How old do you think the average Joe is on this BBS? How old were you when you got hooked on doubleguns?
I'm 45, and I"ve used O/U guns since my mid-20s. I like SxS guns, too, but I just have one.

Average age probably 50-55, doubles age 10.

There's one on here that's about 70 and another about 55---each of them act like they're about 2...so that averages out at 42 years 4 months.

Humm, I'm 70, loved SxSs since in my 20s, hope I'm not the one bamboozler is refering to. Average age I'd guess in their 50s.

I'm 45. Got hooked with a MDl 21 at age 35.

I'll be 72 come March 13. I bought my first double, a Stevens 325, 1n the fall of 1954 @ age 16. Have not been without one since, that's 55+ years ago. Previous to buying that old Stevens I had fired no shotguns except singles. First shotgun I ever shot was a small frame, light weight, H&R single 28ga, which just exceeded 4lbs by a couple of ounces. I would have loved to have accquired that gun but it belonged to an uncle (by marriage) who saved it for his grandson.

We know that at least 2 are in their second childhood, looking for single shot Win 37's...I will be 75 on my next Birthday. My guess on average age, about 60? We all have to have way too much money, or we wouldnt have all these nice doubles. right?

I'll hit the big 50 this year in October...However, my first double was purchased in my middle 20's.

I will be 57, March 4. I always liked the looks of a SxS but in my location in the world, the most common gun of any shotgun is the pump. SxS's were usually hardware store types that were well used. I am sure there was a time that we had birds in this area, but it has been a very long time ago. I of course have a lifetime to learn and enjoy them yet ahead of me.

If my friend Mr. Weber is participating, I guess I will throw in a shoe. I'm 64, first Lefever at 11 or 12, first Parker at 14. Still have both and one or two others. Dad broke me in on his Model 12 when I was about 10 and my pump gun sickness is probably worse than the double gun thing. I still have Dad's gun too.

I'll be 56 in 2 weeks...used mostly punps [ithaca 37, browning BPS, Win model 12s] until my mid 30s...now have 2 Citoris 12/20, 2 Fox sterlingworths both 12ga, 2 Merkels 12/20, LC Smith gr2 pre 1913 12ga, Ithaca/SKB 20ga 280, Pieper/Bayard 16ga...but still make good use of the pumps..

I gona have 61 in march this yaer. My first contact with guns was when I was 12. This yaer I have my 31 Th hunting license. I started hunting with an O/U B 25 and a Joseph Saive. As I am a conservativ the first gun I still have.Now all ready 20 yaers my interest go to S X S . I like to shoot old sidelocks (Backlocks) with or without damascus barrels. I also like Lefevers and I have 2 low grade Lefevers.
Marc.

I'm 35. Got into doubles in 1995 after I met a Mr. Nally in Wichita Ks. who also introduced me to skeet, trap, reloading, Model 12's, Model 37's, Winchester 21's and Stevens 311's, The Double Gun journal, M-1 Garands and a slew of other neat things. Good egg that Mr. Nally.

Dustin

About to turn 61 in March, having shot side-by-sides ever since buying my first one at age nineteen.......an Ithaca-imported SKB200E. Mostly shoot damascus stuff these days, but have a real soft spot for the early American pumps....especially the Remington 31s'& Winchesters.

58 next Friday. Still burning up as much powder as I can!!To quote Dewey Cox "It's been a beautiful ride" First double.....12 ga Beretta BL2S with the speed trigger... first SXS....???? I think a 20ga Ithaca 280E....or a 10 ga Parker lifter.

63, going on 64. First OU (Browning Superposed) at 22, first SXS (Model 21) at 23. Proud that my two sons, 37 and 31, have never shot anything but a SXS.

But, to your unstated point, I think the collectors and shooters of fine doubles are aging and are not being replaced. And, it's not just doubles--go to a quality collectors gun show and see if you don't agree.

I'm 29. I'm trying to bring the average age down!! Just getting into doubles now, looking at a JP Sauer model 60 sxs right now. Been using a win. model 37a 16ga single shot till now, but those double guns sure have an appeal..., may have a few soon if I let myself go!!

Just turned 30. Sorry to bring the average down.

Bought my first Smith about 5 years ago. Wish I could afford more but....

I will be 65 in June....got hooked on doubles when I was 12, my Dad's Crescent 20......shot it more than he did....!

My first shotgun was a new Winchester model 37 16 ga. my Dad bought me at about age 10.....started loading shotgun and rifle shells at about 12 yrs. of age for my Dad.....my first gun was a .22 at age 8......BB guns before that.....

Damn, 69, this getting old is starting to get serious. My first s x s was a muzzel loader at age 20. Shot a lot of rabbits with it.
Step up wind for your second shot.
bill

Passed 68 this past November. Golly, where has the time gone! Interested in doubles long as I can remember but got sidetracked with flintlock rifles 'n other stuff till the late 90's. First nice double was a Parker #1 frame 12 with 28" barrels. Great upland gun. Have added a number since then but this is still my "go to" hunter.

First shotgun was a Belgium .410 single shot. Next, about 1950, was a Model 37 Winchester 20 gauge, then I really stepped up when my grandfather (born 1873) gave me his Remington Model 17, which I still have. Lived on a Texas ranch that was crammed full of blue quail. Shot way more birds back then than I can mention in public today. But it seemed the supply was unlimited--how wrong we were!

62, and ought to be old enough to know better than to keep buying guns I don't need...Geo

56 year old addicted collector for 30 years. Wife says I'm
crazy and obbessed. Sister says If I lost every dime I had
in guns it would still be worth it me.-both are probably
right.
Bill McPhail

I'm 54. Started using doubles about 20 yrs ago, never looked back. Used a 16ga model 12 before that. (oldtimemainer refers to my previous springer, mainer....not me) I also have this thing about winchester levers and 1911's....

