doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com New sxs advice

Unless you are shooting rising birds/targets, such as box birds or trap targets, a high comb that causes you to see too much of the rib is going to be a great handicap to you. On other presentations you would be required to "float" the bird above the muzzle. This is not consistent with fine wingshooting.

I understood you wanted a hammer gun, as in "exposed hammers".

SRH

I'm looking at all of the doubleguns I can find on web-sites but I thought you said you wanted a prince of wales grip? And unless you are consistently hunting behind good dogs, don't buy a hammer gun.

For Four thousand and if buying carefully you can probably find a nice Parker LC Smith or Fox.

Boats.

Stan, I would prefer an exposed hammer gun certainly. I was browsing and that one caught my eye as the walnut is beautiful! I am not dead set on exposed hammers if a hammerless sidelock really catches my eye. The hammer guns with sculpted fences are especially pleasing to my eyes.

Treblig, yes I would prefer a PoW grip. For some reason PoW gripped sculpted fenced hammer guns just look really good to me. I know they are not really the most ideal for hunting or target use but oh well, there is just something about them that looks beautiful. But again, I'm not dead set on it, if a perfect hammerless comes up I'd seriously consider it

Beretta also made hammer doubles under the MiVal name (or something close to that). V. Bernardellis are great guns for the money, but the POW grip may be hard to find on a hammer gun. You could get a pretty nice Parker or Birmingham hammer double for your budget, but likely to be Damascus or twist barrels. Your best bet for a modern hammer double (other than Bernardelli) is probably going to be a used Spanish gun from one of the lesser known makers. I picked up a Sarasqueta hammer 20 last year for pretty reasonable money, with 32" barrels and 3" chambers.

My advice is to slow down and be sure what you want.

Your first post said you liked the looks of the AyA No 2 but you wanted a hammer gun with a prince-of-wales grip. The gun you linked to is a hammerless gun with a very tight pistol grip and a Monte Carlo stock. Most bad gun purchasing decisions are made when you jump and buy a gun that is not what you really want.

I suggest that you go to one or more SxS shoots which have multiple exhibitors so that you can see what is available before you jump and buy.

My wife and I own a number of shotguns - pump, semi-autos, O/U's, and SxS's. Included are two hammer guns, one a 16 gauge built in 1866 with a fairly tight pistol grip which requires low pressure 2 1/2" loads and the other a 1940's Belgian 24 gauge with a straight grip - needless to say neither uses easy to find or inexpensive cartridges but I've been reloading for 42 years so I keep them fed without issue.

I've shot over 5,000 rounds through the 1866 Joseph Lang and broken clays and killed a bunch of quail with it (my favorite quail gun). I've broken clays and killed quail and woodcock with the 24 gauge. I really enjoy shooting these guns but you should find someone to let you shoot a hammer gun a fair amount before you decide that you want to buy one.

I also have AyA No 2's in 12 and 20 gauge and when serious shooting is to be done these are the guns I go to.

FYI, Bernardelli Brescia 12ga, 30", English grip (half of a composed pair):

[img:center][/img]

Thanks Fly, you are right. I am finding the more I browse, the more looks interesting... I should just buy one of each lol!

Like this one, which is a hammerless with a bit fuller pistol grip than a PoW, but not as tight as the last
http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-fo...un_id=100598597

I'll sit back and ponder awhile, I'm not in any big hurry to buy. My next sxs match isn't until early May. I had an an ideal in my minds eye for years, but it was never finalized as I figured it would be decades before I could buy one. Now that it has become a possibility, I need to finalize my ideal I guess. That why this forum is great- y'all point out what I need to think over more. Thank you!

Anyone have a picture of the Beretta hammer guns? I saw a black an white ad on Google images, but not the real thing

Beretta Mi-Val at Steve Barnett, but shown as sold:

Here's an old thread on Beretta hammer guns:
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=261842&page=1