My early Lefever E grade 10ga has 32" bbls & weighs a solid 10lbs, I don't carry it. Most American 10ga guns I have hendled over the years were not quite as heavy as this one, but most were also definitely more than 8lbs. I have handled a Barber & Lefever 10 ga hammer gun & while I didn't have opportunity to weigh it (at a gun show, no opportunity to shoot it either), it was lighter than most, I suspected close to 7lbs with its 28" bbls. If I had one like it I would carry it just for the fun of it.
W W Gereener stated at least prior to 1910 that the only advantage the 10 held over a 12 was when shot charges exceded 1Ľoz, he highly de-cried the loads with a powder charge of up to 5 drams under 1Ľoz in the 10ga & recommended instead a 4D-1˝oz load. I highly suspect he was right. Bore capacity of the 10 is only 13% greater than the 12, while the 12 excedes a 16 by 21% & the 20 by 40%.
