First review of S&W Elite Gold SxS

O

oneounceload

Moderator
Bought this and received it last week after trying a friend's. Just got to shoot it for the first time today. We had four of them out there - two with English and DT, two with ST and POW. All were mic'd and tested. My gun is overbored at .629 and .634. The chokes are .009 and 015 - IC and M as advertised. All 4 guns were within .001 of each other on the choke constriction

On this particular 5-stand where I shoot, whether shooting my 12 Browning or my 20, my average is consistently at 23, ranging from 21 to 24 with a few 25's. Shot three rounds - a 21, a 17 (all MY errors), and a 24. This gun comes up quick and clean. Weight is guestimated at 6.5 # - (we did not have a postal scale but we used the trigger-pull scale against known amounts) My triggers released right at 5 and 7.25 #. While the second was a little heavy, both were crisp and clean with zero creep. The action is rounded, making holding it with one hand a pleasure. The safety is MANUAL. As a LH shooting DT, I had some apprehension about being able to get to each quickly enough. My scores said no problem.

Is this equal to an AyA #2? No, but then, at $1200 from an original price of $2500, it IS a good deal IMO. ALL of the screws were properly indexed, even underneath on the forearm. The CCH is nicely done, the checkering is crisp and sharp providing good purchase. The slightly raised rib allows you to "float" the bird a little above the rib, something I personally find useful.

The $1200 price is from CDNN - they offer several versions - 26 or 28" barrels, English or POW, ST or DT (DT only on English). The gun comes with a lifetime written warranty from S&W and includes the opportunity to also include an heirloom warranty for a descendant. It only comes in 20 gauge

If you're looking for a decently-made gun that will handle well in the field, give this one a look. CDNN page 55, IIRC, 1190 plus 17 HIS
 
You're gonna want of these Jim - if nothing else, in a few months when CDNN has sold out, you'll be able to sell it for at least $1800
 
1-oz,
Thanks for your report, my friend. Happy to hear of your success with the new gun. When you first mentioned the price (half off, or roughly one quarter of it's equivalent value) my "It's too good to be true" alarm was starting to go off.

Other than the apparent "clearing out the stock" was there anything obvious about the gun that would indicate that it wasn't fresh first line inventory?… (No resealed box nor service center repair tag.)

If you're feeling adventurous, perhaps the triggers could be easily reversed to give you a LH gun. ;)

Let's hear from any other forum members who took advantage of this bargain...
 
Zippy - I am with you on that alarm......HOWEVER, one friend bought one, turned on my gun writer friend and HE bought one (and when a gun writer spends his own money take note), so i took the plunge. The writer has subsequently talked to the owners and distributors, and they're trying to find new importers, etc. to resume production and distribution. They feel they can sell the former Kimber model for 3-3500 (Kimbers were 4500), and they'll have this model as a less expensive version back near the original price point of 2500.....so, while they last, if you want a decent SxS for a little price, this gets my nod.

When my friend did his review a couple of years ago, he gave it his "sleeper award", and that was at the original 2500 price.

I look at it this way, my last round of 5-stand was a 24 - that's as good as I do normally with any of my seasoned O/U's....and that was on my third round with this new gun - it's a keeper
 
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