One doesn't have to pore over the pages of Shooting Sportsman long to realize the sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to buying side-by-side shotguns.
An ad I read recently said that I could get a new British game gun for 21,000 pounds. A quick check of the exchange rate showed that this amounted to only a bit more than I paid for a decent house a few years ago. It's enough to make one yearn for those pre-World War II days when, according to my 1940 Shooter's Bible, you could buy a new Fox Sterlingworth for less than $50 and a Winchester 21 for less than $80.
But even with inflation there is still a thriving market in inexpensive doubles. The clientele includes recent converts from one of the "lesser" species--the single-barrel guns--who are not yet prepared to spend a mint on their first double. Others have already acquired a higher-dollar side-by-side and are looking for a backup to use in bad weather or inhospitable cover. Still more are looking for a "starter" gun for a youngster or a spouse.
Side-by-side aficionados are acutely aware that their guns simply cost more than most new pumps and autoloaders. I wish you luck trying to find a new double by Beretta, Bernardelli, or Merkel for much under $1,500. But decent doubles are available, mostly on the used market, for half that amount--or less. A good but inexpensive double should have solid, reliable mechanics; reasonably good handling dynamics; and no glaring deficiencies in materials, workmanship, fit, or finish. Obviously these are not going to be best guns, but you should be able to shoot them pretty much out of the rack and not be ashamed to be seen carrying them afield.
I acquired my first side-by-side more than 20 years ago, all the while telling myself I'd trade up as I grew older and richer. Since then I've learned that wealth is not an automatic adjunct of age. As a result, some 50-odd doubles later, I'm still combing the market for good deals. Perhaps you'll find my adventures, both good and bad, instructive.
Japanese Doubles
In the early 1970s I was working for the CIA in Morocco. As luck would have it, business took me to Spain right before the bird season opened. At the rod and gun club on the Navy base at Rota, I found myself confronted by a terrible dilemma: whether to spend $190 for a Winchester 101 over/under or $162 for an SKB 150 side-by-side. Thanks to the writings of George Bird Evans and the advice of the gun club manager, the SKB won out.
I've owned several SKBs since, and none has given me a single mechanical problem. Within the past year a good friend acquired a 12-gauge Model 100--splinter fore-end and plain extractors--for less than $400. I recently paid about $75 more for a 20-gauge Model 150.
Originally SKBs were marketed by Ithaca, and this is clearly stamped on the barrels. Later the two firms divorced, and SKB side-bys have been marketed sporadically in the U.S. since.
SKBs do have a couple of unusual quirks. Some sport stocks with unusually attractive wood grain. In many cases, however, this is the result of Japanese artistry with a paintbrush rather than the wood itself. This practice was not limited to lower-grade guns, either. Even the Model 280, highly sought after because of its straight grip and pseudo-English lines, sometimes has painted wood.
I believe the last of the polyurethane-finished SKBs that began appearing in the late 1980s do not have painted wood. Also a design flaw resulted in a higher than normal incidence of split fore-ends--a problem that also seems to have been corrected in later guns.
Gun dealer Bill Hanus was involved with SKB side-by-sides since the beginning and at one time published The SKB Newsletter. "Those SKB doubles are a treasure and a very good value at today's prices," Hanus says. I couldn't agree more.
About a decade after Ithaca started marketing SKBs, Browning--which, with the advent of the Citori, had switched its Superposed production to Japan--brought out the BSS, or Browning Side by Side. I bought a new one in 1980 and field-tested it on woodcock prior to a pheasant safari to South Dakota. With short barrels and open chokes, the gun worked much better on timberdoodles than ringnecks. Shortly thereafter the BSS went on the trading block--a decision I've often regretted since.
Just like the SKB importers, Browning quickly determined there was insufficient demand for moderately priced side-by-sides in the U.S., and the BSS disappeared. You won't find as many used BSSs as you will SKBs, and the Brownings command higher prices. If you find a good one for much under $750, especially in 20-gauge, it's a decent buy.
Before Browning halted production of the BSS, the company began assembling these guns in Korea from parts made in Japan. That information is stamped on the barrels of the later guns. Apparently because of doubts about the quality of the workmanship, some BSS admirers won't touch these Korean-assembled guns. However, I could not find a single gunsmith or dealer who felt there was a significant difference between the earlier and later Brownings.
Miroku, the large Japanese firearms company that produced the BSS, also made guns under the Charles Daly name. You've likely seen the company's over/unders; the side-by-sides are rarer and every bit as well made. I paid $400 for a Model 500 12-bore with double triggers and extractors, and it performed well on ringnecks last season.
By the way, the "Charles Daly" imprint on a shotgun can cause considerable confusion. Those made in Germany--often called Prussian Dalys--command a price well beyond the guns I'm covering here. Others were made in Italy by at least two different companies. Beretta made an Empire Grade copy of the Prussian gun of the same designation. I owned an Italian Daly marked "Field III"; it was a fair gun but of lesser quality than those made by either Beretta or Miroku. Dalys are currently being made in Spain and are priced in the $500 to $600 range. Although these Spanish Dalys are attractive guns with decent feel, my experience with them is limited to handling at gun shows.
European Guns
That first SKB whetted my appetite for doubles. On returning to the States I discovered a 16-gauge Sauer in a sporting goods store. In some ways--double triggers, splinter fore-end--it was more of a classic than my modern SKB; in others--cheekpiece, sling swivels--it clearly showed its European heritage.
The Sauer and I were constant companions for nearly two decades, during which time I developed a healthy respect for Old World craftsmanship. An American classic of equal quality would have cost me two to three times as much. On the other hand, when the Sauer required repair I learned that there is a difference between a tinkerer and a gunsmith and that there are all too few of the latter out here in the hinterlands.
