High end single shot field guns
- Thread starter conor_90
- Start date
And the OP could get one of those, get it threaded for chokes, and still be in under his budget. Lengthen the forcing cone and he could use if for the occasional duck too.
Or just buy a savage 301 that is 3" with tubes already fitted
Fix the link
https://ww w.savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=22557
Fix the link
https://ww w.savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=22557
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
If I was in your shoes, I would buy an eastern bloc double (Suhl or Brno) or a Finnish double, all of which can be found with more open chokes for under $600. I had a gorgeous Suhl that locked up like a bank vault that I sold for $450. It had skeet chokes.
You might also find a Winchester Super X1 at that price. I think I sold the last one I had for $600, and it was a beauty. There was one on the EE in the $550 range not long ago. Not a 3-inch gun, but perfectly fine for any real world hunting.
Baikals will also provide a lifetime of service for that kind of money, but are hardly a finely made gun.
The pocketbook says yes; but the heart wants a straight grip boxlock in the English style
How do you rate the suhl and BRNO doubles in comparison to a huglu “English style” side by side, the sort PR offers for ~1100 bucks? If I’m reaming out chokes, fixing cracks and adding recoil pads the new huglu gets tempting but I have had bad luck with many Turk guns.
Are BRNO doubles of the high quality standard associated with their excellent rifles? Is steel out of the question? I’ve always liked 26 inch barrels and straight grips and would like a light gun; seems like my budget must increase or my criteria must broaden.
I’m a bit concerned about the tradex and intersurplus guns having issues I can’t identify or rectify. I’ve bought rifles from them but in that case I know what I’m looking at. This makes the new Henry or Huglu tempting. Like I said a bit scared of the huglu but my ventus woodcock was good for what it was and regulated well enough to place slugs at similar poi at ~ 40 yards with its battue sights. I just have a new policy of only buying guns I won’t sell I may have to abandon
I have had a few baikals; the double rifle and single shot rifles and shotguns. They are certainly sturdy but I think you put it well otherwise…
Looks like they are made in China, I avoid Chinese manufactured goods
How do you rate the suhl and BRNO doubles in comparison to a huglu “English style” side by side, the sort PR offers for ~1100 bucks? If I’m reaming out chokes, fixing cracks and adding recoil pads the new huglu gets tempting but I have had bad luck with many Turk guns.
Are BRNO doubles of the high quality standard associated with their excellent rifles? Is steel out of the question? I’ve always liked 26 inch barrels and straight grips and would like a light gun; seems like my budget must increase or my criteria must broaden.
I’m a bit concerned about the tradex and intersurplus guns having issues I can’t identify or rectify. I’ve bought rifles from them but in that case I know what I’m looking at. This makes the new Henry or Huglu tempting. Like I said a bit scared of the huglu but my ventus woodcock was good for what it was and regulated well enough to place slugs at similar poi at ~ 40 yards with its battue sights. I just have a new policy of only buying guns I won’t sell I may have to abandon
I have had a few baikals; the double rifle and single shot rifles and shotguns. They are certainly sturdy but I think you put it well otherwise…
Looks like they are made in China, I avoid Chinese manufactured goods
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It’s his budget of $600 vs what he’d like. I have a English single barrel game gun with straight stock by Tolley. It’s not going anywhere for less than $2500 US. English made single barrels are rare as hens teeth. There tends to be more hammer guns that show up than hammerless models. But the rarity of all of them ensures they don’t come cheap.
The budget can be adjusted but it really should not be
Thinking of doubles is a slippery slope that ends with a silver pigeon and me living in a crack den with 8 roommates and eating ramen for 2 years.
Henry is winning it seems; if we don’t concentrate on the 600 number too much and instead focus on a non Turk single shot that is well made and preferably has the features of recent production like chokes and steel rated barrel it does not seem like there are many options left besides it. These criteria, like all criteria, can shift if the need arises.
I guess the idea was; I’d rather have a nice single for life than a cheap side by side or semi I will hock in a few years at a loss, potentially break like several Turk shotguns Ive had or have sit in my safe. I’m kind of a “single shot guy” having owned a wide variety in rifles.
I’ll mostly just be getting out and exploring the Great Plains, I have no dog, no decoys and no layout blind, etc. I used to hunt ducks on the island with better equipped folks but my upland experience has been mostly swatting grouse on logging roads in northern BC and a few pheasant hunts over friends dogs in Alberta. I’ve done a ton of snowshoe hare hunting but with a 22
Any comments on the Brno Model ZB132? I’m seeing a few online that look fairly nice.
Thinking of doubles is a slippery slope that ends with a silver pigeon and me living in a crack den with 8 roommates and eating ramen for 2 years.
Henry is winning it seems; if we don’t concentrate on the 600 number too much and instead focus on a non Turk single shot that is well made and preferably has the features of recent production like chokes and steel rated barrel it does not seem like there are many options left besides it. These criteria, like all criteria, can shift if the need arises.
I guess the idea was; I’d rather have a nice single for life than a cheap side by side or semi I will hock in a few years at a loss, potentially break like several Turk shotguns Ive had or have sit in my safe. I’m kind of a “single shot guy” having owned a wide variety in rifles.
