The L.C. Smith Collectors Association

The L.C. Smith Collectors Association
[ The L.C. Smith Collectors Association ]

1947 LC Smith

Posted by Robert Guilliams on March 5, 2019, 11:39 am
Edited by board administrator August 4, 2023, 6:51 pm

Have a LC Smith made in 1947 with # FWS. Just wondering if another set of barrels from FW will fit? The barrels I have in mind are from 1923. I know they will need to be fitted. Any help would be appreciated.

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by David Williamson on March 5, 2019, 12:17 pm, in reply to "1947LC Smith "

Possibly, the 1947 barrels will have what they called Single Sighting Plane, meaning the rib is higher. The 1923 will not have this and is possible that when fitted the extension rib will be lower in the receiver of the FWS gun. Naturally the other barrels will have to be from a FW gun and not a Regular frame.

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by Robert guilliams on March 5, 2019, 1:42 pm, in reply to "1947LC Smith "

Mr. David thank you for your reply. Just want to clarify you said single sight plane, could cause problems. Which I believe mine has. The owner of other barrel set says that the 1923 barrels also have single sight plane. What exactly are you calling single sight plane? Mine also has mid bead with single
Trigger. Thank you
If I were to find a set of FWS barrels it probably would be a much better fit correct?

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by Tom Archer on March 6, 2019, 10:21 am, in reply to "Re: 1947LC Smith "

Robert
The SSP (single sighting plane) rib feature was not introduced until 1938; so the top rib on a 1923 vintage barrel will be entirely different from that from a 1947 vintage gun. The SSP rib is more accurately described as a "solid vent rib"; obviously the SSP rib is not as high as a true vent rib, but is higher than the standard double barrel top rib. The raised SSP rib was an effort to make a double gun easier to shoot for some folks by giving the illusion that the shooter was shooting a single barrel gun. SSP gun frames are higher at the top of the standing breech in order to accommodate the additional height of the raised rib; and as David noted, although the odds are good that these barrels could be fitted to work with your gun, the odds are much higher that the rib extension on the early barrel set will not be high enough to completely fill the gap between the top of the rib extension and the standing breech. If so, your choices would be to either tolerate an unsightly gap; or if final appearance is important, have the frame annealed, cut down to fit the new rib extension; then have the gun frame re-cased hardened. Hope this answers your question.

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by Robert guilliams on March 6, 2019, 10:43 am, in reply to "Re: 1947LC Smith "

Thank you for your reply. Very good information.
I think I will continue to search for later model barrels. I would assume that a gun with the fws serial number would be my best bet for fitting.

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by Steve Arnett on March 13, 2019, 9:41 am, in reply to "Re: 1947LC Smith "

Robert, I think that you are correct to continue searching for barrels with FWS prefix. As I understand it all the Marlin era (1946-1950) guns were equipped with the SSP rib.
Just my opinion , but I think the more practical part of this feature is that the pattern will not print so high. The higher rib, especially at the muzzle, has the same effect as raising the front sight on a pistol or rifle. It lowers the point of impact (all other things being equal).

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by Jeff Brown on August 4, 2023, 6:48 pm, in reply to "Re: 1947LC Smith "

Looking for information on my LC Smith field grade 12 gauge with serial number FWS 14079, date made etc.

Re: 1947LC Smith

Posted by Tom Garver on August 5, 2023, 8:03 am, in reply to "Re: 1947LC Smith "

Jeff, the best source for info on this particular gun is to order a research letter. Instructions for doing so are listed on this website

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