Anyway, Im hanging out around the booth of a German bespoke gun maker who was bad-mouthing American gun buyers auf Deutsche. "Shoots like Heaven, hits like Hell," is the slogan and not a whiff of sulfur anywhere! Another great reason to choose a double barrel shotgun is because of its safety features. Not sure who first incorrectly held their gun improperly, in the manner described but, it does seem to happen more prevalent within gang culture. All double guns triggers pulled in this manner should result in a nice, sharp click as the first barrels hammer hits the firing pin home. Building even a halfway decent double barrel gun is substantially more difficult and time consuming a task than an equivalent quality semi/lever/straight pull. They made the R51 design cheaper, and as a result, flawed, and a potentially profitable CCW pistol product utterly failed. Why double-barrels are the favorites of many hunters Thinkin outside the box. It often seems to me as if people are too blind to see their own noses, and yet tell me Im the blind one because they can score a whitetails antlers from three miles away or at least claim that they do. Oh, and DGS what are your thoughts on the cheap Spanish made doubles imported here back in the 50s and 60s? He gave generously of his time, and even when I forthrightly told him I was a gunsmith, he was happy to discuss technical details of how his company made shotguns and solved manufacturing issues for nearly an hour, whereas most gun company execs shut up and some even turn away from me in these shows when I tell them Im a gunsmith. As a result, those classic shotguns are still in high demand yet today. which two shotgun chokes are best for hunting small, fast, close One of the reasons why I dont use many power tools in gun finishing is that power tools can screw things up fast. The speed of a follow up shot is the first reason. The 4 Best Double Barrel Shotguns Stevens Model 555 Silver Over/Under Shotgun Winchester Model 101 Ultimate Sporting Over/Under Shotgun Benelli 828U Over/Under Shotgun Stoeger Coach Gun Recommended Reading Get Great Guns and Ammo Deals! Screw in chokes. C-Gs guns have some interesting features that make them very attractive. Stoeger Coach Gun: Best-Selling Side-By-Side Shotgun Today, modern production machines are able to eliminate most of this. . Mr. Zoli was also quite the charmer, took time to speak at length to my wife about his products, even tho she made it clear she isnt his sort of target customer. If you learned something from this, and have utterly no desire to buy a double gun in the future, thats absolutely all I wanted to accomplish that you understand more about the type of gun, why theyre priced as they are. Well reasoned but one big question still lingers . . I have 2 over/under 12 gauge shotguns. Referring to the article that started this mess, the Stevens is a decent choice for someone wanting a bargain O/U, as are the Yildiz shotties sold by Academy. Should a trigger spring or firing pin break or some other failure occur the Double . Theyll loosen up after a few tens of thousands of high-brass loads thanks to their aluminum receivers, but it sounds like youll never put hotter loads than some 2-3/4 field loads through it; never mind tens of thousands. For all that, my wife found it remarkable that the head of a gun company would know so much about the details of how his products are made when so many American CEOs dont know their ass from a warm rock about how their products are made. Some of the Basque guns are designs lifted directly from English gun designs eg, most of the side-lock guns are using a H&H interrupting sear design in their locks. I have cows in order to have good quality meat for myself. Accuracy . Im sure you get what you pay for but if Ive been thinking of getting into trap shooting and starting with a Stoeger combo. Youd think from the prices that theyre asking ($3500 and well up), there wouldnt be enough demand to start a whole new company making a product in a market already quite well served at those prices, and have sales and support so well established as they have in the US market. Speed and Comfort. The author might understand shotguns, but he doesnt understand economics, specifically market prices. You dont need to deal with working action as you line up your shot. Id be interested in DPs thoughts here, but three good options would be: Franchi Instinct $1200 I have a Belgian made Browning A5 thats probably from the 50s or 60s that I inherited from my Grandfather. When you start trying to shoot clay games with a splinter foreend, youll find out very quickly that a shotgun barrel can get very, very warm warm enough to give you a partial thickness burn, with tidy blisters. When it comes to guns, even most of the gun people are so prejudiced, so set on maintaining the ignorance and making the same mistakes over and over, that Im just as happy making parts for old tractors and harvesters. All Rights Reserved First they're a lot more complicated to make than your average shotgun. Especially for acquainting new learners with such sports. Thank you for both writing and publishing this overview. