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Any older sxs guns make good SASS doubles?


Currahee

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Per my previous post, the Ithaca NIB is out (has the same center locking bar as the Stevens apparently). 

Are there any old doubles that would work as well as some of the moderns?

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How old are you talking about ???

The SKB's that were mfg 40 and 50 years ago are as Good as you can get for CAS.

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Depends upon whatcha mean -  "old". 

 

Two of the best are Browning BSS and Ithaca / SKB 100, 150, 200 series.   Both of which are at least 40 years old now.   

 

If older, how about the Colt 1878?  :lol:

 

You will not be even close to the first cowboy to try to find a jewel in old SxS guns that no one else thought of.   The really good models have been picked out of the pawn shops and gun shops long ago.  

 

If you like a little unusual but very serviceable gun, look for some of the Husqvarna SxS guns - very well built.

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Yep, The Husky's are Very Well Built Gun's......

The under levers are sorta Weird to operate.... But Some Folks Thrive on Weird :D

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Be careful of those old Belgian made SxS shotguns.  They were often hand fitted with variable metal qualities.  It was sort of a cottage industry making parts for shotguns.  Getting parts or finding someone to work on one can be a challenge.  The rigors of SASS will likely turn it into a wall hanger in short order.

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I like my L.C. Smiths. You have to tweak the firing pins a bit to get them to retract, but other than that they work well.

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Some trivia,  none of these old guns have chambers compatible with shooting modern star crimped ammo with plastic wads.  The chamber length and lack of forcing cone creates an obstruction situation that spikes pressure.   The chambers can often be cut to include a long forcing cone.  Some gunsmiths charge a hefty price.  Some won't recut the chambers on many models because it reduces thickness of the barrel in front of the chamber. 

 

These old guns were made for roll crimp shells with paper wads and do fine with them.

 

If you plan to shoot modern ammo,  get a modern gun. 

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LC Smith locking lugs were not made for the stress shooting Cowboy and will break easily.  Ask me, I have one that is a parts shotgun or face an expensive rebuild of the lug

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18 hours ago, Banjo Bob said:

Per my previous post, the Ithaca NIB is out (has the same center locking bar as the Stevens apparently). 

Are there any old doubles that would work as well as some of the moderns?

If you plan on trying to be a fast shooter, get a modern gun.   Even if you don't plan on going fast, an older shotgun with no spare parts availability is going to be expensive to repair. 

 

It was in the neighborhood of $400 to replace, engrave and "antique"  the 2 screws for the hammers on an antique hammer gun which I don't even use for SASS and turnaround was not quick.

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I shot this Remington Model 1878 Lifter with plastic hulls cut below the crimp and loaded with 40 grains of BP.  Nice gun for Frontiersman.  Never seen an older gun shot at a match.

I have had Steogers, BSS, Stevens 311 and an AWA prototype.  I would be content shooting a safe, quality gun.  

20151027_195337.jpg

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10 minutes ago, Tom Bullweed said:

I shot this Remington Model 1878 Lifter with plastic hulls cut below the crimp and loaded with 40 grains of BP.  Nice gun for Frontiersman.  Never seen an older gun shot at a match.

I have had Steogers, BSS, Stevens 311 and an AWA prototype.  I would be content shooting a safe, quality gun.  

20151027_195337.jpg

 

I shot my Whitmore Lifter 10 gauge shotgun when shooting against Missouri Lefty.   I almost had him at 5X speed!

 

 

 

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Many of the "Older" doubles "can" be used for CAS.  Not necessarily recommended.  Especially if one is going to push the gun hard.  Plus One to the recommendations to start with modern built guns.

 

I do argue with the Poo Poo concerning the guns with the "Dolls Head" being slow.  They're not.  It does however, take just a little practice to shoot a Dolls Head gun "fast."

 

Husqvarna doubles are very well built guns.  However, there are NO parts readily available.  The only parts are in someone else's shotgun.  Don't break one.

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Winchester M-24 , Husky either Thumb lever or Under lever, L.c. Smith Hammered or not ... And a bunch of others ... 

Re-cuttting the chambers and forcing cones is a simple and easy fix along with a polishing job , and you are good to go using either Black or Smokieless  powder depending on vintage of the gun in question . I have done a bunch ....

 

Jabez Cowboy 

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On 3/26/2021 at 6:33 PM, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

Be careful of those old Belgian made SxS shotguns.  They were often hand fitted with variable metal qualities.  It was sort of a cottage industry making parts for shotguns.  Getting parts or finding someone to work on one can be a challenge.  The rigors of SASS will likely turn it into a wall hanger in short order.

 

There were thousands imported from Belgium in the 1800's for the westward expansion. They were known as guild or trade guns. They were made by apprentices learning the trade at some famous gun companies, hence the name guiled or trade guns, then sold to pay for their schooling. Some of these gun actually came out of FN. But, weren’t maker marked as such. Many used names that were similar to famous makes. Here is an example.

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It is marked W. Richards not famed English maker, Wesley Richards.

 

 I restored this gun because I like the sidelever setup.

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I probably have a couple thousand $ in man-hours in it.

But, it’s still just a $400 Belgian trade gun.:wacko:

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I found a Beretta SxS at Cabelas (go figure) for less than $400 after they applied all of their sales and discounts.  Goatneck Clem worked his magic and turned it into a great shotgun.  Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about it.  Beretta said it was made in the early 60s for the European market.  There is no corresponding US model.  Their best guess is that it was sold to the military PX system and a serviceman bought it and brought it to the US.

 

So, there are good guns out there that aren’t that popular or well known.

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