Price? My 1970 Digest says; the Elsie $225; Winchester 101 $310.
The 1970 Digest also has a full length article on the 1968-72 Smith.
It is distinguished by being the only, at that time, hand fitted double to rise out of the ashes.
The muzzles are flared 1/2" back to the maximum choke constriction; sort of like a 21 skeet I guess. The article says it patterned normal with regular loads, but when they went to turkey a wildfowl loads with larger shot the barrels did a switch on pattern. At 40 yds the right barrel averaged 82% and the left 76%.
They believe it had to do with the way the forcing cones were configured. The left forcing cone is 1 1/8" long. The right is 7/8". I wonder if they mistakenly listed the right for the left concerning the cones. Bores were both .731. Left muzzle .692; right .708. Chambers 2 3/4", with chamber wall thickness averaging .182 and .151 at 3". IMO, with those measurements, opening to 3" wouldn't comprise integrity.
He said the hard sears have 7/32" width of bearing surface and should prevent doubling. They also said the sinking in of the lockplates causing friction of sears was the other cause of doubling in older Smiths, although I've never had a Smith double. It says a flatheaded jackscrew was sunk into the stockwood under each sideplate and adjusted so the sears cannot touch.
He does mention firing magnum loads Super X Mark 5 Mag. and went on to say it is the only gun he ever saw, single or double, that will put the whole load of buck shot where desired.
All in all, doesn't sound like a bad gun to me.
Last edited by 2holer; 12/14/12 08:49 PM.
