I've seen a Browning 1935 superposed 12 ga. double trigger for $800. Very good visuals and rather nice wood. No visible external dings and hunting dmaage on stock. 26" bbls which suggests skeet use though could have been a hunter. I am told some of these might be true "two trigger" types and some might be a double-double trigger type in which either trigger could fire both barrels. I have a Jap Citori of about 1997 vintage in near new condition with 27.5" bbls and screw-ins. Buying the 1935 model would be more a matter of class and history. However some people said they point better than later versions. The proportions and depth of wood do seem different. Has anyone heard of problems with parts availability or maintenence?

Did you get it yet? I watched the replies at Shooting Sportsman. As popular as Brownings are parts can be had. You'll never lose money on it. It's unfortunate that $800 doesn't go very far on a gun these days but that seems like a case where it will go a long way. I would have the chamber length verified but if you like the gun jump on it.

SH

Got it today. BBls are marked w/ two stars and a minus which I was told was "less than modified" and which someone on Shooting Sportsman said meant Improved Cylinder. W/ 26" bbls this would seem to be a skeet gun. There is apparently a mate to it, a 30" bbl 1931 model in similar condition w/ fine unworn (to best knowledge) checkering of about 26 LPI. I guess that was a hunter and four years later the owner went into skeet.

Wood has broader yellow and brown striping which is a bit more English in tone than french walnut. Buttpad is Packmeyer "English" in light brown w/ simulated grain. LOP is 14" which is short so stock may have been fit to a shorter shooter - perhaps wifey. Can slip a buutpad over it to get more length or maybe try to match a new stock to the old one in proper proportion.

There is a mate to this one apparently - a 1931 first year production model of same form. Buyer likely got that first for hunting and the other for skeet. The 1931 model has a different forearm latch mechanism. Price is $1999 due to that early production. Mine is serial no. 7351 or thereabouts.

I bought a garden cart full of Baikal SxS doubles just to beat and saw on and those cost more than this en toto. At least I can slip back into that part of shotgun culture for the "between the wars" period. At least I can claim pre-war quality or whatever. Both these guns have double triggers which have no options for function. I was told some of these could fire both barrels from either trigger.

Skipped paying property taxes and have to cut back on some other lusts as well as doing some of my own in-building apartment rehab work now instead of hiring someone. However sacrfices must be made in the interests of art and culture.

* = full choke
*- = 3/4
** = 1/2
**- = 1/4
**S = skeet
*** = cylinder

The first superposed were offered in 28, 30 amd 32 inch barrels until 1935 or 36 when they offered a 26 inch in the lightning grade. It wasn't necessarily a skeet gun and most likely if it was it would have had a skeet choke. The 1936 lightning grades came with the single twin trigger also as an option that would fire a particular barrel and then fire the other. A very neat idea but a lot of them did not surive once the new single trigger came out. It was such an instant success (invented by Val Browning) that many owners sent their single twins in for a conversion.

I have seen two 1931 guns last year. One was egnraved by one of their noted engravers and restocked in a great piece of English Walnut. The other had been rode hard and put away wet, then the owner decided to "customize" the stock and did a hideous job of it. It went on Gunbroker for just over $400, worth that for the metal.

Picked the gun up Saturday. The stock is English walnut with what seems to be 32 LPI checkering. My Gunline checkering plastic scale is too coarse to measure anything that fine (even though marked for it) and reflects light back as well. The stock and forend have roughly five digit parts numbers beginning with a 7. The rubber pad is a packmayr "English Leather" type in light brown rubber. No screw holes or pierce points so am wondering how to properly remove it. I'd like to put on a proper leather pad.

Gun is #7351 and a mate in 30" bbls with a bit of simple engraving, a 1931 model, was #1731. However that one had dings in the metal and the stock. Making a custom stock for one of these would not be a lot of fun. The forend has a cross screw running side to side through a part of the latch mechanism. The screw has an abutment on the head side and a threaded "nut on the other. That nut and the head of the extremely finely threaded screw are filed or ground at an angle which matches that of the forearm, of course. I would hate to fit the screw and its two threaded or abutment pieces into a forend - it's a big alignment problem. My screw will be replaced, hopefully.

