Hunting dogs, fine firearms, and enjoying both.
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Mar 4th, 2013
When it comes to high-end side-by-sides, Purdey is the name most people know. The one you see here is a 20 gauge, built on the company’s famous Beesley-patent action. It’s a modern gun, built in the early ’90s, and it’s in fantastic original condition. A friend of mine was kind enough to show me see [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Jan 10th, 2013
Last week I put up this post about shooting a James Purdey & Sons .303 double rifle. I had a lot of questions about that rifle, and I wanted to share some more pictures of it with you. I also snapped some pics of a Holland & Holland double rifle that I saw the same [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Jan 8th, 2013
James Purdey & Sons is one of the world’s most famous gunmakers – and for good reason. They’ve been making some of the world’s finest rifles and shotguns for almost 200 years. This video is an interesting look inside the company. It’s good, but long (1 hour and 30 minutes). To make it easier to [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Nov 15th, 2012
Constantine & Pletcher in Cheswick, PA, is having their fall, 2012, Sportsman’s Auction this Sat, 11/17 @ 3:30pm. They have a bunch of Parkers double barrels coming up, including an 8 gauge and a 12 gauge with 36″ bbls. There are also a couple interesting Purdey side-by-sides, and a real nice Alexander Henry percussion shotgun. [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Sep 19th, 2012
James Julia’s annual fall firearms auction is on October 1st & 2nd this year. As always, the sale is full of nice double barrel shotguns. This 20 gauge James Purdey side-by-side is one of the nicest by far. Just check out the condition — all original and almost brand new. On top of that, it [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Aug 25th, 2012
If I won a bazillion dollars tomorrow, one of the first things I would do is build a collection of kick-butt British doubles. And this 12 gauge Purdey sidelock would be one of the first guns I would buy. It looks like it’s in fantastic original condition, and it’s definitely from one of gunmaker’s best [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Jun 2nd, 2012
J. Purdey shotguns have always been custom made, and for the most part, if you could afford it, they would build it. It’s obvious that the gentleman who ordered James Purdey #10532 could afford an awful lot. This 12 gauge, bar-in-wood hammergun is coming up at Sunday at this auction in Italy, and I’m sure [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on Jun 1st, 2012
James Purdey & Sons is just two years shy of being 200 hundred years old. In all that time, they’ve made all sorts of shotguns and rifles. Even though I’ve seen lots of them, I’m still surprised by some of the stuff I come across. Just check out this 16 bore “Purdey” percussion stocking [...]
Posted in DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS on May 24th, 2012
James Purdey & Sons has made a lot of shotguns. Since Purdey the Elder started the business in 1814, his company has turned out 30,000+ shotguns and rifles. This is one reason why you see so many Purdeys on the market today. While this one looks like many of ones on the market today, there [...]
