Worth Mathewson
Active member
Since there was a lot of interest in Jeff's post regarding doubles, I hope the following will be of interest: A person can frequently find some very good deals on English doubles from Holt's auction. They hold about four sales per year. There is one coming up later this month. To view the guns offered, go to Holt and Company UK. There will be two sales, the main sale, and the sealed bid sale. The guns in the sealed bid sale frequently are of poorer condition that those in the main sale. Having said that, Holt is upfront about any problems a gun might have. The guns in the sealed bid sale are shooters, and there are some good ones, some at remarkable low prices compared to what dealers over here are asking for them.
It isn't all that easy to get a gun from Holt's over here. If one does it himself, he will need to find a person over here with an import license. Just a FFL won't work. And the problem is that those with an import license aren't really interested in helping someone, as they want to import the gun for resale themselves.
Holt's has a fellow who will handle the import, but he isn't cheap. Then one needs to figure in the shipping costs, which, if I remember is about $150 per gun. Finally, Holt's gets 20% on top of the final hammer price.
Having said that, there are always guns at Holt's that are perfect for waterfowlers over here. Especially the 3 inch 12s. Keep in mind that the boxlock non-ejectors are priced lower than boxlock ejectors. In some cases, by a lot. While all this might well be more than a person is interested in doing, it is enjoyable to pull up Holt's page and view all those wonderful doubles. (the English pound is now around $1.60 US)
For all the turkey hunters, I hope that the old boss of the woods comes running up to you! Best, Worth Mathewson
It isn't all that easy to get a gun from Holt's over here. If one does it himself, he will need to find a person over here with an import license. Just a FFL won't work. And the problem is that those with an import license aren't really interested in helping someone, as they want to import the gun for resale themselves.
Holt's has a fellow who will handle the import, but he isn't cheap. Then one needs to figure in the shipping costs, which, if I remember is about $150 per gun. Finally, Holt's gets 20% on top of the final hammer price.
Having said that, there are always guns at Holt's that are perfect for waterfowlers over here. Especially the 3 inch 12s. Keep in mind that the boxlock non-ejectors are priced lower than boxlock ejectors. In some cases, by a lot. While all this might well be more than a person is interested in doing, it is enjoyable to pull up Holt's page and view all those wonderful doubles. (the English pound is now around $1.60 US)
For all the turkey hunters, I hope that the old boss of the woods comes running up to you! Best, Worth Mathewson
