L.C. Smith 3E 12 Gauge – 1906, SST, EJ, 28”, 7LBS,

“PRE-1913” L.C. Smith guns were superior to the later guns in the way of fit and finish.  Rarely do you see a split in the stock in pre-1913 Elsie guns because so much time and care was put into the inletting and finishing.  The frame sculpting and engraving were more finely tuned and elegant as well.  Of the 2592 Grade 3E twelve-gauge guns ever made, only 326 were made with 28” barrels, AND ONLY ABOUT 250 WITH AN ENGLISH STOCK.  Add in the fact that the gun weighs just 7lbs. and has a single selective trigger and you have a very hard to find upland gun with all the best features.  This graceful L.C. Smith Grade 3E, sn205298 built in 1906, is in excellent condition throughout, with barrels tight on hinge pin and breech face, factory 2 ¾” chambers with VFI lengthened forcing cones (1 ½” tapers for softened recoil and better patterns, a $200 service in our shop), mechanics in superb operating condition with strong, well-timed ejectors, properly functioning single selective trigger, positive safety, ready for decades more use.  For this Elsie, we stripped the action and forend iron to the smallest parts, Ultrasonic cleaned and scrubbed all parts to shiny metal, inspected all for integrity and function, lubricated and reassembled, providing a VFI CERTIFIED GUN, a $375 service in our shop.  VFI CERTIFIED GUNS have a 90-day mechanical warranty providing confidence you are buying a fine shotgun that will provide years of service in the field.  The barrels have factory bore diameters, mirror shiny bores, minimum barrel wall thickness of 30 thousandths of an inch, 98% blue, choked SK/M (perfect upland bird and sporting clays chokes).  The engraving is sharp and clear, with 70% fading factory case color (thinning but there), excellent screws, beautifully sculpted frame, a work of art hand-engraved 117 years ago.  The wood is gorgeous with nice figure, no cracks, excellent checkering and wood-to-metal-fit, nicely restored by VFI (a $950 service in our shop) and the butt ending in a VFI installed Purdey style leather covered pad (a $650 service in our shop) to give that final touch of fine gun elegance.  The gun is a “looker” no doubt.  Built on a regular weight frame weighing 7lbs. 1oz. and balanced nicely between the hands, the gun is ready for several more generations of use.  VFI has performed over $2000 in services on this gun, so she is ready for modern ammunition, is mechanically and cosmetically awesome, and you have no added expenses if you buy this gun.  You can’t say that with the other choices on the internet!  The vintage American side x side guns are in high demand and going up in value every year, so they are investment quality, tangible assets for your enjoyment, really not an expenditure at all.  Don’t hesitate on this classic Pre-1913 Elsie…they are getting hard to find!  Thanks for looking.

We employ full time gunsmiths on premises and can perform alterations to suit your needs within a few weeks of purchase. Common requests are: -stock bending to suit your particular requirements -addition of any specified butt pad to increase length of pull -alteration of chokes to suit your shooting preferences -lengthening of chambers and forcing cones -darkening stock color with penetrating stains -restoring any part of the gun including rust blue, charcoal blue, bone and charcoal case color, wood restoration and checkering recuts. If you like one our guns but it needs “tweaked”, let us know and we can quote you a time and price. Some enthusiasts like the guns “as found” and others want them “just so”. We often list guns as found and let the particular buyer choose how they want their gun to fit or look.