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Why are double-barreled shotguns (12ga) more expensive than a 12ga semi-auto? TKS 4 ACCEPTING ME,SO NICE OF ALL OF U. The bottom line is that over/unders today are simply easier for most people to own and shoot accurately than side-by-sides., All that said, some American side-by-side shotguns are still being manufactured. Fudds would gladly sell out the 2A if it means they get to keep their shotguns and great grandiddys broke dick bolt action deer rifle that shoots minute of barn. Most models I see are sporting price tags over $10K. Its an execrable finishing technique on arms that arent parkerized, an expedient borne of contempt and apathy. eg, look at Berettas recent SxS gun the 486 starts at a list price of $5300. Side-by-side shotguns were popular from the era of the percussion age to well past the turn of the 20th Century, he said. The cut-away of the action/receiver is very instructive for people to study when you open the barrels on a double gun with ejectors, you get a better appreciation as to what is happening if you study that cut-away picture. The money is there. If you hear the second hammer strike its pin, you know you have an inertia trigger. Furthermore, double barrel shotguns have fast lock times. Engraving is amateurish and the safety doesnt work, but it has a certain charm about it now if only I could hit a crossing clay Ill be ready to try my hand at a dove or two. Holland & Holland and Purdey are there from the UK, and Merkel and Krieghoff are there from Germany. SAFEST NEWSLETTER - WE WILL NEVER SELL YOUR EMAIL Edward bought an estate in Norfolk dedicated to driven pheasant and partridge shoots, inviting nobles to join his hunts. At least a farmer doesnt think hes qualified to tell the machinist how to turn out a part. Vintage side-by-side shotguns remain extremely collectible. Theres several reasons, but lets start with the most obvious: When you purchase a double-barreled shotgun, the shotgun has two barrels. . Because theyre damn reliable. Double barrel shotguns are exceptionally simple. Today, these plain SxS guns can be had for $800 on up in the more common variations (eg, 12 gauge, 16 gauge). Not much worth owning at $1500 unless you buy a clean used Citori or 680 series Beretta. Contents hide 1 Go for A Double Barrel Shotgun 1.1 1. Why are double barrels more expensive than pump action shotguns? Mr. Zoli embodies the sort of leadership a gun company CEO should have a person with a passion for guns, a passion and enthusiasm for quality, who knows the smallest details of what sets his product apart from the competition, knows the prices/features/etc of all of his guns and products. After that, Remington let the Model 32 go unloved for some time, then they sold the rights to a Dupont fella, who then pitched it at Krieghoff in a Marshall Plan deal to give the Germans something to make to help get their economy going again. It is very plain compared to the Superposed product. According to Philip Schreier, the Connecticut Shotgun Company of Hartford, Connecticut, (https://connecticutshotgun.co/ ), makes the finest American-made side-by-side shotguns available. With other weapons, theres always the slim possibility that a cartridge is still in the weapon, even when its being unloaded or reloaded. One set of fire control parts that don't need to be stuffed into a tiny double-barrel action, so they're easier to design and manufacture. They do sound awesome. Because Ive screwed up barrels just as badly doing the exact same thing seeking a shortcut. Here in Montana farmer/rancher is pretty common. So, if there happens to be a side-by-side double-barrel shotgun hiding in the corner of a closet somewhere in your extended family, dont let it get away. Love it. Made in China. If the list price stayed the same while the market price increased (due to drop in production, or increase in demand), the shelves and storerooms would be empty (like buying bottled water or batteries on the Gulf Coast this week). It wouldnt matter if theyre making fidget spinners, lawnmower engines or p-traps for a sink. This allows you to choose from two types of chokes when firing, meaning