doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Buying an American gun

Guys if I was looking to buy a good example of a nice American made gun as part of my collection what would you guys reccomend and where would be the best place to look it would have to have nice damascus as well!!

depends on the thickness of your wallet.

This looks like a decent example for short money:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/conten...erarchyId=11657

Lefevers are nice. I think they're the top of the mass-produced American stuff.

This one appears to be in good shape, it has damascus bbls, and it's a fair price.

OWD

Barrel Browner. I have a 12 bore double L.C.Smith Featherweight Field Model made in 1939. It has not got damascus barrels but has just gone through Birmingham nitro proof. When I got it it wasn't proofed and I suspect that it found its way here via an American Serviceman during the Second World War. It's in pretty good shape and has at least 90% colour hardening and original blacking. It does have a slight chip out of the pistol grip cap though. Someone has shown an interest in it but is away at the moment. If you have any interest then let me know. Lagopus..... (in Derbyshire).

Barrel Browner:
Most better U.S. doubles in damascus used British damascus barrels...i.e., Lefever, LC, Parker...etc....
I personally would recommend GunBroker.com which generally has about 2,000 double guns for sale at any given time...my collection has numerous LC's which are my favorite U.S. gun for quality and appearance........quite a few LC damascus are usually for sale...as are other brands.....the trick is to find a nice one...!... Look @ GB item #136057818...

Best Regards,

These are sorta nice (doncha just luv spending other fella's $...er...pounds Sterling? )

L.C. Smith



Parker



Ithaca



Colt



Remington



Baker



So many "agricultural non-entities", so few Euros

The gentlemen farmer's Parker Bros. would be the thing, but remember the high collector value over here. Better dust-off the Purdey, if you want to trade for high condition and grade.

bb: Don't know what your collection entails, or what your budget will allow, but OWD's suggestion of a Lefever is also my personal choice ... I've always felt they were the closest relative to their Brit counterparts. Lowell's suggestion of a Parker is, however, the obvious choice, as they are probably the most famous of all the American doubles (also, IMHO, the most overpriced). Now, you didn't really specify a configuration (you said "a nice American made gun"), so if anything goes, a strong argument could be made that the Winchester Model 12 pump is the epitome of the American scattergun, and I can attest that a 16-bore is a joy to carry and handle. TT

"Most better U.S. doubles in damascus used British damascus barrels...i.e., Lefever, LC, Parker...etc..."

I don't know about Lefever but I doubt any Parkers were made with British damascus barrels.

"Most better U.S. doubles in damascus used British damascus barrels...i.e., Lefever, LC, Parker"

Oops- I missed that, and GregSY's comment re: Parker is noted.

Please scroll to the bottom here re: Parker damascus
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_268gzhjpd4d
It is likely that Parker obtained lifter damascus from England, and in the mid to late 1870s started getting damascus tubes from Liege, while using up the English barrels on hand.

And the vast majority of US maker's tubes, and many British maker's, came from Belgium. See:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_69dxb227c6
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_28dvjzkhgf
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_72xs856hdf

"In 1900, Jean Lejeune of Nessonvaux could supply a pair of ‘Boston’ tubes for 10 francs or about 2 dollars. The 1902 Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog lists the Remington 1894 A grade with “two stripe Damascus” for $35. According to Sir Cecil Herstlet, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul General in Belgium, 850 tons of Damascus were produced in 1906."