doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sidelocks vs Boxlocks

Depends if Grandpa's gun was an F grade 31, thousand dollar grade Ithaca 37 pump, or one of the Winchesters with the gold birds in it, don't you think, Larry?

Hey, I've been inside quite a few boxlocks too, Larry. No mysteries in them. Someday I'll give you some pointers if you like, and, show you the tools.

Best,
Ted

Neiher. In break open actions the trigger plate lock has neatly solved the "problems" Burrard mentions re the boxlock while also avoiding the real problems of the sidelock, which Burrard conveniently forgot to mention. Stock cracking, too many parts, plates that span metal and wood, the list is a long one for the sidelock. I would add the shameless copying of the H&H action by indifferent makers who reduced it to something that barely deserves the title "gun".

The archetypical trigger plate action is the Dickson, which also happens to be one of the best looking guns ever built. "For sheer thoroghbred lines the DRA yields nothing, nothing whatsoever to the finest sidelock ever built" Gogh Thomas, who owned Atkin and Purdey sidelocks wrote this.

Other proprietary actions, like the French Ideal, the Beretta 626, the Model 21, are sufficiently different from an Anson-Deely boxlocs as to evade the old criticisms, and all are more robust than a sidelock.

So let's move on from this old quagmire.

They might have been the newest. It's possible that some of the model 12s would have been 30 years old by that point. The 1897s might have been near 40 years old.

I still prefer the 31.

Best,
Ted

I look at guns as women. Beauty is skin deep but ugly is clear to the bone.
I have a beautiful tournament shotgun with a three gauge barrel set I named "Darlene". It selects which barrel to fire on it's own. Barrel selector gets jammed so it won't fire. Has mechanical triggers yet sometimes won't fire second barrel. I've sent it in to get fixed but it comes back telling me they can't find any problems.
I enjoy beautiful guns just as beautiful women. If they have issues they are better off down the road.

Boxlock or sidelock...I have and love both so long as they are reliable.

Well, you're now into apples to oranges, Ted. We were talking field or standard grades in both cases. Now surely you don't want to compare even those fancy pumps to an Ithaca Sousa, a Parker AAHE, Fox DE, etc?

Re looking at boxlocks, I'm just up the road from Mark Beasland. Had Mark take apart one of the new Dickinsons (trigger plate guns) that Cabela's selling. He's lots closer than you, and I think may have looked at a few more boxlocks than you have . . . although I'm sure you have an edge when it comes to Darnes.

My advantage is probably just in parts inventory, Larry.

Did Mr. Beasland puke when you brought him the Cabela's gun, and asked him to soil his tools working on it?

I might of. He might have a pretty good advantage there, too. I haven't warmed up to anything from Turkey just yet.

I could warm up to this, however:

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Ithaca-2-500-Grade-37-Museum-Gun.cfm?gun_id=100182809

Have a great day, Larry!

Best,
Ted

Well Ted, since Mark purchased a significant portion of the late Klunkermeister's parts inventory, I'm guessing you don't have an advantage there.

Always good to check them out. After all, I'm old enough to remember when anything from Japan was junk--cars and TV's as well as guns--and when all Spanish guns were also junk. Or at least that was the popular opinion.

Just a quick note on the issue of "balance" as mentioned above. No offense meant to anyone; this is my finding.

"Balance" is often used a summative quality for handling. I can't find such a number any more than I can find a summative number for stock dimensions. Handling has the properties of weight, teeter-totter balance, unmounted swing effort and mounted swing effort. There is no single combination of these numbers that makes a gun's handling suitable for all shooters any more than there is one set of stock dimensions that suits all. Also, note that any brand, design, etc. can be built within a wide range of handling properties. I find SLE, SLNE, BLE, BLNE, and other types with identical handling.

American gun writers of the last century built a mystique around the SLE best work gun. Well, I love 'em, but boxlocks can handle identically.If, however, you are in love with the handling of the Brit game gun pattern, you will find a somewhat higher per centage of SLE's built to that pattern.

DDA

I was just talking Darne parts, Larry.

I sold a few to Klunk.

Best,
Ted

No question you've got the edge there, Ted. You ever own a Petrik??