In June of this year I picked up a 28 gauge Double Trigger Repro DHE with Q1 and Q2 chokes with 26" barrel in 99.5 % plus condition with the case for $4,900 on GB. Not sure how scarce that was, but it was the chokes I wanted for hunting Woodcock/Quail in Va. I had been looking for a long long time. PS. I set my bid at $5K and went to bed as the auction ended after 11 PM.

I have always held out for 28" Repros, but variety is the spice of life and maybe I would be up for a 26" gun like Tom found. A 28 gauge double trigger 26" gun might be my next find. Pistol grip or straight, doesn't matter, but my previous Repros have been straight grip. How many of these things do we really need? Maybe I should add a single trigger Repro to my collection.

IMO, 28ga. 26" Repros are under-valued and 28ga. 28" Repros are a little over-hyped. The mantra has been the 26 inchers are whippy -- mainly because they're so light, some theorize that a beavertail forend to the 26" guns adds enough weight to counteract the whippiness. The 28" barrel length is a cure-all. I don't buy any of that. I maintain it's the way one shoots the gun that carries the lions-share of difference regarding any whippiness and feel of the gun. I own and shoot two different 28ga. Repros, a 26" IC/M, SG, SPL, DT single-set carry gun for hunting and a 2-bbl. set 26" Q1/Q2, 28" M/F, PG, SPL, DT gun for targets. (I prefer a straight grip over a pistol grip as a carry gun and I prefer a PG over a SG as a target gun). Over the past several decades I estimate that I take ~500 shots at a clay target for every shot I take at a game bird and have found that if I shoot like I'm on a turret, swinging and rotating strictly as one unit from the waist up, I have no preference of barrel length -- 26" and 28" barrel lengths feel about the same. It's when I get armsy and handsy will I notice whippiness of a light and short barreled gun. In addition, for those hunting woods birds will find that a 26" Repro will be handier, lighter and nothing short of pure joy to carry.

YOMV.

I concur on all points Greg.





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Jim Tyrell brought a new 28 gauge 26” IC/M and a new WIN 23 Classic 28 gauge to the NSSA shoot at my club along with some other stuff for sale . This was when they first hit the market . He was asking $2400 for the Repro and $1400 for the 23 . I fingered both quite a bit that Sunday . Monday I went to the bank got cash drove to Fairfax R&G where Jim was the manager and bought the 23 . Wish I’d bought the other but that was then and this is now .
And no I don’t have the 23 it went down the road within three years of when I bought it.

Craig, the same Jim Tyrell sold me a nice DHE single trigger straight grip beavertail 26" 12 gauge for real short money. The gun had been sold by HC from Texas and represented as a skeet gun. It was made years before skeet had been invented and the barrels had been cut. I still have that sweet little "skeet gun".

I think I heard that both the Repros and the 23’s were made in the same factory in Kodensha Japan, is this correct?





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If memory serves Tyrell left Fairfax in the mid 90’s and went to MT to run a club . Not to long ago I “heard” he was in Houston managing “The Greater Houston Club” . He took a little getting to know but was always a decent fellow to me . I know I bought a veritable truckload of loading components from him . Also a few guns , sold him some guns as well . AJ Beard had a LNIB Kimber 89BGR 280 REM Super Grade in Jim’s shop at Fairfax on consignment . I bought that rifle and hunted with it for about ten years and killed a huge pile of deer with it , kinda wish I had it back :banghead:

As a general rule on typical price ranges, I would say this.

12g $3-3500
20g $4-5000
28g $5-7500

If any of those can be had for less than those ranges, it would be a good buy. And things like double triggers and multi barrel sets would add value.

Sounds about right . I seem to remmember something along those lines.