16ga.com ~ View topic - Would you shoot modern shells in a 1948 gun?

A month ago I got a 1948 L. C. Smith FW field grade gun. Would you be concerned about what you shot in this gun? All I load for my sixteen gauge guns are 2 1/2", 7/8 oz, 1200 fps cartridges at around 7000 psi. However, I bought some that I feel might put more stress on a gun. They are Imperials that were for sale at a good price and advertised in a post here back around the end of last year. They are a 27 gram load, essentially one ounce. Length is 67mm. There is no mention of velocity or dram equivalence on the box but based felt recoil they are stouter than the cream puffs I load. Do you think that Elsie needs to be babied on should any cartridge that complies to SAAMI standards be fine? I don't expect to put more than 200 shells per year through that gun.

Skip

Skip: the issue with LCs is not the integrity or strength of the lock-up and action, but the relatively small surface area of the wood at the head of the stock

And you can also see pics of Parker, Fox, and Ithaca stocks cracked down the middle here http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery.fcgi?p=999&gid=15127852
I'd have no concern with a 1 oz. load after, and only after, having the head of the stock glasbedded. Weren't you going to have "Bill" Alexander work on your gun?

Bill has my gun. He is going to bed it and clean the internals while the stock is off. He is also sending it to his stock repair/refinish guy to have the wood refinished. That was mandatory because a fair amount of the original varnish was gone. Our humidity is extremely high and I wanted to protect the wood. It is plain but in good shape with no signs of being oil soaked. The only other thing I am having done is some tapering at the rear of the forend wood. I don't know if there is that much wood on all late guns but the wood on mine is more than proud, it's excessive. It doesn't flow into the receiver but instead has a sharp step. That will be removed. I have an Ithaca Western Arms gun that has a through bolt stock and enough wood in the wrist to handle any sixteen gauge load. I didn't know if I needed to confine the Imperial loads to it. The day after I got that Elsie (one months ago) I dropped it off at Bill's shop. I am already missing it and never had any time to get familiar with it. Based on the number of guns in line ahead of mine it could be two months before I get it back.

Skip

Should be a sweet Elsie once she's all gussied up Skip Cool

Member Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 451 Location: La-Tx

A 1948 gun is a modern gun. I would shoot anything but steel shot in it.

Snipe Hunter, you will probably get a lot of advice from those who own an LC Smith and I don't claim to be an expert but I'll tell you a little LC story and you make up your own mind. My grand father had a 12 ga LC that was made in the 1890's. The barrels were stamped"armor steel." He used it hard and passed it on to my father, who used it hard. After my dad died, it became mine and I eventually gave it to my brother in law who still uses it. My dad did a lot of goose hunting and so did I. I wouldn't dare to say how many 1 1/2 oz magnums that have been shot through that gun. Once while I was goose hunting, I accidently pulled both triggers at the same time. It bloodied my nose, but that gun was never hurt from shooting heavy loads. It did eventually get a little loose but you might expect that from a gun that is over a hundred years old. My brother in law uses it with light loads for Doves. I wouldn't be afraid to shoot any modern shell as long as it is lead.

Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 694 Location: MN

I had LC's years ago and used to be an LC freak. The most common problem was the cracking around the action and at the wrist. It just got to be a pain in the a#@!!!

I have shot sidelock Merkels and Simsons now for 20 years-with any modern load and have never had a problem. Elsie's are great pieces of American history but they are much too high maintainence for me. IMO, they were designed for another era and are not up to modern loads in many cases.

Jon has a valid point. The hammerless LC was designed by Alexander Brown in 1886, using the 1883 hammergun locking bolt patent. It is however a remarkable and elegant piece of engineering when used with loads for which the gun was originally designed. Please see http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/loads.html