Just turned 22 less than a week ago. Got hooked on doubles around 16 I guess.

"Official" senior citizen in March.
First SxS bought in Chilliwack, British Columbia in 1968. Stevens hammer SxS 12GA. It was all this young father could afford at the time....the used pump guns on the rack were all more expensive. The paper hulls I reloaded in my Lee Loader all swelled, and I had a royal devil of a time chambering them.

If another March 6th shows up, I'll be 74. First shotgun at age 7, first twice-hole carabin in 1961( an almost new Browning Superposed, $195), first real doubles, about 30 years ago. Lots of enjoyment with all of them, since. Happy birthday to you old geezers.
Love you all,

Will be 64 in May, good Lord willing. First gun ever to hunt with was a Stevens 311, .410, an Uncle's, shot squirrels, few rabbits, later had to give it back. Years later he gave it to his grandson.
First gun owned and still have is a 12 ga. J.C. Higgins pump with a ventilated rib and adjustable choke on it, I believe made by High Standard. Too heavy for a 14 year old to carry, so next year got a 20 ga. J. C. Higgins, ventilated rib, single trigger, not selective, 28" mod/full. This gun is is I believe a Fox Model B. Still have it also. Shot a lot of game with that. At around this same period got my first setter and never shot any rabbits or squirrels again.
Service time in 1967, Germany, bought a Winchester 101 20 ga., first year out, from the Rod & Gun Club, for $166.85, still have this and the paper work. Sent that home in a Leg-O-Mutton case that IL bought in the gun club for $50.00. Also bought a new Remington 11-48, .410, 25" barrel, imp. cyl. for $103.00, used that in Germany for Hares up to 10 lbs, Hungarian Partridge, a few Mallards and pheasant. Still have that. Bought for my wife in 1970 a Beretta BL 4, 28 ga., for skeet shooting, she said the 20 kicked too much, and still have that.
Now my collecting is for L.C. Smiths, mostly pre-13 ones.
Still take the 20 and 28 ga. skeet shooting, my son shoots the 20 and I use the 28.
I use the "elsie" for bird hunting and some sporting clays.

I'm 61 - still shooting and hunting and hope to for a long time to come.

7 months short of mandatory colonoscopy age... (50 for you young guys). :-)

44!

Hi all, will be 52 in April. Have had a love affair with DG since I was 21. It's been fun!!!

All the best!

Greg

I have 30 years, I have inherited a beautiful rifle. I'm not really a pro, but I am a big fan of this site.

I'm 70, bought first "good" double, a Parker VH 20 in 1963. First double of any kind a few years earlier, but can't recall exact date.

i`m a young 54!heehee.got my first double from a guy i hunted with when i was 18.a meridan damascus 12 ga,with the barrels already butchered to 28".shot a truckload of rabbits with so called light skeet loads for the tyme period.11/8 with 20 some grns of red dot.i traded a modern double for it because the guys wife wouldn`t let him shoot it.a ranger i bought at the old creekside gunshop in canandaiqua,ny.for the princely sum of $85.00.i still have both guns,he has since got to the great hunting ground in the sky.
tom carrier

I'm going to be 41 this year. Bought my first SxS at age 30 and have spent the last decade trading/selling away all my single barrel guns and aquiring beautiful, historical, character riddled, artistic, story filled - double guns. I hope my boys will appreciate the history and craftsmanship of these fine guns as much as I do.

Double post.

Here's my 'vintage' pic

25 year old Pontiac wagon
14 1/2 year old partner
108 year old Elsie
70 year old me

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/cpg1410/displayimage.php?pid=5121&fullsize=1

At the age of eight, I used to sneak into my dad's closet and fondle his Westernfield Deluxe 5000 16 SXS. One of my grandsons has it now. Bought my first SXS at eighteen for $12; a 1904 Baker with twist barrels; still have it.

Here's the Westernfield, battle scars and all.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/cpg1410/displayimage.php?pid=5710&fullsize=1

70. Got my own double at 18 (1957). Before that I used my father's.

I'm 61 (well, actually on the 3rd of February) and I received my first double, a Stevens 311 on my 13th birthday. I used it as my only gun for just over 20 years and then graduated to autos and the occasional pump. I became re-acquainted with doubles about 17 years ago and have been a devoted fan since. I still shoot an occasional auto or pump, but a side by side is my favored gun for upland with also fairly frequent use of a Citori in 12 and 20. The gun that got my back into doubles in a big way is an Ugartechea that I purchased from Dale Dalrymple. I have been really hooked ever since, even graduating to a double rifle - that I still have yet to hunt with!!

I am 46 and I assumed I was a baby compared to most on this board. I got interested in guns with handguns and military rifles around mid 80's. Now most of my guns are double shotguns 2 triggers....

I'll be 35 next month. I bought my first double (12 ga Antonio Zoli O/U) when I was college. I was probably 20 or 21.

Oddly, I only have one shotgun that is younger than me, a 28 ga Sig/Rizzini that a girlfriend gave me for Christmas in 02 or 03. Maybe I should buy something circa 1975.

Old enough to have wore bell bottoms and white shoes....

