Guns of the Concours

A Pair for a Pair of Friends

The Gold Medal Concours d’Elegance of Fine Guns features shotguns and rifles —new and old, from around the world—that are panel-judged in a variety of classes and categories.

    Matched sets of British sporting guns evoke visions of the aristocracy on shooting estates with loaders at their sides and high-flying driven pheasants falling to the rhythm of guns being handled with drill-team precision. Edwardian Era game books are filled with record tallies and legendary shooting feats. Lord Ripon is reputed to have had seven birds dead in the air at once falling to his trio of Purdey hammerguns and two loaders.
    Whether pairs, trios or more, matched guns are identical in every feature, although shooters often have a favorite that they use when multiples aren’t necessary and thus show more wear. Sets frequently are broken when the owner dies and the heirs split up the bounty. Fascinating stories often emerge when sets of guns are reunited—one bought in a shop, for example, and years later another found at auction. A British firm called Matched Pairs (www.matchedpairs.com) registers broken sets in the hopes of helping reunite siblings.
    Today, sets of guns are used for driven shooting in both the US and Europe. Sometimes they are bought by shooters merely desiring backup guns identical to their favorites. With vintage guns especially, if one malfunctions on a driven shoot, it is desirable to have a replacement ready at hand.
    Henry Atkins No. 766 and 767 were made in 1893 as part of a trio. They are sidelever barlock ejector 12-bore rebounding-hammer guns. No one knows the whereabouts of the third, but a few years ago these two found their way to Atkin Grant and Lang  (www.atkingrant andlang.co.uk), north of London. Both were in poor condition, but the AG&L team is renowned for its read more »

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