English guns, big and small

I am tempted to agree with Bob Braden and Cyril Adams, authors of Lock, Stock, and Barrel; for SHOTguns, at least side - by - side doubles, you really can't beat the English. The new ones' prices are barking mad, far more than my house; for the Best London ones, easily three times as much as my house, and they can't keep up with the demand. I can't imagine who buys them- I have known exactly one person who has bought new London guns, though more than a few who have owned older examples.

Because for the rest of us, a little scholarship goes a long way. Consider this Thomas Turner boxlock .410, which is an expensive gun by my humble standards now, but not unaffordable, and was almost cheap when I bought it. Or this flawless (though it needs a stock refinish, and I would like to get the Damascus figure in the barrels to show more)  ten bore by Williams and Powell, which weighs twice as much as the little one, and cost less. Yet both are harmonious and graceful. There are few ugly English guns, especially ones made before WW II, and no two are quite alike unless built as pairs.

And that brings to mind another maxim from Braden and Adams: how many still- functional English guns 100 years old and more exist-- ones that need no repairs to shoot.