A Silver Lining

[ZLBubba]

I recently finished up my enlistment in the Army and have had non-stop family affairs to manage since getting my DD214. Between recurrent colon cancer in my father and my grandfather's lapse into Alzheimer's, I've been swamped with legal and financial work to handle their affairs. All families go through this at one time or another so I consider myself fortunate that I'm in a place in my life where I can look after their best interests. Needless to say, however, I have been drowning in all the work and travel between my home in MD and my family in Indiana.

As we've been cleaning up my grandfather's home, we discovered a really neat piece of firearm history. My great grandmother (my grandfather's mother) was an avid upland bird hunter. In 1919 she purchased an LC Smith 20ga and though it shows light use, the shotgun was maintained meticulously for many years until it was stored in a cloth gun sleeve and put in a closet for the last 40 years. Today the shotgun saw the light of day again! Here are some pics:

1. http://i35.tinypic.com/b6tykh.jpg
2. http://i35.tinypic.com/adewj7.jpg
3. http://i37.tinypic.com/314xo5u.jpg
4. http://i33.tinypic.com/34hgg1h.jpg

I'm absolutely amazed at the craftsmanship. I've always been a functionality over beauty kind of guy, but now I see why people love these types of firearms. Despite all the ups and downs over the last month, inheriting this shotgun has really been a silver lining.

 

[macthknife]

Re: A Silver Lining

That is a beautiful shotgun. You will always have a memory of Your Grandfather when You look at it.

Glad You are able to put it in perspective.

Mac

 

[Veer_G]

Re: A Silver Lining

Beautifully case-hardened. Make sure those who come after you appreciate the significance and pass it down with pride.

 

[RJW]

Re: A Silver Lining

Beautiful gun. Bird season is just around the corner. Perfect way to honor your Grandfather.

 

[rdl65]

Re: A Silver Lining

Beautiful shotgun.

 

[Rookie]

Re: A Silver Lining

Bro that is worth a fortune!

 

[Guest]

Re: A Silver Lining

Considering how most guns of those days were considered to be strictly utilitarian and not particularly cared for, you can tell that she really loved that one.

I'm upgrading you to a gold lining on this one!

 

[Guest]

Re: A Silver Lining

Here's one like it that's been fully restored.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=185428349

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: A Silver Lining

It really is a beautiful piece of family history. My great grandmother loved hunting pheasant and quail throughout the Midwest, particularly in Illinois. That side of the family is from Bluff City and Peoria. I love the look of the wood and patina on the gun metal. It is really something.

 

[Guest]

Re: A Silver Lining

It's fairly common to have a gun from a grandfather or great-grandfather, but a great-grandmother's gun is a treasure to be sure.

Being a field grade, it's not worth an outrageous fortune. But it is a fantastic heirloom, especially if you have a daughter or granddaughter who's interested in hunting.

 

[Mike Stolfus]

Re: A Silver Lining

You can't put a price on something like that. My Grandad had a Winchester Mod.12 that he bought in 1941 and he handed it down to a cousin of mine who re blued it, sanded and refinished the stock. It had a lot of honest wear from years of puting meat on the table and it makes me a little sick when i look at it now. You could see how he carried it by the wear on the blueing and now all the character is gone. You have a nice piece of family history there, congratulations and i hope you pass it down to someone who appreciates it someday

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: A Silver Lining

My sons will no doubt learn to shoot and hunt from me, but a part of me would really like to have a daughter to take bird and deer hunting. Maybe having a shotgun like this and being able to re-tell Great Grandma's hunting and fishing stories will help her know that she has some outdoorsy heritage in her blood.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: A Silver Lining

a few years ago my gramps family was going to put a shotgun in the recycle bin, like WTF? So I ended up with a 1942 Winchester mod 24, very similiar but not as pretty as your shotgun.

Honor it well.

FYI - don't even THINK about firing steel shot through that barrel - find the lead shot - I was told the same thing about my shotgun.

This was my gramps shotgun, resides in my gunsafe.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: A Silver Lining

My Wife's grandfather came to America from Germany in 1952, as a disabled German war veteran. He purchased a J.C. Higgins 12ga Pump shotgun with a plastic stock. While not anywhere near collectible quality, it occupies a place of care and stewardship one should rightly endow such family treasures. I totally agree with your overall sense of care and stewardship.

Greg

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: A Silver Lining

I'm going to get a research letter from the LC Smith association to frame, detailing the pedigree of the shotgun. I'm impressed at the thorough record keeping the company must have done to give the association the resources to provide lineage, manufacture and shipping dates, as well as any special features and how many other shotguns were made in its likeness. I'm starting to understand why people love these firearms so much.

 

[patsim]

Re: A Silver Lining

Glad to see you can find the bright side of things. There usually is one if you look hard enough.

Before my grandfather passed, he gave his guns to some of my cousins and me. I got a plain old Glock 21, but it meant more to me than anything in my collection. A few months after he died, I was handling that pistol and thinking about his life and the things he taught me. He was the most generous and giving man that I've ever even heard of, much less seen. Anyway, at that moment I decided to give the pistol to my younger brother who didn't get any of the firearms, nor did he have a centerfire pistol of his own.

My brother was shocked, but I know that I got the better end of the deal.

 

[Quarter Horse]

Re: A Silver Lining

Bubba,

If you take it out after birds, you will love it even more. My start in the world of real firearms was an Elsie given to me in about 1959 by a shirt tail uncle. It was a featherweight, field grade, 16ga. in about 98% condition. After collecting and trading shotguns for decades, it is still the go-to gun and has killed the first birds over every dog I've owned.

These guns were machine-built in the same sense that a Pre-64 model 70 was. All the finish fitting and filing was done by craftsman and your gun was probably worked on by some of the same people who finished up Smith's highest grade guns. Yours appears to be a Featherweight frame and should have an FW on the action flats. The butt plate and grip cap look correct and LOP should measure about 14 1/4" to the center of the butt. The case colors look to be very high percentage and if the rest of the guns is as nice you have a great example. It also appears the screws are properly clocked which would indicate the guns has never been messed with. If it is from '19 the serial number range will be #3851-18252.

Three cautions with these guns. Carefully examine behind the lockplates and top tang for hairline cracks. If they exist it is not the end of the world, there are guys that can fix them. Do not disassemble the gun without opening the gun to full qape so that the hammers are cocked. I have had many Smiths that have had thousands of rounds of modern ammo through them but on a gun in this condition and with this history I would recommend you use low payload low pressure ammo. This ammo is readily available from a number of companies. PM me is you need Phone #s. Oh yeah, one other caution. If the gun has problems, only take it to a qualified smith.

The gun has survived almost a century and can last several more. One day you may be sitting with your grandfather and great grandmother wathching your great grandchildren follow good dogs to the birds she so enjoyed.

Your L.C. is not only a great piece of family history but also a wonderful piece of American firearms history.

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: A Silver Lining

Thanks for the advice. I'll get a PM together soon with all my questions for you. I really never understood what amazing firearms they were until I held one.