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Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

IMO....There is no right or wrong on this.

Neglect or abuse bothers me but I like the look of honest wear on a gun. The pattern of wear tells a story. Was the shooter right or left handed, how he carried the gun etc.

This is called patina and it's not just American gun buyers that see things that way. The guys that buy and sell million dollar pieces of original chipendale furniture and lots of other neat old stuff agree. You can completely destroy the value of a great piece by refinishing it.

On a working gun the wood needs to be maintained to protect it. But with the products on the market today you dont need to reblue a gun to keep the metal from going to hell on you. If original unrestored finish floats your boat that's great. Just take care of it after each time you shoot.

Anyway, what this all means is I have a foot in each camp, I have a rack of guns with the soft gray "bluing" and some bare metal showing from up to 100 years of use and care but with wood that shows some recut checkering fresh finish and TLC.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jeffmulliken/album/576460762327104138/photo/294928803359740613/5

I'll take the cat - how much to ship to MA?

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

The cats no longer available. There were no immediate takers and it got kind of dry and flat.

So now I'm saving them up, when I get 8 I'm going to use them for placemats, and invite my in laws over for dinner

Jeff

Member Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 450 Location: Indiana

16ggy
I'm with you a 100% on the refinish being wood or metal. Years ago whem I was doing some gunsmithing I would pick up an old piece for my self. If I liked the gun I reblued it (hot blue) and refinish the wood.
This idea of a pitna look and not reworking Grandpa's old piece will not be long for the scrap heep. It may surve for the present but not long for the future.

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

When it comes to a gun like the pictured A5, just remember to throw it on the scrap heap in front of MY house, OK?

That gun will be hunting, as is, far, FAR longer than any of us will.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

Ted, your so right.

I have one from 1906 torn down on my workbench and everything is original except 3 springs.

The forend had been cracked and repaired with copper straps, actually a fairly neat job too. The repair was clearly over 70 years old...

These things will run forever, and never come "off face" like a double.

Jeff

Guest

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

"Good" may be a stretch!

But they are neat, cool and interesting.

I think the humpback that puts off a lot of people is part of the reason some shoot them so well.

Consider this, it puts a very high percentage of the weight "between the hands" and it's part of the sighting plane. So when you add a barrel of 26" you end up with a 32" sighting plane in a gun that handles like a wand.

Jeff

Not many folks realize that John Browning was both a fine shot with a rifle or pistol and an accomplished trap shooter too. The A5 humpback profile extends the sighting plane back closer to the eye. He built it this way, because he shot it better.

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

I had an A5 once-and it was broke. One of the ejector hooks in the bolt broke off and a neighbor gave the gun to me. It was pretty much a single shot when I got it.

I fixed it. Then, I got rid of it. Autos don't float my boat. Its OK if they float yours. I'm lefthanded, and find the clatter going on after the shot up by my nose disconcerting. It doesn't bother me with a pump, most certainly not an Ithaca 37. But, that is just me.

I have a Tobin that was off the face.

I fixed it. Cheap repair, soldered a shim on the hook. It still needs some work, but, the new finish and recheckered stock look great. That double isn't going anywhere. Tobins are still great buys compared to any other turn of the century American double, which might explain why I have two, my beater 12, and my restocked 16, easily the equal of a Fox, Parker, or Lefever.

I have seen not one, but TWO A5s that always put their shot charge about four feet right of center at 30-40 yards. Hey, these are implements, and they aren't perfect. Sweet 16s are neat, but, they have always been a lot of money for what you got, I thought. I still do. But, I like seeing guys who like 'em put them to work, or, in this case, fix the stocks.

But, let me be clear, I'll take a loose double over a functioning auto, any auto, any day of the week.

Thats just me.
Best,
Ted

I once had a Remington 1100 30" barrel that shot about 2-3 feet high at 40 yards. I took it to the Remington booth one of the Florida state shoots. The Remington service rep on hand for gun servicing took three bags of shot and laid them on a table one on top of the other. He then took my high shooting barrel and gave it a solid rap about midway up over the shot bags. He then glanced down the barrel and told me to try it. It shot a perfect 65/35 percent pattern with the beads stacked forever after. Some things are easy to fix. Some are not. It was educating. I've used the same trick on a couple of overly high shooting trap singles since. It works every time.

Guest

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

Ted,

I love my SxS's, would not give any of them up to make room for another A5. My Parkers are balanced, graceful and elegant and show tremendous craftsmanship.

But I feel the same way about the A5's for very different reasons. They are goofy contraptions, and neat fun designs for an autoloading gun, made by a genius who came up with them while other guys were still trying to figure how to make ejectors work consistently on side by sides.

Thier appeal is not for everyone. It is sort of like a moosehead mount hanging on a wall. They are never considered beautiful or graceful, but there is a sort of attraction there, a goofiness about them that makes you look and puts a smile on your face.

Jeff

Member Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 398 Location: S Fl

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

Great point! Imagine shooting BP in a gas operated auto loader!

It brings up another weird question to ponder.....given the era that the A5 was being made.....could there be an A5 or two out there with 4 blade Damascus barrel and case colored receiver?

Jeff