Posted by Seamus O'Caiside on July 16, 2008, 3:51 pm
I recently found a nice LCS at a yard sale. Fw 16 ga Field 28" made in 1940, with a good bit of case color left, almost all the blue, bores like mirrors, barrels ring like a bell, and no stock cracks or gouges. The only "issue" is a recoil pad that is ugly and doesn't fit right. I shot 85/100 on the sporting clays course with it. Paid $600 for it.
There is a US stamp on the bottom of each barrel. I know that means it was owned by the US military, and I am familiar with the WWII pilot training story (although I suspect the Army used shotguns for a lot of purposes during the WWII era - like recreation at on-base skeet and trap fields, for example).
A friend who collects LC Smiths told me today that the US mark makes it worth $2,000. I was surprised, as I did not expect the mark to affect value very much.
So, what do you guys think?
BTW, this is a purely rhetorical question. The way I shoot this one, I'm not selling it - Vintagers, look out, here I come!