Ruger John Wayne Coach Gun?

[tiberius]

I read this on Cooper's new commentary:

We note with pleasure that Ruger is now promoting what they call a "John Wayne Coach Gun," which is a short-barreled, exposed hammer, double-twelve shotgun. (I have in the past referred to this sort of piece as a lupara, a term of Sicilian extraction, but by whatever name it is a highly utilitarian object.) The shotgun is probably the ideal instrument for home defense, and it should be neither complex nor clumsy. Eighteen- or twenty-inch barrels contribute to handy manipulation indoors, and exposed hammers permit the weapon to be maintained fully loaded indefinitely without mainspring fatigue. It may be true that the large bore-size of a shotgun invites small beasties to take up residence in your lupara, but that can be avoided by inserting a small cotton ball in each muzzle. We must accept the fact that the "John Wayne Coach Gun" will be promoted more as an accessory to "cowboy action shooting" than as an instrument of home defense. No matter. Whether you play cowboy or not, home-defense remains a serious matter.

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Anyone heard of this?

 

[Gordon]

Being Privvy to insider info , as he is, The Old Goat let the cat out of the bag.

 

[Mannlicher]

While I love SXS shotties, and have a nice old Stevens double in 16 GA with a short barrel, I don't think this would be my weapon of choice for defense. I like the comfort of a fully loaded extended mag pump.

 

[citizen]

Wow! Very interesting!
I just called Ruger this morning to inquire about new models; was hoping for a short-barrelled Bisley Vaquero. (Not gonna happen)
Neglected to even consider such a product; but I don't doubt it will happen.

 

[El Tejon]

Love to see how the backstabbers at Ruger twist this "weapon of mass destruction" into a "sporting use."

John Wayne shot people, not woodland creatures!!!

 

[foghornl]

I WANT A CONSECUTIVELY NUMBERED PAIR! ! ! !

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! ! ! !

 

[Detritus]

Either Shooting Times Or G&A had an ad for a "John wayne coach gun" in them this month, might be the itme in question, i didn't look close enough to see who was making the thing.
neat that they're doing this. but if i get a SxS it's gonna be one i can feel comfortable using (ie not have any chance of being "collectable", or too fancy)

 

[Gabby Hayes]

If it's the same "John Wayne Coach Gun" listed here http://www.americaremembers.com/whatsnew.htm it's one of the "Bounty Hunters" from http://www.eaacorp.com/firearms/longguns/sidebyside/cowboy/index.shtml

 

[Hkmp5sd]

I don't think it's the "America Remembers" John Wayne Coach Gun. Can't see Jeff Cooper using a $1600 gold inlaid John Wayne SxS for home defense.

 

[Gabby Hayes]

I was thinking more along the lines of Ruger importing the generic Baikal Bounty Hunter and slapping their name on it.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Ruger builds nice firearms, but oft there's quite a lag between the announcement and availability.

A few years past, Ruger trumpeted that it was introducing a trap gun based on its O/U shotgun. To this day, most trapshooters have never seen one.

The new SXS Gold Label also seems to be as rare as sober, sane UFO spotters with no compulsion to gain attention.

I do think that if anyone makes a US made hammer double of quality, whether for HD or the Cowboy shooting stuff, a market is there for them. A longer barreled version would also sell, a short perusal of Shooting Sportsman shows a mess of ads featuring new and used hammer doubles from Europe and England.

Note that a 26" barreled double has about the same OA length as an 870 with barely legal barrel.

And if Ruger is making this, I hope and pray it comes with two triggers. Two triggers means more reliability, along with instant load and choke selection. For safety's sake, I also hope the mechanism is capable of allowing the action to be opened while cocked, thus allowing the hammers to be uncocked when the shells are not in line with the firing pins.Accidents are rare with hammer guns but this can make them even rarer.

Built on that possibly mythical Gold Label action with its curb weight of 6 1/3 lbs, what an upland gun this would make!

As for the utility of this for HD, a simple MOA, short handling length, terrific reliability, and the awesome power on tap make this a fine choice, despite its limited capacity.

 

[WonderNine]

If Ruger made a double barrel 20" coach gun in twelve gauge I would buy it as soon as possible.

If they made one in 10, I would sell a kidney and buy it tomorrow.