Auction alert! There are a number of good guns and sporting items coming up on Saturday, 2/4, at South Bay Actions in East Moriches, Long Island, NY.

Gastinne Rennette at South Bay Auctions on 2/4

Here are a few highlights of the sale. See the complete listing here.

Lot 4: Winchester Model 21 12g with 28″ barrels.

Lot 6: Francotte, 28g. side by side.

Lot 7: Belgian Browning Superposed “Lightning” 20g

Lot 9: L.C. Smith “Pigeon” Grade 12g.

Lot 44: Nichols & LeFever, original advertising for Breech Loading shotguns, rifles etc., Syracuse, New York.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone out there. I hope you’re having a good time and the cheer is spreading.  I wish great health and even better luck in 2012.

Here at Dogs & Doubles were getting ready to do some upland hunting. I should be in central Maine for the next few days, wrapping up my grouse season. If the snow stays away, we should have a good time.

BTW: here’s a few things that were on my gift lis. Once again, the fat man in red didn’t come through. Probably out of his budget.

1. This pair of W.W. Greener sidelock shotguns from Sportarm.com:

A pair W.W. Greener 12 gauge Double Barrel Shotguns

You can see more pics of this guns here, here, and here.

2. This place in Montana where I could take full advantage of them.

3. And six of these guys. Those puppies are from Autumn Memory Kennels. My girl is from there, and they turn out great English Pointers.

English Pointer puppies from Autumn Memory Kennels

If you’re the handy type and you would like to make your own double barrel shotgun, here’s a great way to get started. Buy this Purdey-style action forging. It’s on Ebay right now for $500. Of course, it still needs a lot of time, work and money to become a gun.

Forging for a Purdey Double Barrel Shotgun

Here’s something you don’t see every day: Two W. & C. Scott Premier shotguns, both circa 1891. Premiers were Scott’s standard top of the line shotgun and in their day they were as expensive as a Purdey or Boss.

W. & C. Scott Premier Shotgun

What makes these two even more interesting is their prices: the more original one is barely more expensive than the messed with one. I think both prices are too high, one by $5000, the other by $8000. Take a look and decide for yourself.

A W & C Scott Premier, circa 1890, at Willoughby & McCabe. A beautiful old Scott. It has Teagued bbls and I would say the stock has been converted to a straight grip and refinished. Check out the velvet-lined case this gun comes in. Those are original labels, too.

A W & C Scott Premier, circa 1890, at Osprey Outfitters. This gun has a lot of original condition and overall it is stunning. The bbls are good & in proof. I’d say the stock has been cleaned up a little and lightly  refinished.

Side-by-side, double barrel shotguns are usually easy to tell apart:

You have boxlocks….

Anson & Deeley Boxlock Shotgun

And you have sidelocks…

W&C Scott Sidelock shotgun

But sometimes it’s not so easy, like with this Bernardelli:

Bernardelli shotgun

It sure looks like a sidelock, right? It has a sideplate, there are pins in the sideplate, a tumbler axis for the hammer (tumbler). But those sideplates are very misleading. This Bernardelli is actually a boxlock. And in this pictures you can see the sign that gives it away:

Bernardelli shotgun, showing bottom of action

See the screw to the right of the barrel lump (the square, blued piece  in the floor of the action)? That screw holds a plate in place. That plate comes off so you can access the gun’s locks. The locks are are mounted on the action, not the sideplate, and the plate gives this Bernardelli’s true status away.

The sideplates are ornamental and designed to make this double look like an expensive sidelock, while the gun is really a boxlock, sold at a more affordable price.

Here’s are an example of something that drives me nuts: crappy metal-to-metal fit. You see this on all kinds of guns, from the cheapest to the most expensive. Sometimes it’s because of age, sometimes it’s because of a poor repair, and other times it ‘s from plain shitty craftsmanship.

First, lets start with how things are supposed to look on a top-quality double barrel shotgun. Here’s a look at the fit of a lockplate into the action of a Boss side-by-side from around 1925. See the seem? That’s pretty much perfect.

Excellent metal-to-metal fit on a 1925 Boss

Now take a look at this J. Purdey sidelock. This is off an early Beesley-action double, probably from around 1885. Here you can see a gap. In fact, the fit on this lockplate is gappy at the front and at the back, behind the fences. Now, I don’t this these gaps are Purdey’s fault. Use and wear can lead to poorly fitting locks, as can rehardening an action. And my gut tells me that the colors on that Purdey may not be very original.

Poor metal-to-metal fit on a 19th century Purdey

J.P Sauer and Sohn is one of the world’s oldest gunmakers. In their day they’ve made it all, from flintlocks to pocket-sized pistols.

J.P. Sauer Double barrel sidelock shotgun

They also made a lot of shotguns. You see a lot of these double barrels on the American market. Most of them are boxlocks, and they’re finished as lower-grade, utilitarian guns. Older ones are usually pretty beat up. too.

That’s why this J.P. Sauer 16g sidelock caught my eye. It has a lot of engraving on it and what looks like a ton of original finish (unusual, considering it was made in 1893). Overall, it looks like a very sound, shootable gun.

There are a handful of decent auction coming up over the next week.

Lefever C/D grade double barrel shotgun at Amoskeag Auction Company

-Montrose Auctions in Montrose, Georgia has a some decent doubles coming up on March 19th. There are a number of side-by-side shotguns, including Parkers, Parker Repros, Winchester M21s, a few A.H. Foxes, and some L.C. Smiths. This is where you can search the lots and bid online. This possible Parker Skeet gun jumped out at me as interesting, as did this real clean looking L.C. Smith 20 gauge OO grade.

