Most W&S 700's were chambered for 2 3/4" shells, although the early post-war ones were not. But in 12 bore, we'd made the switch to 2 3/4" as the 12 bore standard on this side of the pond a couple decades earlier. The idea was that the same American 12--which, like 12 bores in the UK, was by far the most common gauge--could be used for anything from waterfowl to quail. It was not ideal for both, but it was more of an "all purpose" tool than either a British fowler or game gun.
Ted, you'll undoubtedly find more old American classics available as project guns than Brit doubles for the simple reason that there are WAY more old American classics out there. And the reasons I no longer own the NID 12ga have nothing to do with the gun's condition. Like you, I'm not interested in taking a 7 1/2# gun with tight chokes pheasant hunting . . . but plenty of Americans are. And the 1 1/4 oz "Super-X" formula has long been the standard pheasant load in this country . . . whether shooters really need that much shot and velocity or not. (But please note that the ammo makers are now offering even faster lead loads as their "premium" pheasant shells.)
I also felt sorry for a young guy at our club who'd been sold a poor excuse for a Savage Fox B. Told him for not much more money, I could fix him up with a far superior gun. He was able to "undo" the Model B sale, and I think will be quite happy with that NID. There's also the fact that its only purpose for me was as a target gun when tight chokes are needed. Like trap, which I hardly ever shoot, and the pigeon ring at the Great Northern. I currently have a set of 16ga barrels for a modern Bernardelli hammergun down at Briley being fitted with screw-ins. I figure that gun will be solid enough and versatile enough to cover most of my needs for semi-serious target shooting: everything from skeet to SC to trap. Which meant that that nice NID was mostly going to gather dust in my safe. One heck of a stout design, for sure . . . when you consider that when John Olin came up with the 10ga magnum load, he didn't have guns made on the Model 21 platform, but instead turned to Ithaca and their NID as a platform for their big 10's.
As for the French proof loads, the triple proof ones--and you don't see triple proof on many French guns other than Darnes--are about equivalent to our standard proof on this side of the pond. Remember that standard CIP proof is a bit under 14,000 psi. We're 4-5,000 psi beyond that.
As for the price difference, NID to W&S 700: In 1914, a W&S Model 400 Grade 3--the predecessor of the 700--cost 18 pounds. (I think a pound, back then, was in the neighborhood of $4.) When the NID appeared, in 1926, the Field Grade sold for $37.50 When the last NID's were sold, in 1948, the price was $80.50. I don't have a price for the 700 when it first appeared, but in 1958, it was 80 pounds . . . and I don't think we'd seen prices quadruple in the States in the preceding decade. By 1979, the 700 was selling for close to 1,000 pounds. Those W&S basic boxlocks have always been more expensive guns, even using UK prices, than the Ithaca, Fox, or Elsie entry level guns. Not surprised that one would sell for 3x the price of a NID Field Grade . . . and I'd consider both guns pretty good buys at their respective prices.
Last edited by L. Brown; 02/12/17 04:53 PM.
