SXS Shotguns

Suputin & wild-wild-west - Beautiful hammer guns. I too love hammer guns. Problem is it is really difficult to find one in good condition. One of mine with hammers....

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Rgds.
 
I too love hammer guns. Problem is it is really difficult to find one in good condition.

Looks like you have a couple of nice ones. I bought mine just recently at the Kamloops guns show. There were actually a whole bunch of decent SxS shotguns but the guy I bought mine from had a whole table full of really nice examples. Mine was actually the least expensive but it was the one I liked the most anyway which worked out nicely. :)

However I had spend a number of years looking out for a nice SxS hammer gun. They tend to be either in ####e shape or overly expensive or even worse, overpriced AND in iffy shape. :(
 
Hey Suputin,

You're not kidding about the wood! It chips easy and the varnish wears like rice paper... The wood makes the gun so light that when I last shot Traps last weekend without a jacket, I walked away with a killer patch of "Black & Blue" on my shoulder! However, the light weight sure makes the Baikal swing fast, though!

However, for what I paid, I am not disappointed at all! Specially when I'm averaging scores that make people with $5000 shotguns drop their jaws!... ;)

It's a great shame that the CZ Hammer Classic hasn't made it up here yet. I think its time that other companies start bringing one out. After all, to me; a good hammer gun sure has a lot more appeal than those that are all covered in camo, or all black...

w.w.w.
 
I dunnoo, my father had a friend from a "well to do" English family.
This guy was a lawyer, and travelled the wolrd shootign birds of all sorts, with several high end Purdys and such.
he ALWAYS rffered to them as "shottys"!:p
Myself, I use the term from time to time, but in a humurous way.
"scattergun" as well!
But , unless the gun has the barrels PROPERLY aligned side by each, then it's
"just another gun"!! LOL!!
Cat

English family? 'Nuff said!
 
;)Good one:). While I have and generally shoot better with two OU's, my preference for hunting is still with a SxS. I have an old very light English 12ga straight stock made by J.S. Boreham I use for upland birds.

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VERY nice Boreham, Johnn. Is that original condition, or have you had it refinished?

I agree with Sahara...

Here's my Baikal:

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For $168.00 CDN from TradeEx... You can't beat that! I also have the Baikal straight-stock hammerless. Also for $160.00 CDN from TradeEx.

I shoot lots of trap with both Baikals, and they really hold their ground. No problems with either, and I end up with really high scores! :)

w.w.w.

I have a soft spot for Baikal. While most of their production leans toward the utilitarian, they are capable of producing some fine guns. This alone doesn't make them any different than any other mass-market maker. But, they built just about the only nitro-proofed SXS hammergun that sold in any volume in the post-war era. They make a servicable hammerless SXS, too, but the majority of those are heavy and lack the balance of their side lock cousins. Besides, box lock hammerless SXS's aren't scarce - nitro hammerguns are.

I bought one in each of 12, 16, and 20 gauges. They allow me to hunt upland birds with my preferred style of gun, without the need of low pressure loads or the worry that comes with fielding one of your priceless classics.

Unquestionably, the fit and finish of these pieces are their Achilles' heel. So, when life hands you a basket of lemons... ...make lemonaide! While the walnut couldn't be much more plain, it doesn't take much to improve on the factory fit. A nice hand-rubbed oil finish over a darker stain and you won't recognise the old girl.


On nice days, I spoil myself with a vintage hand-made SXS. One of my favorites is this 20 bore by Saxton:


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VERY nice Boreham, Johnn. Is that original condition, or have you had it refinished?

That's original condition. I found it in a well known, but now closed, sporting goods/hardware store in Naniamo. Ernie Johnson's. Oh, the butt plate area, wood, is checkered and there is a #2 engraved on the opening lever so I assume it is one of a matched pair. Also:redface:, I baby it a little in that I picked up an older Ruger Red Label 20ga mag to use when weather conditions are here on the coast are less than ideal.
 
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When my Dad came back from overseas in '46 to Lethbridge AB the first thing he bought was a Stevens 5100 12 ga. He gave me the gun for my 13th BD and it is still my favorite - many a dinner brought home with it.

Not worth anything except to me so I refinished the wood and had it re-blued last year. Reminds me of my Dad every time I pick it up.
 
