Should I restore my L.C. Smith shotgun?

1. The first step would be to check the 'Shotguns', 'FAQ', and 'Photo Trail' on the Home Page. You can determine the grade, date of manufacture, and how to obtain a research letter from the LCSCA. If by chance your gun is documented to be associated with a famous trap shooter or someone of historical significance, we would strongly advise obtaining a professional appraisal before altering the gun in any way (See No.3, below).

2. Refurbish means some degree of external clean up with a return to excellent mechanical function, and may include removing dents from the barrels or replacing a tired top lever spring. Restoration means "like new when it left Fulton" and may well cost several thousand dollars, especially if a new stock is required. A full restoration of a lower grade gun will likely cost much more than the value of the gun Following the restoration.


3. If you've just discovered a pristine or high grade gun in the rafters of the henhouse, and your desire is to sell the gun DON'T DO ANYTHING. Any alteration will markedly diminish both it's value and desirability to a collector. The buyer will want the restoration performed to his specifications, and by his expert.


4. If it's not a pristine or high grade gun (a "shooter"), it's certainly reasonable to make it right for you recognizing that the clean up/refurbish/alternations will add little if anything to the value, and if outside the 'normal' would make re-sale much more difficult, ie. chopping the stock to 13 inches for your 10-year-old daughter or removing the choke from a 32 inch barrel trap gun. Reasonable alterations might include lengthening a short chamber in a 20 gauge or 16 gauge gun, opening chokes, or replacing a deteriorated recoil pad with one that is period appropriate.
   Please see Frequently Asked Questions


5. An external clean up is certainly warranted, might prevent further cosmetic damage, and not that difficult.
   Please see Frequently Asked Questions
   
   
6. Any L.C. Smith is likely to be well past due a mechanical check and clean by a double gun specialist smith. Upon disassembly, the smith is very likely to find something needing repair (especially cracks in the head of the stock) and glas-bedding to prevent future wood damage might be a good idea at that time.
   Please see Picture Trail
   
   
7. We believe that every scratch in the wood, every handling mark, the worn blueing and faded case colors are a testimony to the joy given the gun's previous caretakers, and especially if that caretaker was a family member, would view each as a treasure to be cherished rather than to be erased. Please consider whether your grandfather would be more proud to use the gun as is was, or as it could be made to look? Would the deep scratch in the stock remind him of the time Kate went on point by the fenceline, he tripped and caught the stock on a string of barbed wire, but still made the shot from his knees?
   
   
8. Then again, it's your gun, so do what you want keeping in mind that once altered, there is no going back except by another 50 years of hard hunting!