doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Browning Diana O/U Values

Can anyone suggest sources or individuals for ascertaining values of Diana grade Brownings? I have used the Blue book as a starting point. The years 67 to 75 are a bit harder to target.
thanks

One reason those years are tough is that many of the Brownings on the 1968-71 timeframe were stocked with "saltwood" which led to rusted receivers and forearm metal. Even tho most of that wood has been replaced, or verified as not being salty, many collectors will stay away from that period, and as a result, values are lower in that period.

I think you may have a pretty good grounding on your question before anyone answers. I can't suggest an expert appraiser. Clearly there's a premium for a major signature on the scratching, gauge, and tang/knob configuration. As for the years mentioned, which as you know are coincident with the "Morton" accelerated curing process, the stigma kills demand and pushes asking prices well below 50%. Many with obvious damage were restocked and the metal damage repaired {obscured). If it's possible to ascertain wood replacement, I think this would also offer a lever to the end of price reduction. High grade B-25s with obviously rotten receivers and barrels are occasionally seen on the internet sites asking around 2K. I bought a '68 Diana 12 Field from local dealer for $1875. I was told at the time that I should "have the wood looked at". I've had the stock and forend off a number of times in four yrs. As I suspected from the condition of the barrels and receiver back and others here have confirmed, a forty year old "salt gun" with no damage is a possibility but it's still a salt gun by YOM definition. The sad reality of overall market wariness will not necessarily prevent high-end dealers of the "honest as they come" sort from asking 4-5K for salt-year Dianas with no obvious damage. For collectors, it's an obvious choice to play it safe and shy away. For limited-budget shooters with a yen to play with a fancy gun, it could be a fatal attraction at purchase and resale. The hedge would be to own several copies of Schwing's Superposed book and make up the difference there LOL.

jack

Mark: You're right, those years aren't as well documented, but I think you can assume a discount (a WAG of 20%?) over the RKLT years, IF salt wood isn't an issue, and more (as suggested) if it is. I don't think you can expect most dealers to look at your gun and tell you that its retail value is $X,XXX (although you could probably pay someone for a written appraisal, if you're doing estate work or something), and I don't think you'll find any books that can do more for you than the Blue Book, which gives no more than the starting point you mention. Studying the market itself for awhile is your best bet, and the Internet is a great tool to do it ... for instance, I just hit the Cabelas website and they alone list seven Dianas. Now, are their prices, and those of other dealers and auction sites, realistic? That's for the market to decide. Superposeds are a facinating part of the fine gun world, because there are so many of them in so many variations, so many stages of wear, repair, alteration and restoration, and because there are so many buyers. Good luck. TT

There are plenty of Diana Grade Browning Superposeds for sale on sites like Galazan's, Ivory Beads or Steve Barnett. Gauge is likely more important than anything else -- a 28-gauge Diana Grade field gun with 28-inch barrels from 1960 and the sky would be the limit!!

Thanks for the quick reply. I was actually interested in one of the Cabelas Dianas. The wood appears to be unmolested. Should one assume that all Dianas, 68 vintage had salt wood? Is this problem universal for all Brownings of that vintage or only in some grades?
Mark

The crotch black walnut used to stock the higher grades was the material is short supply and subjected to the salt-cure; high-grade shotguns as well as rifles were the recipients of the fancier stocks and of course the rusting problems. Flitches that weren't stickered in salt (more easily available straight-grained examples) were used to stock field-grade guns which then didn't exhibit the problem.

What was intended as a dessicant became a briny bath for many of the high-grade blanks. There has been conjecture that blanks stickered near the top of the stack were not subjected to the briny condensate which "pickled" those lower down and so absorbed less salt in solution. If this was the case, then "top of the heap" is a literal and physically accurate description of the wood on unaffected guns.

jack

All salt era Browning Supers are not physically affected, but all are affected by suspicion and loss of value. A salt era Super should be purchased at a substantial discount from non salt era guns.

They should, but as we who are into them know, they are not. Why not end the mystery and get out the silver nitrate solution? Testing the wood for salt can yield some VERY interesting results - as in salt contamination of the buttstock but not the forend, and vice versa. Absent visible metal corrosion, you are only guessing. Take the time and make the test; that way you are certain. KBM

Certainty ends when you offer the gun for sale. They all get sold at some point. When I made the point about buyers expecting a bit of a discount on a salt era gun, I was addressing the point made by the original poster about the prices of salt era guns being "harder to pinpoint" I think he said. Prices of salt era guns should be pinpointed lower than other eras whether they pass or fail the silver nitrate test.