Side by Side Club

[button]

6 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, yes  your right, the one mentioned by PW member buze i would say between £4000/£5000 but it would have to have a fitted AYA case,

Personally there would be other options I would explore before paying that for a number 2

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 minute ago, button said:

Personally there would be other options I would explore before paying that for a number 2

 

hello, i agree button, there are some good deals about for English/ Quality foreign/ shotguns, there is nothing like going on a formal shoot with a nice cased shotgun in the boot,

[buze]

Thanks everyone! Taking everything on board.

Gun is £6k, and is nearly new (I'll check the serial and details later today). It's also seriously on the north side of what I would be paying for, thus my question. Personally I was looking at perhaps a Chapuis -- The reason I'm not going for an English this time is price for a newer gun really, I want it steel proof as I want to make it 'future proof' and also I want to shoot ducks with it; "english" modern guns are twice that money already (or much much much more of course).

That AYA #2 has a nice weight to it to be fair, my other SxS are lovely on a walk up, but they are definitely lightweight, also, limited to 1oz

[button]

I know of a brand new Arrieta round action for £3.5k, which while not cheap I do feel it represents fair value for money

[London Best]

32 minutes ago, button said:

I know of a brand new Arrieta round action for £3.5k, which while not cheap I do feel it represents fair value for money

Arrietta do some very nice stuff.

[JohnfromUK]

Just now, London Best said:

Arrietta do some very nice stuff.

That may be 'did' and I wholly agree.  Much of the William Powell (s/s) range in recent times was made by Arietta (and I have no doubt many other 'English' names who are less open than Powells about origins), however I believe that are no longer actively in business.

[London Best]

Thanks John, I didn’t realise. 
About 20 years ago I met a gentleman on a shoot and he let me fondle his pair for a few moments(!). They were new, beautifully made and handled like a dream. Just to my taste, but maybe not everyone’s as they were quite ‘fast’. He had paid about £7k I think he said.

[matone]

1 hour ago, London Best said:

I have used a self opener on 150 to 200 bird driven days for the last 8 seasons and love it. I find it no harder to close, whereas the Purdey action is, definitely. When I use one of my other non self opener ejectors they both seem really slow to use and clunky now.

Extra weight for the mechanism h&h quote 2 oz.

I would concur ! Been using one this season and really notice the difference !Would I pay 3k extra ,no.As to the OP,look long and hard at what is available on the market ,as there are some real bargains to be had now in the s/side market and theoretical values are just that.

[London Best]

2 minutes ago, matone said:

I would concur ! Been using one this season and really notice the difference !Would I pay 3k extra ,no.As to the OP,look long and hard at what is available on the market ,as there are some real bargains to be had now in the s/side market and theoretical values are just that.

Yeah, I find a real noticeable difference in a hot corner.

[wymberley]

1 hour ago, buze said:

Thanks everyone! Taking everything on board.

Gun is £6k, and is nearly new (I'll check the serial and details later today). It's also seriously on the north side of what I would be paying for, thus my question. Personally I was looking at perhaps a Chapuis -- The reason I'm not going for an English this time is price for a newer gun really, I want it steel proof as I want to make it 'future proof' and also I want to shoot ducks with it; "english" modern guns are twice that money already (or much much much more of course).

That AYA #2 has a nice weight to it to be fair, my other SxS are lovely on a walk up, but they are definitely lightweight, also, limited to 1oz

Forgive me if I'm wrong and it was not you, but is the engraving now deemed acceptable?

[buze]

6 minutes ago, wymberley said:

Forgive me if I'm wrong and it was not you, but is the engraving now deemed acceptable?

Nope, never really looked closely at AYA SxS before -- funnily enough I always thought they were a bit expensive for a non-english gun, but from what I've seen the gun doesn't look super fancy like some others, but it does look pretty good to me.

[London Best]

1 minute ago, buze said:

Nope, never really looked closely at AYA SxS before -- funnily enough I always thought they were a bit expensive for a non-english gun, but from what I've seen the gun doesn't look super fancy like some others, but it does look pretty good to me.

It’s the integrity of manufacture that counts.

[wymberley]

7 minutes ago, buze said:

Nope, never really looked closely at AYA SxS before -- funnily enough I always thought they were a bit expensive for a non-english gun, but from what I've seen the gun doesn't look super fancy like some others, but it does look pretty good to me.

Oops, cross purposes, I was referring to Chapuis and your (I think 'twas you, but not certain) remark about the engraving. You could do a lot worse than having a good look at Greenfields of Salisbury used English guns - there seems to be some tasty offerings at the moment.

[Dibble]

40 minutes ago, matone said:

..... ,as there are some real bargains to be had now in the s/side market and theoretical values are just that.

I've been pondering this a lot at the moment, the actual value of a gun is 0 until someone hands over money. There are a lot of guns out there at fanciful prices 1785 for an AyA XXV boxlock anyone?

Dealers seem happy to hold onto stock for years rather than shift it and write off their losses, selling it for what people will actually pay would cause a complete collapse in certain areas of the market, which might come.

I'm patiently looking for a long term gun around the 2000 mark and will find a gun that is worth that to me and comparatively if you put it down next to a new Beretta/Browning will look good value but I know that I probably will never get the 2000 back if I sell it, I will have to mentally write off the money.

But if I spend 100 on a nice meal I don't expect to get the 100 back, I just enjoy the meal..........

 

 

I may appear a Philistine but the pictures of the sidelock action have made me want a A&D boxlock more, sideloccks seem an awfully complicated way of doing things.

[oldypigeonpopper]

4 hours ago, buze said:

Thanks everyone! Taking everything on board.

