Beating my head against the wall in search of a SxS

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mebe007

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Hey folks. Its been a while. Anyways I am on the search for a SxS. Im torn between buying a new gun or an old one. The gauges im interested in a 28 and 12 and idealy 2 triggers as thats how it is meant to be. I have a savage 311A right now in 12ga which i grew up with and love, well all except that beaver tail fore arm. ive looked at the stevens but does the 16ga have its own frame? i currently have a westernfield 16ga pump that i love but its on a 12ga frame which kinda makes me rather carry a 12 lol. for new gun i have been looking at the CZ bobwhite as it seems to fit the bill and i can get it in both 28 or 16 whichever i so choose.

now as far as old guns are concerned i was in a store about 1.5 hours from home the other week and ran across a Davidsons model 63B in 16ga. it has 2 3/4" chambers, 28" barrels, full and modified chokes. Receiver is nickel plated with a little rust should clean up with flitz and trans fluid no prob. bores are bright. this gun shouldered well and aligned well to me eye. it felt nice to say the least. wood was in decent but not showroom condition. the only thing had me off was when the safety was moved it wasnt the positive click that i am used to but more of a looser sound inside the receiver. store said it was test fired and worked fine and safety was operable with zero issues.

anyways i dont know much of anything about davidsons, the 63b at all. im really torn on what to do here. the 63b can be had around $350 or do i keep looking or do i drop almost $800-$900 on the cz. or do i just bail on the SxS all together and get a O/U in 28 or something. I really love a good SxS. thats what i grew up with.

Anyways the store asked me if i would like them to hold the 63b for me but i have to let them know soon. so im torn to say the least. please save me lol
 
Davidson F. A. Eibar, Spain Manufactured by Frabrica De Arms. Model 63B A 12, 16, 20, 28, or 410 bore double-barrel boxlock shotgun with 25" to 30" barrels. Engraved nickel-plated with a walnut stock. Made from 1963 to 1976.
Exc. $325, VG $225, Good $200, Fair $150, Poor $100.

From 2007 Std. Cat. of Firearms. I'd go with the CZ.
 
Personally, i would look for an older AyA or "Uggie", (aka Ugartechea) - both made in Spain. Older AyAs were sold through Sears in the 50s and 60s and can be found online at various places for the same as the Davidson's. newer used versions of both might run closer to $1000, but they will have better triggers, and most importantly, better balance than CZ or similar guns in the same price range

JMO, YMMV
 
trying to find tha gauge i want is a different. i see plenty of 20's and 12's in what you mention however most of them are up there in price

wish i could find regular huglus not just the cz models. they have some cool other variations.
 
I'm thinking that the CZ is a new gun vs the other. But I have to say the Oneounceload makes a very good point.
 
 
now to find a 28ga or 16ga. looks like i may have to start getting interested in 20g lol. i have a huglu 20ga over under thats been great. just want a sxs lol
 
jaguarxk120 said:
Davidson F. A. Eibar, Spain Manufactured by Frabrica De Arms. Model 63B A 12, 16, 20, 28, or 410 bore double-barrel boxlock shotgun with 25" to 30" barrels. Engraved nickel-plated with a walnut stock. Made from 1963 to 1976.
Exc. $325, VG $225, Good $200, Fair $150, Poor $100.

From 2007 Std. Cat. of Firearms. I'd go with the CZ.
Click to expand...
The best bang for buck in quality for machine made SxSs came from Sakaba, B.C. Miroku, and Beretta. Old standbys were Ithaca SKB 100, 200 and Charles Daly 500 (poor man's BSS from B.C.Miroku). Beretta would be 50-60-70s Models Silver Hawk GR or 424s. The 'Nitro Special' leads the way of classic American-made SxS. These are steel-shot NON-competible so it you need to use non-tox for gunning it's $100 per pack of 25.
 
 
Depends on how old, most new Uggies aren't that expensive to begin with, but the DIARM era is something to look for, just the same as looking for the salt-wood Brownings
 
Only thing about an old gun, I'd want to make sure of the chokes. I find IC/Mod most versatile in a double. Lots of older guns are choked mod/full. Back in the days of paper shells and wads, that made more sense. Mod/full is a might tight now days with modern ammo for MY tastes. Just something else to think about. You can have tight chokes opened up, but I'm not sure the cost on that.

Good luck on your hunt and pix when you find it. :D
 
Here's a 16 gauge from Dickinson, sold through Cabela's, and was formerly the S&W Elite Gold. I have the 20 and it is a GEM. These guys have added the 12 and 16 to lineup, a little more than your budget, but Cabela's might deal a little. These are made in Turkey, but NOT by Huglu. True trigger plate round action (ala John Dickson and Son), machine-turned water table, beautiful plum-like bluing and real case coloring- $1600

Here's the 16:

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Dickinson-M-202-16ga.cfm?gun_id=100364536
 
Someone like Mike Orlen can do it for very little money. Briley will as well, and a glance at their website should tell you the pricing.

If I found a real gem that fit, handled and was balanced perfectly for me, I would not let fixed chokes stop me - they can be altered, or even have tubes installed
 
oneounceload said:
Depends on how old, most new Uggies aren't that expensive to begin with, but the DIARM era is something to look for, just the same as looking for the salt-wood Brownings
Click to expand...
The benchmark intro game guns from Northern Spain are Ignacio Ugartachea Modelo 30 (often found as Parker-Hale import) BL or BLE and AyA Numero Uno SLE. The good ole' makers with excellent reputation were Union Armera (now Grulla), Arrieta, and Aguirre and Aranzabal. Old inexpensive Spanish doubles with importers address on the barrels aren't worth two farts.
Over last twenty plus years I have owned some decent SxS shotguns: BSS, Merkel, AyA, Ugartechea, Beretta and Antonio Zoli. My only shotgun now is mid-80s vintage 12ga 6&3/4ib Ithaca 37 with choke tubes 3" chamber on MAG receiver. I do want to share my personal experience to help you.
 
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mebe007, why do you want a 16 ga. as the ammo is much more expensive than a 12 ga. I can understand the 28 ga. however the 16 ga. is kind of like a dinosaur as far as most shotgun shooters are concerned.:confused:
 
Well at this point I'm almost thinking 20lol I bought a 20o/u last year and while I like it I wanted the sxs. Now I have a pump as well but don't use it much. When dove gets here next month the lil lady will be using the o/u so maybe I should get another 20 lol. Or I could play mr. Expert and go .410 lol found a nice affordable one in both. Weird how the 28 faded and the .410/ 67 game stayed
 
Unless you really are an expert, don't get the 410. Too easy to cripple. A 20 SxS is great, and so is a 28 SxS for dove in Eastern Virginia or NC. I proved it years ago.
 
I think I've looked at the gun you're talking about. ;) I've come close to buying it a time or two. Nice looking gun I think. It reminded me of a Sears/AYA 20 ga I used to have that was a nice gun and a good shooter.
I think they've got it tagged a little high, but it's been hanging around there for a while. Make 'em an offer. Worst thing they can say is "no."

I haven't found 16 ga shells to be any more expensive than others, at least not "field load" type shells. Wal-Mart might not stock them, but most gun stores do.

I've got a gun on layaway there now. If it's still hanging around when I get that one paid off, I'll have to think about it again. Please buy it so I won't have to. ;) :D
 
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