Hunting dogs, fine firearms, and enjoying both.
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Jun 4th, 2013
The sixteen was never America’s favorite gauge Even though all our makers built 16s, the gauge that was most popular with us was the twelve. There’s a simple reason for this: versatility. Most American shooters were opportunistic. They shot everything from waterfowl to rabbits and upland game. A twelve could handle all this action. But [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Mar 30th, 2013
I was up at the James D. Julia Auction Company a few weeks ago looking over the shotguns in their March 11 & 12 sale. A lot of doubles caught my eye – from this great 16 gauge Woodwards O/U to this fantastic, 12 gauge J.P. Sauer Deluxe. There were lots of nice American shotguns [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Mar 17th, 2013
A lot of nice doubles came on the market this week. Here are a few that caught my eye at Gunsinternational.com. F.LLI PIOTTI, SXS, Model King Royal, 20 GA: 28”, IC& M, DT, Straight Grip, Splinter Forearm, Smooth Concave Rib, H&H Royal Style Engraving, Casehardened Receiver, Checkered Butt, Dimensions 1 1/2 x 2 3/8 x [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Mar 5th, 2013
Of all the classic American shotgun makers, the Lefever Arms Co. made the fewest dobules. From 1880 to 1919, the company turned out around 65,000 side by sides. Of these, 20 gauge Lefevers are on of the hardest gauges to find, and nice 20 gauge Lefevers like this with original 28″ barrels are super hard [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Feb 20th, 2013
The history of the shotgun is littered with innovations that never went anywhere. From designs like this 10 gauge from Ethan Allen to the American Arms Co.’s Fox-patent Side Opener, some ideas sounded good, but never really caught on. The 14 gauge was another of ideas that never went anywhere. Fourteen gauge shotguns used to [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Feb 13th, 2013
Daniel Myron Lefever was one of the geniuses of American gunmaking. Born in 1835, he started making firearms under his own name in 1857. Fifteen years later he was working with machinist Francis Dangerfield. Together they patented a doll’s head, thumb lift locking mechanism for breechloading shotguns. In 1883, Lefever used part of this design on [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Feb 9th, 2013
Factory records are great ways to double check the original specs on a vintage shotgun, and referring to these records is a must do if you’re thinking about buying any big-money double. Fortunately, collector’s clubs make it easy to check the records on doubles like L.C. Smiths, Parkers, Foxes. But if you’re into Lefevers, you’re [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Feb 6th, 2013
The James D. Julia auction company puts on the finest firearms auctions in the US. The sales catalogs are part of what makes these auctions so successful. With full color pictures and lengthy descriptions, these catalogs do a great job of showing, and selling, every lot in the auction. These catalog usually cost $40 a [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Nov 23rd, 2012
Of the classic American side-by-side makers, the Lefever Arms Co. had one of the shortest runs. They were in business from just 1880-1919, and in that time they built around 65,000 shotguns. Most of these Lefevers were utility grades. So for a collector to see anything else today is a rare. That’s why this Lefever [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Nov 13th, 2012
Gunrunner Online Firearms auction is having their November sale right now. They’re auctioning off these shotguns today and through the rest of the week. Below are a few from the list that caught my eye. There are some nice looking doubles there – get on them now. -Krieghoff Model 32 Trap “Crown Grade”, 12 ga. [...]
