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I don't see why a boxlock shotgun, or a rifle or revolver for that matter, could not be considered to be a Best Quality gun. But the term seems to have a very loose definition.

To me, a Best Quality gun would be a gun composed of the best available wood and steel, utilizing the epitome of engineering and design, aesthetically and perfectly finished internally and externally by the finest available craftsmen and engravers. Everything about it should be top notch, including heat treating, blue, and stock finish.

The silly question posed above by BrentD, asking if there is such a thing as a "Best" Crescent is totally devoid of rational thought. A Crescent was and is an inexpensive working man's gun that was mass produced to be a cheap and somewhat reliable firearm. Nothing more.

Here's another observation... could the Churchill boxlock pictured above really be considered "Best Quality" with such poor grain layout through the wrist... no matter how nice the figure, checkering, inletting, or finish may be? Best Quality is best in all regards. Nothing more and nothing less. No snobbery involved in these thoughts because I do not own any "Best Quality" guns. But I know the difference between reality and marketing.


A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.

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From what I have read, a Best Gun" has intercepting sears. Why that matters is beyond me.


David


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The author Dallas wrote a book about an eccentric that commissioned many best guns based on obsolete mechanisms. But, they did seem recognizable as classic game guns and rifles.

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A best gun on any given day is the gun I prefer on that day: a high-condition Sterly, Elsie, A&N, Parker, SKB, Francotte, Sauer. Each has interesting provenance/memories. To own a London Best would be pure affectation; not me, my gunning buddies would know II was losing my mind. And the notion of sparing any shotgun from a rainy day, storing them in a vault, makes no sense to me. Takes all kinds, eh?

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The nicest gun I own is a boxlock - a 1960s Wesley Richards with full coverage scroll engraving and a scalloped back. Looks like a droplock, but it's not. At least for me, it's a best gun.

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Originally Posted By: King Brown
A best gun on any given day is the gun I prefer on that day: a high-condition Sterly, Elsie, A&N, Parker, SKB, Francotte, Sauer. Each has interesting provenance/memories. To own a London Best would be pure affectation; not me, my gunning buddies would know II was losing my mind. And the notion of sparing any shotgun from a rainy day, storing them in a vault, makes no sense to me. Takes all kinds, eh?


Exactly my sentiments, KB.

I was granted the privilege of shooting a line of skeet with a Purdey. It was a great handling gun, the triggers were excellent, and I looked oh so stylish behind it.

It also would sell for about what my truck did when it was new, and this gun was made in the 1930's. I was pretty careful to not drop it on the concrete.

It's a world that would take a Power Ball winner to enter, and of course I would... but I can't imagine not getting bored with such a thing and returning to my 1100's and Berettas for variety.


"The price of good shotgunnery is constant practice" - Fred Kimble
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Hey King, what's wrong with the salt wood auto-5 that's cased with the scuba gear?

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Mental Inertia, a term coined by the late Gough Thomas, British gun editor for the Shooting Times (UK) is incompatible with "best". He was also a professional engineer.

He had pointed out that panels and points, a sidelock feature, are totally useless and aesthetically discordant on a boxlock. He illustrated the point using photos of boxlocks with and without them.

Interesting to see how many "best" guns incorporate features indicative of Mental Inertia. If "best" means best workmanship and material, maybe it should also include best design and aesthetics too.

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Some (here included, it seems) obviously cannot, or refuse to, grasp the reality of what a "Best" gun originally meant, even though it has been explained more than once in this thread. As aforementioned, when this is discussed, one should go back to the original meaning of the term, which is synonymous with "London best"( because that is where the whole concept began). Certainly it was marketing, with a bit of braggadocio mingled in. But, the quality was there to back up the claim. There were wealthy individuals who could afford to own the "best" that Woodward, Boss, H & H or Purdey could produce, and that's what they wanted.

To attempt to ascribe the characteristics of a "Best gun" to mass produced guns is ludicrous. To even refer to mass produced guns in a thread where the title clearly, and obviously, was referring to the original meaning of the term is ill conceived.

A Browning, a SKB, Sterlingworth or Crescent may be your best gun. That gun may also be the gun with which you can take a limit without a miss, or outshoot the competition with their high $$ guns. And, you may look upon it with fondness, appreciation for what it can do, or sentimentality. It may well be your best gun, but it can never be a "Best", unless it is a "Best gun".

SRH


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Might not be best by some standards, but it ain't squalid either.

Curl

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