The L.C. Smith Collectors Association

The L.C. Smith Collectors Association
[ The L.C. Smith Collectors Association ]

Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by Jack B. on February 27, 2008, 11:20 am
24.30.48.83

Bob Trefry called me in late January to welcome me as a new member to LCSCA. We got around to talking about guns and I told him I had a 20 ga. 4-E. He suggested I might want to post some pictures since there are not many of these guns around. My new L.C. Smith book "The Legend Lives" arrived just in time for Christmas and on page 165 it shows that only 15 grade 4's were produced. Dr. Drew was kind enough to give me this information before my book arrived. Since there were only 15 produced I wonder if Jim Stubbendieck might know how many of the 15 were 4-E's ? How many had 26,28,30 and possibly 32 inch barrels? The Cody letter I got only said the gun was a 20ga. 4-E with 26 inch barrels and was built in 1910. The guns specs. are: 20ga. 4-E, with 26 in. barrels(nitro steel) imp.cyl.& mod., double triggers(checkered), straight stock , with a weight of 5 pound and 8 oz.(nice to carry). I would like to thank David W for helpin me post my first pictures.

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by David R on February 27, 2008, 6:23 pm, in reply to "Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
68.94.48.14

Jack,
Wow, what a beautiful gun thanks for sharing with us. What Jim meant by the number of 15 produced is that only 15 20 GA, 4E's were made. A total of only 455 guns were made in grade 4, only 15 being in 20 GA. Has this gun been restored or are these the original finishes? It's beautiful either way. All the best, David R

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by Jack B. on February 28, 2008, 10:43 am, in reply to "Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
24.30.48.83

David, thanks for the favorable comments on the gun. On page 165 of John Houchins' L.C.Smith "The Legend Lives" it shows that 15 20ga. Grade 4 were produced. The standard Grade 4 came with double triggers and extractors. You could request,for a few more bucks,and get auto-ejectors and these were called 4-E's. What I was asking Jim was how many of the 15 were 4-E's. The gun has been refinished. I did the oil finish on the wood and the rust blueing on the barrels. Doug Turnbull did the case coloring and finish on the trigger guard.

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by David R on February 29, 2008, 9:32 am, in reply to "Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
68.94.38.99

Jack,
Sorry, I didn't read your question close enough, but Jim has answered you now.
You did a great job on the finish and blueing, can you tell us what finish you used on the wood and what solution you used on the barrels for the rust blue? Also could you give a brief description of how you did the rust blue? Once again, FANTASTIC GUN! Thanks, David R

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by Jack B. on March 1, 2008, 9:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
24.30.48.83

David, I finished The gun several years ago so this is basically what I normally would do. When I refinish a stock I start out with a good base and build on that. As an example go to Photo Trail and at Wonderous Wood Refinish.They show 2 formulas, one for soft wood and one for hard wood. After the base is on and dry I put a small amount of boiled linseed oil, only a couple of drops, on each side of the stock and hand rub it until it is completly dry. Repeat this procedure until the wood starts to take on a beautiful finish. This may take several days or weeks. Some like a dull finish and others like a more glossy finish. I like it somwhere in between.This can normally be contolled by the amount of hand rubbing. When I started rust blueing about 25 years ago I used various mixtures taken out of a book called Firearm Blueing and Browning by R.H. Angier. Some worked out but some were not so good. Two solutions that I have used with good results are in the Brownells catalog.They are Belgian Blue(good for small parts) and Pilkington Classic American Rust Blue. Good instructions are included in both.

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by Jim Stubbendieck on February 28, 2008, 4:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
Message modified by board administrator February 28, 2008, 5:05 pm

We only know the total in each gauge and the total number of ejector guns. So, we don't have information on how many of the 15 20 gauge No. 4 grade guns had ejectors. In addition, we do not have a breakdown of how many were made in the different barrel lengths. It will take a lot more work with the records to obtain these numbers, but someday we hope to be able to do it.

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by ted arnold on February 27, 2008, 2:27 pm, in reply to "Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
68.219.211.214

I have a very similar L C Smith 20 gauge. I inherited it many years ago and have no idea of it's value. The noticible difference is in place of the bird dog you show, my L C Smith has a quail on one side and a duck on the other. There is a number on the trigger guard, 680. Do you have any advice about what it should be insured for? It'll stay in the family, so I have no interest in selling.
Thanks, Ted Arnold

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by Norm on February 27, 2008, 2:36 pm, in reply to "Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
76.1.14.243

Ted:

Go to the home page of this site, click on shotguns, then grades. Check out the grade 2 - sounds like that's what you might have.

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Re: Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures

Posted by David W on February 27, 2008, 11:57 am, in reply to "Pre - 1913 20 ga. Pictures"
68.54.190.176

Jack what a beautiful gun and a treasure to own. Especially nice to have it in a 20 ga. with those specs.
Good luck and good shooting with it.

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