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<  16ga. Guns  ~  what is a Lefever DS?
kennedy756
PostPosted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:00 pm  Reply with quote



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saw one at a gun show, 16ga 26 inch barrels. how can you tell its a DS? is it marked somewhere?

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Flues16
PostPosted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:15 pm  Reply with quote
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It should be marked "DS" next to the serial number on the water table (the flat part of the frame under the barrels). It stands for "Durston Special" and was named after the Durston family who acquired the company from D. M. Lefever.
The DS and the I grade were the lowest grade sideplate guns made by Lefever Arms Company, but they were still very nice guns. They lack the dolls head rib extension and the cocking indicators featured on the higher grade guns.
They should not be confused with the Lefever Nitro Special which was actually made by Ithaca after they bought the old Lefever company.

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kennedy756
PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 5:13 am  Reply with quote



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can the 26 inch barrels be correct? or could they have been cut. I did not measure the chokes

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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:58 pm  Reply with quote
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26" could indeed be correct. DS grades also tend to be among the lightest they made for some reason, with 16's often weighing 6 to 6.5lbs in the 26" configuration. Great guns if you find one that fits you well.

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3birddogs
PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:55 pm  Reply with quote



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DS all had steel barrels. I have 2 DS 20's, one with ejectors, and both have 26" barrels. The 20's were all under 6lbs. The 16's were made on the same frame as the 20's which is why they were so light. The frame should be marked with the "XX".

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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 7:40 am  Reply with quote
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3birddogs wrote:
DS all had steel barrels. I have 2 DS 20's, one with ejectors, and both have 26" barrels. The 20's were all under 6lbs. The 16's were made on the same frame as the 20's which is why they were so light. The frame should be marked with the "XX".


I've owned several xx frame lefever 16's, mostly H grades, and one of which went 7lbs. For some reason the DS grades tend to be much lighter.

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scraggley
PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:08 am  Reply with quote
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For a perspective on Lefever weights, the 1902 I grade I have in 12 gauge ,with 28" steel barrels weighs 16lb-9oz. That's with an original buttplate.


Art

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Upland Carpenter
PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:13 am  Reply with quote
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scraggley wrote:
For a perspective on Lefever weights, the 1902 I grade I have in 12 gauge ,with 28" steel barrels weighs 16lb-9oz. That's with an original buttplate.


Art


Wow! Quite the beast. Shocked

I'm guessing an extra one may have got added there?

Marc

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scraggley
PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:53 am  Reply with quote
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Sorry about that senior moment! Correct wt. 6 lb-9oz.

Art

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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:06 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
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I have a DS in 16 ga. with 26" barrels. Very light and a joy to handle. As odd as this sounds, the gun balanced very light at the muzzle so I bored the butt stock to compensate. The result was an even lighter gun with even better manners. I will endeavor to retain these qualities when I build a new wood set to replace the repaired walnut that currently graces the gun. Interesting to hear that higher grades weigh more. I suppose I could engrave the DS...

Tomorrow she helps me close out our local goose season.

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UncleDanFan
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 11:48 am  Reply with quote
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https://www.proxibid.com/aspr/LeFever-Arms-Co-DS-Grade-SxS-Shotgun/40093056/LotDetail.asp?lid=40093056&rfpb=0#Top

Here's a very nice DS I placed an opening bid on, but I've since decided to go the new gun route.

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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 8:51 pm  Reply with quote



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If you found a new gun that feels as good and swings as nice as a DS, I'm impressed.

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