doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Browning bss sidelock

Thanks, James. I restored it myself.

Now where was I? Hmm.

Oh yes, now I remember. Do note what the owner of this 12 gauge BSS sidelock reported on the guns "feel".

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbt...true#Post262786

Are we to assume he has never handled one, as a member opined above?

That would be strange.


Best,
Ted

Looking at that old post a few members have said that they didn't handle very well and felt, "clubby." A friend had one and sold it for that exact same reason going back to his Fox Sterlingworth as his every day field gun.

Isn't Chuck's old post directly about the BSS boxlock rather than the sidelock? Some of the BSS boxlock guns I've shot are a little clubby for carry, but I seem to seem them pretty well...Geo

Not really. Chuck had noted heavy walls and tubes on the boxlock version, and figured they might be the same on the sidelock. There were also at least two prior owners of the 12 gauge version who posted, that were not too impressed with the sidelock guns handling, or weight with 26" barrels.

The only dog I've got in the fight is the one where I noted gun fit, or, lack of it, would influence how a gun feels to an individual, regardless of make or model, and others disagreed with that notion, or, suggested it was an "opinion".

Which, it isn't. Also noted, was the notion that a H&H Royal sidelock would automatically not be clubby, by virtue of the name on the locks, I think, but, that notion is false, or, downright ridiculous, in it's own right.


Best,
Ted

'Ridiculous' is strong word, Ted. If jOe reads some of your posts he may feel the need to put you in your rightful place, AGAIN! :-)

"Ridiculous" might be strong, but, I actually said, "Downright ridiculous" which comes closer to capturing the" Je ne Sais Quoi", perhaps, foolishness, of the notion.

So, how is the view from the rightful place?


Best,
Ted

No worries there, Ted. Your response to my post and the plethora of other statements you have made here, unequivocally establish the fact that you look upon buffoonery as though it were a virtue.

I think all of us--or at least those of us who've both owned and handled the BSS doubles, both boxlocks and sidelocks--will agree that they're very different critters. Depending on barrel length, a standard grade boxlock (not the straight grip Sporter, which is lighter) can push 8 pounds. I doubt a sidelock 12 would ever tip the scale at 7, although I might be wrong on that score.

I know one of the posters that talked about the clubby feel of the BSS Sidelock pretty well. He spends a lot of time hunting pheasants with a Prussian Daly that's in the sub-6# category. (I owned one of those at one time--a Featherweight--and it was the lightest 12ga double I'd ever handled other than Brit 2" guns.) But the thing is, you're not very likely to find a sidelock--British, Spanish, Italian take your pick--that will fall into that category. Lightest one I ever owned was a Charles Lancaster at about 6 1/4 with 28" barrel and fairly thin (but safe) wall thickness.

But weight is only one of the factors that can give a gun a "clubby" feel. Another is the profile of the grip. Thin-gripped guns with splinter FE's may not weigh that much less than a gun with a thicker wrist and a bit more wood under the barrels, but they can feel that way. Then there's the issue of balance. Ruger did a decent job of shaving weight from their sxs Gold Label, but the result was a gun that's nose-heavy. Most light game guns, I think, have a more neutral balance, or perhaps slightly barrel light.

And how all of that feels depends to a great extent on the preferences of the individual.

That's what my buddy had as I just called him so he did not have the sidelock. The thing was outrageously heavy for an upland game gun but he sold it for more money then he paid for it. That's the way he was, only guy I ever knew that was fully employed but still had employers calling him to ask him if he wanted a job.

I've owned three 12g Browning sidelocks. They were all between 6 1/4 and 6 1/2 lbs. They didn't feel clubby to me.terc