doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Evolution of Gun Acquisition for us Gun Nuts

It seems to me there has been a pattern of the types of double guns (with a few pumps thrown in) that I am interested in. My first was indeed a pump (Model 17 Remington that my grandfather stocked and I have to this day, now engraved by Ken Hurst). Win 101 my first double, then Ruger Red Label and later the BSS because I liked the mistique of the s x s. Same grandfather left me a Model 21 16 ga (he also stocked that one), a two-barrel set. A trip to Spain and I went through the factories at that time and came home having ordered an Arrizabalaga and an AYA #2 because for both I was able to find nice wood. Shortly after that, I became interested in English post-Victorian and the beauty of Damascus barrels. Some sidelocks, some boxlocks. Then my interest evolved to hammer guns and a little earlier time frame--post percussion, guns with rebounding hammers and those without. This was the period of the apex of the Double Gun, of course.
Where does it likely go from here?

When I was first bitten by the double gun bug... I thought I could own them all. After more than a decade of learning curve, I have evolved my interests to somewhere near your current place. I really enjoy small bore hammerguns that were made during this apex of the Double Gun. I still can't pass up certain hammerless doubles and somehow have found myself with some very nice hammerless singles that I am very fond of. My go-to bird gun is a 3-1/2 lb Sauer hammerless single 16 with a 30 inch half octagon/half round barrel. Someone will have to pry my cold dead fingers off the stock to get this one away from me.

Funny how we all refine our interests as we collect through the years. Good topic.

Back action 16 ga. hammerguns have become my addiction, but there's alot of "flavors" out there to try.

Not suprisingly, since I am English, my interests centre around particular makers (English), rather than types of double gun. In that way I find that I span an interesting range of gun development from the 1850s through to more modern times.

The makers I have a particular interest in are Frederick Beesley, John Wilkes and Henry Clarke.

Tim

My journey, as I'm sure with others, was determined by my initial exposure and the size of my bank account.
I first was exposed to shotguns by a cousin, who kindly took me out Skeet shooting on Sundays. He let me use his Model 12, that fit me very well. He also took me Pheasant hunting. That exposure had me looking for my first shotgun that would accomplish both. Couldn't afford a Model 12, but picked up a Browning A-5. Great hunting gun; poor Skeet gun. Much later, transitioned to a Rem. Model 1100. It worked well at both sports. Stayed at that point until my college days were over and then all control was lost. First came a Skeet tubed Citori; then rifle(s) for deer hunting; then a tubed Beretta replaced the Citori and on & on. Then I attended a Vintage Cup shoot and when I saw how well the shooters were doing with those "old" guns; well I just had to have one. Now various Berettas, RBLs, Parkers, Foxes, etc. along with hammer guns and yes, some English, Italian, German, and Spanish guns reside in my safes. It really is an illness. Glad that they haven't come up with a cure yet!

I started out shooting a double, an old poor fitting tightly choked 12 bore Ithaca Flues the old man gave me for my 12th birthday. Still have it. I shot that gun all through high school and like many others, drifted away from shooting while in college. Once I moved to Colorado and began shooting again I picked up Mac's book AH Fox shotguns. Soon after followed a first year 12 bore A grade Fox(wish I still had that one). The Fox, my first bird dog Maggie and I spent a lot of time out chasing wild roosters and I learned quite a bit about what worked for me. I dabbled in some other American guns, mostly small bores but found 12 bores best suited to my tastes and physical size. I soon began to get interested in very early hammerless guns of English origin. This was a costly and life changing event to say the least. I soon owned a small stable of guns with unique patents that had a knack of spending more time off at the gunsmiths than out in the field. Some major life changes occurred around this time in my life , and I found myself looking for a new career. Gunsmithing school followed and a new path was forged. A few years after setting out on my own as a smith I began to look at my collection. A really good fitting fairly modern(1930's) Birmingham BLNE seemed to be the only gun I reached for and I had many neat old guns that just did not get out much. I decided on setting my sights on a really good gun and finding a new home for most of my collection. I'm down to 2 shotguns currently, my main gun for most things is a 12 bore H&H royal self-opener with my back up being an E.C. Ogden Birmingham SLNE. I'm currently building myself a custom shotgun on a Westley Richards barreled action that was purchased from a UK gun auction. It should be a fun build.
Steve

I started out with a BLNE 16ga german guild gun, when I left home I was not given the gun so I brought a Fox Sterlingworth 16ga at my first duty station. I played with O/U Browning 20's and 16's, but never stopped using the Side by Sides.

As I got more money I began to buy one of every type of 16 ga SxS I could find. A Bar Action hammergun, a back action hammergun, a BLNE, a BLE, a facile princep BLE, a sideplated BLE, a drilling, and a SLE, etc. One day I woke up and looked around my gun safe and all the extra gun cases and figured out 95% of my shooting was done with two guns. So gradually I have paired down from a high of 36 plus long guns to 9 shotguns of which four to five will probably go away in the next couple of years.

I find I mostly shoot the same two guns and rarely shoot, much less touch the others. I spend more time with some of the Ephemera (misc shotgun stuff) to include odd 16ga reloading equipment, gun case items, and books (mostly quail and shotgun related) than I do acquiring any new guns.

Like Ironman says about his experience, I thought I could own them all. The passing years have proven me right. You can easily own them all, given enough time. It is a bit more difficult to own them all at the same time.

Great topic. I've only been collecting and shooting sxs's for the last 10 yrs, after shooting mostly pumps, then a heavy Orion o/u, then starting with my first sxs, a light 16 Belgian boxlock. I was hooked. Then, on to my first Lefever (I've owned probably 7 or 8, and they keep going in and out of my safe),and now hammer guns of various stripes, which I'm really growing fond of. There's something about an exquisite hammer gun that really connects with me. Bought a couple new guns here and there also, just long enough to know they aren't for me. Being of Swedish descent, I also have a soft spot for Husqvarna's. I just picked up a Husky mod. 155 octagon barrel straight stock .22 bolt action plinker with a vintage sling that I'm excited about. It hasn't arrived yet.

I started with an Ithaca SKB in 1972 which one of my Brittany pups broke. While waiting on the repair I got a 20bore SKB 200E which I still use in the woodcock jungles.Then I wanted a 16bore from each of the big 5 American classic companies(Fox,Parker,Lefever,Smith,Ithaca). After that the Britts took over starting with Army&Navys from the 1890's(a .410 hammer,a light 12bore with great wood,and a 16bore damascus honey).Then came a W&C Scott sidelock damascus 16 from 1881 , a Westley Richards from 1887, and a 32in Greener with a straight stock and "church windows".The Belgians then invaded with a 32in damascus hammer that feels like 6lbs and a 12bore sidelock that I wouldn't trade for gold.I told myself that all my shotguns must get used and they did before the number got above 15. Now they're all like family and I can't seem to trade.My solution is to hunt more hours until I can justify buying the rest of the guns I need.