64 got my first double while in college. Most of mime are far older than me.
Cheers,
Laurie

66, my first double was a 12 bore Cogswell and Harrison SLNE, given to me at 14 by my grandfather back in England

52 this year, carried a hand me down (from my great uncle)Stevens 16 ga pump until Dad finally let me use his big goose hunting double in the blind at age 14, and I've been hooked ever since. 12 ga, 3 inch heavy goose loads, pulled both triggers at the same time by accident that day. First time I ever really saw 'stars'. But I keep coming back for more!!
Rick

I’m 59; At 12 My first shotgun was Grandpa’s lever action Winchester 10 ga. My brother and I used to buy shells one at a time at the hardware store. I took apart his 10 gage Flues when I was thirteen and knew everything. Just got it back together last year. Got my own model B fox When I came home from the service

I guess we need to do this every couple of years to see how many we have lost! 68 and will turn 69 in April. Got my first side by side when i was 14,a Fox 20 gauge. Use to look at the Sears catalog at the doubles they had listed and the $350.00 Winchester 21! Bobby

63 and bought my first double (first yr. Ithaca NID) when I was a very ripe 55 so I'm late to the party. Had a couple O/Us before that.

jack

A fine older gentleman named Howard Reed was the main SxS shooter at my old club, San Gabriel Valley Gun Club. I and others used to make fun of him, with his outdated doubles and two triggers. He's gone, now, but I'm proud to have known him and very happy to admit that I learned a lot from him and his "oddball" guns of choice.

Exactly the same,...........

63, bought my first double when I was 46. I to am kind of late to the party. That first double was a Bernadelli 20ga. Sold it to buy a L.C.Smith 20 that weighed more and I could shoot better.

Regards Gordon

Got first double LC Smith 16ga in 1958 from my grand dad for my 11th birthday. Still shoot the gun which was made in 1912.

Also means of am much younger than Stallones

I'm 85 - What do I win? Got my first Nitro Special at age 12. Been shooting pretty much ML & black powder for the past 30 years or so.

Bill

My drivers license says I'll be 64 in April, and as usual they got it wrong. I'll be 18 again just one more time, how do you blend that into your average? My experience with a sxs goes back 42 years I liked that old Stevens the first time I picked it up and have owned a sxs ever since. Today damascus is king in my gun safe and if it doesn't stink when you shoot it I don't want it. Mike

I just tallied and averaged all respondents so far, and the average of all respondents that actually told their age, is 56.5 years. This includes me, at 58. I got my first double, which was also my first real hunting gun (other than air rifles), at age 8. It was a J. C. Higgins .410 double with Tenite "wood".

45 y/o. Got my first double at age 11, a Stevens 311. Next was a Valmet O/U age 16. Been with doubles the whole time. Sure I dally with a pump once in a while, but never an auto. The 311 was the last gun I sold and boy do I regret it.

Rob.

50 in two weeks, best things in life come SXS. As a pair anyway! Started out with a 20ga hunter special and thought I was trading up to a Lefever ( nitro special) I would like them both back!! Maybe a good post would Guns we wish we never sold! I know I have more than a few!

66 candles. Still shooting my Dad's Remmy M31 matt rib 12 Ga. as my duck gun, and my great uncle's Sterlingworth on wild pheasants. (M21 20 Ga on preserve colored chix)

Wow I'm a puppy!! I am a whopping 26. I have been shooting and buying doubles since dad handed me a riverside 20 ga. at age 11. I have some 31's (most underrated gun ever, for a pump) some A-5's but mostly doubles, I guess I don't know how many now but my wife thinks it's too many. Started working English setters with dad at age 7, shooting birds for dogs in the summer at age 11. Shot my first rooster at 12. I still have the ol' riverside 20 but saw many years of abuse so I have since retired it, as the ribs are loose and the nails that are holding the stock together are loose. It hangs quietly in my basement now. I don't think I'll ever lose the passion for upland bird hunting, doubles, and fine English setters. I will be starting my 100 something puppy this summer and while the dogs get sold quite often the guns usually stay.

I am about in the middle of the group,52 and hope to be here many years longer.Its nice to see both the much younger and older here,especially those older members.My father in law is 85 and still hunts,not a lot but does use the old Stevens Double.
I started out with a Superposed,my dream gun then-still like them and have a few,in my 30's.

39. I have been gunning and doubling for 60 plus years! I can well remember seeing damascus barreled guns stacked in gun shop corners at $15 bucks, take your choice.
Sure wish I could go back. I can well recall a shop that had a table full of Winchester levers piled on top of each other, $45 each. Oh, Oh Oh---. I had wunderlust but was very, very poor.

41,thanks for the reminder
Been at this 10 years about.B4 that was 10 years of surplus guns.
I blame it all on Flayderman!

still pining for the holy grail

I'm 47. I got my first double when I was in my early 20's an Ithaca SKB 100 20 gauge. Nice little gun but I could hit squat with it. Traded it off. Didn't get another double till I was in my late 30's, a Win 24 that I shot very well. Have several now and always have an eye open for another.

I'm 78.

58 next month and have been playing with SxSs for 30+ years, the last 20 or focused strongly on English guns. It's been an expensive pleasure.

Creekside? Doug Turnbull's family owned that, IIRC. I lived in Rochester from '87-89.

48, going on 29. My first real double was a 20 gauge Darne, that I wish I still had, purchased in the mid 1980s, after I came back to the outdoors from sabatical- I discovered girls and beer. Got that out of my system (mostly, I think).
Lost my first hunting partner, my Dad, this past Easter, and will always wish I had a few more trips with him. My son is three, and I have a few of his Grandfather's guns held in reserve for him. I still have a Darne to use. A couple others, too.
Looking forward to lots more time in the field and on the water with the little guy.
So it continues.
Best,
Ted

61. First double a 20ga. elsie at age 23. Haven't been without at least one since.

However, I do still have the 20ga. bolt action I was given when I was about 12.

62 last Monday (Jan 18) and hunted with a Parker Trojan 12 ga. in '61 through '64. I "discovered" that old gun in my best friend's cellar under a pile of old decoys and other stuff. Hunted with it for almost four years. When my family moved to another town about fifteen miles away I had to return the Parker. I took a lot of pheasants and a few seasons of ducks with it. Been almost a half-century since I've seen that Parker and I sure would like to 'heft' her again.

I am 35. Bought mu first double when I was 20. It is a 12ga Remington 1900 BLE with Damascus barrels.

