doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com New William Evans

Have a look at this link if you would like to see the new over/under from William Evans. I have been watching this gun from the time the prototype arrrived in London and the details were under discussion.

http://www.sportingshooter.co.uk/

I think it is good to see a London maker trying a new model on the market. At half the price of a Churchill it offers what Evans always did; some of the best proprietory models by trade makers with their own finish and style, backed by the William Evans name and service.

What do you think?

Dig,
Don't Guerini make one for about £2000?
Sorry, a sarcastic slip.It looks okay, but not my cup of tea ole chap.As a matter of interest what are Churchill, Purdey and Evans trying to do? Kill off English gunmaking? They don't need to sell these branded spaghetti guns do they? Surely they can get that sort of cash turnover by selling woollen socks and shooting suits?

Maybe a nice dressed up huglu semiauto for the real modern chaps at say abit under 500#s.
Big question is how much nicer would the gun be if the same money was spent but purchased from Guerini cutting out the middle man.

Dig, do you know exactly what Guerini is providing? Is William Evans buying the barraled actions from Guerini in the white and finishing them, or is Guerini doing everything and just putting Evan's name on it?

A nice looking gun either way.

Guerini makes a nice gun, in a variety of grades. They have done a great job in positioning themselves as a quality alternative to Beretta & Browning. At 10,000 sterling that Evans version would be pushing 20K+ here, without landing it with various fees, taxes, shipping. That's getting pretty steep for a factory machine made gun.

I would like to know what has been done to it -- if anything -- by English outworkers to Anglicize it, both aesthetically and functionally?

Any balancing for game-gun handling?

Any stock shaping, hand checkering or traditional stock finish?

If it is just an out-of-the-box Guerini that's gussied up I should think better to get a high-grade version with the makers name and save the money. If nothing has been done to improve it in England I don't see the Evans name as adding much value.

It puzzles me, how can Purdey, Holland,Churchill,Boss, Wm.Powell, and now Wm. Evans to a lesser degree have the manufacturing facilities, staff and therefore the overheads to have guns made by outworkers or abroad and still have to pay their staff salaries and overheads? It really does seem like commercial suicide to me.If you are outsourcing, your retainees need to be outed.Hard, but reality sometimes is that way I'm afraid.

Are any of the British gunmakers still making doubles from scratch?
I also think the Italians ought to get even here. They should buy a bunch of Jaguars all painted bright red naturally and re-badge them as Ferraris.
Jim

The rationale is that Evans always used to do good business selling Birmingham made guns (chiefly Webleys) as London guns by having some input into the desired quality of finish, wood, engraving etc. They then sold them, as William Evans guns and provided the william Evan back-up service to London customers in London.

Now the trade in birmingham has largely died, the equivalent ids Brescia. Evans have worked with Guerini to specify what they want and the Italians do the work, Evans do the quality control.

They specified balance, handling characteristics, stock shape, barrel weight, added a solid rib, specified wood quality etc. The guns arrive in the UK with Evans-commissioned engraving (based on a gun made a century ago by Evans for the Duke of Cannaught)already applied.

The guns are blacked, checkered, and the stocks finished in Engliand.

It is easy to scoff at the efforts of others. I'm sure many will. however, Evans are a firm in the business of selling guns. Most UK gun shos sell foreighn guns in the sub £40,000 grades because there is little or no choice below that in an English made gun. They, as a business, have seen the demand for this type of gun and have moved to meet it.

I would not be in the market for one (that says more about me than the gun) but I think it offers something to those considering a sub £10,000 gun that fits their idea of aesthetics and handling characteristics when these have an English slant.

The gunis not pretending to be an hand-made English best but it offers mid-range gun of English style to those who cannot afford twice the money to buy a churchill or six times the money to by Holland & Holland. This fits in with Evans traditional place in the market and I think Alastair and George should be applauded for trying. I hope it is a success.

I think it will be their down fall.

Prolly a good move for Wm. Evans!
If you didn't make the A list, it'd be odd days when you could and that H&H Royal would be a waste in such humble company you'd have to keep.
j0e...you've got to know your place ol'bean!