I am looking for some parts for my Lefever IE Grade. And I am having a very hard time with this one.
If anyone out there might be able to help or if you know of any good contacts, let me know.
B. Dudley
What do you need.I have some parts out of a GE grade.
AWC
If Alan can't help you give Buck Hamlin in Pevely MO. a call. His phone number is (314)479-4304.
Alan,
I am in need of at least a left hammer (I would take both if they were available).
I need whatever parts attach the the inside of the hammers to activate the ejectors (for both sides, mine are missing).
I need one sear spring.
I also need some safety parts. My button and slide on bottom of the tang are there, so the button clicks back and forth as it should, but there is nothing between it and the triggers.
If you can help out on any of these items, let me know.
Feel free to contact me directly.
Buck Hamlin is your best hope! You can use DSE parts, A DS is identical to the I Grade.
Craig
I just tried to call the number for Buck that was listed by TwiceBarrel, but it told me the number was out of service.
I looked up the white page listing and it appearrs that the number is right, but the area code should be (636).
I just tried to call the number for Buck that was listed by TwiceBarrel, but it told me the number was out of service.
I looked up the white page listing and it appearrs that the number is right, but the area code should be (636).
Hmmm Old Buck must have been using some old letter head when he billed me last.
buck`s # is 636-479-4304.he`s done several lc`s for me but i know hes the go to guy for lefevers also.
Buck Hamlin
8501 Cedar Trails
Pevely, MO 63070
636-479-4304
Highly recommend!
Craig
I have called him and left him a message. hopfully he will get back to me.
He will. Last time I talked to him I think he had a rabbit hunt with one of his hunting buddies planned for about now.
You might also try Keith Kearcher 541-617-9299.
Good luck on the IE, a rare gun, only half a dozen known to exist!
Craig
Really??? That rare??? I did see some info that said the I grade was rarer than the DS with only around 2500 being made. But was not able to find out the rarety of an I grade with in frame ejectors. Mine is just marked "I" on the water table, but it does have the ejectors in it.
The I grade was to be sold as a "Branded" gun,a large hardware co could have their name on the gun, like the Tryon Bakers. A no option shotgun. They are all marked just "I", but a few ejectors gun did get built. One of the known guns also has a "Dolls Head" fastener, but still marked I. Lefever is known as a gun of many variations, that is why collecting them is such a challenge.
Craig
Well I did pick up a DS with ejectors for very cheap to maybe use as a parts source for this IE of mine. The DS has a broken stock and shortened barrels. My IE has a bad stock and missing internals. But the barrels are the original 30" length. The stock is no problem since I am a stock maker. But I figured that the IE would be better to bring back since the fact that it is an I alone makes it rarer than the DS. And the shortened barrels on the DS was pretty much the deciding factor in not putting any money or time into that one.
I do not have the DS yet in my hands, so I will see if I can use it for parts to get the IE back together.
I want to keep the shorter DS barrels as a spare set for the IE and then just part out the DS receiver or keep it for spare parts.
Leafing through some H and D Folsom catalogs, they advertised the I Grade with a [G]in the title . Looks like they were saying the I Grade was taking the place of the G Grade.
Craig, I have never seen an I Grade with a Brand name of another on it. What names have you seen ?
My IE has the Lefever Arms marking on it.
Trade name Guns are tricky. There are the big ones like Crescent/HD Folsom, Savage/Stevens, and even Ithaca was making some of the eastern arms marked guns for Sears. But I never heard of Lefever doing it either.
The only one I have seen was marked "Russell Hardware" on the side plates, but the watertable was marked I. That was over 30 years ago at the Dallas Gun show. Guess who was not smart enough to by it?
Craig
B.Dudley, the I grade was only made in 12 gauge and one frame size,the DS was multi gauges and frame sizes. There were two fame sizes on the DS 12, so some barrels do not exchange. Internal parts should be no problem.
Craig
Well I will find out once I get that DS. As long as I get the internals that I need, I will be happy. Would be nice to get the barrels too though.
With Lefevers it is inadvisable to say Never or Always. Some I grades have surfaced in 16ga. To the best of my knowledge the I was not listed in any LAC catalogs, only the DS. Bob Eliot pictured one in his book with a SD&G mark, but as I recall it carried the regular Lefever Arms Co name on it.
Also to date I have seen no reference to any grade of Lefever ejector gun which had the gun itself stamped with the grade + E as IE, FE etc. The were lisred that way in the catalogs, but the guns seem to carry only the grade mark.
I personally never heard anything about the I being a replacement for the G. When the G grade was introduced in the early '90's (with damascus bbls) it was the lowest grade. The H came along about 1898 with twist bbls while the I/DS came on the scene around 1901 & generally had steel bbls, though a few were made with twist. Also though there are exceptions here as well, they normally lacked the doll's head, cocking indicators & had an uncapped half pistol grip & a forend lacking either a metal tip or escutcheon & were devoid of ngraving. The H & G both stayed in the line-up till production ended, so I can see no evidence of the I replacing the G. Unless something has come up recently I have an H grade with the "Two" highest SN's known to be in existence. It is stamped H & has H features of doll's head, cocking indicators, twist bbls & scroll on the sideplates. On the other hand the wood, both stock & forend, seem to be of DS configuration.
Unless something has come up recently I have an H grade with the "Two" highest SN's known to be in existence. It is stamped H & has H features of doll's head, cocking indicators, twist bbls & scroll on the sideplates. On the other hand the wood, both stock & forend, seem to be of DS configuration.
2 Piper are there letters stamped in the forend hanger of your H grade denoting an Ithaca assembled gun?
Well I got my DS that I was intending on using for parts today. And it does not have ejectors!!! I guess these days when you ask a seller "does this gun have ejectors?" and they respond "Yes it does and everything works flawlessly." that you cannot trust them.
Obviously someone does not know the difference between ejectors and extractors. Plus this gun has a separated top rib!! That was not disclosed either.
Oh well, at least I got a few of the parts that I needed. I can check off the sear spring and the safety parts from my list.
So all I still need are a left hammer and the ejector hooks for the hammers. I have to try and call Buck Hamlin again. I have not heard back yet.
Oh yeah... and for anyones reference, hammers from a non-ejector Lefever will not work in an ejector gun. Not without removing some other parts from the receiver first.
Does anyone want a set of DS barrels that have been cut to 26" with a lefted top rib? At least they are free of dents. lol.
TwiceBarrel;
No, this H has nothing I can find to indicate Ithaca build, though I have always figured it was. The two numbers on it are 73,338 & 73,342, only 4 numbers apart. May well have been someones "LinchBox Special". It is also fitted with an Infallible SST, but only has extractors. The Twist Bbls are quite thin & gun weighs only 6˝lbs, also has about 3˝" drop to heel so I don't shoot it. It wasn't priced very high so I thought it interesting enough to procure.
I got a hold of Buck Hamlin and he does not have much left for parts and does not have what I need for mine. He mentioned that I try to get a hold of a Kieth Kersher. Anyone know of whom he speaks of? He said he thought he was from Oregon or Washington State.
The guy you are looking for is Keith Kearcher located in Oregon I believe. If you will google him he does have a website with contact info.