doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Spanish Ladies and Plain Janes

Well, I guess I am the ignorant fool who is going to come out in defense of Spanish guns. While I like American doubles and have owned a Fox or two, I think (like many others) that the Spanish are capable of making very fine guns.

So, what puzzles me is why there are some who feel compelled to bash Spanish guns in order promote American doubles (which I also like). One thing that is "good" does not mean that another thing must be "bad."

So, why the comparison? As some one once said (and my memory escapes me as to "who" and I bet "he" would prefer it that way):

"Pensar'an vuestras mercedes ahora que es poco trabajo hinchar un perro? Pensar'a vuestra merced ahora que es poco trabajo hacer un libro?"

to which I would add...

"Y pensar'an vuestras mercedes ahora que es poco trabajo hacer una escopeta?"

Well, do you?

Finally, if the "gentlemen" on this board are "bothered" or "confused" by the use of another language other than English in this post, might I remind them that those very "lowly" Spanish words come not from across the Rio Grande, but rather from the book that the English government chose as their official ambassadorial gift in the late Eighteenth Century and early Nineteenth Century.

Here is your "ugly" Spanish Lady made from "soft" steel of course...

Beuatiful gun Doc.

I read the entire thread and saw nothing that disparages Spanish guns. They were referred to as "Spanish ladies" - I think the choice of the phrase indicated respect. I didn't see anything about steel quality except in your post.

After that it gets down to Ford vs. Chevy, Harleys versus Indians, Rock and Roll versus Country etc... Certainly beauty is in the eye of the beholder and some difference of opinion is to be expected in beholding beauty.

Again that is a beautiful gun.

How is the new pup doing?

Best,

Mike

I was also disappointed seeing the insides of a Lefever a few posts back, sear spring was in backwards, with its lack of finish or should I say horribly finished parts, file marks and the like, and as someone said, "If you saw the insides of a Parker, you wouldn't want one."
However, my Ithaca (Insert any old American double here) has thousands upon thousands of rounds through it and nothing bothers it using period correct loads. My Arrieta, snapped crackled and popped after hard use with the same diet as my Ithaca. Just a two gun comparison, but if you had to decide on which gun to take on a hunting trip which track record would you want???

I have seen the insides of a Parker and in my opinion they are built like a Swiss watch. I had a friends of mine apart. It was a 12 ga. GH, 26" barrels, imp.cyl./full, Damascus barrels, circa 1902. I was very impressed with it. I still think they are over priced.
I will stick with my "elsie" klunkers.

I pulled the locks off an early JP Sauer SLNE 12 a few months back. The gun had been rode hard, put away wet but the lock work was spectacular, even for a lower grade.

Mike -while nothing "directly" was said to put down Spanish guns, the title and subsequent posts sure set the tone of the discussion. Mr. Glenthorne's comment pretty much says it all.

"I think ol'King has a Spanish bone to pick? ...but I think your right, and will add the Philly Fox to the list."

In regards to the insides of guns, I think these two pictures are interesting. The first is an older Ugartechea and the second is a Fox. Personally, I did not think there was that much of a difference.

And for what its worth, I love Foxes, Parkers, and Ithacas, Elsies, Uncle Dans, and thanks to this board you guys even have me looking out for old hardware store guns.

I think ol'King was feeling romantic towards his old Elsie Twenty and said even though she isn't high class like a high bred Spanish double or bright and shiney like a new gun she is prettier to his eyes. The rest of the posts were about what gun old American gun they thought was pretty.

How is your new pup doing?

Best,

Mike

Hijo De La Playa!!!! Eees some purty guns! 16 Lefever xx gets my vote..

Well to keep on the subject of Spanish guns, here is a 12 ga. Zabala Churchill Regent IV, circa 1984 (D2), 25" barrels, imp.cyl./mod, Churchill rib, ejectors, double triggers, Anson type forend release, 6 lbs. 12 oz. I bought it a few months ago and haven't had the pleasure to shoot it yet.
Can't find much information about it. Checkering very nice (22 lpi)oil finish and decent engraving.

Yes, that's it, Mike. The provenance of the post was really Lowell setting us off on the condor lunch. I bought the Elsie 20 unseen years ago and was smitten first-sight with the plain, graceful lines. An earlier post referred to a Spanish lady. So I indulged myself with a Lowellite, a sort of provocative Spanish lady and a Plain Jane, intending no slight toward the lady. The scale of the gauge provides an aesthetic advantage which makes it---to me--- the most elegant of my guns.