Fox Collectors

Today at long last I tried out this LC Smith ”Long Range” 12-gauge gun on the sporting course at Rock Mountain. I’ve owned this one for a few years now but she’s been stuck in the back of the safe. 32-inch tubes with Full & Full chokes and weight at 8-3, made in 1927 after LCS started responding to sportsmen wanting lighter weight 3-inch duck guns. Ok, with hunting dimensions and those tight chokes she’s not the ideal sporting clays gun ….. but with a score of 52 ex 56 (all the paper shells I had) she certainly strutted her stuff today.

Check out the first pic with the factory burnishing still on the barrel breeches.

frank

At some point in the future, I want to get a second Long Range for my son. They are great guns

Beautiful example, you should get it out of the safe more often. If I shot 93% with a gun it would never go back in the safe!! LOL

Very nice, Frank!

Beautiful gun. Great condition and amazing shooting. I guess you don’t need open chokes to break clays.

Well Jeff, open chokes will break clays but tight chokes CRUSH them just like Frank likes.

Nothing like smoking a clay target with a full choke

Very nice gun, Frank, and shot very well. Some Smith guns handle beautifully. I have two 32" ones, a FWE 16 and a 3E 12. The 12 handles "normal", like it should ...........the 16 like a dream. I dunno.

That is one fine Elsie!! Fantastic condition!

Very nice!!!!

Excellent Long Range Smith. Mine is battle scarred, but has accounted for
two large vocal turkeys in the recent seasons.
I do compare the HE to the Long Range: it depends on the bird
and the shot load -and the range. I think my Super Fox has
a greater range but that is what it was designed for.

I recently picked one up. I will post some pictures. It’s got some use marks and wear. But it’s a fine shooter.

The advantages of the LC Smith Long Range /Waterfowl
3 inch guns are the numbers of the guns out there, and they are a bit handier
than the Super Fox for turkey hunting. I have both, but the HE wins hands down in a duck blind or
goose pit.
The real question is why are there so few 12 GA Parkers chambered for either 2 7/8 in
or the later 3 inch Remington-Parkers and so marked?

It may be that Burt Becker, Charles Askins, and Nash Buckingham assisting AH Fox, along with LC Smith-all may have
gotten the jump on Parker with long range doubles. Duck and goose limits, along with wetland drought
and conservation measures had an effect. The late 20s and Depression 30s affected demand,
and Winchester's Heavy Duck Model 12 also had an impact on sales-by the middle 1930s or earlier.
The Fox Wildfowl Sterlingworth model used up some of the HE frames later, but the cost vs a Super Fox was only about $12 difference.
Only about 50 of those were made up and sold.