L.C. Smith Field Grade 20ga. , 90% CASE COLOR, CURTIS FOREND FASTENER

L.C. Smith Field Grade 20ga. , 90% CASE COLOR, CURTIS FOREND FASTENER This is an early, 1916 vintage Elsie with lots of factory condition and the Purdey like “Curtis” style forend. This system was only used from 1913 to 1917 and is a desirable variant of the standard L.C. Field Grade. Some L.C. Smith guns tend to be heavy for gauge, but this 20 bore, serial number 12360, is a little 6lb. 1oz. wand balanced perfectly ¼” ahead of the hinge pin for that fine feel in hand that puts a smile on your face. With most all of the original factory finishes remaining, this is a fine investment quality Smith that is perfectly suited to chasing upland game and breaking the occasional clay targets. THIS IS A NICE ONE. The 28” barrels have excellent bores, choked M/F (.023,.030, can be opened to your specs for $65 per barrel), low concave game rib, .615 bore diameter both barrels, minimum barrel wall thickness 33 thou right, 32 thou left, light handling marks in the 97% factory blue, 2 ½” chambers (chambers and forcing cones can be lengthened for $140 to reduce felt recoil and possibly improve patterns, but not required to do so in order to shoot 2 3/4” shells. If you don’t know why, ask), ribs are tight, no dents or dings, extractors, barrels tight on breech face and hinge, a great set of barrels. The featherweight action retains 90% case color, excellent screws, action tight and lever right of center, double triggers with excellent pulls, trigger guard retains 75% factory niter blue. To find a Field Grade with this much condition in today’s market is getting to be a rare occurrence. There are so few quality condition vintage American double shotguns left that the remaining ones will quickly increase in demand and value. The wood is in excellent condition with 90% factory finish, excellent checkering, 14” LOP to factory butt plate, 2 11/16”drop at heel, 1 ¾” drop at comb, neutral cast (can be bent to your specs or pad added within 10 days of purchase), excellent wood to metal fit. The L.C. Smith double shotguns are growing in popularity and are the vintage American double slated to gain value more than all the others, in my opinion. The Parker guns are at their pinnacle; still gaining but tapering off. Fox enjoyed a major spike in value over the last 5 years, and deservedly so. Now with the advent of the L.C. Smith Collectors Association and the competitive side by side shoots occurring nationwide, the L.C. Smith is surging in demand as it should. It is the only commercially successful American sidelock shotgun, with a strong simple action and good proportion and aesthetics. There are more photos upon request. There is a 30 day mechanical warranty on this gun. Please see my other fine VINTAGE FIREARMS on this website. Just click on the line in the ad that says “see all items from this seller” and a list of collectible and sporting arms will appear. I have over 200 guns not yet listed, so ask if you don’t see what you are after. Hope to see you at the Great Northeastern Side by Side Classic June 3-5. We will have over 100 fine shotguns for your perusal. Thanks for looking!