Is this old gun safe to shoot?

S

sleeping dog

New member
I ran across a Lefever Nitro Special from Lefever Arms of Ithaca, NY. The serial is 229xxx. The two barrels are side-by-side and it has two triggers. It is in nice shape with most of the blue intact on the barrel and none of the blue intact on the receiver. Can this design handle modern ammunition?
Thanks
 
I don't know what Damascus steel looks like. This is just a black barrel (from the bluing) and the bore is just shiny. It looks very ordinary.
 
Any old shotgun(or other gun for that matter) should be checked out by a competent smith before any firing is done.

Loading and shooting w/o a check may qualify one for the Darwin Awards, and/or ruin a classic shotgun.

Even w/o Damascus/twist steel bbls, many old guns do not hold up well with modern ammo.

And, many old guns are chambered for short shells, like 2 1/2 12 gauges or the older 2 9/16" 16 ga. Putting a longer shell in one of these is tantamount to holding a grenade about 1 foot in front of your eyes and pulling the pin. Did you know that shotguns and grenades have about the same working pressure?

Lefevre shotguns,designed by "Uncle Dan" Lefevre,are one of the classics. If the smith checks out this one and OKs shooting it some, I'd stick to lighter loads like 1oz,3 dram, or 1 1/8 oz, 3 dram.

If it is Damascus, there are some lower power/pressure loads available, and also some 2 1/2 shells, but they don't come cheap.
 
Oh, yes, the forum that Harley Nolden runs here may have some folks who can tell you more about this classic.
 
Quite frankly, NO ONE here can tell you whether YOUR shotgun is safe or not.

That's a job for a qualified gunsmith who can give it a hands-on inspection.
 
I agree with Mike. Only a knowledgeable person actually looking at the gun can even make an educated guess, and in this day of the lawyers, will probably not give an uqualified response. FWIW, the term "Nitro" was generally applied to sold steel barrels as opposed to Damascus barrels, so it is likely that the gun has solid steel barrels. Still, it was not built for modern ammunition. It might not even be for modern length shells, since many of the old guns were made for 2 1/2 or 2 9/16 shells and would be dangerous with 2 3/4 shells regardless of pressure, since the shell would be filling the forcing cone.

Quite honestly, I would hang it up rather than take a chance in harming a valuable antique.

Also FWIW, I do not believe any gun having Damascus or laminated barrels should be fired with any kind of load.

Jim
 
Thanks to all for your responses. I think I've got a nice, solid gun that may shoot well. I don't think it is of enormous value, but it's a decent antique, maybe 75 years old and worth 200 to 400.

It now gathers dust at the gunsmith's shop, waiting to be evaluated for safety, length of the chamber (2.75", I hope), and maybe a guess as to the choke. You've all convinced me I shouldn't just put shells in it and pull the trigger.

Regards.
 
I ran across another site, http://www.gunshop.com/dgsnos3.htm which has a list of serial numbers. I think mine was built in 1925.

I imagine that $29 in 1921 represented a few days worth of average wages. A reasonable price, but not cheap. I wonder what a .45 1911 Colt pistol went for in that year. Or a surplus 1903 Springfield 30-06.
 
Wow, great information. I just did the search and found this thread. Grandad's shotgun was made in 1924. My brothers and I may put a box of shells through it once every two years. I need think about this. Wonderful shotgun with lots of family stories.
 
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