Forget what Mr. Mike says . . .

And don't forget, he's the one who took us all on the NEQPD not too long ago (Never Ending Quest for the Perfect Dogge, for newcomers).

I made the field trip today to Syracuse to inspect the CZ Huglu Ringneck 28 gauge gun that was in stock at Gander Mountain. I now stand by my earlier statement that this gun--and the small gauge equivalents in the Bobwhite model as well--are probably the best value for a new side by side gun today on the market. You can shoot steel through them, the wood to metal fit is beautiful, the wood for a sub-$1000 gun is beautiful, you can have choke tubes--it's all there. The rounded Prince of Wales grip is my personal favorite grip style, so I'm in to that as well. So again, forget what Mr. Mike said about Huglu's Teutonic Majesty--he was undoubtedly referring to a 12 gauge gun from several years ago, not these guns being imported today.

Ringneck model

I picked up the literature. The 28 gauge gun that I handled today weighed 5.7 pounds and came up very sweetly to the shoulder, and my eye lined up right on the bead. The 28 inch barrel version of the same gun would weigh 5.9 pounds; and the 20 gauge version of the gun would weigh 6.1 pounds.

Move to the 12 gauge, however, and the gun jumps up to 7.1 pounds. This is probably a good thing, though, especially for you lads and lasses who would be shooting such a gun out of the Double Black Blind at pesky incoming waterfowl.

The only negative that I saw on the gun is that the case coloring is not quite up to Doug Turnbull standards (surprise, surprise), but also that I could see the machining milling marks on the receiver, ever so faintly. Well, you can't have everything.

And as I mentioned yesterday, the folks on Shooting Sportsman who have actually shot these guns are for the most part very pleased with them, thinking them a great value for the money. Read some of their conversation here, here, and here.

Again, the question here is value for the money. If you insist on a side by side that can shoot modern loads, has choke tubes, and you've got $4000 for a custom Spanish import, then have at it. But if your budget is under $1000, then the Ringneck I looked at today was $999 new in the box--for a 28 gauge. The Bobwhite with double triggers and English grip would be $699.

Bobwhite model

The only other guns that I can think of that come anywhere close would be used Ithaca SKB side by sides. Clearly some of the brethren have gone that route and are very happy with their guns.

But I think I may be getting a 28 or 20 gauge toy sometime soon, you know, just for fun. And we all know I like two triggers--lucky for me that's the cheaper of the two models!