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

Stan,
While I'll always consider you "The Man",
I have found no problem with second shots using an English stock.
I won Summer Skeet League with this BSS and had no problem with pairs.
I've also shot Sporting and even hunted Band-tailed Pigeons using this one of a kind BSS. 99%

Can't speak so much for the Model 23, except that I'm not so fond of the triggers, but the BSS is excellent.

I was hanging around the shop of Champlin Arms in 1980, shooting the breeze with a now big-name English trained gunsmith whose videos are prominent these days, and he was building a custom BSS. He had advised his client to buy two new guns (20 gauge), with different barrel configurations, on which to build a custom two-barrel set, new stock, etc. That rattled me a bit, but I recall him telling me that there wasn't a better boxlock anywhere for any money.

In the intervening years, the track record of the BSS bears that out. I've had a couple that were great, one of which I sincerely wish I'd kept.

Haven't noticed any change in trigger pull on mine, Chuck. However, I doubt I've got that many rounds through the TWO I've owned, yet. I'm working on it tho'.

Larry, as I said, this is a topic for another thread. I own and enjoy some guns with screw-ins, but not for sporting competition. I stand by my statement that, for me, screw ins are over-rated. I do not use my BSS for as many different disciplines as you named. Sporting clays and ducks only. .018" in both barrels.

Bob, I hear you about the straight grip. I don't claim to have really strong hands, and I DO use loads a bit on the heavy side, compared to most on here. I go to win an event, if at all possible, and I use 1 1/8 oz. loads for serious competition clays. They DO cause more recoil. Of course, when competing with my vintage guns I back it down to a 1 oz. load at low to moderate pressure. Over the years I have settled on a few things that work for me. I certainly won't argue that 1 oz. loads won't break 99% of all sporting targets, they might. But, I can't live with the "one that got away" and cost me first place. Same for me with fixed chokes. I regularly shoot with Charlie Boswell, who owns Comp-N-Choke. He knows why I don't use screw ins. Not because I don't trust them, but because I break more birds when I shoot my fixed choke guns. It's just a mental thing. .018" works great for every bird I ever encounter on a sporting course, and it's hell on ducks with a good load of steel shot, too. Good luck selling the BSS, it's a beaut !

SRH

Gentlemen I thank you for your opinions and advice. Bill

I find I like a pistol grip stock on a pump for anything, or a semi auto waterfowling where I can get in an awkward position and like the extra control, but I have never personally had an issue with a straight grip on a double that i can recall. I like choke tubes on everything, but you can get a fine BSS and have Briley install them for less money than that "custom" model above.

I beg to differ.
Opening bid, no reserve, $2200
Briley chokes................$500
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..............................$1700
Please show me a 30" BSS 12 gauge in immaculate condition in a "Sporter" configuration for that kind of money.
Take your time, I'll wait.

Have to agree with Bob on the price. 30" BSS are pretty rare, and I don't know that I've ever seen a Sporter with 30" barrels.

Everything I have read indicates that the Sporter was never built at the factory with 30" barrels. But, there are at least two out there that seem to have been made up from cannibalized parts: Bob's and mine.

The Miroku 500 (and maybe the Chas Daly 500) were also available with 30" barrels, but apparently only with pistol grip stocks. I also have one of those, and it handles differently from the BSS 30". Both are pretty substantial for use as upland guns.

There's gonna be one with 32" barrels barrels if I ever find a damaged set of any length to have sleeved.

SRH

Maybe Virginian was right about value, I thought mine was 1 of a kind