New guy digging up old threads again...
I just read through this, very interesting discussion as I just started getting into SxS's about 8 years ago, or about the time I turned 50.....
The interest in SxS's seems to be an ebb and flow sort of thing, although I do think those ebbs and flows are getting smaller as time passes.
A couple of reasons for this, IMHO... In my home state, hunting is still very popular, but most of the hunting today is Deer, Turkeys, and waterfowl. Hunting for small game like rabbits, squirrel is down, and upland bird hunting outside of preserves, seems to be dissapearing, unless you are able to own your own land and manage for the birds. For turkey and waterfowl hunting, the old SxS is a long way from the shotgun of choice, because for waterfowl, you have to use steel/nontoxic shot, and for Turkeys, everyone is wanting to use 3.5" high velocity shells, with TSS being the rage now. For some reason, these guys think you can't kill a turkey with #6 pheasant load....
I will say, and do hope that many of todays younger hunters get to a stage in their life, where using guns like this becomes desireable to them. I bough my son a 16ga Lefever Nitro when he graduated his Nuke Trainging with the Navy, to sort of introduce him to SxS's.
In the last 6 weeks, I have bought my first 2 Parkers, at prices I didn't think I would ever buy a nice Parker for. I had been looking for a long time, and just never saw a gun I couldn't live without for a price I felt comfortable with.
First was a very clean Parker Trojan, that I had been watching on GB for $699. Late one Saturday night after a few patio cocktails with my wife, it was getting down to end of Auction and still no bids, so I bid $700 just for kicks. Went to bed and next morning was surprised to see I had got it for that price. It's a very nice gun, although pretty heavy, and I plan to use it on some duck hunts, and shooting trap.
Getting that Trojan only made my desire to pick up a VH or nicer even more. Ran across a nice VH12ga on GI, that the guy originally had been asking $1800 for, then he dropped to $1500, and I offered him $1400 and he accepted. Will I lose money on this gun? I don't know, and don't really worry bout it that much, as I intend for it to be my primary upland gun, and have no intention to ever sell it. Some day, my son will get this one.
I am not really a collector like many of you, I am just fascinated by these old guns and wanted to own at least one each of the American made SxS's. I don't have a real Lefever or Win21 right now, and may never own those unless prices on 21's come down, or I find just the right lefever for me.
I joined PGCA because I love the fact that with Parker guns there is a group of people out there that are keeping the history of them alive, and hopefully future generations will learn to enjoy these guns as much as we have.
Ordered the Letter for my VH yesterday, and can't wait to get it.
