doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Another one - Out of the Woodwork

Due to the nature of my work; I frequently get calls from people wanting to sell guns and I got such a call over the weekend. Included with some other firearms is this L C Smith Grade III which I would like your opinions on. I can tell you the following:
It was made in 1893 and has 32" chain Damascus barrels. It does not have either a single trigger or ejectors. The gun is worn but shows use not abuse and the barrels are dent free and mirror bright. The stock is full length and has one area that's damaged that I will show in a photo. There is some wood missing but the stock is not cracked thru. The top lever is over to the left as you can see but the gun still locks up like a proverbial bank vault. door
Jim

More pictures of the L C Smith double:
It's very overcast here today and I'm having more problems than usual taking pictures. The bores in the picture I provided look rifled but they are smooth and shiny. As I indicated above there are no dents or real pitting. I'll take and post additional pictures when the situation improves.
I have not decided at this time whether to keep or sell this shotgun.
Jim

I like the birds. Not sure of the worth. Lots of fix. I might be interested if you decide to sell.

from the looks of it; it will need the lock lever brought back to the right [$200/300]....stock repaired, checkering re-cut, and glass bedded..[700-900]....so 900-1200 worth of smithing....to make it useable....
a lot more if you want it more thoroughly restored....

what is the serial number range???....

I think it might be worth the repair and bedding work....but that's up to you....

BTW...nice looking engraving....and the woodcock are on the scarcer side....

Dr. Drew should be along to add his more knowledgeable opinions....

James, like you said the gun has seen a lot of use.
These guns were available from 1894 to 1912. There were a total of 3,042 made of which most were 12 ga. (2,592). Nitro Steel was first introduced in 1895. There were 242 made with 32" barrels.
The above information is from "L.C. Smith Production Records" by Dr. Jim Stubbendieck of the L.C. Smith Organization.

The problem with the top lever could be where it locks into the barrel's rib extension. From many years of letting the barrels slam closed, the slope on the rib extension gets worn. A good TIG welder could do that and then filing the slope.

If not cracked all the way through the wrist, the stock can be fixed and there are some good men out there that can do this.
A lot of the Quality 3's had some very nice wood.

I have seen more woodcock/snipe on the right side than ducks.

Good luck in what ever you may do with it. Fixed right it would make a good shooter at trap and turn some heads doing so.

The serial number is 368xx. As I said above I don't think this gun is really worn in the area they usually wear(knuckle) as it still locks up tight and there's no sideplay. That crack is not thru so I expect the cost to fix the stock should be reasonable The best point IMO is the condition of the 120+ year old Damascus barrels and the fact that the gun is un-messed with as evidenced by the intact grip cap and original butt plate. I've made no attempt to clean this gun so I don't know what the wood pattern looks like.
I missed picturing a few things so when the weather clears I'll take some more photos and post them.
Jim

wonderful old graded smith. looks like a grade 3 or better...certainly worth fixing and reinforcing the wood...i would do nothing more to it...it needs to be preserved as is...32" barrels gotta be cool...

Syracuse markings?

Where would I look for these markings?
Jim

On the barrel or rib. I don't really remember. You should really duplicate your posts on the L.C. Smith site.