Gun is £6k, and is nearly new (I'll check the serial and details later today). It's also seriously on the north side of what I would be paying for, thus my question. Personally I was looking at perhaps a Chapuis -- The reason I'm not going for an English this time is price for a newer gun really, I want it steel proof as I want to make it 'future proof' and also I want to shoot ducks with it; "english" modern guns are twice that money already (or much much much more of course).

That AYA #2 has a nice weight to it to be fair, my other SxS are lovely on a walk up, but they are definitely lightweight, also, limited to 1oz

hello, are there many newer side by sides steel proof ?

[buze]

Well so, it turns out it was not a #2, it is a #1 from 2004. Inspected it and it is *not* steel proof as it was assumed. 

Anyway, I did 100+ clays with it, and I shoot it very wheel. 30" barrels, good weight to it, good swing to it, recoil is 'in line' so very little muzzle flip. It's 1/4" too short, and a bit too low.

So, I bought it, with adjustments as follow as part of the deal: Open to 1/2 1/2 and reproof for steel; raise the comb ~2mm, add a horn pad for 1/4", and also remove a bit of weight at the back (there are plugs where weight has been added) to move the center of gravity just in front of the pin (I like that).

 

[JohnfromUK]

8 minutes ago, buze said:

Well so, it turns out it was not a #2, it is a #1 from 2004. Inspected it and it is *not* steel proof as it was assumed. 

Anyway, I did 100+ clays with it, and I shoot it very wheel. 30" barrels, good weight to it, good swing to it, recoil is 'in line' so very little muzzle flip. It's 1/4" too short, and a bit too low.

AyAs with 30" barrels are very much in the minority, so you did well to find that.  I have a No 1 (basic design 28" model from 1977) and have been very pleased with it.  When you say you will have it proofed for steel, I assume this is not HP steel?

[buze]

3 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

AyAs with 30" barrels are very much in the minority, so you did well to find that.  I have a No 1 (basic design 28" model from 1977) and have been very pleased with it.  When you say you will have it proofed for steel, I assume this is not HP steel?

No Standard Steel -- I don't see myself shooting HP in a gun that light :-)

[JohnfromUK]

54 minutes ago, buze said:

I don't see myself shooting HP in a gun that light

That makes sense!

[Old farrier]

5 hours ago, Dibble said:

I've been pondering this a lot at the moment, the actual value of a gun is 0 until someone hands over money. There are a lot of guns out there at fanciful prices 1785 for an AyA XXV boxlock anyone?

Dealers seem happy to hold onto stock for years rather than shift it and write off their losses, selling it for what people will actually pay would cause a complete collapse in certain areas of the market, which might come.

I'm patiently looking for a long term gun around the 2000 mark and will find a gun that is worth that to me and comparatively if you put it down next to a new Beretta/Browning will look good value but I know that I probably will never get the 2000 back if I sell it, I will have to mentally write off the money.

But if I spend 100 on a nice meal I don't expect to get the 100 back, I just enjoy the meal..........

 

 

I may appear a Philistine but the pictures of the sidelock action have made me want a A&D boxlock more, sideloccks seem an awfully complicated way of doing things.

But they Ballance better 😊

buy something that you like and puts a smile on your face when you’re using it 

at a price you’re comfortable with especially if you have a bit of a haggle 

just hope you can shoot it and hit something is a bonus 

lovely looking gun 

1 hour ago, buze said:

Well so, it turns out it was not a #2, it is a #1 from 2004. Inspected it and it is *not* steel proof as it was assumed. 

Anyway, I did 100+ clays with it, and I shoot it very wheel. 30" barrels, good weight to it, good swing to it, recoil is 'in line' so very little muzzle flip. It's 1/4" too short, and a bit too low.

So, I bought it, with adjustments as follow as part of the deal: Open to 1/2 1/2 and reproof for steel; raise the comb ~2mm, add a horn pad for 1/4", and also remove a bit of weight at the back (there are plugs where weight has been added) to move the center of gravity just in front of the pin (I like that).

 

Lovely looking gun have a great time with it 😊👍

[button]

3 hours ago, buze said:

Well so, it turns out it was not a #2, it is a #1 from 2004. Inspected it and it is *not* steel proof as it was assumed. 

Anyway, I did 100+ clays with it, and I shoot it very wheel. 30" barrels, good weight to it, good swing to it, recoil is 'in line' so very little muzzle flip. It's 1/4" too short, and a bit too low.

So, I bought it, with adjustments as follow as part of the deal: Open to 1/2 1/2 and reproof for steel; raise the comb ~2mm, add a horn pad for 1/4", and also remove a bit of weight at the back (there are plugs where weight has been added) to move the center of gravity just in front of the pin (I like that).

 

Very nice, the round action is very elegant 

Is it a self opener?

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, looks very nice Buze, does it come in a fitted case?

[flippermaj]

I am a bit puzzled as to why you want to steel proof it?  The gun as it is will shoot standard steel without the need for any re proof.  Also if you do want to go ahead and steel proof it I think the only proof for steel is for  hp steel?  Nice looking gun.

 

[matone]

1 minute ago, flippermaj said:

I am a bit puzzled as to why you want to steel proof it?  The gun as it is will shoot standard steel without the need for any re proof.  Also if you do want to go ahead and steel proof it I think the only proof for steel is for  hp steel?  Nice looking gun.

 

Exactly,a pointless risk to a lovely gun ,perfectly usable with normal steel loads as is.

[buze]

Well I wanted 1/2 chokes anyway, which requires reproofing, so why not? There's plenty of metal, it's not like it's been used or abused.