I'm quite certain my Sauer came home from the war in some GI's duffel bag. The same is true of many other older European guns you'll find on the used market.
Gunsmith Bill Dowtin, of Flagstaff, Arizona, and longtime gun dealer Theodore Wood, of Salem, New York, both believe that used European guns can offer excellent value.
"The Japanese guns aren't bad," Dowtin said. "But some of the European guns are a lot better--although the buyer has to know what he's looking at."
Wood agrees. "I'd definitely recommend a vintage gun from Europe over the Japanese guns, even if [the Japanese guns] do offer modern frills like a single trigger and ejectors. I think anyone who looks at the workings of an older European gun will clearly see the difference in craftsmanship."
Almost all German, Belgian, and French doubles manufactured before World War II were well made. Assuming they remain in good condition, they are excellent prospects; and, unless they carry a famous name like Sauer, they may well be priced below the Japanese guns.
But you do have to watch a couple of things with older European doubles. Both are relatively easy to spot:
The first is excessive pitting in the bores, which is often a pre-World War II condition resulting from not cleaning barrels religiously after using shells with corrosive primers. Honing will remove a lot of the light pitting, but deeper pits are more problematic (too much honing can endanger barrel walls). Always consult a knowledgeable gunsmith before tackling any work.
Another potential problem is short chambers. The standard pre-war chamber length in Europe was 65mm, or 2-1/2 inches. My old Sauer was stamped "65 MM" on the barrel flats to indicate this. Other guns may be stamped with the gauge followed by the chamber length--for example, "12/65." Some, however, will not be marked at all.
Short chambers alone should not necessarily deter prospective buyers. After all, there are quite a few sources for 2-1/2 inch 12-gauge shells. British shotgun guru Gough Thomas even says that 2-3/4 inch shells can be used in these guns, providing the loads do not exceed the pressure for which the gun was designed.
The problem is that many American factory loads do exceed these pressures. Every gunsmith I've spoken with has recommended lengthening short chambers. If the forcing cones are also lengthened, recoil will certainly be reduced and probably chamber pressure as well. But even with these modifications, older European guns should not be fed a diet of heavy American ammo--and I wouldn't recommend using steel in any pre-World War II models, especially those with tight chokes.
Before you seal the deal on a European bargain, however, you need to factor in gunsmithing. Lengthening chambers and forcing cones and opening chokes (older European doubles are quite commonly choked full and fuller) will cost from $150 to $200. If you're looking for a shooter, the gun may well be worth the extra money. But don't assume you'll be able to recoup your investment if you resell the gun.
American Doubles
For those who haven't studied the market too carefully, a bottom-of-the-line American classic might seem like an obvious choice. However, there are several problems.
First there is price. You'd be extremely lucky to find a good Parker Trojan for less than $750, for example, and the Fox Sterlingworth isn't far behind--although you will see some 12-bores for a bit less. You can almost forget finding a smaller-gauge Parker or Fox for anything even close to that. (This phenomenon holds in most of the used-double market, if not because fewer of the smaller gauges were made, then because there is greater demand for what's out there. For example, there are probably as many BSS 20s around as 12s, but demand for the former means you'll likely pay at least $100 more.)
L.C. Smiths and especially Ithacas are not as expensive, and you stand a decent chance of finding a 20 or 16 for less than $750, if you do a bit of looking.
But, like the pre-war European guns, the initial price probably isn't the bottom line. Old American guns may also have short chambers, tight chokes, and strange stock dimensions. Rectifying these won't be cheap.
And although the old American classics have their staunch supporters, they also have their critics. Both Dowtin and Wood criticize the craftsmanship and inflated prices of these guns compared to European doubles of the same vintage.
There are some less-pretentious American possibilities. In the 1920s and 1930s several American manufacturers brought out cheaper models to compete in the low end of the market. Ithaca made the Lefever Nitro Special and the Western Long Range; Hunter had the Fulton; and Winchester brought out the Model 24.
I've owned or shot all of these and, although they lack the fit, finish, and feel of their pricier cousins, they have their own advantages. For example, 2-3/4 inch chambers and relatively modern stock dimensions mean they're pretty much ready to shoot off the rack, and with prices ranging from $250 to $500, they are quite attractive to the cost-conscious buyer.
Spanish Doubles
Since the 1950s inexpensive Spanish side-by-sides have been available on the American market. Almost all of them tend to handle better than the cheapest American doubles such as the Stevens and the Savage Fox B.
Inexpensive Spanish guns were imported by wholesalers under a lot of names. You can make some good buys, but you can also end up with a junker. Two low-end Spanish guns that do have good reputations are AyA's Matador and the older doubles imported by Stoeger. (Current Stoeger guns are made in Brazil.) Another more-recent Spanish import you may find used for less than $750 is the Parker-Hale, which is an Ugartechea-made side-by that was, until recently, marketed by Precision Sports.
American Arms, of Kansas City, Missouri, offers a line of new Spanish doubles--the Gentry, Brittany, and Derby. The Brittany includes screw-in chokes. My favorite, however, is the fixed-choke Derby, a true sidelock. Although this gun retails for about $1,000, I'm still seeing new Derbys at shows for around $750.
The low-end market is definitely a place where caveat emptor is worth remembering. Few dealers or gunsmiths will be able to give you much advice on inexpensive doubles without examining them. Publications such as the Gun List, Stoeger's Gun Trader's Guide and the Blue Book of Gun Values will give you ballpark figures and prices.
Tracking down an inexpensive double can be an interesting experience. And it won't take much looking to convince you that there are a surprising number of solid shooters out there for less than the price of your next TV.
Copyright (c) 1996 Larry Brown. All rights reserved.
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