Forums.NitroExpress.com

You just might be trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear, referbing a double is damn expensive and by the time one adds the cost of refinish, he could have deducted that amount from the original cost and made the same money without the hassel, so goes the gun business.....

I look at the bores after the lookover as bores are the plague of English guns, they did shoot cordite you know..for some reason many accept poor bores as OK in doubles, I will not accept them unless I can shoot the gun and see if they have an effect on accuracy, at least most of the time!!

Another thing that concerns me is if the gun has shot off the face and many have...I can check this by taking the forend off and determining if there is any minute movement in between barrels and action both sideways and up and down by twistin the barrels on the closed action..very important test IMO...

I also inspect the blue for pitting below the blued surface, a common occurance and for pitting under the wood of the forend, also common and not desireable...rounded corners are a no no...Faded color case hardening is acceptable but not desirable...Inletting in double gun butts is another place to check if they will allow it as many of these 100 year old rifles have cracks and or oil soaked all to hell and that is really bad, it was common practice when the black cleaned your gun in days of yore to soak it down good with oil to prevent rust....

Thats the real world of old double guns, beware of your purchase, the cost a lot and a good one costs the same as junk it appears. A good English double rifle is one heck of a good investment and beats the stock market all to hell, I have made a lot of money on doubles over the years, more so than any other type of rifle..Its not uncommon to double your money over a few years with a good gun..

Post Extras