XxWINxX94
Member
Went to the gun show today and almost bought a vintage L.C. Smith Field grade, and a Damascus barrel Parker "G"? grade.
The Smith was old, and had been used, but the price was fair. $500, but there were some things that turned me off. First it had no case-colors left on the reciever, and my blue book implied that all of them had case-colors on them when they were new. So were the recievers on double barrel field grade L.C. Smiths always case colored? The one I looked at was a light grey color on the reciever. Wood was in decent shape and barrel blueing was good.
It also had a Hawkins(?) recoil pad on it, which also turned me off, because it wasn't original. Manufacture was in the 1913-1950 era, so It did catch my eye.
So, for vintage L.C. Smiths, do recoil pads take away value? And also were all L.C. Smiths case-colored recievers?
Then there was a "G"? grade Parker. I didn't recognize it at first because it was in such good shape. Literally 90% bluing on the barrels and the wood was nearly 95% with only a few knicks. The guy only wanted $835 for it and that struck me as odd, because the damascus Parkers are normally worth a fortune in that good of shape. I came to find out it had a 1'' by .25'' dent on the left barrel towards the muzzle. You could see the imperfection by looking down the barrel. The seller claimed it was an "easy fix," but I was just not sure of what that would do to value, so I walked away.
Are dents an "easy fix?" or was I just trying to be lured into a trap?
Also, could any fellow collectors point me in the right direction for these type of old shotguns. I'm really looking for another double barrel, and a Parker at a reasonable price would really be a fantastic addition to my collection. Not looking to spend all that much, and condition isn't too much of a factor, as long as its shootable, and is pretty old.
The Smith was old, and had been used, but the price was fair. $500, but there were some things that turned me off. First it had no case-colors left on the reciever, and my blue book implied that all of them had case-colors on them when they were new. So were the recievers on double barrel field grade L.C. Smiths always case colored? The one I looked at was a light grey color on the reciever. Wood was in decent shape and barrel blueing was good.
It also had a Hawkins(?) recoil pad on it, which also turned me off, because it wasn't original. Manufacture was in the 1913-1950 era, so It did catch my eye.
So, for vintage L.C. Smiths, do recoil pads take away value? And also were all L.C. Smiths case-colored recievers?
Then there was a "G"? grade Parker. I didn't recognize it at first because it was in such good shape. Literally 90% bluing on the barrels and the wood was nearly 95% with only a few knicks. The guy only wanted $835 for it and that struck me as odd, because the damascus Parkers are normally worth a fortune in that good of shape. I came to find out it had a 1'' by .25'' dent on the left barrel towards the muzzle. You could see the imperfection by looking down the barrel. The seller claimed it was an "easy fix," but I was just not sure of what that would do to value, so I walked away.
Are dents an "easy fix?" or was I just trying to be lured into a trap?
Also, could any fellow collectors point me in the right direction for these type of old shotguns. I'm really looking for another double barrel, and a Parker at a reasonable price would really be a fantastic addition to my collection. Not looking to spend all that much, and condition isn't too much of a factor, as long as its shootable, and is pretty old.