doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Be thankful for your doublegun.

This is probably the hardest thing for most of us to accomplish. We are always anticipating that next great find. The truth is that unless we are lucky enough to special order none of our guns is perfect. I always want to change something. And we get pretty snooty about what is an acceptable gun. Yes, I prefer a straight hand stock... but I shoot a half-hand just as well. My guns are double triggers, but I like a good single trigger well in the back of the guard. I prefer a low concave rib, but I don't own one. All of our great used finds are trade-offs. Yet, we would never pass up the ALMOST perfect gun.

I know that I spend too much time worrying about my guns, and not enough time hunting. When I become too anxious about all the guns I don't have and all the imperfections in the guns I do, I remember the horrid gun I started with... the gun that ruined my shooting. It took years to overcome the flaws created by that evil gun. But I was truly happy to have it, because I got to go hunting. And believe me, now I know how lucky I am to have even one gun that was actually designed to be a bird gun.

Two classes of people on this forum have it knocked. A few guys here shoot guns that are exactly the opposite of what most of us want. They clean up when that style double comes along. Then there are the dog men, who know that the gun is almost unimportant... that watching the dogs run is all that matters.

Double guns are becoming more expensive. There are going to be fewer guns to buy and discard. By necessity we are going to have to make a greater effort to come to terms with our near misses. Perhaps in the process we will find a charm in styles that we never knew worked so well. Perhaps, like the generations that have gone before us, we will reach for the well worn field grade that has killed so many birds. It is after all balance that makes a double kill a double. We are only along for the ride.

Steve

Here, here.
An interesting thought that I mostly agree with; I think special ordering may not be necessary but it depends on time and searching.
Personally I hedge my luck a little when it gomes to getting "the perfect" gun which requires information and questioning but still remains something of a dice roll, or whatever other metaphor for chance one likes. Close to perfect guns are out there but finding them means the folks selling them need to either provide or be pestered for detailed information (stock dimensions etc.) and the folks buying them need to know the information relevant to them (particularly stock fit which is surprisingly absent in most cases). I try to obtain that information before making the plunge but still end up "punting" a lot. In some cases I've picked up a gun because it is an excellent example of it's type for what I collect and I've accidently ended up in the bargain with guns that work for me perfectly. Some have been high end sidelocks; others bottom of the barrel boxlocks. I even reunited a pair almost accidentally and found they could work for me "as is". Anyway I recognize I've been fortunate in obtaining some very nice doubles that way.
And I agree we certainly need to appreciate what we have. In my case I should also arrange to pass on those which really aren't best for me and have shifted in my collection priorities but might be good for someone else.
Jeremy

Please don't take it as a slight or personal, but I respectfully disagree with most of this. I think we all decide what ride we're on. Hopefully, they're all slightly different rides, but enjoyable rides. I am familiar with a few folks that seem to be on the ride that they're happiest being unsatisfied.

I'm not sure what you mean by "unsatisfied".

I'm always looking for the next gun, but that's part of the fun. It's not a problem. I don't "collect" for pristine 99% guns, I gather guns that interest me for some reason, often not sure why. And I like overseeing their restoration from old, used hard and not well maintained to beautiful, rehabilitated examples of what their original makers intended. I just need to make sure I'm dealing with a good set of barrels. And when the gun is "done" to my satisfaction, well....I'm satisfied with the process, I put it in the safe and then move onto the next project/aquisition.

Then comes the second part of the deal. I take those completed guns back out into the field, where they are supposed to be and use them to hunt birds over my dogs. To me, that is an entirely different pursuit, with it's own unique joys, from the finding and resurrecting of the guns. Two different hobbies.

Maybe it's because I came late to the gun acquisition thing....I hunted for almost 30 years with one gun.

I have had an absolute baggo double shotguns over the past 60 years. Except for the eights, heavy tens, and .410s, there wasn't a gun I wouldn't be happy to have as my only gun to hunt with for the rest of my life. I guess I'm just easy to please.

craig and eightbore nailed it perfectly, from my experience.

Great topic! I'm fortunate to have several that I've aquired that I shoot very well, and smart enough to cherish and hang on to them!
But, there's always that temptation of the next trade..........
Karl

You seem unsatisfied in a fun way, but it doesn't seem like your hobbies quite fit into either of the original categories.

Huh? What two original categories? Am I being dense? No, don't answer that!

I've found my highest level of "dissatisfaction" came when I was compulsively acquiring great guns just because I could.
My interests were narrow but with so many opportunities within my favorite brand, I built a cabinet that couldn't be used on a regular basis, nor could they be displayed for fear of loss. Might as well collect pictures of great guns.

Now, for me, less is more.