It must be remembered that when most of the very best British shotguns were made there were no restrictions on ownership; just a 10 shilling license from the local Post Office as a Police certificate was not required until 1968 and that too cost 10 shillings and issued with little fuss unless you had criminal convictions. A lot of game here is shot walked up as not everyone (me included) can afford driven shooting. Oddly, a lot of the guns specifically made for driven shooting are heavier. British guns will vary considerably in quality and finish from the bottom end 'Game Keeper's' guns used as workaday tools to those at the top end for high volume driven shooting where some of those so privileged would perhaps put 30,000 shots through a gun in just one season. One Boss O/U used at the Proof House for testing cartridges was reputed to have fired over 1 million rounds before honourable retirement. Some British guns like the machine made BSA can be quite ugly in appearance as too a Ward 'Target' model gun. Like you say, it can be relative as I have a Winchester SX4 that handles very well which I use at work for vermin shooting. I hardly ever miss with that one but I still would go to my Holland for a gun that really does handle well. Lagopus…..
