Saying Italian best guns can't compare to English best guns reveals only a lack of knowledge of either. It is one thing to look at someone elses best gun order and say you don't think it compares to something else you have seen, quite another to step up to the plate and select one's idea own idea of a best gun, and then, of course, pay, and wait for it. I've handled some Granger guns that were simply breathtaking, with ornamental stock carving that was not of my taste, but, that didn't mean it they weren't best guns. They were. They just weren't done in my taste. If I had the coin, I'd be over with Richard Levi today, telling him how to build my gun, without any stock carving, of course, but, I don't. I had dinner and a night on the town with the man, and he is a great individual, who can see to it that you get exactly what you want in a best gun, that would easily compare with anything built anywhere else in the world, at any time in history.
The wild card, of course, is will you actually get what you pay for. I've also seen some English guns that were supposed to be best guns, that simply weren't-Henry Ford IIs pair of 1947 vintage Purdery's were sub-par in finishing. Might just be me, but, I get a little sad when I see a Boss with the 1/2 inch tall letters on the side proclaiming "Boss's Patent".
Of course it's a Boss-look at the house engraving. Why did they feel the need to screw up that lovely rose and scroll with block letters on the side?
The Italians can build anything you want, to any level you want. So can the French, the Germans, the English, and the Spaniards.
Not everyone can pay a skilled team's wages for several years labor. Looking at someone elses best gun order, and thinking it isn't the best gun for you misses the point a bit.
Best,
Ted
