Nickel plated LC Smiths-Ithacas

[Old and Reliable]

I found privately a 12 ga. LC Smith Skeet special- fully optioned- HOT, AE, 28" ventilated rib- R frame marked E- Not a FW- Owner says it was special ordered in 1930- with the nickel plated locks and receiver- BUT-- The locks show some minor pitting under the plating, makes me think it was really color case hardened, got rusty, was plated later on--

Might be for sale- I checked it with A-Zoom snap caps, HOT fine, ejectors snappy- But I want to test fire it with skeet loads to fulyy check trigger function- NO mars on breech face fromejector/extractor "drag"- 99% wood finish with PH capped and Jostam red antiflinch recoil pad well installed- 14 & 14" LOP and SST is in the middle position- front yellow ivory bead and smaller ivory bead on mid-rib- Beavertail has the reinforcing lug and screw and the London (Ideal Grade?) steel barrels have the lower rib reinforcement just behind the barrel loop-

Did Smith ever nickel plate their guns on special order- this puppy has to be post 1926 as it has the same Stephen Gilles patented raised ventilated rib as on my 2E 12 32" Nitro steel barrel pigeon gun?

I like it- a tad heavy for a field gun, but fine for side-by-side SC events- BUT as Patton said about "Only a cheap pimp in a New Orleans Sportin' House" wonder about the "Bling effect" of this plated beauty--

[Ed Blake]

Francis - I found a plated LC myself one time and asked the same question to the Smith boys on their board. It seems Hunter Arms would get requests for this option from time-to-time and they would give the receivers to a local contractor who did the plating for them. Usually you see it on the waterfowl guns.

[Old and Reliable]

Serial number of this optioned 12 Skeet Special is 127465- looked them up in Houchin's Bible of Elsie- less than 800 skeet specials made- - If I buy this Smith it won't see much duck hunting- the old mantra "Nothing Rattles, Nothing Shines" is for serious waterfowlers like moi who like to shoot birds in close-

[charlie cleveland]

francis i have a no. 4 grade lc smith that has nichol plated reciever and side locks... was owned by same family since new they bought gun in 1895. them smiths are aregood guns. charlie

[Old and Reliable]

And thanks to my "Guardian Angel" I have the now o.p. Houchins book- he details the Skeet Specials, but NOTHING in those 700 pages about nickel plating on Smiths- The owner and I have to agree on more than price- I want to remove the lock plates (something I can do blindfolded) and see the innards and also the locks-possible pitting as seen under the plating- and also test fire it with a few boxes of factory RST's to check out the Hunter One Trigger- my 4 other using 12 gauge Smiths all have double triggers, and I trust single triggers (except the M21) about as much as I would have trusted Bernie Madoff with my 401K---

[Bill Murphy]

Is a letter out of the question?

[Old and Reliable]

Letter- schmetter- I haven't bought the gun yet- my guess is- the Hunter One Trigger will be the "Achilles Heel" here- and I sure would prefer case colors to the nickel plating- but we shall see...