while it is common knowledge that the 28ga patterns well for its load weight it is most certainly not the same as a 12. killing clay birds in an ultra repetitive sport with almost zero variables is a poor measure of such a thing. and to be sure a man who shoots his limit of dove with less than a box of 28's has most likely displayed greater skill than the man who does so with a 12. shot string and pellet count simply cannot be ignored. physics and all.

I really don't pay attention to what kind of birds my friend is going after on any particular hunt? I do know he takes that Krieghof 28 GA most of the time...except to Canada for ducks in the Fall.

My friend isn't your average weekend hunter...

Of course the 12 has more juice than a 28 GA. It patterns similarly was the meaning of the comment.

Skeet shooting is, indeed, a game of being able to mount the gun, swing properly and shoot with a proper follow thru. And, since you know how high the bird will be thrown, that takes one element out of the puzzle. Still, it has been entertaining for me over the years to go from someone that didn't even own (much less shoot) a shotgun to someone that can usually shoot a respectable score at skeet. I don't get to go on live bird hunts much anymore but being able to practice with the same gun you hunt with is certainly a help.

As to gun prices/values, something is worth what another person is willing to pay for it. No more, no less. I have found that the gun collector price books generally tend to overprice items, that auctions bring out the serious collectors with deep pockets that are willing to spend big bucks and the online sites such as Gunbroker, et. al. generally tend to service the little guy shooter/collector. So, while none of these are the absolute guru of values, collectively they will show a range of prices that a particular gun should sell for. The real secret is to do your homework!

What auctions are u watching?

Your generalizations do not help much. First tier houses attract the real good stuff.

Julia, Rock Island, Amoskeag, , Little John, Cowans, Heritage, Carol Watson all move high $$$$ spoons. Especially the first 2. John in the past has moved 700K Winchesters... then there are some regional players like Aldfer, Morphy or Conestoga, Old Barn, Kull and a host of general auctioneers that sell spoons a few or a dedicated auction. .

Generally speaking a SW 686 or any other common spoon is going to go for a few $$ of each other from auction to auction coast to coast without variation.


The Blue Book and Standard Catalog of Firearms are both snap shots of prices in time, the lead time to publishing is 6 to 9 months. So the prices are BEHIND the curve...of whether the item is ascending or cooling. Also pricing tends to be a bit more on the conservative side as they average out values.


I read a lot of descriptions and I find that most Dealers and Auctioneers don't have a depth of knowledge. However those first 7 that I mentioned write detailed and informative descriptions. They do it because a large percentage of their bidders are either Absentee or Phone Bidders and to get them to feel comfortable to part with serious money they need to provide detailed info.

The message...........
 

The point is that ALL of the various sites have useful information in one way or another. Turning your nose up about Gunbroker (or any of the others for that matter) is not a wise thing to do. Interesting and collectible pieces are subject to turn up anywhere at anytime. Personally, I would rather have a dozen nice, interesting but shootable spoons over one that costs $10 large! But, to each his own!

Man this thread has me going back to gunbroker to poke around and see if any deals are to be found....damn you guys.


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