L.C. Smith hammer 10ga grade F
 

I came across an Elsie F Grade Hammer 10ga, 100% original, fading dam pattern on 32" barrels, 2 7/8", no case except protected areas. Six digit serno starting 170xxx, built 1912. Wood solid and free of cracks and repairs, checkering worn but good. Stout barrels, .140 ahead of chambers, .035 8 inches before muzzle, full and full. Butt plate is worn, fading scene with no cracks or chips. Barrels ring, action tight as a drum. Hammers work as they should. Short LOP, 13.5" to butt plate from front trigger, do not believe it was cut. 9 lbs even on the scale. 1 7/8" by 2 7/8" drop. I have no idea how common or value, any knowledge from the collective is appreciated.

in my opinion from 750 to 900.... charlie

Must be the time for old Elsie's to show up. I found one languishing with a VH. They looked so forlorn together I decided they both needed a new home. Both are quite shootable. The Smith is a little newer than yours at 175xxx but it has lovely 10ga bores with just the slightest pitting. Haven't weighed it but I'm pretty sure that when I take it to break in on a few roosters, I won't be heading out for a couple hours hike. I have a couple spots in mind for a short hike that could be productive. When Parkeritis drags one into the even darker side of double guns a guy could end up with something very weird, like a 16ga Francotte with very strange forearm underlever arrangement. Yes, it came home but in my defence, I'm thinking about selling something - maybe next year or the year after.

I am a big fan of the 10 gauge.

Do you mind telling me why? I'm not being argumentative, I'm just curious. I don't own a 10 and I've wondered about them. If I ever do buy one it'll be an old one. I like early Parker lifters with the musket barrels. I've shied away from them figuring that it'd become a safe queen.

Extra power. Clay targets just disintegrate. The extra weight makes them swing through better at skeet, at least for me. The big issue is the cost of ammo, but I am getting into reloading to fix that problem.

I am a recent convert to the 10 gauge and have not had the chance to try one out on game yet, but I understand you get much better range.

I love shooting skeet with my 10's. Always shoot low gun. Sometimes I shoot the houses in reverse order to compensate with tight chokes and to let that going away bird fly out to the out of bounds marker (42 yards) and break it before it hits the ground.

One of the men at my club shoots skeet with a model 12, full choke gun and he does okay with it. If he hits a bird it explodes in a cloud of dust.

I'm going to think about a ten. Yeah, I think reloading would be just the ticket.

Steve, reloading for the short ten is the only way to go if you are going to shoot any volume of shells through one. Just yesterday I hit 1800 2 7/8" 10 ga shells through a Parker NH since Fall 2010 shooting crows. Then there are many rounds of trap ans skeet and a bunch of non-tox loads at waterfowl.

My 1 1/4 ounce lead shot, low pressure reloads in 10ga cost me about $8 per 25. My savings though reloading the short ten is significant.

pete did you buy that old lc smith ten... charlie

J.B. am I understanding that you took 1800 shots with your 10 at crows? Wow! You really do like that gun!

I'm still limping along with my 12s and usually only spitting 1 oz of #8s, but not a crows!

Here we don't have crows, we have ravens, a bigger bird. Ravens are smart. They'll let you walk up on them unless you have a gun in your hand, then they'll fly at 400 yards.

Do you think that a 1 1/4 load in a 10 is better, shoots better patterns, than a similar load in a 12?

Of course shooting guns that we think are fun to shoot is what it is all about. I shoot 16s just to be different...10s would be even more so. LOL

Steve, Get a 10 and you will not regret it. You should be able to find a good Parker 10 for around $1000 if you watch Gunbroker for a little while.

You will get better patterns with a 10 vs a 12 with the same payload. I'm no ballistics expert so I can't explain the physics of it but I did pattern comparing 1 1/4 oz loads for 12 and 10 and the shot pattern on the paper verses the two, the 10 was more dense which explains why the clay explodes into diesel smoke when you crush 'em. At least to me anyway....

You were deciding to go with VH or DH in an earlier thread. Get the nicest 10 you can afford and don't look back. They are a fun gun to shoot and more versatile than you think if you reload your own shells.

Thanks, I'm waiting for a good show to come around here before a buy a new Parker.

I did not buy it and I believe the KTP still has the gun. They want $1095 for it which I take is a little bit high for what it is. However it is an "honest" and solid Elsie hammer 10 that someone would/will enjoy.

