lc smith

[charlie cleveland]

the lc smith is indeed a fine gun...there are other good doubles such as parker fox ithaca lefever and a host of others including the stevens..but the gun forme last week was the lc smith 12 ga 00 grade double trigger with ejectors 32 inch full choke both barrels...it was a good choice for carrying to kansas last week to hunt phez with the birds being very wild...i think the weather has something to them being wild they seem to hold better if its cooler and winday..the smith shoots very good out to 55 yards or so...i like the ejectors but would forget sometimes when reloading and have to hunt for my empties...all in all the smith was a good choice for that hunt...but never rely on one gun always carry a back up gun if possible....if i could only carry one gun my recommendations would be a double with 26 inch barrel with improved cly... andfull choke barels....this is a hard combination to find in a old double of any kind...these are my thoughts for that perfect double.... charlie

[Larry Frey]

e....if i could only carry one gun my recommendations would be a double with 26 inch barrel with improved cly... andfull choke barels....this is a hard combination to find in a old double of any kind...these are my thoughts for that perfect double.... charlie

Charlie,
I'm not sure if it was a northeast grouse hunting thing or what but I have seen quiet a few guns just as you described up in this area. They are fast handling and a joy to carry. The IC/Full chokes and double triggers work well in the thick cover. My current two favorite bird guns are a 26" O framed 16 gage at 6#s and a 26" 1 frame 12 gage at 6#s 4oz.

[charlie cleveland]

larry ii beieve you and me are thinking on the same lines in choke and barrel length..those guns of yours sound like what im hoping to have someday when i find one...i also like long barrel guns..it seems ever time i buy a differant gun the barrels turn out to be 32 inch and full and full chokes...im starting back duck hunting this year so maybe the long barrels will pay off...but my next buy will have 26 inch barrels and imp. cly. and full chokes...then with the short barrels andlight weight maybe i canwalk a little farther im not getting any younger.... charlie

[Dave Suponski]

Charlie and Larry, My PH 16 ga.26" gun is choked cylinder and full per the PGCA letter.The perfect chokes for the grouse woods. The gun is on a one frame and at 6lbs. 10oz. is gettin a little heavy for all day walk's. But I used it this year for half a day while "Da kid" used my bird slayer 20 gauge Trojan.

[charlie cleveland]

larry you have the combination of barrel lengh and chokes im looking for...most all the quail guns of old here in the south were imp cly or had seen a hacksaw some time or another...its hard to find a gun in the south with the combination of chokes your gun has...you fellas are lucky indeed to have those guns..... charlie

[Francis Morin]

I have a 12 FW Smith with 26" barrels- came with the factory yellow tag- is choked Imp. Cyl. and Mod. and has the higher rib they came out with in 1939.
I like it for SC- DT but extractors, and except for the two-man hurry event, you don't need ejectors. It is an Ideal Grade- the only 12 Smith (OK- all my Smiths are 12 gauge) I own that is post 1913 and is a FW.

I am overhauling (strip and clean mechanism) a Field 16 FWE for a friend- made in 1926 (according to Houchin's book) and it has 30" Armor steel barrels both choked Full. Another friend has a 3E made in 1911- that is a light Mod. and Full 28" Nirto Steel barrels and is a great pheasant gun.

But I love the 30" and 32" barreled 12 ejector Smiths with tight chokes- great for pass shooting, Euro and tower bird shoots, and I like to see big birds crumple- so I like tighter chokes-

Charlie- tell me what you like in 12 hulls- I don't reload anymore- I have some green Remington STS and some red Win AA's- yours for the shipping cost to you- send me a PM if interested.

I think its great we can discuss openly the other fine doubles being used and appreciated afield today, besides our Parkers- if you had filet mignon for supper every night, might you not want something different every now and then?:bigbye:

[Pete Lester]

I think its great we can discuss openly the other fine doubles being used and appreciated afield today, besides our Parkers- if you had filet mignon for supper every night, might you not want something different every now and then?:bigbye:

Francis what other fine doubles are you referring to, I thought this thread was about LC Smith :rotf:

Yawn.........it's time to go chase some ducks!

