doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best guns in the world today?

Well I can make a good argument that the most reliabile shotguns in the world today are either the Bertta 68X series or the Browning Citoris. But I don't think that makes them best guns. Handling qualities, triggers, fit and finish also go into defining "Best".

The latest Ferrari supercar is superior to Honda Civic. But the Civic is more reliable and requires less maintenance.

I think the best guns in the world are the ones made by the Brits after World War I and and before the Depression. The gunsmiths were turning out large quantities of guns and they were in top notch form from building all those gun, the steels were top notch from the WWI weapons development, the design had been worked out to perfection. The engravers were banging out the engraving on a Purdey in couple of days. The engraving was excellent because they had done so many before and were so practiced. The weight and balance were optimized. Altogether a confluence of excellence not matched before or since.

My favorite guns to collect are Foxes and Parkers. But a few London and Birmingham guns are in my safe because they are so exquisite.

Best,

Mike

Mike,
I was really asking in the context of 'made today'. I had no intent of trying to apply the traditional English gunmaker definition of "a Best Gun" to this, but I think it's entertaining and educational to hear everyone's opinions regardless.

On reliable guns, the Pguns have accomplished things few if any have in the past. They also seem to have mastered 'handling qualities' of 'weight and balance' for their intended use. I think for their intended use, they are the acme. Do they have the finest craftsmanship in the world? No. But they do have an arguably unmatched balance of excellent design and execution...making them one of the best guns in the world on my list.

Chuck and Mike: You guys are arguing over semantics, Beretta vs Perazzi vs Citori, etc. All are great guns.....why not with so many years of technological advancement. But what you are discussing and there is lots of controversy in shooting fraternity of preference, eg skeet krieghoff and trap perazzi really is missing the boat in my opinion because the best guns then and now are of sidelock origin and therefore the English can claim first prize in both Side by Side and over and Under because of the bar action sidelock and the Woodward over and under. ALL others are only copies of what the English originally produced which indeed are 'BEST' guns.

A very interesting thread, and obviously very subjective.Amorillo Mike makes some very valuable and in my opinion correct comments.
But Chuck means today, so here is a little input from myself.
We are really talking about quality, reliability, fit, finish, etc., so it is my considered opinion that the guns now available from Boxall & Edmiston are possibly today's finest.
Why? The founder,director and engineering brains Peter Boxall was in at the beginning of CadCam engineering after learning his skills at Jaguar Cars Toolroom. He then moved to apply these skills at WC Scott before moving to Holland & Holland to update their manufacturing methods.
A few years ago on a weekend walking trip to Shropshire he & his good lady fell in love with the area and decided to make their home in Shropshire thereby laying the foundations for Boxall & Edmiston. They now have available boxlocks, sidelocks that are simply exquisite. In a recent Shooting Times revue Lewis Potter commented 'it embodies British gunmaking tradition with technology,attractiveness and honesty of design that is hard to beat'. He further commented that the trigger pulls were like 'breaking glass' in fact nearly every comment he made was in awe and envy. All this from a very skilled English gunsmith is praise indeed.

Salopian-

I'm glad you brought them up. I talked to Peter Boxall and James Edmiston at the Southern SxS in April. Great guys, and they're turning out a very nice gun.

Peter was especially gracious with his time, and he was kind enough to answer my never ending questions about gun making and fine firearms. He even pulled out his laptop and indulged me with 3D CAD diagrams of their new boxlock. It's a very interesting gun. It looks like a good deal for a brand new shotgun. From what I saw, it was far nicer than other new SxSs in that category.

Here's a link to their company:

http://www.boxallandedmiston.co.uk/

And here's a link to the review of the gun in the Shooting TImes:

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/guns/526107/Boxall_amp_Edmiston_scrollback_boxlock_shotgun_review.html

OWD

OK, this discussion is over.

Read all about the BEST of the best in doubles:

http://www.dogsanddoubles.com/

They're selling at Christie's and estimated to bring $2.5million+.

OWD

When I posed the question, I really didn't think about all the specialized uses. However, it's clear to me that the best gun in a billionaire's smoke room ain't gonna cut it at the Olympics or even at the state shoot for clay targets or week after week at the range for years, shooting tens of thousands of rounds annually. So, I accept that my list would include many different types and makes of guns, not necessarily of the finest craftsmanship overall, but demonstrated to be the finest in its class for intended use.

The classic sidelock obviously has to be in the list, maybe the crux of the list, because so much of the finest craftsmanship effort is focused on it, still today, after all this time. The finest makers of these seem to be numerous. I think this classic "finest gun" segment is the most contested because these guns are judged mostly on looks and reputation. I say this because: 1) few are made 2)fewer still get used much comparatively 3)most of us don't/won't get closer than either reading about some of them or seeing them at shows.

Right now, I have to go lengthen the forcing cone in my latest .410 ... really.

Why wouldn't a true, best-quality sidelock designed to shoot modern, heavy target loads be able to take the abuse of competitive shooting?

Back at the turn of the century, the thin upper crust of British society put thousands and thousands of rounds through their Purdeys during a shooting season. In fact, they probably put more rounds through them than most target guys do today.

Those guns stood up to the challenge, and those guns are still around today.

I imagine price is the real reason why you don't see more true best-quality guns on the target circuit. Not quality.

A new Hartmann & Weiss O/U is going to cost you $130,000+ plus a long wait, even if you could get one (which you probably can't).


OWD

Chuck, beware the "don't tamper with your guns/don't lengthen cones/don't open chokes inquisition patrol" may cometh!

Good thread btw.

JC

I go back to my argument that the Browning Citoris and the Beretta 68Xs are the most reliabiable guns in the world. They are that because both comapanies have been continuously improving quality and they have so many copies to work out the bugs. The Honda Civics go 300,000 miles without wearing out or breaking down. Try that in the latest Ferrari. The manufacturers of mass produced guns have an advantage in that they put out so many guns the smallest manufacturing or design problem becomes apparent quickly. If they are a quality company they are constantly improving their product and they are trying to eliminate the one gun in 10,000 that has a problem. The guys that make 25 guns a year don't have that luxury, and neither does Ferrari.

Best,

Mike