31; grew up knowing nothing else but sxs with my grandfather's 1951 Beretta 410E 12g; bought my own sxs - a miroku 500 when I was about 22. sxs just felt and fitted me better generally.
Still have Pop's Beretta; it's the only nitro proved shotgun I have left until I take delivery of a new-old 28b hammer gun in a few weeks... I sold the miroku.
RG

I've been 56 since last July.

70 this year. My first doubles were 2 given to me when I was about 15 by my father's lawyer friend. One of which was a VHE Parker 16ga with 34" barrels and no safety. Which I kept!!
Tom

48

Turned 55 about a month ago! My dad gave me a Remington 1900 12 ga when I was around 13 or 14. Went through the handgun and rifle stage, and am now back to doubles.

I am 57 this month. I bought my first side by side in my 20's(a spanish gun) but didn't buy another until I picked up a DGJ in 1994 and that volume changed my life.

I am 60. I got my first s x s when I was about 55. I know, a little late but I do shoot them alot. My first was a Browning bbs and the last one I bought a couple of months ago was a Purdey made in 1873. One of the prettiest gun I have ever shot. Thanks for post this, Frank

I am 19. Started shooting doubles when I was 14. My first was a Beretta 686 Onyx. Got my first sxs when I was 15. It was a Miroku built Charles Daly 500 20ga. Haven't had an autoloader or pump since. Doubles are all I shoot... Primarily SXSs.

Adam

I'll be 60 this year, and only have one S&S 16 German, but boy is it a beauty. I have my grandfather and my father to thank for the gun, but I want to thank all of you on this site for a greater appreciation of the passion, and for all of your generous help and understanding of these guns. Especially Raimey who solved my
"Mystery" for me.

Kindest Regards,
Rob

I'm the same age elvis presly would have been had he not left us(75) my first dbl was a Parker 20 VHE basket case I got for $35 and unfortunatly have been addicted ever since.

I'm 55, have liked/used double guns since 1975. Went through some higher end AyAs, a couple BSSs, a Model 21 (too heavy), a Francotte (should have kept). The Piotti 16 stayed. I like many types, O/Us, A5s, M12s, as well.

im 76 bought my first sxs in 1946 lefever 16 never without one flew in korea in 1953 and kept a fox ster. 12 guage in my survival kit with a bx. of 00 buck.

yea they did,i was going to college in canandaiqua in73-75

47, got my first in late 20's, Browning BSS.

I'm 57, first double was a Citori Sporter 20 ga. in 1983. My father-in-law gave my wife his SKB 280E in 20 ga. and using it got me interested in SxSs. First was a BSS Sporter 12 ga., a heavy gun. Later a BSS Sporter 20, Win. M-23 European 12, Win. M-21 16, recently an RBL 16. The last 4 all between 6-1/2 and 6-3/4 lbs. Oh yeah, not to forget, a closeout Parker Repro 28 ga. that feels like a toy to me. All are straight grip guns. Nothing I like better in life than following my springers with an upland double. Ruffed grouse are on the up cycle here in Minnesota; savoring it, probably just one more high cycle for me after this one.

Jay Gramith

42 Don't know why or how i got into doubles, i just liked them better. Now it's all i have. My grandad got me into hunting, i sure miss him!

I'll be 61 next sunday and got my first double at 22, but had a couple of pumps
about five years prior to that.



And Geo, we buy them because we want them not because we need them,

JC

JC, maybe you just want them , but I need them.

Chuck, I suppose you are right, we do need them as a flower needs water and a
kite the wind to fly.

JC

I'll be 65 in August. My first double was a 311 Stevens my dad bought me for HS graduation in 1963. Got my first pheasant that fall hunting the grape vineyards West of Fredonia N. Y. I can't remember a time when I have not had at least one double since then. Best Regards, Jack

I'm 55. Bought my 1st double, a 12guage Elsie field model that had seen better days, for 35.00 when I was 14 from a friend's Dad. After 3 years of ammo loaded with a Lee Loader, it would close on a 3 x 5 index card, and the barrels were ofset to the right about 3/64ths of an inch. It had 28" barrels, and chokes so tight it destroyed anything hit in close.
I am lucky I still have my fingers.

I am 7 1/2 in dog years. I like their counting system better than ours. Only a few have made the mistake of buying more guns than I seem too have bought in the last 4-5 dog years. I guess it is like dating ladies. I may not get the high dollar gals often, but I do enjoy the company of those I can afford and play with.

I'm 63 going on 16. Had my first nice WC Scott at 15 but the foreman said I needed to forward it onto the next stage if we were to meet production targets. Selfish man, obviously the £ pound was his God or even the shilling. After 48 years have passed I still ankerfor a really nice one with oak leaf engraving, I'll get there someday but it's all the others that pass through my hands that make life enjoyable.

Just turned 40 last december, my first double was a fox AE grade that I bought from a pawn shop for 700.00, I was 19 or 20.

Now that I know better, a dealer at the tulsa gun show stole it from me, He told me it had cut barrels since they were 26" but they touched!!

In retrospect, that gun was in great shape
Now I'm Pissed!!!!!!!!!!!!

H&H

My first double was a Peiper hammer 12 with laminated barrels that my brother left me when he went off to West Point in 1958. I shot low base shells in it for a little while, but only one hammer worked, so I "graduated" to a Stevens 5100 12 w/30" barrels. It was a bit much to carry and swing (our main upland game were California quail and cottontails), so I replaced it with an "American Round Action pre-64 (actually pre-war; but I hesitate to mention the model number....)Winchester" 16 SxS 28" IC/M which I am proud to say I still have and sometimes shoot.

Oh yeah, I'm 66.

