Larry, tell us about the .410. A .410 stock was recently sold on this site.

.410
 

No, the individual still has the gun. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when I pointed the flaw out to him; he was obviously unaware of the issue.

Huh... A 16g Optimus? As far as i know there is only one known to exist and remains in a long time private collection. A few “clones” are known of. Was it one of those?

If all of the original Lefever factory records were lost in the fire, how would we know that only one Optimus in 16 gauge was ever made?

Please forgive my ignorance if tha answer is obvious.





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Well,
One can not be sure, I suppose. That is where vetting each example comes into play i suppose, no different than any other maker. Like i said, one 16g is known of and that one was connected to Charles Green. 2 copies are known to exist (engraved nearly identical to the green gun).

The Lefever Optimus is one of the most copied high grade shotguns out there. And the lack of records is exactly the reason why.

There is more than 1 authentic 16ga Optimus Lefever extant. And yes, that is on my 2018 wishlist.

Some day I’d like to own an A-1 Special Parker. Finding one that is totally original is a difficult thing to do. Maybe in 2018!

For me its simple, an old well used hammer gun!

A 20 ga. Bernard. I’ve looked for one for years. There are several in 16 ga, I have one. A handful of 20 gauges are listed, but none are known in the collecting community, at least to me.

Bruce , That Beautiful Little 20 with the Roundrell engraving ,what Barrels is it wearing ,I remembered those as being Bernard ,so much for my memory ! You wouldn't happen to have a picture or two to share with us would you ?

A nice 12 ga Gh 2 frame for about 1200