"The list of superb gunsmiths who feel the same is growing longer, not shorter. "
Ted, first you have to define the word superb gunsmith. There are many so called superb gunsmiths that take an L.C. Smith apart and cannot get it back together. This is especially true on a gun with a Hunter One Trigger. They take the gun in and then can't fix it. Many that have had this happen will not say anything about them because they are "gentlemen".
So yes the list might be getter smaller, but the ones that still do it DO IT RIGHT.
Another thing for you and others, I have never seen a Syracuse L.C. Smith with a crack behind the locks, that includes hammer guns. The early pre-1912 Smith's you seldom see a crack there, only on the later grades, my reasoning is that the wood is second growth and my opinion again, American walnut is not for side lock guns not dense enough.
Most European side locks only use maybe 1 1/16 oz. of shot and aren't used as nearly as much as our guns. There are some Smith guns that have been shot over 100,00 times and still no problems.
You can shoot what ever you like, that is fine with me but sometimes you and others get too opiniated.
Re-read your post again Ted, L.C. Smith made a total of 528,980 shotguns, besides this one how many other have you heard blow apart from a manufacturers fault?
Last edited by David Williamson; 05/12/19 09:00 PM.
