Curious about what the resident SXS/SBS experts think would make for a good base SXS shotgun, whether a used older type or a newer model, for chopping down into a Mad-Max pistol shotgun with a proper pistol-grip.

Also, what’s your gauge preference for such a rig? 28ga, 20ga, 16ga, 12ga?

Thanks in advance?

I used a stoeger uplander 20 ga. It was from a buddy who did not use it anymore. I went 8" on the barrels and sorta "MAD MAX" in a smaller way.
Not finished yet but you get the idea.
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Yeah, I like that!  Thanks!

My gut would be to go Stoeger because they’re everywhere. There are nicer guns for sure but it’s all a compromise. I want a little 20ga to go with my shorty pump guns. .410 might be fun too.

On the .410ga, I've seen these advertised quite a bit. A modern version of the "Auto Burglar" shotty but without the Class 3 paperwork and stamp requirements.

GB ad here is for $1450:  https://www.gunbroker.com/item/986606585

I'm thinking by the time I bought a Stoeger 20ga somewhere, paid $200 for the BATFE stamp, then paid my local 'smith to chop the tubes to 9"-10" and fix up the grip like Cajun22's above, I'd have about the same $$$ into it, ... no?

It all depends on what you want and what you want it to do. The reason I don't really have desire to own what you linked is that it's not really a 410 it's a 45lc with a rifled barrel and long chamber. It's the same as the Judge pistols or the TC pistols from way back. I hate our laws and find it so frustrating that you can't have a smoothbore 410 pistol but you can if it has crappy shallow rifling.

True. A modern A/B in 20ga, with well-done forend wood and pistol grip (as on the linked 410 pistol), would be the way to go but for the NFA crap.

Find a used Stevens on GB, they can be had for around $300.
The only problem with the Stoegers (I’ve found) is they can be very difficult to break open.

A well used Stevens or Savage will break open much easier… and be cooler as they will likely have some “wasteland” wear to them :)

I have a couple of old double 12’s I’ve thought of SBS’ing, but would prefer a 20 for shootability.

I agree. One of the LGSs had an old but nice 20ga Stevens dbl on the used rack a while back but it was gone before I could get back to the store.

Since I first posted I did more research on the actual Ithaca A/B dbl Guns. There were two models: a 10” model A  and later, a 12” model B. In 20ga, the Model A was chambered for 2.5” shells. The “upgraded” model B in 20ga was chambered for the then-new 2 3/4” shells. Also, the grip on the model B was slightly modified and lacked the radical spur on the backside that the model A had.

Of more interest to me were the gauges or chamberings that Ithaca made the A/Bs in: 20ga was apparently the popular standard gauge in both models; however, A/Bs were also made in 28ga, .410, and 16ga.

A few sources mentioned that one could be ordered from Ithaca in 12ga but supposedly these were extremely rare to non-existent. However one was found in an NFA collection somewhere and there are pics of this 12ga A/B taken side-by-side with a standard 20ga model. The size difference of the 12ga model in the receiver and barrels is quite apparent.  Here’s a link:

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ithaca-auto-burglar-12ga/

I can’t even imagine touching off a 12” 12-gauge A/B gun inside a bank if I were a teller being robbed.