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Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

Evening,

I took my new SL out today to shoot some clays today. For whatever reason, it tore the snot out of Franchi and Herters heads. The gun would not close well at all and sometimes even rip the heads off of the hull.

What do you think? Bad hulls? Something wrong with the gun?

Thanks in advance,[/img]

SL = SideLock or Self Loader or Instinct SL ???

I assume you mean the franchi instinct sl

Have you seasoned the chamber like you would a cast iron skillet?

Mike

P.S. Clean the chamber REALLY WELL, then wrap 000 steel wool around a
12 gauge bristle brush and burnish the chamber ( I use a battery operated drill and keep it moving), clean the chamber again and lube the chamber, lube a few of the heads of the first shell you will shoot. Let us know how that works for you

Fun reading
https://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=425640

Gentlemen,

Skeet Tx knows his business, no doubt about it, however for me I do not want a gun I have to due any thing like this, especially a new gun.

Trade the gun on a good L.C. Smith double gun! Some great stuff on GI right now!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Beautiful Grade 3, 20 gauge on GI right now.

ONLY $11,500
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/lc-smith-shotguns/l-c-smith-3e-20-gauge-1-of-143-38-with-30-quot-barrels-85-case-color-vintage-firearms-inc.cfm?gun_id=101607560

Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

Yes, an Instinct. My apologies.

I will try your method. Sounds awesome. I don't mind customizing a new gun at all. Thanks!

Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

Yes, an Instinct. My apologies.

I will try your method. Sounds awesome. I don't mind customizing a new gun at all. Thanks!

Joined: 20 Feb 2014 Posts: 68 Location: Festus, Missouri

Yes, an Instinct. My apologies.

I will try your method. Sounds awesome. I don't mind customizing a new gun at all. Thanks!

What say you Pine Creek / Dave?

I saw an article in Outdoor Life or Project Upland online about the fall-rise-fall of side by side shotguns. One of the points the author made was that a lot of the classic vintage guns such as L.C. Smiths, Foxes, etc. were made for waterfowl and are heavy as a result.

Therefore, modern upland bird hunters looking for light side by sides to carry afield can't easily find these configurations in the vintage guns, which hurts their resurgence. I was reminded of this at my local gun shop the other day when on the consignment rack was a very nice, but heavy L.C. Smith 16 gauge Ideal grade -- with 32-inch barrels clearly intended for trap or waterfowl I'm thinking.

Not going to be able to match the lightness of a Franchi SL 16 gauge, for instance.

Sporting Days,

L.C. Smith made many different guns for many different hunting jobs. The reason you see the heavy guns sitting on the racks is that many of the younger generations like semi-auto guns for Duck hunting today. L.C. Smith made no Semi-Auto guns for Duck and Goose hunting. The Ideal grade gun may have been made heavy for the exact reasons you mentioned, probably ordered for shooting Ducks or some kind of live bird gunning, like Pigeons. The 32" barrels were usually ordered for live bird competitions, in the era the gun was made.

As far as light upland guns to Grouse, Woodcock, Quail & Pheasant hunt, L.C. Smith Hunter Arms produced more of them than any other American Company. You will usually not find them under $1,000 even today. Take a look on GI for a nice 20 or 16 gauge 00 or field grade, the weight varies with the quality of wood, on the individual gun, most weigh about 6.0-6.5 Lbs. Most times the higher grade L.C. Smith guns, like the #4 or #5 guns go for big money, which is why you hardly ever see one sitting on a gun rack in a sports store. The Field grade and 00 Grade 20 & 16 gauge guns are even getting harder to find in the small gun shops, but do surface on GI.

Gun shops will guide you to guns they have in their inventory to sell, which today is usually the inexpensive modern entry level double gun. They are in business to make money, not provide the sportsman with a high quality double gun, for upland and Duck hunting. Understanding what to purchase comes with experience and gun knowledge. In reality there are lots of light L.C. Smith guns for upland hunting available on GI and other places on the Net.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

L.C. Smith 16 gauge #5 gun - 6.5 Lbs - Not for sale

Joined: 16 Jul 2015 Posts: 2125 Location: Hudson,Wy

Dave is right. American double guns varied a lot in weight, the article which stated that the American vintage doubles are heavy waterfowl guns is not entirely correct. I almost bought a Fox A grade 12 ga (early A grade) recently, that weighed 6 3/4 lbs. I own a Lefever DS 16 ga. that is just under 6 lbs. An L.C. Smith 00 16 ga. that I sold to a friend last fall was under 6 1/2 lbs. The real problem with buying a vintage gun online is that the gun's weight is seldom listed. Emails and phone calls solve that though.

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

Personally for field use I prefer a light 16 gauge gun under 6 lbs, such as a Browning Superlight Feather, A grade AH Fox, Parker #0 Frame, or the new Browning A5 (although I'm not a big fan of autoloaders where the 16 ga is concerned, I bought one anyway).

I bought a Franchi Instinct SL in 20 gauge for my GF and it weighs in at exactly 5-1/2 lbs. It works smooth and properly, so you might want to check with a gunsmith if the steel wool buff out doesn't help.

I almost bought a SLX in 16 gauge too, but I have enough 16 gauge doubles...

HAHAHAHHAHAHA

Actually I would love to add a 16 gauge LC Smith to my collection, but have not found one yet that I like. I'd tolerate a 6 lb gun if it was a nice Elsie.

Thank you Pine Creek/Dave. Excellent analysis.

Hmmm....Has me thinking. As an avid waterfowler myself, maybe there is a deal to be had on some of these heavier, waterfowl/live pigeon configurations. Especially with an increasing variety of nontoxic shot options -- RST, BOSS, etc.

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

I will say that the Franchi SL/SLX are very well made, very light guns that are a joy to shoot and the SLX has some lovely engraving and wood for a little more cash. I may just get one, one of these days, but I think I'd have a hard time leaving the SLF at home.