S&W Elite Gold double 20 ga.

[Frogwalking]

I saw a beautiful side by side 20 gauge for sale today. Very slim and graceful. It appeared to be very well made. Almost new condition. It is a S&W Elite Gold. Case color, box lock, single trigger and apparently selective ejectors. Old style non replaceable chokes IC and Mod. Who made it and where? What is it worth?

Thanks,

Frog

 

[Frogwalking]

The internet gave me some answers to my own question. The gun I inspected was made in Turkey, and as it appeared, is very high quality. I have a CZ double, but the S&W is much finer of finish. It also seems that the original single, nonselective trigger, paired with fixed chokes was not a popular combination, or was problematical from an operation standpoint. This was abandoned in favor of double triggers, simpler, with quick, easy choke selection. Now the gun has been dropped from the S&W line-up. I don't know why but would be interested if anyone does know. I found a new-in-box double trigger model for $1,500 but am unsure of reliability and support. I have read of some unreasonably hard trigger pulls on this gun. Perhaps to prevent doubling as the hard trigger seems to be always on the tighter choke barrel. Any information appreciated. All the above is suspect.

Thanks,

Frog

 

[durco]

There were chronic problems with this gun. I am told it got so bad that S&W quickly quit offering them, dropped the warranty on them and simply refunded the entire purchase price to the owner whenever there was a problem.

Mike

 

[gkitch]

Was this true of their O/U too? I found one for sale locally (12 Ga) and the price is tempting.

 

[H Richard]

What sort of problems were they? I always thought they weren't popular as they did not have interchangeable choke tubes. I do know they weren't on the market but about 1 year.

 

[oneounceload]

There were no such things as chronic problems - I own one as do a dozen of my shooting buddies -we all have a lot of rounds through the guns. Why they were dropped initially was simply a case of poor marketing by S&W. The Turkish company that made them also made the Kimber sidelock, and is now making the S&W as the Dickinson that is sold through Cabela's. They had too high a price point on a gun that had a stigma because of the country. Unfortunately, Turkish made guns get a generalization of being poorly made, similar to Taurus or older Belgian guns where that is simply not true. They are using some of the best materials and incorporation some of the finest technology and equipment. The S&W Elite Gold is patterned after the original Dickson round action triggerplate gun. Mine is traditional - double triggers, English stock, splinter forearm - it points and swings fantastically well and carries superbly.

Noted gun writer Bruck Buck did a write-up in Shooting Sportsman about it. When a gun writer spends his own money to buy a gun, it is with good reason - when S&W discontinued them and they were selling for $1200, many considered it to be the buy of the century. After shooting his, (he's a friend of mine), many at the club scoured the net for them - my version sold out quickly.

If Cabela's can convince Dickinson to make one in 28 gauge with 30" barrels, I'll be owning a 28 again