Remington 1889 10 gauge SxS

I've been keeping an eye out for a 2 7/8'' chambered 10 gauge double barrel and checked one out at the LGS today. I'm not sure what grade it is at the moment and don't know much about them either. The asking price is 1100.00, it seems tight and the bores look good. The gun has lots of finish and the barrels look like blued steel. I'm wondering if that's a fair price, the wrist of the butt stock has a crack that looks to go from side to side and the forend has a small crack too.

Is it useable with a crack in the wrist or is that hard to fix?

I suppose these are for black powder or light smokeless loads?

I doubt the barrels are fluid steel . I suspect they’re blued over damascus . Unless the guns in very good shape or something unusual I’d say the price is a bit high .

Step back and think about this one. Most likely blued over damascus, and if hot bath blued, ribs and solder/joints may have been weakened.

If my Google skills are any good it looks like the lower cost grade 1's were fluid steel. It's definitely not a grade 3 comparing to the pictures of grade 3's on Google.

The serial number is 91xxx. I probably would've bought it if not for the crack in the stock. I might have to go back and take a closer look at it. Sure enough I just bought tires for the Mustang lol.

The price sounds like they are asking more than double of what it’s worth IMO.

Thanks for the advice on the price.

The crack in the stock would put me off unless you have no plans of firing it. Restocking a double is not cheap. I also have a hammer Remington 1889 [I think] in 12 gauge. Used it for cas for a while. A po cut the barrels. I cut them again to remove a dent.

Alot of these guns got cracked stocks from shooting high brass ammo that was introduced in the 60s.

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Originally Posted by Baltimoreed

The crack in the stock would put me off unless you have no plans of firing it. Restocking a double is not cheap. I also have a hammer Remington 1889 [I think] in 12 gauge. Used it for cas for a while. A po cut the barrels. I cut them again to remove a dent.

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The crack wouldn’t bother me . Any decent stock guy worth a darn could soak the stock in lacquer thinner then glue it and finish it good as new . But the initial cost would turn me off . I’ve got a bunch of SxS’s hammer and hammerless , however Remington is not my preference although I’ve owned a few over time .

Price is a bit high, but not unreasonable. I have three of them (10ga,12ga,20ga)and love them a lot. Very well made for their era.The 20ga has fully rifled barrels that I machined to fit the last for inches of the receiver end. Will some day get around to regulating them.

I don't believe that fluid steel was an option for the 1889 Remington. Decarbonized steel was used for the lowest grade guns. Damascus was considered the best and strongest barrel type at that time. If you could remove the barrels and look at the serial number on the action flats to the left of the serial there should be another number which will indicate the grade of the gun. A number (1) stamp is for a number one grade, the lowest. They were fitted with decarbonized steel barrels. All the higher grades got some type of Damascus. Of course there is the possibility that the gun was returned to Remington and fitted with steel barrels at a later date but those barrels will be marked as as such.

There is also not much of a market on 10 ga since they came out with 12 ga 3 1/2". As for the length of the shell you need to use in it, you would be better to load your own . I am with also what others say about the crack and take a step back on what they asking for it.

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Originally Posted by trapper9260

There is also not much of a market on 10 ga since they came out with 12 ga 3 1/2". As for the length of the shell you need to use in it, you would be better to load your own . I am with also what others say about the crack and take a step back on what they asking for it.

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There’s more of a market for 10 gauge 2 7/8” SxS’s than you may think . However the majority of the market is for Parker , LC Smith , Lefever , Ithaca and pre war European guns . Although I do have a friend that’s Vice Prez of the Remington Society that’s enamored with Remington SxS 10’s be it hammer or hammerless .