doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Decline of the Side-by-Side

Calibre/Item: 12G
Make: Holland & Holland
Barrel Length: 30 inches
Condition: Excellent
Price: $6995
Advertised: 14/12/2018
Comment: Safari Firearms Christmas Bonanza Sale. 12G Holland and Holland slashed from $16,950 to $6995...

An advert on used guns au.
O.M

Here's another old one: "Better has always been the enemy of good enough." Gil

I was not disputing your statement that upland hunting is dying. I was simply making a statement about my area. I don't need to look up statistics to know that your statement is true for America in general. It's obvious.

Maybe the reason it's still so strong here is that most of the people I know who hunt small game have introduced their children and grandchildren to it ..............and for some reason it "stuck". Shotgunning in general is very strong here, with more school and 4H shotgun teams than in any time in history. Yes, things are "booming" here, especially with the youth and shotguns. They're not shooting S x Ss, but they'll certainly never have any interest in one if they don't start shooting some kind of shotgun.

SRH

Stan that's the way it is at my gun club....packed with young high school kids.
It's good to see....Sadly most never return.


As you know most Game and Fish commissions in the South concentrate the majority of their efforts promoting deer hunting.

The way guys deer hunt now is the most boring form of hunting ever known to man.

They need to be promoting small game hunting...it's exciting and can possibly hold a kids attention.
I've always felt that no kid should ever be allowed to big game hunt without going through some amount of small game hunting.

In the South little if any effort is made to actually restore quail.

Up North their license prices are cheap compared to ours yet in states like Pennsylvania and New York they raise and release Pheasants every year...we have nothing upland to hunt unless you like rabbit or squirrel hunting.

By some a Dove may be considered an upland game bird but to me sitting over a grain field shooting at Doves should not be spoke in the same sentence with upland game hunting.

Down South deer remains supreme...on some NWR and WMA's in Tennessee you can't squirrel or rabbit hunt during some of their deer seasons.

I was commenting that hunting is available, not about its popularity or statistics. Some of the comments seem to be about the dying of the upland bird hunting light in the bird hunters themselves.

Blaming millennials is fine, but I still think the business future of double guns is with people that are comfortable around any firearm. I'd think it's less likely to get a non gunner in the market years from now after their kids are out of college and their houses are paid off.

I don't think the desirability of side by sides is based on their utility to gather poultry. There may be collector or accumulator value that is more than enough to sustain a market. So it's cyclical, what isn't. Business folks will make money at it if they treat it like a business, I know I am not over excited to pay for passion.

I can't say I've ever heard of any upland hunting stories about the beauty of hunting in a crowd. It's always a great thing to have a big spread to yourself, and disappointing to run into a hunter in an area one wanted to work through. The glass is half full Doc Buzz.

Come down South and find you some upland and get back with me....it'll be at a game farm.

trying to revive the sbs in todays culture is a hard sell. youd may have to paint it black and put a pistol grip on it.

Turn on the "Outdoor Channel" any time. No upland hunting, just deer and turkey. Upland hunting is not 'video-genic' because it mostly involves miles of walking and little shootin'. Hard to pose a covey rise.

No reason not to have a good squirrel hunt on TV though. Plenty of game. Cute little yappy dogs. Plenty of rabbits around as well, and everyone loves a beagle.

I don't know why we're letting small game hunting get forgotten. My grandson loves a squirrel hunt...Geo

I've got to take exception to that statement. I hang with the target shooting crowd. I've held positions both local and national with the NSCA and talk with a lot of shooters. The majority of the shooters I know have a collection of shotguns including numerous SXS's that would be the envy of a lot of folks here.

I'm with your grandson on this!!