Lefever Nitro Special

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Found one of these at my local Cabela's for $630 and keep on flip flopping on wether to buy it or not. It is in 16ga and has 28" barrels. I've been on the hunt for a decent double 16ga for awhile now and this could be a good candidate. I've read a bit about these, they are a decent working man's gun but they are not as nice as the Lefever name would imply. Also apparently some of the 16ga ones where chambered for 2 3/4" and other 2 9/16". I was going to measure the chamber with my calipers to see which it was but didn't know what the length should be for 2 3/4" because the named length is for the pre crimped shell, correct? What length should the chamber be and what can you guys tell m about the Nitro Special?
 
That seems quite high to me. I bought a 16 last summer for $270. It was mechanically in very good condition. The only thing ‘not good’ about it was the roll stamped bird scene on both sides of the receiver were mostly faded and there was no case color left on the receiver. I’d be hard pressed to pay more than $450 for a one in really nice condition.

They were in fact a working mans gun and most are found well used. They are quite stout and as long as they are on face and lock up well and the barrels ring true are a great gun for hunting and clays. As you have probably read, it is only a Lefever in name and has no relationship to the Lefevers of the turn of the century. Ithaca bought the company but designed a totally new shotgun to put the Lefever name on. The Nitro Special eventually morphed into the Ithaca NID. I like the Nitro Special. But not for $650.

As far as chamber length goes, they would have been 2 9/16” until the 1930’s. After that they would be 2 3/4”. But many were rechambered to 2 3/4” over the years. So it takes a gauge to tell what it is now.

I will let you decide on firing a 2 3/4” in a 2 9/16” chamber. Read and learn. Some are adamant about not shooting them with a 2 3/4”. Others shoot them and don’t care.

Hope this helps.
 
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Your purchase sounds very similar to the one I'm looking at. Very strong lockup but obviously used and loved with the engraving all but gone and didn't realize there was supposed to be color case hardening. Maybe I'll try and talk them down but sounds like I'll be better looking elsewhere.
 
Every once in a while a bargain can be found at Cabela's, even in the Gun Library, but you'd better know what's what. $630 is a bit high for one in to condition you describe. They will entertain offers unless it's on consignment; if you like it, it can't hurt to pitch a number.
Use a shell gauge to check length.
 
If your not dead set on 16 gauge, a 12 gauge Fox Sterlingworth can be had for the same asking price. It would take a little searching but that would get you the bones of a double from the hay day of double barrel shotguns. The Sterlingworths are the budget of the Fox graded line and are constructed on the same frame as the top of the line graded guns. Just without the embellishments. They can be had in that price range. But like all of the shotguns from the turn of the last century the smaller the gauge the higher the price. A 16 gauge Sterlingworth is built on a smaller frame and commands a higher price. 20 gauge even higher. The smaller frames are just a joy to shoot as they just swing so much better. I shoot my 12 Sterlingworth very well and it will never leave me.

With all that said about higher prices for smaller gauges, I did luck into a 20 gauge Sterlingworth for $750. So you can get lucky. That 20 feels so good on the shoulder but I can’t hit a thing with it yet. It just doesn’t fit me. So with a little luck you might find a 16 in your price range.

Similar to Lefever being bought by Ithaca, Fox was bought out by Savage. But unlike Ithaca, Savage continued to make the Sterlingworth and the graded guns as they were designed by Ansley Fox. Original Foxes were made in Philadelphia until the 1929 while the Savage Foxes were made in Utica New York.

Now if your independently wealthy you can invest in one of the higher grade Foxes and part with $40 G’s.
 
I've been looking at a lot of LC Smith 12 ga. at the local Cabela's in the last year, most between $400 and $750. The one 20 ga. they had my pheasant hunting buddy grabbed for $1200. A guy in my Trap league buys old SxS's and restores them, shoots them for a while, and sells them. The last one he did was a 12 ga. Fox made before WWI, choked M/F. He shoots that one well, shot a 24 with it when he brought it out.
 
For some reason the Smiths command a higher price than the Foxes. I think in 12 gauge the Smiths are somewhat sleeker than the Foxes. I’ve not shot a Smith though I have handled them. And I like how they feel.
 
If your not dead set on 16 gauge,
Unfortunately I am fairly set on 16. This gun will be a momento to paying off my wife's student loans as well as getting my electrical license. We are paying about $100k in three years and trades work for my age group is uncommon so I want something uncommon to celebrate. To add to that I've fallen in love with upland hunting and a 16ga double just seems the perfect fit everything considered. Not really a logical breakdown but it is what I got. I'm not sold on buying a classic gun, if I don't find one before June when everything comes together I'm already planning on a Franchi Instinct SL but still checking my options.
 
I don't know what it is about the 16, but a lot of people really like it.

Foxes in 16 gauge are selling for around $1,100 on the broker. Nice condition/bluing but no case colors. Most guns that are used don't have the colors. And the engraving on all Foxes is real engraving and not roll stamped like the Nitro Special. One did sell for $750 but I suspect that was the outlier.
 
I don't know what it is about the 16, but a lot of people really like it.
I shot my FIL 16 pump and it just seems to be a nice compromise between recoil, weight, and payload. Shooting my wife's 20ga with the same shot weight has more perceived recoil but that probably has more to do with a much shorter LOP. At least that's what I like about it. Also forces me to reload which I almost enjoy more than shooting.
 
Look into a T.W. Stake- I have one of their 16s and it is very nice; I refer to it as my 'Sweet 16.' Made by Neuman Freres in Belgium, they were marketed as a 'low-end premium' shotgun, and tend to go for quite a bit less than the Smiths and Foxes.

Edit: Huh... a few years back these showed up regularly on Gunbroker, but they seem to have dried up.
 
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