16ga.com ~ View topic - 1st Part of my Birthday present arrived today!

Gentlemen,

As many of you know from my prior post I am getting both a Ryman/Old Hemlock puppy and a 1929 L.C. Smith 16 gauge gun for my birthday, making this old Grouse hunter extremely happy.

We picked up my 1929 L.C. Smith 16 gauge gun at the FFL dealer this afternoon and she it a beauty, almost show room condition. The one screw is slightly out of time or it would be a pristine L.C. Smith double gun. The barrels were either ordered at 26 3/4" length or the gun smith who did the work was extremely good at his job, barrels look to be special ordered for the original owners Quail hunting and gun transporting. Gun also has the L.C. Smith double sided safety, that changes the gun from safety reset to constant fire for line shooting. Barrels are choked M/IM for Quail hunting. The English Walnut stocks are in pristine condition, not a mark on them and no cracks any place, and the original finish is still perfect.
The 16 gauge gun weighs a perfect 6.0lbs and is balanced perfectly at the hing pin. further the gun swings exceedingly well, and patterns perfectly, with my RST 2 1/2' shells. Trigger pull is exceedingly light for the original owners Quail hunting. This will be another great 16 gauge Grouse gun for sure. We now need to order another set of good 16 gauge snap caps for this serious little double gun.
Got to say for the money we payed for this beautiful little gun, I got one of the best deals of my life. Great start to my birthday no doubt about it! This 1929 gun is the latest made L.C. Smith gun we now own. For a post 1913 L.C. Smith gun, this 1929 16 gauge gun, was exceedingly well made.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Our 1929 L.C. Smith 16 gauge Field Grade Gun, with DT and Double Sided (3 position) safety
.

Wonderful Dave glad you are happy with your new gun .
WJ.

Member Joined: 30 Nov 2011 Posts: 1698 Location: Minnesota

Nice grab Dave!

That will kill some grouse over a fine Setter dog!

purple16,

Thanks for the nice complement. I also like the GBE quote you use at the end of your posts. I do often wonder why George left out the words (and a dog by his side), when writing the quote into his book. GBE's Ryman/Old hemlock dogs were just as important to him as his double guns. Real nice quote no doubt about it!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 28 Dec 2017 Posts: 87 Location: Northern Utah

Nice find. Beautiful shotgun.

Joined: 17 Oct 2019 Posts: 456 Location: New Jersey

Where did you find that Dave? I’ve never seen a FG 16 that light. Very nice.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1381 Location: Denver, Colorado

Nice gun Dave! Six pounds is very light for an Elsie, even a featherweight 16. Impressive!

Swampy16 & Lloyd3,

The reason the gun is so light is the barrels are just over 26"long and I did round the weight off to 6lbs. Actual weight is 6.2lbs when I used my trigger pull weight gauge. We also own a pre 13, 20 gauge with 26" Barrels and it is real light also. Both the 16 and the 20 are fantastic Grouse & Woodcock guns that throw real nice Grouse killing patterns with the RST SpredR shells. I also have a couple other Special Order 16 gauge L.C. Smith guns that are almost as light.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 17 Oct 2019 Posts: 456 Location: New Jersey

I’ve owned three 16 gauge Elsie’s and I think the lightest one was 6-1/2 pounds. Very nice score.

Swampy16,

Most of the 16 gauge guns with 28" Barrels weigh in at about 6 1/2lbs the shorter barrel FW frame guns are just a might lighter most of the time. It all depends on the quality of the wood. This 1929 gun we just picked up has the lighter English Walnut wood on her, making her a little less weight than the regular frame 16 gun. The gun still swings real nice and carries very well also. Real glad I took the chance on this little beauty, and picked her up. At the cost, I actually stole this gun, the owner gave me one heck of a great deal, and the gun is in almost pristine condition. Not very many times do I get to pick up a 16 gauge L.C. Smith Field Grade gun, in such great condition. A lot of the Field Grade guns I get to look at, have been used really hard. This gun came out of Quail country and the owner took really good care of it, not even any scratches on the original stock finish. Finding one of these guns in this kind of condition at the price I paid for it, is almost unheard of. The funny thing is the man knew what he had and wanted the gun to go to somebody who would appreciate it, and keep on using it.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1381 Location: Denver, Colorado

In our family, my brother got the 16-gauge Smith. It's a Field Grade Featherweight as well, a circa 1927 gun, with 28-inch barrels. I forget what it weighs exactly, but it's at least 6 1/2 lbs. The wood is very plain (so not-likely English). It was the first double that I ever picked up that impressed me, as far as weight and handling were concerned (we used to fight over who got to use it). And since it went to him (as it should have) I set off on a path to duplicate it's attributes in several other guns (God only knows what that's cost me over the years). But... it's been a fun trip.

