Any SXS Double Shotgun Fans?

[airedale]

I saw a couple listed in the "One Gun Thread" so instead of hijacking I thought I would start a separate thread on double barrels. Like Pygmy I purchased an Ithaca SKB 280 20 ga with the English straight stock back around 1969. For many years it has been my go to small game gun especially for the snowshoe Hare and it will be will me until I croak. 

In later years I purchased an LC Smith sidelock 12 ga featherweight, made by Marlin who owns the LC Smith name in the late 60s for only a couple of years. It is pretty much an exact copy of the original Fulton Elsies as most parts will interchange. Marlin in the end could not keep the costs down and it was discontinued which was a shame.I do not understand why an American company can not come up with the ingenuity and manufacture a competitive priced double. The LC Smith fits me perfect and I can shoot really well with it.

A few years ago I picked up an CZ 28 ga and it is a sweet light little double with beautiful lines and balance and fun to shoot, I finally got myself a used MEC loader for 28 ga and can now bypass the expensive factory ammo which can be hard to come by.

I know a lot of folks look at side by side double as a gun of the past but I find a certain charm in using them for hunting. Some day I might try a small ga field model over and under double, I once owned a Winchester 101 Trap model and that was all it was good for "Trap shooting" and I never got hooked on that so the 101 went down the road.

CZ Ringneck 28 ga

LC Smith Featherweight 12 ga

Ithaca SKB 280 English 20 ga

Edited January 25, 2017 by airedale

[Pygmy]

BEAUTIFUL shotguns, Al...!!

I have always loved side by sides and have owned 3 in 20 gauge, 2 in 12 gauge and 1 each in 28 and .410...

Currently I  only have my SKB 20 gauge M100 and a   12 gauge Ithaca hammer double made in 1899, which my dad bought for $10 back around 1940... I also own a Browning 12 gauge Citori field grade O/U, which I have used mostly for ducks and pheasants..

I have owned and still do own a number of  auto and pump shotguns, which I have used for deer, turkey and waterfowl, but probably 90% of the upland bird and rabbit hunting I have done has been done with one of my side by side doubles.. I shot a bunch of crows with them, too back in the day when I was crow hunting..

[helmut in the bush]

I love sxs, I have a couple, and a couple o&u's. My go to is a super Vinci, I have other shot guns, but that's the one. Ever look at Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturers? They make a RBL Professional 20ga slug gun. Its like a double rifle for big game, and a bunch of other cool doubles. 

Edited January 26, 2017 by helmut in the bush

[Lawdwaz]

Fixed power scopes, sxs shotguns and a heavy dose of Geritol.................you old buzzards sure do have the cool stuff fingered' out.

 

Edited January 25, 2017 by Lawdwaz

[helmut in the bush]

Old Buzzards

[Zem18]

I own one SxS double that my father gave to me for my birthday a few years ago. It is a LeFever Nitro Special 12 gauge. It was my Dad's first and only shotgun. If he got it when he was 16 ( just guessing), then it was bought in 1953 and was used to hunt deer into the early 2000's until I convinced him to retire it and buy a rifle. It is more of a bird or rabbit gun and that is what I use it for. It will be handed down to my son when the time is right and will hopefully stay in the family for many more years. 

Edited January 26, 2017 by Zem18
Pics

[Pygmy]

Hehehehehehe...  My rabbit hunting buddy ( another Old Buzzard)  , with whom I am hunting tomorrow, uses a  16 gauge LeFever Nitro Special...

[airedale]

Those old Lefever Nitros are a solid workhorse model that were made to be used and last, they were actually made by Ithaca Gun. Great to see those family firearms passed down and stay in the family and hunted with ZEM18. 

13 hours ago, helmut in the bush said:

Ever look at Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturers?

Yes I have looked at the Connecticut RBL doubles many times at the gun shows, they are beautiful doubles and actually priced reasonable for what they are but for me I am still a tad light in the wallet for one of those. I give Galazan a lot of credit for reproducing and making those high grade Fox and Winchester doubles here in the US but they are way too steep in price for me.

The double I really had hopes of acquiring was the recent Ruger Gold Label, I liked everything about it when it came out and although it was not cheap it was priced in reach of the average guy. Like the Marlin LC Smith of the late sixties Ruger just threw in the towel after just a few years of production because of build problems and keeping the cost down.

Al

Edited January 26, 2017 by airedale

[Buckmaster7600]

Those old Lefever Nitros are a solid workhorse model that were made to be used and last, they were actually made by Ithaca Gun. Great to see those family firearms passed down and stay in the family and hunted with ZEM18. 
Yes I have looked at the Connecticut RBL doubles many times at the gun shows, they are beautiful doubles and actually priced reasonable for what they are but for me I am still a tad light in the wallet for one of those. I give Galazan a lot of credit for reproducing and making those high grade Fox and Winchester doubles here in the US but they are way too steep in price for me.
The double I really had hopes of acquiring was the recent Ruger Gold Label, I liked everything about it when it came out and although it was not cheap it was priced in reach of the average guy. Like the Marlin LC Smith of the late sixties Ruger just threw in the towel after just a few years of production because of build problems and keeping the cost down.
Al

I have 2 Sxs's but both are old with Damascus barrels that I don't want to shoot.

The lefever Nitros look to be very affordable and I would love to have one to play with. For someone who wants one to play around with from time time would you guys recommend them?


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[Pygmy]

 Absolutely....The Ithaca Lefevers are fine old guns and the drawn steel barrels are safe with modern loads..

You can also buy black power loads if you want to shoot your twist/Damascus  guns...

