I own and shoot about a dozen hammer guns, mostly at clay targets because that seems to be what I get to shoot mostly. Nothing is fast or even more practical about hammer guns but I still love them. The one I still want is a S. Grant side lever, but every one of them seems to go for three times the estimate at auction. I have a Charles Smith with a forwards facing side lever which I shoot extremely well, but it is no Grant.
I know I not in the majority, but a top lever ruins the lines and function of a hammer gun. My first choice would be a side lever, interesting enough both left and ride side lever seem to work equally well for me. I have a Pape 20 bore thumb under lever which is a joy to shoot. 30” barrels choked mod and mod is a real killer.
The Purdey trigger under levers are interesting, but I find them a bit fiddle to use. Perhaps my thumbs are too short or fat. A Lang push forward under lever would be just behind a Grant on my list. There are a lot of options if you are patient. Rebounding or non rebounding never made much difference to me. I am not on a driven shoot where half a second makes any difference.
There is a British internet hammer gun dealer site with about 30 different guns on hand. Prices range from 3,000 pounds to 30,000 pounds. Often there are guns from provincial makers, not from London, which seem to have more interesting values. Then there are always the auctions but nice hammer guns, which had little interest ten years ago seem to have recovered a following and nice one go for bigger bucks than I am willing to spend.