-Alderfer Auctions in Hatfield, PA, has some good double barrels in it’s March 22nd sale. There are handful of American side-by-sides, including some Parkers, some Foxes, some Bakers, and a few more. Here’s a searchable catalog where you can see everything and even bid.

-Amoskeag Auction Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, has ton of Lefevers in their March 26 sales. By ton I mean more than 40. There’s a little bit of everything, from hammerless stuff to real rare, real earlier guns like Barber-Lefevers and percussion conversions. The guns are all on line at Amoskeag’s site. Unfortunately, the site is a bit of a pain in the A to use and you can’t bring up all the Lefevers at once. So to save the hassle of having to click and scroll through all 26 pages, I’ve pulled out all the Lefevers for you. Is that nice, or what?

Here they are, listed by their lot #:

6. Lefever Arms Company D-Grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

7. Lefever Arms Company F-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

48. Rare Special Order Lefever DE Grade Sidelock Ejectorgun, 16g

95. Lefever Arms Company E-grade Sidelock Double Ejectorgun, 12g

360. Lefever Arms Company F-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

512. Rare Barber and Lefever Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 10g

514. Rare Barber and Lefever Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 10g

515. Rare Barber and Lefever Round Body Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 12g

564. Lefever Arms Company H-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

565. Lefever Arms Thumb-opener Sidelock Double Shotgun, 10g

588. John Nichols E-grade Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 10g

607. Lefever Arms Company H-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 16g

615. Lefever Arms Company DS Grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 20g

616. Lefever Arms Company F-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 16g

619. Lefever Arms Company E-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 10g

620. Lefever Arms Company F-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

621. Lefever Arms Company I-grade Sidelock Double Ejectorgun, 12g

622. Lefever Arms Company G-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

679. Manton Percussion Double Converted to Breech-loader by Dangerfield and Lefever , 12g

681. Dangerfield and Lefever Breechloading Double Hammergun Conversion,  10g

682. Nichols and Lefever Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 10g

683. Nichols and Lefever Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 10g

684. Nichols and Lefever Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 12g

685. Extremely Rare H. Tomes & Co Percussion Double Converted to Breechloader by Francis Dangerfield

756. Lefever Arms Company G-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

762. Lefever Arms Company DS-Grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 16g

822. Nichols and Lefever Thumb Opener Double Hammergun, 10g

847.Bar-in-wood Percussion Converted Double Barrel Shotgun by J A Ellis of Canandaigua New York, 10g

848.Bar-in-wood Percussion Converted Double Barrel Shotgun by Dangerfield & Lefever, 14g

852. Lefever Arms G Grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

867. Lefever Arms Company H-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

868. Lefever Arms Company G-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

869. LeFever Arms Company DS Grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

872. Lefever Arms Company F-grade Sidelock Double Shotgun, 12g

909. Rare Barber and Lefever Thumb Opener Percussion-converted Shotgun, 16g

Most Belgian double barrel shotguns get a bad rap in this country. Unless they’re by one of the big names, like Francotte or Lebeau Courally, nobody wants them. That’s too bad, really. There a lot of barely know Belgian makers out there, and many of them made fantastic guns. In fact, some of these guns are on par with best-grade shotguns from the big English makers.

The good part of this is that these guns are fantastic values. While you can easily spend 2x-3x more for a bigger English name, or something trendy from Italy, you won’t be buying that much more gun.

Here are a few examples on the market right now:

12 gauge Ernest Wilmart double barrel sidelock ejector shotgun

An Ernest Wilmart 12 gauge sidelock ejector: Of the three gunmakers listed here, Ernest Wilmart is the only one I could find some information on. The firm was founded in 1879. This gun is a very fine sidelock ejector, finished and engraved and a very “Belgian” style. While its aesthetics may not be to your liking, it’s quality is pretty apparent. If this gun had a good decent British name on it, it would be priced in the $15,000 range. Right now, I think it’s still $3000-$4000 over priced. How many guys do you know who are lusting for a Wilmart?

A 12 bore double barrel sidelock ejector by “Fabrication Artisanal Ligeoise”: This is a good gun by a maker who is totally unknown to me. I couldn’t find anything about them, either. Judging by the name, I wonder if they were a cooperative or association of makers? Again, no idea. Regardless, though, this is a quality shotgun.

12 gauge Belgian-made double barrel sidelock ejector shotgun

A DeFourney 16 gauge sidelock ejector side by side: This is a name I’ve heard. There were several DeFourney  (or Defournys) in the Liege from about 1870 and on. I’m not sure which one made this gun. But whoever did knew what they were doing. If you put this gun side by side with a Holland & Holland Royal, I think you would have a hard time telling me what makes the Holland worth $20,000 more. This little 16 gauge is THAT nice. These days, the engraving alone would cost more than the $7,000 asking price.

Another day, and more good guns to buy.

Here’s a nice looking A.H. Fox AE 12 gauge double barrel shotgun that’s on SoldUSA.com right now. From what I can see, I’d say this gun is all original and very crisp. Not much color, but it doesn’t looked messed with, either.

A.H. Fox AE 12 gauge double barrel shotgun on SoldUSA.com

Check out this pair of William Evans 12 gauge sidelocks that Alderfer Auctions had in their sale today. These guns were made for a right-handed shooter with a dominant left eye. Check out the crazy looking stocks. Too bad the metalwork is bent, too. That makes the guns unsalvageable. I wonder if they found a buyer.

1 of a pair of left-eye dominant William Evans sidelock shotguns

1 of a pair of left-eye dominant William Evans sidelock shotguns