Pretty interesting story on a L.C Smith 16ga

I got one as a gift in 1968. I was disappointed. In my eager young eyes I had the theory of a 12 ga. pump, more fire power, and my friends had those. I learned to use it and I keep using it. It's lightning in a bottle. 5.75# 26" barrels. I like the sidelocks, there is some stock issues there, as there is with sidelocks of all makes, but I don't really understand "making field repairs", if you have a 1936 firing pin your O.K. otherwise, I would not do surgery. Mine has ejectors and single adjustable trigger. Ejectors needs to be timed regularly. It's a a lot lighter than my 20ga. Parkers. And a fine marvel of the art. Better than most of the British fine guns I have seen, at least mechanically. It's a lot more gun than we can buy today. By the way, my cousin bought for me , from my dad, it cost was used, costs 600.00, a new superposed costs then was $400.00 dollars new. Which I thought I might get. So they hold their value well!
 
I have a hankering for a Parker Reproduction Winchester SxS in 28ga or a AyA 453 in 28. I like super light trim quail/Ruff Grouse guns. Just like to talk guns and thought this might spark some chat.
 
Nice gun but IMO, it's been refinished somewhere along it's life. That may mean little to the guy that just plans to shoot it and hunt it.

Nothing wrong with a guy liking good old quality shotguns. I'm guilty as charged myself.

26? I pictured you as much older..:)
 
onpoint said:
Nice gun but IMO, it's been refinished somewhere along it's life. That may mean little to the guy that just plans to shoot it and hunt it.

Nothing wrong with a guy liking good old quality shotguns. I'm guilty as charged myself.

26? I pictured you as much older..:)
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I was kind of thinking the same as to being refinished. I find myself day dreaming about fine SxS guns. I guess I'm mature for my age.:D
 
I'm glad I have some knowledgable folks on here to ask my questions about guns. No one around here seems to know chit about or care about these old classics.:cheers:
 
It looks like it has been reblued including the sidelocks and frame. It would have had Case colors originally, with a distinctive pattern and color hues. I would like the CC's restored. That is a about a 325.00 problem for bone and charcoal, less for chemical case hardening. I think you can find one with the case colors for a lot less! "o" grade is the second lowest grade there is. Lot of info on the American double sites, L.C. Smith, Parker, LeFever, Ithaca sites.
 
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quail hound said:
Thanks for the input guys. Here is a sweet little Fox Sterlingworth I have been looking at. The mod/ full chokes would limit its usefullness to me as a strictly pheasant gun as I would not feel right having a piece of history like this altered but what a fine pheasant gun it would be.

http://www.gunsinternational.com/popup.cfm?id=100309749&num=12&pic=100309749-12-L.jpg

This is the right link.

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Fox-A-Grade-16ga-28.cfm?gun_id=100309749
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Chokes are not necessarily correct as stamped on 100 year old doubles. Usually some are more open than listed. Check for chamber length, lots are 2 5/8th's, 16's can be 2 9/16's, british 2" or 2 1/2".
 
Pretty easy to get those Sterlingworth chokes opened up to exactly what you want and need for your upland purposes. Can send the barrels to Briley in Texas, for instance, and you'll have them back in just a couple of weeks just the way you want them. I wouldn't feel bad about it in the least.
 
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l. c. smith

when i am not hunting with my 14 ga. there is a great chance that i am carrying one of my three elsie's. all field grade 20 ga. the one shown in one of my post recently is an ejector gun made in 1938, 26" choked cyl. and mod. just about right. still has most of the blue and lots of case, by there way, there is no proof out there that all smiths were cased. one thing to consider on the elsie's is that they were not marked as to choke, therefore you can change them and nobody is the wiser, most should be opened up a bit, mostly cause of the wads we are shooting today. the problem with the parker repro. is that they are a $5000 dollar gun. ays's are several. if you are going to beat the gun up, like use it alot, several of my buddies and me have more that just a few of the cz guns. just love my 28 ga. bobwhite and furthermore i can afford to own it. ours after 4 years have held up well excepting the phony case color but then i never bought it to show off. one of the neat things about the 28 ga. as long it is on the proper frame, i shoot 15/16 oz loads and do so at about 1500 fps. it's a killing machine
 
I have a 28ga Cz Ringneck. Love that little gun and its my go to game gun. Had it for 4 seasons now with no problems except the case coloring wearing like you mentioned, I do wish it had ejectors though for those big covey rises.
 
ejectors

cause i reload most of my shells i dislike ejectors. have them on that one elsie and also they are on my berretta silver pigeon 28 ga. it's no joke but i use the beretta as my goose gun, don't use it for much else. the problem with the ejectors is that i am too stupid to catch them and them i have to bend over and find them in the grass. sometimes when the ducks and or dove are flying well, the ejectors would be nice, our pheasants are not quite that thick. the coloring on the cz's i believe is cyanide and pretty thin
 
I just put my hand over the shells and catch them on my 20ga ejector gun. Makes for a lot faster reload and no shells on the ground to tip off another hunter to a covey. I managed to double twice off one covey rise this year with my 28, never done that before and probably never will again. JP found all four quail which made it an even more proud moment for me. After going 4/4 on that covey rise I proceeded to miss the next 3 singles JP flushed.:eek: Sometimes thats how it goes.
 
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