The Field – August 2019

WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 155

COUNTRYESTATE

GUN REVIEW

Formoregunreviews,goto

http://www.thefield.co.uk

SHOOTINGIMPRESSIONS

Noshootingmanonseeingthisgun

couldavoidbeinga littleexcitedat

theprospectofusingit. Therewere

interestingfeaturesfroma practical

perspective:tightchokes,a flatsighting

rib,thewideradiusedpistolgrip

stock.Theweightwasoptimalforthis

typeofgunat7lb8oz.Thebalance

wasinteresting.Thebiggeractionput

significantweightbetweenthehands.

Thebalancepointwasabout1¼in

forwardofthehingepin(becauseofa

relativelylightbutt).Thegun’sshooting

qualitiesweregenerallygood.I hadto

adapttoheavybutcrisptriggerpulls.Felt

recoilwasnotexcessivebutnoticeable

(whichmightbeputdowntotightbores,

18.4mm,tightchokesanda slimcomb).

Theshelfdimensionsfordrop 1½in

and2in weresensible,aswastheLOP

at15¼in.If I orderedone,I mightgofora

fullerpigeonstylebutt(whichwouldput

a littlemoreweightrearwards).Overall,

this isanimpeccablypresentedbest gun,

a tribute to its makers.

TECHNICAL

Mechanically,theWilliam& Songun

is builtona Holland& Hollandtype

sidelockaction.Thelatterfirm’s‘Royal’

modelwasperfectedintheearly1890s

asanamalgamofallthingsgoodinthe

Britishguntrade.Unliketheequally

famousPurdeyBeesleydesign,there

wasnouniquepatentforit. Many

makershavecopiedit. Thetestgun,like

anH&H,hasinterceptingsafetysears

(asareessentialinanysidelock)and

incorporatesthe 1922 patentHolland

tubeandspringbeneaththebarrels,

easyopeningmechanismanda

Hollandstyleconcealedbite.It is built

ona wider,higherandheavieraction.

TheWilliam& Sonnormforits 12 bores

is anactionbarwidthof44mm;thisone

is 46mmatthemiddle.Attheextreme

edgesofthestandingbreech,the

measurementsare,respectively,58mm

forthestandardgamegunand64mm

forthisnewpigeongun(sotheincrease

inwidth,whichis subtle,is mostnotable

across the breech face/barrels).

WILLIAM& SON

PIGEONGUN

♦RRP:£105,000

♦ 34-36BrutonStreet
LondonW1J6QX.
♦ 020 74938385
♦ http://www.williamandsonfield.com