doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 2-inch gun or an English 16?

I love the 2� guns, and yes they come in 28� length. I have three coming in from UK (eventually) with one being 28�. Two of them will be for sale.

Mr. Larson: That is a gorgeous Lefever! I love what you've done with it. Shockingly light for an American 12, and Damascus...even better.

Lloyd, you disproved this statement in your first post. That could have just as easily have been a box of 2" 12's from RST...

You have to be somewhat of a tinkerer to reload for the 2" 12. A 2 1/2" 16, on the other hand, isn't that big of a challenge. And if I'm going to rely on a gun for bird hunting, I want to do a fair amount of target shooting with it. That's a significant additional expense if you're shooting nothing but factory shells.

Thank you! It's an ungraded special order gun. The only way it could be any better is if I could find an orphaned set of 16ga ejector barrels and have them fitted to it, for an awesome 16/12 two barrel set. If anyone knows of any, please let me know.

I've found that a 1 ounce load is pretty deadly on wild pheasants be it from a 20, 16 or 12. A light well fitted gun will put you on birds faster giving you a yardage advantage over a shooter with a heavier weight shotgun and load. I have/had 12's, 16's and 20's all within a couple ounces +/- of 6# couldn't tell the difference in performance in the field.

Lloyd, like Mark I also have a 12 gauge sidelock with longish barrels (29.5") that weighs in at 6.3 pounds. Although it's German, by Sauer, not American. And I used to have a English Army & Navy 12 that was 6.2 pounds with 28" barrels. Much as I love the 16's I have owned, with the right loads, a nice lightweight 12 is nothing to turn one's nose up at.

It may be purely perception on my part, but 12s kill much more cleanly for me. Light 12s have always facinated me accordingly. Guns like Thomas Turner's exotic lightweights, Lindner's sweet & light Charles Daily 12s, some of the Lincoln Jeffries offerings, etc. All have great appeal, but...the 2-inch guns are the ultimate expression of that art IMHO.

I recall reading about an issue with shot balling on the 2� guns. Do not recall the cause, the fix, or anything else.
The ultimate expression thing sounds expensive to me. That little Darne 12 I drag up there every year is 6lbs, 1 oz-with it�s 6 ounce sling. It is chambered and proofed at 2 3/4�, will handle loads that I can�t, and hits birds like Oden�s fury.
A light 12 is very doable, without the big, gold letters that say �for 2� cartridges only� on the top of the barrels.
Keep looking. I�d insist on modern chambers and proof, but, that that is open for consideration, as 2 1/2� in 12 is doable, also, just not as simply.
Simple is easier. Cheaper, usually, too.

Best,
Ted

Ted: Well...yes. Your Darne is a classic example of yet another excellent option for an upland bird gun. The round action Ideals are another example. They are clearly out there. To your point on "ultimate" solutions... no question, such a highly specialized tool isn't going to be inexpensive nor will it have much utility outside of it's area of specialization. It's simply the price one pays for the concept. My 16 has been everything I'd hoped it would be and then some. I'd just like to know if there is something more out there. Perhaps something better for the very specific game I'm playing. And, since I've handled several over the years, I'm curious.