Steven, I am a recent convert to the 10 ga. I happened to get one from another PGCA member, then I found another at a gun show last month.
Last wekend I went on a pheasant hunt with 3 parkers. A VH12, A grade 2 10ga. hammerless and a grade 1 10ga. hammered. The 10s shot better than the 12. better swing and less recoil. I was shooting RST low pressure loads of
1 1/4 oz 7 1/2 shot in all guns. The extra weight takes up a lot of recoil. I am now a convert. I dont have $600.00 in either 10ga.
Like the old TV ad said "try it, you'l like it":bigbye:

Thanks Paul, I'm going to keep my eye peeled for one.

I just shot my 12 GH with Polywad one oz 2.5" shells and was surprised how much the gun kicked. It is a #2 frame and it must weight 8 lbs. Not only that, but the full chokes are extremely tight, gun made in 1896. It didn't hurt to shoot the gun, but I thought that those Polywad shells would shoot noticebly softer. Not so, not in the least.

Steve, there are a few on gunbroker. I was just looking at them, but alas my extra funds are allocated twards my vacation go Seattle next month ( boy do I wish my dad would travel to me) (I hate the rain)

It will rain in Seattle. Don't miss Pike's Place down by the water. Always fun down there. Crab are in season. The Manhatten Bar/Grill is good. Chocolate martinis/steaks. I don't know of any gun shops in Seattle. Think steaks, crab and gin.

Steve, I was stuck in Seattle for 29 years. Finaly got to move back to gods country. God Bless Texas! There are lots of gun shops in & arround Seattle. You missed seeing the troll under the Freefont bridge :shock:,Bohem's candy shop in Issaquah:p, Ivars Salmon house on Queen Ann hill:clap: and last but not least authentic Indian smoked salmon from Blake Island:bowdown:Yum Yum.
Even with all that, I still hate the rain.:cuss:

I don't go to Seattle very often, Paul. It's something like 7/8 hours from me. I guess I've been there three times. Next time I'm there I'll see if I can find the gun shops. Of course, my wife will be with me; she doesn't let me out alone. (joking) She'd rather to to jail than to a gun shop. (Not joking)

Just trade her time in a quilt/fabric store for time in a gun shop. It works. This is a favorite bargaining chip for both of us.:p
I have a gun shop down here that han a Montana Silversmith display in it. A few pesos on jewelry goes a long way.:whistle:

if i ever run a gun shop im gonna sure remember this piece of advise... charlie

You're welcome Charlie.

Smart.

My wife is a slave to ear rings. She'll tinker with those things for hours and then walk out and not buy any. "It's called shopping". She says.

Steve, make her a pair out of a pail of hammers, or triggers. Then she will have a connection to your hobbies. Women love that kind of stuff.:whistle:

one of the many differences between men and women,

women go shopping, men go buying.

Yep. If I want a new shirt I'll go to a store, walk in, find the shirts, pick one and buy it. Total time? Maybe 2 minutes.

If my wife wants a new purse, she'll go to every store in town, look at maybe 100 and then go back and buy the first one she looked at. Might take 2 or 3 days.

However, I never buy a new shirt. If my wife thinks I need one she'll buy one while she's shopping for purses. Shirts almost never wear out and I'll wear one for 15 years - easy. My wife will look at my shirts and exclaim, "These old shirts are out of style!"

"Wha do ya mean 'out of style'? Shirts never go out of style." I'll say. She'll mumble something (I'm nearly deaf.) and whap three shirts that I've been wearing since I was teaching are off the hanger and gone forever.

I don't care how many holes are in my underware. I mean, who's looking? Pat will toss those too when she's doing the laundry. That's just crazy.

If it makes you feel better, you are not alone.

Mine end up in the rag bin, until I find'em then they go back in the drawer.:whistle:

I saw a bum once who was holding one of those signs wanting to work (fat chance!). He was wearing one of my old Pendleton shirts. I had outgrown it and my wife had donated it to some charity.

I had to stifle the urge to mug the guy for my shirt. Nice looking plaid shirt. He was pretty rough tho and the garmet wouldn't have fit anyway. He was smoking a cigarette! Here's a guy wearing my donated shirt and he is smoking cigarettes that cost $6 a pack! Jeeze, something is wrong.

Steve, he probably had a Mercedes parked around the corner.
There was a news story on a guy pan handling in Seattle a few years ago, the guy was fired from a 6 figure salry job. He never told his wife or family. The guy was able to maintain the lifestyle by begging at innersections. He would leave his house in a suit, go to the Y and change clothes, go to the chosen location and hold up a sign asking for money. No taxes to pay and all cash to take home to mama.
Wakes you wonder, don't it:banghead: