The steeply rising production costs of the classic side-by-side shotgun eventually drove the manufacturers into extinction or forced their products into price classes that only the wealthiest shooters could afford. New or used, a Grulla, Pedro Arrizabalaga, David Mckay Brown, Holland & Holland, Piotti, Purdy or Abbiatico & Salvinelli double gun is usually beyond the means of most aficionados. They are great guns, but their price puts these and the other guns like them beyond the scope of an article on "Affordable Doubles." Also beyond the scope of this article are most of the classic American double guns of the 20th Century, specifically including the Parker, L.C. Smith (Hunter Arms), A.H. Fox, Lefever and Winchester Model 21.

However, the legend of the side-by-side shotgun has lived on to captivate a new generation of shooters. New manufacturing technologies like monobloc construction, CNC machining, investment casting and laser guided checkering, among others, plus the expansion of the world economy in Asia and Eastern Europe, has allowed double guns to make something of a comeback. I am not talking about cheap "knockabout" doubles here, but perfectly serviceable field guns with a modicum of class. Such guns are again available. A middle class wage earner that is willing to do some scrimping and saving can buy a good new or used double.

Be aware that a double gun is a far more complex mechanism than a pump or autoloading repeater. The highly refined mechanism must be manufactured and fitted to close tolerances or it simply will not work and the regulation of barrels is an art that relatively few have ever mastered. So a double will always be much more expensive than a repeater of the same brand and grade. Don't expect miracles. If you want to enjoy the speed and handling of a double gun you will have to pay a premium price compared to lesser guns. Also be aware that most double guns use thin walled barrels that will be damaged by steel shot. Avoid the use of steel shot in any double not specifically recommended for such use by the manufacturer.

Classic Used (discontinued) Guns

Used guns are almost always less expensive than new ones, so for those on the strictest budget, look to the used racks at your local gun shop, gun show, or in the classified pages of publications like the Shotgun News. For fair pricing, check the latest edition of Fjestad's Blue Book of Gun Values, available at most bookstores and gun shops.

Obviously, any of the new guns listed later in this article would also be recommended in good used condition. Here are a few discontinued models that are available only on the used market. These are guns I know something about and would not hesitate to buy for myself or recommend to a friend.

The Beretta Silver Hawk, discontinued back in 1967, was resurrected in 1999. The old version sported a satin chrome receiver, high solid rib, checkered pistol grip walnut stock and forearm, double triggers, and plain extractors. It was a boxlock gun with monobloc barrels in 12 (3" chamber) and 10 gauge (3.5" chamber) only. The Silver Hawk Featherweight was similar but lighter and came with a beavertail forearm and standard 2.75" chambers in 12, 16, 20, and 28 gauges with a choice of double triggers or a single non-selective trigger. I sold these guns new back in the 1960's and found them to be a very good value and a classy looking gun in what was then the medium price range. I would have bought one in a second if I could have afforded it.

Vincenzo Bernardelli, of Brescia Italy, made guns from 1721 to1997. Since the Second World War they have had a number of U.S. distributors, including Stoeger. In 2002 they were reorganized and Bernardelli branded doubles are now produced in Turkey. These I would avoid. Bernardelli has, over the years, produced a number of nice doubles in the medium price class at their own factory in Italy.

Perhaps the best known of these were the standard grade Brescia and the higher grade Italia Model sidelock rebounding hammer double guns in 12, 16, and 20 gauge, and the lightweight Gamecock. The latter was a hammerless boxlock gun in the trim English style available in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauges. All of these guns had nicely color cased receivers, beautifully blued barrels with low solid ribs, double triggers, and hand checkered European walnut stocks with splinter forearms. They were a lot of gun for the money, and a Brescia Model was my first quality double (purchased used in the middle 1960's).

If you yearn for a traditional hammer double gun, not a sawed-off "stagecoach" model but a quality sporting double, a Bernardelli Brescia or Italia would be hard to beat. And the Gamecock is the nearest thing to an affordable English game gun you are liable to find. Beware of guns marked "Pietro Bernardelli" and "Santini Bernardelli," as these trademarks are not the Bernardelli guns referred to here.

One of the best known discontinued doubles is the Browning B-SS. The basic models were the B-SS and B-SS Sporter, both sturdy boxlock guns available in standard Grade I and deluxe Grade II. Grade II guns came with more engraving and a fancier grade of walnut. There was also a considerably more expensive sidelock model that is beyond the purview of this article.

