Disease!! Who else has delt with this?

[jetjockey]

While I know this isn't exactly about bird dogs, it does have everything to do with bird dog hunting.........   

I am a weak man.  Sometimes I just can't say no.  It's an addiction that many others have, but there are no group meetings, no support groups, and no place other than forums like this to discuss my sickness.  They say that acceptance is the first stage in recover, but I disagree.  I think the first stage of recovery is wantig to recover, and with this in mind, I think my disease is a sickness I will have to mange for the rest of my life.  I simply do no want to recover from my disease.  See, I have to make a decision, and it's not an easy decision.  I have to decide if the little 20 GA LC Smith Trap Grade that's sitting in my Father In Laws gun room right now is going to make the 500 mile trip from his gun room, to my safe.  My FIL has the disease as well, an the Holland and Holland that came from the same Estate sale is going to find a happy nestled amongst some other beautiful doubles.  But nobody has claimed the little Elsie.  It's 1 of about 350 Elsie's ever made in 20 GA Trap Grade.  It has 26 in barrels and the Hunter One single selective trigger.  Built in 1923 and well used, but tight as can be.....   It's not what I really wanted in an Elsie.  I'd prefer to have double triggers and 28in barrels.  But I just can't seem to out it down.   I've always wanted one, and this one has so much damn character, that I might not be able to say no.   T would be a damn near perfect little quail and pheasant gun that swings fast and mounts quick.   It's times like this, I wish I didn't have the double gun disease..

[jetjockey]

Still choked to its original Mod and Full configuration.

[Stilly bay]

That is a sweet little shooter with unique or atleast uncommon engraving! I would leave it choked as is and just get some spreaders from RST

The 26" barrels are a bit of turn off in that light a gun, but you are going to be kicking yourself if you don't at least foster it for awhile until you can find it its next rightful owner/gunner.

IMO that thing needs to be used for ruffed grouse over setters so you might as well just give it to me.

Thats is a very nice little gun Jetjockey, I am jealous!

Oh and the best way to put the disease into remission, at least for awhile, is to quit your job or get married. But it will only come back stronger.

[Stilly bay]

I can't stop drooling.
Does it have a safety? I know some pigeon and trap guns don't.

[AspenBud]

Fixed it for ya Stilly...

That is a sweet little shooter with unique or atleast uncommon engraving! I would leave it choked as is and just get some spreaders from RST

The 26" barrels are a bit of turn off in that light a gun, but you are going to be kicking yourself if you don't at least foster it for awhile until you can find it its next rightful owner/gunner.

IMO that thing needs to be used for ruffed grouse over Pointers so you might as well just give it to me.

Thats is a very nice little gun Jetjockey, I am jealous!

Oh and the best way to put the disease into remission, at least for awhile, is to quit your job or get married. But it will only come back stronger.

[jetjockey]

I can't stop drooling.
Does it have a safety? I know some pigeon and trap guns don't.

Yes it does.  LC Smith confused a lot of people with the "Trap" grade LC Smith.  They marketed the guns a field and sporting guns , but they are identicle to the field grade LC Smiths, with better engraving.  Any grade Elsie at the time could be ordered in a trap configuration.  So even though the gun is a "Trap" grade, it's not a trap configuration.  The 26 in barrels aren't bad either.  I wanted 28's, but it swings well and I couldn't tell much difference between the Elsie and my FIL's RBL with 28's.

[lokidog]

Beautiful little gun.  I love the SxS's.  I like the single trigger as well.

[jetjockey]

Looks like my sickness is cured for a while at least.  It also looks like I'm a new member of the LC Smith club..

[Stilly bay]

Very cool, congrats on the new shooter.

[jetjockey]

Update on my little LC Smith.  After buying the gun, I hunted it for two seasons before deciding who would do the restoration.  I wanted to make sure having 2 1/2" chambers wouldn't be an issue, and that the gun was what a I wanted.  Since it has short chambers, buying shells off the shelf isnt easy.  However, RST does a wonderful job of making shells for classic double guns, and will deliver to your doorstep.  I shot nearly 3 flats of shells through it and discovered that even with low pressure 7/8oz loads of #5's, this thing is pure death to pheasants.  In January, I sent the gun off to have it refurbished by a Smith in North Georgia.  On Monday, I drove up to pick it up.  To say I'm pleased with the way it turned out is an understatement.  I was on a little bit of a budget, so I didn't get everything done to it I wanted, but overall I'm very happy.  Considering the prices Uve seen LC Smith Trap grades go for in recent months, I'm VERY happy, even though I don't plan on ever selling the gun.

