Hunting the Family Shotguns (originally published in the The Journal of the L.C. Smith Collectors Association - Volume 20, Issue 1, Spring 2022).
I am fortunate to have inherited two old L.C. Smith shotguns from my father. The earliest gun belonged to my great grandfather Dr. David Marshall Ragan who was born in Conowingo, Maryland in 1866. Doc Ragan began his practice in the horse and buggy days and served the good people of Cecil county, Maryland as a traveling country doctor. He treated ill patients and delivered babies in their homes, sometimes receiving livestock as payment as referenced in his written receipts. Eventually, he opened a pharmacy with his brother William and stayed in practice until the completion of the Conowingo Dam which forced him to abandon the building to the reservoir waters. My father told me he was an avid bird hunter, and having the means, purchased a modest No. 2 Grade 16 gauge L.C. Smith SN 61359 that I now own. The double has 28-inch barrels, shell extractors, two triggers, and a splinter forend that was finished on October 9, 1903. It has engravings of a “woodcock in a circle” on the right side and a “Quail in a circle” on the left. It has seen much use and handling but is still in fine shape for the age.
The second shotgun belonged to one of the doctor’s 6 sons, and my grandfather W. Curtis Ragan. Curtis was a simple farmer who lived in the same town. Having to scrape a living during the great depression my father told me he was often tasked with hunting as a means to bring home needed food for the family. My grandfather liked to hunt squirrel and waterfowl. His shotgun was the least expensive popular 12-gauge Field Grade SN 181176 with 30-inch barrels, two triggers and a splinter forend. It was built on November 28, 1935 on a regular-weight frame with automatic ejectors.
The Smith Won Grandfather's Pattern Test
The story is my grandfather set up a pattern test between his LC Smith and the Ithica featherweight pump he used mostly for duck hunting. The Smith with the full choke barrel outperformed the Ithica and became his favored squirrel gun. It is in excellent shape with only the bluing worn on the sides of each tube from carrying.
A good friend of mine named Bill offered for me to join him on a pheasant hunt at a game club he was a member of in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in early November 2020. I quickly took him up on the offer and started thinking about using one of my vintage LC Smith shotguns on the hunt. I decided I would use the later Field Grade shotgun of my grandfather as I had a couple boxes of vintage paper Remington “Kleanbore” number 6 shot shells that came with the gun. That gun was also very tight and appeared to be in great shape. I admit I struggled to hit the first couple birds, but I managed to kill a cock and a hen with it.
When Bill asked again if I would join him on a hunt that year, I opted for my father’s more modern Italian over under 12 gauge instead, and I found it much easier to point than the long-barreled Field Grade. As I was reflecting on the successful hunts with both my father and grandfather’s shotguns, I now had a desire to also use Doc Marshall’s 16 gauge and complete the use of the three generations of family shotguns. I knew however that the 16 gauge needed a little more gentleness and was also chambered in 2 ½ inch instead of 2 ¾. The stock was in great shape and I wanted to keep it that way. The pandemic was in full force by this point and ammo was now much harder to find. Eventually, I was able to order some cardboard RTS number 7 shot in 2 ½ inch and was in business.
As we signed in at the club house on that chilly morning in November 2021, I was brimming with excitement and a bit anxious about hunting with a gun that was 118 years old. As we started out, I noticed immediately that the gun was a joy to carry. Light weight compared to the 12-gauge Field Grade it pointed like a dream with the shorter 28-inch barrels. As the dogs took to the sorghum field edges, I didn’t have long to wait for Bill’s Pudel pointer “Boomer” to have a bird on point. Bill and I got up on that bird and it flushed beautifully rising against the smokey sky. I was automatically on target and swinging with the bird from right to left. Squeezing the front trigger, the bird instantly folded in a puff of feathers and Bill gave out a hearty “HEY YEAH” as Boomer went to work retrieving. I had a huge smile and within an hour and a half, Bill and I both had our three-bird limit. The elegant and trim little 16-gauge from bygone days handled like a dream and provided a day that will be a cherished memory.
I’ll definitely be toting the old No. 2 Grade again if I go on future pheasant or dove hunts. I’m thinking that the 30 inch 12-gauge Smith just might be the ticket for a spring gobbler hunt. I had now accomplished successful hunts with 3 generations of the Ragan family shotguns. The old girls can certainly still “get it done”. I can’t help reflecting that one day when I am gone my son Garrett, who is now eight-year-old, may want to repeat the feat with the addition of my “vintage” Remington 870 12-gauge pump. What better way to preserve a bit of history and remember our passed family members doing what they loved?
