doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Mauser Sidelock

I recently saw a Mauser 580 sidelock sxs which I believe was made by Renato Gamba. It is supposedly the same gun as the Ambassador, which is their top of the line sxs. The example I looked at appeared to have been set up as a pigeon gun as it had dual beads and IM/F chokes. Does anyone have any info on this gun (either the 580 or Ambassador) and an approximate price in 98% condition?
Thanks
Z

Great gun. I paid $2000 for mine on gunbroker 2 years ago. Mine has straigh grip with a splinter forend. It did have the cheek piece which I don't really care for. Twin triggers with articulated front trigger. It had a very well figured piece of walnut on it. The engraving was close scroll ala Churchill and signed. It was definitely made by Gamba since their mark was on the table. I had Mike Orlen bore out the barrels to IC/M. I saw that Griffin and Howe had two for sale a few years back for around 3k. I hope this helps.

Really high quality guns for seemingly very low prices. For $4-5,000 you can get a top quality Italian sidelock (checkering must be 30 LPI and the engraving is worth more than the guns sell for!). Hallowell & Co. had a perfect one a year or so ago and like an idiot, I passed it up . The 580 is not, however, the same model as the Ambassador.
Joe

Thanks for the replies. Curious what the differences are between the 580 and the Ambassador, which sells for much more. The engraving and triggers on the gun I handled were superb. It also had the bushed firing pins as the Ambassador has.
Thanks
Vince

I would be interested in the differences as well. The engraving and pins appear the same. The only difference I can discern is the cheek piece on the Mauser. Of course I don't know what the guts look like when you take the locks off.

The gun I saw did not have a cheek piece. It had a straight grip with a splinter forend and a single trigger. I was looking for a sporting clays gun and unfortunately the barrels were a little short (28") and the gun was light - about 7 lbs. However, it balanced wonderfully and the triggers were among the best I have tried.
Z

The Mauser 580 is a really nice sidelock, but it is not in the same class as the Ambassador. The Mauser 580 was built to specifications for Mauser by Renato Gamba, and it is a cut above standard production guns. I have seen several Mauser 580s, and they all had different features, so you could speculate the 580s were special order items. IMHO the 580s are a cut above the London model of more current manufacture. As for the Ambassador, it is a top tier, custom Italian shotgun, from an old Italian gunmaking family, undervalued in the US and difficult to move in comparison to other more well-known makers. Even the 580s are under-appreciated, but any knowledgeable shotgunner will recognize value and recommend them.