New L. C. Smith, Syracuse Model 10 gauge
 

Recently while on a trip to upstate NY I happened across a L. C. Smith, Syracuse, NY 10 gauge made for the Baker Gun Company. As I have always liked 10 gauges and it seemed shootable so I bought it. My understanding from the LCSCA is the gun was one of few made and is the heaviest of 3 frame sizes. I have already made contact with J. David Williamson to advise him of my find. I assumed the barrels were 32 inches when I bought the gun but when I got home and measured them they turned out to be 31.5 inches. I was disappointed until I started photographing the gun and noticed a line at the end of the barrels similar to the line on a Parker side by side. It is definitely factory applied. David Williamson said he has not seen that length barrel before but it does appear to be the factory length. For now it is what it is. When I got back to my place in Colorado my brother and I shot the gun at Coke cans at 70 yards but only scored 3 hits in each. Charlie, I apologize for not using the official Dr. Pepper soda cans. The store only had little baby cans, I think 7 1/2 ounces. Patterns at 40 yards seemed pretty even using RST 1 1/4 ounces of 7 1/2 shot. Due to the price of shells I only shot 9 shots at clay targets but managed to hit 7 of them. There is pitting in both bores but considering the thickness of the barrel walls I was not too worried. I photographed the L.C. next to a Parker PH 12 gauge I had bought earlier and will tell of it later. The L. C. is huge next to the Parker. Hopefully my photos will post successfully.

I did have a problem opening the gun after firing and from the pictures you can see the firing pins were dragging on the primers. Whether the primers were flowing back into the primer hole or not I can't say and would appreciate any suggestions as to what is happening.

Dennis

nice find, do the barrels look as good inside as out

dennis looks like you have a very nice quaity 2 lc smith bow there sure is a lot of damascus finish on the barrels very nice...i will let you slide this time for not useing the official dr pepper can...heh thats good shooting 3 holes in the can thats above average for sure got to be a lot of choke in the old gal to put 3 holes in that can..the most i ve ever put in that can was 7 holes with a smith and wesson auto 12 ga 3 inch mag..my old 10 ga parker has put 5 holes in the can..but most guns willl not even put a hole in the can.. just dont forget to use the offical can next time. ha charlie

Thanks, Rick. The barrels are pitted inside but not too bad when considering the barrel wall thickness. I notice I neglected to show photos of the Parker and L. C. barrels together as I had intended to do. I sure hate this old age sneaking up on me for the past 67 years.

Dennis

Thanks, Charlie, when you shoot at 70 yards do you aim over the can to allow for drop? I am assuming you must because the pellets don't have much velocity nor weight to keep on going. For me to even see the can at 70 yards was a challenge and then to try to guesstimate how much to hold over was another challenge. I only had so many of the RST shells so didn't have the lattitude I thought I would have. I am getting a supply of RST shells built up so pretty soon I am going to have to spring for a MEC 600.

Dennis

Nice gun. I have a Quality 3 just like yours. Extra heavy frame, 32" barrels choked .040 and .045. The difference is your LC has those dimples on top of the receiver and why they are there isn't really understood. I think they are pretty neat. I like the round window on your safety. Mine is square.

I'm sure you noticed right away the size of the frame and the breech balls when you first handled the gun. Could be easily bored to an 8 gauge if the factory wanted to.

I have the same difficulty opening after firing. A little tap over the knee is what I do.

Thanks, Frank, I also break mine over my knee. The first time was darn near impossible but it got easier each time. Still not like opening a normally opening double though. I will have to have it looked at after hunting season. I am hoping to use it for some type of waterfowl this year. It is too heavy to use for upland game. I have other guns for that anyway. I believe from pictures on the L. C. Smith forum that mine is a Quality 2 gun. I like the dimples too. I am sure they are just decorative but still look neat. I will also want to have my chokes measured as well. For whatever reason I like knowing what chokes my guns are bored. My gun is 1886. Do you know what year yours was manufactured? My understanding is the guns are not rare but are not that common either. My brother found one he is going to make an offer on tomorrow. The buttstock on that gun is wider than mine at the butt from top to bottom, much wider in fact and about 2000 numbers higher than mine. I was told the serial numbers start at 16,000.

Dennis

That L.C. Smith is awesome. I think we should make Dr. Pepper cans the official can of choke testing.

Eldon, that surely works for me and I know Charlie would agree. I got the idea from him. Unfortunately the City Market in Canon City, CO only had some new fangled 7.5 ounce cans of Dr. Pepper. I knew I could not see that size can at 70 yards. The little cans would make a dandy ground squirrel or prairie dog stand in at 300 yards for my 220 Swift or 22-250 though.

Very nice Q-2 Elsie. I have a real interest in the 10ga Elsie's, they are very interesting high quality guns with many different variations. I live in upstate NY close to Syracuse and Fulton so they were made in my backyard. I have a Q-3 10ga that I have hunted ducks with using my Bismuth handloads from the DGJ Sherman Bell article. Good luck with the old girl. I believe the nose of the firing pin is causing your drag---any knowledgeable gun smith can dress them down. I would encourage you to start reloading for the 10 it makes shooting them much cheaper so you tend to shoot them more often which is BIG fun.