you can take shots at multiple effective ranges. no auto-setting safety Presto! With no actions that jamb and no feeding failures, the double barrel's simple design has proven to be reliable over many years. Remington thought they had let this go on too long, and in 1973, they brought back an improved/COGS-reduced version, the 3200. The A400 puzzled me why? So why then, today, are over/under shotguns much more available than side-by-sides? Duck Shooting on Saratoga Lake, David Williams, 1883. Almost none of the bean counters in charge know anything about the products they make. This is not only a lot more parts, these various actions need to be tuned to happen in the correct sequence, and, in higher-quality guns, the cocking of a fully spent gun happens with at most two clicks. In the highest quality guns, the cocking of left/right or top/bottom barrel hammers/sears and ejector mechanisms has been timed so that there is only one click heard by the shooter when they open the gun. OK, so this is a higher grade Merkel. These are the most expensive shotguns that have ever existed. Twice the firepower and less chance of blowing through a wall. How bad are production barrels? It busts clays for me quite well. at about $8K on up per gun. 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They're Clean 1.6 Wrapping Up I used to have Fabarm Gamma 12 gauge O/U with multichokes but the go to arrangement was 1/4 choke on the bottom barrel & 1/2 choke on the top. Its back in 2011, at the SCI show in Reno, NV. Its all the same to them. This post was originally published atdyspepticgunsmith.wordpress.com and is republished here with permission. An interesting historical sidenote about that particular gun is that the famous 20th Century author, hunter and shooter Ernest Hemingway owned a pair of Winchester Model 21 shotguns, keeping those 20-gauge guns around for his wives to shootyes, plural, as he was married four times. Find one with modified/full choking on the barrels and youre off to the races. Not Mr. Zoli he was thrilled to show off even small details his company worked to get correct on their guns to me and my wife. The action of opening the gun cocks the ejectors in the forearm, and when one or both barrels of the gun are fired, then a trip lever communicates this from the hammer in the receiver to the trigger/sear in the forearm for that barrel. And that can be a good thing, as added weight helps tame recoil. My favorite semi-auto gun is a Beretta 390. I hear lots of people who have never actually struck or polished a barrel say Oh, you just put it on a barrel spinner and then you use a belt sander.. Philip Schreier, director of NRA Museums, explains. In the future, I will write an article of how to evaluate a double gun before you buy it for those who might want to buy a double gun. Its not simple to have those triggers work properly 31 Archaic_1 3 yr. ago My 14 year old budding trap shooter (which I never was grew up long before it became a high school sport) tried out a Stoeger O/U and really liked it. The reason why double-barrelled shot guns are used for bird hunting is that you can shoot two shots in one swinging motion. Second shots can be more accurate, which is why clay target competitions are won by over/under shooters. Having double triggers allows the shooter to choose the barrel with the tighter choke first, if the shot requires it. It cost more to make two barrels shoot mostly to the same point. Thanks again, and well done! This is NOT an exhaustive list, and it also doesnt include the British best gun outfits, who make sporting guns that go for $50K+. When the gun is opened, the fired barrel (and only the fired barrel, if both barrels were not fired) ejects the spent shell. When Im shooting my antique SxS guns in trap competition, I usually have a TIG welding glove on my left hand to prevent burns. Much appreciated. What company makes double barrel shotguns? - TimesMojo If you spend a little time looking at the designs, it is easy to see why there is a cost difference. If you fired it into your mouth the world would have one less ignorant bigot. When you have only one barrel, youve just eliminated a lot of complexity that comes with the second barrel, as I outlined above. Always exercise due diligence before purchasing any product or service. Many double barrel shotguns offer significant versatility in terms of shot selection. Along with currently being a volunteer fireman and EMT. But it shoots 3 buck and slugs fine (but with a little recoil ). I learned something today. Through the years, there is no doubt that over/under shotguns have overtaken side-by-side shotguns in popularity, he said. All