I keep reading that the Colt 1883 is "quite possibly" the finest classic American side-by-side shotgun ever made. I've owned one, and it was certainly a nice boxlock, but to my eye, no nicer than others I've known. I believe they were considered expensive, relative to others available, but what real justification is there for this claim? And for that matter, is the Colt really an "American" shotgun? Isn't there at least speculation that they were built in Birmingham and just finished in the States? (I assume the barrels were Belgian, but almost everybody's were, right?) TT

"The very acme of duck shooting is a big 10, taking ducks in pass shooting only." - Charles Askins