The BSS was made in Japan by Miroku (who also manufactures the Citori O/U) for Browning and featured a blued and engraved receiver, solid raised rib, single selective trigger (SST), selective ejectors (SE), checkered pistol grip walnut stock, and beavertail forearm. Gauges were 12 and 20. The fit and finish was to Browning's usual high standards. For years I wanted one of these guns, but I never got one. The Sporter was similar but featured a straight hand stock and splinter forearm. The B-SS guns were discontinued in 1988.

An equally well made double (and one of my personal favorites) was the basic Charles Daly Field Grade SxS, also made in Japan by Miroku in 12 and 20 gauge. This solid little boxlock gun had a blued receiver with minimal engraving, double triggers, plain extractors, a checkered walnut stock and beavertail forearm. Higher grades were also available with fancier wood and more extensive engraving. When I bought one of the Field Grade guns in used but like new condition, I was stunned to discover that this basic grade gun appeared to be constructed with chopper lump barrels and featured a "swamped" English style rib. It was a very neat and lively gun to shoot. A Charles Daly Field Grade SxS is a fine used value. I believe that these guns were discontinued about 1985.

The Field Grade Ithaca NID was one of the classic American doubles. It was introduced in 1925 (replacing the Flues model) and remained the mainstay of the line until the Ithaca Gun Company discontinued all double gun production in 1948. These Ithaca NID Field Grade doubles were solid, workmanlike guns that will still serve modern shooters well, although their stocks usually have more drop than modern stocks. Gun fit is a personal matter and is something to which any prospective buyer should pay close attention. Try before you buy.

The NID was an improved Ithaca boxlock action that featured a rotary bolt locking system and a strengthened frame. NID Field Grade guns typically came with fluid steel barrels suitable for modern shells (but not steel shot), color case hardened receivers with a roll stamped game scene, double triggers, plain extractors, solid rib, and a checkered walnut pistol grip stock. Gauges were 10, 12, 16, 20, 28, and .410.

Today all but the 12 and 16 gauges are primarily of interest to collectors, who have driven the price of the small gauge guns beyond what most shooters are willing to pay. The NID was also produced in many other grades with increasingly fancy features, decoration, and wood. Except for the Grade I, which is similar to the Field Grade, these higher-grade guns are usually out of the affordable price range. Even NID Field Grade guns were produced with variations.

The Lefever Nitro Special was introduced in 1921 and discontinued in 1948, making it the oldest gun included in this article. It was not a true Dan Lefever design; rather it was an Ithaca boxlock design, the precursor of the famous Ithaca NID that appeared four years later. Ithaca had bought Lefever in 1916 and wanted to capitalize on the famous name. The earlier Lefever double guns manufactured by the Lefever Arms Company and D.M. Lefever and Sons were highly regarded and are mostly collectors' items today.

The Nitro Special was not a fancy gun, but it was hell for strong. Nitro Specials were designed for modern smokeless powder shells (but not steel shot) and any Nitro Special that has not been abused should be safe to use today, which is why the model is included here.

Most Nitro Specials have color case hardened receivers, double triggers, plain extractors, a low solid rib, and semi-pistol grip walnut stocks and splinter forearms checkered about 16 lpi. However, there were variations, including beavertail forearms and a single selective trigger. Gauges were 12, 16, 20, and .410 bore.

My Nitro Special was a 12 gauge made in 1929, and it was a solid and reliable performer as long as I remembered not to press my cheek too firmly against the stock, which had a lot of drop. If I got my face in too tight against that stock the shot would go low.

Perhaps the most common and affordable of the inexpensive American made doubles is the Savage/Fox Model B series. This gun is not a classic A.H. Fox design, but rather an upgrade of the Stevens 311 boxlock. Savage Arms had purchased both Stevens and A. H. Fox, and combined the Fox name with the somewhat bulky but sturdy Stevens side-by-side shotgun to produce the Fox Model B series.

Where the Stevens 311 is generally seen stocked in plain hardwood and fitted with double triggers and extractors, the Fox Model B series came with checkered (impressed or otherwise) American walnut stocks and a raised ventilated rib. The plain Model B featured a color-cased frame, splinter forearm, double triggers, and extractors. The more deluxe B-SE had a satin chrome frame with a roll stamped game scene, beavertail forearm, non-selective single trigger and selective ejectors (SE). I sold these guns in the 1960's and cannot ever remember having a problem with one. However, these are heavy, rather "clunky" doubles. The line was discontinued in 1989.

