Help Needed with L.C. Smith Field Grade 20 Gauge FW
Posted by Edward Sybert on April 10, 2022, 12:55 pm
I just purchased an L.C. Smith Field Grade 20 Gauge FW from a listing on an Internet site. When I received the shotgun at my local FFL dealer, I brought it home and assembled it. The next day, I wanted to break it down to clean the bores and lubricate it. The first issue I noted was how difficult it was to pull out and remove the splinter forend. It is the style without any mechanical catch – only the “spring” tension holding it on. Looking at the forend iron, I saw two un-matched screw heads. I thought, one or both surely not the original. One was a flat head wood screw and the other was a countersunk screw, both slotted. When I removed the two screws, I could see that at some previous time one or both of the original screws had pulled out of the forend wood and some filler had been used to help secure the replacement screws. So, I have two requests for help: I’d like to find two original-style (don’t have to be actually factory original to L.C. Smith) screws of the correct size; and I’d like advice on how to reduce the amount of force needed to remove the forend. Thanking you in advance. Edward Sybert, esybert@centurylink.net
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