As to the 28 gauge repros, would they sell for anywhere near what they do if there had never been original Parkers built in 28 gauge?
I have my doubts. I dont shop for them, but, there seem to be no shortage of perfect, in the box, repros of all sorts at the shows I go to. Somebody collects them.
Best,
Ted
Well Ted . . . since the Reproduction is a reproduction of the original, there might not even be 28ga Repros if there hadn't been 28ga originals. Yeah, I know Tony Galazan made some 28ga Foxes even though neither Ansley nor Savage ever made any original 28's. But then he doesn't call his guns reproductions either.
The 28ga Repros sell for what they do because, in the opinion of a lot of hunters looking for lightweight small bore sxs, they hit the "lightweight" button a whole lot better than the 20ga Repro does. If sales were based on the collectible factor, 12's would bring more money than either 20's or 28's because fewer of them were made than either of the small gauge guns.
And when a 28ga Repro in very good shape sells for less than a new AyA 4/53 these days (let alone a Spanish sidelock!), and when you compare what you get (a really nice case is included), why should it come as any surprise that they bring the $ they do? They're pretty popular grouse and woodcock guns, relatively speaking, in this part of the country. They'd sell even better, IMO, if more of them had been made with 28" barrels (longer barrels seeming to be the "in" thing these days) and DT. And if the ones with 28" barrels weren't nearly all choked M/F--the constrictions being M/F for a 12 rather than for a 28.
Meanwhile, the BSS Sidelock 20 remains--IMO--both underappreciated (by both hunters and collectors) and underpriced. I'm not sure why. Not that I think 28ga Repros are overpriced, when you look at the 28ga sxs competition.
