Posted by SGT on October 6, 2008, 4:26 pm, in reply to "10 guage quality #5"
I don't know if your gun is a transitional gun or not, as guns marked Fulton, NY are occasionally seen with serial numbers lower than 30XXX (24XXX-29999 range, but the records for those gun are long since lost). As to the stepped side plate feature, this was apparently an extra touch that could be special ordered, as I have a photo in my file of a Quality 5 gun that Russ Ruppell sent me some time ago; but certainly it is a rare feature on Smith guns below Quality 7 (As FYI, it seems from early period adds and surviving evidence that Hunter was making the old Quality grades in conjunction with their newer number and named grades thru at least 1896, and maybe as late as 1898). As to the forend, a first rate gunsmith can fit and finish your replacement to duplicate an original. To do that, one must first get a photo of an original period Quality 5 forend so that the engraving and checkering pattern can be matched to grade. The finishing process will require annealing of the iron to allow for engraving; then the irom must be re-hardened. The forend wood would require removal of the original checkering and recutting to proper pattern and lines per inch. Doing thin would require a refinish of the wood; so the trick would be to try and "age" this repair/modification to match the original finishes remaining on the balance of the gun. Someone will chip in with a gunsmith recommendation shortly; but what area of the country do you live?