doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Altering a shotgun vs future value?

Jim,

Its an AYA. Who cares. Make the gun shoot for you. If it doesn't shoot sell it.

Phil

I don't disagree with anything you said Larry (although once again the discussion has been brought round to English vs. American "Best" guns, not the guns I was discussing).

I believe more people than you would think get factory letters for American guns if they are available. I had a friend who came into a Fox DE with a bad stock. He got the letter and had another made to the exact dimensions it left the factory with. Pretty much $50 does it for most American guns.
I guess the gray area lies in the middle grades. And wouldn't you be suspicious of a VH w/30" tubes choked .000/.007?

Rob, I can certainly see getting a factory letter on a DE. Elsie Field Grade . . . I suppose some folks would go to the trouble, but probably not very many. At that "entry" level, there are a whole bunch of people simply looking for an American classic "shooter". If the gun were represented as--and appeared to be--both original and in unusually high original condition, then someone might well go the factory letter route.

And yes, I'd be suspicious that the chokes had been altered on a 30" VH if it were choked 000/007. However, if it were a 16ga on an O frame with shootable dimensions and maybe 28" barrels rather than 30", I'd take a real hard look if I were after a grouse and woodcock gun.

That's my point, you would suspect it was an altered gun and buy it for a using gun, not collectability, since you would suspect the chokes had been altered.

Gentlemen:

Not every purchaser is interested in an "original condition" shotgun if the current condition meets his/her intended usage.

Some buy older SxS's to actually hunt with them.

Many of those classic American SxS's left the factory with 30" F&F choked barrels. And few had factory rubber recoil pads. Many of today's hunters would prefer to purchase that same SxS today, used, with either IC &M or M&F choked barrels, with a black Pachmayer recoil pad. 13-1/2" LOP doesn't fit most American males today; adding 1" of pad can improve shooting.

I've had chokes opened, and pads added, to four older SxS's; and wouldn't hesitate to again do so....

JERRY

I never understood how any male could want a recoil pad.

To lengthen LOP, has nothing to do with pain threshold, or testosterone levels for that matter.

Excellent response, Rob! Next time I want a longer stock, however, just to keep Greg happy, I'll try layering testosterone patches on the butt.

Ladies, you seem to miss my point.

"Many of today's hunters would prefer to purchase that same SxS today, used, with either IC &M or M&F choked barrels, with a black Pachmayer recoil pad."

This has nothing to do with LOP. It has to do with being too girly to handle recoil.

I tried that, and after several boxes of shells, I thought it wasn't doing a lot to reduce recoil. Then I noticed the wood screws were backwards.