Hi Jager, good question. Just to set things straight, this post is referring to Spanish guns prior to 1900, nothing modern, just vintage guns. That there was a gun trade in Spain over 100 years ago is not in doubt by any here. In terms of shotguns however, I believe the trade was much smaller than what Kyrie states. Of course the Spanish made shotguns, as to the quality of these guns, who knows, many have asked for examples and got none. If these guns do exist, where are they? One point to consider is Kyrie has stated that the Spanish really don't take care of their guns, if this is so, then I guess they fell apart thru abuse rather than use. I say this as I have not been able to find any reference to these massive driven shoots in Spain that he has referred to. If the guns have fallen apart then the original quality must have been poor or the owner just didn't give a damn and let the gun go to hell. The other thing to consider, if these guns were made in quantity they should be found in gunshops throughout Spain as L.B. has stated. I've looked at some of the big gunshop websites (Spanish) and I've not found any. In more modern times, King Alfonso XIII (who came of age and enthroned in 1905) was a huge fan of James Purdey & Sons. He bought several from the firm and was regarded by Purdey as the "finest friend this firm has ever had" (paraphrasing here). If the Spanish made such great shotguns, why did he buy English shotguns? I'm sure he did have some Spanish guns (made specifically for him, not the masses) but you would think he'd support his own countries gunmakers before a foreign maker....if they were any good. He did grant Royal Warrants to Victor Sarasqueta, but he used Purdeys almost exclusively, bit of a conundrum here.
Anyway, like others, I'm waiting to see an example of a fine vintage Spanish gun. But I'm not holding my breath!
Greg
