doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com WATSON SIDE LOCK

buzz: "It's all about quality, which involves fit, finish, balance, quality of materials utilized and craft. Surely, you understand that???

of course, but what else could it be about, except perhaps vanity?

so, again, what makes one gun worth 9 grand the other 35?

gunman...watson, smotson...this aint bout a specific gon or maker...

hits about why are english made guns so highly priced in comparison to non english made guns with similar features and apparent quality?

They became high priced because people pay silly money for them and dealers/sellers ask top dollar because people will pay silly money for them .Same as with cars, watches, art work, and celebrity memorabilia .People will buy and once the price is set it don't go down !

Ed, until you take up a file, a hacksaw, and a hand drill and produce something artistically appealing and also perfectly functional you will never understand. In this age of heartless mass production, though the products are functional, they lack what many of us seek--the heart and soul of a craftsman. Does a hand made product necessarily shoot better than an off the shelf gun? I think the answer is usually "no". Why then pay more? If it is only a tool the answer is you probably shouldn't. But if one has an appreciation of human hands producing a more excellent, appealing product than a machine the additional expense seems to be a trifle compared to the sheer pleasure derived from admiring the skills required to achieve it. If I owned an off the shelf Beretta it would stay in the closet until I needed it. But the hand made gun is usually nearby and I never tire of just admiring the skills of a craftsman and perhaps romantically thinking of the times past when things were different.

I'll never belittle the man who chooses the tool over art. The gun was made to perform. But I hope he respects my desire for the art. To each his own.

Ed, what's with the idiot performance?

You know the answer to your stupid question, why are you being such a jackass?

You claim to be a gun peddler, you know the difference between price and value. So why keep on with the stupidity?

In case you can't figure it out, you are accelerating the death of this site.

People far more intelligent, skilled and studied on various double guns than ed have come and gone (mostly, died) and the site has soldiered on. The loss of them hasn't and won't kill it, and ed's contributions, or, lack thereof, won't kill it, either.

Best,
Ted

Ted, when people start witholding content, sites lose their eyeballs.
Look at the change in content offered here today compared to the archives.
People choose where to point their eyeballs.

Really Ed? You are comparing a best quality London sidelock from Purdey to a Turkish built sidelock with Perugini & Visini stamped on it.

The Perugini & Visini you linked to is not a real P&G sidelock... those start around $30K. That is a Turkish built gun... the same gun is avaiable from Dickinson for $4,000 (clearly, P&G's name adds a premium). That Turkish company also builds that sidelock for Webley & Scott (and they used to make it for Kimber and Hatfield).

So if you have to ask what the difference is between the Kimber Valier and a Purdey Best game gun, then you have a long ways to go. In every regard, the Purdey is a superior gun... not that the Turkish gun is junk... it isnt... but its not a Purdey. Hold them and you'll see.

I have only held a Purdey once in my life. Somehow, likely by mistake they let me in the locked door at the top of three flites of stairs and into the "good gun room" (an entire story) of Kevin's in nearby Thomasville, GA. I'd just wrapped up a case in Thomas Superior Court and had on my good suit; must have fooled'em with good looks?

While terrified that I might drop it or something, the "feel" came through in full force. They didn't invite me to take it down and inspect, but from the way the wood simply transformed into the steel without a seam and the flawless finish I got the point.

No, they are not the same as a tarted up Turkish P&V...Geo

I wondered what all the hooplah over English bests was about too, until I was offered the chance to shoot Bob Matthews' Purdey after a S x S shoot several years ago. Now I know.

I had already won the shoot with my BSS, but I'm telling you, that Purdey felt like a part of me. It was magical.

SRH