Not too long ago, I purchased a 16 GA H&H boxlock. It was turn of the century with a set of new barrels by a Scotish maker, so the rib was new. I am certain from the action marking (H&H) that it was one that was their lowest grade boxlock and only finished and adjusted by them, not fitted and finished like the boxlocks marked with the full name. I took it apart to clean and check, and was amazed. I literally had the thought that I wanted to find some way to display this gun with the lockwork shown. It was one of the most incredibly well finished and beautiful pieces of gun work I have ever seen. I purchased a Whistler about the same time. He was a Silversmith and "Gunmaker" who procured and marketed guns. The engraving on the boxlock was vey simple but a thing of beauty, as was the fore end tip which was small and engraved Sterling. I am sure it was from his shop. I am equally impressed by the almost perfect handling qualities of this whole class of guns.

On the other hand, I enjoy shooting them and experiencing their performance, but I recieve no visceral experience from them. I can't in my wildest dreams connect with the past experiences of the history of those guns. I can't place myself in the role of the people and culture who used them and really don't want to on a lot of levels for a number of reasons. On the other hand, when I hunt doves or quail with a vintage Parker or Ithaca, I am immediately taken back to my childhood in the late 50's and 60's when I started hunting with my dad and his friends, almost all of whom used plebian guns as strong as tanks and just as handy. Occasionally we would hunt with a someone who had and could afford serious hardware (and was good with it). They invariably owned a Parker, Ithaca or Lefever (but pointedly in our area not an LC Smith) and I spent the day wishing against any hope that I could own one. Those are still the guns that trigger an almost out of time experience in me when using them. Those are the guns to which I really become attached.

I buy and enjoy both types, but for different reasons and with different reactions. I believe that collectors are driven by location, society, history and life experiences and that there is always some one over riding trait that internally drives them (collectors, not dealers) to their opinions. Whether it is technical perfection or the experienceof the ownership, some internal drive dictates our views.