Posted by SGT on December 21, 2006, 10:51 pm, in reply to "Re: Long Barrels"
Phil: I have no idea how long, or how many domestic maker'sdouble guns you may have collected; but, when it comes to who made the lightest weight guns Ithaca, Lefever, small-bore Fox, and even Parker collectors would strongly disagree that Smith made the lightest weight guns (my personal opinion is that the Flues model Ithacas could and were made lighter than any of the others; but there is a price to be paid for that compromise, which is why one will see a lot of cracked Ithaca frames on these light weight guns). At any rate, Smith could and did make many lightweight guns; but there is absolutely no proof of which I am aware that they could make a lighter gun using Krupp barrels than with other barrel steels. I strongly disagree with your asertation that inventory value was not an important consideration during this era, as it was indeed; and, in fact, until American steel makers were able to duplicate the Whitworth and Krupp steel making processes, all barrel tubes were imported (and the overwhelming majority were Damascus until sometime after 1900). Due to that fact, delivery time was often months and order placement (and cash to place that order was critical). Forgings were produced domestically for frames, irons, etc; but coordinating delivery and payment for those items were also critical. From my research, these old time makers went to the inth degree to insure nothing was wasted. Finally, glad to know you also have an example of a Smith gun with a short forearm; that would be the second example of which I am aware.