n 1957 when I was ten years old I started walking in northern Illinois cornfields around towns like Joliet, Morris, and Coal City Southwest of Chicago with my grandfather, uncle, and older cousins hunting pheasants and rabbits. I didn't know one gun from another but my grandfather had a long barreled double barrel shotgun that I loved the looks of. It was old and worn but had these "side plates" and a profile I just loved. When my cousin and I turned twelve my grandfather let us each pick a gun. I got to pick first and took the one with the 32 inch barrels that weighed a ton. My cousin got a nice Ithaca but not the gun I got. From then on my grandfather hunted with great success using only an old sxs 410 hammer gun. I think he just got tired of hauling that heavy old Smith around. Eventually I ended up in Maryland after reassignment from Viet Nam and have never left. I never hunted again but I never got rid of that old shotgun either. It was given by my grandfather and I never fell out of love with the looks of the thing. For almost forty years it sat on a self. I would clean and oil it and look at it and put it away.
Finally some years ago a friend of mine introduced me to sporting clays. Doubles always suited me being left handed so I pulled it out and fell in love with shooting and that old gun all over again. Very shortly thereafter I decided to rehabilitate it. I started to research what it was and realized for the first time what an L C Smith was and what it represented. I also found the L C Smith Collectors Association which I love. I ruined nothing by restoring the gun that turned out to be an Ideal Grade 1926 12 gauge gun.It has a few more companions of the same name and before I'm done I'll pass it along to my grandson with hopefully enough knowledge and parts to keep it goin a bit longer than I will. This might be a little bit longer than you bargained for but there you have it.