doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ithaca Flues Model Try Guns

As I am preparing to send Ithaca records to the McCracken Library of the Buffalo Bill Museum, I rediscovered reference to these 6 Try Guns. I have never seen or heard mention of them (other then this reference). Has anyone out there seen or heard of any? Ithaca did produce 12 Try Guns on the Flues single barrel trap platform and some of there are known but nothing on the Flues double format.

Walter, This is from the May 2014 Lefever Arms Collectors Association newsletter:
While at the 2014 Southern Side by Side a fellow brought in a truly unique Lefever Arms F grade 12 gauge. The serial number was 63047. What was unique was that the stock was
dissected and fitted with adjustable joints that would allow changes in length of pull, comb
and heel drop, cast and pitch. The plate on the stock is labeled A. P. Curtis. This gun is not unknown as it is pictured on page 154 of Bob Elliott�s Uncle Dan Lefever; Master Gunmaker.
The fellow that owned the gun stated that 7 of these �try-guns� were made by A. P. Curtis. Although Bob Elliott states that 7 were made for Lefever we believe this is a mistake. Bob Noble tells me that no others have ever surfaced. Curtis was an engineer of sorts who worked at various times for both Hunter Arms (L. C. Smith) and the Ithaca Gun Company.
He stated that three were made for L.C Smiths and four for Ithacas. Where does this leave the Lefever. Bob Noble suspected based both on the very late serial number and the
overall shape of the underlying stock that this was an Ithaca Gun Co. assembled gun. This example being one of four built for the Ithaca Gun Co. A. P. Curtis was working for the
Ithaca Gun Co. in 1916 where he redesigned the top bolt of the Flues model double barrel.
This mechanism was later used on the Lefever Nitro Specials.

Dr. Bob, A.P.Curtis was the Ithaca plant manager for the midteen years and did redesign the single barrel trap bolting. I don't think he had much to do with the double as the top bolting was a carry over from the Minier days. The try gun illustrated in the L.C. Smith book is also a Curtis design. The Curtis Flues SBT also had a wrist adjustment for cast as I recall. I once owned one.
We can talk more in April.

Walt, I remember the Ithaca Curtis try guns having the standard adjustment for cast, not in the grip. I have my own theory on the production numbers stamped on the stock. I think they are Curtis numbers, not gun company numbers. The known Parker Curtis try gun is number 5. The known Lefever is number 4.

Six 20-gauge Try-Guns seems a bit over the top. Could they have been for the DuPont Shooting School on the pier?

I wonder if these were ever made, at least not in the sense of the Curtis try guns. I say that because one has never turned up to my and my collector friends awareness while the earlier produced sbt try guns are well known.
Eightbore-I can't speak for any try gun Curtis may have made for other manufactures, I have noted in the Ithaca records 9 or 10 (Have to re-look it up) sbt try guns that were made and loaned and sold in one instant) to big dealers, etc. Their number is not stamped in the stock but on the aluminum part of the recoil pad (such that it was). I think 11 is the highest number noted to date and that is why I said 12 were made. Why so many try guns?? Ithaca was doing a land office business in sbts at the time e.g.1917ish.
The company still had one of them in the archives when I started my journey.

Walt, I hope you have thought seriously about finding another venue for the Ithaca records than the Cody Museum. I would hate to think of ordering a $100 letter to document a Field Grade NID. I used to be able to justify a Winchester letter from Cody, but no more. Cody is more interested in the mercenary end of gun records than the research possibilities.