Double Barrel Shotgun

[wirehairman]

I want to combine my love of bird dogs and muzzleloading so have begun looking for a side-by-side blackpowder shotgun. Poking around the internet, I have really only found the Pedersolis and a few older Navy Arms.

Are there other makers of a good blackpowder side-by-sides that I am missing? What maker/model would you guys recommend?

Also, is the kit for the Pedersoli listed on Dixie a good deal and does anyone know what grade of the Pedersoli the kit would be (i.e. standard, deluxe, extra deluxe)?

 

[ffffg]

the old navy arms in my opinion are betterguns.the t and t was a nice gun both full chokes,, but that is for turkey and trap, your missing the ic or cylinder bore.they do make a cyl/ cyl bore. the pedersoli will start a pretty big argument if we get into what i think of them.. i dont think much of thier hardening of parts, replacement parts, and service.. also thier barrel alignment is basically left up to you to check and see if its good and to fix.. i would never buy a side by side black powder pedersoli without patterning it..my opinion only, my advice to to wait and buy a used one that the owner will let you shoot and pattern it with him along..it will take much longer but you will end up with a much better weapon... dave :grin:

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'd go to a gunshow and by a good english original. These modern Italian made guns are pieces of manure in comparison.

 

[Dave K]

Yes, do not be afraid to look at a good original. Even a fine Belgium gun is good. Buy the gun, not the country of orgin. All places made good guns and also very poor cheap guns. I shoot alot of shotgun and almost all of mine are originals. I would think that the modern made guns with restriction type chokes would be a PIA to load. All of mine are cyl. bored and with load developement will work just fine.

 

[BrownBear]

My old Navy Arms didn't have chokes, and I still regret letting it go.

It might not measure up to an original but budgets will be budgets, and I'll take shooting a piece of manure over knitting any day. As a matter of fact fit, finish and function on my NA were excellent, and it stood up very well to heavy use over a lot of years. I'll pass on the Pedersolit due to the chokes, but I'm jumping on the first NA that comes along in my price range. No questions asked and no regrets.

 

[Mike Brooks]

If you've ever shot a well made english shotgun , you'd never shoot any of the current made SXS's. There is no comparison in the way they handle or their quality of construction.
You can pick up a good old SXS for $400 to $600.
I've paid as little as $1100 for a cased Lancaster Live Bird gun. They're out there , you just have to look.

 

[clayman49]

Hi there, I've owned and shot all three, NA, Pedersoli and orginals. I agree even an average original handles, feels and normally shoot better than most repro's. My first S x S was NA some 25yr ago and found it chunky, the metal finish sharp (I'd end up with cuts on my hands until I fixed the roughness) but it shot well. The Pedersoli(s) were finished better but only one of the two I've had shot well. Re originls, most are a pleasure to have and own, but remember they are not making them any more and to some degree should be saved for our kids & their kids to enjoy too. I use my originals only ocasionaly and then mainly at MLAIC clay events. What ever you choose enjoy.

 

[robinghewitt]

Buy the gun, not the country of orgin.

I couldn't agree more, I switched from an okay English gun to a good German gun and my percussion clay scores went up from also ran to 3rd place. I switched from a provincial flinter to a reworked Manton and got second in the flint.

A quality gun is a big advantage :thumbsup:

best regards

Squire Robin

 

[DanChamberlain]

My Pedersoli SXS in 12ga is a great shotgun. Unfortunately, it has the screw in chokes, but in actuality, while that makes for a difficult gun to load with full chokes, it is a simple matter to get two modified chokes for it.

Mine is nicely finished. The left barrel shoots a fraction low of center, but it hasn't seemed to adversely impact how I score on doves. Plus, by turning the left choke tube one half turn out (hardly noticable) the pattern improved and it closely matches the right barrel.

I know someone with a 10ga Pedersoli that is a goose-killing machine! So, you can listen to the guys who say "I wouldn't buy one because", or you can listen to someone who actually owns one.

By the way, I have a Pedersoli long rifle in flint that is an exceptionally fast sparker. Yet, you will hear a lot of guys mention that they don't like Pedersoli because they aren't very fast.

