doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Save The Side by Side

A bargain is only a real bargain if it is what you want. 25-25” barrels appeal to very few these days. But I have bought several AYA model 4’s in 12, 20 and one 28 which were absolute steals even with importing fees. I had under a grand in the smallbores in total and they were 95+% guns. Good luck finding one of them for twice that price here. The 12’s were like new and cost under 750 in total to bring in.

I feel sorry for gun owners who honestly get almost no serious money for solid doubles, because there just no interest in them. I don’t blame gun shops who struggle to sell used doubles at any price. But economics tell you that even a “free” gun will cost you $500+ by the time you pay to import it, pay any tariffs, taxes, shipping, insurance and fees. Pay 500-1,000 for a gun and it better be worth 1,500 or you are going into the hole.

With that in mind there are some values. I bought several small bore hammer guns and have less than 750 invested in each. Several 20’s will be enjoyed just as they are. I am going to need either have screw-in choke tubes installed or careful back boring in a .410 hammer gun to get serious chokes for my needs. But I looked several years for a 30” .410 hammergun. This one passed 3” proofs but just lacks tight chokes. In the end I might also restock it with a very nice quarter sawn English blank. It just will not look right with a crotch blank but a straight grain, with a lot of contrast will look just fine on it. Plus I can get adult dimensions for me to shoot. 13.5-14” lop and lots of drop just does not work for me.

Bushveld, your Trump bashing and recent use of the TACO acronym is rather amusing, considering that Trump is the only President in decades who has had the stones to actually do anything serious to confront the massive trade deficit and loss of critical U.S. Manufacturing jobs.

And when it comes to Presidents who actually chickened out, I wonder why you never had any similar commentary about Syria's President Assad crossing Obama's "Red Line" with zero consequences, or Putin and Hamas thumbing their noses at Biden over his gutless "Don't" warnings.

How does Trump Derangement Syndrome make you forget or ignore real Democrat Chickens, or Democrat policies that cost U.S taxpayers far more than any gun tariff ever will?

And here's a purely hypothetical question concerning your comment on $800.00 average import fees, and the possibility of tariffs screwing American gun buyers...

If someone advertises and sells an item on this forum such as a nice gun case for $350.00 or a couple flats of ammo for $300.00, and they pay Dave Weber the customary $12.00 fee... then do you agree that someone who advertises these $800.00 gun importing services should also pay that modest fee for each and every successful sale?

Or do you think Dave should get screwed, and that other sellers who have the integrity to pay the $12.00 should subsidize those who feel that advertising in their Taglines or Posts in other forums makes them somehow exempt?

This should be interesting and revealing...

Very interesting conversations so far.

I chose Elderkin & Son gunshop to show UK gun values at present time and to introduce to some of you a gunshop you have not likely had any knowledge. Elderkin's has been the "place to go" for maybe 70 years for a superb used Purdey gun. I suspect that now many of you looked at the Elderkin website and their other values that have long barrels. I prefer longer barrels myself (29"), but I may have shot more game with 26 inch barreled guns in life than longer barreled guns I have.

Here are some of those longer barreled guns that are remarkable values from a gunshop that is known for highest quality shotguns. I doubt that many of the outstanding values at Elderkin's ever get posted on the Web similarly like at Graham Mackinlay's shop.

28 inch barrel Army&Navy 12 bore 6lbs 3 ounces and a 15 inch LOP butt stock (for us American size bubbas, for less than the price of used AyA no. 1/ https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/army-and-navy-best-london-sidelock/

A 30 inch barreled Purdey with a new set of barrels--a gun for sale at 2/3 the price of the barrels. https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/purdey-30/

28 inch Harrison Hussey very best 9 pin SLE for the price of a Arietta 578 https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/harrison-and-hussey-best-sidelock/

Holland & Holland Royal with 28 inch barrels and long American size stock https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/holland-and-holland-royal/

A pair of guns for the Minnesota and Manitoba grouse shooters best quality 2 3/4 inch chambered 27 inch barrels (new in 1970's) for the price of a pair of used AyA's https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/beesley-best-paircof-sidelocks/

And a perfect Purdey from the very best hand made gun years of late 20's with 29 inch barrels, .027/.028"min wall, original oak and leather case, beautiful butt stock https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/purdey-circa-late-20-s/

These are nice, but no price on them. I can only imagine what it would be.

https://www.elderkinguns.co.uk/product/purdey-pigeon-guns/

Twenty five inch barrels will work just fine on pheasants as well. All one has to do is learn to shoot shorter barrel guns. They're no harder to hit with than long-barrel guns, but you do need to shoot them a few times at least before heading off to the field. Getting used to the swing is all it takes.

Karen,
Who charges 800$ for import fees? I don't, my fee is 650$. You are responsible for your own insurance, duty and now tariffs as well. The total is completely dependent upon the price of the gun. One gentleman who recently purchased a lovely 20 bore Purdey from France just spent about 6500$ getting his gun in, my fee was still 650$. I hope that gives you better understanding of pricing Princess. All my best.
Steve

My budget will only allow me to save a few!

Several guns on the Elderkin website are described as steel shot compatible. What does this mean? Chokes have been opened, reroofed? What?

"Compatible" means with the following proof marks, indicating "Standard Proof" for LEAD OR STEEL limited to no larger than 3.25 mm / U.S. No. 4s and max. fps 1,300. There is no choke restriction for "Standard Proof", but most recommend limited to modified. No. 7 steel target loads MAY be safe with full choke.



12g 50mm, 60mm, 65mm, and 70mm “Standard Proof” is for a Maximum Average (SERVICE) Pressure 740 BAR = 10,733 psi; Maximum Statistical Individual Pressure 850 BAR = 12,328 psi
Both 65 and 70 mm 16g standard is SERVICE 780 BAR or 11,313 psi; MSIP 900 BAR or 13,053 psi

From the Gamebore site



Reproved 2012 for "Standard Proof" after honing

The English guys are throwing the line “safe for steel” around a bit too much. We saw bulged Browning A5 barrels perhaps a decade before steel was a thing, and none of those loads that did that were hitting 1300-1400fps. A gun with 100 year old solder between the ribs might last forever running 2 1/2” low pressure lead loads, but, I’m not interested is seeing what even the lower velocity version of English steel shot loads could do to those guns.
We don’t have that distinction between steel loads, here. Regular steel loads sold here don’t impress the birds anymore than they impress me.

Best,
Ted