doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Where does Boss& Co fit in?

I apologize for the question if this has been gone over before. I have ordered the Boss book by Donald Dallas but I havent gotten it in.

While I understand Boss to be in the same league as Purdey and H&H, I am not aware of any royal warrants that Boss has--at least they do not advertise any currently.Is this an indicator of quality? Or, is a royal warrant just evidence of good political connections?

I know Boss is famous for the over and under gun. Is the Boss side by side as highly thought of?

Also, I havent been able to find a good article on a Boss gun in my copies of DGJ ( I do not have the new index and reader) or Shooting Sportsman (I am sure I am just missing them-- I have all issues since 1998) can anybody tell me of one?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

Boss was/is one of, if not the best British shotgun maker. Royal warrants or not.

Boss guns are rated the full equal of Purdey and Holland and Holland - SxS or O/U. My shooting student Joe Wood argues that they are rated higher than the two "Names".

Best,

Mike

It's part of what englishmen call 'Holy Trinity' of gunmakers. They are in no particular order: Boss, Purdey, Holland & Holland.

I understand that someone from Boss once asked King George V why he shot Purdeys rather than Boss guns; his reply was, 'Because they are too bl***y expensive'!

You will enjoy the book as it is well researched and with plenty of illustrations. Lagopus.....

The four makers' names that have Brand Value level (BV) one (150% of level two, 200% of level three, 400% of level four, and 800% of level five) are Boss, H&H, Purdey, and Woodward. Note that there is no correlation between name and qulity of any individual gun. All makers were able to deliver a best gun. Only a few had the reputation to have a high % of their orders for best guns. With the possible exception of Boss, all makers supplied a broad range of Initial Quality grade (OQ) guns. The above applies to both SXS and O/U guns.

A warrant is not an indicator of a maker's ability nor is it some "overall" quality endorsement. It is much more like an advertising endorsement issued in hopes of a price break.

Note that for Brit guns, name has about a two-fold impact on value and Original Quality and Current Condition (CC) each have about a twenty-fold impact.

Don, Purdey and Woodward made less than best quality over unders? Which models were they?

In a SXS, my preferance would be Boss, Purdey, and then Holland. I just picked up a Purdey which I am very satisfied with (by no means does that doesn't make me an expert). However, if I could have found a Boss configured the same way, I would have gone with it. I have handled a lot of Hollands, but prefer the Boss & Purdey's. Just my very humble opion.

I think all Woodward, Purdey, and Boss O/U's were best guns (OQ1). However, H&H, Purdey, and Woodward made/sold many less than best boxlocks and some SL's, too.


Woodward retailed W&S Propriatary actioned BLE gun. Nice enough, but not a best.

RM,

I've been reading gun mags since I can't remember when, and subscribed to Guns & Ammo for many years going back to the 50's. Through articles in those rags, I became familiar with the names of Purdey and Holland & Holland, but Boss wasn't one I had ever heard of until I started reading the ads in The Gun List and Woodward didn't become familiar until I became interested in Best Guns and started reading BGJ. So, I think, H&H and Purdey, are more accepted, by the general gun buying public as being the best guns made, as where Boss and Woodward are not, and this is proved to be true in my questioning people at gun shows that I attend. I can truthfully say, that not 1 person I have ever talked to, at any gun show or guns shop in my town of 450,000 people, has ever heard of Boss or Woodward, but a lot have heard of H&H and Purdey, why is this?

binko