I have shot my Dad's old  twist Ithaca hammer gun with black powder reloads...Shoots good, but with 30" full choke barrels it is kind of a heavy old girl to haul around..

[airedale]

I agree with Dan a Nitro in good condition will serve you fine, a couple of other decent and affordable American doubles are the later Savage Fox especially the BSE with the walnut stock or an LC Smith Fulton model which is a boxlock similar to the Nitro and both are priced in the same range.

Al

http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?303-Savage-Side-by-Side-Shotguns-1961-1987

Edited January 26, 2017 by airedale

[Rattler]

I love SxS shotguns and own a few.  My favorite is a JP Sauer 16 gauge.  It's beautiful, light and nimble.  It has tight chokes though, so it's mainly a pheasant gun.  I also have the same CZ 28 gauge pictured above.  I love the fact it's receiver is sized for the 28 gauge.  It feels tiny in my hands.  It's my grouse gun.  I have a Brazilian Boito 12 gauge O/U that fits me perfectly and makes me appear to be a deadly marksman.  I rarely miss with it and it has open and modified barrels, so it makes a great small game gun.  It also has double triggers, which I think more O/U guns should offer.

I have owned plenty of other double guns, but found most didn't get used and you can only hunt so often.  The few I have now where selected as keepers from many I've owned.  I use them a lot, and they shoot well for me, so I'm happy with them.

 

[Uncle Nicky]

Not old enough to be a buzzard yet, but closing in...

I grew up hunting with SXS shotguns. Got away from them for a while, but fell back in love a few years ago, LOL. Had a Stevens, but couldn't hit the back of a barn with it, traded it in for a Stoeger, now it's pretty much the only gun I use for small critters. I like the fact that today's SXS guns have interchangeable chokes.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Uncle Nicky

[turkeyfeathers]

Guess I'll be digging into the back of the safe tomorrow. Have a few neat ones I'll post pics of. 

[Pygmy]

3 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Guess I'll be digging into the back of the safe tomorrow. Have a few neat ones I'll post pics of. 

Looking forward to seeing the pictures, TF....

[BigVal]

These pictures have me thinking of a few new purchases coming up. 

[Dinsdale]

Have a pre war Simson boxlock 12 ga.

I tend to take a 20 or 28 ga O/U afield more.

I would like to get better with the sxs, but I shoot a O/U much better.

[Pygmy]

21 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

Have a pre war Simson boxlock 12 ga.

I tend to take a 20 or 28 ga O/U afield more.

I would like to get better with the sxs, but I shoot a O/U much better.

I have heard other good wingshots say the same thing.. Perhaps you find the broader outline around the sighting plane distracting.

I have never seen much difference in my ability to hit with the S/S, O/U, or repeaters, as long as the gun fits me... Might be my shooting style...When I shoot I am concentrating on the target and am not deliberately conscious of the sighting plane.

[ATbuckhunter]

Any one ever try a cz bobwhite? Ive been thinking of getting one in 20 gauge 

[Dinsdale]

8 hours ago, Pygmy said:

 Perhaps you find the broader outline around the sighting plane distracting.

 

I'm sure that the case, I don't have much occasion to need a 12 ga load; so it has not been shot enough to get over that, maybe someday.

[airedale]

8 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

Any one ever try a cz bobwhite? Ive been thinking of getting one in 20 gauge 

One of my hunting partners purchased a new 20 ga Bobwhite last summer and I got to shoot it at some clay targets, it is a nice double and mechanically the same as a Ringneck except it does have the false sideplates. At this time I believe the CZ doubles are the very best buy for a new double, a lot of quality and gun for the money.

Al

[ATbuckhunter]

3 hours ago, airedale said:

One of my hunting partners purchased a new 20 ga Bobwhite last summer and I got to shoot it at some clay targets, it is a nice double and mechanically the same as a Ringneck except it does have the false sideplates. At this time I believe the CZ doubles are the very best buy for a new double, a lot of quality and gun for the money.

Al

I like that it has double triggers on it. Also I only hunt with lead free shot so I need a double barrel that can with stand steel and from what i hear the bobwhite can do that. 

[turkeyfeathers]

Here we go. Sadly I sold a Winchester model 21 a Parker re pro and a LC Smith field grade awhile back. Sad day and don't want to think about parting ways with the 21. . Stoeger 20 gaugeStoeger Bernadelli Gamecock 20 gauge LC Smith Field grade 12 gauge4th? 12 gauge and can't decipher writing Remington 20 gauge. 2 exposed hammers are neat. I'm not real savvy on other details on these.
Not pictured ( as brother shooting chipmunks with it ) Stevens Ranger made for Sears and Robucks model 5100/311 in .410. Dad used to shoot a lot of grouse with this one


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Edited January 27, 2017 by turkeyfeathers

[airedale]

3 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Sad day and don't want to think about parting ways with the 21. .

I have made several deals in the past parting ways with guns that today I would not think of doing so I can feel your pain, it would take some doing to get me to give up a Model 21 Winchester. As for the Parker repro they are almost too pretty to use.

The doubles you still have are some pretty good ones, I remember  seeing a couple of those gamecock models, they are nice.

Al

Edited January 27, 2017 by airedale

[dbHunterNY]

On 1/26/2017 at 7:17 AM, airedale said:

..... I give Galazan a lot of credit for reproducing and making those high grade Fox and Winchester doubles here in the US but they are way too steep in price for me.....

Al

didn't realize they were still made by someone here.  guns like that seem to be a dying art.  everybody wants cheaper or can't afford to ask for anything else.  I'm still young and nothing of a gun collector.  don't even own any really nice guns despite they're all nice "modern" guns.  aside from my wife those are some of the most gorgeous things i've ever seen.