Double for older brother

[Sgt Stevo]

My older brother is not a gun guy. He builds houses. But he lives in Northern LA county.

In the foothills, he has had critter and human problems. He has a lot of construction stuff around his yard, backhoe,etc.
He agreed to a gun, But he says it has to be double. He wants to be able to look into and see it is unloaded. Blah, blah, blah.

I dont agree, but it is what he wants. So, I will buy him one. I want it work, but not cost me awhole lot. I like him, but not that much.

I think a medium lenth barrel. He wont here about pumps, etc....

Thanks THR, stevo...

[Jim Watson]

Stoeger Coach Gun (made in Brazil)
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/coach.tpl
and
Remington SPR (made in Russia by Baikal)
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/SPR_models/SPR210_side-by-side_specs.asp

They are sturdy cheap doubles popular in Cowboy shooting and about as simple as they come.

The SPR can be had with external hammers, as can the Communist Chinese knockoff of the 1878 Colt shotgun but I think that is going a little far retro, no matter what Jeff Cooper says about the Italian Lupara.

[BozemanMT]

I was going to say CZ, as I really like their quality for the price
But then your last line about I like him, but not that much made me laugh.:p
so, go with Stoeger, solid, but not beautiful
but they work fine.

[MatthewVanitas]

Mr Watson, as always, is right on the ball, but I'll respectfully note that the SPR-220 (http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/SPR_models/SPR220_side-by-side_specs.asp) is a good $100 cheaper than the SPR-110 in the hammerless coach gun format.

The 220 also has double triggers, so you can theoretically put two different ammo types in the gun and select which to fire first.

For MSRP $279, that SPR looks to be a pretty good deal. The old Baikal shotguns had a good rep back in the day (Mel Tappan and such), and even used ones ran in the high 100s or low 200s back in the late 1990s. So $279 or less seems eminently reasonable.

Glad to hear that your bro is willing to take care of himself. A coach gun might not be everyone's choice, but it's a a dang sight above a baseball bat. Also easier to train on than a pump. He should have a ton of fun blowing cardboard boxes to heck for practice, and should sleep soundly with that coach gun in the corner.

-MV

[redneck2]

For someone that's not a hard core shooter, that should be great. Maybe #4 buck in the tight barrel and a slug in the more open barrel. As much as hard core gun guys would like to get tacticool with a black 7+1 pump, butt sleeve and headlights, the double should be perfect

He might still think about the butt cuff to carry some #4's for smaller critters and extra heavy duty stuff

[Lee Lapin]

Your brother's wants sound pretty sensible for a non-gun guy. Get him a current-production imported coach gun and don't worry about it too much, or bother arguing with him. If you do go for the Stoeger, and don't mind spending a bit extra, get him one of the nickle plated ones. They look a lot more intimidating, and are likely to be lower maintenance too. I used to ride with a local LEO in the 1970s who carried a sawed-off 311 that had been nickle plated. No one wanted to argue with that shotgun very much.

http://www.impactguns.com/store/stoeger_silverado_coach_english.html

Go for a 12 gauge, and get him started on low recoiling light 1 oz. target loads (Remington Gun Club etc), then move him on to low recoil buckshot and slugs for serious use. Don't let him make the mistake of stoking it with magnum 2.75" loads, or heaven forbid 3" magnums.

lpl/nc

[Sgt Stevo]

I am seeing him down there tommorrow. I will buy him a stoeger in nickle.

Again thanks. I will be out of town for two weeks. So be well, Stevo...;)