Couple horseflies in your yogurt there, Larry. One, is, you can't get a nice, new 700 built to order. Yes, there are English boxlocks available new, but, you can arm your 4 man hunting camp with Spanish boxlocks for the price of one. Two, the Spanish design might be a copy, but, it can be had with some improvements, disc set strikers being a HUGE improvement over integral striker/tumblers, for us mere mortals who don't rent our basements out to a skilled gunsmith, anyway. I've seen two good English guns sidelined for months over broken strikers. I have been told there exist 700s with disc set strikers, but, I've never seen one.
I've seen them on a 500. Yes it was light, and had a 2 1/2" level of proof. And, it was really old, too. A few of us have moved on from our frail, old, lightly proofed, but, still expensive, gun phase.
You can specify some nice options on a Spanish boxlock, self opening (not my cup of tea) hidden third fastener, steel shot proof, 3" proof, second set of barrels, fitted case, whatever you are willing to pay for. A used 700 is a nice gun, but, they ain't free, and you can get a lot closer to bespoke out of Spain, for realistic money.
Until someone very knowledgable, who is from Spain, tells me there were no companies building guns there, prior to WWI, I am going to believe the Spaniards did have an arms industry. I doubt the queen of Spain sent Christopher Columbus to England for armament for his first big adventure, after all. Civilian arms production would grow quite comfortably out of military production.
Best,
Ted
