doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Is this normal?

I'm a newbie to SXS's; coming from a long heritage of marksmen/rifle shooters. However, I'm really interested in SXS's for probably all the reasons you all were when you first 'discovered' them.

I want to know if the reliability and durability of vintage US made doubles are what I always hear about? Or is it more like what I always heard about vintage BMW motorcycles ? I had to learn to hard way about those-they're nice, but not really daily drivers and not reliable by modern standards.

In the past two weeks I have purchased two guns that seemed fine in the shop, but one only lasted 3 shots while patterning before a failure to an internal spring, while the other lasted one round of skeet, but began to slam fire while practicing a few shots on station 2.

I took them back, and the shop owner was great about it. However, at this point I have to say that the Remington Spartan I bought, just to see if I really liked shooting a SXS, is the most reliable one I've had thus far.

Can you name names, Ive had 1 broken firing pin on a Lefever and one double fire on a Parker, Thats in 50 years with approximately 600 different doubles..MDC

Hello Sparkyflint:

Anybody can have a run of bad luck, and it sounds like you have with two used American SXS's failing the same day. Or you may not know enough yet to distinguish the thread-bare, poorly repaired, or low quality from the lightly used, well maintained or higher quality guns.

I not meaning to demean, only to relate that when I first got into doubles, just about anything on the used rack interested me... now I can faily quickly assess twenty to find the one that looks both higher quality and in better condition. And worn or low quality doubles tend to accumulate on shop racks.

I also had the advantage of having inherited a Parker VHE that my great grandfather purchased in 1915. It was hunted heavily until WWII for waterfowl and dove, and shot every season through the present for prairie birds and targets. I estimate I've personally put 2,000 rounds through it during the 15 years it has lived with me. It was slightly off face when I inherited it, both both bores still gauged full-and-full. However accidents do happen, and the buttstock was replaced when my own father cracked it as a teen. I know of a single mechanical failure with the gun, a leaf spring to the top lever cracked when I was in the middle of a dove hunt with it about 10 years ago. My great uncle swears it never had another repair done to it, besides annual lubrication. I've had it put back on face. Not bad for an American shotgun that has probably digested 20,000 rounds over the 97 years it has been in the family.

I'm sure others have similar stories about their American doubles which make mine pale in comparison....

Ben

No, it's not normal. I've never had a failure with any sxs I've owned, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

If you shoot them enough they all screw up. I had a Parker misfire several times, a Fox double, An LCS Hunter One trigger that would make you cry, A Midas 28 double and a K-80 better grade double. Not a bad gun in the bunch but all of them were fixed and work fine to this day (except for the #*##* LCS Hunter one trigger)
bill

Welcome to the board. Like marklart, never a failure over 65-plus years. As a hunter, I don't expect the use I give doubles duck-hunting to put them under any strain. Another story if you're putting thousands of rounds at trap and skeet. Some were made for games and some not but either way I wouldn't use a great America classic seriously on the range.

Welcome to the board, sparkyflint. Yes, guns do break. You might have had a run of bad luck, but it sounds like you just didn't know what to look for before you made your purchases. Stick around here and keep asking questions before you put a lot of money into a double. You will get varied answers as to which gun you should buy, but at least when you see one, you can ask here to get comments about the gun to help you make your decision. Good luck.

I've never handled an american double. But if I experienced the same problems with the kind of vintage doubles availiable here - I'd consider I'va had about 10 years' worth of bad luck in a day.

Thanks for the welcomes.

The doubles in question were not what anyone would call "fine" american doubles:

1) Conn. Arms, Peerless in 16ga. I know it's considered junk by most (and I guess I now know why), but the gun in question seemed well used, but in good mech condition, which made me think that it had been reliable for the previous owner/owners. This is the one that broke the lever spring.

2) 311 in 16GA. This wasn't my first choice, but I knew it was supposed to be as solid as an anvil. This is the model that slam-fired.

So how much are you supposed to spend on a dble to get a good field gun that can handle 1-2k rounds a year?

Get a nice, used old Sterlingworth or Elsie or Ithaca/Lefever Nitro entry level shotgun for less than a grand,and shoot the hell out of them. Quality is a magnitude of difference from Spartans or Stevens or whatever.. They FEEL better; they SWING better, they LOOK better. They probably will last longer than you will; if you then fall in love, get it redone, or upgraded to your particulars, and then you can enjoy and brag!! One way or another, stick to quality classics, and enjoy!
JMHO
Rick