The "product placement" concept doesn't exactly ring true when we look at the American outdoor press going back to the last couple decades of the 20th century, and continuing until today. Much of the renaissance in American interest in vintage doubles centered on classic American side by sides--most of which hadn't been made since before World War II, or else the companies in question stopped making side by sides shortly after the war. You don't have anyone paying you to promote Parkers when they haven't been made for 40 years. Yet if you look at the vintage doublegun market in the United States today, prices for Parkers, Foxes, LC Smiths, Ithacas, Lefevers, and Winchester Model 21's--especially in gauges other than 12--remain very strong. Meanwhile, I can't think of a single side by side, either made in this country or imported since the mid to late 1980's, that has enjoyed the success of a copy of one of those classic doubles: the Parker Reproduction.
Meanwhile, we've had books written about all of the above American classics. And reproductions of just about all of them (albeit none that sold nearly as well as the Japanese-made Parkers). And in the outdoor press we continue to see stories from writers who are still shooting a vintage Parker, Fox, Ithaca, etc. Yes, we do see reviews of this or that new double from Italy or Turkey, or less frequently these days, Spain. But individually, none of those guns seem to catch on as well as did the Japanese-made and Ithaca-imported SKB of the 60's and 70's, or Browning's Japanese BSS of the 70's and 80's. All of which were modestly priced guns, generally regarded as being solid guns at their original prices.
And having written more than a few gun reviews of new guns (albeit probably more articles about ones that were last new more than half a century ago), I'd have to add that I never saw as much as a nickel for the "product placement" I gave them. As writers, we are often able to buy new guns at attractive prices. But we don't get them for free, nor do we get anything from the maker other than hope for a mostly positive review and some good publicity.
