Treated myself for Christmas

[J.Baker]

Picked myself up a little something just before Christmas...

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2022 was a pretty crap year for me with my mom passing last spring and then missing out on most all of hunting season due to a shingles outbreak. I'd sold a couple guns I hadn't used in several years in recent months as well so I decided to treat myself to something a little nicer than I'd normally buy.

I've always had a soft spot for side-by-side shotguns, and while over the years I've eyed a number of well used Baker's, Ithaca's, Lefever's, L.C. Smiths and Parkers I never pulled the trigger on purchasing one. In fact, the only time I'd ever shot a SxS was one time when I was about 12 or 13 and it was an old Remington from the late 1800's that belonged to one of my dad's friends. Then about two years ago I happened across a minty Browning BSS Sporter in 20ga at the local gun show that ended up following me home after some shroud negotiating on my part.

While I really like the Browning and it fits me well, I still had a penchant for something a little nicer. So having some extra money burning a hole in my pocket I started perusing the usual sites to see what was out there to be had for what I had to play with. A local shop just happened to have a couple nice older American boxlocks for reasonable prices, so I decided to drive up to their shop to give them a closer look. One was an A.H. Fox, one was a Parker Bros, and one was a L.C. Smith. What I had forgotten however is just how many really, REALLY nice guns this shop always had in their inventory as they stocked everything from budget minded entry level guns to high end collector pieces priced well in excess of $100k, and there were literally hundreds of side-by-sides and over/unders to wade through. Everything from E.J. Churchill's, Holland & Holland's, J Purdey & Sons, Merkel's, Krieghoff's, Boss's, Kolar's, etc. Their racks are literally a "who's who" of fine shotguns from all over the world.

So as I'm wading through a sea of walnut stocks and high luster bluing trying to find the three guns I'd come there to see I happened across this little oddity of a shotgun. It was a dainty little 28-gauge made by a Spanish gun maker that I'd heard of and read a little about in the past, but I didn't really know a whole lot about. Looking it over one would have though it was a brand new gun had it not been for the slightest amount of bluing wear at the muzzle of the barrels. Curiosity getting the best of me I looked at the price tag and my it was a fair bit more than I was looking to spend.

Resuming my quest I finally located the three guns I had gone there to see, but that little 28-gauge was just lingering in the back of my mind the whole time. The three guns I was there to look at were all a little worse for wear being they were each pushing 100 years old or had already hit the century milestone, and that little 28 was almost as pristine as the day it left the factory. Try as I might, I just couldn't keep myself from going back to look at it over and over again. Eventually one of the clerks came over and asked if he could assist me so I asked if he could give me some more info on that little 28-gauge. He wasn't what I'd call a wealth of knowledge on it, but was able to give me a little more info on the maker, that it was special ordered by a gentleman from Columbus, OH back in the mid 1990's and that it also came with a matching .410 bore barrel and a fitted leather case.

Long story short I talked myself into adopting that little 28-gauge, my logic being "yes it's more than I planned on spending, but I'm getting two guns for the price of one - right? Yeah! That's it - it's a win-win!"

Now by this point I'm sure you're all thinking "Will you shut up already and just tell us what you bought?" :p

What I ended up getting is a Grulla Armas Model 216 with the aforementioned 26" 28ga and .410 bore barrel sets which are both choked M/F. It features a traditional H&H style bar action sidelock scaled frame action with disc set strikers and gas escape valves. It's fitted with double triggers, the front being articulated. The sidelocks are a modified tool less Holland & Holland 5-pin design with double safety sears. Barrels are of the demiblock (chopper-lump) design with concave ribs and automatic selective ejectors. Engraving is all hand-cut in the classic Purdy-style rose & scroll pattern topped off with a satin silver coin finish. Furniture consists of an English-style straight grip stock and splinter fore-end of select figured walnut with a hand rubbed oil finish and hand cut checkering. And of course there's the custom case wrapped with Italian leather.

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Doing a little research after I got home it seems that Grulla Armas is considered by many to be the second best gunmaker in the Basque region of Spain (second only to the recently dissolved firm of Pedro Arrizabalaga). Today the companies workforce consists of around 20 craftsmen who typically average to make around 300 shotguns per year.

