There are few companies in the world today that can use the word “heirloom” with a straight face. But Smith & Wesson is one of those companies. So when they turned their hand to developing the Elite Gold series of 20 gauge side-by-side shotguns, they did it with the same care and attention to detail for which their handguns are famous.

When this gun was introduced with a suggested retail of $2,370 it was clearly intended to dominate the $2,500 mid-range of the shotgun market. The materials and workmanship that went into this gun would justify a much higher price . . . and I find myself comparing it quite favorably to guns selling at twice the price . . . so the original $2,370 price tag really represented a heck of a bargain.

The guiding principle in developing this gun was to make it superior to anything on the market, so everything about this gun is better than it needs to be.

Perfection is in the details. This is what real, genuine bone charcoal case hardening looks like. This is not the cheap cyanide chemical substitute found on other guns. Look at the wood-to-metal fit around the scalloped receiver. The receiver has about 25% coverage of light English-style hand scroll engraving.

The checkering on these Elite Gold guns is 24 line per inch and it’s done by hand on Grade III Turkish walnut. The screw heads throughout the gun are aligned North and South. Note the wood inletting around the long tang on the English model and the wood-to-metal fit where it joins the receiver.

Note that the Elite Gold forearm has a case hardened latch to match the receiver finish. The 9-1/2” length of the forearm is helpful by encouraging you to shoot a longer left arm -- which in turn helps keep your head down on the stock.

The Elite Gold has “Birdgun” built into it. The balance point on the 28” model is right at the hinge pin. Ideally suited for pass shooting on duck, doves and pheasant, where the left hand doers the guidance and benefits from the momentum built up on the swing. The 26” barreled guns have a balance point closer to the right hand, making it easier for the left hand to make faster sighting adjustments on woodcock, grouse and piney woods quail. Shorter barrels are often preferred by women, who usually have less left-arm strength.

The raised concave rib has a midpoint bead, a feature not usually associated with birdguns. It’s main benefit is that it provides an instant sighting que when you bring the gun to the target. If you can see both mid- and front sight stacked as an “8” -- the message to your brain in that you don’t have the gun all the way up to your shoulder and will probably shoot over the target. It works with the longer forearm.

This rib tapers from 7/16” and the breech to 7/32” at the muzzle. A kind of optical illusion that makes you think you are shooting a longer barreled gun.

Cast-off, about 1/4” on these guns, will help make a right-handed shooter an “intuitive” shooter. The idea is that when you bring the gun up, it is pointing where you are looking. These guns can be altered for cast-on to accommodate the needs of left-handed shooters.

In addition to good, standard specifications these Elite Gold guns have: automatic ejectors, 3” chambers and chrome-lined bores. The checkered butt is designed to stay in place on your shoulder is a second shot is required. This gun has a manual safety, a useful feature to have when the doves are coming in or when you are trying to reload on the run while chasing a pheasant. But you have to remember to put the gun back on safe when you’re done.

Then the world changed. Companies shed unprofitable divisions. In S&W’s case, they couldn’t make handguns fast enough, while their shotgun business languished. The market failed, not the product. And so we find ourselves with an opportunity to own a S&W Gold Elite -- fully backed by S&W’s Heirloom Warranty -- for little more than half it’s original retail price. Easily the bargain of the century in terms of the shooting pleasure that comes with owning and using a great birdgun.

Choke changes: While fixed chokes -- like Improved Cylinder/Modified -- found on S&W, Grulla and Merkel shotguns work well for a lot of hunters, they are less than ideal for working in close cover or over close-working dogs in the field.
I discussed this situation with Briley and they came up with some ideas that you might want to consider:

First suggestion: They will open your 20 gauge fixed choked shotgun to any chokes you want -- Cyl/Cyl, Cyl/Sk 1, Sk1/Sk2, etc. They are also capable of back-boring barrels to increase the effective constriction to maybe M/F from IC/M. So there are a lot of possibilities, depending on your needs. They charge $95 per barrel, plus S&H.

Second suggestion: A complete set of five 20-gauge Briley screw-in chokes -- any choke constrictions you want --is probably the most flexible choice. This service runs $399 (other gauges cost more) plus S&H.

Briley’s phone number is 800-331-5718. Briley offers a good, professional service so you don’t have to have any concern there.
The potential downside to altering you shotgun is that this will void your warranty from the manufacturer. That’s not necessarily a deterent, but it’s a situation of which you should be aware.

A dynamite new product now offered as an option. The NECG (New England Custom Gun) Universal Recoil Pad solves a problem that has plagued birdhunters for years. The length of pull requirements vary with the season. Shooting doves or quail in your shirt sleeves with, say, a 14-1/4" LOP might suit you to a "T", but chasing last-season birds with snow on the ground while wearing an insulated parka calls for a LOP a quarter-inch shorter.

The heart of the NECG Universal Recoil Pad is a unique Quick-Lok locking system that lets you change pads in twenty seconds. We install the system to your "summer" LOP length and furnish a second "winter" pad, a quarter-inch shorter than "summer."

The pads are the highest quality soft rubber, so they do what they are supposed to do in absorbing recoil. They feature a classically styled leather grained face, so they won't hang up on your shirt or shooting coat on the way to your shoulder. And because the pads are available in thicknesses of 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" we can easily lengthen butt stocks that are too short.

Cost for installation of the NECG Universal Recoil System, complete with two pads, shipping and handling $525.

Optional Leather covered Decelerator™ Recoil Pad -- a six-pound gun offers little protection in the way of recoil absorption, so a recoil pad makes sense. My pads are covered with hand-sewn black leather by an experienced gunfitter. They are not only look beautiful, but they utilize the recoil absorption power of the Decelerator™ pad, yet will not hang up on the way to your shoulder. The further benefit is that they can be custom fitted to your length of pull requirements -- as long as 15" if desired -- at no extra charge.

Price: $450. Your gun is shipped to the gunfitter who completes the pad work, then drop-ships the gun to your FFL holder.

When a right-handed shooter with a dominant right eye brings it up to his shoulder the gun is pointing where he is looking. Cast-off is what makes instinctive shooting possible for him. You keep your focus on the flushed bird and when you bring the gun up to your should you don't have to find the sight plane or associate the front sight with the departing bird because the gun is pointing to where you are looking.

This eliminates a head-fake on your part and clips maybe five yards off the distance the departing bird is trying to put between him and you.

However, when a left-handed shooter cheeks a cast-off or cast-neutral stock, he pushes the butt stock to the left and down so he shoots a couple of feet to the right and high. The only time they "get lucky" is on a rising bird that flushes to the right.

Trust me, if you are left-handed with a dominant left eye, having the stock bent to accomodate your shooting requirements is the best $400 investment you'll ever make. It will change your life.

How to order: Basically, I need payment (check or money order, no plastic) and a copy of someone's Federal Firearms License (FFL) where I can ship your gun. Fax copies of FFL's are now legal. Your dealer should put your name on his license, so I can match it up with your order. I will enclose a copy of my license for your dealer when I ship your gun.