doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ever notice how.....

it seems we may be buying, selling, and trading doubleguns and their accoutrements amongst ourselves? I recently responded to a posting here to inquire about an item, and lo and behold, the gentelmans email address was in my address book before I even finished typing the whole thing. My moniker here is the same on GB, AA, and other sites as yours may be too. Are we the only ones buying doubleguns and such..ha ha. Thoughts, opinions?

take care and have a good day,
redoftx.

Interesting thought and a good point!! Other than with the over/unders, we may be the only ones buying side by sides and the last generation that does so on a regular basis. They just don�t have any appeal to the younger generation that prefers everything under the sun to be automatic and simply replace practice and perfecting their shooting and hunting technique with firepower.

Go to a range and slam fire a Model 12, you�ll see what I mean.

I see the same thing dealing in vintage decoys and other old waterfowling artifacts. No young ones taking in the hobby of collecting....and part of it is....education...and simply a lack of interest in history. Take a look at what the younger generation today is exposed to. I hear alot of....it is too expensive etc...however, these young folks are also waterfowlers to some extent...and waterfowling is an expensive sport...so I don't completely buy that it is all about the money. You could start anywhere on the collecting ladder...does not have to be an example in the thousands. Lastly, I think some of us are...simply put....just born to collect stuff .

Good points, all but there is a difference between collecting and buying guns to use. Younger people (say in their 30s and younger) don't "collect" stuff and we see a drop-off in the antiques trade, for example.

But many guys of that age group buy SxSs to shoot and use and the Spanish guns, the Merkels and even the more expensive Italian guns are doing well. I own 8 (I think) SxSs and shoot them all. None are American classics (none are American) and I bought each one because of the way it handles. I am in my 70s and have spent my lifetime collecting other stuff - not guns - but SxSs are common among my younger friends - they are not the obsolete relics that the pump-gun-crowd likes to make them out to be!

So let's not despair! SxSs are alive and well and I am always surprised at the very nice English and European guns that I see when I bird hunt.

i have noticed over a period of time reading sxs rifles and shotguns for sale especially on the higher price end many
times i see a response that a member had owned the gun at
some period of time and the gun or guns are traveling in
a circle.

There are thousands and thousands and thousands of SxSs costing, say, over $5K that are manufactured, sold, or appear on the market second-hand each year.

We cannot possibly assume they are traveling in a circle on the basis of a few of those guns' prior owners being recognized!

British bests have about a 2-year waiting period. The trade cannot be doing all that poorly and cannot be dependent solely upon the guys who frequent online forums.

I was recently offered a 20 ga DHE Parker that i had sold nearly 30 years ago. Bobby

"thousands and thousands"? I don't watch the new gun market but I haven't seen that kind of action in the English vintage double market. In fact the introduction of new blood is few and far between when it comes to good guns over a hundred years old.
It looks like we are nearing the end of a generation of guns made in the "Golden Years".
Though there were a large number of makers their output was very meagre compared to modern industrial standards.

How much disposable income did you have to spend on guns when you guys were in your 30's? Mortgage, kid's, saving for your children's college, etc. doesn't leave a lot for play things.

I would agree that interest from my age group, mid 30's, is minimal at best when it comes to doubles. I'm the only one in my group of a dozen hunting partners who almost exclusively uses a SxS. I'm also single with no kids. If you'd mention even spending a mere $1,000 on a shotgun to one of my friends, they'd laugh. Most are college educated with good incomes. It's just that it takes most of what you make to take care of a family. I'd imagine it was that way for the majority of the guys who play the collecting game today. Just a different phase of life.

Cheers
Marcus

"I was recently offered a 20 ga DHE Parker that i had sold nearly 30 years ago. Bobby"

I bet that was cool. Did you write down the serial # years ago and that was how you knew? I should have started keeping serial #'s, type & brand of gun, configuration, etc. years ago. I do now though. Bobby, were you tempted to go all the way with the deal this time?

redoftx