As a member of Gen X, most of my generation has no interest in spending money, that many don't have, on the really expensive SxS shotguns. The generations after me have even less disposable income.
Of the dedicated gun auction websites, the hammer guns and sidelocks coming up for auction seem to cost more than they did 5 years ago and the quality/condition isn't as good.
Gen X, along with Gen Y and Gen Z, do seem to have less disposable income on average, compared to Baby Boomers. We hear that fewer of them can now afford to buy cars and homes, and that many are neck deep in high interest credit card debt. Many of them would like taxpayers to pay their student loan debt too. The question is whether they, as a large population segment, will have the political will to refrain from voting for the Democrats most responsible for hurting them economically. When every dollar you earn is worth less, and everything costs more due to inflation and higher interest, there are just going to be less young people who can afford to buy double shotguns, AR-15's, Four-Wheelers, or the newest I-Phone. Maybe they will learn. Or maybe they will continue to act like a battered woman who keeps falling for empty promises from her abuser, until he finally kills her.
On the brighter side, my 30-something nephew stopped by a couple years ago to show me his new gun. It was a 16 ga. Hunter Arms Fulton double. He had been riding his bike and noticed the barrels sticking up out of a box along the road on a bulk trash collection day. The gun was complete and in nice overall condition, and someone had put it out in the trash.
I told him what he had, roughly what it was worth, and told him a little about Hunter Arms Co. Then I grabbed a box of shells and we went out back with a Trius Trap and a box of clays, and tried it out. He really enjoyed that, and said he would be keeping the gun, and would want to take it small game hunting. He owns an AR-15, a Savage .270 Win. bolt action deer rifle, a Remington 870 pump shotgun, and several handguns. He is interested in buying more doubles too, but at this point in life, paying his mortgage and taking care of his young family takes precedence. Best of all, he frequently texts me memes that mock Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Obama, etc., so it appears his head is screwed on right.
As for the double shotgun market, I keep hearing that nobody wants them anymore, and field grade doubles are essentially worthless. I wish someone would finally post a link to a gun auction site where they are giving away these guns. I expected a big Fire Sale on doubles in 2008 when the Real Estate and Stock Market crashed, and unemployment spiked up. It didn't happen. Instead, prices actually increased. I thought prices might fall when the government imposed Covid19 lockdowns and unemployment went up again. It didn't happen.
Instead, the actual selling prices of field grade vintage American doubles on internet auctions I watch still seems to be holding up and at least generally tracking inflation. There have always been plenty of guns that never seem to sell because they have ridiculously high reserves. Many other old firearms are selling well too, and at prices that make me wish I had a time machine to go back and stock up on them. Common old lever action rifles are selling for very good money, and I'm particularly surprised at how much old military surplus guns sell for now. There is no question I would have been better off buying certain handguns or AR type rifles 30 years ago, if I was looking to make the highest profit. But I am not about to dump my doubles because some folks keep saying that the market for them is crashing.
