doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Win 23 or Browning BSS?

I can't speak to the Browning, but the 23 is very well made, inside and out, and I can't imagine wearing one out. That said, the few I've picked up and the one I own are set too shoot too high for me to fall in love with.

I believe that Stan has won more than a few competitions with his BSS, I'd go with that.

IIRC the 23 has a couple versions with factory screw-ins. For a competition gun that would seem to be a factor worth considering, at least to me.

There are a couple SKB's w/ factory screw-ins as well that were intended to be competition guns.

have a day

Dr.WtS

The Beretta GR3 that I have has a trigger that is like the O/U triggers and I suspect that it would be fairly difficult to find a better one than that in any kind of economical gun.

I saw a Winchester Pigeon Grade Model 23 this morning on one of the web sites with 30" barrels. That is rare.

I have had more than one of both, and I don't think a fine frog hair would fit in the differences, as far as build quality and/or strength is concerned. Both are, in my opinion, very good examples of American style SxSs. I have more rounds thru BSSs, but I never had a hint of an issue with either one, and I also killed quite a few waterfowl with as heavy a loads as I could buy or build.

Those were the very late SKB's, imported long after Ithaca was out of the picture. I had one, briefly, in 20ga. 485 with a high rib. Looked like it should be a target gun, but did not work out for me. After I missed 3 or 4 low 7's at skeet in a row, I finally figured out that I had to blot out the target with that high rib in order to hit it. If I floated the target just over the rib, as I do with every other sxs I've ever shot, I'd miss.

Ithaca Classic Doubles also built a few "competition" guns. I've seen some advertised but have never had my hands on one.

Here's a "Target" BSS for sale:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=330736538

Good Luck!!

Greg

That is a pretty gun, and in very good condition it appears. But, with all due respect, it is not a true target gun with that straight grip, pretty as it is. There is just no way that a straight gripped gun will give you the control, in recoil, that a pistol gripped gun will. Absolute control is necessary for that second shot, and half the birds in a round are second shot birds. Loss of control means you will drop more second birds than you should.

You can find a 30" BSS, unaltered, for $1500 or less with just a little work. And personally, I would not pay a dime more for one with screw-ins. All my 12 ga. sporting comp guns are fixed choked. But, that's a topic for another thread.

SRH

Stan
My first BSS got an estimated 15000 rounds thru it and the trigger pull was getting pretty rough. When I took it apart, only the sears were worn. A little stoning and it was good to go. Have you experienced any wear?

Seems to me the value of the screw-ins might depend on the uses to for which the gun is intended. For example, if I were to shoot the entire program at the UP SxS Classic with one gun, fixed chokes would not work. There's a sporting clays course (for which you need nothing tighter than light mod at most), two simulated pigeon rings (where you can fire two shots at a bird and may want something tighter than mod for the 2nd shot), and a flurry, where you neither need nor want anything tighter than skeet. Likewise, if you're shooting skeet, sporting clays, and handicap trap with the same gun, the screw-ins come in quite handy. If it's only sporting clays, I agree that you can settle on fixed chokes that will work quite well, especially if you use maybe different loads and shot sizes.