1. Take a big breath and take your time. 2. Consider exactly what it is that you want. Investment safe queens to pass along? Unless high grade or very high condition, in today's market the guns are not going to increase in value. Using guns? Waterfowl? Upland birds? Clay target games, and which discipline? 3. Pick a theme. Pre-1913 small bore shooters would be a nice place to start. 20g guns will require a lot more money than 16s. One of each post-1913 grades in 12g? Trap guns? Skeet guns? Long Range Wild Fowl? Look through the Photo Trail albums and see which guns pique your interest http://www.lcsmith.org/phototrail/phototrail.html 4. Bribe a genuine Smith expert to help; it will save you heartbreaks, headaches, and a great deal of money! 5. Purchase L.C. Smith Production Records by Dr. James Stubbendieck https://www.amazon.com/L-C-Smith-Production-Records-Numbers/dp/1936120399 6. Join the L.C. Smith Collectors Association http://www.lcsmith.org/index.html and read the Forum posts http://members.boardhost.com/lcsmith/ 7. Review the FAQs http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/faqhome.html especially http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/buying.html 8. Purchase a bore and wall thickness gauge, and learn to use them by practicing on barrels that have been measured (and the results recorded) by an expert.
Above all, enjoy the journey and share what you learn with someone else!