Kyrie, you talk about a vibrant Spanish gun trade in the late 19th century. Fine and dandy. We talk about a vibrant British gun trade during the same period . . . and can point to thousands of guns from that period that are still seeing regular use, both in this country and the UK. Where, in contrast, are all the Spanish guns from that era? How many do you have in your collection? Can you show us any photos? Can you point to any of them currently listed in the inventories of any American firearms dealers? One more time, my question from several pages back: Where oh where have all those guns gone??? We don't even see very many from before WWII, let alone before WWI. If they're as good as you say they are, and as durable as British guns, then there ought to be at least dozens of them (talking pre-WWI) floating around somewhere . . . to compare to the thousands of British guns from the same period. Seems to me it does not speak well of their durability--if the Spanish really had such a flourishing trade back then, but all those guns seem to have gone missing in action.

I'll be at the Great Northern side by side shoot in about 2 1/2 months. There will be vintage British guns all over the place, being shot by dozens of competitors. (Ditto vintage American guns.) If someone at the shoot were to show me a Spanish gun from before WWII, that would be something of a surprise. From before WWI, it'd be the proverbial hen's tooth.

Last edited by L. Brown; 04/06/15 08:25 AM.