I'm a fan of of the Fox Stelingworth and the LC Smith. Granted i am not nearly as well versed as those who can site load data or design/manufacturing info and what not to argue their value, but mine is more of an on the ground "take".

My vote the for the AH Fox line of shotguns because of the different versions of barrels they produced for the same receiver. Also because Fox put a 16Ga on a 20Ga frame and that makes one hell of a grouse gun when you are walking and carrying it all day. If I had the funds, I'd end up with with a 16GA CE. That one strikes the right balance for me.

A close 2nd for me would be the LC Smith. Again, more of an on the ground take. There are ones that are light, and one that are heavy. I usually look for the FW frame designation, and they have a different design then their regular framed models.

If you can sift through them, that would be great, but I haven found an LC Smith store yet. I got lucky with my FW 20GA, comes in a little heavier then my Sterly, but nut by much. Elegant and graceful with a minimalist approach for their field guns. Never had one fail, but the there is a lot to be said about the common complaint of not leaving enough wood abound the locks, resulting in a lot of cracks behind the locks.

I don't think there are any new revelations here.

As compared to European guns, well thats apples to oranges. Sure a Best model is going to be more well made. But they were not produced for a mass market of hunters that needed a reliabe gun to put food on the table.

I think kieth at one point put up a post abuout a serous level of abuse one had to put an LC Smith through before the barrel gave.

I wonder wonder how long a Best model would stand up to that. I really dont know.

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