I try to not be envious of the very rich. They have earned their money, or inherited it from those who have earned it.

I am very glad, that luxury goods for the very rich are made, because those things serve as templates for the rest of us, and the luxury items themselves in time usually depreciate to where ordinary folks can afford them.

A shotgun, is not the most costly luxury item the wealthy purchase.

An entry level Rolls Royce Ghost starts at $250,000, which would buy a matched pair of London best guns, and that new Rolls Royce runs on unleaded gasoline, available everywhere.

Truly impressive yachts are priced in the millions, but the old standard of a forty foot cabin cruiser is about ten thousand dollars a foot today, and it will run on unleaded gasoline or diesel, regardless of how much it costs.

And private jets are priced in the tens of millions, but a perfectly good single engine airplane today is over a half a million, with twins starting at a million dollars. The jets burn the standard jet fuel at all the airports, and while the piston engine models require standard leaded avgas, that's because there's not any unleaded gasoline for sale at most airports, yet. The do gooders are working on it, and when leaded avgas is phased out, at their next major overhaul the new piston engine planes today will run on the next generation of lead free avgas.

I've bought two new Caesar Guerini over and under shotguns. They aren't best guns, but they are surely some nice, wonderful shotguns, and the bottom of both have that Fleur-de-lis mark the Italian proof house requires for steel shot proof. The have chrome lined bores, silver soldered barrels, and the Tempio has three inch chambers. I understand to not use any steel shot larger than BB and no chokes tighter than modified.

But someday, those CG guns will be busting clays and shooting birds, using common steel shot loads, and a lot of true best guns made today will be curiosities like my friend's old damascus barreled hammer guns are.

If you can't shoot the currently available and legal ammo in a gun, it's not practical for volume use, no matter how wealthy you are.

The London and Birmingham proof houses would do the British gun trade and the world a favor, by introducing a steel shot proof mark, even if were voluntary, like the Italian one is.

Best guns ought to be able to shoot cheap steel shot.



Last edited by 992B; 01/07/18 06:21 PM.