Opinions here no wrong answers.

You have $10,000 bucks to spend on a bespoke shotgun, who or where would you decide to go for that shotgun?

Buy a used one and have it restocked to your specs and shooting style?

New Spaniard?

New English? (yea, right with only $10,0000 bucks)

New Italian?

New German?

New American? (choices would be very limited)

New Frenchy? (Yea, right with only $10,000 bucks)

Id get a German [Merkel] higher grade SxS....and still have enough left over to get the wife some nice jewelry.....

I'd probably buy a Miroku grade 5 and spend the rest shooting driven in the UK, now that the pound is collapsing again.

Or maybe a trip to Italy, and Brescia. Get a generic Italian O/U stocked for you while there.

When machine made, hand engraved guns run 20+, 10 isn't making other people gawk at the club anymore.

I'd probably go with a Merkel Sidelock. Possibly a Verney-Carron, but I'd probably be over $10k... I think they start in the 12's.

I'm pretty easy to fit so I'd probably look for the best quality classic English double I could find for the money without doing any alteration.
Jim

I'm with James on this one. Get the most hand-made quality you can buy that needs minimal alteration. Almost any pre-WWI guns made in England (that have been well-cared for) are stunning examples of the gunmaker's art.

What do you want to do with this gun?
Do YOU want new or a redone classic?
Hunt wild upland birds?
Shoot driven pheasants?
Pound 10,000 targets a year?
Go to Argentina and shoot doves?
O/U or SXS?
One gun can not do it all.
If you want an O/U get a Perazzi built to your specs. Nothing better on the planet for the money.
Regards,
Jeff

I love the history and handling of vintage English doubles. My budget wasn't 10k, but I went through this last fall and ended up buying a Spanish gun at the top of my price range. For me, it was a bad move as I just didn't have as much pride of ownership in it, even though it was a very high quality gun.

So, if I had $10,000 I would look for a vintage English double that fit me well. I would not restock, both because it would loose some of the historical feel I enjoy, and because it would chew up 4-5k of the budget thus limiting my options. But ya never know, the perfect gun with a poor condition wood might be out there

I would spend sometime researching, handling and shooting if possible. Then, I would make my decision.

Bring your wife to Paradise for Spring Training.
Check into the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Send her to Scottsdale Fashion Square with credit card
http://www.fashionsquare.com/
Go to William Larkin Moore
http://williamlarkinmoore.com/
Buy yourself something nice that fits.
Drive up I-17 to Ben Avery and shoot it. I'll meet you there

Immediate gratification...until the wife's credit card bill arrives

AYA of Spain do some really beautiful side by sides in the English style. Most of the "cheaper" new British guns are Spanish or Italian made guns with a British name such as Powell or William Evans engraved on (even Purdey do this now so i am told).

Here is where I'd start. Tell us about what your going to do with it Treb! Does it need to be able to shoot SAAMI ammo?

I'd be looking at a Dickson or MacNaughton for my needs, but for 10k it would probably be sleeved which wouldn't bother me one bit.
This one catches my eye all the time:
http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100627272

Bill

Now that's a plan!!!

I'm just star gazing guys, if I had an extra $10,000 bucks laying around, I would rebuild the drivetrain on my truck then drive to Bobski's place in April for that shoot then on to Alaska for some serious wilderness bird hunting.

A guy can dream can't he.

SXS? I'd probably get the finest long barreled AH Fox that $10k will buy.

O/U? Perazzi, without question.

SRH

Drew:

Jim

Okay, its one of those post bird season, too early for enjoyable clays rhetorical questions w/zero qualifiers aside from maximum expenditure; so whot I'd do is find a solid lower grade non-ejector Ithaca in 12 or 20 gauge [predicated on your personal pref. & intended use] w/good barrels; then I'd contact Doug Mann & have him help you get a decent piece of wood and stock it for you and let him coordinate something w/Jim Nixon for very minimal, but attractive, engraving [even if only a border motif] and have the action French grayed & bbl's. nicely blacked. You could easily achieve that within your specified budget and have a perfectly wonderful bespoke and highly usable gun.

