Posted by Mike Dean on February 12, 2025, 10:23 pm
I wanted to know if anyone has observed or examined a LONGRANGE that had an "L" stamped on the frame water table. The reason I ask this question is that when reading John Houchins book; he notes that, "the letter L was usually, but not always, stamped on the frame water table". (page 300)
I have owned and had the chance to examine quite a few of the LONGRANGE / WILDFOWL guns and I have not seen one yet that had the "L" stamping. Of course my sampling only covers about 50-60 firearms over a few years out of the 2,704 listed LR/WF guns.
If anyone has one with the "L" stamp please post a photo in this link. I will have another LONGRANGE question to pose to the group after hearing back from Dr. Jim!
Re: LONGRANGE "L" Marking
Posted by Mike Dean on February 13, 2025, 5:00 pm, in reply to "LONGRANGE "L" Marking"
The second part to my question is in regards to this photo. The photo, although not the best quality, is an Ideal Grade around the 1926 era with the LONGRANGE stamp not on the lug but directly on the trigger plate right in front of the HOT stamp. I examined the stamp mark under magnification and it is almost identical to the ones I have observed stamped on the lug. I have never seen a LONGRANGE marked this way. I contacted Dr. Jim and he indicated that this particular Ideal Grade was not identified as a LONGRANGE in the records. However it does have the 3 inch chambers, reinforced barrel loop, and F/F choked barrels.
Did the worker at the factory simply make a mistake..Long day..end of the week? Are there any others marked in this fashion? I dont think that anyone would go to the trouble to have a LONGRANGE stamp made and then stamp it in a location other than the barrel lug.
Posted by Mike Dean on February 19, 2025, 3:33 pm, in reply to "LONGRANGE "L" Marking"
Any luck with the elusive "L" marking?
I did some digging on archived LR/WF guns images that had been on the Internet over the past few years. I came up with about 25 images of the LR/WF guns that I was able to look at the frame water table. My results...I came up with zero guns that had the "L" stamped on them.
I know there are quite a few more out there that may prove the "L" was usually stamped on gun... but I wonder how Mr. Houchins was able to say that they were usually marked with an "L. Did someone from Hunter Arms tell him that? Did he have some correspondence or document that indicated that the LR/WF were so stamped. "Never say Never"
In any case, John Houchins and "The Legend Lives" is the most fascinating and colorful collection of information for the L. C. Smith enthusiast. A must have!
