Parker vs L.C. Smith guns

[Timothy Cicora]

I do like the Single sighting plane feature on some of the Smiths.

[Stepmac]

Nice Elcies! Your gun on the left looks a lot like my "0" grade. Same kind of mottled finish on the side locks. Wood on my gun looks about the same and yes, my gun is kind of heavy. I wonder if most of the weight is in the barrels. Very neat hammer gun. Nice picture.

[Lloyd McKissick]

Thankyou Mr. McCarty.

The hammerless version is a very early Quality 1 gun (the precursor to the Quality O) with Laminated Steel barrels.

The hammer is an "F" grade Damascus gun (the 30-inch 2-Bar tubeset with the forend weighs 4-lbs) from 1901...



It actually fits me better than my new "O" grade Parker hammer (longer LOP and w/less drop) but the Parker is lighter by almost 1/2 of a pound. With a cinch-on pad and a little practice I'll be ready for the Fall.

[Researcher]

an American Arms Co (Knickerbocher) 20,

Your Knickerbocker is by American Gun Co., N.Y. a "trade name" used on guns manufactured by New York City's H & D Folsom Arms Co.'s Crescent Fire Arms Co. factory in Norwich, Conn. and marketed by H & D Folsom. Why they used the American Gun Co. name up through WW-I and reverted to using the Crescent Fire Arms Co. name after the war is lost to time.

No. 6 Knickerbocker, Catalogue No. 18.jpg

The A.E. Whitmore designed hammerless shotgun I was referring to was made by American Arms Co. of Boston, Mass., George H. Fox's company. No relation to Ansley.

1890s Flyer.jpg

1890 ad.jpg

[Stepmac]

Thanks, Researcher for the info on my dad's "Knickerbocker" 20. His father (My paternal grandfather) bought the gun for my dad when he was 10. He bought it from the person who was a championship trap shooter in Kansas. My dad shot that gun for his entire life and I never once saw him miss a single shot. He had it refreshed in the fifties sometime. It is a little care worn today. It is kind of stiff when I cock it. Bores are perfect and it is an old school 20 gauge shotgun, which is neat. My dad was a champion debater in college. He became an Army pilot in the War and flew in Pan American until he retired. He knew a million limericks. He ended up being a captain on the Seven fourty seven. He sang barbarshop. In short, he was a star, and so was my mother. She said that she never tried out for a part in a play when she didn't get the lead. They have been gone for a long time, but their memory survives.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Steve McCarty

Thanks, Researcher for the info on my dad's "Knickerbocker" 20. His father (My paternal grandfather) bought the gun for my dad when he was 10. He bought it from the person who was a championship trap shooter in Kansas. My dad shot that gun for his entire life and I never once saw him miss a single shot. He had it refreshed in the fifties sometime. It is a little care worn today. It is kind of stiff when I cock it. Bores are perfect and it is an old school 20 gauge shotgun, which is neat. My dad was a champion debater in college. He became an Army pilot in the War and flew in Pan American until he retired. He knew a million limericks. He ended up being a captain on the Seven fourty seven. He sang barbarshop. In short, he was a star, and so was my mother. She said that she never tried out for a part in a play when she didn't get the lead. They have been gone for a long time, but their memory survives.

Love thy father and thy mother.

[Craig Larter]

L.C. Smith made some lovely guns. Fulton is 30 miles from my duck club and being a life long western NY resident, I have a special interest in then. Every week in the summer, I drive through Fulton to my dog trainer's grounds and pass by the site of the old long gone factory. I also pass through Phoenix NY birthplace of Burt Becker.

[Bill Murphy]

Not an ugly gun, Craig.

[mobirdhunter]

The early Smiths are beautifully made guns and generally without the stock issues caused by shoving too much into the later made guns.

Smiths and Parkers have a tendency to be heavy. I don't think there's a clear winner on this aspect. If you want lighter American doubles, try the Fox and Ithaca (especially the Flues model).

These guns are well made American classics. Worthy of our admiration...and continued use.

[Researcher]

L.C. Smith had access to some great engravers, members of the Glahn family, Spangler and Hunter Arms in-house man Albert Kraus. Nice engraving on, as Dewey called it a " Rube-Goldbergian design."