You asked, so there it is in a nutshell. Doug can tell you if I'm a loony tune or not about the idea. Personally, I think it very doable.

A less expensive approach would be to have Doug stock an Ithaca SKB 100 for you and forget about anything more than his craftsmanship to make it stand out & unique. You could possibly even do a pair within that budget, a 12 & a 20.

Try to find an original C grade small bore Fox for that price. Hopefully it can be bent to fit. They aren't making the original ones anymore and those gun have soul.

Try doing it in the privacy of your own home....

tw, that's exactly what it is, one of those hypotheticals.

That's what I figured most of the responses would be, an old American classic restocked to your shooting style and/or specs. I don't think you could even buy a bespoke Spaniard for $10,000 dollars any more.

You can probably just barely get into an AyA I would think. The 53 was about 12k and the 56 was about 14k last fall if I recall

Thanks for all of the responses Gentlemen. Its one of those, "If I can only own and use one gun what would it be" kind of questions.

While reading through Humpty Dumpty's excellent web site and noting that he said Russian is mostly a shotgun country with most owning, shooting and hunting with one gun and that a shotgun, I just wanted to see what others would do if put into that situation. But, unlike Russia, our only restriction is income for how many guns we can own. Or to put it a different way, I only have enough money to buy one bespoke shotgun what would you do.

When machine made, laser engraved, laser checkered, guns are at 10 or more, while great guns, they don't give the same psychic reward as a hand made gun.

The time has passed for a 10k hand made gun.

Problem with all the reworked American standards is steel shot.

For old geezers that don't shoot anyway, and just want to look at it, buy an XE or C grade Fox. Clean it, rub it, and then let your heirs sell it.

There's a lot above for geezers who also shoot and many others, too. In my early days, there was one shotgun, period, rural or urban, usually a 12ga double but lots of 16ga singles. Generally, it prevails today.

Our board is an anomaly, comprised of many-gun hunters, enthusiasts and collectors buying and selling as they move up the food chain. Our interests seem more to "psychic rewards" --- a benign affectation.

I'm leaning more to one-gun every day. If I really put my mind to it, it's already in my modest gun room.

King,
Where the hell were you 45 years ago?

I (and, my wallet) coulda' used that advice, then.

Treb, it doesn't seem that long ago that I could have got you a new R17 with fine rose and scroll for a few K short of your magic number. A V19 would have been right around 10K. Now, those same guns are nipping at 30K, and the Frenchies aren't really interested in you having one.

Can't even guess what this trinket would be used for (if at all) so, can't provide any guidance. But, good luck.

Best,
Ted

My "One Gun for a Lifetime" is already in my gun room. I just have to identify it. If I were searching for one out in the marketplace, I would have Mr. Galazan build me a 20 gauge long barrel Fox to Sterlingworth specifications. I believe he would be intrigued enough with the concept that he would agree to do it for ten grand. I believe that could be anyone's gun for a lifetime.

"Psychic income" explains most things we like.

I've seen a whole lot of men parade a fancy shotguns around my club, and then shortly later get divorced.

The parading is very important to some. They watch the rack like hawks. For others, fine things are a more private matter.

If you are going to shoot it, steel shot is a big deal. if not, or just a few rounds a year, get the investment grade smallbore, and rub it for fun.

There aren't any new guns at 10 that bring the psychic income the purchaser hopes for. At least not where I shoot. Outside of the competitive crowd, and there they all crave the Perazzi with upgraded wood, and that ain't near 10. They mostly shoot catalog Guerini's and Blasers.

I would look for a best London gun that has been sleeved be a skilled 'smith. You might even have enough money left to have some stock work done. While sleeving is not well looked on this side of the pond it does put best quality work with in a 10k price range and more latitude in your ammo choices.

Good point Ted, I should have put down for the French qualifier in my original post, IF and only IF the French Gunmaker decides you're worthy enough to own one regardless of how much money you have.

Good point CZ, the price of ammo and its availability in remote areas also has to be factored into this decision.