[Francis Morin]

Gosh, never thought about that. I only own Parker, L.C. Smith and AH Fox side-by-sides, mainly lower to middle grades, all 12's except the Sterlingworth 20, all with double triggers- about 60% have selective ejectors, none have straight grips or beavertailed forearms, one has a factory ventilated rib- Sort of a cross section of working/using guns that fit me well and perform very well-reliable, consistent trigger pulls, ejectors in time, on face-

But to really address the ROTFLMAO question that brother Lester posed: I'd go with the late Micheal McIntosh's 1989 book- "Best Guns" and with the exception of the Remington 32- only because it is an over/under and NOT a side-by-side, go with his picks.

I have, in my now 70 years- seen a few very high grade American made side-bys (seen, NOT shot or acquirred however) and the one that I recall the best was a 16 gauge Uncle Dan LeFever Optimus Grade in original case with accessories. Recent area gun shows have a Phila CE Fox 16 with Krupp Steel barrels and single trigger and straight grip, as also with the LeFever, and a friend showed me a 1912 era Parker 28 gauge CHE that was truly stunning- engraving, wood to metal-

All good, but for my field usage, I'll stay with the more affordable (for me) grades. As far as Best Guns from Europe or England, well as the late J.P. "The Nose" Morgan once said about yachts-- etc etc etc..:bigbye:

[Pete Lester]

Francis I think you miss my tongue in cheek comment i.e. that you would consider an Elsie to be a fine gun LOL! It is no doubt a fine hand crafted shotgun but time has proven the LC's sidelock design to be seriously flawed. As the years go by a repaired, soon to be cracked stock or a gun I am going to worry about a cracked stock are the Elsie's trademark.

[Mark Landskov]

I have an 1896 vintage Syracuse Lefever 'G' Grade 12 gauge. It is in real nice shape, considering most 'field grade' guns were really USED! The stock fits me quite well. When I bring it up to my shoulder, it is pointing right where I want it. I kinda like the older stocks with a lot of drop at the heel. It actually fits me better than my RBL 20! I had a nice little .410 with 1/4" cast-off that sold me on the option. I miss it on my RBL, but it doesn't seem to matter with the Lefever, or my'Lifter'. Cheers!

[Francis Morin]

About our beloved Parkers we may boast. But other doubles get short shrift- even those "splintered" LC Smiths?""

Pete- I don't know how you did it, but that great new character on the AllState ads. is a Super Avatar on our Forum. So if John Dunkle decides to expand the "Gun of the Month" foto section to include the Avatars chosen, your's gets my vote hands down.

I shoulda seen the yawn- IMO the pre-1913 Smith guns, all other things being equal, seem to have less stock spliting near the locks and tang areas- older paper lower pressure shells, denser walnut (remember how both WW 1 & 2 took out a great about of walnut for rifle stocks and early airplane props in WW1)-- better fitting and the first sculpted lock design was the best, again IMO. Storage in sections perhaps in LOM or trunk cases for the higher grades, perhaps the O grade 10 and 12 bores hung over the fireplace mantel in the farmhouse, possibly the only shotgun they owned.

Over oiling and lubing and standing the guns butt down in a cabinet or "steel tomb"- once oil migrates into the head of the stock, the bonding fibers of the walnut soften.

Using longer shells than the gun was chambered for and Express or short Magnum loads- not for the sidelock guns, whether Smith or Purdey. My 2E 12 with 32" VR barrels does have 3" chambers and reinforcing "Y" on the under rib, not marked Longrange however- But I only shoot 2 & 3/4" shells in it-

One nice advantage of the Smith design is the detachable sidelocks for cleaning, firing pin replacement if needed, etc. Both Smith, AH Fox and Ithaca (I believe) use some form of a rotary tapered locking bolt spring driven into the mating recess in the barrel rib extension at breech. Parker used the doll's head- all fine concepts when developed in the 1880 era (aprox.) but when Browning brought about their Super Duper Posed O/U and Winchester their Model 21- aprox 1930 era- greater advances in metallurgy and machining techniques were extant (some due to WW1 arms production perhaps)--

But when all is said and done, this is our Parker site, and while it is always fun and even fascinating to discuss other double guns herein, and under the code of gentlemanly conduct not always present on other BBS websites, we all to a man here must indeed treasure our Parkers or else how do you explain the steady growth with new members eager to learn about their first Parker, whether it is a 16 bore Trojan or a 20 bore BHE.:cool: