Lefever E

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Is it possible for a Lefever grade E to have a barrel lenth of 27 13/16 and not have been cut. I looked at a gun today that needs alot of attention but with some wonderful dogs and when i was a lad i always would bring home a few strays so why not this one.

[charlie cleveland]

probably the best looking dogs put on a gun...my dads old ten lefever has a setter on the left side andpointer on the right....lefevers are nise guns especially the older ones.....i have brought home a lot of strays too....charlie

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Charlie: I agree about the dogs. Who ever did those was one talented artist. I have not owned a Le Fever before but it looks like i may buy this gun just for the pleasure of looking at the art work. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Pictures of lefever E grade..

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

More Lefever pictures grade E

[Mark Ouellette]

Hi Thomas,

I am by no means an expert on Lefevers but I admire them enough to own three.

Concerning if the barrels have been cut:

1. Certainly Dan Lefever would have made any barrel length a customer wanted but the chance that anyone would want a barrel length of 27 13/16" is very unlikely.
2. Looking at the wire wrapped around the grip to hold the stock together and the buggered screwheads my guess is that someone took a hacksaw to this gun.
3. If you have any doubts of my logic then use your Sweets or other brand of choke gauge and check for any remaining muzzle constriction (choke). If the gun has less than .040" with an odd barrel length please assume that they have been cut!

Note: If you do not have a Sweets choke gauge you should. Add a Hosford barrel thickness gauge and you won't ever waste money on a hanger queen again!

Check the prices of decent E grade Lefevers on Guns America or Guns International and deduct at least 50% for a fair price. Actually, a decent E grade should fetch $2k or more. This is a $500 - $800 gun at best.

I hope this helps.
Mark

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Mark: Thanks for your reply and I may just hang it on the wall. I bought it from a local pawn shop for 350.00 dollars so i'm very happy with the purchase.

[Bill Bates]

Not an E Grade but somehwere close. This one has no grade stamp on the water table or under the grip cap. It does have some nice dogs.

http://www.pbase.com/slowpokebill/image/122466373/original.jpg

[charlie cleveland]

bill thats one fine looking lefever...lot of case color too...i wish all my strays looked that good.... charlie

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Bill: Now that is a great looking double gun. My wall hanger that i just bought will not be in the same league but i think i'm going to go ahead and fix it up a bit, it deserves that. Thanks for the great pictures. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Charlie: What are the grades of your LeFevers. Is there one that you like as well as your parker or how would compare them in the field. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[charlie cleveland]

thomas i only have the one lefever its my dads old gun...its a 10 ga e grade 32 inch barrels...in comparison to workmanship the early lefevers are as good as parkers or any other american gun...or any gun made in the world...im not saying there better than parkers but they are on par with them....like deciding which is best a ford or a chevy... in the field the old 10 i have has beenused by my dad and me for turkey and ducks for over 50 years now....the old gun is still as tight as the day she was made...as youve seen the dogs on the parkers look like real dogs and those on parkers do not... ive looked at several lefevers over the years was usally broke when that good lefever came along....but they were all work of art to me...but so are lc smiths and fox and ithaca and colts...the list goes on...in the field the iefever will stack up against any gun but no better...being fair i love the old lefevers but equally i likke the others guns as much....but if any lefever happens to stray by if you dont grab him i will... charlie

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Jent: It is a E grade and if you look at the pictures you can tell it needs some work but I think it will be a fun project bringing it back to life. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Jent: As you can see old age is creeping up on me slowly. I misread your question. It is a 12 ga. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Bill Murphy]

Dan Lefever owned only setters. Are you sure there is a pointer on the OP's gun?

[Mark Ouellette]

I don't know about OP's gun but this D Grade 10 gauge from 1887 has a pointer. I'd perfer a Chesapeake Bay Retriever but it's a little late to change it :)

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/Lefever%20D%2010/LefeverD10_020.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/Lefever%20D%2010/LefeverD10_017.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/Lefever%20D%2010/LefeverD10_016.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/Lefever%20D%2010/LefeverD10_001.jpg

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Bill: The gun in my photo's has a pointer on the one side and a setter on the other. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Frank Cronin]

Mr Benson,

I think you did real well finding this Lefever E grade. This was a $100 dollar gun back in the day in prices compared to the LC grade 3 and Parker D grade. The engraving was very well executed. No Lefever's look alike when it comes with engraving on the side plates. Dogs on one side, bird on the other, both dogs, etc. The dog engraving do look so lifelike you almost think they will jump out at you. You never mentioned this but do you know your Lefever has the in frame ejectors?

