Hi, I recently got an LC Smith FW Field Grade double barrel shotgun. It is hammerless, and it’s serial is in 160,XXX. This one in particular was made by Hunter Arms in Fulton NY. The two barrels do say full on them, which I would imagine means they are full choke. There is a d stamped on one of the barrels as well. Additionally, the condition is ok. The blue is pretty worn and colored on the lockplates, some screw heads are mangled up, and the stock has some wear. The barrel at the very tip, buisiness end, measures about .625”. At the very end of the chamber side of the barrel, it measures about .75”. Additionally, the measure of the flat areas on the barrel below the chamber is 2-9/16”. I am not sure if this is the measure of the chamber or not.
I am curious as to if any of you can tell me more about this gun; year, gauge, what the d stamp means etc.
Also, can I shoot slugs out of this? My local gun range only allows slugs, and I am not sure if they will harm an old gun like this.
Matt: it appears that you have a 16g made about 1936. You can look up the exact date of manufacture under 'Shotguns' on the Home Page using the serial number. The gun likely has 2 9/16" chambers but a gunsmith could confirm. Choke constriction was not indicated on Smith guns so the 'full' mark is likely after-market, but .625" would be full choke for a 16g.
The "D" is the mark of Jean-Baptiste Delcour-Dupont/ Canons Delcour S.A. of Nessonvaux, Belgium; the maker of the "rough forged tubes".
The mark has been found on Smith (Crown Steel and post-WWI Armor Steel), Fox, Meriden/Sears, Baker ("Homotensile Steel"), Ithaca NID ("Best Fluid Steel") and Lefever Nitro Special & A-grades. Please don't use the gun with any load until it has been evaluated by a double gun specialist smith.
The is lot of information in the FAQ section on the Home Page, including load selection. The gun was not designed for the fps of many modern loads which produce substantial recoil.
Thanks very much. I brought the gun to a gunsmith, and he looked it over for a couple minutes and said it was safe to shoot. He told me the same, not to use modern ammo and that I should use brass with black powder loads. There are no “specialists” for double barrels anywhere near me however