Chuck Hawks (RIP) has a very good write-up on the history of Grulla Armas for anyone interested. https://www.chuckhawks.com/grulla_shotguns.htm

[Bobby Tomek]

That's simply gorgeous! Glad you got yourself a treat, and here's hoping 2023 will be a better year for you.

[Dan L]

Beautiful Gun

Dan

[Stumpkiller]

Beautiful. Nothing like a well executed side plate & English stock for handsome lines.

[thebeav]

Holy cow !
That's a special gun......Beautiful.
Here's to a wonderful and healthy year for all of us......

[J.Baker]

Now for the twist...

Christmas day I posted one of the above photos to an Ohio pheasant hunting group I belong to on Facebook and that evening a gal who saw it PM'd me saying she thought that it was previously her stepdad's shotgun. Turns out it was indeed his old gun and he was the original owner who had ordered it from Grulla. With the step-daughter playing relay between he and I, he proceeded to give me the full history of the shotgun which he had ordered in January or February of 1994 and took delivery of it in August of 1995. He told me he didn't shoot it a lot, but when he did it was just the occasional round of shooting clay's at the Black Wings Shooting Center in Delaware, OH or a pheasant hunt at a nearby preserve. He also told me what loads each barrel set shot the best and gave me the name of a competent and well known gunsmith for such guns who's northeast of Columbus whom he had give this gun a thorough going over just prior to his selling it. He even mentioned he had two more Grulla's that he's considering selling that are both higher grade round bottom models with exhibition grade wood and custom game scene engraving. I didn't even ask for photo's of the other two guns much less his asking price knowing full well I could never afford them after just splurging with this purchase.

Based on what he told me he paid for this set I got one hell of a deal on it, especially when you factor in inflation over the last 22 years. As I said initially in my first post - it was a fair bit more than I was looking to spend but in the end I got a much nicer bespoke grade shotgun for just a little more than what a rather basic field grade AH Fox, L.C. Smith or Parker Bros. would have cost me in better than average condition.

Haven't had the chance to shoot it yet, but I did order in a couple flat's of 28ga shells. Seems .410 shells are still unobtanium so I'm limited to the few partial boxes I've had lingering around here since I did the Stevens 301 shotgun review several years back.

[bootsmcguire]

Jim that thing is simply gorgeous! I too have had a soft spot for SxS scatterguns but nothing of that level is obtainable for me, maybe someday. 'Til then my cheap old Stoeger Uplander 20ga takes care of my needs, want to get the 12ga for waterfowl one of these days. Congratulations sir.

[Stumpkiller]

Sweet.

My ruffed grouse centerfire shotgun is a 20 gauge Ithaca/SKB 280e with a twist as well. It was owned by an employee of Ithaca Gun (my Dad was born in Ithaca and it is only 40 miles away) who assembled and mated three (double) barrel sets of SK1/Sk2, IC/M and M/F. When I first purchased it only the IC/M barrel set was on it. A month later the dealer called and said the man's widow had found a case with two other barrel sets. He highballed a price, but I asked who else he might know that would be interested in barrels matched to that frame? We dickered another month and I ended up with a nice three barrel set for my shotgun.

It's just such a sweetheart in the hand, and the auto-ejectors are a joy to experience.

[J.Baker]

Sounds like a nice Ithaca.

The Browning BSS I mentioned is a 20ga and will likely continue to be my goto for hunting, but I wouldn't hesitate to use this new one for some dove or upland hunting should the opportunity present itself. It has an oil finish so having to steam out a dent or ding from hunting wouldn't be a big issue.

[Dave Hoback]

Very nice. I was a big fan of bird hunting while living in Arizona, and used a friend’s side by side. I couldn’t afford one then, but was saving up for an Over/Under 12ga or 20ga, as I preferred the Over/Under more. For me though, it likely would have been a lower priced Stoeger. Even now, I’m more drawn to something like the moderately priced CZ Wingshooter Elite. I’m not a collector and the fancy guns for many thousands of dollars are kind “meh” to me. But of course we all have our vice and I do understand scratching that itch, to speak. Glad for you Jim… I know the year was tough for you & I empathize. As a patron of tough, year, after year, & etc., I don’t wish it on anyone.

[Robinhood]

Nice gun, good story and great fortune.