I'm 58 and have been doulbe gun fan for over 40 years! As a teen my first SxS was an 12b JR Evans don't recall too many details but I remember it was marked London Fine Twist, had 32" barrels, loose as the provebial goose... the forend was attached with a key so she was an old girl.
Bores were horrible. Loaded black powder shells and killed many squirrels and rabbits!
Would never shoot an gun in that condition today!

I will be 40, March 1. I found doubles when I was 29 and have been hooked ever since. My son ( he turned 13 on 1-22 ) likes them too now and he shoots a 1889 LeFever.

This is painful. I'm 62 and you guys have made me do a count - I've got a baker's dozen if I've not overlooked anything, and they average about 71 years. Hmm, only about five get regular workouts, mostly skeet & trap.

54. Got the addiction for SXS after flings for years with o/u's. Think my first (really) was a Merkel that I bought Germany while stationed there in 1997. First classic was the 33rd Fox 16 gauge ever made that I picked up for $1,100 about 8 years ago. It had the early snap on forearm and the dealer (now deceased) seemed to think it was a Sterlingworth. Anyway, that was number one. I've now added a couple of SW's and also three different Parkers. Now working on my first custom Fox (or should I say its being worked on for me). I now have the addiction that's for sure.

I'm 51, my first double was a Stevens 311 that I lost when our house burned down. The second was an Ithaca SKB 280E 20ga that someone else thought they needed more than me when they stole it from my truck. The third was a Browning BSS 12 that was way to heavy and then I went to O/U's for 20+ years. I got back into SXS's a couple of years ago and was bitten hard by the bug. This was the first year that I never even took anything but a SXS into the field and can't see myself using anything else in the future. I have been selling some of the O/U's and auto's to feed the SXS fetish!!

51 here. First double was a browning trap combo in the late 80's. I got hooked on the SxS in 07 thanks to Coryreb. And a little 311a 20g sealed the deal. After finding a few Ithaca 16's I started reading Mr Snyders posts and book. I am hooked.

64, be 65 in April. Was rised with me Dad's 16 gauge L.C. Smith Hammer Gun. Bought my first new O/U, a Model 101 in 1964 and first new SxS, a BSS 20 ga. Sporter in 1978.

62, I think?? Bought my first SXS at 15 from an older gent in town. Unknown Hammer 12 bore, thought it to be the ideal squirrel gun, doubled with both hammers cocked. Still have a bone bruise on my right index finger from wrestling with that puppy. I've been horse kicked with less distress. Should have laid off the magnum loads, but the tops of those Ohio hickory and oak's needed the extra reach of those big candles. In 68, bought my first SXS, Went to school at Adrian College, Michigan and 20 miles down the road was Richland Arms. They always had racks of all sorts of foreign double guns. So I bought a lightweight Richland sxs 20 ga. 3". It reinforced the pain from my early SXS venture. From the early 70's till the 90's my upland and waterfowl was served by a Beretta 657 O/U 12. I sold the Beretta to buy my first vintage SXS, a Fox SW 12 and the fun began. Randy

53, My first shotgun was a late Belgian A-5 "Light 12" in my youth of about 19. I don't recall anything light about that gun. I hunted it off and on in my twenties on dove and a trip or two to So. Dakota for pheasant. I bought my first sxs around 1984 when I was 28. It was a BSS 12g. I shot that gun pretty darn well. A good handful of 25's in skeet were with that gun. I couldn't stand leaving it alone and shortly after I bought it, I had Briley chokes installed. That gun was my only sxs for until about 10 yrs ago. I don't recall what sxs I bought next, but I do recall an affliction with LC Smiths for a while. Still have a few. I went the way of Fox and Parkers and Ithacas. I had a Spanish gun for a while, but sold it. Still haven't warmed up to foreign guns much, although I have a couple Beretta guns and have had a number of Japanese Brownings in o/u and sxs. 410 and 20g American sxs's are my current interest.

50.
Still running

Geno, nice picture, are you the one holding the bobcat or the men next with the gun. When I come to Russia in octobre maybe we meet at some place. St Petersburg is far from Nizhny Novgorod.
But it is not impossible that I visit St Petersburg.
Marc.

I'm 70, bought my first double when I was 52, a Savage Fox 12 gauge.
I've been through many more since then.

Pete

Lynx?

I made photo. I shot the bigger one, male, total 2 cats this winter.
Marc, call me +7-921-9674883. thou it's pretty far away from me

Lordy, I hope that's a lynx. If they grow bobcat that big the lynx could be dainjuss.

Lordy, I hope that's a lynx. If they grow bobcat that big the lynx could be dainjuss.

I am 78 and was given my Dad's 12 ga Fox when I turned 13 (He bought a used, nearly new Win Mod 21 from a recent widow. I was 17 before he would let me shoot the Winchester. I kept that Fox until it was lost (?) when the military moved my family when I shipped out to Vietnam. When I took the stuff out of storage 2 years later, it was gone. Jim Haynes

40

First shotgun was a Winchester 97 takedown in 12ga
First double was a 12ga Nitro Special

Been shooting since I was a boy.



Cheers
Tinker

I turned 63 on January 18, 2010. That morning I was rewarded with a broken leg requiring a metal plate and 7-8 screws. As a friend said, "At your age you're supposed to break your hip!"

My first shotgun was my dad's Savage 775 autoloader in 16ga, and it was my only for many years. I didn't get into doubles until about 25 years ago.

I'm 53 and I got my first double (an Iver Supertrap) last month.
Started with handguns 30 years ago, then added rifles, pumps and now a double.

The Iver is getting a front bead and what is probably the first cleaning of its internals in 50 years. I'll let the Forum know if I can hit anything with it.

Lou

51, the warmer side of lifes hill. My first double was a 16ga Stevens borrowed from my dad. I thought I was cursed while all my friends had fancy autos and pumps. The dang thing had two triggers to boot. I learned to love it.

