Fin,
I didn't mean to offend you. Your 311 may be function flawlessly after hard abuse as many do. If you like your 311 and it likes you that's great!
There are however far, far too may 311's gracing the benches of our local gunsmiths. The problems is nearly always triggers. The single trigger guns have mroe problems than do the those with double triggers. Years ago I owned a double trigger 311 with a trigger problem. More recently I've witnessed a 311 which would not open. Try opening a 311 that decides its too worn to play any more!
The 311's are good guns but overall they are not as reliable as a near-100 year old LC Smith field grade or Sterlingworth. Also, some of the lower priced modern Turkish guns never have a problem. Others of the same brand and model do. Perhaps this was the downfall of the S&W Elite? It was and is good quality Turkish gun but its sales were poor. Was it guilt by association?
I respectfully stand by my statement concerning the entry level SxS's, stay away from them.
Thinking about it more, dollar for dollar, a I've recently seen a few 12 gauge Sterlingworths sell at auction for less than $1k.
For $1k I'd look at a Fox Sterlingworth. To buy from auction, so long as the buyer asks many questions via email (to establish a record) and the seller has a no questions asked return policy, auctions are a great place to buy. Recently I've purchased a few desirable collector guns in advertised good but not great condition. I had them shipped to my gunsmith who inspected them for me. I advised him to return any gun not in "as described" condition. So far, he has not needed to do so.
Mark
Last edited by MarkOue; 04/22/11 11:30 AM.
