Originally Posted By: Kyrie
Originally Posted By: L. Brown

Well Greg, I don't know how much better the Spanish troops performed, 20 years after the Rif War in Morocco--when they got their butts kicked severely by a bunch of mountain tribesmen.
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Lets not forget the British had their heads handed to them by the Afghans (bunch of mountain tribesmen) and by the Boers (bunch of Dutch farmers).

Anyone want to talk about Viet Nam?

There is more than enough defeat in history to go around.

Lets get back to the subject at hand.

I have a number of friends and acquaintances in GB that hunt/shoot, and have never heard from them that their guns need the level of maintenance Larry and Ted have discussed. While I am disinterested in English shotguns, I have, and have had, a number of British rifles (I have an 1890 Martini, with bayonet, that was used in both the first and second Boer war over the fireplace) and pistols and have not found any to be delicate.


Kyrie, as I noted in a post above, cleaning by the "help" (gamekeeper and assistants) still takes place every day after a driven shoot. As for the weather, I shouldn't have thought there was any need to mention what it's like in the fall and winter in the UK. There's a reason they wear Wellies and dress in clothes that keep you dry.

Your disinterest is interesting, given your keen interest in Spanish copies of British designs.

As for your friends in the UK . . . how many driven days a year do they shoot? One of my acquaintances over there has a slow season when he doesn't shoot 50 driven days. He does have at least one pair of bespoke AyA's. Can't recall ever having asked him what he does about maintenance. But what they do today, even very avid shooters like my friend, is limited . . . for the most part, by money. Back in the day, it was a different world. The only driven shooting you paid for was what you offered on your own estate. You were a non-paying guest when you went elsewhere--as were the other guns when they came to your shoot. Economics were entirely different, as was the volume of shooting one might do if a member of the upper class.

Last edited by L. Brown; 03/31/15 06:24 PM.