doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com pre & post Fulton Smith guns (photo rich)

Snowed in here today. We are supposed to get almost 20-inches at this rate (if it keeps going until tomorrow morning)...



So... I'm stuck at home today. My 23-year old 4x4 Dodge truck is at the shop (typical old vehicle problems, it's a shame I'm so cheap) and what I have left to drive is no-match for anything like this. Accordingly, I decided to read-up on a few things...



This book is out of print now and while never cheap, copies of it are still prohibitively expensive (IMHO) for the average Joe ($350 per copy?). I finally found my somewhat-foxed (w/a slight tear on the back of the cover) copy in the "used" book world for significantly less than that, but... unless someone is really motivated to study these guns, it's unlikely that many folks are buying the presently available "uncirculated" versions at that price. This effectively keeps the better information about these guns out of the usual gun-crowd hands. Hopefully I'm not violating anything by posting these photographic excerpts, but here we go:



Above is an circa 1895 Grade 1 LC Smith. Pay close attention to the shape of the bottom of the receiver, the single screw in the trigger-guard and the flattened screwheads (Syracuse & transitional guns have two screws on their lower tangs).



This is likely to be an early 1892 Quality 2 gun that looks strikingly like my late '91 Quality 1 gun. Compare it to the 1895 Grade 1 gun above. Note the shape of the bolsters on bottom of the receiver (what gorgeous case colors remaining(!), I wish my gun looked half this good) but even by '92 the screw head on the lock-plate appears to have been flattened. In Houchin's book, the transitional guns are counted in with the Syracuse production numbers (up until 1892). Production at Fulton begins in 1890, making for 3-years of transitional-gun production there ('90, '91 & '92).






My 1891 Quality 1 gun (above) at the range yesterday. Note the two rounded screws in the trigger-guard. Quality 1 guns were never made in Syracuse, only at Fulton. Quality 2 was the entry-level for Syracuse guns in those days. I have, however, seen an exceedingly-plain Quality 2 action that perhaps hints at what was to come...





I believe this above gun was dated (by serial number) to be 1888 or '89? (all the current owner has now is the stripped action, as he parted the rest of the gun out). Below is photography I "snipped" from an online advert for an 1890 Quality 1 gun:





Note the square barrel lug and the clearly pronounced bolsters on the bottom of the frame (all the Syracuse guns had that square lug). By 1891, however, the barrel lug had been rounded at the front. The basic line engraving pattern on this action is exactly the same as that 1889 Syracuse "mystery" action and...on my 1891 gun, but this one has/had "Twist" barrels (and a badly cracked stock, with what looks to be a replacement forend).

What we're all used-to (well, most of us anyway, and in a much more-worn condition)...

[img]http://i.imgur.com/cdqNE1Eh.jpg[/img]

(why the above photograph won't display properly is beyond me).


Deep into the "weeds", I know. More to follow.