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| [Photo by Oleg Volk] |
Acknowledging the Earlier 'Shockwave' Developer: Len Savage, President of Historic Arms, LLC. [More]An earlier article by another author necessitated clarifying the record of development.
I'm a bit of a stickler for such things.
And as long as I'm on the subject, I guess my request for the magazine to acknowledge Oleg in the photo credit got lost in nested emails. I've asked to have the web team make sure that gets fixed.
Speaking of the pistol-grip-only shotguns-that-are-not-shotguns that the BATF has recently decided we are allowed to own, I wonder why nobody makes one in the form of a side-by-side exposed-hammer double. As iconic as short side-by-side doubles are in old Western movies, and even in the 20th Century on police and detective TV shows, you'd think there'd be a market.
ReplyDeleteI do not regard this category of firearm as serving any practical purpose in the present day, mind you. Capacity is too low, two-hand operation requires an awkward and counterintuitive stance, both followup shots and reloads can be timed with a calendar. In 1870 or 1920 I can see this kind of weapon being highly useful for a shopkeeper or bartender to keep hidden from view near the cash register. Many a gunslinger carried such weapons. Even in the 1920s and 1930s many cops and gangsters favored "la lupara." Even as late as the 1960s I have read that the NYPD Stakeout Unit--predecessor to NYPD SWAT--kept several cut-down 12 gauge doubles in the armory and there were people like Jim Cirillo who made effective and lethal use of them.
But since the Second World War, for practical purposes, the niche of "small and compact, yet moves a lot of metal downrange in a hurry" has been taken up by pistol-caliber SMGs, then intermediate-caliber selective-fire carbines like the M4 and the Kalashnikov. The shopkeeper who anticipates that he may have to repel boarders is probably better served with a modern high-capacity striker-fired polymer-framed service pistol, unless he is absolutely sure that the local gangbangers will be gentlemanly enough to come calling in groups of no more than two.
But as a range toy, and maybe something for which special stages could be created for SASS, I submit that an exposed-hammer side-by-side double with 10" or 12" barrels and an appropriate grip--it seems to me that long ago I saw pictures of a legal converted SBS set up with a Colt SAA style "plow handle" grip frame, and found it very visually striking, very aesthetically pleasing--would be more fun than most people think they can have with their clothes on.
Likewise, about 35 years back I saw an Ithaca 37 in 12 gauge converted to a legal SBS, its barrel cut off just ahead of the mag tube lug, its bead reinstalled, likewise with a Colt SAA gripframe welded to the trigger housing, with dark dyed birch SAA grips matching the dark dyed birch spool forend, and found it quite aesthetically pleasing. Would I take one to war? No. It might be a lot of fun to shoot, though. Now that the BATF says such things are legal for us to own, maybe someone should make one.