Why does the safety on my L.C. Smith shotgun have three positions?

The three-position safety provided great relief to the live bird shooter and trap shooter. When the safety was placed in the “rear” position, the gun was ready to shoot. Upon firing and opening the barrels the safety stayed in the “fire” position.  The shooter never had to worry about remembering to disengage the safety before shooting.

When placed in the middle position, the gun was "on safe" and had to be pushed forward to the “fire" position before the gun could be fired. Upon opening the barrels, the safety automatically returned to the "safe" position.

This Combined Automatic and Independent Safety was patented by Alexander T. Brown and Wilbirt Smith in 1886.  It was standard on Hunter Arms Company guns from1895 to 1902.  Then it became available as a special order option until 1945.