Add engraving to the receiver and you have the more expensive Superior II grade at just under $1,500 or you can move on up to the Empire II and spend around $2,000 for the same gun with engraved sideplates and fancy wood. And for those who live where turkeys can be legally taken with shotgun or rifle, the Empire Combo with its top barrel in 12-gauge and its bottom barrel in .22 Hornet or .223 Remington will have all the bases covered. That same gun is also available with its lower barrel in .30-06 or with both barrels in that caliber.

Choosing among the line of Charles Daly side-by-sides is not easy. The Field II Hunter in 12, 20, 28 and .410 has a beavertail forearm, which I prefer, and its price is right at less than $1,000. On the other hand, the more expensive Superior Hunter has automatic ejectors. (Contact Charles Daly at 866-325-9486, www.charlesdaly.com)

DEHAAN SHOTGUNS LTD.
Turkish-built over-under and side-by-side doubles once imported under the Huglu USA banner are now sold by DeHaan Shotguns Ltd. Bores are chrome-lined and have lengthened forcing cones. These guns are available in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauges plus the .410 bore. Frames are scaled to the gauge and workmanship is as good as you are likely to find in their price ranges. The SO grade side-by-side with its Greener-style crossbolt sells for only $635. The least expensive over-under (called the U0 grade) goes for $455.

Then we have the SGr series of semi-custom guns. You start with the basic model and then choose from a long list of custom options such as automatic ejectors ($165), upgraded wood ($550), skeleton buttplate ($125), beavertail forearm ($20), palm swell at wrist ($20), etc. Pick and choose carefully and you can have one of these guns built to your stock dimensions and enjoy the look of highly figured walnut and hand-engraved steel for just under $3,000. (Contact DeHaan Shotguns Ltd. at 208-538-6744, www.dhshotguns.com)

EUROPEAN AMERICAN ARMORY
Built by the Russian firm of Baikal, doubles imported by EAA are not built to win beauty contests, but to deliver high performance at a low price. They do that quite nicely and all the gauges are there too, including sweet 16. The list of features goes like this: hammer-forged, monobloc-style barrels with chromed bores, machined steel receiver and ventilated rib. For a few dollars more you can also have auto ejectors, engraved and nickel-plated receiver, hand-cut checkering and selective trigger. Clay target guns include one for skeet and sporting clays and a single-barrel version for shooting trap at handicap yardages.

Two side-by-side field guns are also offered, one with a blued receiver, the other nickel-plated. A selective single trigger and auto ejectors are standard. Like the over-unders, they are available in all the gauges plus the .410. Barrel lengths are 24 and 26 inches and all except the .410 come with screw-in chokes. (Contact European American Armory at 321-639-4842, www.eaacorp.com)

FRANCHI
The Franchi Veloce I hunted the uplands with at Pintail Point on the eastern shore of Maryland was quick and light and it placed the shot charge dead on my hold point each time I pulled its trigger. A 28-gauge gun, it weighed only 51?2 pounds. The 20-gauge version weighs about a quarter-pound more and is chambered for the three-inch shell. A two-barrel set in those two gauges is also available.

Sharptail grouse taken with No. 1 Grade AyA in 28 gauge

The family of Franchi (pronounced “fron-key”) over-unders continues to grow with the Alcione titanium with its aluminum receiver one of the latest to arrive. Available only in 12 gauge, it weighs seven pounds with 28-inch barrels. This is about half a pound lighter than the standard Alcione field gun with its steel receiver. Regardless of whether you choose the Alcione Classic with its subdued charm at $1,275 or the Alcoine SP with its fancy wood and engraved sideplates at $2,700, you are getting lots of gun for your money when buying a Franchi. (Contact Franchi at 301-283-6981, www.franchi.com)

CAESAR GUERINI
The over-unders from Caesar Guerini are some of the best I have seen in the $2,000 to $3,000 price range. Standard features include single selective trigger, automatic ejectors, interchangeable chokes, Boss-style ejectors, Anson-type forearm latch and chrome-lined barrels.

If one of these guns ever shoots loose, its barrel hinge trunnions and locking lugs are easily replaced. The action incorporates dual internal safeties, an interceptor notch on the sear and an independent inertia block, both designed to reduce the risk of accidental discharge. All models are boxlocks although the two Magnus variants with their nicely engraved sideplates are likely to fool everyone at the gun club into thinking you are shooting a sidelock gun. Utilization of a steel-reinforced aluminum frame reduces the heft of the Magnus Light in 12 gauge to around six pounds, compared to almost a pound more for the all-steel Magnus. Chukar hunters take note; the Magnus Light in 28 or 20 gauge weighs a feathery 51?4 pounds. (Contact Caesar Guerini at 410-901-1131, www.guerini.com)

HATFIELD
Remember the Hatfield side-by-side double of several years ago? I know the Hatfield brothers and they are now feuding over whether their Spanish-built double of yesteryear was as good as the Turkish-built gun they are selling today. I will say this; the new Hatfield Uplander 28 is lighter than a feather, points as naturally as your finger and its price doesn’t require a second mortgage on the homestead. It is available only in 28-gauge, which is okay by me. (Contact Hatfield at 816-233-9106, www.hatfieldshotguns.com) (continued)