Need some info on SxS Please

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That said, I shoot better with a SxS with a side called "Top" and one called "Bottom."
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So do you shoot it gangsta' style, then?

To the OP-

Double guns are fun and definitely have a cool factor. I only have 2, and one is a wall Hanger (A 19th Century Bayard exposed hammer sidelock). The other I just recently got, and thanks to Dave McCracken, I now know it is a rebadged Hunter Arms. I paid $200 for it with the intention of making a nice little cylinder bore coach gun a la hacksaw and files.

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Loads of fun, I enjoy it much more than my pumps or autos. However, if you intend to do any clay shooting with it, I'd suggest buying a Stoeger or Baikal (or CZ, if you can afford it), as they are choked. Usually I/C and Mod., IIRC. Cylinder bore is about worthless for clays.
 
I bought a Stoeger Double Defense last year. Horrible experience, so far. Brand new, out of the box, it lasted 8 shots before it would consistently double discharge. Sent it back to the factory for a warranty repair, and it came back 1.5 months later with a note that said that the sear had been adjusted. Second verse, same as the first. Sent it back a second time, and they deemed the firearm to be unrepairable, and destroyed the gun. It's been a month, and I am told that due to high demand, the gun is out of stock. They have no idea when the stock will be replenished, and sending me a different model that is currently in stock is not an option at this point. Perhaps others have had positive experiences with Stoeger side-by-sides, but not this guy.
 
Maybe being a shotgun snob is nothing more than the realization that you can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig, and money is too hard to come by to waste on pigs.
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Yeah, that's great if you're Bill Gates. I find my Spartan shoots just fine and on my budget that's a good thing. If I was a snob, I'd never have learned that I could own a good SxS gun on my budget. Hell, I can't even afford the plain ticket to England to have the gun fitted!

But, it's your money. If you have anything left after yesterday, spend it as you will. I'll spend mine and offer experienced advice on inexpensive side by sides to people that ask.

And, since he asked, might I also advise that in this price range, always go for double triggers, much simpler. Besides, I hunt with 'em and I like the instant choke selection.
 
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http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=164137206

Woah that does look pretty nice, only $200 whats wrong! LoL? its by remington to.
It has only 1 trigger though :p


So do you shoot it gangsta' style, then?

To the OP-

Double guns are fun and definitely have a cool factor. I only have 2, and one is a wall Hanger (A 19th Century Bayard exposed hammer sidelock). The other I just recently got, and thanks to Dave McCracken, I now know it is a rebadged Hunter Arms. I paid $200 for it with the intention of making a nice little cylinder bore coach gun a la hacksaw and files.



Loads of fun, I enjoy it much more than my pumps or autos. However, if you intend to do any clay shooting with it, I'd suggest buying a Stoeger or Baikal (or CZ, if you can afford it), as they are choked. Usually I/C and Mod., IIRC. Cylinder bore is about worthless for clays.
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What gun is it? rebadged hunter arms?:rolleyes::confused::confused: It looks like the remington in the link I have.
 
Yeah, that's great if you're Bill Gates.
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It's less about Bill Gates and more about being a good shopper, looking at shotgun pics on the net won't get a good deal it takes leg work and patience.

FWIW the last SXS I bought was a 12 gauge Nitro-special for $200. a way better gun than a Stoeger .
 
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=164137206

Woah that does look pretty nice, only $200 whats wrong! LoL? its by remington to.
It has only 1 trigger though
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Well, mine's the SPR220 double trigger model.

It's imported by Remington, built by Baikal in Russia.

attachment.php
 
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It's less about Bill Gates and more about being a good shopper, looking at shotgun pics on the net won't get a good deal it takes leg work and patience.
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I wouldn't know. I've never bought a gun off the net. Bought the Spartan at a gun shop in a nearby town for $299 new in box, couple of dove seasons ago. Only other side by side I have ever bought and still have and it still shoots fine was a Felix Sarasqueta 12 gauge, 28", mod/full from Cook's Discount in Bryan, Texas in 1971. I retired it from hunting when steel shot got mandated. It was my waterfowler and everything else for about 10 years. I keep it, but use other guns now days.

One problem with Spanish guns, ever break a part, good luck finding a replacement. That might become so for any other SxS, but I figure Baikal will be around for a while, I hope, though it's currently in limbo for an importer.
 
You won't find what most gun snobs would consider a gun they would own in a side by side for less than five figures.
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Actually, low to mid 4 figures gets you a very nice gun that won't have the elaborate engraving, but will have the handling, balance and reliability you won't get from the Chinese, Russian, or Turkish guns.

There are some great Spanish makers, along with Italian and English that can be had used for very reasonable prices.

Guess that thinking makes me a gun snob.......oh well..............
 
If you'd spend low 4 figures on a SxS, you're not a snob. Think 60K for the snobs that snub everything else. My definition, YMMV. :D If you don't have to fly to England for a fitting, it's not a proper SxS, so why spend 4 figures when you can spend 3? :D

But, before I spend 1500 on a SxS I'll get a quality O/U for the same money. That's sorta my future gun idea. I'll be looking at Cynergy/Redlabel priced guns.

