doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Early days of England's best gunmakers

Once again when we talk of English gunmaking we get far off topic.

I believe that Turkey or Spain could become the manufacturing hub of modern gunmaking but there is something inherently wrong about that. It just doesn't ring true.

The best gun for the field, is, and always - the pre WWII London Sle from a known company. Barrels struck to a tee and everything else that follows in that order.

Here's something that Purdey definitely did not make themselves:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-RARE-PURDEY-SON...1QQcmdZViewItem

Was this something used for boar hunting? Or was it just some kind of novelty they offered?

OWD

I saw that...Maybe it was for dispatching dangerous driven birds.

Here's an "F" grade Purdey....with a B grade price.

http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/admin/product_details.php?itemID=20460

Could it be built in Turkey ?

Could'nt get to the "Time Machine"after revdocdrew put the 2 photos up today....The 2 B&W Photos are c 1951 are of a "Gentleman of the Snare"Taught me some of the "Fine Art of Poaching" Elliot Goodman, Rabbits, Pheasants,Foxes,All sold at the "Back-Door of the Village Pub. I think More "Game" was killed by the "Lower Middle-Class" with such a variety of Shot-Guns, DB/ Single BBl.(I acquired my first shotgun,Harrington-Richardson, 12b S/B 30"x2.3/4"on my 16th B/D.Killed (Bushwacked)many Bunnies& Woodies'they were a "Cash-Crop" for us "Lads of the Gun"I think, at that time the "Proper Hunters"could'nt hold a candle to all the Quantity that the "Lads of the Village could bring in" I remember having to help count "SO many Pheasants that had been'Shot, Snared, We loaded them into a 1937 Ford Van. It collapsed the back-end!!This was Gloucestershire in the 1950s. I did'nt see a "Pump-Gun" untillPurdeys had a Client from the States,send in 2 Mod 12 Winch, They were restocked in"Best French", The 1st Semi-Auto that I personally saw, Handled, Shot"AT" Coypu,in Norfolk, on the Fens"was loaned to me by Norman Johnson,(Johnsons the "Best Barrel Blackers, Kilburn Lane, Kensal Rise,)after a short lesson on how to Load it,I was off th kill Coypu with Peter Finch,Apprentice Ejectorman at Purdeys,We met the locals in the Pub, Told them what our intentions were, got laughed out of the Pub.....next morning we stated our "Walkabout" looking for Giant Coypu. I had loaded the Browning "5 Shot" we saw a Rabbit,Peter shot both Barrels of the Dickson...Missed, I took my 1st shot. all hell broke lose, all 5 rounds went off 'Full-Auto"It had an Extended Mag...and a Buggered Sear.....The 1st and last Automatic shotgun I had anything to do with in the UK. Hope this fits in somewhere on this Early Best Gunmakers Thread..I mean we were Fully Trained Best London Gunmakers......cc/dt

CC is that you in the bottom picture ?

Not so long ago, factory, city, and country of manufacture of a gun could be quite definitve. Looking at gunmaking, one needs consider design, materials, and workmanship, and style. Design is protected for a time by patents. The designs that we on this BBS generally admire have long ago expired; anyone anywhere can copy them. Best gunmaking materials were for a long time only regionally available and very expensive. Now they are generally available to anyone anywhere at madest prices, including transprotation. Workmanship was taught in an arduous and carefully protected program from apprentice to journeyman to master; not all apprentices became masters, only those truly good enough. Now, wire cutters, CNC, and EDM machines surely take the edge off the grunt work. They are not quite up to finishing work, but it is foreseeable. Robots are getting better very fast. But, will "machine made" ever be able to capture style??

I think a very interesting question is allowable mix of hand work and machine work.

Robots seem to be taking the "Who" and "Where" out of the equation.

H/Joe,...Yessirresir, Festival of Britain Handpainted Tie 1951. Mum had squandered 2/3rds of her MeagerSingleMum Wages to buy that baby....Mr Goodman made me take it off when we were killing Woodies" Said they could see it from 'Miles Away"!!!I was the 'Picker-Upper' I did get to shoot That Purdey 12b"Daw Lever-Cocker" the next year.I was 13 yrs old,in less than 24 mths I was Junior Tea-Boy at Purdeys S.Audley St.(Basement Workshops)In the photo of Mr G' with the Poachers Game-Bag across his back, we had crossed onto the Duke of Beauforts Estate, later to be caught by 2 of his Game-Keepers, Mr "G" had unloaded his "Game-Bag,So he got a Big Black-Eye, I was 'Spanked, soundly across the arse, we were sent packing...Mr"G" returned under cover of darkness and Retrieved all the Rabbits and a couple of Cock pheasents....cc/dt

Great story.