I just shot a $15,000 shotgun!

[hunter46spring]

Being a big trap shooter I was thrilled to have just shot a Krieghoff K-80 unsingle trap gun. These book new for around $15k. What a sweet gun, smooth, hard hitting, high shooting, tight, and crisp!

Its one of the great things about the shooting sports people are alway asking you, if not demanding, that you shoot their guns; "go ahead, try it out". I dont know if this happens in other sports but I have never recalled anyone saying "Try my new Flyrod, damn thing cost me $3k" or "Sure take my clubs for the weekend, see if you like them"

 

[bostonasphalt2]

I have noticed that, too. Everytime I go to the range, I end up trying someone elses gun at least once per visit. Never fails. Something either comments on a gun of mine they like and I offer to let them sue it, or I comment on a cool gun they have and they tell me to take it for a spin. 99% they will NOT take no for an answer.

 

[vellnueve]

Something either comments on a gun of mine they like and I offer to let them sue it

Have you been hanging out with Cross-X and Scrivener at the range?

 

[Harleynut]

I have had a couple of guys let me shoot thier Krieghoffs and I always come back telling them how mean they are for doing that. I am shooting a SKB combo single/ over under and I don't ever see myself investing more then that in a trap gun other then if I win Power Ball.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Wow.......the day I ever pay 15K for a shotgun of any make, model or type, I'd voluntarily commit myself to getting some mental help.

I don't care who made it, there aint no shotgun worth 15k, not even a USAS 12 full auto.

 

[hicksonj]

Being a big trap shooter I was thrilled to have just shot a Krieghoff K-80 unsingle trap gun. These book new for around $15k. What a sweet gun, smooth, hard hitting, high shooting, tight, and crisp!"

Wait until you meet up with someone shooting a Holland & Holland double. Some of those guns cost more than a nice house.

 

[vellnueve]

Wow.......the day I ever pay 15K for a shotgun of any make, model or type, I'd voluntarily commit myself to getting some mental help.

I don't care who made it, there aint no shotgun worth 15k, not even a USAS 12 full auto.

Had I the resources, I would buy myself a low-end Beretta SO, something in the 20K range. If you're not a shotgunner and can't appreciate the fine art and downright incredible craftsmanship and artistic talent put into this type of firearm, then you'll never understand. One of these is definitely in my long-term plans.

 

[Turbocharged]

I've had people hand me a magazine and a gun and told me to try it out. lol, it's the funniest phenomenon ever, but it doesn't exist in any other sport/hobby unfortunately.

 

[hicksonj]

http://www.hollandandholland.com/~newyork/usedguns/index.htm

 

[LTCRN]

Or take my motorcycle, Ferrari, or yacht out for the day. I agree with you completely. When it comes to firearms, we all seem to follow the golden rule- "Share and share alike." Because of this, I have been able to find out which handguns fit my hand the best and this kind generosity has also saved me a couple of grand in potential unwanted purchases over the last year plus

 

[Roadblock]

Just wondering...why are so many of the expensive shotguns pairs? Is that so the shooter has 2 matching guns, one of which can be passed off to someone else for loading? Or just because if you have 80K for one shotgun...you might as well spend $160k for 2...

 

[vellnueve]

His and her guns. And shotgunning is a social activity, perhaps more so than many other types of shooting.

 

[Brin747]

ANy of you guys can take my Ferrari out anytime you like, or my wife. She's the one on the left...

 

[Stef]

Or take my motorcycle, Ferrari, or yacht out for the day. I agree with you completely.

It's funny you should bring up motorcycling because I've seen the same sharing spirit there. Maybe it's just the kind of people I've ridden with over the years, but we're are always letting others try our bikes, especially if someone gets a new one.

 

[hunter46spring]

If your ever at a club having an ATA trap shoot it is worth stopping to look at the gun racks....people with $3000 Brownings are the newbies. The racks are loaded with Krieghoff's, Perrazzi's, Ljutic's, and Kolars worth tens of thousands of dollars..., gorgeous wood, space age stocks. Trap shooters seem to drop a boat load of money into their guns

 

[MisterHappy]

Hunter...You're more than welcome to use my A5 anytime!



Or try one of the Parkers when I bring them out to play.

I didn't see a "Serious" answer to the "Why matched fine doubles?" so, here goes: The way I understand it, English Guns were for "driven" hunts, where beaters drove the birds to the shooters. Each shooter would have a loader to reload: BANG BANG [give the gun to the loader, take the other], BANG BANG, repeat. Matched guns were regulated and fitted identically, so the shooter had an easier time.

That, and since they were big bucks [pounds?] it was a way to show off without being flashy.....

 

[Harleynut]

I guess if you start compairing the cost of a Krieghoff to something like a legal M16 or Thompson sub gun or many other legal machine guns the Krieghoff could be a bargin.

 

[Roadblock]

I didn't see a "Serious" answer to the "Why matched fine doubles?" so, here goes: The way I understand it, English Guns were for "driven" hunts, where beaters drove the birds to the shooters. Each shooter would have a loader to reload: BANG BANG [give the gun to the loader, take the other], BANG BANG, repeat. Matched guns were regulated and fitted identically, so the shooter had an easier time.

