The Field – August 2019

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A bespoke pair built

for grouse and greys

Whya Fieldreaderwith a clearvisionofhis ideal

game guns chose Spanish manufacture and English finish

WRITTEN BY DOUGLAS TATE

N

ooneisindifferenttoa bargain–not

even those fortunate few who shoot

drivengrouseregularly.WithnewLon-

don gunscosting around £225,000 a

pair, even the rich are looking else-

where.Thoughnofatcat, one reader

ofTheFieldrecentlyfoundhimselfina curiousposition

foranavidgameshot– hehadsomemoneyinthekitty.

What hecameupwithwouldmakeanyonepurr.“The

gunsI chosefromGrulla/WilliamEvansarethePallMall

easy-openingsidelocksbuiltasroundactions.”Manyof

Britain’s finest makers, acknowledging the inevitable,

nowofferlessexpensivealternativestoBritishbestguns

sourcedinItalyorSpain.Someofthefinestside-by-sides

madecomefromGrullaintheBasqueregionofSpain and

areofferedthroughWilliamEvansofStJames’s.

Since1883,WilliamEvanshasenjoyedthestatureof

supplyingsoldiersandsecondsonswithshotguns.When

theoriginalWilliamEvansputouthisfirstgunaftertime

spentwithbothJamesPurdeyandHolland& Holland,he

didsoinBuckinghamPalaceRoadwhereBritain’sbest

ranking regimentswere quartered.Officersmarshalled

athisdoorandboughtthehardwaretheyneededbefore

beingscattershotacrossthemixedbagofEmpire.Many

wrote testimonials; typical is this one from a surgeon

namedMacGregorsecondedtothefifthBengalCavalry,

inBareilly,India,circa1893:“Ihada day’sshootingyes-

terdayandratherastonishedthenatives with the power of

the12-bore.I amdelightedwithit.”

Affordablefirearmsfortroopersgallopingofftofor-

eign partsmayhavebeenEvans’stockintrade buthe

nevershied awayfrom best guns.Years ago,in Evans’

oak-panelledbasementgunroom,I tookstockofa superb

exampleofgunmakingskillfromthegildedage.It was

likelya productoftheBoss/Robertsonworkshopandit

certainlyhadBossejectorsbutit wasengraved‘William

Evans(fromPurdey’s)’.I askedWilliamEvans’gunroom

manager,AlastairPhillips[nowwithJamesPurdey& Sons.

Ed], if hewasfamiliarwiththegun.“Thegunwasindeed

a RobertsonactionandwouldhavebeenmadeforHRH

TheDukeofConnaught, whom we had on our trade label

as‘Makersto.’”

Grulla,too,hasroyalconnectionsandcantraceitsori-

ginsbackina directlinetoVictorSarasqueta,anointed

royalgunmakerin 1902 byKingAlfonsoXIIIofSpain.The

Grulla name has been around since the early 1930s

Above:idealforthemoorandcoverts,a pairofGrulla/William Evans

side-by-sides;thetwofirmsformeda partnershipin 2011

Left:lowland game scenes engraved by Andy Miles