I definitely like the color of English walnut. I think is poarticularly good on a SxS double gun but it looks good on an O/U as well. I'll carefully smooth down the stock at various radii and use an iron and wet cloth to slowly expand minor marks. I'll also carefully strip and clean the stock, smooth the surface, apply clear filler if OK and then a proper finish for this color of stock. I'll also have the gun properly reblued.

f.s,
Can you post a digital photo? Or if not take one and send it to me and I will post it. If your gun is not restocked, it sounds like a special order, due mostly to the checkering lpi. The pachmyr pad was certainly added later.

The forend screw was on all the Superposed forearms and yes they are a challenge to locate. As you I am sure are aware, when you remove the barrels the forearm stays attached and slides forward. There are some superposed models, all high grades, that had a 3 piece forearm and the upper two pieces of those remained stationary while the bottom portion moved. The sliding plane is a real challenge also. The upper portion was attached with 3 screws on each side and were threaded into the rib between he barrels. Merkel uses a similar method on their O/U forearms.

The 1931 model you saw should have had a metal forend cap on it also, a very distinguishing element of the first guns.

I will be setting up a new LZ3 Panasonic digital camera which I have already used to take and transfer pics into my computer. Have to work out options for a myriad of settings, though. I'll transfer to you as this will save time with my trying to find the insdtructions here.

This (in fact both guns) were restocked at likely the same time but I would guess in rather recent times - meaning near the end of the active late life span of anyone who could buy one of those in 1931 or 1935. After all that was not a good economic period for buying guns. Could have also been done by a son.

(In 1939 an aircraft mechanic being trained (as was the case then) in engines, airframes, and radio electronics, by the time he got to some back-bench rating, was likely to be making 30 cents an hour.) I read actual papers from an airline situated at Midway airport in Chicago which were part of a life's accumulation of training, transfer, and commendation letters indicating what this guy made. He got a promotion or two which got his rating raised by a digit or an alphabetical letter and got to 40 or 45 cents an hour. A transfer from Chicago to Kansas City might have allowed less than $4 a da travel expenses - a per diem allowance which was sufficient at the time. This guy was making about $18 a week in 1938 or 39. Though skilled and desireable one airline (perhaps United or American) couldn't afford to hire the guy - I think that was either 1935 or 1938.)

Therefore buying these two guns in 1931 and 1935 is sort of financially significant as regards someone's social status. Anyway the 1931 model has the original nosecap on the forearm but the other one has no such thing. I checked and found the hardware does have a threaded hole for a longitudinal rod which would go up to the nose cap. I would guess the purpose was for front to rear stability to resist recoil forces.

I am going to have to improvise something to deal with the somewhat misaligned escutcheons in the forearm which might mean making a new screw to somehow fit lightly into the forearm from one side only while using a dummy on the other side. On the other hand the hole could be altered in the pass-through piece in the center. It might be possible to make a new rod and small escutcheon to fit to the front of the forearm if it could be made esthetically correct.

My main interest is in correcting minor dings and changing a few radii of the right and left sides of the stock near the receiver. Also the first tang screw goes in a bit crooked. This will have to be drilled, plugged, and redilled. The screws themselves will be re-slotted. Ditto for the pad which I would like to buff clean of all prior "flats" left from hand or rotary abrasive work. I would like to know how to get this pad off safely as it shows no screwdriver entry points.

I will put some sort of a modern day-glo sight bead up front as these can have their mounting hole slipped over the old bead to act as an anchor and a drop of construction glue schmoozeled on to keep everything in place. Did just that on a Baikal SxS.

The ultimate issue is a proper refinishing of the gun in the truest rust blue tradition. I mean burnishing the metalwork before finishing, etc. Some of the odd finishing I could do myself as regards heat, molten nitre, etc, but would use that as backup on removeable items such as the trigger guard.

quote:

Originally posted by f.s. piekarczyk:
I am told some of these might be true "two trigger" types and some might be a double-double trigger type in which either trigger could fire both barrels

My old FN B-25 had what you call "true double trigger". I think it's great with double triggers and hope more manufacturers would offer it as option

Cheers
/Johan