Thanks, that was what I had figured; but wasn't sure. Someone else brought up his & her guns...but I would imagine then it wouldn't be a pair of nearly identical guns; since he and she were probably different sizes.

I wish there were more places to shoot sporting clays around here...

 

[Zappa]

I don't care who made it, there aint no shotgun worth 15k, not even a USAS 12 full auto.

Tom, I guess you've never held a fine Purdy, Parker, Perazzi or H&H.

The first time I ever shot skeet was at a club in Ohio. They guy I was working for was a registered shooter and ranked #4 in Ohio in 1980. He taught me with his own personal Kreighoff O/U, which was a 5 barrel set he had custom made for him. He went to the factory in Germany and chose the stock blank, then had a custom fitting for stock size and shape. He said he waited nearly a year for delivery, and it cost $12k in 1972. Being a total newbie at the time, I couldn't appreciate what I held in my hands, but I certainly do now.

 

[Kalahari]

Tom, I guess you've never held a fine Purdy, Parker, Perazzi or H&H.

I'm just curious, what makes these guns so valuable? Is it simply the craftsmanship or the art on the gun, or are they really 15x more accurate/durable/etc.?

 

[hicksonj]

The quality of raw materials, the fit and finish of those materials, and embellishment. Many of these shotguns have such intricate engraving that the master engravers can only carve for about 4 total hours a day without damaging their eyesight.

To add to this... a blank of walnut for a perfect stock can exceed $5000. A custom double requires over 1000 man hours by craftsman that apprenticed until their 40s.

 

[Fixxah]

I would buy a Barret semi-auto .50 cal. and spend the rest on ammo.

 

[Zappa]

I'm just curious, what makes these guns so valuable? Is it simply the craftsmanship or the art on the gun, or are they really 15x more accurate/durable/etc.?

Hickson summed it up nicely.
It's the quality and the craftsmanship that make all the difference.

 

[vellnueve]

I guess if you start compairing the cost of a Krieghoff to something like a legal M16 or Thompson sub gun or many other legal machine guns the Krieghoff could be a bargin.

Yes, but the higher end shotguns can make most fully-transferable MGs look like bargains.

I'm just curious, what makes these guns so valuable? Is it simply the craftsmanship or the art on the gun, or are they really 15x more accurate/durable/etc.?

Some of these shotguns have engraving that is so intricate it takes weeks, even months, to finish.

 

[vellnueve]

I would buy a Barret semi-auto .50 cal. and spend the rest on ammo.

Given the choice between a Barrett M107 and a Beretta SO, or even a high-end 687EELL, I'd go with the latter. To each their own.

 

[MisterHappy]

Hickson summed it up nicely.
It's the quality and the craftsmanship that make all the difference.

Even a "Low End" Parker has the same balance and mechanical quality of the high-end guns. If the gun fits you, it's an absolute joy to shoot (If it doesn't, it's like any other gun that doesn't fit - unpleasant).

I have Parker doubles, and don't use them for Trap - a splinter fore-end can make the barrel uncomfortable to hold by station 3! But for a day of upland hunting there's nothing better...because of the balance, they feel significantly lighter than an equal-weight auto....

As for durability, my "newest" Parker was made in about 1928. Of course it had a history before it got to me, and it shows. But the breech is absolutely tight, and any birds that get away are not the gun's fault!

One of my personal opinions of Trap is that it's mostly a mental game - if you KNOW your K-80 or whatever is going to hammer the birds, it will. I know that my ratty A5 is "perfect" for me and I have no complaints about its performance. Out of the team of Me & Gun, it's Me that does the missing!

 

[Harleynut]

Its strange when I pick up a new gun like that to try I always shoot it well. Guessing its because your more focused just because the gun is new. I did that with my skb shot a round then bought it. That first round was one of my best 24 out of 25 then went down hill fast after the check cleared I told the guy I bought it from he must have shot all the straights out of it then sold it to me.
There are some small towns in Italy that have several very high end shotgun makers a lot of what they know gets taught generation to generation with in the family.
Some of the shotguns are more like a piece of art then a weapon. I have seen some english elephant guns that look like shotguns with the size of the barrel those get real expensive. I don't ever see one of those in my collection.

 

[Madball13]

lots of shotgunners i know say 2K will get you a great shooter, anything over that is grade of wood, details and a name. Look at the Caesar Guerini's trap guns. the Summit is 4k but for 8k you get the same gun with nicer wood and detail work on the receiver. Personally i have a beat up Browning Citori i paid $750 for 8 years ago and i shoot it very well.

 

[vellnueve]

lots of shotgunners i know say 2K will get you a great shooter, anything over that is grade of wood, details and a name.

For the most part, although the higher end guns definitely have much more attention paid to them in the mechanical department as well.

The difference between dropping $20K for a fine shotgun and $20K for a registered M16 is that one of them actually has close to $20K worth of engraving, woodworking, and man-hours put into it, while the other is $20K for a few parts that cost a total of $5 to cast but are rare because of artificial regulation.

 

[rep308]

check out the selection at Robin Hollow Outfitter at Addieville Farm in RI:

http://www.robinhollow.com/

They had 10 $50K shotguns when I was there last month, and I wasn't buying.