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According to Smith & Wesson historian Roy Jinks, only 137 Smith & Wesson Mark I Light Rifles still exist
LOT 365
Rare Excellent Smith & Wesson
Mark I Semi-Automatic Light Rifle - Serial
no. 498, 9 mm Luger cal., 19 1/2 inch fluted
bbl., blue finish, synthetic stock. Developed
in the 1940s, the Smith & Wesson Light
Rifle was a contender for military contracts
with both the British and the Americans and squared off against the M1 Carbine
as a pistol substitute for officers and support personnel. While it had some novel
features, such as the dual-purpose magazine well/ejector port, it failed at trials. Large
numbers of the Light Rifle were destroyed, both during testing and afterwards, including
a reported incident of the British cutting their Light Rifle samples up with a blowtorch and
tossing the resulting scrap into the English Channel. According to Smith & Wesson historian Roy
Jinks, a number of crated, unfired Model 1940 Light Rifles were found by Smith & Wesson in 1974 and subsequently sold as collector’s items. The information on page 240 of “The History of Smith & Wesson” by Jinks lists 137 Mark I rifles and 80 Mark II rifles in this found grouping. The pistol grip stock is made of a black plastic/composite material and is fitted with a serrated metal buttplate that is marked with the serial number. Includes a leather sling.
CONDITION: Excellent overall, retaining 98% plus original blue finish with minimal light handling evidence. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 8,000 - 14,000
LOT 366
Very Fine World War II U.S. Stevens Model
520-30 Slide Action Trench Shotgun - Serial no. 59608,
12 gauge, 20 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. This is a very fine
example of a World War II U.S. contract Stevens Model 520-30 trench shotgun with the correct
bayonet lug adapter and ventilated six-hole handguard. A martial variant of a John Browning designed sporting gun, the 520 trench gun was originally
developed in response to a World War I request for new fighting shotguns for the American Expeditionary Force. It made a strong impression on the evaluators but did not
make it into the field before the armistice was signed. Seeing potential for the gun on the police market, Stevens kept production going until 1932, and at the outbreak of World War II,
the U.S. government bought every 520 that was still in the warehouse. Checked back into the arsenals at the end of the war, many were sent back into the field for the Korean War and Vietnam. The
right of the barrel has the three-line Stevens company address, and the left has the two-line gauge markings. Choke gauges at cylinder. The left of the receiver is stamped “MOD.520-30” ahead of “U.S.”, and the
correct “P” above a flaming bomb proof is on the right of the barrel at the breech and left front edge of the receiver. It has an all blue finish with smooth walnut forearm and pistol grip stock with a plastic buttplate. The stock
and bayonet lug are correctly fitted with sling swivels. Length of pull is 14 inches. Fitted with an olive drab green canvas web sling.
CONDITION: Very fine, retains 75% original blue finish with cycling wear visible on the magazine tube and slide bar, and some light handling marks and edge wear. Wood is fine with some light handling marks, a crack visible on the left rear of the forend, and crisp distinct edges. Mechanically excellent.
332 Estimate: 4,500 - 6,500