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What do you consider to be a 'Best' Gun? e.g., Are there any boxlocks which are best guns or are best guns only of sidelock manufacture and are back action sidelocks considered 'best guns' or is does this definition only pertain to bar action sidelocks?

I believe true Best-grade shotguns are made to the highest standards, regardless of whether they're boxlocks or sidelocks.

In my mind, a few features they must have include:

-Screw in hinge pins
-Intercepting safety sears

Everything about them has to be the best, from the materials to the manufacturing techniques, as well as the aesthetics, fit, and finish. Shortcuts and second-rate designs are not acceptable.

I owe a lot of my understanding of what goes into a best gun to Vic Venters excellent book Gun Craft. I recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

OWD

I think it's your typical English understatement for a term describing their top of the line gun that they produced and it began back in the muzzleloading era where nearly if not every gun was a sidelock. (There was Ethan Allen's box lock design).
But this term has taken on a life of its own and is applied incorrectly in todays era of firearms.

Buzz;
This discussion has been flogged to bloody death and beyond on this forum. And to put a merciful end to this thread, OWD has it pretty much correct. "Best" was the best that any particular British maker offered. No finer gun was available from that particular firm. All the bells and whistles were part of the order. Nothing left out. Sidelock or boxlock, no matter. Bar action or back action, no matter.

The only codicil to "Best", is that Continental guns don't get to play in the classic sense. British guns are a realm unto themselves. And although Italian, German and (cough) Spanish guns pretend to be in the same arena, they are not. I shant go further, but that's just the way it is.

Best (in a relative sense of course), Kensal

Once upon a time in an old Roman town on a small island at the cross roads of Empire, a handful of gunmakers managed to pry the idle rich loose from a piece of the action by providing sporting arms so good that practically everyone who was anyone wanted one (or a pair). These were called best guns and were used by the best people to kill imported poultry.

jack.

The Mantons and their best apprentices raised the standards to which guns could be made by a very substantial percentage in the early 1800's. This happened in conjunction with a remarkable increase in wealth within the British Empire. Wealthy Brits became very focused on goods of extraordinary quality, guns being one of the classes of goods where a "best" quality could be made. Suits, shirts, gloves, hats, shoes, waterproofs, umbrellas, jewlery, wine/chocolates, carriages, etc. were offered by Brit craftspeople in "best" grades which were usually "bespoke" and made to fit and to order. Read "Nothing but the Best" by Thomas Girton (a short, imformative, and entertaining read!!) fora moreindepthunderstandingof this subject.

"Best" gun needs to be considered over time. Materials. designs, and craft techniques, as well as style, have evolved over time. Note that "best" quality can't be identified by brand. Brand can, however, tell you the probability that a gun of that brand is a "best". Boss SLE's are for sure "bests." Purdey SLE have a much higher probability of being "best" than does,say, Midland (there was a pair of Midlands that I bet were "best" at auction a few years ago). Consider Greener "G" guns and top end Westley Richards Drop Locks for "best" boxlocks.

You have to look at enough "best" guns to learn to recognize "best work" when you see it.

Very well said and very true.

May I respectfully add Dickson Round Actions to that list.

RG

I have found the term 'best gun' is used rather loosely by folks trying to sell guns. In terms of a bar action sidelock, does the gun have to have self-opening mechanism and cocking indicators to be called a 'best gun'?

No.