Need Gunshop to trade/buy Shotgun in PA

[meanmachine]

Hello all. I have a 12ga o/u armsport 2733 that I want to trade in and purchase a side by side. I am in PA so any NJ deals seem unlikely. I live in Phila but am willing to travel to do the deal. Looking to trade up to a Fox or Parker. Used is ok as new is $$$$. Any recommendations are welcome. The armsport is in great shape. But the stock does not "fit me right" when I shoulder it. It is an Italian import. Thank you for all replies.

[Setterman]

Hello all. I have a 12ga o/u armsport 2733 that I want to trade in and purchase a side by side. I am in PA so any NJ deals seem unlikely. I live in Phila but am willing to travel to do the deal. Looking to trade up to a Fox or Parker. Used is ok as new is $$$$. Any recommendations are welcome. The armsport is in great shape. But the stock does not "fit me right" when I shoulder it. It is an Italian import. Thank you for all replies.

I would suggest you first join or peruse the Fox and Parker shotgun forums. There is good input there to learn the nuances of both shotguns and sources for where to find them and gunsmiths who specialize in fixing them. You can't buy a "new" old Fox today, but you can buy a reproduction build from Galazan starting at $14,500. Remington's Parker arm has authorized Galazan's CSMC unit and they will build you a new Parker (yes, you can still custom order one) but the price starts at $49,000. You will most likely be looking for a good used one so you will need to learn what to look for and what to stay away from.

The other thing to understand about these old shotguns is that some fit on the poor side and many need to be modified to use. By that I mean since they are older guns, their stocks are often shorter (given the period they were made) and also exhibit more stock drop at comb and heel than modern guns today. Some people, depending upon grade and condition, will have stocks replaced, others will have them bent to accommodate their stature. Some guns, depending on how early they were made, also have shorter chambers, necessitating your use of 2.5" shells as opposed to 2 3/4" shells. Tight chokes and lead-only shot are also things to keep in mind.

Cabela's has both used Foxes and Parker's in their PA store, I don't know if you have done so already, but I would learn about the guns first before you buy one. Hate to see you buy something and later realize you need to invest another $1K or more in gunsmith work to make it a shooter for you.

Links-

Fox:
http://foxcollectors.com/My%20Forum/phpBB3/index.php
http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/index/Fox/Fox1.html

Parker:
http://parkerguns.org/forums/
http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/Remparkers.html
http://www.parkergunmakers.com/

[meanmachine]

Setterman, Thank you for all the information. WOW !! I am not in the price range for a new/reproduction model. Guess I will have to look for a used one. I did stop by Winters Gun Shop in Berlin NJ and he had a few used Fox and Parkers well within my price range. But I live in PA and buying in NJ is a problem/no go for me. Anyway thanks much for the information. What other side by side would you recommend for upland game. Thanks again for the replies. I will check out the sites you recommended.

[Setterman]

Meanmachine,

I merely included those links to highlight what one could pay if one had the means. Yeah, those are some princely sums. And certainly out of my range. I'll have to be happy with buying used. Sometimes the searching is half the fun.

I've seen good used, sound Parker's and Foxes at about a grand or just north of that value. Some rattier ones I've seen for less. That's a small price to pay for quality and history. Don't don't count out an L.C. Smith double either. They are nice, solid guns and the lower grades depending on condition will see for less than a comparable Parker or Fox.

Check Cabela's:

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/browse/gun-library-american-shotguns/_/N-1103060+4294768053/Ne-4294768053/Ns-CATEGORY_SEQ_103581180?WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat10379268 0&WTz_st=GuidedNav&WTz_stype=GNU

[droptine]

their is a place in phila called locks, also if winters has one any gun dealer will send it to another gun dealer to do the paper work for 30 bucks or so, but anyway the gun store is called locks, he has alot of olderstuff, and he likes to trade from what i heard, hope this helps good luck