Posted by John Hartley on February 9, 2008, 10:40 am
Hello everyone, I believe that I had the good fortune of buying an L.C. Smith yesterday. I got it at a quite low price, but I can't identify what exactly it is. I was hoping maybe someone could help me. It has Damascus steel barrels, a checkered pistol grip and forend. There are small amounts of engraving, mainly a cool looking little scroll pattern on the top lever. There's a star engraved on the barrel hinge pin, and around the border of the side plates it has a checkered line. On the butt plate it says L.C. Smith "trap gun". The serial number is 31339 and it has patent dates stamped on the receiver, July 13, 86, March 29, 83, and Oct 5, 86. Any help would be appreciated; it's not in the best of shape condition wise. It has a long crack on the wrist of the stock, and the toe is broken. And the forend is all beat up. The metal has no deep rust or pitting, but is almost 100% patina no original finish. The barrels are mirror on the inside. Where the forend covers the barrels on the outside, the Damascus pattern can still be seen fairly clear, it’s pretty plain but attractive that’s for sure.
Any idea what it is, and what it might be worth? And should I restore it, or is it worth more original? Or should I say is it even worth restoring? I’m definitely having it fixed though, as I want to shoot it.