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I recently purchase a 20 ga Field grade LC Smith shotgun. It has the three position safety but the gun fires in all three positions. I would like to find a gunsmith in Western Washington/Oregon if possible to repair that and give the gun a good look over. Any recommendations?

Steve Nelson is in Corvallis. (541) 745-5232

WAID,

The L. C. Smith three position safety was designed to allow you to "de-cock" the hammers with the action open. This can be done by moving the safety to the rear position, opening the gun, pulling both the triggers, then closing the gun. This allows you to store the gun without tension on the hammers and does not require snap caps or disassembly.

I would send it off to a competent gunsmith and have it adjusted so it cannot go any further back than the middle "SAFE" position or at least make sure the link is installed properly so it cannot fire on all three positions. Some smiths will drill the tang and install a steel pin to stop it from moving further back, but I would avoid this as the tang is not very thick in this area. Have a piece of steel welded to the rear of the safety blade itself or have a steel stop block installed with loctite into the tang safety slot. Hope this helps.

Channing

What kind of properly-functioning safety "fires in all three positions?!" Yes, have it checked out.

And once you de-cock it to store it, don't take it apart unless you re-cock it...Geo

Definitely. It sounds as though the toggle has somehow become disengaged from the safety button, but it's gotta be taken apart to be sure.

Sorry, misread the post. Guessing that whoever installed it did not line up the safety itself with the safety link the trigger plate.

Channing

Channing, while your explanation is a good one on de-cocking the gun, it was first done to L.C. Smiths in 1886 and was a feature to allow Trap shooters/ live bird shooters not to loose a bird in forgetting to move the safety to on. In this position, the safety will not return to safe when opened.

The repair is simple enough, but to those not familiar in taking one apart have it done by a gunsmith that knows L.C. Smiths.
It is easy to miss the alignment when putting one back.

JDW,

Thanks for the explanation, I had never heard that. The rear position essentially turns it into a live bird gun without a safety, although I could see it being equally as frustrating because you could just as easily forget its on "live bird" mode in the rear position and then push it forward to SAFE and miss a bird!

Do you think L. C. Smith removed the feature because of declining live bird shoots over the years?

Channing, the three position safety back in 1886 was a feature that was well excepted for Trap shooters. L.C. Smith Maker Syracuse, N.Y. in their ads stated that their new gun (hammerless) was good at the Traps and in the Field, hence the marketing ploy of a dog watching a duck fall, and the words Trap Gun on the butt plate. I believe it was in Oct, 1886 that they started using the three position safety stating that in the rear position, that the shooter would not forget and loose a bird. This is around the time that Trap shooting was a big deal.
Hunter Arms Co. followed up using the three position safety until the 1920's I believe,. but by then it was an option.