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Your question is what the "world" marketplace considers a matched pair. That's a pretty ambiguous question. Most of the world may presume you are referring to things other than shotguns. Better, IMO, to ask what is the definition of a matched pair of shotguns. It is a question that is based on English tradition, because we Americans are/were not concerned with matched pairs of shotguns unless we are/were Anglophiles.

My understanding of it (and my understanding is a minuscule component of the "world" view, no?) is that it is a pair of guns that are as near identical as is humanly possible. Even to the grain structure and flow in the wood, the weight, the balance, the finish .............. everything.

Hallowell's defines it as "Two shotguns of a matched Pair are identical in every way---same barrel lengths, same chokes, stocks of the same dimensions cut from the same piece of wood, identical weights, balance, etc. They should be consecutively numbered and all the readily-detachable components should be numbered 1 and 2 respectively. Usually, they are cased together. Ideally, in the heat of a driven shoot when the birds are coming hard and fast, working with a loader, the shooter shouldn’t be conscious at all of which gun of the pair he has in hand at any given moment. A "pair' of guns ordered with different chokes or other differences, in the interest of increasing their range of utility, defeats the entire concept of a matched Pair. Most makers will charge an extra 10% over the cost of two single guns for their trouble insuring the precise matching of the two guns. A Composed Pair of guns is one where two separate guns, made individually, are subsequently stocked or altered to match as closely as possible."

If I ever desired a matched pair, which I supremely doubt I will, I would consider 10% a small price to pay to have two "identical" handmade guns.


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‘If I ever desired’....Come on now Stan, we all know if the right deal popped up for a matched pair of something you liked, you would jump on it. On another note, I think there is something a little more than sickening in breaking up a true matched pair. The thought makes me nauseous....


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I might quibble with the ‘Hollowell‘s definition in this respect… I believe that chokes can vary in matched pairs. There could be many scenarios where you might want to have a more open choked gun, followed by a more tightly choked gun, particularly with driven game. Then there is the concept of the grouse choke which entails a more tightly choked front trigger followed by a more openly choked back trigger so as to be better be able to take a grouse early as they approach with the first barrel and still have an opportunity for a second, closer bird. The second gun is then choked more openly on the front trigger and tighter on the back trigger so as to be able to take a going away bird behind the butt. Of course with double triggers, the Shooter could simply choose the rear trigger first, But I still believe that choking the pair differently does not I mean they no longer meet the definition.


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I own a documented "matched pair". They are Boswell Best BLE, Damascus, Side-lever ejectors. Chris Batha has provided the records for the 2 guns. The first was ordered in 1899 as a Best Quality A&D Side-Lever, Ejector for Sir James Sivewright for delivery to Cape Town, South Africa. 42 lbs, 10 shillings. Price that against a sidelock..

Sir James retired to Tulliallan Castle, Kirkland on Forth, Scotland. He ordered a matching gun that was delivered in 1902.
The matched pair is in a proper Boswell pair case. If you look closely, you'll see where the #1 was artfully added to the first gun and the second gun's engraving was ready for the #2.
I will have them at the Southern later this week if anyone wants to look.

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Joe in Charlotte

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I own #2 of a pair of Purdey's that were ordered as a pair in 1894.

#1's serial number is 9 digits higher than #2.


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In my study of Powell's 19th Century patent action guns, I have come across a number of pairs
that lacked consecutive serial numbers. So why would this be? I think the answer was provided
by Peter Powell during a car ride between Birmingham and Banbury. He opined that his gunmaking
ancestors weren't 'sentimental men.' They were making and selling a product while trying to avoid
taxes. They never anticipated that one day "yanks" would obsess over details that were of seemingly
no importance. If the client didn't care about consecutive serial numbers - why should they?

Buzz #595718 04/19/21 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Buzz
‘If I ever desired’....Come on now Stan, we all know if the right deal popped up for a matched pair of something you liked, you would jump on it.

Oh yeah, the "right deal" would seal it. But, it would have to be something like "Would you pay $200 for these two old guns? They look almost exactly alike". Seriously, I've no desire for a matched pair of anything. Well.................... at least in the gun line. wink

Stan


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I'm with Stan on this one. Matched pairs were made for a very specific purpose, shooting driven birds with a loader, not something that is very common this side of the pond and not something that I need or really desire in my own style of shooting. I own a single best gun and it serves my needs perfectly. To be honest, my itch has been scratched and I hardly look at shotguns for myself these days having not purchased a personal shotgun in years. Boring but I'm a happy guy in the shotgun realm.


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The one situation where I might enjoy using a matched pair would be in Cordoba, Argentina. Having been twice I can picture the usefulness of that because you can shoot incoming doves for three straight hours, just as if they were driven by beaters. But, the catch would be the time wasted to train your bird boy in the safe and proper way to swap guns and reload them. And I'd probably be reticent to have a newbie loader standing behind me.

I plan on another trip there in '22, but the only way I'll have a matched pair is if I were to be able to rent them there. And there's about as much chance of that as there is of it sleeting in hell. Their idea of a matched pair would be two Beretta A400s.


May God bless America and those who defend her.
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