Refinishing an old SXS - Values $

S

Son of a Woodcutter

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
Location
South Western Ontario
Hi all,

I am looking around for a nice old sxs, double trigger, english style stock etc for taking strolls through the bush with. I see some pop up for around $300 - $900 that fit the bill and I'd like to try my hand at refinishing the stock (I'm a woodworker) and maybe re-blue the barrels etc. My question is, if I get my hands on a classic Husqvarna, Parker Brothers or similar. and do this kind of reno work to it, will it decrease it's value because it's been messed with?

Not looking for refinishing tips just yet, just merely interested in how it affects the value of these things as you know how it goes, I'll likely find something else in a year or two to replace it with :) Cheers!
 
My 2 cents.....

You aren't going to find anything really "collectible" in that price range.

Buy something that fits you and finish it to your liking and enjoy it in the field.

Life is short.
 
I agree, in your price range collector grade doubles are rare as rocking horse sh!t, but you can certainly find a good assortment of sound guns with experience. Cosmetically enhancing one of these guns if well done won't lower it's value and in some cases may add modestly to the value while at the same time giving you hours of enjoyable hobby work and pride in a well done job. Best advice -
start with a quality gun. This does not refer to brand name, engraving, pretty wood, it refers to original build quality. There are many fine old guns needing TLC but there are also lots of shaky old pieces of junk out there. It takes the same amount of effort and expense to refinish a POS as it does for a good quality gun, but in the end a POS is just a prettier POS. BUY THE BARRELS. Avoid any but the finest light pitting, dents, bulges and loose ribs. These are costly or impractical to fix. Check the gun for lockup tightness by shaking it with the forend removed. To properly fix a loose gun could cost more than your purchase price. Look carefully for stock cracks and repaired cracks and also oil soaked wood adjouning the action. These may be repairable but are best avoided if you are unsure. Make sure the gun functions properly and doesn't require any repairs. In general, most American and European guns would suit your purpose except avoid old Belgian hammer doubles like the plague.
 
Ashcroft said:
I agree, in your price range collector grade doubles are rare as rocking horse sh!t, but you can certainly find a good assortment of sound guns with experience. Cosmetically enhancing one of these guns if well done won't lower it's value and in some cases may add modestly to the value while at the same time giving you hours of enjoyable hobby work and pride in a well done job. Best advice -
start with a quality gun. This does not refer to brand name, engraving, pretty wood, it refers to original build quality. There are many fine old guns needing TLC but there are also lots of shaky old pieces of junk out there. It takes the same amount of effort and expense to refinish a POS as it does for a good quality gun, but in the end a POS is just a prettier POS. BUY THE BARRELS. Avoid any but the finest light pitting, dents, bulges and loose ribs. These are costly or impractical to fix. Check the gun for lockup tightness by shaking it with the forend removed. To properly fix a loose gun could cost more than your purchase price. Look carefully for stock cracks and repaired cracks and also oil soaked wood adjouning the action. These may be repairable but are best avoided if you are unsure. Make sure the gun functions properly and doesn't require any repairs. In general, most American and European guns would suit your purpose except avoid old Belgian hammer doubles like the plague.
Click to expand...

and also oil soaked wood adjouning the action... can you elaborate on this?
 
Ashcroft said:
I agree, in your price range collector grade doubles are rare as rocking horse sh!t, but you can certainly find a good assortment of sound guns with experience. Cosmetically enhancing one of these guns if well done won't lower it's value and in some cases may add modestly to the value while at the same time giving you hours of enjoyable hobby work and pride in a well done job. Best advice -
start with a quality gun. This does not refer to brand name, engraving, pretty wood, it refers to original build quality. There are many fine old guns needing TLC but there are also lots of shaky old pieces of junk out there. It takes the same amount of effort and expense to refinish a POS as it does for a good quality gun, but in the end a POS is just a prettier POS. BUY THE BARRELS. Avoid any but the finest light pitting, dents, bulges and loose ribs. These are costly or impractical to fix. Check the gun for lockup tightness by shaking it with the forend removed. To properly fix a loose gun could cost more than your purchase price. Look carefully for stock cracks and repaired cracks and also oil soaked wood adjouning the action. These may be repairable but are best avoided if you are unsure. Make sure the gun functions properly and doesn't require any repairs. In general, most American and European guns would suit your purpose except avoid old Belgian hammer doubles like the plague.
Click to expand...

This is awesome info, thank you. Any brands out there that I should be looking out for? I'm from England so I like the slimmer forestocks, not the larger beaver tail ones. I see a decent amount of Husqvarna's popping up..
 
Sometimes you find this on old guns that have been carelessly lubricated. If there is oil soaking into the wood, mostly internally from over lubricated actions and locks, it will soften and weaken the wood at this area where careful fitting and strength is critical. Mineral oils used as metal lubricants and rust preventatives are damaging to wood, which requires vegetable based oils such as linseed oil. In the past our army was trained to use the supplied oil on all parts of the gun, externally and internally as the final step in a gun cleaning and for an expendable piece of equipment in a theatre of war that was understandable but the damage I'm talking about is on older double barreled shotguns that were sometimes over enthusiastically lubricated internally to try to prevent hidden rust when used in a wet climate.
 
