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9 thoughts on “Says who? British Guns are better than American Guns …”

  1. I think the thinks too much of himself and his British guns. We (Americans) settled this long ago in the War of Independence!

    I own and shoot shotguns built in many different countries, Italy, Germany, Belgium and the USA. They are all fine guns, well balance and require thorough cleaning but very few repairs, if any. I have owned one English (Boss) and one Spanish (Armas Garbi) neither of which were dimensionally adequate for my rather standard American frame. I was happy to get rid of both. I also own and shoot what I believe are some of the finest rifles in the world, Cooper, Dakota, Steyr and Mauser. I have seen no evidence that the English can or do build finer rifles than these. In short, I dissagree.

    And, I don’t run around telling anyone buy only American or that the USA is BEST, except in our democratic form of governance!

  2. Well……. I’ve owned most of the American’s and still own a few, I also currently own several English as I have made the turn the past couple of years so to speak. ALL of which are fine items. The major difference I see is my American’s, for the most part are dressed up, lower grade models, ie., a graded 21 is still a 21. Even the basic box lock of the UK trade are finer made than most all US items, including more eloquent or time consuming engraved American items, ie., a std grade WC Scott is a better item than your general US items of of same era, etc. I could go on here, but…. everything above being said – I love em all! E

  3. I agree with this video but the term “better” needs to be defined. You really can’t say that a London “best” double gun is better than an American repeating gun simply because they are so different in design, form and function (hand made vs. machine made) and intended for different uses and different end users. Comparing them is almost ludicrous.

    However, no US gun equals a London, “Best” gun in terms of quality, esthetics, form, finish, etc – not even close by any degree. Purdey has been listed as some of the best guns ever made by several US Gun magazines such as Field & Stream, and others, Hartman and Weiss, Fabbri and Peter Hofer, excepted.

  4. Very nice, thoughtful video that was made by a gentleman who lives under the most constricting and odious gun control restrictions in the world (so far, Biden is just getting revved up). The point he made, to me at least, is that historically British guns were made for the wealthy while American guns were made for all Americans: Of course there were high grade American made guns for those whose income exceeded the norm but underneath the engraving and fancy wood they were still the same:I’m perfectly happy hunting game owned by the people of the United States (not the estate owner, as in Britan) with an Ithaca model 37, a Lefever Nitro Special or an old Winchester model12 field grade.

  5. Some interesting points made and a quick whistle stop tour of cultural inputs to how the respective countries approached gun manufacturer, one driven by necessity the other by want and desire for the best. Different economies of scale and customer expectation. But I’ll be open and honest as an expat now living on the otherside of the pond. The uk gun industry did decline post ww2 evolution in design, manufacturing methods and customer expectation caught the best makers of guard to the point of extinction in some cases to be left with a handful of them 20 years ago owned by luxury groups fulfilling the wealthy collectors wims. They had to eat humble pie and admit that the latest cnc machining and welding techniques made for a better more consistent gun. At the same time new blood entered the market longthorne guns producing a single piece machine from solid barrel, the late Simon clode took the helm at westley richards and best has slowly started to return. You may ask what do I shoot and the answer is I love them all, a German krieghoff k20 for sporting clays, a parker 28 gauge for quail and a whole host of English doubles for walked up wingshooting where the balance and finesse of and English gun remains best 🙂

  6. I agree with you. For the most part, the British trade has failed to innovate. The Italians haven’t, and they’re offering great guns at prices that are accessible to a lot of guys. Thanks for the comment.

    Gregg

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