(1) Do not legally accept the rifle until you have test-fired it yourself and you are satisfied with the grouping. This should not be a problem, but the rifle must fit you.
(2) I have an H&H .375 from the late-60s. It is not particularly well put together, but it functions. I did notice that the modern H&H rifles come equipped with a much heavier barrel than mine. It's no good asking the gormless and patronising 24 year-old in the gunroom, who has never been to Africa, why it has to have such a weighty barrel and, after all, he's not going to be carrying it in the heat through the bush.
My point, I suppose, is that you need to check and handle these things before you commit.
(3) As soon as you walk out of the door with your new purchase, you will lose approximately 40-50% in depreciation. I am all in favour of pretty rifles but they are, after all, simply tools designed for killing. The harder that you use your rifle, the more value that you are taking out of it. I have no objection to people using their rifles at all - that is what they are there for - but it risks being a substantial financial punch on the nose.
(4) You should also look at Purdey (which is within walking distance of H&H) and their chassis system. I am not sure that it is anything more than a gimmick. I was poking around there a couple of years ago and asked if they could make me a rifle based on a Mannlicher-Schöenauer action. The chap was a bit wary, but the answer came back yes, as long as I supplied the action. My wife decided that I have better things to spend my money on, but I suggest to you that that would be an interesting project and likely to hold its value better. You would avoid the sloppy Mauser bolt and awkward safety.
(5) Also Mark Crudgington at
George Gibbs.
(6) There is no particular magic about any of the makers mentioned in this thread. All are capable of producing a beautiful rifle, all based around a Mauser action, use essentially the same outworkers, and arrive at the same end result but with a different name engraved on the barrel.
So, incidentally, are a few independent makers who will also produce the same thing at a third of the cost: eg.
Lee Butler
(7) My particular bug-bear is the quality of staff in the gunrooms, who tend to know very little about the subject and simply steer purchasers towards the most expensive options. H&H used to be notorious for this, but I hear that they have got better after recruiting Patrick Hawes from Bonhams. You might want to insist that you actually speak to the people making the rifle rather than the smoothies in the gunroom.
