Dickinson S X S ?

T

Tom Roberts

Well-known member
Does anyone know anything about Dickinson Arms s x s shotguns? I saw one at a Cabelas in Allen Texas and was impressed with the gun. Nice wood and fit,beautiful case coloring, english stock,...etc. I know they're made in Turkey which isn't neccessarily a bad thing. Does anybody have an opinion on these guns? Appreciate any feedback.....Thanks
 
Tom,

I've never heard of or seen one but the one report I saw in the net was glowing. That said, I've been burned twice by Turkish made guns - both Huglu's - and would be hard pressed to buy another. I talked to a gunsmith one time about Turkish guns and his comment was - "who's going to fix it when it needs repair?". Dickinson may have solved those type of issues - do your homework before plunking down your dough.
 
Humm, a gunsmith questioned who would fix it? I would expect a gunsmith to caution that waiting for parts might add some time, or making some parts might add expense, but a gunsmith, should be able to fix it? Heck, I can order and replace parts myself... I use a gunsmith to do the things I can't do. Any gunsmiths here on the forum? Am I off base here, honestly? Curious....

I have a Churchill, made in Turkey, I have had it for some 20 years. Was used, but not much when I bought it. Nice little side by side, straight stocked. My pheasant and grouse gun, and walking the Brown's River duck jump shooting gun. Used it this Spring as my trap gun too. Fun to shoot.... though I may "need" to have a trap gun.

Dave
 
It's likely that he meant "parts aren't available or scarce" hmmm? Sure most any gunsmith can fix any gun by making what ever parts are necessary - for a cost. For the cheaper foreign guns it may not be economically feasible to fix them if parts aren't available. I've seen some pretty rough guns come out of Turkey - sure they look great on the outside but no fit/finish on the inside. I've been wrong before and maybe this is the second time but I think it pays to do your homework.
 
Pete, I certainly agree, we need to do our homework, and I too had a really POS 20 ga over and under that was imported. Honestly don't remember from where, but though it looked good, at 30 yards the 2 barrels shot 10 or more feet apart, Could not hit anything with that gun. Traded it away for a new deer rifle!

I have a TriStar DU model. Cheap gun, looks nice, I shoot it well, but cheaply built. Turkish import too I think? Anyway I had an issue with it, and stopped over at the "gunsmith" to have them take a look and make the fix. A rivet that held the magazine keeper lever spring in place was either too short, or not swagged properly. They suggested I send it back to the mfg, that it was not worth their time?

So I took it apart, turned a stainless steel screw down on my drill press and made a new rivet. Maybe 30 minutes tops. Adjusted the lever that it swaged into by adding a slight countersink to the backside so when I swaged the rivet in place it mushroomed into the countersink, and can not pull out again. Should have been designed and built this way!

My point is, it is getting harder to find a true gunsmith... a dying art? I hope not, but I suspect we are too much in the bolt in replacement parts and not willing to pay and wait for a skilled person to do the job? I have known some gunsmiths that will make a part faster and cheaper than waiting on replacement parts, wish I knew one in Northern VA!

Dave
 
I had to look it up because Dickinson's are a very high quality Scotish gun and then in the 70's and 80's there were some dickinson's imported from spain. A quick search and came up with a few turkish models by Dickinson Arms, the cheapest one looks like a gun S&W was importing for a while. I tend to steer away from turkish guns for same reason as Pete pointed out. Looks nice on the outside, but inside workmanship tends to be subpar. To me that translates into a longetivity issue. being a new company with no apparent website, would also lead me to beleive they won't be around long. While the same plant is probably producing all these guns, 10 years from know you may have to have parts made if something goes wrong. As Dave pointed out not the biggest deal these days, but if something is wrong now, who do you go to. However for a $1300 price tag its hard to find something in a SxS today that shoots steel and has nice fit and finish. I would suggest to search Double gun and shooting sportsman forums and even post a question if need to be to find out exactly the story is on these guns. Now if the same as S&W and kimbers, my impressions where nice fit and finish, just did feel lively in my hands and overall not for the $2000 dollar+ price tags.

good luck
 
Thanks for the responses. Definitely some good points raised. Doesn't seemd to be much info out there to base a decision on. So I will wait awhile and see if new info shows up.
 
These guns are imported for a contract. After the contract is up, they may go to another manufacturer. Parts are not usually available from the importer. Been there done that... A good gun smith can make parts, is it worth the money to fix it? What does a gunsmith get a hour???
You get what you pay for...
 
The question is who makes a good off the rack sxs? I know SKB used to, but who now? I can dream right?
 
how much $$$? Steel shot safe? upland only? For under $2000 new, there is not a lot except for the Ugartechea's, nothing fancy but good quality gun, they are not steel shot safe though. Anything else under $2000 I would buy used. You can get some nice used Italian guns, that are steel shot safe for that money and well below. To get something new thats really nice, you have to spend $2500-4000. For me to even consider spending that kind of money, not sure I would take it out hunting and I would also order it custom to my specs from Poli. you said dream right.
 
Tom
Names can be confusing a Genuin English Dickson round action sxs will cost you a hell of a lot of $----, those cheap Turkey imports are not what I would be looking for mate.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
The question is who makes a good off the rack sxs? I know SKB used to, but who now? I can dream right?
Click to expand...

Andy, not sure what you mean with the, "off the rack" question. Most sxs, no matter how old can be set up to shoot steel or be loaded with ITX, Bismuth, or Nice Shot.

My personal preference is 100 year old plus, doubles, both American and English. I've used steel shot in some, but they required choke work to protect the gun. Guns this old have passed the test of time and when compared to a $50,000 plus new double, they are a steal, in both price and quality.
 
Tom,
this is a good start,

http://www.gunsamerica.com/97842041...a-Shotguns/SxS/Beretta_424_SxS_30_barrels.htm

I like my fox a lot but it is not a finely struck british double by any stretch.

I passed a nice Ithaca SKB double at a local shop about 9 years ago and that was dumb. 500 bucks. Very nice gun.

If you need a double gun serviced Briley in TX has done very good work, not just chokes, on doubles for two people I know. Not cheap, but right.

The word gunsmith does not mean a double gun mechanic. Any one who needs work done should search for a person who specializes in that kind of gun.
 
Bob, your right there are a lot of nice doubles in the price range of the gun you referenced. With only a six bird limit, pumps and autos may never have been invented as the additional fire power isn't as necessary and when you price the new autos like Remington and Benelli, they make the cost of a sxs seem reasonable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top