doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cheap SxS to abuse with steel shot

. The bonus is it balances almost exactly like my Model 21, so I don't even have to get used to it.

DH [/quote]

So does a 6ft 2X4..................

Duck shooting in Nova Scotia is almost all-saltwater shooting, and in a lifetime I've never seen a problem with rust. We just clean guns when we get home, before we kiss the wife and kids, do our chores, or eat. Guns come first. Rust is a myth where gunners set aside, what, seven minutes to clean one?

There's not a speck of rust on my rack of doubles dating from 1899 to 1938. (The "new" SKB is nearly 40 and, like the others, exposed to everything the North Atlantic can throw). I don't understand the need for beaters or anything less than the guns we bought to hunt ducks with smiles on our faces.

I like the C. Daly by Miroku but not @ 26" barrels and 6-1/2 lbs. not for duck shooting. I would inquire into the De Fourney. Ask the seller what his reserve price is and go from there. It has 32" barrels and is likely heavy enough to not beat you to a pulp. My personal choice for heavy duck and/or goose shooting would be a gas auto, cheapest being a Remington 1100.

I've been hunting with a Stoeger uplander for about 10 years now, Not a heck of alot different from a hardware store American double from the first half of the last century.

Not particularly attractive, but it shoulders well and is still as tight as new after many rounds of steel through it.
Came with fixed 26" IC MOD and probably still under $400.

If I'm shooting ducks on the local swamps the 16 and the Bismuth comes out. When I'm out for geese or on the bay, the Stoeger with steel 2s has worked on everything.

Cheers.

Tom

Find a Nitro Special and open the chokes up. Not a top level gun but a solid shooter that can often be found for less than $500.00. Modern metal, decent stock dimensions and not the end of the world if you get them wet or drop them overboard.

Watch the front trigger room. My biggest complaint about them is the smallish trigger guard. Not a problem without gloves but I watch it with gloves on. Makes the rest of the group in the blind get a bit jumpy if you have a slightly early accidental discharge.

CZ-Huglu NOT crappy Reasonably priced..

Fabarms classic lion if u can find one. they are more than 800, but a good gun.

Any thoughts to selling one or two other guns to buy a more modern steel compatible gun? There are some nice buys to be made if you look around. sites like marks(or mikes) born again bird guns may be a starting point.

good luck.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll have some ideas on what to go take a look at at a show or two. As to $500 bucks saving, that really wont go too far with bismuth right now-I cannot find any, anywhere-stores, websites, etc. etc.. Tungesten matrix is running close to $3.60 a shell, as is nice shot, and the classic double hevi shot. I can buy premium steel shot for about $0.71 a shot, 20% the price of the other stuff!

Lets say I shoot 277 shells in a waterfowl season, here is the math!

So for $1000 I can have a $500 gun, and 704 steel shells
or 278 shells of tungesten matrix. After shooting 278 times, I'll have only empty hulls with TM-but with the steel route I'll have another gun and 426 leftover shells.. Hmmm....

Why a side by side how about an over/under and why not a Ruger Red label. American built and built to take abuse. All these guys out there that are destroying these old American doubles like the Nitro Special are nut jobs, for one they're not being built so there's always going to be a limited supply and there are plenty of doubles out there that are cheap enough to abuse without destroying yet another old American double that wasn't built to handle steel.
All the best

I shoot a Russian Stevens 411, about the same as the Remington Spartan or whatever. I have extra long extended tubes in it, too. I shoot Hevi-Shot, Or Tungsten Matrix because that is what I have found that works best, so far. I don't shoot nearly as much as I used to, and when I consider the total costs I am going to shoot what I like, if I possibly can. I do not like steel and have had mixed results with Bismuth. I used to handload nickel plated shot with Mica and grex and the whole shebang.
I don't think the gun looks all that bad, it is tough, and works well. The trigger guard fits over gloves well. It shoots where you point it.
I have a BSS and a 28 ga. Winchester for doves and quail, but the way I waterfowl hunt it would pain me to treat a nicer gun that way. I grew up shooting a Stevens 311, and if I could have found one of those with 30" full and full tubes and 3" chambers I would probably be shooting that.
I am not a gun snob (obviously). I shoot what I like and what works for me and I want my shooting companions to shoot whatever they like. As long as we all have a good time it's all that matters.