doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com FN SxS's Any Info/Comments

Hi all, as you may know, I'm not into Belguns, but was looking around and this one caught my eye (the engraving reminds me a lot of those found on Merkels):

http://www.mwreynolds.com/HTML/shotFN16Boxlock.html

So...what can you tell me about the SxS's that FN made? Also, what models did they made.

Any comments on this gun would be great also.

Thanks again!

Greg

I've read that they're good guns.

Kind of surprising, given the size of the FN operation, but their sxs don't seem to show up all that often. Some of the ones I've seen have been very plain and basic. Expect someone here might have an old FN catalog and can discuss specific models.

I have a lot of info on FN, including some old catalogs. I really need to see the proof marks on this one. They were so big, it is difficult to even begin a search with out a time frame.

The engraving on this one, while nice, is not their top of the line. It bothers me that there is no sling hardware showing.

Pete

Pete, on the sling hardware, probably one of those deals where someone thought swivels on a shotgun were a bad idea, took them off and plugged the holes. Personally, when hunting open country birds, I think a sling on a shotgun makes a lot of sense. Also means you don't have to put your shotgun on the ground if you're carrying a camera and want to snap some photos.

I have had a couple FN sidelock SXSs. Very nice quality guns and they have a very solid feel to them. Usually they have long barrels and swing nicely. Not unusual to find the black actioned models for sale under the FN or other beligan names for $1-$3K, which is an incredible value. I picked up a 16 gauge nonejector sidelock with the Francotte name on it at the Southern SXS for under $1000. Hard to beat that.

The John Inglis Co. Limited of Toronto (washing machine makers etc.) made Browning Hi-Power 9MM (9x19) pistols and the best BREN-guns ever made in .303 Brit and 8MM Mauser in the 1942-45 period for the Canadian government. Post-WW2, Inglis had a commercial arrangement with FN Belgium. I have a photocopy of an undated John Inglis catalog c.1954(?).
On Page 6 Inglis offers the "F.N. ANSON HAMMERLESS SHOTGUN".
The "Anson" illustrated appears to be a line drawing from a photograph. It shows a SxS boxlock shotgun, with splinter forearm, double triggers and an English grip. Described as 6-1/2 LBs with 30" barrels. Offered in 12 gauge only. Full & Modified chokes, auto ejectors, 30" barrels - $275.00 (Canadian).
Same with extractors only, - $240.00. Improved Cylinder chokes (skeet) with auto ejectors, 27-1/2" barrels - $275.00.
For comparison, Page 3 shows the "BROWNING OVER and UNDER SHOTGUN" (edit: Superposed) in 12 gauge only, 26", 28", and 30" barrels for $235.00.
Page 2 shows the "Browning Automatic Shotgun" (edit: Auto-5) in 12 and 16 gauges ranging from $149.50 to 172.50.
So....this offered "Anson" SxS was more expensive (in Canada, anyway) than the Superposed. From Ned Schwing's Superposed book, we are told that Val Browning had a hard time with FN producing highly finished commercial guns for him...and that he had to institute his own "in-house" QA team to get the quality goods made. It was much easier (and much more profitable) for FN to make military firearms requiring less "hand-work" finishing. Left to their own devices, I speculate that FN dropped the post-WW2 resumed production "Anson" just as soon as they could in the mid 1950s.
It is also clear from Schwing's book that Val Browning would have taken many more "Browning Superposeds" from FN if he could have gotten them made. FN was money-driven, and there was more bottom-line profit in military firearms.
It may also be that the post-WW2 Anson production was really just a conversion of assets/parts clean-up from pre-WW2 made parts - FN being too busy in the 1950s to resume expensive and labour intensive SxS production when they had easier fish to fry.

A handsome gun. I was surprised at even the mid-level finish, since all the FN SxSs I've ever seen were plain Jane all-blue boxlocks with only a tiny bit of border decoration (don't believe it was even hand engraved).

Hard to fault them for the money, Greg. The one that caught you eye is nice. I looked at it right after they took it in , when I was in Denver to check on Mom's health.

They were pretty solid on their asking price, but I do think that if a man counted out c-notes, they might budget a couple of hundred. At least that is what I thought then.

A few years ago I picked one up at local gun store, a 16 ga with 30" Krupp Steel barrels, Greener type cross bolt, side clips, Anson type for-end release. Gun was priced very cheap and I paid $300 for it. It seems no-one knows about these guns, they weren't listed in the Blue Book of Gun Values then.
Gun had sling swivels which I took off and has a monte carlo stock with 24 lpi checkering. From what I found out here, is that it was made between 1924-1927.

Gun is made in my opinion very nice, easy access to hinge pin once you remove cover and loosen set screw on front end of receiver, hinge pin can be unscrewed and either turned 90 degrees and re-drill pilot hole for set screw.

Not a bad gun shoots very nice. It weighs 6 lbs 1.8 ozs. and is choked lt. mod and mod.