My goodness, what a lot of fuss!
Clobbersaurus, my apologies. My lament was intended for the gun, not its owner. For the record, I did not call you an idiot. Upon review of my post this sentence
The poor gun then falls into the hands of someone who does not know how tell the difference between an ejector and an extractor (see previous thread) and who wants to saw off the barrels.
seems insensitive. I regret wording it that way and sincerely apologize.
Compared to the great masses of shotguns out there, hand built, nicely engraved sidelock shotguns built on the English pattern are reasonably rare. I rue the fact that many of them seem to end up with owners who do not care. As stated in my post, it is the previous owner(s) who allowed the state of deterioration to occur, not you. Still, my description of you implies yet another uncaring owner, and that is unfair - I don't know you.
My questions regarding the state of the bores, screws etc. were sincere, as these are the sorts of problems which are common among neglected SxS's. The photo seems to make the screws stand out, while intact screws should disappear into the engraving. The barrel rust is obvious in the picture and leads to the question about the condition of the bores and the locks. I am glad you took the time to answer those questions as it gives a better picture of the condition of the gun.
Your description reinforces my opinion that this is not the arm for a coach gun project. Since the damage to the gun seems to be external and cosmetic in nature, viable repair is possible. Rust bluing and stock refinishing would be worth it if this is the case. For what it is worth, the Grade IV (new and of comparable grade) Ugartechea sidelock as advertised in the U.S. sells for $2,700.00 on sale. As I said, these guns represent an awful lot of skilled, hand labour in their creation.
That is the problem with making a coach gun out of it. No matter where you go, gun nuts with an appreciation of hand built artistry will not see it as a neat coach gun, they will see it as a fine game gun that has had the barrels sawn off. You might not like the result either - those barrels are regulated, and by sawing them off the regulation will be gone. Who knows how the thing will shoot? The balance will be gone as well, and the gun will be butt heavy. There will be a hole between the ribs which will need to be filled, and the bead will have to be remounted. Neither operation is particularly easy to do correctly.
Apparently I am not the only one who thinks this way. The majority of respondents to your thread seem to agree that cutting the barrels is inadvisable. You asked about ruining the gun if it is worth more than you paid. Given your description of its condition I believe it is, or could be, worth three times or more your purchase price if properly refinished. By cutting the barrels you will be destroying any inherent value left in the gun.
Again, I am sorry if my previous post implied a personal insult. It was not intended as such. I feel more for the gun than I do for any of its owners, and I guess that makes me seem a little cold. The gun is your property and you may do with it as you wish - but you did ask for opinions, and I gave mine. I will strive to be more sensitive in my responses in the future.
Sharptail