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I have often been told the best years of the London Bests were made between the wars. I have two now made in the 20's but have owned others made before say 1918. I have had Purdeys, Hollands, Husseys all made before the end of WW1.
I personally can not tell that the between the wars guns are that much better quality.
What say you guys?
Let see some pictures of your Bests!

Between the wars guns tend to be lighter - with Churchill and the fashion for short barrels and very light guns, guns (12 bore) were often nearer 6 lbs than 7lbs. Some were even lighter.

Very light guns often had the stocks trimmed to a very thin hand, and many may have been broken over the years.

I think quality wise, it varies from gun to gun. I have heard it said that the 'best' quality was just pre the first war when cost was very much secondary to quality. After the 1st war, money was less readily available (Great Depression etc) and makers became more cost concious.

I have an Atkin Spring Opener made in 1911 - and the quality would be hard to better. Its showing the 'fair wear and tear' from 100 years use, but is largely original. Weighs a little under 7 lbs with 28" barrels and a 14 3/4 stock.

I also have an Atkin Spring Opener made 1923. As well as a Purdey made in 1929.

Do you find the Atkin 'smoother' and more easily closed than the Purdey?

Several people have told me this is so. I have handled two Atkin Spring Openers (other than my own), one was lovely easy to close and silky smooth (like my own), the other stiff and lumpy. I have handled (and shot) only one (borrowed!) pair of Purdeys and I did find them stiff, but it was a long time ago and I wasn't used to a self opener then, so can't really compare.

My views on this are well known, but given the opportunity - I will bore you with them here once more!

Quality was always there. Look at locks made in the 1860s and 1870s - they are better than anything made since when at their best. Truly hand made and absolutely beautiful.

The 1930s was a period in which most of the mechanisms we now regard as essential and modern were well perfected. Also, materials were available in good quality and there were still plenty of time-served gunmakers at the top of their trade.

However, 1930s QUALITY is no better than quality from any other era.

1930s MECHANICAL PERFECTION, married to QUALITY may well be better, and a lot of 1930s best guns remained little used, as a bit of a scrap in Europe and elsewhere interrupted seasons 1939-45 and after that a lot of people were not able to afford the scale of shooting that they once were. A lot of mint guns got put away. So, today we see quite a lot of very nice condition, good quality, mechanically modern best English guns.

Victorian guns often got shot to bits, as did Edwardian ones. Lots of big-bag days, lots of years shooting before WW1 and lots of corrosive primers.

Best guns from 1900 to 1930 are every bit as good as anything buildt from 1930-1939. Just avoid iffy single triggers and ejector systems and guns that have been worn out.

John is right about lightweight - a thirties trend. To the current fashion, it is a bit of an annoyance - shorter barrels, lighter guns etc. If you want a long barrelled Purdey sidelock, you will find the pre WW1 era more likely as a hunting ground than the '30s.

Take it straight from the horse's mouth: Bruce Owen who was Purdey's production managr. In an article in Shooting Sportsman about 12 years ago he said the following-

-CNC machinery has brought increased precision in parts

-CNC machines also mandate the use of better steels because the formerly used mild steel cannot take the forces generated during machining.

Presumably certified steel also takes more prcise and controled heat treatment. Additionally there are modern quality control methods like X Rays, magna fluxing etc to ensure that there are no internal structural faults in the metal.

Pretty much the same is said by Holland and Holland managers on video. Modern guns are made of better material and with more precision.

Beyond England, the late Giovanny Metelli, chief of the Beretta custom department, told me that the later SO series shotguns incorportated improvements in design, material, and precision over the early models made in the 1940s.

My confusion is with the prewar term "best" gun. If they were indeed best, the new guns made of certified steel are "bester"?

In the words of Mandy Rice-Davies "He would (say that), wouldn't he?"

Of course, you are now comparing different products. New guns made with CNC machined parts are hand fitted rather than totally hand made. There is less variation from sample to sample.

Best guns of the past were made to the highest possible standards using the skills and materials available at the time. As the ages change, the skills and materials differ slightly. You can see it in the guns if you have the eye to see the subtle differences.

Small Bore,

The "hand made" part is probably less true than we want to believe. Greener writing in 1910 described and approved of the the use of machine tools in gunmaking and of carborundum infused lead plates for polishing of small parts. It is only natural that makers would use the most economical way to get to the same result. Personally I always had a hard time believing that the boxlock recesses that house springs and tumblers, or the square bolt recesses were cut by hand. In many guns of the "golden era" I examine there were clear machining marks left in the metal.

Getting to the irreducible qualities of best guns, I would bet on the feel, both in the sense of overall balance and dynamics, as well as the tactile sense in manipulation as being the essential qualities of a "best". For these, yes, you need human touch and judgement, but these can be applied when the machine work has been done.

For the rest of the work I recall Sandro Lucchini's words: "when I want a square corner I go to the milling machine, not the human hand".

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I took an extended tour of the Purdey factory about three years ago and I was repeated told, and shown by examples, how Purdey guns today are better manufactured to higher quality standards than in years past. The forgings for the barrels and receivers use better steels today and the forged grain is more uniform where it is needed for added strength. These forgings are huge for the end product produced, such as for the barrels. Each barrel forging initially weighs about 15 pounds which ends up as a single barrel tube of a pound or so. This extensive metal removal process gives immense strength to each tube and no person could ever remove that much hardened forged steel by hand in a months time.

The several machine tools at the back of the factory were all humming along with no gunsmiths present, automatically loading and unloading parts. These tools are calibrated to produce parts within 30 millionths tolerances - something few, if any, craftsman could ever do.

I am not qualified to say how current Purdey's match up to pre war guns, of which I have examples of both, and having a machine tool background myself, I was impressed by their processes and attention to quality practices.