doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Superposed Question

Recently I bought a 12 ga Superposed Lightning salt gun(1968). It had just come back from Browning where it had been rebuilt for the original owner. All the receipts and paperwork were in the case and proper. The gun is unfired since repair. I paid what I thought was a fair price for the gun considering it was a close to a new Superposed as I'm likely to ever get(Less than the cost of repair).
My question is :What does this remanufacture do to the value of a Browning when it is done by Browning and is documented?

I'm curious as to the grade of the gun in question. I'm only an interested amateur and no expert but I think the documentation of repair and wood replacement would reassure and encourage those who will consider purchase of such a gun. However, those who will consider purchase are those who are also bargain hunting and either don't know or don't care. Perhaps a considerably smaller group of buyers than those who do know, do care, and expect either a return on investment or are so fastidious as to avoid contact with a lost cause. Short answer: documentation of repair isn't going to insure a big price bumpup. Proof: you bought it for less than repair cost.

jack

It is a Gr I. As to value, I think the Superposed in lower grades is the most undervalued shotgun on the market today. I bought this as a shooter and because I can't stand to see one alone on a shelf. My curiosity was if the accumulated knowledge felt the decreased value of the "salt image" was maintained even though the gun was repaired by the Mfg.

Thanks. I have a similar problem with Supers. I doubt if documentation would mean more to me than the evidence of my eyes after forty years but would be confirmation that the salt wood is gone.

jack

I'm looking at "Magnums" for wildfowlong, but will not go for vintages ca. 1966 up to 1976. You will not find silver nitrate solution in my pocket!

To answer your question, even if done by Browning and documented, the value is considerably decreased and a hard sell. Sinec you have a Grade 1 and it is not a collectors item, no problem, just use it. Even higher grades like Diana and Midas are devalued and a hard sell. I have been offered a few and will not purchase not because of the Salt stigma but just because it is not an original gun.
In terms of the AGNO3, I have crystals and have made up the solution but after 40 years if it was a Salt gun it would have shown signs of damage. I have purchased and sold Salt Wood era guns from/to dealers including a Pigeon Superlite with no problems whatever. I certainly would purchase a 12 gauge Magnum from that era if a decent gun. I have a 1963 Magnum and it is a great Goose gun at F/F and 39 thousands constriction but that was just the luck of the find.
Good luck with your Super.-Dick

drd: I also have an "S8" Super--12 ga. 28" Diana field. Neither the stigma of the salt years nor the condescension of those who both know and own better have caused it to corrode one iota.

jack

Thank you all Gentlemen. Your opinions coincide closely with my own. In the Florida climate I can assure you there is no doubt as to the heritage of a salt gun if it has been here more than a month or two. The only way they survive is by close confinement in a very dry vault.
I suspect this one will be a gift to my youngest son in the not too distant future.