doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com MOd 12 Question

jimmyw, if the 20 ga in question were still in original condition you'd be right about altering the choke. but it isn't. one that's already a total refinish from one end to the other isn't original and opening the choke isn't going to make it any less original than it already is. the gun's a shooter already. it may as well be a shooter that's what he wants it to be. that's why i said leave the 16 alone: it still is original. 2 entirely different situations.

and besides that, i've come to believe it's sad to have a gun you've never shot. of the several dozen colt sa's i had the only ones i remember now from this point in time are the ones i shot. the others were just things in boxes stuck in a safe. yeah, the fired ones brought a little less than they could have but not a very significant percentage. it was worth the $$ to me to have actually fired and enjoyed them.

if you like the gun, make the gun suit you and enjoy it. you can't take $$ to your grave with you but - barring alzheimers - you'll have your memories right up to the last. i'd rather remember shooting and enjoying guns than "ooooh! i made $300 on that shotgun!"


i've had 870's and i've had 12's. there's nothing wrong with 870's. they're a piece of shooting machinery. but - to me, and i doubt i'm alone in this - they'll never be more than that. if we only used guns that were recent mfg, had spare parts readily availabe, etcetc i don't guess anyone on this board would shoot foxes, parkers, elsies, 100 yr old british guns, etcetc.

to a lot of us, there's more to a gun than it's $-value or it's pure function as a machine for firing shells.

For std. grade gun in terms of fit and finish it's number 1 pump gun out there. I'm sorry I didn't buy Mod. Super X-1 (field gr. no rib Mod choke) in new condition plus tags at Gander Mountain for $350. Now few years later I had to settle for like new Ithaca Mod. 51 which is not as tough a gun, but the wood is quite a bit better with some feathering in the butt end.
My Mod. 31 with alloy frame is nice handling gun, but doesn't come close to Winchester in terms of spit und polish. I might pick up ole' mod. 17 in near future. I like that anchor mark on the barrel, what can I say?

probably drifting off topic but if i remember correctly what canfield wrote in his book on martial shotguns, the military felt the 31 held up the best in combat of any pump used in wwii and the model 12 was a close second. i've only owned one 31 and have to admit i liked it a lot, particularly that wide open unimpeded loading port.

i've never owned a 51 but a buddy did. had some problem with it he never could get corrected. but again if i remember right, brister wrote that it was the best gas auto at the time. i never wanted one because of the aforementioned problem.

roger

The way I read his post is: the 16 gauge is in near perfect condition and the 20 has only been reblued and refurbished. Rebluing by Simmons won't reduce the value that much. Simmons reblued and refurbished my Model 21 twenty gauge and I'm sure now that it is back in like new condition that I'll be able to get more than the $2800.00 that I paid for it a few years ago....... Put a nice Model 12 20 gauge with a vented rib (that has been gone through by Simmons) next to one with screw in chokes on a table at a gun show. Ask the same for each gun and see which one sells first. So, yes, putting in screw in chokes will decrease it's value even more. But it's his gun so he can do whatever he wants. I took it he was asking for advice so I gave him mine.