four brands owned by Fabbrica dArmi Pietro Beretta. Thats perfectly fine. So, unless its a vintage shootmeaning the competition is limited to side-by-side shotgunseveryone these days is shooting an over/under when it comes to double-barrels.. When you have a rib, the rib must be fit to the contour of both barrels in order to get the rib to have the correct elevation/profile, and to get the barrels to remain parallel from the chambers to the muzzle. A coach gun is a modern term, coined by gun collectors, for a double-barreled shotgun, generally with barrels from 18 to 24 in length placed side-by-side.. Why do they call a double barrel shotgun a greener? Ill jump in here: The K80s competition in the top-level competition market? Dyspeptic Gunsmith; Pfah. Ive ordered pre-profiled barrels from some major custom barrel makers, who have spun the pre-profiled barrel on a belt grinder. We dont owe Fudds anything but contempt for their treachery. Come with me, please. That is one of the real problems with todays amerika. But more than that, there is a lot of hand fitting necessary to get the two barrels to shoot to the same spot. Ive always liked the O/U guns but just couldnt justify the purchase of a nice one. 5 reasons to buy a double barrel shotgun . The Great Double-Barrel Debate: Side-By-Side vs. Over/Under Shotguns Another factor not mentioned is that fewer over-unders are sold, which means volume doesnt bring down costs like pumps and semis. Comments (8). Secondly, double barrel shotguns are usually a little shorter than other types of shotgun firearms around 4 inches shorter on average. Top pump shotgun, in my estimation, is the Mossberg Shockwave. As anyone experienced with machines or complex devices knows, the more moving parts you have, the greater the likelihood of something breaking over time. Catastrophic failure of the trigger assembly. double gun into a 12/20 gun is to stuff a Briley tube into one barrel. The companies provide lifetime support, free warranty and tune ups, precise measurements for fit, etc. racy shotguns can be exceedingly expensive. Double-barrel shotguns have a significant advantage over single-barrel shotguns because you can have a different choke in each barrel. Ive never needed additional parts on mine. As a competition shooter, things like this really do add 2-3 clays more per round. Many Double Barrel Shotguns have 2 independent ignition systems. Why Does an Over/Under or Side-by-Side Shotgun Cost So Much? The gun designing genius of John M. Browning gave America its first over-under in the 1930s, named the Superposed.. Other double-barrel shotguns will automatically advance the trigger to the second barrel purely as a result of the trigger being pulled on the first barrel. Problem solved. Im talking of outfits that make guns in the $3K to $15K range: Perazzi, Caasar-Guerini, Zoli, Rizzini, Salvinelli, Beretta, Fabarms (all from Italy), then Merkel, Blaser, Krieghoff (Germany). If you look at SxS trap guns of 50+ years ago, you see beavertail foreends are pretty common. Of course, it is a Century Arms gun, which means cheap. They don't jam, don't double feed, and don't suffer under poor weather. As it turns out, Zoli guns are made in Italy, on modern CNC equipment (some of the CNC equipment is German), to very nice levels of production, fit and finish. I am still having trouble with the exorbitant cost given that CNC machining is standard these days. Its got some nice scroll work. Modern SxS shotguns are assembled with the top and bottom ribs, and possibly a monoblock. Long story short: Quality SxS and O/U shotguns have lots more going on in them theres a lot more parts, involvement and labor involved than a single-barrel pump or semi-auto. You go buy yourself a set of Briley sub-gauge tubes: http://www.briley.com/c-238-tube-sets-and-tube-set-accessories.aspx. The money is there in the market. With its classic lines, hand-built workmanship, and locking up as tightly as a Bradley tank, the Model 21 was the first double-barreled shotgun produced by Winchester (the company's previous . But it works, and is a hoot to shoot. It lasted about 4 months before it started firing both barrels at the same time. Lets go over all the reasons why you should choose to own one below. There are still some parts available from Numrich and Browning, but theyre well enough made that you shouldnt need much in the way of parts. Never owned or even shot a SxS or O/U, so Im not intimately familiar with their construction or anatomy. / Why Are Double Barrel Shotguns So Expensive - ArnaBee Its not just in firearms either. Also for deer you can have one barrel loaded with buck, and the other with a slug.