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Great thread. Just a few points. The Brits took their doubles (rifles or shotguns) back to the manufacturer quite often for cleaning up. That might be stock dings or rust spots or bluing/blacking wear. This does not detract from value as it would with a vintage Winchester lever gun. They thought of it as a simple tuneup like we would take a car in. Now for more extreme work, tightening is not that tough a job for a QUALIFIED gunsmith (there are not that many of them in the US) and usually runs around $200. That is about the same cost as rust bluing. That doesn't hurt value in my estimation. Removing excess oil from stocks, dings, etc depends on the amount of work needed. If necessary, stock replacement is not all that expensive if you go to the right person. I am a wood dealer and know the right people. The main problem is that it can take some time for someone who is both inexpensive and a quality worker. If you need names, I can give you several. The main thing to look for in a double of any kind is barrel condition. That is #1 through #6.

Now I have had a couple old doubles and the problems as I see in them are in handling. The Brit guns are nice but the older ones are a couple pounds heavier in the 470 class than the new guns. 10 pounds I can live with. 12 pounds is no fun to carry or throw to your shoulder in a hurry. That is my opinion, you are welcome to your own. That is the nicest thing about todays guns...most in this class will run about 10 pounds. Now a real treat are the 9.3 x 74's which are considerably lighter, but we'll stick to apples vs apples. Now I tried all the new affordable doubles. I really liked the feel of the Blaser double but don't want anything to do with that silly and maybe dangerously slow secondary cocking system. I can match the feel with the Searcy with modifying the wood a bit. I went down and saw Butch and tried the guns and loved them. Now I gave him my own piece of wood to use...an exhibition grade full feather piece of seed English denser than hell with vibrant colors like Claro. I'll do a bit of carving on the cheeks and the final gun will be unreal. Of course, Butch is adding a set of 12 Ga 3" barrels with tubes for chukar thinning and getting used to the gun. Maybe even a round of trap now and then. The 12 Ga barrels are a $3500 option.

Anyways, I am looking forward to the gun and am about two months away.