Let's see some pic's of your SxS's & O/U's

[Londonshooter]

Chris Dawe recut the checkering and gave the stocks new oil finish. The barrel refinish was the last browning job Nick Makinson ever did, this was about 2 years ago, and as most know he passed away this summer. Both these artisans are now part of this gun and I'm glad Bill cherishes their work and legacy.

 

[Cow Town Bill]

Chris Dawe recut the checkering and gave the stocks new oil finish. The barrel refinish was the last browning job Nick Makinson ever did, this was about 2 years ago, and as most know he passed away this summer. Both these artisans are now part of this gun and I'm glad Bill cherishes their work and legacy.

Thanks for giving Chris and Nick credit for their fine work.

 

[huntingfish]

Akkar Churchill 520 (20ga) with 28" barrels, single selective trigger.

After our moose was on the ground, this lightweight SxS helped me fill my grouse quota in a few short days!

David

 

[Ashcroft]

No pictures at this time, just a heads up for my helpful, knowledgeable and informative contacts on this forum. Now into my eighties and losing lifelong friends at an ever increasing rate, it seems that my wife is making her point. It’s time to plan the next downsizing of our life and that means brutal choices for me, many of my treasures will need to find new homes. These are my finest, the results of many years of selecting the best that came through my hands, most have never been publicly offered for sale, some are truly rare and all are unique and in outstanding condition. The following will be available….
- J D Dougall Patent Lockfast marked ‘Highest’, 16 gauge hammer gun, cased.
- Stephen Grant best quality hammerless trigger plate side lever 12 gauge, O&L cased
-Husqvarna Model 300 true 8 pin sidelock, one of only 300 made. 12 gauge, no case
- Heym Model 22S, 20 ga 3” over 7x57R, 4x Zeiss in claw mounts, Kreighoff .22 LR insert. No case.
- T. Mortimer high grade boxlock, 16 gauge professionally reconditioned to new including new barrels, new stock, new finishes, new best quality leather case.
- William Moore and Grey best quality top lever hammer gun, bar in wood 12 gauge EJECTOR, no case.
- W R Pape very high grade 20 gauge hammer gun with nitro proofed steel barrels. Cased.
- Beretta S55 20 gauge, European model with straight stock and double triggers, as new, no case.
- Husqvarna Model 5000 Featherweight .270 W/ Leupold 4x Compact . One owner since new in 1963.
Most of these guns have been displayed in this forum and some have been previously spoken for but not recently confirmed. A good appreciative home and keeping them in Canada is more important to me than squeezing the last dollar out of each one and I will definitely consider a reasonable deposit/payment option. Very limited trade interest at this time. This is just an advance notice, they won’t hit EE for a month or so. And no, my Westley’s won’t be on the block in the foreseeable future. J.

 

[Falconflyer]

Downsizing your lifelong collection is a tough decison to make Ashcroft but I like your wish to keep them in the country, we lose a lot of treasures to our rich neighbors to the south.

 

[Ashcroft]

Falconflyer it took me a couple of years just to get to this point where I’ve made the mental commitment to start letting go, hopefully the next step goes easier. I have 4-5 which I am going to gift and of course I need to keep a few shooters because I’m still an active shooter and hunter. I’ve seen friends go through this process in different ways; gun shows, word of mouth, auctions, consignment, it almost always drags on messily for years and still leaves chaos at the end. It’s going to be really tough letting go but hopefully knowing that a new appreciative home is the result will make the transition easier.

 

[Cow Town Bill]

Falconflyer it took me a couple of years just to get to this point where I’ve made the mental commitment to start letting go, hopefully the next step goes easier. I have 4-5 which I am going to gift and of course I need to keep a few shooters because I’m still an active shooter and hunter. I’ve seen friends go through this process in different ways; gun shows, word of mouth, auctions, consignment, it almost always drags on messily for years and still leaves chaos at the end. It’s going to be really tough letting go but hopefully knowing that a new appreciative home is the result will make the transition easier.

I've been downsizing for a couple of years and have made pretty good progress. However, the road is a bumpy one and I do digress at times eg the opportunity to get a sidelever Atkin that I got from Londonshooter. I may own it for only a year pot two, but it will give me much satisfaction.

 

[canvasback]

Jim, you have my sympathies but you know you are doing the right thing at the right time. Those sound like some lovely guns. I had a long drive today….about 10 hours. Read your post this morning before I left and spent more than a little time trying to imagine trying to let go some of mine. I wish I had more hunters in the family, both close and extended. Might make it easier. But at the same time I don’t want to saddle them with an “instant” collection that might not be their thing. It’s tough. I’m still in the acquisition stage. Still falling in love with them.

 

[Falconflyer]

Falconflyer it took me a couple of years just to get to this point where I’ve made the mental commitment to start letting go, hopefully the next step goes easier. I have 4-5 which I am going to gift and of course I need to keep a few shooters because I’m still an active shooter and hunter. I’ve seen friends go through this process in different ways; gun shows, word of mouth, auctions, consignment, it almost always drags on messily for years and still leaves chaos at the end. It’s going to be really tough letting go but hopefully knowing that a new appreciative home is the result will make the transition easier.

