Jay, please give us your answer to the question. We have very little experience with Turnbull refinished Repros. I feel that some buyers prefer a mint original Repro to a Turnbull refinish. Some buyers prefer the Turnbull gun.

Put me in the original and unaltered category. However, I must confess, this one is awful nice..

Not being boastful but you’ll be hard pressed to find a 28 Repro as nice as the one that I just sold. 2-barrel set; double triggers; btfe, straight stock. Case coloring by Bachelder, wood refinished with an original type Parker finish. It looked as close to an original DHE as possible. It sold for what I paid for it before I had any of the work done. A friend who is a prominent dealer if very high end firearms told me the ONLY reports that are commanding premiums are those unfired and in completely NIB condition. He warned me no one would pay extra for the work that I had done. Think about it this way: why would anyone pay a $1000 premium for work that they could have done for less than that.

Why not acquire an original DHE, or one that's got honest wear and can be re-habbed if that's what one wants? A PR will always be a PR, no matter the enhancements, no?

(no judgment here or opining on someone else's choices w/their own property - just playing devil's advocate, and curious to hear opinions)

If it were only that simple. What's an original 28 ga DHE, BTFE, straight stock, with a second set of barrels going to sell for, IF one could even find one for sale? $20k-$25K? And even if you bought one who would hunt it as hard as you would a Reproduction? The mistake I made was trying to age the repro's spray on case color with Semi-chrome. The result was a nickel bright receiver. Don't get me wrong, I have no regrets. My point is thinking that having Bachelder, Turnbull, do work on a repro will result in a dramatic increase in value is wishful thinking. I should also mention that I didn't lose much money having what work done. I paid $6k for it in 2004, had the work done in 2011(?) for less than $500, sold it in 2013(?) for $6,500, and bought it back in 2018 for $6,000. As has been discussed in multiple threads, Repos, like every other double, are not selling for what they did even a few years ago. The gentleman who bought my Repro paid a very fair price and I am glad it is in good hands.

Now I have my answer to my original statement. Jay doesn't think that aftermarket changes to a Repro will increase the value of the gun. I have to refresh my memory, but I think that's what I thought, maybe a small increase in value, but not much. I have the greatest Repros I could ever imagine, other than a .410, and I won't send them anywhere to have them upgraded. I have a 28 gauge, streaked English Walnut, straight grip stock, two barrel set, double triggers, beavertail forend. I also have a 12 gauge, wonderful wood, 28" one barrel set, improved cylinder and modified, straight grip, splinter forend. I would hate to have to duplicate those two guns today. I don't prefer the case colors, but am willing to put up with them rather than paying DT thousands of dollars to improve them. By the way, my 12 gauge came from Scot Cardillo, and I am more than happy with it.

I'm glad you enjoy and appreciate that one, Bill. It is indeed a wonderful example. The one I posted in the photo above would be an excellent candidate for a DHBP.

To my eye, the pad + spacer looks to be about an inch??, leaving the lop at 13-3/4" once removed. What would a DHBP add back to that? 1/4", 3/8"?

Bought my 28 gauge 2 barrel set used for $5500 in 2014. Original case w/cover, snap caps, warranty card and oil bottle.

any restoration work on any gun (repro or original) should not be done for monetary gain. There are very few candidates (ie: high grade/small bore) that the situation of dollars and cents makes any sense.
Yes, you may improve the value of a gun if condition is lacking. But almost never will the cost of work be recouped let alone profited on.

People restore, upgrade or embellish their guns because they want to. Period. And in the case of repros, people may want the modern gun with the traditional looks of the original guns that they love. I can see someone paying a premium for bone charcoal case hardening on a Repro if they like the look of it. But not $1000-2000 more for sure.

Primarily, people pay for overall condition, configuration and choking when it comes to repros. And of they have sound wood that will not break in 100 shots or less.

C grade? :vconfused:

https://www.gunsinternational.com/gu...n_id=101385503