Another Beristain sidelock 12 gauge Gem.

http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100563568

Not really, that gun is worth about $500.

+1, but I'd put the value around $750 or so, not a 1k gun by any means. Short LOP (if it was measured from the front trigger) crappy recoil pad, extractor gun. Has more wear (IMO) than what was stated. An example of a lower end Spanish SL.

Best,

Greg

Just looking a the stock around the head should be enough to say pass on this one.

For similar money you could buy a plain V Bernardelli whose credentials are unquestioned and would last several generations. Or a postwar German gun such as a Simson or Sauer. Buy quality first and only then look for embellishments. Fancy wood or engraving has never made a gun shoot better.

-

We all better watch what we say! You know who may be reading these responses!

Have a good one!

Greg

You guys don't like that one huh? I'm glad I posted before going any further.

There are, so far as I am aware, four of the Beristain, S. A. side lock guns up for sale just now:

Bufalo Arms (Beristain, S. A. [Spain]) , FULL SIDELOCK SIDE X SIDE, Model No. 57, 12 gauge (2 3/4" chambers) Sale priced at $1495.00
http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100574312

Beristain Buffalo M57, 12 GA Price: Was $1599.99 Now 999.66
http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100563568

Spanish Beristain Sidelock extractor 12 double Started at$1,000.00 No Reserve (made by Industrias Ilja - Kyrie)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=496026181

Beristain Spanish Sidelock ejector 12 Started at $1,200.00 No Reserve (made by Armas Parkemy; A. P. M. - Kyrie)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=495753640

All of these guns look to me like tax salvage guns, and may have been prettied up or otherwise altered by whomever their previous American owner may have been. IMO the one made by Industrias Ilja (GB # 496026181) is the best value for the money.

Purely FYI, there were two “Beristains” in the shotgun business; Beristain y Cia and Beristain, SA. Beristain, SA was a gun retailer (like Orvis, Stoeger, Denton and Kennel , Trust Eibarres, etc.) rather than a gun maker, and sold guns made by the Basque gun makers under his own name. The guns above on Gun Broker have pictures that show the names of the gun makers who actually produced the guns.

Back in the day these guns were made they filled the same market niche that the Garbi 100, Arrieta 577, AyA No. 2, etc. fill today.

If a fellow were pursuing value, this is a gun worth looking at:

Arbemarle # 1 double SxS, .20 ga.-Sidelock- NEW Buy Now for $1,785.00
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=494547425

The seller wants more for it than I’m willing to pay, but it’s a gun worth considering.

These next two guns are sleepers. Both of these guns, at the time they were made, were THE top price point gun cataloged by the maker. The amount and high skill level of work that went into the engraving of these guns make them effectively economically impossible to produce today.

ARMAS EGO SPECIAL MODEL SIDELOCK EJECTOR SXS 12 GAUGE Price: $3,500.00
http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100554433

ARRIETA BEST QUALITY SXS 12 GAUGE Price: $3,950.00
http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100563550

Again, the sellers want more than I’m willing to pay, but the gun are worth drooling over.

Hi, don't get to depressed over this one. I think your trying. But when it comes to Spanish guns, quality is all over the place, from dogs to top quality pieces. In my experience, most of your 1.5k and below guns are for the most part, not worth a look. Sure, you may come across a rare exception, but not to often. Some of the imports from makers like Ugartechea and AyA have some nice lower end guns, but they are not works of art, the makers never intended them to be top end guns. Not all Spanish guns are fantastic examples of the gunmakers art, no matter what some folks may say, nor are all Spanish guns junk as others have said. I have the good fortune to own some very nice Spanish guns that I enjoy and am proud to own. I've also had some that, well shall we say were nothing but a POS (no pun intended on the Pride of Spain guns). Look careful at the gun, use the same methods as you would on any other SxS, regardless of the country were it was made. There are several things to look for that will tell you if the gun is a quality piece. The one you posted has so many red flags that tells me it's a dog, especially at that price. Many of the smaller makers did make good guns, but by and large the ones you find here in the U.S. are just cheap low end imports. When it comes to Spanish guns, do your homework and ask questions. Don't be kennel blinded.

Good Luck!

Greg

Well thanks guys but I'm still interested because for me it has a perfect LOP, (below 14 inches) as most Spaniards are way to long and the weight below 6 1/2 lbs. is sweet.

So Kyrie, who made this Beristain??

Closer look there are gaps in between the forearm iron and wood. And I now see that hardware store screw in the forearm. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe not.

Re the "Arbemarle": I think it should be Albemarle. I know 2 or 3 guys who ordered those and were very disappointed. I suppose you might get lucky, but I'd pass on one of those.

Yea, and a 15 inch LOP, holy smokes. You can get away with a shotgun that has a slightly longer LOP or slightly ill fitting while hunting over a dog. But, no dog, that shotgun better fit you. Although they have good prices on them especially the sidelocks some of these Spaniards have excessively long LOPs.

Careful on this one. It looks to me like a tax gun someone has prettied up cosmetically without addressing the underlying effects of many years of neglect. I’d also bet that gun is a medium game gun and when it left the maker’s shop it weighed right around seven pounds and had a LOP of 14.5 inches, give or take a half inch. It's been butchered right here in the US of A.


No way to say without being able to read the barrel flats and water table.