Posted by Jim Stubbendieck on July 18, 2014, 8:56 am, in reply to "Re: SBT Guns"
Tom is correct about the confusion associated with L.C. Smith serial numbers. Some have been used up to five times. In most cases, the S stands for the L.C. Smith Gun Company shotguns (owned by Marlin). Therefore, an FwS serial-numberd shotgun would be a featherweight made by the L.C. Smith Gun Company/Marlin. However, both Hunter Arms and Marlin also used the S to designate SBT shotguns. When I receive a research letter request for an SBT, I sometimes have to check the serial number in several blocks to find the right shotgun.
I checked SN 28764 in the appropriate blocks and found that the only SBT with this number is an Olympic started in 1948 and finished in 1949. Fifty-eight SBTs were finished in 1949 and 75 were finished in 1950 (the last year of production).