Take good advice but buy with your heart

Investing in a gun might seem daunting but if you know what you’re looking for and what you want, it’s a good start, says Simon Reinhold

and that the same thing can be seen when you look at the rise in popularity of the 28-bore during the 1990s and 2000s. The 16-bore is noticeable by its absence but it never really gained the popularity it deserved. It’s not enough to say “small bores are popular”, it is more nuanced than that and is certainly not true in every case.

The next factor to consider is that they are a desirable mechanism. Trigger-plate actions evenly distribute the weight of the action between the hands. This gives superb handling qualities. It is one of the reasons Perazzi and other manufacturers of over-and-unders have adopted trigger-plate actions. With a Scottish trigger-plate, round-action design such as the Mckay Browns — or from John Dickson & Son, which is also famous for them — no metal has to be carved out of the action body to accommodate springs and lock work. This gives the gun inherent strength without added weight, a combination that gives excellent handling qualities.

Condition is everything. With shotguns, barrel condition is one of the most important factors. The pair of Mckay Browns measure over 20 thousandths (20thou) of an inch thick in all barrels — 18thou is where we generally consider barrels to be thin. Barrels may arguably be shootable at 17thou but not for heavy use. The barrel is merely a conduit for the expanding gases as they drive the projectile towards the target. To put these wall thickness numbers in context: a fizzy drink can measure 5thou and your credit card about 30thou. My high-performance steelproofed over-and-under measures 38thou from the factory.

Obsolete calibre

Condition is equally important with antique firearms, which have consistently seen some of the strongest sale prices of recent times. There is a thriving market for antique firearms because many of them — though not all — do not require a licence to own. If they are what is termed by the Home Office as an ‘obsolete calibre’, they are

‘off ticket’ — trade jargon for no licence required.

“The price of a gun and its value may be different depending on how you look at it”

However, the originality of condition matters a great deal when it comes to antique firearms. All guns can have their barrels re-blued, re-blacked or re-browned and the ‘furniture’ — trigger-guards, top- or side-levers and so on — can also be refreshed by re-blacking. It matters in sporting shotguns and can affect the price, but it is a vital element in antique firearms.

The T Horsley 12mm pinfire pocket pistol (top right) is a case in point. When I first looked at it, I thought it had been expertly re

much of the value of a gun is down to the condition.

If expensive guns are beyond your dreams and are subject to a domestic veto, there is another way to look at an investment. My current competition clay gun is not expensive. As a fan of vintage firearms, I take some pleasure in showing that a hammergun can still be used to shoot reasonable scores in large competitions. For the past few years, I have thoroughly enjoyed taking it to competitions.

Hand-built bargain

The reaction from the weather-beaten referees, who must have seen just about everything in their time, shows me that I am not alone when they ask to handle it. I bought it out of Holts’ sealed bid auction and, even after the buyer’s premium, the total bill was well under £500. As a hand-built live pigeon-style hammergun the fact it had sleeved barrels knocked the value down to traditional collectors, who are almost always looking for original barrels in good condition.

To me that represented incredible value because the extra weight in the barrels was exactly what I was after to reduce muzzle flip for the second barrel in the more deliberate sport of clay shooting.

The enjoyment I have had shooting that gun has been worth far more than I paid for it. I could probably sell it tomorrow and recoup the cost but it was more of an investment for me to try to convince others that vintage guns — some of our finest usable industrial heritage — can still achieve results. If a few precautions are taken at auction — and advice is always available — buying with your heart is a pretty good guide. The price of a gun and its value may be vastly different depending on how you look at it.

For anyone who is thinking of buying a gun at auction, you do need to know what you are looking at

The quality of blueing on this pocket pistol is so good because it was largely unfired