SKB has been building firearms in Japan since 1855. Not to be confused with the classic American made Ithaca doubles, the Ithaca/SKB doubles were nicely crafted boxlock guns with monobloc barrels made in Japan and imported for several years by Ithaca Gun Company. Later SKB shotguns were imported by others. They featured raised solid ribs, hand checkered walnut stocks and forearms, automatic safeties, and selective single triggers. Made in 12 and 20 gauges only.

The basic Model 100 usually came with a splinter forearm and plain extractors. Upscale models such as the 150, 200, 200E and 280E (the "E" stands for automatic ejectors) had increasingly nicer wood and finer checkering, more extensive engraving, and sometimes a recoil pad. The 280 series had straight hand stocks and splinter forends. The 200 series had pistol grip stocks with cap and a beavertail forend.

I once owned one of the Ithaca/SKB 200E models (scalloped frame, coin finished receiver with 100% coverage deep relief etched engraving, black chrome barrel finish with chrome lined bores). The approximately 22 lpi checkering on the pistol grip and beavertail forearm was nicely done. Everything worked as advertised; the ejectors ejected, the SST never balked or doubled, and it was very easy to maintain with its durable barrel finish.

New and Recenty Produced Guns

For those unable to find or unwilling to buy a used double, there are some new guns on the market that, while expensive compared to a good pump gun or the used guns above, do not cost an arm and a leg in the greater scheme of things. The guns that follow are not the cheapest doubles on the market (you generally get what you pay for) and certainly not the most elaborate. They are mostly from what I consider the lower end of the middle price range of doubles, the area where real bargains are most likely to be found.

The Charles Daly Field II Hunter is an inexpensive Spanish box lock. It features a checkered walnut pistol grip stock and beavertail forearm, engraved silver receiver, monobloc barrels with a solid rib, gold selective single trigger, extractors, and automatic safety. It is available in 10, 12, 20, 28, and .410 gauge. The somewhat fancier Superior Grade weighs about 7 pounds and is similar in specification but comes with chrome lined barrels, available in 12 and 20 gauge only. At the top of the line is the deluxe Empire Hunter with game scene engraving and selective ejectors.

Heckler & Kock (H&K) offers the Fabarm Classic Lion SxS. This gun has received good reviews and is built on a boxlock action with monobloc barrels. Features include a silver finished frame, selective single trigger, interchangeable chokes and a hand checkered pistol grip walnut stock and splinter forearm. There is also a Classic Lion Grade II in 12 gauge only.

SKB has been producing shotguns in Japan for a long time. Their current SxS offering on the U.S. market, at the time of this writing, is the Model 385. This is the successor to the Model 200 described in the Used Gun section above. This classy double features a boxlock action with a silver nitride receiver and game scene engraving, scalloped frame, double underlugs, single selective trigger, selective ejectors, automatic safety, monobloc barrels with a raised solid rib, interchangeable choke tubes, checkered (18 lpi) pistol grip American walnut stock with recoil pad and semi-beavertail forearm. The Model 385 is available in 12, 20 and 28 gauges. This is a quality double that can be relied upon.

Roy Weatherby started out by designing wildcat rifle cartridges, became the guru of the modern high velocity movement, and founded the company now famous for its premium rifles. However, the Weatherby Company has also branched out in other directions; one of the latest of which is the importation of a well made Italian boxlock double with sideplates.

Like most Italian guns, this one is designed in the tradition of the English game gun. The Weatherby Athena D'Italia is available in 12, 20, and 28 gauge. These guns come with rose and scroll engraving and "silver slade" chromed frames, a straight hand stock, splinter forend, 20 lpi laser skip-line checkering, double triggers, selective ejectors, monobloc barrels with interchangeable choke tubes, and a high level of fit and finish. A foam-lined takedown case is included. The Athena D'Italia looks like more expensive gun than it actually is and, of course, Weatherby stands behind the product.

There are other relatively inexpensive doubles with which I have had no experience and a few I did not mention because I was not impressed. In the latter category are the Russian Baikal doubles (crude now but bears watching in the future) and assorted imports from Brazil and Turkey (generally low quality and poorly made). Of course, even countries where world class doubles are produced, such as Spain and Italy, can also turn out some clunkers if the importer who is paying for the guns insists on emphasizing low price over quality and workmanship. As usual, the buyer should beware, particularly of seeming "bargains."

I regard the side-by-side double as highest expression of the gunmaker's art. I hope that you find this brief article about affordable doubles useful.

Permit me to close with a request: Please do not write to ask my opinion about a gun not mentioned in this article. If I left it out it is probably because I don't know enough about it to form an opinion. There are a lot of guns out there that I have never touched or even seen.