Later in my life, about 20 years ago I ran into a fellow named Daniel Cote and my Walther collecting somehow turned into doublegun collecting. Well, it's been somewhat a mess ever since.

Tim

Hmm...

Im 51. My first double, a very nicely gunsmithed Ithaca Flues model 20g with factory 26" barrels, was a gift to me from my grandfather when I made Eagle Scout. So, I was 15. He had been letting me hunt with it since I was 12, though.

My bird gun to this day.

Regards

GKT

My average age is varies from frat boy to old codger but hovers someplace in the late 30's. But I knew there was something amiss when my "baby" daughter invited me to her 40th birthday party. When brought back to reality (which I avoided at all costs) my drivers licence indicates that in a few months I will begin my 69th year.

My first shotgun was a Mossberg 410 bolt action when I was about 13 ...... My uncle Herbert tried to give me a SxS about a year later, he ran a hardware store in Weymouth Mass and took it in trade ...... But I would have none of it .... I wanted a "pump" gun like I saw in the movies. It only took me about 30 years to learn better.


Al

I'm 34. Been into double guns for... just about as much, I guess. In fact, my earliest memory is of playing with empty shells and some game shot; my first shot was fired when I was 4, and it was with a sbs (although it was Dad who was actually holding Grandpa's Izh 54 12 ga, and I just pulled the trigger), and I didn't realize there existed other types of shotgun until I turned 10. I never owned anything but sbs's, although I borrowed a friend's auto to try shooting some ducks with once, when I was 21; the gun did what it was supposed to, but it felt like a log and was absolutly no fun.

Reality rears its Head! July 1953-My 15th B/Day-I brought my 1st Shotgun, Harrington & Richardson 12b S/B.3" x 32"Full Choke.Took it into Purdeys Workshop and my "Gaffer" started me onto my 1st Restocker.(I was laughed at for owning a "Yank Gas-Pipe")I killed 'Many,Many Woodies" and we got 9Pence each from the local Butcher. Cartidge's Free from the Pigeon Control People. Hadn't started on the Beer at that time,so funds went on more Knives & Guns..It had a "Nice French Walnut Stock" Loaned it to another Apprentice who lost over the side of a "Duck-Boat" out on the 'Fens"....C/C-DT.

In 1953, when I was 11, I got my first shotgun, a Stevens 410, bolt action, clip fed. My first real hunt was a Sunday Fox Hunt where 20 or so hunters would get together and station even numbers of hunters on each side of an Iowa square mile section. Then the hunters would walk in rows toward the center of the section, hoping to flush out a fox. All used shotguns. To my surprise and amazement, a fox ran down a hedge row straight toward me. I shot when I thought I should and the fox rolled over a few times and with head up just looked at me. I later found that I had broken three of his legs with the shot, a trick I will probably never duplicate. That day brought my only jackrabbit, too. I was amazed that the fox and jackrabbit were similar in size. I still have the gun.

cc/dt with his 'gas pipe'



How 'bout one of you Daryl?

I'll be 59 in March. My first double was a Savage O/U I bought in Billings about 1973(?). A genuine POS, but I saw an experienced trap shooter run about 20 birds the gun. I never could hit a thing with it and graduated to a Model 12 I bought in Ketchikan the next year. The oldest, longest owned shotgun I have is a 20 ga. single-barrel flintlock fowler I built for myself in 1985.

Same as rabbit, even to having some similar twin-single supers.

First double was a 16ga. 311 Stevens at age 13. It got my full attention; that thing would stomp a mud hole in my arm. It did teach me NOT to put both fingers inside the trigger guard;-)Bagged a few rabbits and dove with that old blaster, but finally surrendered and replaced it when the horse trad'n gene took over.

I am 76,[ 2nd oldest in this string!]I was born in the U.K. At 12-14 years old I was was told to put aside my air rifle and take the farm gun,a W.Richards hammer gun complete with pitted barrels, action off-the-face, B.P. proof and of course Eley smokless shells, and go scare the sparrows in the rick yard and ajoining wheat fields! I used this old gun and a Belgian S.B.410 to shoot pigeons, rabbits, partridge,wild fowl and even a few sparrows. I finally aquired a first class Westley Richards hammer gun at age 17 and returned the old Richards to the broom closet.Since that date all that pertains to guns and shooting has been and continues to be an important part of my life.

I am 64. My first double was a 410 with 2 ½” chambers that I got from my Father’s Aunt when I was 14. I used to shoot 3” shell thru it and yes I still have all of my fingers. I sold the 410 to my Brother in Law about 40 years ago. I currently have 13 doubles of which most are Remington 1894’s.

54 - sooner than I wish. I took my first mallard hen on Horicon Marsh 42 years ago with a Sterlingworth. My dad and brother had pumps and this SxS was the only shotgun left in the gun case. I finally have that gun back and it will be my project gun for next winter. I now have 2-Trojans, 1 - Stevens 5100, 1-Renato Gamba, 1 Ithaca Lewis and the Sterlingworth.

39 at the beginning of this month and have been shooting doubles almost exclusively since the old man gave me his Flues for my 12th birthday. The old Flues is still around, but I shoot British guns nowadays. Mostly boxlocks and lower end guns until I fell into a Holland this year. I hope to bag a few more roosters with it before the season ends Sunday.

My average age is 46. At work it is a little older, at home I try to be younger. My first double was a 20 gauge Classic Doubles 201 that I got when I was in my mid-20's. I still have it although it is probably the last gun I'd choose today if I was going hunting. I bought two O/U guns first before switching over to doubles. I didn't have friends or family that were bird hunters nor did I know anyone else that had a shotgun with more than one barrel. I was enticed by what I saw in Shooting Sportsman, Double Gun Journal, Gray's, etc.

