A short hjstory of James Purdey, gunmaker to the world's royalty.

This one lives in my safe, didn't cost anyone near the price of a new house, not even half the price. In fact, it's value is less than the price of just about all new cars. Yet it's a classic James Purdey, made in 1932 and after a little careful rehab of the head of the stock and the resulting required complete classic hand rubbed slacum oil refinish, it's in great shooting condition.

It's not even my favorite gun! But it is pretty nice.




 
canvasback said:
This one lives in my safe, didn't cost anyone near the price of a new house, not even half the price. In fact, it's value is less than the price of just about all new cars. Yet it's a classic James Purdey, made in 1932 and after a little careful rehab of the head of the stock and the resulting required complete classic hand rubbed slacum oil refinish, it's in great shooting condition.

It's not even my favorite gun! But it is pretty nice.
Click to expand...


That is really nice. Really like that dark wood.
 
I enjoyed watching that, thank you for posting OP.

I've often said that I consider myself a man of reasonable means. As such, Purdey is simply out of my financial reach...

Maybe one day, after winning the lottery, I will find myself at Purdey being fitted for a shotgun... Until then, I can dream.

Cheers
Jay
 
In the "Four Best" video I posted here yesterday, the auctioneer doing the talking says that high grade side by sides can be purchased in the UK for 3 to 4 thousand pounds, the sxs format being unpopular there because out of style and I suppose in oversupply. This is something I see said all the time on various British gun sites, makes me wonder why someone hasn't set up a pipeline to North America to sell those guns over here, pretty much their only limitation being that they aren't chambered, or likely barreled, for the heavier loads people normally shoot here. That would of course mean that most of the best guns would go to the USA, but darn it.
 
BB, that’s exactly what is happening. If you follow the “better” gun market, English SxS are being bought up all the time, at auction and through other channels, and being brought over to NA. Obviously mostly to the US. Private individuals and dealers. I have a friend in Colorado who is a gunsmith and small dealer. He brings in 10-20 every year.

The sale of guns by the big four today are significantly supported by new money from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
 
canvasback said:
BB, that’s exactly what is happening. If you follow the “better” gun market, English SxS are being bought up all the time, at auction and through other channels, and being brought over to NA. Obviously mostly to the US. Private individuals and dealers. I have a friend in Colorado who is a gunsmith and small dealer. He brings in 10-20 every year.

The sale of guns by the big four today are significantly supported by new money from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Click to expand...

Looked into getting a bespoke gun made in the USA back in the early 80s but the legalities of importing one to Canada were so fraught and expensive (with brokers charging the cost of the gun all over again) that I gave up on the idea and stopped looking down there. There was no CGN then of course and now there are easier ways that are either more recent or better known, but it's best not to tempt myself with this kind of stuff, you can only carry one gun at a time after all
 
$200 Cdn plus shipping via postage to get a shotgun up from the US. Dead simple. Whole other order of magnitude problem getting them in from the UK.

However, important to note that the US vintage market is much more vibrant than Canada's. You will pay significantly more for the same gun in the same condition, in the US as opposed to Canada. The only problem with the Canadian market, as a buyer, is the very small selection at any given point in time.
 
I visited Audley House back in 2017 and met the narrator of the video. It is definitely worth stopping in if you are in London. The gun room is amazing.

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