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I see that McKay Brown has been sold. Have always admired his lovely round actions. Had to smile, though, when he stated that he was “truly delighted” that his “sensibly priced” guns would continue to be made. The side-by-sides start at $78,000.

Regardless, thank you, sir, for your marvelous guns.


https://shootingsportsman.com/mckay-brown-changes-ownership/

New Best quality guns aren’t in the same ballpark as Perazzi because their clientele base doesn’t want such, nor is that the branding such manufacturers have built. Us po’ folk will just have to be happy with our Perazzi’s and second hand junk.

Steve, Lee did one in rose and scroll and Hunt the other in large scroll. I purchased the SxS for about £16k, or about the price of a mid grade? Perazzi. It has been enjoyed on the grouse moor but still has plenty of remaining life for my purposes. Oh, and it weighs a mere 5lbs 15oz, so it is a true joy to carry, hunt and shoot.

I think I may have the engravers backward now that I look at them but nonetheless, at least here is a photo of the engraving...

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I don’t believe the standard of living that a turn of the last century laborer had is comparable to someone in the trade, today.

Remember the famous photo of the English stocker, working into his 90s, (his name escapes me at the moment) who was given a pair of briar pipes in thanks for his decades of labor? I ‘gotta believe a stock maker, working a shift in his 90s, is a guy who is financially cornered, and really doesn’t have a choice in the matter. He is blessed that he can, but, I’d bet he wouldn’t if he had an option.

Those guys aren’t there, anymore. They don’t have to be. That is built into the gun price. There are places where the same turn of the century business model could be utilized, today, think North Korea, China, India, or, anyplace else you wouldn’t want to live. They could make it happen.

But, you wouldn’t buy the gun.

Best,
Ted

Ebenezer Hands. Stocker for Wilkes. He did it that long because he could and that’s what people from his generation did. Retirement was considered a death sentence. Both of my grandfathers were the same way….one stopped farming in his late 60’s and then worked on a crew that built bridges.
The other was forced into retirement in his late 60’s when the plantation closed down and then went to work cleaning the schools. They didn’t have to keep working, they both were smart with their money….they did it because they wanted to. Old school mentalities. Such a foreign way of thinking in this day and age, hard to understand for us modern folk.
I doubt Ebenezer Hands took months off from work to go hunting and he definitely didn’t tell folks he wasn’t taking on anymore work. I know a few old school trained guys that still think the same way Ebenezer did.

I’ve known people like that. But, they weren’t in their 90s.

Best,
Ted

Well, most don’t make it into their 90’s either. Working or otherwise.

The interpretation of his look to me is “quit bothering me, I’ve got work to do”. 😂

To multi-millionaires, none of the conspicuous consumption items like Ferraris, Rolexes, or London Best doubles prices are of real concern.
JR

Bruce Owens, the former production manager at Purdeys wrote an article in Shooting Sportsman back in 2012 if I recall right. His revelations about the use of CNC machinery and the economic benefits resulting from this move are interesting. The move decreased dependence on hand work. So let us stop using that "hand work is expensive" excuse.

Modern technology also reduced inventories and the related costs. The writer poses the question whether any of these economies is reflected in the final retail price and comments that this is a question for the marketing people.

Perazzi and their barrel batch testing comes to mind as a case for comparison. They waste one in every 60 barrel sets in pressure testing. They are constantly evolving their product, yet you can still buy an MX8 for ten thousand Euros. How much more overhead than the Perazzi factory do the British gunmakers bear to justify their astronomical prices!

Last time I checked Perazzi were still located in the relatively expensive industrial area of northern Italy, not in North Korea.

Brand name exploitation and ruthless marketing is at work in some cases. And not just in guns. Any mundane item, ie oil bottles, scarves, knives etc bearing a famous maker's name is marked up to the hilt. Not much R&D or hand work goes into a thermos bottle to quadruple its price, a name stamp it all it takes.

Hand or machine was the subject in a meeting with Sandro Lucchini of Armitalia. He was showing me a set of five Holland style sidelocks he had just finished for an American client.

"Hand built?" I asked looking at the lockwork.

"No, when I want quality and perfectly squared parts I use the milling machine" he replied. That was years before the advent of CNC that is way more precise than the old milling machines.

Hands I think are probably best at fitting and getting the feel just right. Machines do some things better, faster and more easily.

Insisting that rough work like dimensioning a forging, should be done by hand so the object can have the title "hand built" is a bit sadistic to the worker, while making no difference to the finished part. Those who go for that sort of thing should be made to file a steel forging for eight hours. See how they like it.