12 bore? Gotta speak the lingo like the brits right?

Mine is a lower grade, 1913 vintage 12 bore, 1/4-1/2 choke. Wish I could afford a 20.
Stick with the 12 bore if you want to maintain your social standing among the Brits. The 12 is what the true Englishman shoots and lesser gauges are for lesser individuals.

While the 16 bore is darling of the Europe's elite, in England it is the preserve of delicate men of questionable ###uality or large, rough women about whom the same can be said. The 16 bore shooter is often of royal lineage and suffered too many canings while in school.

The 20 bore is for women, pre-pubsecent children, doddering eccentrics and other social misfits. Military officers who are found guilty of dereliction of duty are given a 20. Hence the yellow cartridges, to remind them of their cowardice.

The 28 bore has only limited use. You will find it primarily in remote jungles being used to gather bird specimens by British professors wearing pith helmets and monocles. This explains the absence of buckshot or slugs in 28. No one objects if a lion gulps down some fusty English ornithologist and it does open another tenured position.

The .410 is the preserve of elderly English woman who smell disturbingly of lilac water and Pimms. They use the the smallest bore to protect their gardens from assorted pests that threaten their roses. Secondly only to the liquor trolley, roses are nearest an Englishwoman's heart. The trend to the .410 began after too many servants were injured by gin-soaked wives of the upper crust wielding 12 bores.

So stick with the 12 unless you have roses to protect. ;)
 
Nice, very nice. I've just picked up a couple cases of Eley ammo for my J.S. Boreham, and for the next photo op. ;)The Eley would go well in a photo with your W.J. Jeffery as well:).

Sure would. That WJJ is my Fav. My new Benelli is sweet...but WJJ SxS still rules the roost! :yingyang:
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Sure would. That WJJ is my Fav. My new Benelli is sweet...but WJJ SxS still rules the roost! :yingyang:
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:)The same for me with my JSB. Here's a quick shot I just took in my den with a box of Eley and an after market case I picked up for it at a recent local gun show.

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:redface:I baby it a little, it's my fair weather upland bird gun. Here on the 'wet coast' I have an older Ruger Red Label 20ga. mag I use when the 'liquid sunshine' is coming down.

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And, ;)if it's really ugly and for the odd walk on old skid roads during these conditions and on the off chance a Deer may bounce across the road, I have an OU Brno ZH 304, 7x57R/12ga, with a set of 12ga OU barrels.

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Claybuster I must be an Woman onthioligist as I love 28 bores a 410 cal shotguns for most of my grouse hunting, HAHAHAHA!
jOHN WHAT HAPENED TO THE END OF THOSE VERY NICE zH300 SERIES SHOTGUN BARRELS? LOOKS LIKE WOODY WOOD PECKER HAD A FEAST?
And John what is that nice Sidelock in the picture with your shells and new case? Looks like it would be at home in my gunsafe to keep my Rigby company! Very nice whatever it is. I have started to collect English and European SXS in the last 2 years and now am more broke than ever, but when I get to shoot and hunt with these peices of art it makes it worth while! great thread Dale in T-Bay
 
Claybuster I must be an Woman onthioligist as I love 28 bores a 410 cal shotguns for most of my grouse hunting, HAHAHAHA!
jOHN WHAT HAPENED TO THE END OF THOSE VERY NICE zH300 SERIES SHOTGUN BARRELS? LOOKS LIKE WOODY WOOD PECKER HAD A FEAST?
And John what is that nice Sidelock in the picture with your shells and new case? Looks like it would be at home in my gunsafe to keep my Rigby company! Very nice whatever it is. I have started to collect English and European SXS in the last 2 years and now am more broke than ever, but when I get to shoot and hunt with these peices of art it makes it worth while! great thread Dale in T-Bay

"Onthioligst"?? I think Claybuster is a practicing Proctologist when it comes to certain Gauges (16), he only practices on himself :). Must be all that Wine and Cheese he eats.
 
"Onthioligst"?? I think Claybuster is a practicing Proctologist when it comes to certain Gauges (16), he only practices on himself :). Must be all that Wine and Cheese he eats.
It must be the wine and cheese. Like my shotguns I lean toward those from the Basque regions. ;)
 
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