Diamond Grade's No. 2 twenty gauge must be a real rarity, since the first twenty gauge (a No. 2, Serial Number 1000) in the Hunter Arms Company records was finished on May 5, 1907 (Ledger 11, page 100).

Why would he make this up? Did he do it before we had a copy of the Hunter Arms records and thought that it could never be checked? At the time, did it simply make a good story for him to tell his buddies? Or, did he have something else in mind such as its potential value? Is he trustworthy on any statement about L.C. Smith shotguns? I think not, and I am disappointed that anyone would do this. It just causes needless, self-serving confusion.