Mine has a pair of wood cock on one side and a setter pointing at a falling woodcock on the other.

[charlie cleveland]

best looking dogs i ever saw..on the early lefevers i believe the same person done the ingraving...dont know that for a fact but they look it...mighty fine artist that done work on lefevers... i still regret passing on a lefever 20 ga e grade some years ago....best origal lefever i ever saw..till this day i ponder upon my mistake of not buying that gun.... charlie

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Frank: Thanks for the info. Is this a gun you use for hunting. Looks like its in wonderfull condition and would love to own it myself. I will be sending my stock out to be fixed shortly. the barrels are in very good shape other than being cut. I can't wait to complete it and shoot it. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Charlie: I don't have a Lefever 20 but I do own a VHE parker 20 with 32 inch barrels and was owned by a salesmen that traveled the west coast shooting trap. It's got some life left in it but barrels are getting a little thin. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[charlie cleveland]

bet them barrels on that long barrel 20 parker look like there a mile long...would love to own a 20 with long barrels would make a fine squirl gun for the tall timber...just something about long barrels that get my blood agoing... charlie

[Dave Suponski]

Here ya go Charlie....My son Danny shooting our 30" 20 gauge VH..Love them long barreled small bores.

[Fred Preston]

Charlie, Here's an old VHE 20 with 32" bbls and its second set of 28"ers with open chokes.

[Dean Romig]

That is one fine Parker Fred!

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Fred: Where in the world did you get that nice combo. Do you have an idea how many of these exist. I woudn't think you could find very many. Tell us about this gun please. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

Charlie: I still remember having my dog circle around a big hard wood tree so that i could get a shot at that big grey squirrel. I love eating those little buggers. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

[Fred Preston]

Thomas, I wish I knew more about it (#190874) but we have no records for it. I believe the long bbls. are original and have 3" chambers, no doubt made for a 7/8oz load with a long wad. The 28" bbls. came later as they are marked Parker Bros Overload Proofed and weigh 1 to 2oz more than the long bbls. The gun balances at the pin with either set. It is also safetyless with a knurled Parker SST. Must have been someone's idea of a small bore competition gun. The long bbls. are choked tight & tight; the short ones, light IC & light Mod with 2&5/8" chambers.

[Bob Decker]

Concerning the original post about Lefevers:
There is a lot of information and a number of very nice photos on the Lefever Collectors Association Website. For photos click on the Photos side bar. Photos can be enlarged by double clicking.
www.lefevercollectors.com

[charlie cleveland]

those pictures sure got me started off rite this morning...yall are luky fellas indeed to have those long barrel sweethearts..thanks yall have made my day... thomas i hope my little squirl dog will learn that trick about going around the tree...shes a year old jacj russel...acually shes my grand daughters when shes not home she comes to my house at 7.00 sharp every morning...josh did lefever make any long barrel small bores... thanks fellas got to go work in the garden.... charlie

[Steve Havener]

Charlie no doubt Uncle Dan made some long barrel small gauge guns. He would build anything the customer wanted. The only example I have, however, is a transitional gun made in the late 1880s early 1890s. It is one of the last of the rod cocker, pivot opener, 16 gauge F grade (without dogs) 30 inch damascus barrels.

[Bob Decker]

I have a Lefever C Grade 16 g with 30" barrels in the 46xxx range. Its a dream at the trap range.

[Steve Havener]

I have a Lefever C Grade 16 g with 30" barrels in the 46xxx range. Its a dream at the trap range.

Bob you have a very special gun. Lefever did not make many small gauge guns and most of them were later guns in the lower grades. To find a C grade small frame puts the gun in the rare catagory as far as I am concerned.

[Bill Murphy]

Steve, I have an early pivot lever 16 also, an E Grade, #9568. What is your serial number? I thought my gun may have been the first 16 automatic hammerless, but there are a few before it.

[Steve Havener]

Bill the serial number on my gun is 4003 later than yours (13571) so your gun is definitely older than mine but the way Lefever played with serial numbering I don't know if anyone could tell with any degree of certainty when either gun was built. As stated earlier my gun predates the dog and bird engraving on the side plates but does have a variation of the engraving pattern found on the late G and H grades only much larger on the side plates but no engraving on the receiver. Another interesting thing is that my gun does not have the double X symbol denoting a small frame as found on the later small frame guns although the receiver measurements are almost exactly the same as my late production G grade 16 gauge.