Purdey new bolt action rifle

[geoff rath]

I can see why the late great Bill Ruger wanted to emulate these.... Elegance indeed.

 

[CTDolan]

In my opinion the most elegant falling block rifles, in more ways than one, are those from Holland & Holland.

http://www.hallowellco.com/Holland-Woodward Falling Block 500-465 Nitro Express.htm

Next to these are those from Alexander Henry.

http://www.hallowellco.com/alex_henry falling_block 12-bore rifle.htm

How nice that Hallowell had an example each so wonderfully photographed!!

 

[Curious]

Marianne or Ginger?

Purdey London Best rifle or custom action, barrel, trigger, and stock, each purchased from top-tier makers and assembled by your favorite gunsmith?

 

[Curious]

Art, I like the use of gentle nomenclature. As an attorney, though, I know the thing will be labelled a "lethal weapon" in a variety of contexts. I like to call my rifles "hunting arms." As for the history, I enjoy owning firearms that have been used with certain knowledge, by experts, including both soldiers (SAD SOG guys, for example) and distinguished hunters, in difficult circumstances. Beyond that I'm content with beautiful wood on merely good actions, like the FN Winchester Model 70's or similar. Barrels? We can get as fine a barrel as we wish, and for not much money. Life is about appetites. If we were never hungry, lonely, or cold, we (from the simplest worm to the the most erudite lord of the manor, would never move. If you hunger for a very beautiful rifle, why on earth avoid buying it?

I celebrate the man or woman who knows which appetites they wish to pursue, and, provided no felonious violence or fraud is involved, pursues them. As a side note, one of the richest men in Britain, the current Duke of Westminster, has a favorite pair of shotguns. They were purchased off the rack for him as a teenager at Churchills. He immediately had the barrels cut back to 20 inches, and apparently still loves them for grouse shooting. Tastes...er, appetites, vary. If you want it enough and can afford it, and won't have buyer's remorse, why the hell not purchase it, use it, without babying it? I can't see any reason. The trouble only comes if you try to explain your acquisition to others. How can they understand the emotions you bring to the piece of gun-maker's art. Could we really understand their purchase of a 20K guitar? It comes from inside, is personal, provided the point isn't to impress others, but rather to feel the thing and put it to its right use. I have a near neighbor in tech who, a few years back, bought a McLaren P1, which usually sits in his garage. Once in awhile he goes out in search of a speeding ticket. I have an acquaintance that is a good thoracic a surgeon: He's wrecked two Ferraris on local roads west of Philadelphia. And we quibble about a few guns worth 15 to 150 K, guns that will last for near eternity? A much better (safer, more economic) investment than a P1 or Ferrari. A plumber, if he put his mind to it, could buy any one of the aforementioned items (save for the P1) .

 

[geoff rath]

Curious, very succintly put, and with great empathy. Thank you, Sir.

 

[CTDolan]

Marianne or Ginger?

Purdey London Best rifle or custom action, barrel, trigger, and stock, each purchased from top-tier makers and assembled by your favorite gunsmith?

Definitely Marianne! As for the rifle, Purdey.

 

[CTDolan]

Art, I like the use of gentle nomenclature. As an attorney, though, I know the thing will be labelled a "lethal weapon" in a variety of contexts. I like to call my rifles "hunting arms." As for the history, I enjoy owning firearms that have been used with certain knowledge, by experts, including both soldiers (SAD SOG guys, for example) and distinguished hunters, in difficult circumstances. Beyond that I'm content with beautiful wood on merely good actions, like the FN Winchester Model 70's or similar. Barrels? We can get as fine a barrel as we wish, and for not much money. Life is about appetites. If we were never hungry, lonely, or cold, we (from the simplest worm to the the most erudite lord of the manor, would never move. If you hunger for a very beautiful rifle, why on earth avoid buying it?

I celebrate the man or woman who knows which appetites they wish to pursue, and, provided no felonious violence or fraud is involved, pursues them. As a side note, one of the richest men in Britain, the current Duke of Westminster, has a favorite pair of shotguns. They were purchased off the rack for him as a teenager at Churchills. He immediately had the barrels cut back to 20 inches, and apparently still loves them for grouse shooting. Tastes...er, appetites, vary. If you want it enough and can afford it, and won't have buyer's remorse, why the hell not purchase it, use it, without babying it? I can't see any reason. The trouble only comes if you try to explain your acquisition to others. How can they understand the emotions you bring to the piece of gun-maker's art. Could we really understand their purchase of a 20K guitar? It comes from inside, is personal, provided the point isn't to impress others, but rather to feel the thing and put it to its right use. I have a near neighbor in tech who, a few years back, bought a McLaren P1, which usually sits in his garage. Once in awhile he goes out in search of a speeding ticket. I have an acquaintance that is a good thoracic a surgeon: He's wrecked two Ferraris on local roads west of Philadelphia. And we quibble about a few guns worth 15 to 150 K, guns that will last for near eternity? A much better (safer, more economic) investment than a P1 or Ferrari. A plumber, if he put his mind to it, could buy any one of the aforementioned items (save for the P1) .

I’m definitely not in a position to consider such wares, nevertheless I’ve been a student of fine English gunmaking for over 30 years (and have dabbled in it a bit myself, largely because I could afford such beauty no other way...would rather be able to catch my own fish than purchase them at the local market, anyway).

The only issue I have with such expenditures is the knowledge that many put their children to bed hungry on many a night (and often due to them being victims of circumstance rather than simply those who have made some bad choices in life...if you’re born in a Haitian slum, you’re born in a Haitian slum). But, without those willing to procure a fine Purdey, a fine Purdey would not exist. The moral of the story? Life is complicated.