[quote=lagopus] Just as the late Paul A. Curtis wrote in his 1934 tome- "Guns and Gunning" the British sidelock is the thoroughbred, the gentleman's gun-- the boxlock is the ploughhorse"!!
That isn't writing, per say, it is marketing, and you have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker.
The boxlock is an improvement over the sidelock. A sidelock is no more than a hammergun with the hammers moved inside, upsetting the beautiful, narrow frame that makes a hammergun so perfect in the hand.
I'm not a hammergun guy, but, any gauge hammergun by an English maker, compared side by side with the same makers hammerless sidelock is far more graceful and beautiful. The boxlock is everyman's gun, built to a level we can all afford, and frustrating Murphy's law to a level unapproached by the sidelock design.
Many of us prefer a boxlock. The good ones are great.
Best,
Ted