Skip

Calculated to Snipehunter’s post #176356above.

There were 113 responses giving ages;
- the average age is 55.75yrs.;
- the median age is 57;
- there is a total of 6,300 years between us.

Junior is Adam Stinson at 19, and William Brockway is granddad at 85.

K.

I'm 72. My first shotgun was a J.C. Higgens bolt action .410 at about 13 years old. My first double was an L.C. Smith 12 ga. in the early sixties. I hope I have not yet bought my last.

Some may not be aware that Mr. Brockway is something of a legend and hugely respected in the muzzleloading areana and environs about Friendship, IN.

I'm bring down the age average here at 35. Hopefully, I'm young enough to learn from the mistakes of the older guys on the board. Probably not, though.

First double was a Franchi OU, then a Spanish 20g sxs. Now I have caught the evil English gun acquisition bug.

I'll be 67 in June. My first double was a Laurona 16 gauge when I was 25.

I'm 56, which appears to make me average here based on H&H's calculation. My first doublegun experience was with a Stevens Springfield 16 gauge sxs that was my father's. I killed my first pheasant with it and since dad has quit hunting, I have it in my vault. I still take it out occasionally for clay birds, squirrels and preserve pheasants.

My first owned double was a Bernardelli Gamecock 20 gauge that my parents and my wife bought for me, used, from the old Paul Jaeger's store in Jenkintown, PA as a graduation gift when I got out of law school. I was 24. Still have that one, too, although it's acquired lots of company over the years. I like doubles.

Well, might as well throw in my 2 cents. I am 62 and have been in doubles for 30 years or so. My first was a field grade LC in 16 gauge. This one is gone but has been replaced several times. With my kids being professional "students", I have and still am slowly liquidating my "colliction". I do enjoy these toys though.

I am 62 yrs old. First double Ithaca SKB 100. Now have maybe 12 or 13, mostly older from 1888 to the early 1900's.

41. When I was 11 my Grandfather gave me a cheap Belgian sxs. I used it for several years until the stock broke. It sat in my parents basement for 25 years before I re-aquired it and then peeked inside the action. The amount of cobbling done before I took possession of the gun at age 11 was terrifying. Thankfully nothing bad happened.

45.
When I was 11 or 12, Dad let me carry a no name hardware store single shot .410.
Don't know what ever happened to that gun. Couple years after that, graduated to shuckers.
Shot the first of many wild ringnecks with an Ithaca M37 solid rib.
Back then, I thought the cadillac of all guns was a Belgian A5.
Just within the last ten years, I have gotten into double guns and within the last 5, side by sides.
I only own one now, but am slowly trying to acquire a mate. It has been a great hobby,
but it has had its low points. Biggest disappointment was not buying a G-grade Lefever about a
month ago at my local shop.
That one still stings. As someone put it in another post, "non-buyer's remorse."
-jim

I'm 32 and i've wanted an A.H. Fox since i was in my early 20s but i never made a purchase on a double until a few weeks ago but it wasn't a fox despite looking diligently to find one. I ended up purchasing a 12 gauge weatherby orion side by side that was made in spain. These guns were made only for a short period of time in 2002-2003.

I thought i'd be happy with the weatherby even though i wanted a Fox, so now a Fox that i really like has come into the picture so i may be trading my gun and some cash for it.

Stay tuned, the deal may go down next weekend if i like the gun when i see it.

I'm 59. My first gun was also a JC Higgins .410 bolt action at age 13. Didn't own a double until 10 years ago and it was a Lefever nitro 12.

Bringing the list up to date -

123 responses
Total years 6831
Average age 55.54
Median age 59 yrs.

Should be good info for Dave for selling space to advertisers!
K.

Hi I am 61 in March, I collect the Remington model's 1894 and 1900 in 16ga. I started at 23 year's old,and still at it. Terry Deem

Fun topic! I'm 62. My first gun was an H&R Topper in .410, a family gun with shortened stock that was the starter gun for a couple generations. My first bird a hen pintail shot with the Topper at age 8.

My first double was a Stevens 311 .410 which I still have. I've a modest stable of doubles including my favorite, a Webley and Scott 12 boxlock circa 1910.

Steve

I am 52. First shotgun was Sears bolt action 16 bought used with paper route money when I was 14. First double was $20 Stevens pre-311 12 that patterned in opposite corners of a pattern board. It kicked like heck and got traded off quickly. It soured me on SxS for 30 years.
I was in my 40s when Tom Bryant, now at Cabelas, conned me into buying a Greener D13 lightweight 12 BLNE. I was intrigued, but it was my 1st Vintage Cup in 2001, that really sank the hook.
I now enjoy the odd variations of gauge, actions and embellishment.

Joe

I am updating my info:

I turned 61 on sunday and my first gun was a J.C. Higgins single shot .22 bolt rifle
that had to be cocked before shooting. I got it for Christmas 1958.

My first shotgun was a pump action Mossberg I got in 1967.

JC

I'm 54. Never shot a shotgun until 1987. Bought my first double..an AYA Matador in 1992. Bought an L.C. Smith 16 GA to custom build in 1998...still don't have it done. I have been handling customers fine guns now for 23 years and loving all that they teach me each time I pick one up. I also own a DS Lefever 16 GA.

69 in a few days. Bought my first SxS in Bolivia in 1967, an AyA 12 gauge. Had a variety of over/unders until a Savage Fox Model B came along. Then a couple of Winchester 21's and back to over/unders. Now I'm looking for a 20 gauge SxS, pistol grip, beavertail, single trigger.

Am 36 yrs old and starting shooting here in the UK when I was 12 yrs old.

First gun was an ancient rickety old single barrel .410 "poachers gun" which was lethal and soon replaced by my o/u Rizzini 12 bore. Still have this and use it for mainly wildfowling, with my 1870 Reilly Hammergun as my mainstay gun now. Also use a 16 bore s/s sidelock ejector by Darlow and a 16 bore s/s Webley and Scott 700.