I’ll mostly just be getting out and exploring the Great Plains, I have no dog, no decoys and no layout blind, etc. I used to hunt ducks on the island with better equipped folks but my upland experience has been mostly swatting grouse on logging roads in northern BC and a few pheasant hunts over friends dogs in Alberta. I’ve done a ton of snowshoe hare hunting but with a 22
Any comments on the Brno Model ZB132? I’m seeing a few online that look fairly nice.
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I agree. You may even find a very good condition "Red Letter" M37 Winchester. They are a tough little gun that's well balanced and well made. The M37A is not.
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
All I can say about the Suhl double I had was that I wish I'd never sold it, but I used the money to buy a boat to take my family fishing, so it was worth it in the long run. It was a lifetime gun, handled great, had a super-tight action despite its age. If I could buy it back for what I sold it for, I'd be sorely tempted. But - mine came with skeet chokes and had excellent wood. Had a wood buttplate, but that was fine for me.
So. Look for something like that and you'll be happy if/when you eventually find it, I suspect. But I will admit that I was fortunate to find a good one. Still. I think Weimajack has one or two for sale right now, and you could trust him to sell you a good one.
You really should look into a Super X1. They are perhaps the finest mass-market shotgun ever produced in North America, and they are dirt cheap, considering. They are probably the best deal right now on the used market, because if something *does* break, you can fix it yourself instead of taking it to a gunsmith.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The only British single that's relatively common are the Greener GP, and this side of the pond they are not all that common... and getting one out of the UK (Where they are plentiful) seemed like a expensive adventure.
Westley Richards did make some nice single... but are not that common, and like everything from them... $$$
If you are going to hunt the great plains then you are going to end up dissatisfied with a single shot. They are great for grouse. Not so great for huns, sharptail or pheasant. As far as "lifetime gun" vs living in a crackhouse goes, I'd advise you to give up on lifetime gun for the moment. Get a gun that works for you now. wait a few years until you are more financially stable plus have more bird hunting experience, then start thinking about "lifetime" guns. Although personally I think the concept is a crock.
This is my single shot.
The Brno combination guns, whether shotgun barrels or rifle/shotgun barrels are a bit of an oddity. They are complex, heavy, and overly engineered in a Germanic way. Pretty well the opposite of many of the light field guns coming out of Europe and the UK. They come in two distinct models, one being a switch barrel that is engineered to accept any barrel set by means of a self adjusting receiver - very unique, and expensive to produce by todays standard.
However, these are older guns with zero parts availability in North America, so the recently imported used ones need to be scrutinized closely. I have one that likes to double, which seems to be a fairly common problem. I managed to sort it out, but I consider that to be blind luck.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
If I was buying a somewhat inexpensive SxS sight-unseen, I think you could do worst than this Husqvarna 610
- Checkering still looks in good shape, and the screws haven't been buggered up. So either no-one had the urge to have a look inside, or if they did, they used the proper screw driver and probably had an idea of what they were doing.
Parts are still easy enough to find, even more so if you know how to use google-translate and look at Swedish website.
- Checkering still looks in good shape, and the screws haven't been buggered up. So either no-one had the urge to have a look inside, or if they did, they used the proper screw driver and probably had an idea of what they were doing.
Parts are still easy enough to find, even more so if you know how to use google-translate and look at Swedish website.
Still not understanding why you'd pick a single shot as your upland game gun. Single barrels kick like a mule. And the last thing you want when you finally flush a covey of sharptails within range is one shot. Not too hard to find a decent quality 12 or 20 gauge double upland gun around your budget number.
Ive only got what I consider to be $hitty photos of it. Need a good cloudy day when I remember to take some new shots. Its a very fun gun but to your point, at 5 pounds flat, recoil is a bear even with light loads suitable for vintage guns.
If it were me and I was searching for a gun, I'd be focused on finding (not hard) a decent Husqvarna 310. I like them a bit better than the 610s. You should be able to find a 310 AS in 12 gauge for easily within your budget of $600 and probably still have some cash for opening the chokes if that's required. They are extremely well made and if you get a later edition 310 AS you are going to have fantastic quality steel barrels. As far as parts go, they don't break. I can't get parts for any of my guns. But after now close to 20 years of hunting and shooting almost exclusively with vintage SxS, I've never had a part break while using a gun. I have bough a couple knowing I was going to have to get a part made. That gets factored into the purchase price.
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I saved that husky and a few ZH BRNO shotguns to my phone last night
Lifetime guns might be “a crock” but it doesn’t change that I’m tired of low tier firearms. I could probably be talked into the shotgun equivalent of a 400 dollar tradex husqy FN Mauser though
Thinking this one may be the ticket and either ream the chokes out (mod/mod? IC/mod?) or have thin wall chokes installed.
https://intersurplus.com/products/brno-zh201-o-u-12ga
Would this gun handle steel? Would work on the forcing cones be necessary?
Thanks
Lifetime guns might be “a crock” but it doesn’t change that I’m tired of low tier firearms. I could probably be talked into the shotgun equivalent of a 400 dollar tradex husqy FN Mauser though
Thinking this one may be the ticket and either ream the chokes out (mod/mod? IC/mod?) or have thin wall chokes installed.
https://intersurplus.com/products/brno-zh201-o-u-12ga
Would this gun handle steel? Would work on the forcing cones be necessary?
Thanks
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What I meant by that is that your understanding of what is a lifetime gun, for you, will change over time. The only real "lifetime" gun I have is a gun handed down from my great grandfather who bought it new in 1909. I've bought other 'lifetime" guns. Glad I still have them but no longer consider them as lifetime.
