doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Where do the good "hardware store" guns hang out?

I'm getting the itch to find a nice Nitro Lefever, Stevens 311, or something of that nature, but it seems like the reputable, Internet-based dealers don't often lower themselves to guns of this ilk. I would expect to find them in large quantities, somewhere ... but where? I realise that a few of you have them squirreled away by the hundreds, but why can't I find more than a handful on the Web? Maybe they don't feel the dollars involved justify the "virtual shelf space." Any Internet recommendations, or do I need to haunt the pawn shops and small town gunsmiths, gun shows and auctions? I keep thinking I'm just looking in the wrong places. Thanks! TT

Russ had them all. Not sure what happened to his estate . . . but I know we all miss him.

Quite a few of them got scooped up by the Cowboy Action types. And nice ones are hard to find, because they were meant to be used hard, and usually were. They do show up at shows, in shops, etc. Expect to pay pretty good money for a "nice" one, if a dealer has it. Every now and then, an individual will part with one at a pretty good price, because he's "moving up" to something more modern. But the really good deals on nice hardware store guns are getting harder to find.

They're all over the place, from my experience, often without looking for them. Any time a friend or acquaintance expresses an interest, I---as most others---spread the word and invariably hear a ring. An ad in a local paper, weekly or "bargain hunter" always gets a response (and sometimes more than we want). The last place I'd look is on the web. But that's the situation here, not there. Regards, King

Auctions and home sales here. Gun shows sometime. I was at a gun show 2 weeks ago and there must have been 20 311's. There is a gun shop here that has 3 311's and 411 if you are interested I can send you his info. Affordable, but not cheap. Nitros are a crap shoot. I saw a 12 go for $175.00 at a farm auction and I saw one at a gun show for over $500.00 so you never know.

The 'hardware store' market continues to baffle me. .410 Lefever Nitro Specials loaded up with color and good blue show up now and then at shows priced as high as $1200, while across the aisles crisp 20 ga. non-ejector Foxes in average shape can be found for $1000...Savage 311s seem to be everywhere in various stages of decomposition, hawked at prices that have at least tripled in the last 5-6 years. Specialty books have made the show "dealers" expert and they can't wait to gush about how many, how rare, what per cent condition, etc. The farmyard auctioneers and the soft-spoken neighborhood widows continue to be our friends. KBM

I saw a Stevens with Krupp brls at Owatonna, MN Cabelas for about $900 a couple weeks ago. Dwight

I can beat that Ortolan. NW Pony Express in Coeur d'Alene has a .410-bore Lefever Nitro Special with a Lincoln under two grand on the price tag!!!!

Man, I'd like to be going to the gun shows you're going to ! I haven't seen a Fox 20 in ANY condition for $1000 in many a moon! Most of those I see are nearly double that for anything but 12's.

As regards the Stevens on Gun Broker, it's a hell of a lot more gun for under 300 than any of the stampings Remington or Mossberg has at much higher prices. Let's don't knock the hardware store doubles . . . many of them brought us into our love of s/s doubles and made us appreciate finer guns. I, for one, haven't seen any Stevens or Nitro Specials with blown barrels as Foxes. They may not handle as sweetly as the more respected guns, but they represent the best of American manufacturing --- good solid guns at a price that most could afford. True enough that the Stevens line degenerated into birch stocked garbage but in their golden age they offered honest workmanship at prolitariet prices. Frankly, I love 'em. And wouldn't we all be a lot happier if Nitro Specials were still being made at $500? I'd buy a couple! Just my .02 worth. Chopperlump