....a quality side by side shotgun.I've been looking for a quality SxS shotgun .I want a shooter.My local gunshop suggested the best double out there,for the money,was a Traditions Elite.Any thoughts on this or recommendations on a new double below $2500 I could purchase?Thanks for the help

Check out Dehaan shotguns. www.dhshotguns.com

I do not have one of these but have talked with them and many others that have them. they seem very good for the price. The other one that is a little more is an AYA 4/53. I believe you can find them at lion country supply. www.lcsupply.com

Capstick,

It depends on what style of shotgun you like?

If you like "British game gun" then the Spanish make the best bang for the buck. Grulla, Arietta, AyA, the Uggies, are all in your price range. I think Grulla are the best of the lot, though they are all nice. You can get a brand new basic Uggie for a little over $1,000. Getting a real Brit gun is more expensive. You can find some older "no name" pommie guns for 2,000-4,000 if you look, but its good to have a gunsmith look them over.

If you like "American classic" then you can look arround for second hand guns. Fox Steringworth, the lower end Parkers, LC SMith's etc. The difference here is that the value of collectable American doubles is for some silly reason tied to their "original condition". Take a nice Parker and have it bent to your measurements and the "Parker guys" will say the value of the gun went down... If you are looking for a shooter that doesn't mean much so no worries. Problem with most of the American doubles is that they generally have too much drop at comb for how we shoot today, and their is a feeding frenzy arround the "big names" so they are hard to find and pricey. This particularly applies to Parkers and Winchester M-21s.

If you like German/teutonic styles then its pretty easy to go either old or new. For old some good deals can be found in old Sauer's. You see thme for anywhere from $800-$2,000 and they are very well made guns (better than some new stuff IMHO). For new guns the Merkels have a good following. Bewarned though the importer for Merkel, GSI, has a habit of jacking thier prices way out of beleif. But I think you can still find them for under $3,000.

If you are just looking for a SxS not not wedded to a particular style their are some nice buys in old European guild guns: Italian, French, Belgian etc. Well made, not very collectable so they are some of the real "sleepers" in the market.


Couple of other words:
Get Michael McIntosh's book, "The Gun Review Book" it goes over many of the guns on the market, both SxS and O/U.

Also what guage? The smaller guages (16, 20 and 28) are very "chic" at the moment so they are more pricey. If you don't mind a 12 you can get a better deal. Also, alot of older SxS 12 guages will not be in today's standard the 2-3/4" (70mm) chambers, many in particular are 2-1/2" (67mm)so check. Generally the 70mm older guns are waterfowl or pidgeon guns so you might need the chokes opened up too if you like open chokes.

Its great fun searching for a good SxS, I had a ball last year doing just what you are doing!