KIMBER
Not long ago I hunted sharptailed grouse in Montana with a Kimber Augusta and while I am not big fan of the 12–gauge shotshell for much of the upland shooting I do, this is one gun I would take a serious look at should I change my evil ways. Made just down the street from the Perazzi factory in Italy, the Kimber looks like a Perazzi, handles like a Perazzi and is probably as durable as a Perazzi but it costs only about half as much. The field and skeet guns weigh about 7 1/4 pounds with their 28-inch barrels while the sporting clays and trap guns weigh a bit more due to their longer barrels. (Contact Kimber at 800-880-2418, www.kimberamerica.com )

MERKEL
A Merkel side-by-side double is the kind of gun you enjoy looking at as much as you enjoy shooting. The quality is there and it shows. Prices range from mildly expensive for the basic Model 47E with its color-cased receiver to outrageously expensive for the Model 360SL with its knockout wood and generous coverage of hand engraving.

Depending on the model, barrel lengths range from 26 to 30 inches and all the common bore sizes are there, 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410. Several models are also available as two-barrel sets in the combinations of 12/16, 16/20, 20/28 and 28/.410. I know a fellow who has a Model 280EL in 28 and .410 and he is very careful about keeping it under lock and key when I am around.

The Merkel over-under with its rather unusual two-piece forearm has been in production for over 100 years and it too is of excellent quality. A number of models ranging from the basic 2000EL to the top-of-line 303EL with its highly engraved Holland & Holland-style sidelocks are offered. (Contact Merkel at 205-655-8299, www.gsifirearms.com)

PERAZZI
If you were to win the lottery tomorrow what are the first guns you would buy? As for me, the four-gun set of Perazzi game guns in 12, 20, 28 and .410 I recently spotted with a price tag of $400,125 would be high up on my priority list. Would they have taken an even four hundred grand? I didn’t ask but my guess is they would have been tempted.

No Perazzi is inexpensive but you can buy one for less than 100K. The standard hunting-grade gun is called MX12 in 12 gauge and MX20 in 20 gauge and either will set you back about $11,000. The price sounds less painful when you amortize it over a lifetime of hunting and come up with about the same cost per year as you would spend on three tanks of gasoline for your Chevy Suburban. (Contact Perazzi at 626-334-1234, www.perazzi.com)

REMINGTON
I hunted in Uruguay with a prototype of the Remington Model 332 quite a few months before its manufacture commenced and I liked it so well I later added a production gun to my working battery. For clay target shooting and late-season pheasant hunting I prefer 28-inch barrels on this gun but would probably go with the optional 30-inch barrels for waterfowling. My gun has a satin finish on its wood and metal but due to popular demand, a high-gloss finish will be available beginning this year.

Remington Model 332 with duck.

It is quite common nowadays to see foreign-built guns sold by American gun companies and now Remington is no longer an exception. I got my first look at the new Spartan Gunworks lineup during mid-February while on a quail hunt at Brays Island with Jay Bunting and Art Wheaton of Remington. It took no more than a quick glance to reveal that they were not made by Westley Richards or Holland & Holland, but I’ll have to admit I was impressed by their performance on those fast-flying birds. For now at least, Remington plans to import three basic guns from Russia, all in 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410.

Since this report is about doubles only, I won’t use up a lot of space on the Model SPR100 break-action single-shot except to say it will retail for less than $100. Two side-by-side models will be available, SPR210 (single trigger) and SPR220 with two triggers.

The two over-under models are SPR310 (single trigger) and believe it or not, a double-trigger gun called the SPR320. Automatic ejectors are standard on the single-trigger guns. Common features among all models are chrome-lined bores, ventilated rib, automatic safety, rubber recoil pad and screw-in chokes capable of handling steel shot. Prices of the new Russian doubles from Remington range from $320 to $490. (Contact Remington at 800-243-9700, www.remington.com)

RUGER
The Ruger Red Label in 20 and 12 gauges is something of a heavy proposition on 12-mile days in search of sharptailed grouse or leg-melting climbs after chukar. But the 28-gauge version is an entirely different cup of tea. Perfectly scaled to size for the 28-gauge shell, it weighs around six pounds. After shooting all the different combinations, I have decided the one with a curved-grip stock and 28-inch barrels is the Ruger for me. For those who march to a different drummer, it is also available with a straight-grip stock and 26-inch barrels.

An extra-cost option that doubles the fun of this little double is a pair of full-length .410 insert tubes offered by Ruger. Made by Briley, they are also available directly from that company for those who already own a 28-gauge Red Label. Most Ruger over-unders look the way upland guns are supposed to look because they have walnut stocks and blued-steel barrels but even I will have to admit the All Weather version in 12 gauge with its stainless steel barrels and black synthetic stock is the one I’d rather have with me in a duck blind on a rainy day. (Contact Sturm, Ruger at 928-541-8820, www.ruger.com) (continued)