doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gunfight Friday - Round #4

Takes a well designed double gun to handle heavy loads comfortably, especially when they get above 1 1/4 oz., regardless of chamber length. I have two that do so just fine, and one that does not. Having shot one, I agree that this RGL is not one that does. Two things are an absolute necessity for me in a double for heavy loads ................ weight, and a pistol grip.

SRH

I liked the design of the Classic Doubles and the way it followed the Winchester 21 somewhat, but I only ever saw two, and the one that was for sale had inconsistent metalwork. If it had looked like the picture I would have bought it as I was looking for a stout 12. I liked the Gold labels I saw, but didn't need or want a light 12. I was thinking when they got around to making 20s it would have been excellent, but alas we will never see that.

I prefer guns no larger than 20 gauge for bird hunting so based on that my first choice would probably be the 20 gauge CD. Unfortunately that CD 20 gauge gun weighs as much as many 12 gauge doubles. It isn't a bad gun if you like hunting waterfowl with a 20 gauge. I got my gun from Jaqua's when they were closing them out in 1990.

Skip

Looks like your CD gets the job done. I have only handled a few and can't remember, did they come with choke tubes or fixed chokes? I also don't remember ever seeing one with a splinter forend, was this not an option?

The gun has fixed IC/Mod chokes. Unfortunately only a beavertail forend was offered. One thing is for sure, they didn't cheat you on the checkering.

Skip

A bit of thread drift here, and since I have no experience w/either gun being discussed; the pic above makes me ask a question

Snipe Hunter,

How do you compare snipe taste w/woodcock? Can you even make that comparison? How/wot is your favored method of preparation?

Forgive me, guys. I'm stuck inside w/a flu bug at present & not overly happy about it.

TW, it has been too many years since I shot my last woodcock and I have shot very few so someone else would be better qualified to tell you the difference in taste between them and snipe. In size a snipe is closer to a dove than anything else and I would also say that it is more like a dove in taste than anything else.

It seems like in recent years I have eaten most of my birds breasted out, skinned, and wrapped with half a slice of bacon. A couple of minutes on each side on either a hot grill or griddle is long enough. Cooked to medium works best for me. I usually sprinkle them with a little bit of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning but tucking a slice of jalapeno under the bacon is also popular. Another way I like them is in a casserole over some wild rice cooked with either cream of chicken or mushroom soup. I occasionally clean a few whole (with entrails removed) and I have stuffed them with everything from stuffing to fruit to shrimp before wrapping them in bacon.

Skip

Re taste, it's been some time since I ate either snipe or rail. (Used to shoot quite a few, especially sora rail.) I've been a woodcock hunter ever since 1973. To me, the taste of all 3 birds is fairly similar. Dark meat. I like them. I always tell people that if they like liver, they'll like woodcock. Causes some people to give me their woodcock.

Back when the Classic Doubles were first announced, I went over to Guns Unlimited in Omaha to look them over. Same impression as Skip: Heavy for a 20ga. (But then so is the Parker Repro, IMO. And the BSS, especially standard grade. (And by the time you add the big beavertail on the CD, you're getting close to 7#.) Caused my interest to cool.

Ruger did provide straight grip/splinter versions of the GL that were relatively light for a 12ga . . . and then gave the gun 3" chambers. Would not have wanted to push 3" mags through one of those. I didn't like the Ruger safety/selector on the RL, and didn't like it any better on the GL. And would have preferred 2 triggers. And although the gun was light, one way they made it light was to mill metal out of the receiver. The result is a gun that tends to be barrel heavy, which is not the way a game gun is supposed to balance--although some may prefer it, and for some it will make a relatively light sxs into a better target gun.

I'd pass on both of them.

I pick #1
And I'd have sold it by now for a handsome profit.

With regards to cooking snipe, I blanch them, pluck them, clean them, oil them, salt and pepper them heavily, and then roast them until 140 ish.

Cumberland sauce was invented for them.

They do look odd on a plate nestled in a bed of rice surrounded by wilted greens.

Yes, if you bought one new, today you'd make some resale profit for sure. Here's what Phil Bourjaily wrote in a 2005 review. He bought one, and several years later wrote that it was his "plains and pheasant gun."

�Patterned after the round-action guns of John Dickson, the Gold Label is wonderfully slim and light; at 6 1 /2 pounds with 28-inch barrels, this 12 gauge is lighter and trimmer than many 20 gauges .... The Gold Label handles like a British best but sells for a price many ordinary uplanders can afford. Although the Gold Label was announced in 2002, production problems kept it from dealer�s shelves until this year. It�s here now, and upland hunters can rejoice. $2000.�

The comparison with weight of some 20 ga. doubles applies here in spades. A "for sale" listing for a 20 ga. Classic Doubles 201 with good details in the description lists weight as 7 lbs. 3 oz.

Jay