doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What is the best Side by Side made in the World?

OWD, You're not getting my point, if we argue about fit and finish of best guns we all have our own preferences and opinions, which is fine. But the one thing we have to agree on is the history and the rich heritage of the English gun. No other gun has been tested like the English gun.
All the best

If this is true how do you explain Beretta the oldest manufacturing firm in the world? I think it can be safely stated that they have stood the test of time. What constitutes "best" in a shotgun also applies to other categories such as auto,wines,spirits and women* and,of course,is highly subjective and based upon everyones individual whims and predjudices.
With the resources Beretta has at its disposal they could build shotguns unrivaled by anyone else in the world should they chose to do so and have deep enough pockets so they could afford to sell them as loss leaders.
Jim
*My personal preferences are Porsche,Fine Bordeaux Wines,Single Malt Scotches and I'll skip over woman since this is a public forum.

In my previous post I said the English concentrated on the double barrel almost to the exclusion of all others. Beretta has been around the longest but they did not concentrate exclusively on double barrels as heavily as the English have. And its their history of field work that makes the English the best.
All the best

I must attempt to explain, LG. Put the coupon clipping Royals aside for the moment. Let's get back to Nixon the kegler and his private lane. There is always a hometown, homefield advantage. It doesn't always pay to want to play baseball with the Japanese. So the Brits were the evolutionary cap on the doublegun and they had their way for awhile shooting big cats and whatnot round the old empirial playground with the bore rifle or whatever. And their way of shooting fish in a barrel is socially and sartorially bizarre and intriguing There are other playgrounds. I understand that Sarasqueta could also be considered the gun of Kings--in pre-Civil War Spain. Is it a copy? Certainly. Still their "best" in a domestic product. You want innovation rather than slavish copying. How about Lefever? Bit of evolutionary energy there. Is an Optimus Grade a best? Why not? Might be our national best. Need to get the frogs, wogs, Yanks, etc. to stay in the home pond long enuf to do some accounting in a less global context. In fact, the French don't seem to have a bit of problem with knee-soiling insecurities; they may have gotten their lunch eaten several times over as a result but a certain portion of uncritical, self-centered autonomy is necessary to an identity as a nation or as a person. Can genius coexist with genius or does it always have to be last man standing?

jack

I'm not voting...I'm just adding a historical note...as no one has mentioned it so far
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I thought Griefelt engineers made a special point of setting the high water mark in the 1930's, by copying the best British sidelock known, combined with the most luxurious materials selection and heat treating processes, using alloys generally not available to the British. It became a national pride sorta thing to showcase the Germans world leadership role in metallurgy...I don't think many were made...and many German collectors prize them above anything British (like Kuchenreuter)

I'd have to vote for a particular gun. That Purdey serial #6 (if memory serves right) is a double flinter by James own hand. It probably killed a million birds and the stock was in about 4 pieces before renewed by that crazy Brit on this site. I have to say there is something simply glorious and haunting about holding a Manton or Purdey double flinter.

Comparing a Best German SxS to a Best English SxS is like comparing a Volks'vagen to a Bentley.

London has put out the best gun by the thousands over the years, each one the very best it could be. Here in American you can count these ultra high grades(Optimus)on your hands and toes.
Practice makes perfect in the best gun trade.

If Volkswagen is not your cup of tea, try Porsche.

The guns be darned. The "marketing of the guns" has been mastered by the Italians, as is suggested by Researcher. "Yes, ma'am, it would be a pleasure to examine your locks."