Guys: It is my opinion, and only that, that the Brits approach Gunmaking and their penultimate position in Beautiful Gunmaking behind American craftsmen, the way they see checkering. First and foremost GUNS ARE TO BE USED...AFRICAN AND INDIA HARD and GET HURT IN THE PROCESS and CHECKERING IS FOR YOU TO GRASP...NOT LOOK AT! While the American gun community, owners and makers, see Gunmaking as the art it has become, Brits see guns as Beautiful TOOLS. For example when I lived in Shropshire U.K., the gentry I knew and shot with, were not very careful [bumps scratches etc.] at all with their guns, and when I asked about this, I was told they simply send them back, every so often to the maker or his successor and have them "DONE OVER" or refinished. They see hunting as intrinsically surface damaging to the gun, and it is silly to try and avoid this while in the field. They also tend to hunt more than Americans who may take to the field, with their babied Parker 2 or 3 times a year. I know these are generalities and do not hold to all Americans, me for example,as I hunt quite a lot for my age [62] and still working full time, spend more time in the deer woods now, than when in my 30's. So I guess what I'm saying is they don't see fit and finish as permanent or very important, as it will be eventually replaced, and they don't tend to favor overly complicated checkering patterns, as it doesn't give as good a purchase as the simple multi-point pattern, with lots of diamonds [20-22 l.p.i.] with a large area covered. Why do people pay for these guns? HELL IF I KNOW! I own one, a J. Roberts .375 H&H bought in like new condition, never used, made for a Californian in 1979. The workmanship on it[outstanding!], was what caught my eye, after seeing big bores in the U.K., out the wazoo, whilst living there, it jumped out at me as a "best gun". Just one man's observation.
