesary or even desired. Early side cocker and pivot lever guns don't have much of this stuff and mine are all still running strong and still tight. I see no way I could put enough rounds through one to wear it out or loosen the breech.

Just FWIW, I've had good luck, loosening the old "ball" screw, by trying to turn it in the tightening direction(CW) before trying to loosen it. Worked within the past couple years on the spanner type and the simple straight-slot screw. A spanner can be made from a large screwdriver, just saw and file to fit the holes. MY favorite shotgun!

Does anyone know if anybody lost any money on the unsuccessful plan?

My 16 E grade just has "Fever Arms" roll stamped on one side. If we can't use Lefever, I think just the 'Fever' would be a good name...and my gun wouldn't seem so wrong...Geo

Dont feel bad George, my 12 gauge Superposed has this on the barrel..."special steel- 12 GA- CHELLS 2 3/4"

CHELLS??? Must have been a Monday morning gun, probably stamped on the Monday following one heck of a weekend.

Dustin

You have no idea what it costs to produce a "new" SXS if talking about a replication of the original of a classic.
I am still reeling from the money I have already spent and the amount that I may still spend.
Best,
John

"Dont feel bad George, my 12 gauge Superposed has this on the barrel..."special steel- 12 GA- CHELLS 2 3/4"

CHELLS??? Must have been a Monday morning gun, probably stamped on the Monday following one heck of a weekend.

Dustin
Or possibly by an "undocumented American"