"REDUCED" L.C. Smith Crown “LONG RANGE WILDFOWL” – FACTORY LETTER, 1 of 23!!!

L.C. Smith Crown “LONG RANGE WILDFOWL” – FACTORY LETTER, 1 of 23!!! The L.C. Smith Crown Grade is one of the most handsomely engraved of ANY American vintage double shotguns. There were 625 Crown Grade 12ga. guns made. They are rare, collectible, investment quality, and worthy of your collection. Anyone who has studied L.C. Smith is aware of their famous “LONG RANGE” or “WATERFOWL” model. Made to shoot a heavy 1 3/8oz. load while keeping patterns 90% @ 40 yards, the Long Range is very sought after and in higher grades like the Crown Grade, nearly impossible to find, especially with any kind of condition. This Crown Grade Elsie, sn109597, is one of 23 Crown Grade Long Range guns ever made. For those of you that admire the famous Elsie LONG RANGE, and the magic and skills of some of the best bore and choke men that ever lived, this is the “Holy Grail”. AND IT HAS CONDITION! The 30” FACTORY barrels retain 97% original blue, excellent bores, choked F/F (.039/.039), internal bore diameter of .727 right, .728 left, minimum barrel wall thickness of 35 thousandths right, 33 thousandths left, no mars or dents, 3” factory chambers, reinforced forend lug, ribs tight and barrels ring, double beads, ejectors, barrels tight on face and hinge, clear engraving on breech and muzzle ends. The action retains 35% fading case colors, AWESOME ENGRAVING, double triggers, trigger guard retains 75% niter blue, excellent screws, gold crown. The stock is wonderfully figured walnut with 99% oil finish, perfect checkering, excellent wood to metal fit. When found, the finish was very dark and finish had been added over the checkering. I removed the stock and forend, stripped it, and fully restored the wood. When the butt stock was removed there was NO OIL SOAKING, NO CRACKS OR SPLITS, NO REPAIRS, ANYWHERE ON THE WOOD. The head of the stock was and is in pristine condition, and I have photo documentation upon request. The stock is factory original, wide combed, with a 14 3/8” LOP to a genuine horn butt plate likely factory installed, 2 5/8” drop at heel, 1 9/16” drop at comb for really nice dimensions (can be bent to your specs and/or a pad added within 10 days of purchase), neutral cast. This is a great Elsie for a collector or an avid shooter, in top shape and ready for another several generations of use. The gun was made in 1928, weighs a substantial 8lbs. 4oz. on its regular weight frame, balances ¼” ahead of the hinge pin for a very nice handling, LARGE feeling gun. The factory letter clearly states it is a “Long Range Wildfowl” model with the Hunter One trigger, ejectors, and a set of 32” barrels. I can assure you beyond all shadow of a doubt that the 30” barrels are factory original to the gun. The bore diameter is factory, the chokes have 3 ¼” of taper, the ends are dressed properly, touch, and have factory engraving as they should. There is no way to remove 2” of barrels and still have all of above intact. This is one of those occasions that the factory information is in error and any L.C. Smith authority that has the proper barrel tools can verify this. I am one and I am certain. Hopefully it should be clear to most that I know my barrels and what sits before me. This gun was factory outfitted with these 30” barrels. More photos are available upon request. There is a 30 day warranty on this gun. PLEASE SEE MY OTHER FINE VINTAGE FIREARMS ON THIS WEBSITE. Just click on the line that says “see all items from this seller”. THERE IS SOME REALLY GOOD STUFF TO SEE. Thanks for looking!