Mr. Burke, if you have not already been reimbursed, it is coming. As we say on the website, The L.C. Smith Collectors Association has a set of the records for over a half of a million L.C. Smith shotguns made from 1890 to 1950 by the Hunter Arms Company. None of the older L.C. Smith records for shotguns made in Syracuse, before 1890, has survived.

How can you tell if you should order a letter for your shotgun? If one of the barrels, barrel rib or rib extension is marked SYRACUSE, we are unable to write a letter because there are no records on which to base the letter, and they are not available from any source. The serial number of shotguns made in Syracuse will be lower than 30000. Letters are available for most serial numbers, including those below 30000 (see the website for a few exceptions), as long as the one of the barrels, barrel rib or rib extension is marked HUNTER ARMS CO., FULTON, N.Y.