deputy125

For some reason, i am drawn to these old break-over shotguns. You know the ones, h&r, nef, iver johnsons, savage/stevens, etc.

Yep they ain't the best choice out there for a lot of applications. No fast repeat shot, Kicks hard, generaly not the best blueing or wood unless you find a really nice old one. And i made the mistake once of taking an h&r completely apart at the receiver---needless to say it became one of those shoe box take-ins to the gunsmith(bet Iowegean has seen a few of these!). But i was brought up using one so that probably has something to do with me being drawn to them. For better or worse, i think i'll start collecting a few.

i just plain like them--kind of like vanilla icecream. I was at the gun show and saw winchester mdl 37's that suddenly seem to have collector interest by the price. Checked gunbroker and yep they are that high.

Anybody know what makes the winchester mdl 37 so special?? Is it because it says "winchester", were they far and few in sales? or are they a definate step-up in materials and workmanship compared to an iver johnson or h&r?

These old single shots are kind of fun and affordable (for the most part) as to actually collecting something i like.

Looking for those garage sales bargins! Just wish i could find some winchesters at the sales.

gunman42782

I like em too. My first gun of my own was a .410 H and R single shot.

George S

My first shotgun was (and still is!) a Winchester Model 37 that my dad bought for me when I was 16 and wanted to try my hand at Trap. Never got the hang of it but it's still sitting in the safe.

Last year a good friend gave me a Winchester Model 37A that he had no use for. This is the version of the 37 that was made in Canada. It's all apart simply because it had been really neglected and is slowly being cleaned up. Have to refinish the stock, pick up a few small pieces and then try to remember how it goes back together.

Iowegan

There's a world of difference between the older Mod 37 and the newer 37A. The 37A has a real junky lever latch system. The lock lever is made of potmetal and wears out quickly plus the internal parts aren't nearly as well made as the US version Mod 37. But .... being a Winchester, the 37As still bring a decent price.

The older Mod 37s are built much like a H&R ... all steel and wood. No frills but solid guns none the less.

sheepdog

I had a poor uncle who duck hunted with a 36" Stevens "Long Tom" 12....his brothers had new Browning A5 semiautos and brother-out-law had a Rem 1100----they gave him hell....he just smiled and laid 3 shells out on the log he was behind....here come de ducks and it sounded like WWII.....when the guns fell silent...they were buried in hulls and he was picking up his 3 ducks....he ragged them for an hour before he told them how he did it...had lots of respect for his old raggedy-a.. single barrel after that!!! I liked the side levers best...a bit quicker....don't be surprised to find one...find 3 or 4...at the same house...

deputy125

Always did like the way they can be taken down for storage/carry and the simple manual of arms. And i would rather take out the old h&r into the field if the weather is bad instead of my daddy's browning sweet sixteen. That old h&r has seen some good times.....

think i may try to pick up a 28 ga sometime so i can at least say i own one-----and be a good bit easier on the shoulder as well.

rp_cavanaugh

I would like to have a nice over under sometime soon. Want the two different chokes to hunt with, and there are some nice o/u guns out there.

Jody Johnson

Deputy...

I totally agree with you. I, too, like to use the old SS shotguns.

I still have a couple of Win 37's...a sixteen and a .410...and they're as cool to me now as they were when I first got em'...about 43 or so years ago. The sixteen in particular has been used for most everything at one time or another, and it's still like new.

While I've used the IJ's and Stevens quite a bit, the "draw" of the 37 is it's visual appeal ( sleek, with that neat-lookin' hammer! ) coupled with great handling characteristics...at least to me!

I, like you, would love to find a nice 28 that I could afford!!!

In passin'...SS's aren't that slow to reload if ya' keep an extra round between the fingers of the trigger hand...

deputy125

a 28 ga is still available i think from h&r/nef for around $120. But i sure prefer the IJ champion or the stevens 94---finding one that ain't wore out or beat to death at a decent price is the problem.

From what i've seen, a 28 ga Winchester 37 would probably be sky-high---but dang it they sure were purty!

edit---for grins i just checked an old blue book on the winchester 37 in 28 ga----OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mrb

anybody remember the ...J C HIGGINS ?

Iowegan

If you look at a store brand cross-over list, just about every gun manufacturer made guns for Sears and marked the with the JC Higgens strore brand.

mrb

in my younger days....us kids used to hunt with stevens ss shotguns. i can remember one of our buddies had a button on the side that unbreached the barrell. what kind was that ?...never seen another like it.

Daan Wessels

Here in South Africa, it seems as if the H&R's were the only shotguns made before 1950!

There's still plenty around in GOOD shape going strong, bringing in the birds for the pot!

Must say I prefer the Georgian Baikal side by sides for economy line shotguns over the South American ones.

In good quality guns, the old British and European makers are hard to beat, but the H&R has a special place in my heart.

cunroe

EDIT: Eeeeek! Did not pay attention to the fact this post is so old/stale...my error.

I have an ol' mid-50's H&R TOPPER M48 20G, second from the top in this admittedly 'terrible quality' pic. It rarely ever sees the light of day and I need to give it some attention as she definitely "shows her age" but...kind of neat to have in the arsenal.

While not a break-over, check-out the old carabine de chasseur (smooth bore) above it...talk about old school and not vey useful -- heh heh Best I've been able to determine so far is "French origin, 1859" (still being researched but have not done much on that lately).

lead

Some people like to argue that those old cheap, but reliable, shotguns are the real guns that won the West. Not by shooting bad guys, but by putting food on the table and making it possible for the pioneers to live on newly settled land. Later, the single shot shotgun helped many a family get through the tough days of the depression, and many other hard times that we have faced.
There is a certain beauty in the simplicity, dependability, and practicality of those old guns. Holding one makes you think of those who cherished their gun as a tool to survive in the world and overcome the odds against them.

HIghstandardguy

I still have the Stevens 94 20ga that my grandpa bought when he was a kid with money he made trapping skunks and selling the pelts. It's a little rough after 80 - 90 years, but I had the action 'tightened up' and we still shoot it from time to time.

My kids call it the Skunk Gun.

rivraton

When I was a kid I used to hunt with an old Hopkins Allen 12 Ga. that belonged to my grandfather. My dad confiscated it when he found out I was shooting Hi-base shells in it. (Damascus barrel) My older brother ended up with it after our parents passed on, he's gone now too. My nephew has it in a display case now.

argyle

When I was a kid my old man used to take me quail hunting down in the sticks with an old friend of his named Alley Plemmons. He is the only man I've ever seen in my life kill 2 birds on a covey rise with a single shot shotgun. He held the 2nd shell in his mouth and he could load so fast I could never see how he did it - the hand is indeed quicker than the eye.

And, in dozens of times hunting with him I think I only ever saw him miss once. Modern high capacity arms can lead to a sloppiness that comes from knowing "if I miss this shot, I have plenty more." Alley couldn't afford to miss because he might not have any more. Even when he was the older man I hunted with, a box of shells was a major investment. Couldn't afford to waste them just making noise. Just about every time Alley's gun went off, meat went on the table.

He was also a great motivator to work real hard to become as good a shot as I could be, because every time I missed or muffed a shot he would laugh at me in a way that made me want to find a hole and crawl into it. He really shaped my attitude toward firearms as tools in a way that stays with me to this day.