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<  16ga. Guns  ~  Was it YOU? Outbid today on Skeet-ER 16 ga on Gunbroker.com
bustingclays
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:04 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 23 Nov 2005
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Location: Illinois (in the burbs of St. Louis)

Gentlemen:

Hope it was one of you 16 ga members that outbid me today on the Iver Johnson Skeet-ER in 16 ga, single miller trigger, straight, deluxe stock, beavertail, 28 inch, M/F

My guess about 80% blue barrels, 60% case, and 60% wood finish. She would have dressed up fine with a little TLC. It was Cool to see Iver Johnson Cycle Works on the side of the receiver in the pics.

My top bid was $2705 - it went for $2730 - I did not recognize winning name.

I have mixed feelings - I would like a skeet-er in 16 ga, price by my blue book indicated that it could have gone for much more, but I just kept thinking I could get something else Confused

oh well - happy shooting to whomever was the lucky bidder......

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Dr. 16 Gauge
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:00 am  Reply with quote
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With all due respect to the Skeeter, the ones being offered today are drastically overpriced. In consideration of their original price, they were good servicable guns, designed to take the stresses of competative skeet shooting better than the other less expensive doubles available during that era. They were never a refined gun. Just fairly rugged and easy to service. That is no longer true due to the parts issue.

The Skeeter was marketed as a less refined but much cheaper domestic gun than the average double from Fox, Parker, Ithaca, or Winchester. They did this well with respect to their actual cost. However, Their handling characteristics were never all that great as a game gun. They are a bit heavier than most 16 gauge doubles of that era, and definately more muzzle heavy as befits a target gun. Their lock work is rugged but a bit sloppy with a fairly slow lock time. They were not then nor are they now a "super gun." They have developed a collector status bordering on the absurd, almost a cult-like following.

Frankly, I don't get it. $3-4k or more for one is ridiculous. Even half as much is too. There are more modern, newer, far better balanced, lighter weight 16 ga double guns guns out there with both better lock work and better workmanship for less money. My Beretta 409 is a much better game gun for far less money. Even my old AyA Matador handles better and also has all the featrures of a Skeeter.

There are a bunch of guns available today new, for less money that will shade a Skeeter any day of the week IMO. Consider the CZ ringneck. It has all features of a Skeeter in a better balanced package with a warranty for 1/4 the price or less.

I'd consider myself fortunate to own a Skeeter for well under a thousand bucks. More than this amounts to nothing more than money that could have been put to better use for a better gun IMO. If I was going to spend over 3K for a double, it would more likely be a new Merkel or something of that class.
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fin2feather
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:17 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 06 Aug 2004
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Location: Kansas High Plains

If those of us who buy and shoot classic shotguns bought them based on worth instead of want, there'd be a bunch of them sitting on shleves, and a bunch of gun dealers out of business Very Happy !

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I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:57 pm  Reply with quote
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Many of my generation drove a Volkswagon Beetle. We never thought of it as a classic car. We did so because it was relatively inexpensive, good on gas, and dependable. At 55 mph, it got us there just as fast as a Pontiac GTO. Some folks will spend a gazillion bucks reserecting some old delapidated wreck of a bug, but it will never be a 60's-70's American muscle car classic.

so it is with the Skeeter. The gun was affordable, broke lots of skeet targets dependably if not with style, but it never was, nor will it ever be in the same class as a Parker, fox, or even an Ithaca double. Ain't gonna happen no matter how much money you care to spend on one. Wink
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fin2feather
PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:08 pm  Reply with quote
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Don't matter. The price is what it is because somebody is willing to pay it: want, not worth. Never cared for GTO's myself; much rather have a split-window bug; one man's classic is another man's poison, to paraphrase Wink .

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I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:48 pm  Reply with quote
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Yup, to each his own. How do you feel about Florida swampla...er, undeveloped lake front property? Wink Laughing
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TJC
PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:15 pm  Reply with quote
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Hey, watch it about those VW Beetles. Just bought a brand new, New Beetle convertable for the wife. Had to get something that was better on gas for going to work for her and a New Beetle it was. Came complete with daisy and all. Laughing

I am going to miss my Expedition though. But, I got her F-150 Larriat out of the deal. Not bad I guess.

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fin2feather
PostPosted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:41 pm  Reply with quote
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16gaugeguy wrote:
Yup, to each his own. How do you feel about Florida swampla...er, undeveloped lake front property? Wink Laughing


If I wanted it, I'd buy it. Wink Laughing

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I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook
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