Time is our enemy. Second to second, minute to minute, it passes the same today as yesterday, last year, and a decade ago. That’s no the case with us. As time passes, we wear out and break down. The same is true with our shotguns.
When an old double needs work, getting it repaired right can be expensive – especially top-quality work on Best-quality guns. In this great blog post, Mike Rowe of Stephen Coker & Co talks about why the best quality pairs are expensive.
Workmanship and the Cost of Best-Quality Repairs, from Mike Rowe, Stephen Coker & Co.
“So it must be”. These words flowed from the prolific pen of William Wellington Greener, whilst writing his epic tome “The Gun, and Its Development”. He continued, “Unless attention be given to every piece, no matter how seemingly unimportant, the gun is not well made, and may fail just where least expected”. And so it goes with repairs.
I am often asked during the course of my work on Best Quality antique guns, to provide an estimate on the cost of certain repairs or the making of a replacement part. Unfortunately for owners of fine English guns, repairs are not inexpensive. And it was the same a hundred years or so ago, when the guns were made. Most of the time my replies are met with either a look of disbelief, or stunned silence…
Read the rest of Mike Rowe’s piece now.
Yes, Mike did a great job of explaining our take on proper work as it relates to vintage guns – with a bit of history and econometrics thrown in for good measure. So much of what comes through the bench has been touched by hands that did not execute the level of quality work that these guns require. The photos of questionable repairs in our last article show only a few of the vast amounts of examples that we’ve had to contend with.
Best Regards,
Stephen Coker
Stephen-
Thank you very much for your comment, and congratulations on the great work. Nice to see.
Gregg