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All else being equal, is there a premium for 10ga SxSs like there is for 16gas relative to a 12ga?

I have not made a study of it, but in watching sales for many years my impression is that, condition and rarity being equal, there is no premium for 10s, as compared to 12s. The market is just too limited for short chambered 10s for them to command a premium. JMHO.

SRH

Stan, thanks for your insights. Not to disagree with you though, all else being equal (grade/quality of gun, condition, etc.) aren't 10gas generally more rare than 12gas? As in fewer 10gas were made as Lefever F grades than 12gas, yes? All that being as it may, you're saying you still haven't noticed a difference in pricing?

Sincerely,

Vince

The Ithaca NID magnum 10 ga. 3.5" commands a premium over an NID 12 ga, but not the 12 ga. built on the 10 ga. frame with serial numbers 500,xxx. Only 87 or so 3" magnum 12's were built. Gil

No, not much difference in value these days as the market has
changed significantly as we old fellas die off.

That being said, My old pre-500,000 10 gauge NID may have a bit more desirability than a 12 gauge

Mike

Glad you brought up Lefevers. As I recall without Elliott's book handy, approximately 70% are 12 ga., 15% are 10 ga., 8% are 16 ga., 6% are 20 ga., and less than 1/2% are 8 ga. I'm sure those numbers are close, but not perfectly accurate. But nobody knows for certain because the factory records are lost.

From what I have seen, the small bore 20 and 16 ga.guns command a healthy premium over a 12 ga. in equal grade and condition. But 10 ga. guns have little to no premium over the 12 ga. guns. Asking prices for 10's may be higher, but in no reserve auctions, they don't get the kind of money that their rarity might suggest. I've followed their prices for years.

8 ga.guns are so rare that even though ammo is much more expensive and harder to find, collectors will pay a huge premium for them.

I agree with Stan & Keith. The only premium when it comes to a majority (ultra rare grades/models being the exception) is.....the ammunition. The ammunition can be painfully expensive for old 10�s. If you roll your own, and you find a 10 bore with game gun weight and dynamics (they exist...I owned a light 10 bore T. Woodward spiral spring a few years ago), they can be pretty sweet guns. Most 10�s will be fowling pieces, btw. If you look around you can find some great deals on old, extremely high quality 10�s, and more than likely they�ll be priced cheaper than the equivalent 12 bore.

I believe that on the Lefevers guns built prior to the 1890 patent, Two-Hook style the 10 was about as common as the 12. This was also about the time smokeless powder was becoming acceptable. As time went forward, fewer & fewer 10s were built in proportion to the 12s, thus the differences in percentage.

This same timeline is likely applicable to other makes which were building doubles prior to the 1890s as well.

I'm not including rarity in the equation, Vince, as in low production models. They may well be priced higher. One reason run-of-the-mill 10s do not command a premium, even though less may have been made than 12s, is the ammunition issue LeFusil mentioned. I completely agree with him. Very few want to go to the hassle of rolling short tens, or buying expensive short loads, just to get to shoot a 10. I've done it, soon tired of it, and swapped the gun off. The supposed gain in pattern quality by having a shorter payload in the bigger bore just isn't worth the hassle or extra cost. Add that reason to the limited usefulness of so many big 10s and it adds up to no premium for the short 10s.

SRH

I love my short tens! Have three Parker 10�s and one hammer Scott 10. Loading is no more of a problem than any other gauge. Twenty or so years ago a group of 10 gauge fans joined together�I think right here on this forum�and called themselves the ten gauge group. Between them they tested and developed a lot of great loads. All the loads I use today came from them. 1 1/4 oz on ducks is unbelievable. 1 1/2 oz on a turkey is devastating! More shot would just be a waste. There is a whole lot to be said for the extremely short shot string a ten can deliver.

Long live the Short Ten!