doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com No market for 12 gauge?

pooch: good thing too, else I would be out of business.

If I cared very much about "the other end", I wouldn't be buying new double shotguns, or old ones for that matter. My retirement investments are at 66% YTD and over 300% for 18 yrs. My shotgun investments are probably at 0% YTD and 20% for 18 yrs.

AS to the "investment" side of it, I burn more money in gas, equipt and ammo than I might lose on the gun,so, the guns at least, can recover some of what I spend on it. Drive a new 60-70,000.00 pickup off the lot, a person can buy a pretty nice SXS for what you just lost.
As I'd like to purchase a nice SXS, and I have a beer budget, I have to keep things under the 10,000 range, I'd prefer under 5,000, there isn't much other than mostly Turkish guns under 3,000.
One thought is an English hammer gun, another is a sidelever, be it hammer or hammerless. A nice boxlock would be OK also.
Then, the fact I like waterfowling comes into it. Not a big upland hunter, that could change.
I have an SBE, use it for snows mostly. This year I tried out my Ringneck 20 on them, worked well. Also have a 3" 12ga Canvasback I don't use much at all.
Well, a 3" 12ga SXS isn't overly common, in new guns under 3000, there are some Spanish, Italian and Turkish guns in the 3-5000 range.
The internet has helped me spot the ones that are out there. I am a lot under-schooled in what I need to know to buy one. Slowly learning.
Have seen some stuff I'd like, but, getting a better look isn't easy. Some of it is up there in price, some of it seems reasonable, but, I don't know how to judge the bling vs functionality/reliability ratio on the price of the "reasonable" ones. And a lot of those are 4-12,000.00. Found a few that are suitable, not quite what I want, in say a Beretta 471, like to see a 486, too new, that sort of thing. But, still have the bug for a hammergun. Not really into CZ or Pedersoli. Lots of old damascus units, walls maybe not what they should be?
resleeved, hmmmm,? post-WWII production boxlocks?? Worth what they want???
Not really easy research. Lots of nice stuff out there. Most of it is out of the country, though. How many gunshops stock a decent SXS? Not many, danged near none in Canada.
I can see, where a lot of people may not want to bother, with buying one. You have to have "the bug in the rug" for it.
And I may yet buy a 20ga anyway. It kills waterfowl just fine.
Won't require any special loads, handloading, component purchases. etc.
But, I have the want, and will just have to persevere. Whatever I buy, will get used.

09jones, in Canada the operative words are "be patient". We don't have the depth of supply in the marketplace the US does. The upside is typically prices are a lot less. I'm speaking of older guns here, not new. Follow the Equipment Exchange on the Gunnutz site in Canada. Sooner or later something will come up that will be what you are after. It also helps to dial you into pricing. Find a gunsmith you can trust who can properly measure barrel wall thickness.

Spend time on this forum.....reading. You'll learn a lot. I started about 8-9 years ago and knew virtually nothing about SxS guns. I know a hell of a lot more now and it just about all came from here.

I have only one gun that cost over 3K, and only one other that cost over 2K. But I'm pretty happy with the assortment I have and have something for just about every purpose, be it lightweight upland or wet goose shooting.

Do your best to learn and then buy rather than the other way round. It's cheaper that way. LOL

I was only a decade or so ago that the 16 bores were the discounted, unwanted shotguns. Seems to reverse, now.