A Husqvarna hammerless boxlock would be a good choice, as would Sauer, Simson, Merkel and numerous other smaller German makers, Belgian, French and Italian boxlocks are usually of sound design and good quality. Spanish guns have a spotty reliability record which detracts from their saleability but the very large number of well worn examples around suggests that most of these have been providing solid heavy service for decades and show no sign of quitting, the weak sisters having been weeded out many years ago. Older American double are frequently very heavily used and sometimes abused and frequently have too much stock drop for modern shooters they are strong and usually heavy. Some possible collectibilty here affecting price and also affecting the wisdom of refinishing. Good English guns are hard to find in this price range and most are chambered for 2 1/2" ammo which adds complicated ammo supply issues and added cost for same. Again possible collectability complicates the picture. Look for original 2 3/4" (70 mm) chambers and nitro proofs so that you can safely use modern over the counter ammunition. Many of the old doubles have shorter chambers or are only proofed for black powder. If you try this project, take some progress pictures from start to finish and share them on CGN, many would appreciate this.
 
I'm with Ashcroft. The kind of gun you're looking for (good value in a field grade "shooter" double) is something that I would not hesitate to refinish or to hone out the chokes to suit my needs. Anytime they say "Don't refinish it, you'll ruin the value", do what I do. Ask them how much they will give you for the gun. At that point they usually stop talking or mumble something unintelligible as they exit the conversation.
 
Looking for a straight grip English stock eliminates a lot of good using guns from your list of potentials. They are much less common, though there have been a few Husqvarnas with straight grip lately on Tradeex website. You really need to ask questions and have a potential purchase from Tradeex examined individually - most of the guns are "bottom of the barrel" discards from Europe, where gun owners have been forced to reduce their holdings to meet a limit on number of firearms in their possession.
I have a fondness for Italian doubles, and most of the modest priced models are reliable working guns.
On the subject of Spanish boxlocks, AyA never made a really bad gun. You can also find a serviceable boxlock Zabala, Laurona or Ugartechea imported to N. America at modest prices. With Spanish guns, I have always preferred double triggers over single selective triggers for their superior reliability.
One cannot emphasize too much Ashcroft's caution "buy the barrels - with good sound lockup and mechanically working well". Refinishing is quite practical for a hobbyist, but mechanical 'fixer-upper" double shotguns are a money pit.
Rebluing the barrels is practical for the hobby gunsmith, if you build a boiling tank. Express rust bluing produces a pleasing result and does not risk the soft solder that many double barrels have. Chemical cold blue like "Birchwood Casey" is not very durable and much harder to get a pleasing result, often looking like a spotted dog.

Good luck in your quest.
 
Son of a Woodcutter said:
You're right, I should stop thinking it through too much and just get out there and enjoy it ha. Thanks
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I just bought a 1924 Fox "Super Fox". That is a very very collectible gun, one of the most famous American guns ever made, and messing with or modifying would impact the value. You could do a restoration, depending on condition/originality and what you want, but you replicate the original finishes if you want to keep it collectible.

So if you are buying a sub $1000 gun in Canada and you want to do some stuff to make it your style, do whatever you want. Those guns aren't really being bought by collectors. They are being bought by hunters and by people who want the look and feel of a vintage side by side without paying for one with collector value. So if you want to sell it, the collectors wont be the ones buying it. Problem solved.

I have 2 Italian guild gun side by sides made by a Giuseppe Tonolini. I shot one of them weekly for 3 years at my pheasant hunting club. It got me hooked on side by sides. Worth maybe 500-1000 bucks. I have no clue. Don't care. Its never going anywhere. The other one I bought because I liked the first one so much and I had never seen one come up for sale. Shot it once for the first time, it doubled on me LOL. Nearly broke my hand. I will be sending it out to be repaired. Learned a good lesson that day.

Point being that some old SXS should be viewed as good useable and cheap tools that MAYBE you will end up loving and be worth something to you, despite the value. I love my cheap ones. I would probably sell my 16 gauge Fox A Grade before I would sell the old Tonolini. But I am weird and sentimental like that.

"IF" you can find a old Parker 12 gauge with good barrels under 1000 bucks and you restore yourself to your liking you will have something pretty cool, if not valuable.

I doubt you will find an English stock though. That's tough. Not even sure they made them- not a Parker collector.
 
There was a bit of a teenage craze when my local segment of the baby boom reached an age where we could and were taking our grandfathers' old shotguns, sometimes double barrels, the rusty old guns we thought had cast iron barrels, out in a field with a length of cord and 'testing' them with modern high brass shells, occasionally cracking them open and sometimes at least allegedly blowing them up real good. I don't suppose anything that would be considered to be of value got destroyed in those days, but sometimes I do wonder.
 
I have a non nitro proofed double with Belgian marks. says metropolitan Arms, NY on the locks.
I reload BP/ pyrodex or 777. they all work well in it, it`s a ton of fun and only paid $100 +80 rds of 7.62x 39 for it.
I did have new firing pins and firing pin nuts made for it by a buddy, cost me a case of beer (24) per side, and a brass shim hard soldered to the barrel pivot tightened everything up perfectly.
has browned over the last 100 +years beautifully, and the Damascus barrels look brand new inside. biggest reason I picked it up
 
Re the oil soaked wood, you see lots of that on old rifles as well. Acetone soak will help, I am told, but getting too old for that crap.
Do not hot blue older doubles. I enjoy working on old shotguns for some reason.
There are lots of nice older side/ sides floating around at the gunshows priced right ,most of the time.
Straight stocks are out there , but not common, I have a o/u straight stock Ruger , but not what you want.
If you want a fun project, find a nice true side lock and build a new stock for that.
BTw, I have had a couple older Steven/savage s/s that work good, not a sleek as some of the euro guns, some Spanish are very good.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom