FROM THE FIELD

http://www.thefield.co.uk/thefield/sidebyside.php

How to spend a fortune on a best side-by-side

Money no object? Follow Colin McKelvie’s advice on how to spend, spend, spend

Time to buy a classic gun? Some of the finest makers’ names tumble through your mind: Boss, Purdey, Holland & Holland, Watson Brothers, Westley Richards...the line-up rushing through your head seems endless. What about top-class foreign makers such as Fabbri? The choice is bewilderingly large; where to start?

First port of call is the sporting press, which carries both gun reviews and advertisements. Then try the internet, since most good gunmakers have extensive websites, and direct inquiries can follow. For their best-grade guns, most makers quote a basic price plus charges for itemised extras or refinements. Many costs are fixed, but some are subject to detailed discussion and individual costings, especially engraving and the wood furniture quality. It is not unknown for a truly magnificent piece of exhibition-grade walnut to add Ł5,000 or more to the total cost. Bespoke engraving, executed by the world’s finest and most sought-after craftsmen to your particular requirements and taste, can even run to Ł12,000 or more, and may add as much as two years to the delivery time.

If you really want to spend money, you could encrust your gun’s barrels and action heavily with gold inlays. But that smacks of a vulgarity that Great-Aunt Emily would have scorned, and is rare in even the very finest classic British-built game guns, (except perhaps for those made for overseas clients with a questionable fondness for kitsch and bling).

As initial food for thought, here’s a selection of top-grade styles, prices and options from some of the finest classic gunmakers.

Go to the link for the rest of the article:

On shotguns but will still be of interest to NE members

http://www.thefield.co.uk/thefield/sidebyside.php

(PS Thanks to Nickudu for spotting the article)