I really do believe that knowing Churchill as I did it was a marketing ploy, to cover up a faux paux.
salopian: no 'war' of any kind, nor any offense, intended. But with all due respect to your father, I suspect he was having you on a bit. His yarn plays off the reality of Churchill's aggressive salesmanship (and occasional 'economy with the truth'). But it is the kind of spiteful rumor that grew out of Churchill's bitter public battles with
The Field and some of its readers - battles which became quite heated and occasionally bordered on slander.
As noted, shorter guns were 'old hat' by the time the XXV was designed, so the notion that Churchill's gun was inspired by a hacked-up repair job is about as plausible as Newton's apple. But if your father seriously thought that an experienced shooter could be gulled into accepting his gun back from repairs with the barrels 3 inches shorter and the chokes cut off - that Churchill was willing to risk his family firm's reputation by trying it - and that Harper would go along with it - you are most welcome to believe it.
