doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Still on the search, American made 20ga!

Hi:

I have a N.R Davis 20 gauge that is a sweet thing to use for an Upland Gun. It has 28"barrels that are ic & mod. It has a POW stock with a splinter fore end and double triggers. It is very clean for being about 100 years old without any pitting,rust and only a few small dents in the stock caused by gun safe rash. It makes for a very pleasant gun for hunting pheasants over a pointer and points very well for me. It is very slim and trim but the weight is a mystery as I have found that my two scales are both inaccurate! Perhaps the lady at the post office will weigh it for me.

Mike Orlen checked it out and assured me that it was safe to fire any 2 3/4" ammo. After all it does say,"As good as the Best" on the receiver! Lol

Be well,

Franchi

Like many of my SxS shooting friends I grew up with Stevens 311's Teenager I had a 26 inch 20 and 28 inch 12. Very serviceable guns you won't go wrong.

Few years ago bought a Fulton Hunter Special 20 in a local gun store. Late production just pre WW 2, 2 3/4 inch chambers. Good stock dims, Handled well 28 inch about IC right Full left. Put some money into it cleaning up the stock recutting the checkering. Used it as a loaner, everybody liked the gun. Sold it to one of my Parker shooting friends for his young son. We agree it's one of the better modestly priced American doubles.

Guys from the LC Smith club say the Hunter Special design is better than ordinary Fultons Not as easy to find as a Stevens.

Boats

Nice buy, Stan. And good choice. And while not American-made, those SKB's were imported by Ithaca, which had a long history in the American side by side market.

Stan is right, I should have described mine as an Ithaca/ SKB rather than just Ithaca. They are sturdy, well made , aesthetic and are about perfect for kids .

In the 50's, a friend of mine had a Springfield 20 gauge that was a sweet double. Perhaps one could find on of these old timers.

I too have an Ithaca/ SKB 200E 20ga. that is a great gun. Mine has 25" barrel and choked ic. and mod. Not American, but is a nice double.

Good luck,

Franchi

I one point I had a "Central Arms Co" 20 ga double. This gun was
built on the 1915 Lewis patent & was striker fired. It had uncheckered non-walnut hardwood stock & forend. I shot it well but it weighed 7 lbs. I soon traded it off as I preferred to have real walnut wood & figured if it weighed 7 lbs it may as well be a 12. The only advantage I could ever see to a smaller gauge was if it was lighter to carry. I would much prefer to load a "Big Hole Gun" down than a "Little Hole Gun" up.

I really prefer not to do either. I like a .410 for very light loads, 11/16 oz. and under, a 20 for 7/8 oz. loads, a 16 or a 12 for 1 oz. loads, and a 12 for everything above that.

SRH

Stan, I am a fan of the SKBs, and I have a lowly model 100 that I bought for my wife and am now restocking for me. Your 200 for $850 seems like an outright steal to me. Mine is an imp/mod and I would much rather have a mod/full but so be it. It will kill pheasants and carry easy in the winter when I have to hunt on snowshoes.

Thanks, Brent. It was at one of those lesser known auction houses known mostly for paintings and other antiques. I placed a bid and forgot about it. A lady called me a couple weeks later and asked for a FFL holder's address to send it to. Could have knocked me over with a feather.

SRH

Another plus for the Ithaca SKB over the 311 .................. my 28" barreled SKB weighs 6.4#, whereas the 311 will be at or above 7#, in most instances.

SRH