I have several LC Smiths that I love to shoot, that are field grades. They need some preservation. Obviously they are not really worth total redo and maybe they couldn't be made like new. So the question is how far do I go. I want to at least stop any further deterioration due to oil in the stock, lack of finish etc.
Example: My favorite duck gun is a long range field w/ ejectors. 80 years of duck hunting has taken a toll on the finish. Mechanically it is still great. I recently made up my mind to give it a new life before it continues to degrade from duck hunting.
Was intending to have it re-cased, but when I took it apart it was a bit of a mess inside. In preping it to go to the case man.... I began to realize the outside has quite a few pits in it. Without annealing it first, I really can't get the pits out by sanding or draw filing it. So is re-casing it like putting lipstick on a pig?
Should I just "french gray the receiver" and call it good. I personally will rust blue the barrels and refinish and checker the stock. (I did this with my 10 ga Damascus Ideal and it is also one of my duck guns) I realize this Long Range will never be a desirable collector, but it is a great shooter and I want it to continue to be there for many years.
Note that I asked Turnbull's guys at the last show I was at how much to re-case an LC Smith and they said the prep work could go up to $1000. I don't think that would be a wise investment.
In addition to this Long range, I have a 20 ga field ejector (28") , a 16 ga field (28"), and a 2 3/4" field Wildfowl (that someone turned into a trap gun!) How far would you go with these. I am thinking my money would be better spent on restoring my 30" 16 ga 3E or possibly the 2 3/4" Wildfowl as these two guns are pretty rare.
So What would you do?
Jerry
