Rise & Fall of American SxS's

[BS]

The Cabelas by me does not want anything to do with buying them. The manager there has no experience with them and you can tell that he knows more about military surplus weapons because that what he collects and purchases for the store. I tried to sell them a Winchester model 21 16 gauge in WS1 and WS2 and they offered me $3,000.00 for it, the manager said they really don't sell well. Sold that weekend at OGCA for $6,500.00.

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Pete, what do you deduce from the fact they have fewer than ten doubles? Cabelas not taking them in? They are selling faster than they can replace inventory? People are not trading them in so much anymore?......

.

I suspect it's a combination of factors but my guess is this particular Cabelas and probably many of them in the country have a hard time finding staff who can properly identify, evaluate and fairly appraise antique side by sides and they are not taking them in like they once did. This would lead to missed opportunities, overpaying then overpricing a gun, taking in guns with defects but not pricing them accordingly leading to a smaller stagnant inventory.

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

I don't buy that...





.

Mind justifies the heart and I love my sxs's as much as next guy that also enjoy's theirs. But for sake of discussion and if someone is neutral and faced with the knowledge of pros and cons for of choosing between an O/U, SXS, or Semi Automatic then its a knock. Might not matter to the weekend warrior busting brush but if the game is at the highest level of competitive shooting then it might be a factor. Hence someone suggessted or asked why don't you see the pros using SXS in competition well...this might be one of the reasons. It might not be "the" reason but I am also not a competitive shooter.

Heck for some reason I have a Ruger O/U in arsenal that was designed for sporting clays. It definitely works in that environment pretty well and I shoot in the 80's with it pretty consistently but I don't shoot that much. Take my sxs's to same course and I lose 8 to 10 breaks. Is it me or the gun, it could be mostly me and some gun, (more likely), or it could be mostly gun and a little bit of me. My vote is against me but results are the same. BTW I did take that Ruger on a quail hunt once and crushed it, but at the end of the day I was fatigued some. That gun also weighs about 2.5 pounds more than my sxs's so lugging it around in the brush was not as fun.

Could it be that some gun flexing is putting target in edge of pattern more than with other, maybe. But if difference in winning or loosing comes down to one clay in a competition which gun do you choose. Hence, there are many lighter O/U's I can lean to and have a lighter O/U that I can carry into the woods and I shoot it very well for me. But I like the look, feel and the way a sxs carries in the field. I have the luxury of choice. But there are many young shooters that don't have that choice and if they can pick a more utilitarian gun that is a double gun, then they lean to the O/U and don't look back.

[High Brass]

I have even seen hostility toward sxs shooters. At a springtime sxs shoot in PA a few years ago, a group of course 'regulars' were following our sxs group. They of course we're riding a very expensive 4 person buggy with metal flake paint and chrome wheels. We were walking. Their guns were painted wild colors and I think one of them had a chrome plated o/u. After a few stations one of them approached our group and asked if we used kerosene lamps and candles in our homes. Did we drive a horse and buggy to the course? If no to these questions then why were we shooting old fashioned guns? And he was actually angry. We simply told him we shoot the guns that we like. He also said we must not care about our score. We told him we cared about our shooting but our score on clays was not that big a deal. I will say that after following us around the course, they realized that we were shooting about as well as their group and they got a bit friendlier. The anger about our gun choice surprised me.

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by George Stanton

I have even seen hostility toward sxs shooters. At a springtime sxs shoot in PA a few years ago, a group of course 'regulars' were following our sxs group. They of course we're riding a very expensive 4 person buggy with metal flake paint and chrome wheels. We were walking. Their guns were painted wild colors and I think one of them had a chrome plated o/u. After a few stations one of them approached our group and asked if we used kerosene lamps and candles in our homes. Did we drive a horse and buggy to the course? If no to these questions then why were we shooting old fashioned guns? And he was actually angry. We simply told him we shoot the guns that we like. He also said we must not care about our score. We told him we cared about our shooting but our score on clays was not that big a deal. I will say that after following us around the course, they realized that we were shooting about as well as their group and they got a bit friendlier. The anger about our gun choice surprised me.

