Laurona
- Thread starter crunch68
- Start date
Laurona is a Basque manufacturer founded in Eibar in 1941 by a group of four gunsmiths (Lau means four in Basque). By 1955 they were actively pursuing export markets. In 1964 they became interested in manufacturing U/O's, and by the early 1970's all SxS production had ceased.
During their years of SxS manufacture, Laurona produced everything from decent sidelocks to inexpensive boxlocks. Guns were produced for sale under other names as well - everyone from Sears to Winchester have marketed guns made by Laurona at one time or another.
Therein lies the problem with Laurona. They made guns to the price point that their export markets wanted, and many of those guns were made to compete in the lower end of the market where every nickel counts. Since Laurona made such a wide variety of qualities, each gun must be evaluated on its own merits. It is impossible to generalize about the quality of Laurona guns, it just depends on which market the gun was made for and how much labour was put into it. This is reflected not just in the quality of materials and fit and finish, but also in the handling qualities of each model. Buyer be aware.
Laurona's strategy was and is successful, they still survive today in the highly competitive U/O market. They developed a black chrome finish for their barrels which is still used and is less costly than bluing. Innovations like this, and their aggressive export marketing, ensure that Laurona remains viable as a manufacturer.
Sharptail
During their years of SxS manufacture, Laurona produced everything from decent sidelocks to inexpensive boxlocks. Guns were produced for sale under other names as well - everyone from Sears to Winchester have marketed guns made by Laurona at one time or another.
Therein lies the problem with Laurona. They made guns to the price point that their export markets wanted, and many of those guns were made to compete in the lower end of the market where every nickel counts. Since Laurona made such a wide variety of qualities, each gun must be evaluated on its own merits. It is impossible to generalize about the quality of Laurona guns, it just depends on which market the gun was made for and how much labour was put into it. This is reflected not just in the quality of materials and fit and finish, but also in the handling qualities of each model. Buyer be aware.
Laurona's strategy was and is successful, they still survive today in the highly competitive U/O market. They developed a black chrome finish for their barrels which is still used and is less costly than bluing. Innovations like this, and their aggressive export marketing, ensure that Laurona remains viable as a manufacturer.
Sharptail
Light Infantry, from photos I can tell the quality of fit and finish, but not how well the barrels are struck or how well the gun is balanced. Good, sharp photos will reveal if the gun is really a low end model (or if it is a nice sidelock!) but for the mid range models there is no substitute for having the gun in your hands.
Sharptail
Sharptail
rustysdream
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I had a Laurona Eibar 12 ga SxS for about 15 years. It was a very well built box lock action shotgun and always functioned flawlessly. It was made in Spain. Unfortunately, the folks at Laurona never answered my e-mails when I was asking them about the year of manufacture by giving them the serial number.
