If it were my Purdey I would hunt with it, really enjoying it, and if it ever got the worse for wear send it back to Purdey for sprucing up.
SRH
I had a buddy send his Purdey to Purdey for sprucing up. He felt like a spruce tree fell on top of him after he got the bill. The bill was 50% of his low 5 figures' original cost. According to him, there was nothing that he considered major done to the gun. No re-stocking, re-barreling, etc.
Ouch! He should have gotten a quote up front.
I'm better off not owning one like that. Actually, my most expensive gun is a 3" chambered Super Fox in about 80+% condition. It hunts ducks and geese. I just don't need to own one I can't feel comfortable hunting with. I keep toying with the idea of one day ordering a CSMC Fox. If I ever do, it will acquire patina. I promise you.
SRH
Stan: I might be better off not owning that one too, at least for hunting; however, I am a collector and would classify myself as that. I have several guns which I do not take hunting....that does not mean I can't enjoy them. I take these sorts of guns to the gun club and shoot skeet and sporting clays, and that's how I enjoy them. Several of these guns would not be classified as collectors by some, such as a mint Grade I Browning superposed .410 and a 20 bore Pigeon grade Browning superposed in 97% condition. These guns, plus several others I own are too nice to drag through the swamps of the Northwoods, and the mesquite thickets of West Texas. I have other guns I hunt with and my go-to gun is a 20 bore, Browning superposed grade I, which I brought brand new about 15 years ago, had Ken Eyster choke it to shoot Remington Express 7 1/2 shot perfectly at 25 yards. It throws a beautiful pattern in both barrels with these Boomers, which I use on Ruffed Grouse. The gun probably isn't worth $1000-$1500 now as beat up as it is, but if you have feathers and get up in front of me using that gun, you would stand a good chance of not making it to your evening roost. Well, enough on the hunting guns. My point is people collect a lot of different things for a lot of different reasons and the Purdey we are talking about I purchased at what I felt a very reasonable price in a depressed economy and at a time when the stock market is so volatile it just scares the crap out of me. In other words, I would rather be in the Purdey market than the Stock market right now. At least I can feel it, shoot it, admire it and even hunt with it if I choose and it's not going to disappear like a fart in the wind like some of my stocks have done. Take care, Buzz