Keenly searching for a decent 8 bore/gauge to use on the marshes here in the UK and own for the long term - not an easy task presently.

Interesting topic.

I am 45. Been interested in doubles ever since I was a kid and went hunting with Dad during the season, and read all of his gun magazines during the off season (about age 11). But between college and law school and raising a family, I didn't get my first double until about 6 years ago, and have been buying and selling ever since.

I'm 60 and I bought my first shotgun, a used Browning Superposed in 1970 for $288. It was a trap gun and with those 30" barrels in was long. 5 years later, my dad gave me his August Schuller 16 gauge side by. Sunk a lot of money into it. Last gun I bought was a Bernardelli Series Uberto I in 20 gauge in 1989. The Browning is well made and very nice, but I prefer the side bys. They just handle better and look nice.

I'm 52. First gun was a Fox B in 12 ga. At 12 years old in 1970. Raised havoc on the duck populations, guided by my 14 year old brother. Dad never hunted a day in his life. Mom was raised on a farm and believed boys should know how to use a gun.

19 going on 20. Got my first sxs at age 15. It was a Miroku built Charles Daly 500 in 20g. Been hooked ever since!

Adam

47 years young and holding. AH who am I bs'en. Been bustin feathers as long as I can remember. Still shoot grandpa's 1946 20ga sportsman couple times a year at ducks and doves. I think we're both just happy to be able to.

Am 74 in July 15th if I make it. Been sick last few years, seem to be on the mend now. Got my first double, a Marlin Elsie when I was 14. Been hooked on doubles ever since. Owned a score of them over the years but also like vintage pumps, M-97s, 12s, 37s, Remington M-17's (a hell of a fine pumper and dove killer). I like Hickok's reply when asked about whiskey: "It's all good" -- the way I feel about side by sides. And Elmer Keith's statement that O/U's "looked like poisoned pups that'd laid too long in the sun." The Merkels are the nicest I've seen in the O/U category. Chopperlump

Just turned 46. Sigh. I've been into sxs's for about 6 or 7 years now, and have owned a bunch. I really enjoy fixing them up and re-selling them.

Wow, I would have thought a few more Gen-X'ers would be hanging around. I just turned 42, and have been into double guns for almost 20 years. I was turned on to doubles by the same guy that turned me on to bird dogs and quail when I was in college in Texas. I was absolutely ruined to double guns as this same guy put a 28 ga. Parker reproduction in my hands one day. I was never the same. I bought a couple of cheap doubles looking for the same feel, but never came close. Eventually, I located a single trigger DHE repro in 28 ga, and put it on a credit card. It took me a year to pay it off. Unfortunately, I sold it in 2000 to fund another project. It's doubtful I'll ever afford another. I'm now into project English and continental guns that I make into nice shooters. Fun thread!

Nearly 65 and a friends 1902 Woodward with the arcaded fences got me interested in doubles.

Since there are so many geezers I don't feel bad about being 67 at all. Well, that's a lie for sure. I've only been doing shotguns for twenty years. And just competition guns, mostly Perazzis. There have been some other brands thru my hands and in the safe now even, but the Perazzis just do the job the best. I have little interest in hunting but the pigeon ring is just fine for satisfying that need to kill. May have saved a couple politicos and slime even.
So all the guns currently are O/U's (OKOK a couple M12's) but I've been sorta looking for a Perazzi SxS DC series gun. Not sure why tho.

JMO of course

WtS

I'm 59 and still have my first gun, a double, given to me by my Dad when I was about 8. It's a Stevens 311 410. Shooting doves over water tanks in Texas, I couldn't hit anything with it and envied the other kids with 20's and 16's. A couple of years ago I read an article about long shot columns and no need for chokes in 410's for birdhunting so I reamed her out. Its just like I'm a kid all over again because I still can't hit anything with it. Quail perch on the end of the barrels and thumb their beaks at me. My dog looks at me with disdain and comes over and pees on my leg. There's lots of memories in that gun.

I'm a lefty so I never grew fond of repeaters. When I turned 18 my Dad offered me either a new 870 or a SKB 100. I took the Remington and never liked it. It was so long I felt like I was shooting a Brown Bess. Short of an indecently clad woman with a well turned leg, nothing will turn my head like a quality double. With them I'm a regular Tiger Woods. I've had quite a few, fondled many, and have no intentions of ever really curbing my addiction. I just hide them carefully from the wife.

I'm 72. I bought a new Superposed 20 ga in my early twenties and about the same time, I bought a 12 ga L.C. Smith field grade. I now have no interest in anything that isn't a double trigger side by side, preferably old and English but I have foxes, Smiths and Parkers. Last year I added a double rifle.
I confess, however, that I also have two Model 12s and two Model 42s. What was I thinking?

Be 50 next month, God willing.

Hooked on shotguns ever since grandpa let me handle his old sawed off 12 gauge, a Stevens 311 used to ward off trouble or set things straight on the family farm. It's in the safe now along with a few other double guns and a number of Ithaca 37 16s that just keep multiplying.

The first double SxS I bought was a spanking new 20 gauge grouse gun around age 30.

Turned 55 this past December.

My 1st double was a Remington 1900 12 ga my dad gave me when I was 13-14 years old. I bought my 1st double when I was 17 or 18, a Spanish 10 ga that saw extensive use on waterfowl.

Now have a number of other doubles including the aforementioned Rem 1900 12 and the Spanish 10. Come to think of it, I haven't had the ten out for probably 30 years. Maybe I'll dust it off and take it out for turkeys in a few weeks.

im 75 i bought my 1st sxs in 1946 a lefever 16 guage i pd $15 for it i think. never been without a fine double.