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Joined: Aug 2008
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 960 Likes: 12 |
I am curious why no enterprising gun maker/entrepreneur has decided to offer extra barrel sets for popular makes, i.e., Parker, Fox, Smith, Lefever, etc. I realize there is hand-fitting involved with each one, but that is what smiths are for, and I'm sure they would appreciate the extra business.
Who wouldn't want an extra barrel set in a different configuration for their favorite sxs? I believe many would prefer to go that route than to buy another gun. It just seems like a no brainer to me. No doubt it would be expensive, and require a lot of different tooling, etc., but no worthwhile business venture is ever easy.
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Very few people would be willing to pay the five to ten thousand dollars that it would cost to have an extra set of barrels custom made, fitted and finished.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,038
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,038 |
Mark, I am sure it depends on the price and quality of another gun. But I always have room (maybe not the money!) for another gun. I have though picked up and fit another used barrel to some of my guns. Depending on the gun, some are rather easy to fit. Sad part is, I never use the other barrel. I use another gun that needs to out to play.
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 725
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 725 |
I think folks have looked at it and relize there is no money in it.Even a cheap set would cost $2,500. and people would complain of the quaility and you would be broke.Not sure but H&H might make a spare set for your Fox like they do for their guns but if you got that kind of money you could just buy their gun.
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,710 Likes: 474
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 7,710 Likes: 474 |
Having H & H make a set of barrels for a Fox would be like having Ferrari make a new fender for a Chevy. It would be perfect but just a little too expensive.
Doubles are just too labor intensive for new barrels. Heck this is why most makers dropped them in the first place. High cost and falling demand do not make for a bright future in any manufacturing sector. Parker, Smith, Fox and Lefever would all still be in business, making guns, if they could. From a cost viewpoint it just makes more sense to buy another gun.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,884 Likes: 106
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,884 Likes: 106 |
Even back in the day these old smokepoles were being made, an extra set of barrels was half the price of the gun or more. Note the new list of options for the RBL-12 and RBL-16 from CSMC. They include the option of an extra set of barrels for $2000. You can buy a second gun with the base wood and no options for $2750 with the PIF discount.
Back in the late 1950s, early 1960s, Atlas was offering new sets of Belgian or Italian steel barrels for Parker Bros. and L.C. Smith shotguns, and you run across these from time to time.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,412 Likes: 313
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,412 Likes: 313 |
Atlas Arms (Chicago) Parker barrels, made by Vickers (England), fit and finished by Armaf (Belgium), with a 1954 proof date code.
Last edited by revdocdrew; 11/22/08 06:27 PM.
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,432 Likes: 34
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,432 Likes: 34 |
When CSMC brought out their 16 ga barrel sets for the Parker Repros ($1895 plus fitting?), it seemed to take a long time to move the merchandise. That's with a gun is is plentiful (relatively) and owned by a lot of people with disposable income (at least until recently). CSMC also had a bunch of aftermartket barrels for the Win Mod 21, and those wound up in their closeout section. There was a shop discussed on the Parker site (among others) that claimed to have original barel tubes or complete barrel sets for Parkers, and all the hype never seemed to produce a satisfied customer, even though posters kept asking if anyone had received a completed/fitted barrel set.
I have three Parkers with aftermarket barrels. One has Bohler barrels with vent rib and seems to be up to Parker standards. The other two have unidentified Italian barrels and, while nice, are not up to usual Parker standards. There's a lot of variation out there, and thus a lot of risk to the buyer.
The barrel sets I'd really like to see would be 30" fixed choke from CSMC for the RBL 20.
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,381 Likes: 1
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 9,381 Likes: 1 |
These Belgian made barrels of Vickers steel for Parker and LCS shotguns cost about $75. The last 10% of fitting to particular frame plus blueing was extra $35. Was that a good deal? PS. The cost of 11 pounder Holland & Holland .465 bore 'Royal' gun at that time was cool $2500.
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 14,111 Likes: 195
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 14,111 Likes: 195 |
Up until the eighties, Frank Lefever and Son advertised installation of original Parker barrels for $250 for V through D Grades, $25 more for higher grades to engrave the breech, a few bucks more for real high grades. They didn't get that much business because you could buy a good VH 12 gauge for $200.
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