[huntingfool7]

That's a pretty LC Smith.  Who did the work?

[nastybynature]

  WOW! Very NICE! I just love old guns, of any kind/caliber/config.  But that there, that is something special.

[wildweeds]

Pretty weapon,I've got the disease but it's configured in stacked barrells,I picked up a Winchester 101 skeet set last year for a song as compared to its worth, 20/28/.410 set one of 275 made and in 98% condition as by the appraiser

[jetjockey]

Wild.  Have any pictures? Sounds like a cool gun. 

I've had a hard time getting mine appraised.  I took it to the Cabelas gun room after I picked it up this week in hopes to get a better idea of its worth.  Unfortunately the guy knew very little about guns and quoted me a ridiculous price.  He told me it wasn't worth as much as an untouched Field Grade.  I snickered and politely told him thanks.  I called the gun room manager back about an hour later and had him look up a listing cabelas had for nearly the exact same gun, that was also not original.  They sold that gun for 3X what the guy quoted me as the highest appraisal price.  I've learned you pretty much have to do it yourself when it comes to valuing old guns.  Very few people understand their value and how to judge a gun, and even less understand terms like barrel wall thickness.  When the guy at Cabelas looked at my gun he said the barrels looked great, but couldn't tell me a thing about what the barrels should measure, so he had no idea if they had been honed or not.  I guess that's the sickness we have when it comes to doubles.  You start out just looking at how pretty a gun is, and then you get interested in things like barrel wall thickness, proper configurations, colors, etc.  It really is a sickness.

[wildweeds]

Jet,

    I'm pretty lucky in the fact that an old fella who has the disease and is RICH beyond belief shoots at the club and he is a double gun expert,he looked at my winchester and said he was going to buy it if I didn't,told me it was worth 4500,the appraiser I took it too spouted the same figure,I paid 2500 for it.I showed my belgian browning silver pigeon to the expert guy at the club and he said that because of the model and year it is worth 7K even though the wood has been refinished.My former Boss who is my buddys dad inheritied his dads double guns,2 elsies,1 fox,and 1 exhibition grade parker,The parker has been appraised at 40K and never sees ungloved hands as it is in perfect condition,the same cannot be said for the elsies as they were the field guns,but they are still worth quite a bit.When I asked about his dads guns,he said "Oh them old things can't be worth that much" I told him "Well don't count yourself short and do some homework your going to be surprised" and he was.FWIW Cabelas is not a good measuring stick,find an expert Jet,Perhaps Dawsons Double Guns can give you a better estimate.The local expert from the club bought a Winchester model 23 at a gunshow for 3000,the little .410 only had 2 boxes shot through it,he bought it for another club member to repurchase from him for 3000,That guy didn't like the way it shot,couldn't get used to it so passed,and the Expert contacted Dawsons doubles and they bought it for 4500,and probably resold it for 5500.You know you have it kinda bad when you have some in the safe that you can't remember the last time you shot them.I will try to get some pictures of the 101 to put up,I'll have to wait for the wife to be gone though,she doesn't have a clue about that one,I bought it because I was madder than an old wet hen about her blowing the money I made at the indian casino,so I adopted a plan that when I see the money disappear from the bank account at the casino? I buy guns or gun parts,I've bought that shotgun and built 2 very high end AR's,Next on the list is a build from parts high end 1911 .45 ACP. If I were to spit the bit tommorrow she would be struck with bewilderment when she opened the gunsafe.I have documentation on a few things in there and another envelope with a piece of paper that says " Watch out with what you do with all this stuff,because it's worth more money than you think,get an expert" There's a list of what can be sold and a list of what goes to whom in the family of my cousins boys and my only nephew.