Lefever Uncle Dan Grade
D.M. Lefever Company · Shotgun · Discontinued · 1902
Also known as: Uncle Dan Grade, D.M. Lefever Uncle Dan, Quality No. 1 Uncle Dan
Overview
The Lefever Uncle Dan Grade is a hammerless side-by-side double-barreled shotgun and the top-of-the-line offering built by the D.M. Lefever Company in the early 1900s. Named for founder Daniel Myron "Uncle Dan" Lefever, it featured a compensated boxlock action, automatic ejectors, barrels of Whitworth or Krupp fluid steel (or the finest hard Damascus), a stock of select French walnut, and lavish hand engraving with gold-inlaid dogs and birds set in game and landscape scenery. Extremely rare and built only during the company's brief life, it represents the pinnacle of Lefever craftsmanship.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3200 g (112.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1180 mm (46.46") |
| Barrel Length | 762 mm (30.00") |
| Action Type | Break Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Double Trigger |
| Magazine Capacity | 2 rounds |
| Muzzle Velocity | 400 m/s (1312 fps) |
| Effective Range | 40 m (44 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Smoothbore |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Whitworth Or Krupp Fluid Steel (Damascus Optional) |
| Stock Material | French Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 12 Gauge · primary — also known as 12ga, 12 Bore
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Break Open Barrels
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Hammerless Boxlock, Automatic Ejectors, Compensated Action, Gold Inlay Engraving, Optional Single Trigger, Hand Engraved Game Scenes
Production
Production years: 1902-1906
Extremely rare; the Uncle Dan Grade was the flagship gun offered only during the first few years of the D.M. Lefever Company and surviving examples are prized by collectors.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Daniel Myron "Uncle Dan" Lefever
Discontinued: 1906
Notes
Offered as the maker's highest quality grade; a single trigger was available on request. Cataloged early as "Quality No. 1, Uncle Dan" and later simply as the Uncle Dan Grade. Production ended with the death of D.M. Lefever in 1906.
Background
Daniel Myron Lefever, the 'father of the American hammerless shotgun,' left the Syracuse-based Lefever Arms Company that bore his name and founded D.M. Lefever, Sons & Company to build guns under his own direct control. The Uncle Dan Grade was his personal masterpiece and namesake, a no-compromise gun meant to outclass anything on the market for balance, beauty, and quality of finish.