Lloyd3,

I can fully understand you guys fighting over an L.C. Smith 16 gauge bird gun. My grandfather believed they were the perfect Grouse guns, and we were schooled in that manner. Fortunately in our family we had ownership of more than a couple L.C. Smith 16 gauge double guns, as we were growing up. Many of our ancestors believed as my Grandfather did, and Special Ordered the guns especially for their Grouse & Woodcock hunting. After walking the woods with a fine L.C. Smith 16 gauge gun and shooting your 1sst Grouse on the wing, most times a Grouse hunter is completely sold on their L.C. Smith 16 gauge double gun, no matter the Grade of the gun. In reality it is hard to explain the feel and swing of these guns, they feel like an extension of ones own arms and have just enough weight to perfectly follow thru when shooting a true double Grouse shot. With the wood Hunter Arms picked out for these 16 gauge guns they are beautiful also.

I try to impress on the sportsman I mentor that using the correct size shells in these guns is very important for longevity ownership. We have used the correct size shells that Hunter Arms recommends in our guns for many generations now, it keeps them in perfect working order. Many owners fail to follow the Hunter Arms instructions and end up damaging their 16 gauge guns. None of our original family guns have ever been cracked, because we do not abuse them, with shells they were never engineered to shoot. Our 00 Grade guns are treated just like our #5 or #7 guns, and all were engineered in exactly the same manner.

We have a 00 Grade 16 gauge gun that was Special Ordered with the Damascene internal side locks and polished springs, and 2 sets of barrels with #5 French Walnut Wood, and #1 gun Kraus engraving. Even my #5 guns take a back seat to this particular 16 gauge gun, and its still a 00 Grade L.C. Smith 16 gauge gun. When you say entry level, we have an entry level gun like no other. Granted its a one of a kind L.C. Smith double gun, like all the other high grade L.C. Smith guns, you can not just purchase one in a gun shop.
Enjoy your 16 gauge L.C. Smith Grouse gun.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

The ultimate 16 gauge Grouse Gun, a Special Order 00 Grade L.C. Smith with 2 sets of barrels and 2 different fore arms. The stuff Dreams are made of.
My new 1929 Field Grade 16 gauge birthday present will be treated exactly the same as this gun pictured below. In fact we just ordered Silver Snap Caps for it.

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 444 Location: WI

The 1922 L.C. Smith 16 gauge Specialty Grade with 26" barrels and "lightweight" frame that I have weighs in at 6 lbs 8.5oz.

Personally, I would hesitate to call a 16 double weighing in at over 6 lbs a "lightweight" gun when there are many other 16's that fall between 5-1/2 and 6 lbs, but if someone was used to a 7 lb gun, shedding a 1/2 pound of gun weight would feel significant.

nj gsp,

I agree however a 5lb 16 or 20 gauge is not going to swing like a 6 or 6 1/2lb gun.
I want that weight for shooting doubles for sure. I want the gun to come around almost of it own accord for shooting those true double Grouse shots I hold so challenging.
The 5lb gun most times is not enough weight to have it happen. It's why I prefer my L.C. Smith 16 gauge guns so much in the Grouse woods, over my 20 or 28 gauge guns. With the light 20 or 28 gauge guns I have to force the swing, the natural movement is just not there, even with the well balanced lighter gun, it still needs the weight to work correctly for the kind of gunning I do. I have some incredible 20 gauge L.C. Smith guns, however for me the 16 gauge gun is the perfect Grouse & Woodcock gun. Now for shooting Mearns Quail give me the light 20 gauge L.C. Smith gun. For Grouse & Woodcock I want my 16 gauge double gun.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

There are some #5 20 gauge guns that would be very hard to leave at home when Grouse hunting.

Then again it is impossible to leave a #5 16 gauge gun at home when Grouse hunting.