I hear you Ashcroft. I look at some of my collectables and think, I should sell those since I never shoot them but....

 

[Pinfire]

Ashcroft, I hope everything works out for you. We are all getting old, and disposing of prized possessions is tough to face. At least you have usable guns to dispose of -- how am I going to find buyers for a collection of pinfires?

 

[VictoryXC]

Ashcroft, maybe ease into thinning your collection by selling one per year and only buying two.

Stay healthy, enjoy your passion and......keep sharing pictures.

 

[Ashcroft]

Ashcroft, I hope everything works out for you. We are all getting old, and disposing of prized possessions is tough to face. At least you have usable guns to dispose of -- how am I going to find buyers for a collection of pinfires?

You know Steve, the dollar value of the guns used to be important to me but not so much any more. I’ve had a comfortable retirement for many years, made a good dent in the bucket list, been places and done things that would be the envy of many. We have all that we need and not many goals left to accomplish, I’m really going to need get creative spending the proceeds from these guns, because this almost always went back into another gun
( or two). Maybe just one more, a high grade custom ? Maybe a special guided hunting trip? Maybe a special night out on the town for wifey and me? Back to the custom order gun….. God I’m weak…..

 

[Jay]

My Beretta Parallelo in 20ga. Very nimble in the hand & my first 20ga. There may be no turning back now!

Thanks to Clay @ Prophet River.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Prophet River]

My Beretta Parallelo in 20ga. Very nimble in the hand & my first 20ga. There may be no turning back now!

Thanks to Clay @ Prophet River.

Cheers
Jay

View attachment 543149

That is one beautiful SxS

 

[Jay]

That is one beautiful SxS

It certainly is! Thank you again Clay!

And our hope is that it will fit our little one when she's grown. The English stock is nice in that you can put your hand where it's comfortable, so any size hand should fit.



In comparison my wife's Beretta Vittoria is a lady's gun and the pistol grip doesn't fit my hand.

It's Beretta all around in our house for doubles!
12ga Perennia III
20ga Vittoria
20ga Parallelo

 

[Cow Town Bill]

I have had the good fortune to handle a friend's round action and I wish to share this gun with the CGN double gun fraternity.
The gun is a Dickson round action but bears the name Oliver Stark, who with his father and brother, were Dickson tradesmen in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The Stark family immigrated to Manitoba and set up a gun shop in Brandon in 1904. This gun has engraved on the rib "Oliver Stark & Son, Gun Makers, Brandon, Manitoba".
The gun has 32" barrels which is unusual as Dickson tell me they never made a round action with 32" barrels. It is beautifully engraved and bears a distinctive maple leaf on the top of the action.
Now for the interesting part: the gun does not have a serial number nor does it have any proof marks; the action is definitely a Dickson action (confirmed by Dickson) but it does not bear their name. Perhaps the action didn't meet Dickson's lofty standards and was given to the Stark family. Then, the gun could have been finished by Dickson employees working on their own time. And, perhaps the gun was included with the Stark possessions when they moved to Canada and then sold through their gun shop. The gun was "discovered" in Saskatchewan a number of years ago and then found its way to a collector in Northern British Columbia.
I'm asking the CGN fraternity for any information they may have on other Stark guns and about the Stark family. I know that there are individuals in Brandon with the Stark surname but I'm not sure they are descendants of the gunmaking family.
Bill

 

[Ashcroft]

Gorgeous gun Bill. Gimme, gimme, gimme. Two things come to mind regarding the serial number and proofs. Maybe a ‘lunchbox gun’ made by a member of the Stark family for their personal use? And I’ve seen a number of unproofed British guns of various makes without any proof marks at all, dated one to 1870 and another ( a Westley Richards that was sold through a business in Vancouver) to 1912. Proof was not required for a gun that was being exported and would not be sold domestically. A maker paid for proofing and could save a few pence on an export gun because if it was going to another country this wasn’t required.

 

[Pinfire]

Fantastic gun. Wonderful decoration (would love to see the maple leaf). Great story.

This is the sort of gun that reminds me why I enjoy this subject. New and newer guns just don't do it for me.

 

[canvasback]

That’s is such a gorgeous gun Bill. Love to handle it with those 32” barrels. I’m like Ashcroft. “Gimme, gimme”. Lol. And a bit like Pinfire. It’s not just the gun….it’s the story that goes with it.

 

[Cow Town Bill]

That’s is such a gorgeous gun Bill. Love to handle it with those 32” barrels. I’m like Ashcroft. “Gimme, gimme”. Lol. And a bit like Pinfire. It’s not just the gun….it’s the story that goes with it.

And, the story is not yet complete. I'm hoping CGNers can bring forth info on the Stark family and maybe a Stark gun or two will come out of the woodwork.