Thread: secondhand shotguns

virtually secondhand shotguns have disappeared from the retail shelves of gunshops. Guncity in christchurch being a notable exception, i ask myself why is this? do sites like trademe offer a marketplace they cannot compete with, or is the trend now to buy new? a well made shotgun would not be worn out by generations of hunters,so the second hand market has some real bargains. do hunters buy new because they haven't got the confidence/knowledge to buy second hand.? Or do they think new guns are modern and hence are superior to guns produced 20,- 30-,50-, 80- years ago? i would be interested to read of other comments.

I brought my first shotgun second hand purely because of cost, my next shotgun will almost certainly be second hand also. I prefer modern shotguns that shoot steel and capable of 3-3.5inch shells

I quietly live in the hope that some one will sell granddads old shotty cheap cause its old. I would not mind a 100 year old H&H manufactured shotty.

It I can't hit the target with 1oz loads then 3 1/2 in shells won't magically fix that either.

In saying that I brought new 2 times out of the 3 I currently own. Second hand 870 and a couple of new U/O's (because I could)

A lot of quality second hand guns are sold through word of mouth and clubs.

I like new, because I want certain features, can't be bothered looking (even buying new you may have wait) for someone to hopefully sell one and at least if something isn't right, you take it back.

However, I would be like mikee if I saw a second hand something that was undervalued....

I think a lot of older shotguns just wear out after a heap of use and not worth fixing.
So cheap to buy a reasonably good new gun these days with modern gas systems/actions/barrel/choke design...
as a left-hander, I can say there has never been a better range for me to choose from!

I've never bought a new shotgun. Rifles sure, but a well made shotgun will still be doing it a century later. Last week I went hunting with a 140 year old gun, as strong and reliable as any modern gun I own.

I do own cheaper shotguns like Yildiz, but you do have to admit they will have a shelf life. I know in 30 years time it won't be alive, yet my Miroku will still be chugging along.

Originally Posted by rockland

I think a lot of older shotguns just wear out after a heap of use and not worth fixing.
So cheap to buy a reasonably good new gun these days with modern gas systems/actions/barrel/choke design...
as a left-hander, I can say there has never been a better range for me to choose from!

Most quality under and overs or SxS last a long long long time, "dirty guns" are another matter all together!!

I brought mine with the intentions of them being handed down to my nephew when I'm done with them

well i've acquired a few more shotties than necessary. there are some excellent used guns for sale out there, twice the quality and half the price of some inferior new guns.i like the sxs and yes i'm also fond of u/o's but then i have a few semi's too.i guess if you are a waterfowler you are going to be in love with a semi, yes you can have the 3 and a half inch chamber. i am happy with 3 but i mostly shoot 2 and 3/4,s. i love guns with the romance of history. i shoot with a gun made in 1877 and another in 1888 also one in 1892.these only get used once or twice a season.and i only use 28gm loads.geese i use an auto but i have a 35 inch barrel,3 inch chambered sxs i will take out,especially if there is a group going,it always causes a ribbing but when i'm up to it,it can change a few outlooks.quail duck and pheasant, the doubles win out. i think the main reason more shooters do not buy on the second hand market is that they are not familiar enough or feel competent to judge a guns merit for themselves.also they do not know where to find a competent gunsmith who will do repair work, should it be required. that's a shame as there is a lot of fun to be had in the world of older shotguns.

hi when i was in auckland recently i was in a h and f store and asked where the 2nd guns were and the chap there told me that no one seems to bring in any trades and that they are all on tme i have found when out and about the country the smaller rural towns that have gunshops have better pickings esp older sxs .

As most sales these days are of semi auto shotguns, you will see less second hand on the market, simply because the cheaper modern guns don,t last, and you need a minimum of 6 shots per duck.
People don,tell there old SS or OU because there is no market for them, so the price offered is low, it's a bit like old 303s they still kill as well but the marketing people will tell you it's not the calibre to be used (this year)

i only had one shotgun for many years and happy with it.then i began to look for the "perfect gun". by the time i realised the money would have been better spent at a gun club or paying for tuition, it was too late, i was hooked on shotguns, the design. how they worked,the history and the artistry of the select. on the subject of shotguns today, a lot of it is in marketing,the latest and greatest.yes i know this will not put more game in the bag,anymore than shooting with 42gram loads will bring in more birds. we are all seduced by images, and the one i would like to remind hunters out there, are the qualities of a fine double,yes you can obtain one of these beauties for as little as two or three hundred dollars, rework the stock,refinish if necessary,fit a good pad,have the chokes opened etc. and you have a gun that you've invested a little of your soul in,and if you don't bring a bird down in those two shots,well then it deserves the right to fly to another horizon.you'll be a better hunter.

+1

Some of the old SxS and U/O shotties are lethally efficient.

Dozens of rifles/guns go through our closet as we like to field/bench test alot of makes/models, but some prove so good at their job I will never part with them. Strange as it may seem, one of these is a 1940s Savage side by side. Built like a tractor, not a single attractive marketing point, zero modern features, kicks like a bloody horse, but it has beautiful old 30" barrels with tight chokes, and has long proven itself a superb hunter in the field. With pattern tested 3s and 4s it does not miss bunnies out to 55m, and has notched 49 from 50 shots, and 48 from 50 in the field.

Cost $100, clouts me in the jaw whenever I get a bit sloppy, but I'm slightly in awe of the old girl, so in the closet it will stay. Some of these old doubles can be absolutely deadly in the field.

I've got an old sxs shottie for sale if anyone wants it

I bought my first shotty off Trade me stoeger m2000 in carbon for $550 with mag ext 7 +1 put a few 1000 rounds through it now on clays seams to jam for other people i love it. got my second shotty of TM 2nd hand as well cheap brand pump action 6+1 with mag ext payed $270 both guns were like new people buy and never used. next id like another semi auto Mariner Nickel maybe. just like the look. Be a while before i look at old school shot guns all tho i have respect for them. AR's next on my list to buy.