doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The future of our sport....

Reading the article in SSM by Ralph Stuart about the future of our sport, I wonder what things will look like for the fine gun market in the next 25 years. I am 22 years old and when I go any event with SXS enthusiasts, I am usually the youngest by many years.

Are you recruiting new people???... or do they not have interest? Most of my friends want the newest, coolest AR15 or Benelli. Though I have been able to change the minds of a few guys and have "converted" them to using doubles.... O/Us that is.

So where do yall see things going in the next quarter century?

Adam

Here in Nova Scotia, doubles are scarce. Of the younger generation, many don't know they exist. At the gun store in my area there isn't a double on the racks. The owner says he couldn't sell one if he had one.

Recruiting? My nephew, an experienced goose and duck hunter, is in his mid-40s and sort of coming around to doubles, asking questions about steel shot, etcetera, inquiring about costs. I've baptised no one.

There are few young gunners, most are in the mid 50s to 70-some around here. No fault of the birds, there are plenty to go around. But gunning is tough going around here and most would rather sleep in the morning.

Another factor is consumerism, that the new and bigger is better. Gander at the length of shotshells and those new rifle calibres in the gun magazines. Ask if they're better than the old 2 3/4 standard and 250 Savage and 7 X 57.

A great grandfather in my 80s, I have a fair few good guns and none of my large family is interested in them. They're not for killing. I'm something to be tolerated, the last of the line who make no apologies for killing.

So, Adam, make what you will of it. All I can say is nothing is certain and things change on a dime these days. I don't think there will be another golden age of gunning. I've seen the best of it. Tomorrow I'll be checking fox and coyote snares. And that's going, too.

Adam, most guns coveted by this board will plummet in value. The numbers of SxS shooters will go down because every jackass wants a benelli now.

The really fine guns will continue to rise in value, just as fine art.

Fine shooting goes with fine hunting grounds....that requires a sufficient bankroll that limits the sport's future.

Talked to one of the owners of RST Cartridges today. He said
that in their customer base, 50 would be about the youngest.

Adam,

I am one of the youngest members of the LC Smith Collectors Assn. Last spring I took my son (9yrs at the time) to the Southern SxS for hos first time. He had a blast. He competed in the events with an Ideal Grade 20ga that belonged to Mavin Kenna (wife of former president of Marlin Firearms).

Since that trip he has been hooked. He spends rainy days working on a Quality 4 L.C. Smith that I am restoring. I am teaching him the value and importance of these fine old guns. I'm doing everything I can to make sure that I educate and get the next generation interested in these guns. That is all any of us can do.

Adam
I think.25 yrs from now you will still have peers that are interested in sxs guns. I believe the lack of young sxs enthusiasts is more about economics. I see some interested young people on another site but they have limited resources.

The sooner the new crop of shooters and hunters become involved and popping primers,..the better. Many will stay with their affordable plastic semis. I believe a goodly number will arrive at the point where getting "their limit" no longer has the challenge or satisfaction as in the past. At that point the sated will realize that the means are more important than the end. Those experiencing this epiphany will come over to the dark side eventually, where using two barreled guns will be mandated by their soul.
I don't think we have anything to worry about, as long some two barreled guns are still available.

I think the obituary for Doubles is a bit premature. I see a lot of younger guys buying and using doubles. I see that doublegun prices stayed at the very least, stable, during a prolonged recession. Most of the old classics are selling for more right now than a similar gun in similar condition would have sold for before the recession. Many double enthusiasts, like myself, started out with other types of guns and grew to appreciate them in spite of the way we were brought up. One uncle of mine had an old N.R. Davis that usually stayed at home because it was heavy, hard to hit with because of full and full chokes, and its' habit of occasionally doubling despite the attention of a local smith. My Dad used a pump as did most of my relatives. There were a few autoloaders. My interest started in high school, but I delayed my first double purchase because of all of the negatives I was bombarded with. Local gunshops had plenty of doubles at prices we all wish we could go back and take full advantage of. If the demand wasn't there, the prices would still be very reasonable. Although RST's customer base averages over 50 years old, I believe they expanded recently in spite of selling ammunition that is not as cheap or readily available as ammo suited for other repeaters.

I'm 54. Was introduced to bird hunting by my father around age 9. He shot a Model 12 16 gauge. Used it for everything. He referred to SxS's as "millionaire's guns", despite the fact that he was a long way from the lower income levels. When I turned 20 he bought me a 870 Wingmaster for my birthday. I used that gun almost exclusively for over 20 years. But one day, helping him out with some stuff in his basement, I noticed the old Fox that had belonged to his grandfather. Something clicked.

I think that is the way it goes. What is important is bringing new people into the sport, not trying to convince anyone of what type of shotgun to use. If we keep the shooting sports vibrant than plenty will discover the joys of SxS guns.

I must be the odd one out as I have always been a doublegun guy. While I do have one Auto from my grandfather (Franchi-Eldorado 48AL) I have only used it a few times.

All my upland hunting has been done for over thirty five years with a SxS or OU.

As for the demise of the doublegun. I believe high end guns will stay just that. Low end guns will fall off in demand save small bores. Mid Grade guns will drop off but not as much.