If people are still collecting shotguns in 2114, one double I’m sure they’ll be call an American classic is the 28 gauge Ruger Red Label over under.
Ruger introduced their Red Label shotguns in 1977 and offered them until 2011 (and they’re introducing a modified version this year, btw). First available as 20 gauges and then 12s, the Red Labels were decent guns. In most of the shops I visited as a kid, they were the most expensive shotguns on the racks, right up there with the Belgian Browning Superposed and the Beretta 686s.
One-hundred percent American made, Red Labels tended to be heavy, and the fit and finish on a lot of them was not good. But the 28 gauge Ruger Red Labels were different – like a single, gorgeous pup in a litter of malformed runts. These Red Labels were lightweight and sleek. If you could find a good one, they were beautiful upland guns.
And it looks like the one you see here might be a good one. It’s on Gunbroker.com now and the listing end on 1/21/2014 5:15:24 PM ET. So if you like what you see, step up and get it. The price looks very fair.
28 gauge Ruger Red Label over under, 28″ bbls: VR barrel…boxlock, SST, auto ejectors, checkered English straight grip stock, stainless steel frame…Comes with the original box, manual, choke wrench and all 5 choke tubes…Gun is mint/hard to even tell if it has been fired/Like New.
