16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 09 Apr 2009 Posts: 36

I’ve recently acquired an L.C. Smith 16 ga. DT and extractors.
The serial number is FW198xxx.
I’ve been looking for a resource to confirm chamber length, but no luck. The serial # indicates made in 1942 so I believe it is 2 3/4”?

believe it or not, but take one of those all yellow magic markers, insert the bottom end into the chamber and you can measure it.

There is a great deal of information on the LCSCA FAQs
https://lcsca.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=274&club_id=43784

L.C. Smith and Hunter Arms Fulton 16 gauge guns manufactured as late as 1939 have been found with 2 9/16" chambers.

There is an easy way to measure chamber length using a 3" x 5" index card, rolled lengthwise, and slid into the chamber. It will partially unroll and expand to the chamber diameter.
Gently advance the card until it stops at the end of the chamber (where the forcing cone constriction starts), use a pencil to mark the card at the breech end of the barrel, and repeat the steps to see if it always comes to same spot.
Then use a ruler to measure the length marked on the card.
The chamber must be clean, and it works best with a new 3” X 5” card.

Joined: 06 Jan 2017 Posts: 88

The chamber length question concerning American guns is confusing, because all the makers didn't change at the same time. And when they did change, they didn't change all their gauges at once. From what I've observed, there were short chambered 16ga Elsies being made after everyone else (or at least all the makers of classic doubles) had changed to 2 3/4".

There's a diagram in Brophy's Elsie book (p.228, Appendix C) showing both 12ga and 16ga chamber length. 12 is 2.75". 16 is 2.5625". The diagram is dated 4-6-38.