Lefever E

[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.

[Dr Bob]

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

[Steve Havener]

Originally Posted by Bob Decker

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.