The Spartan is a good gun. No, it's not custom fit, but it does what I wanted it to do and it fits pretty well after the installation of a recoil pad to lengthen the pull a bit. As it came, it was a might short. I do like shooting the gun and don't feel I wasted 300 bucks. I've killed a lot of dove with it already and even a few teal even if, being a coach gun, it's whippy. It fits in my motorcycles saddle bags and my Winchester auto don't, though. That was a main consideration in getting a coach gun length. It also packs in my backpack and functions in multiple rolls. It is for all these reasons that I bought it. It's a specialty gun, I guess, for me, but it fills a lot of rolls that the longer guns don't. I bought it for ME and it works just fine. The longer barrel versions do swing better, but won't stow in my saddlebags.

And, ya know, most people don't WANNA spend 1500 bucks on a coach gun, anyway. While I have uses for mine, most just want a new toy. No need to put 'em down for not buying a Purdy and sawing the barrels off. :rolleyes:
 
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The Nitro Special is a well-built gun, well-balanced and well-regulated. I've got one in 16. Not the prettiest double ever made, but the 16 handles well. Even the 12, while a tad heavy for a double, isn't the pig that the 311 is. If you're going to saw off an old American double, it might as well be a 12 Gauge 311.:)

$1500 is about the starting point for a nice SxS NIB (Basic CCH boxlock Ugartechea from Lion Country Supply). Seems to me that a lot of people are paying that much for an ugly plastic semiauto, so tell me again, in context, how is that so expensive?

I enjoy it much more than my pumps or autos.
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What do you do with it?

Cylinder bore works fine for Skeet.
 
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With the posts now I feel like I should wait and spend $1000 on a SxS, I mean they look cool but I would have thought the basic $299-$400 ones would have done the job, I got a remington 870 and its very good, was only $260 NIB. I thought the quality would have be better than a 870 because its less moving parts. I was wrong. Now I think rather spend $200 more and get a saiga 12 then some day get a SxS. AK family pretty good guns for cheap. I feel from reading this the gun is going to fall part lol :p
 
Well, suit yourself. Mine hasn't fallen apart. I only gave 100 bucks for that Sarasqueta (1971 dollars) and it's worth a helluva lot more than that for the memories it gave me in that length of time. I went to using a Mossberg 500 for the marsh and have a Winchester 1400, too. But, still, it's a good old gun.
 
Manufacturing a decent SxS costs a lot more than an 870. That was the genius of the 870's design, and that's why it's been in continuous production since 1950. The 870 can be built using very cheap mass-production techniques, and very little precision. With one barrel, there's no regulation involved, either.

If you go to a gun shop with used shotguns, you will see a lot of old pumps that are long dead in the new market. The 870, followed by the 500, killed them all.

Is a nice SxS a wonderful gun for wingshooting? Yes. Is the handling of a GOOD one superior to a Wingmaster? Yes. But that does not come cheap -- and the Wingmaster handles better than a hell of a lot of shotguns that have been made through the years, including side-by-sides.
 
But if I did go with a stoeger for $300-$400 will it fall part "cheap gun" or will it last and keep for years to come? The barrel isnt going blow up is it?

*edit* When I think of a cheap gun, I think it will not last and it will not shoot for crap. I think its not worth buying and everyone should stay away from it. But this gun isnt like a $150 made shotgun so it was made by good by my standers because its NOT cheap $150 junk. You guys are right I should just stay away from it.
 
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All barrels are proofed. That's not the point.

Put your money in a drawer, then go to some shops and swing some nice SxS shotguns. Then, maybe some of this will make more sense.
 
Go to the gun show on the last day around 11:00 looking for one of many Stevens 311 in a 12 or 20 gauge.

They were manufactured in the millions so finding a couple shouldn't pose a problem.

If the 311 was made from 1965-88 then it'll be chambered for the 3" shell.

Ask the price & no matter if it's 200-300 bucks tell 'em you'll give them 150 clams.

Keep making the rounds and offer 175. Pay no more than 200-220 unless it's a single trigger w/ejectors.

Buy a 32 teeth per inch hacksaw blade on the way home.

No matter what you think you want in the line of coach guns cut the barrels to around 23-24".

Cut an inch to 1.5" off the buttstock if you want shorter OAL .

You can always cut the barrels more, legally up to 18"(if you do shoot for 18.5").

Lopping the tubes won't hurt the velocity, but it will make it louder.

I'm not saying anything against new coach guns of any make.

I'm saying for around a C-note less you can make your own from a proven field gun.

Buy a flat of some low brass for a fin a box and blast some crap...
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I wish I'd have run across that dandy New Haven that machIVshooter owns.

It might not be a Purdy, but it shore is purdy to me.
 
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I bought a stoeger uplander a few years back. Its a fun gun but I shoot clays exponentially better with my mossberg pump.

I'm seriously considering cutting down the barrel on my stoeger and making it a fun gun
 
After reading all these posts I feel like the Stoeger is a POS. I would have thought it could sever well. I will look at look mid of the line ~500-700 SxS, I can not see paying $1500 for a SxS when you can get a m4 carbine or three AK's
 
If you want an M4, get one. Don't waste a chunk of change on a SxS because you think it looks cool, and find that you wish you had that money back. Like I said, shooting watermelons isn't fun, sober, for very long.
 
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