Dan

 

[Leonredbeard]

Wirehairman,
Ok, I'll weigh in. Back in the mid eighties I had a CVA twelve gauge SxS capper. I liked it. It had one glaringly bad fit at the barrel/breechplug. The epoxy with which the barrels were joined had sqeezed out here and there and hadn't been trimmed. The rear trigger required a little tuning to make it reliable. But it was my first foray into ML smoothbore. I was thrilled. It shot well. The barrels put their loads together. It's cylinder bores could shoot tight patterns with load work. It was too short in the stock but I cured that by putting a boot type recoil pad on it. It taught me about shooting smoothbores. I kept it until I collected the parts for and built a flintlock trade gun. It was a good experience and did not discourage me from smoothbores at all. Of course I have graduated to all flinters, except when the redhairedgal wore a smoothbore.
volatpluvia

 

[ffffg]

"I know someone with a 10ga Pedersoli that is a goose-killing machine! So, you can listen to the guys who say "I wouldn't buy one because", or you can listen to someone who actually owns one." ........ i surely wasnt under the impression that anyone reporting here on pedersolis didnt own one.. i own two, they are hit and miss and over the last 10 years have read many acounts of pedersoli side by sides being over one foot off on the pattern boards.... from people who own them.. when you need a lock part youll have to have it made or buy a new lock at a considerable cost. a new lock on my mortimer flintlock is now about half of what i paid for the gun with no guarantees it will fit.. i probably could use it for parts to repair my gun, at extra costs.. this is from discusions with flintlocks etc, and thier warranty station, and etc etc... i found out 6-10 years ago once the warranty is up thier warranty station wont want to hear of your problems. i certainly hope its improved.... my sear broke on my sxs 10 gauge first day out. luckily my local gunsmith could fix it. i ground choke tubes for months to get the impacts in line..every time i put them in i have to pattern it if i want it correct.. i ordered three nipples from flintlocks etc.. only one would hold a cap.. he refused to take the ones that didnt hold a cap back, and told me to use fingernail polish.. i had other problems with him, luckily i paid with credit card on a second barrel for my mortimer that was quite crooked. as in not a little crooked.. it was junk and never should have left the factory.. . alot of guys like them,, they can be good or not so good,, be glad your one of the lucky ones... dave.

 

[DanChamberlain]

I have three Pedersolis with no problems experienced. But then, I have 4 Piettas and they are also first rate shooters. I keep wondering how I get so lucky.

Dan

 

[FishDFly]

I have a Pedersoli 10 guage.

My only complaint is the left trigger pull. I know that they made double barrel shotguns left triggers hard to pull for a reason, so you did not fully cock it, shoot the right barrel, which would set off the left barrel.

But there is a limit to pounds of pull on a trigger. I use to pull the left hammer back, try to shoot the left barrel and take it down to see "IF" I had pulled back the hammer.

It went to the gunsmith, he said he did what he could do, essentially it is a single shot as far as I am concerned.

The fit, finish, blueing and workmanship is outstanding and one beautiful gun.

The birds fall as well by my single shot T/C New Englander.

Sigh,

RDE

 

[Homesteader]

I built a kit CVA 12 ga. SxS percussion as my first smoothbore. I loved it. I still have it, and I still love it. Great shotgun if you use it within its capabilities. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but this does what I demand of it time and time again. (When it disappoints me, I know it's because I disappointed it. If that makes sense to you, you're on the track.)

 

[ffffg]

Richard, go to the gunbuilders site on this forum and ask for someone who repairs these.. they should get you to someone that will give you an estimate when you send it to them.. any good gunsmith should be able to rebuild a lock given the time and enough money.. dave

 

[FishDFly]

fffg,

Thanks I will do that.

The first time he worked on the trigger I really did not see much change and the second attempt was a bit better, but still too hard.

The gunsmith here is very good, one of 3 who can build parts from scratch for the old Colts. He did outstanding work on 2 for me.

I think he was a bit leary of working on the lock.

Again thanks,

RDE

 

[ffffg]

it seems like weve finally gotten over the trigger liability scare. to me anyway.. guns got so bad from factorys that they couldnt sell them becouse of the lousy trigger, and no-one would work on them or make them right or the way you wanted.... they seem to have gottern alot better on the new guns anyway.. and i have a gunsmith that will do them right for me anyway.. if the steel is so soft they are afraid to redo them i cant under stand why they dont give you the option of making hardened parts for you at an increased cost tho.. at least it would be your decision.. if you have a bp sxs that has the fixed chokes you want, and that shoots on, its well worth getting it fixed right.. good guns are expensive, if it cost some bucks to make it better, im all for it. dave

 

[mbritt]

Can you please tell me where a person should look for a good deal on a high quality original British made double barrel ML shotgun? Regular gun shows? Online gun auctions? Or?

 

[Mike Brooks]

Can you please tell me where a person should look for a good deal on a high quality original British made double barrel ML shotgun? Regular gun shows? Online gun auctions? Or?

All of the above. I was at the Nobelsville show in Indy last week end, there were better than 100 there. Not hard to find.

 

[cable]

as an example only go to:
[url] http://www.gundersonmilitaria.com/longarm.html[/url]

then scroll down the page and find the"muzzleloading double barrel shotguns"
they usually have pictures of used original guns at various prices.
never dealt with them but it shows examples of whats available, and you can search on gunbroker and they usually have some also