Brittany Man,
Beretta's SO series are all monobloc, most would rank them as "best". All sleeved chopper lumped bests are ersatz monoblocs and they do not seem to lose their "best" designations.
Shotgun lover, I'm well aware that most Beretta SO guns are of monoblock construction (the SO 10 guns are demiblock by the way so what does that tell you as Beretta attempts to move upmarket with the SO 10) & while they are nice guns I don't think "most people" who appreciate fine guns consider them "best" guns. The joint line at the monoblock is visible & ugly. It's so visible it's like they were proud of it.
A sleeved best gun is just that; a once best gun that has been compromised by a more economical repair rather than new barrels of the original construction.
Anyway, this thread is way off topic from the original question of if British best guns built between the wars were superior to those built earlier.
Personally I think guns built between the wars had the advantage of the improved metallurgy available, well developed designs & manufacturing techniques while labor costs were still comparatively low & each gun received lots of attention from skilled workers. Also the economic crisis of the 1930's meant competition between makers for business was fierce so it was likely you would get their best effort.
That said, I've seen some wonderful examples of British Best Guns from all eras & that includes the late 1960's thru 1970's period when workmanship & quality were definitely in the decline, so as always each gun needs to be evaluated on it's own merit but I do think the between the wars period is an excellent place to look for an example of a "best".
