The thread regarding the current doublegun collector's market got me thinking about where we came from.
As Mark observed there was little SxS interest (of course with exceptions like the M21 and British "Best") 50 years ago.
This statement from the Preacher has things pretty much Bass Ackwards in my opinion. Interest in the different genres of firearms is a relative and somewhat variable thing that can certainly be affected by outside influences. For instance, interest and demand for high capacity pistols and semi-auto rifles always spikes whenever the anti-gun Democrats are in power and begin their never ending assault on our 2nd Amendment.
And it is silly to say there was little interest in SxS guns 50 years ago. As many here have noted, quite a few shooters were brought up using these guns, and they were never totally out of style. Others like myself were brought up using other types of guns, and were influenced rightly or wrongly by what our relatives and peers said about doubles. My Dad and uncles weren't keen on doubles because they felt repeaters were superior, and that they were generally lighter due to only having one barrel versus two. On the surface, that thought may make sense to those who don't actually have hands on experience. I had a curiosity and an interest in double shotguns that grew over time, but never bought one until a few years after I graduated from college and was making better money. Part of the reason for my delayed entry into SxS guns was the majority of the doubles I admired in local gun shops were simply not as affordable as the repeaters.
Now, if there was little to no demand for these doubles back then, market forces would dictate that they would have been less expensive. However, the demand was always there relative to the supply. And the supply was limited because production of better quality American doubles was all but gone by the end of WWII, mostly due to higher labor costs. However, there was still interest enough for Winchester to keep cranking out the Model 21, and Marlin certainly tried to bring back L.C. Smiths. Others have dipped their toes into this small but persistent demand, but most have failed due to low profit margins. If Remington or Ithaca could have built a good looking and quality double that sold for near the same price as a Model 870 or Model 37 pump, they would have sold very well, no question. So for the majority of working middle class shooters, new guns were limited to lower quality Spanish imports, Savage 311's or the butt ugly Fox Model B. There has not been a time in my entire life when Parkers were cheap because nobody wanted them and nobody used them. Same for other better quality vintage doubles. It was that same lingering demand and interest that convinced manufacturers to take advantage of lower labor costs and begin importing doubles from Japan, like the Winchester Model 23, Browning BSS, or Ithaca SKB's. Most of the lesser quality guns like Crescents, Worthingtons, and cheap Belgian imports did not stand the test of time. They were unappreciated for good reasons. I did note when I first started collecting Syracuse Lefever guns, they seemed somewhat undervalued given their build quality, attractiveness, and low production numbers. But that situation has certainly changed.
The various double shotgun books listed and the collector organizations did not whet my interest, or that of most other double gun enthusiasts. On the contrary, the interest was there first, and that is what motivated guys to buy these books or to seek out more information on doubles. And really, many of these books have very low publication numbers, so their overall influence on shooter interest was small. The first Lefever book was only 2000 copies and the second was 2500 copies. Charles Semmer's Remington Doubles book was 3600 copies. I don't know the total publication number of Walter Snyder's "Ithaca Gun Company: From the Beginning", but it must be low because copies are both scarce and expensive. It is not purely about Ithaca doubles either. I have many other books about doubles in my collection, and every one was purchased after I had been bitten by the SxS bug. None of them was a New York Times Best Seller that sold a million copies.
Same thing goes for the various internet sites and forums. Nobody comes here saying, "I was wandering aimlessly on the internet and stumbled upon this forum." Virtually all come here because they have inherited Grandpa's old Parker, L.C. Smith, etc., or because they developed a prior interest in double guns, and either finally bought one, or wish to buy one. So now they want to know all about it. Many of them want more doubles. I expect that will continue. Say Hi to the new guy Edm1, who made his first post here yesterday. His story is pretty familiar to us.
Where are we now? That's kind of a silly question too. People keep saying we are "Aging out", or are a "Dying breed". The same could be said of the guys who used flintlocks, percussion guns, lever action rifles, etc. But interest in them remains, and new guys keep getting involved with these outdated and semi-obsolete guns. Gun ownership in the U.S. is at an all-time high. Ammunition is costly, but people buy it as fast as they make it. The same is likely to be the case with our doubles. We will all get old and die, and someone will inherit or buy them. They are not going to a landfill like a collection of worthless 8-track tapes. The biggest threat to double guns and their value is the same things that have caused so many shooters in Great Britain to sell them. Lead shot bans help to make the vintage guns obsolete and unaffordable for many to shoot. Anti-gun and anti-hunting sentiment threatens ownership of all firearms. Right now, the Democrats are pushing to eliminate archery programs from our schools. To them all shooting sports are bad. And right here, we still have guys who keep voting for the anti-gun Democrats who want to eventually eliminate all guns, including doubles. Unfortunately, even our retired CIA Intelligence Analyst hasn't figured that out yet.
That's where we are now.
