I enjoy dabbling with and digging up old doubles. I got into this in my early 20s. I read the DGJ cover to cover ( all years) and respect the better handful of knowledgeable posters here. I respect knowledge and experience and appreciate the details. I got a pretty rare gun in today - and have to say I took a chance and lost on this one. No complaints only disappointment. Nothing lost I wasn’t willing to risk- but I am just honestly shocked such a glorious gun could be so abused.
Looking back over the years, so many of these old (doubles) guns make no sense to me. I grew up hunting in PA with deer camps and small game season. Dad, Granddad, Uncles and Great Uncles all hunted and shot. There wasn’t a graded gun or engraved gun anywhere in the bunch, but there wasn’t an abused or neglected gun anywhere in the bunch either. Why did so many mid or high end graded doubles get beat, broke, molested, modified and other wise neglected to ruin?
Humor me here:
Ignore that Damascus was unsafe and made them worthless, there are plenty of “abused” fluid steel guns
Ignore the stolen gun cut to a sawed off shotgun.
That seems black and white enough.
Ignore stored in a rusting environment or case for 50 year
I understand that.
Why are so many graded guns just beat?
Worn as if they were dragged behind a truck
Chitty modifications ?
Chitty repairs?
Massive and multiple dents
Who was brought up not to care for their equipment?
( That still doesn’t cover it- who just flat hammers something to death?)