I don't know about hostility but I have observed people not taking shooters of classic doubles seriously. Five years ago eight of us went on a spring snow goose hunt in upstate NY. Five of us were shooting doubles including Frank Cronin with his 5 frame hammer ten. Our guide was not too impressed with our choice of guns as people are usually shooting semi autos with extended magazines. He was overheard talking to his boss on the phone after the first group of snows came in and we dropped a bunch of them that we knew what we were doing lol!

[Kensal Rise]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Pete, what do you deduce from the fact they have fewer than ten doubles? Cabelas not taking them in? They are selling faster than they can replace inventory? People are not trading them in so much anymore?......





.

While I know not what logic Cabela's may have, I do know what I was told at Jaqua's in Findlay OH.

About a year ago I dropped off about six very nice SxS guns, thinking they just might buy them outright, which has happened in the past. No. They reluctantly took them on consignment, saying "these were really popular a while back, but not so much anymore..."

They still took the guns, but only three out of the six have sold in almost 18 months. And Jaqua's sells a LOT of upscale guns. No shock to find Purdeys or an H&H on the rack.

I have my own opinions of Cabela's/Bass Pro Shops.

Bottom line: Love 'em and shoot 'em if you got 'em. Just like that '63 Stingray in your garage... it's a personal thing.

[Phil Yearout]

My local Cabela's has about 4-5 sxs guns in the racks, and those same 4-5 have been there for a long time. I have seen 2 or 3 come and go over the past few years, but that's about it.

I lovingly refer to the guys I hunt with as the "12-gauge-autoloader-with-the-plug-out-crowd" and they think nothing of shooting 'em dry at whatever flies. They don't understand - and never will - why someone would go to the trouble if they're gonna pack a gun with only two shots in it.

[C.O.B.]

If owning and shooting a SXS puts me in the minority then sign me up! I have a Rem 1100 20ga that belonged to my little brother, he has been gone for 35 years and i have never shot the gun. There are two Win M42's in my possession but for the life of me I can't remember using one in the last 10-15 years. I have no O/U's. Everything I shoot shotgun wise be it for game or clays is a SXS.

[Southpaw]

I am not big in the shooting circles but this guy shoots Perazzi's O/U and he could even shoot one of their sxs, so why doesn't he. I'd bet he would if they wanted him to move a few guns for them. I think they make a SXS but its only a 12 gauge.

Anyway its a cool video and that is amazing to break targets at over a hundred yards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Teixm6JMw_k

[Dean Romig]

I guess it's all what you believe in for a gun. If you believe a Perazzi will break clays better and more consistently than an old SXS then for heaven's sake, shoot your Perazzi...

At my skeet club our champion registered skeet shooter Zeno Marcos and I were shooting a round of informal skeet, he with his custom Perazzi with 20 ga. tubes in it and I was shooting a 16 ga. Grade 1 hammer gun and he was teasing me about me not being able to afford a Perazzi. I let it roll off... I had only dropped two birds and he was upset at himself for dropping one. I was shooting low gun - he of course, wasn't. We got to station 8 and he asked if I wanted to try his gun. I had never shot a Perazzi before and I said "Sure." He said in his thick Greek accent "But you can no shoot a Perazzi from down there you gotta mount da gun first."
He passed me the gun and a shell and I smashed the high house bird starting from low gun position. He was surprised. I turned around and faced the low house. Zeno said "You GOTTA mount da gun first! You will never hit this one from down low!" I asked him for two shells and told the trapper to give me two from the low house. Again I swung the gun up from a very low position - at about my waist - and diesel-smoked both of them. Zeno took his gun and just walked away shaking his head.

Trust me, it wasn't the gun....





.