154 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
COUNTRYESTATE
GUN REVIEW
Assembledbythefirm’steamofmastercraftsmen,thisbeautifulside-by-sideis a sculpture
in metal and wood, observes Michael Yardley. It proves to be a tribute to its makers
No shootingman,
on seeing thisgun,
couldavoid beinga
littleexcited at the
prospectof usingit.
Therewere interesting
features...
THE testgun thismonth isa magnificent,
30in barrelled, 12-bore, pinless sidelock
side-by-sidepigeongunbyWilliam&Son.
It hasside-clipsatthebreech,a concealed
third bite (like some big-game double
rifles),gold-line cockingindicatorsandan
extended trigger guard meeting a steel-
cappedpistolgrip.Profuselyengravedwith
deepscrollworkinthefirm’shousestyle,it
hitsthescalesat7lb8oz(agoodweightfor
a pigeongunintendedforusewithheavier
loads).Theguncarriesthesubstantialprice
tag of £105,000 (though a foreign buyer
mightlose£20,000ofVAT).
Initialimpressionsareoutstanding.The
gunisaestheticallybeautiful–a sculpture
inmetalandwoodaswellasa sportingtool.
TheTurkishwalnutstockissplendidlyfig-
uredwithstrong,straightgrainthroughthe
gripandlovelyswirlinggraintothemid-
dleandrear.Itischequeredat 22 linesto
theinchandtraditionallyoiled.Thequal-
ityofworkmanshipandfinishonthe(full
andfullchoked,flatribbed)chopper-lump
barrels and square bar action are, like the
woodwork,whatyouwouldexpectfroma
topLondonmaker.Thebarrelsarebeauti-
fullystruckupandblacked,andperfectly
straight.The10mmto7.5mmtaperedflat
rib ismyfavouritepattern witha matted
topsurfaceandanelegantlyformedsmall,
stainless steel bead at the muzzles. The
perfectproportionsofthelatteraretypical
oftheattention to detail evident through-
outthegun.
Theengravingmanagestobebothmod-
ern and classical. It is a style William & Son
hasdeveloped.Itisbolderthanthescroll
seentypicallyona HollandRoyalandmuch
deeperthanthe subtle roseandscrollof
mostPurdeys.It hasstipplingsurrounding
the scroll-work that creates a bas-relief
effect. It looks almost carved, especially
atthefenceswheretheengravingextends
forwards tothe barrels.Theinitial inspi-
ration came from the pattern book of a
bank-noteengraver.
Cananygunbeworthsomuchmoney?
Themarketislimited butothercarriage-
trade London bests are even morecostly
today. This gun, individualist and excep-
tionallycrafted, has London proof marks
forits2¾inchambers,whichwerestruckin
2017.Thatis anindicationofthetimeit has
takentocomplete.Someofthebestcrafts-
meninthecountryhavecontributedtheir
skillstoit.William&Sondoesn’thaveits
ownfactory(thoughgunmakerPaulWest,
whohasoverseentheproject,wasoncea
Holland& Hollandman).Thefirmhas,how-
ever,assembleda teamofmastercraftsmen
whoit commissionsregularly.Itsgunshave
a distinctfeelandlooknow.Thereis a clear
andwell-developedhousestyle.
William& Sondoesn’tmakemanyguns
- about 60 sinceit launchedaround1999.
WilliamAspreyisthefounderandowner
ofWilliam& Son.TheRoyalWarrantAsso-
ciation notes of him:“From thestart he
specialised inthespecial and surprising,
the eclectic and sometimes the extrava-
gant...” The testgun qualifieson all four
counts. Since they came into existence,
I haveshotWilliam&Son gameguns in
various bores and configurations. None
disappointed, allwereelegant,mechani-
callyproven,svelteofformandbeautifully
engraved.Theyallshotwellwithflawless
function. The firm now ranks as one of
London’sgreatgunmakers.
Returningtothegenesisofthetestgun,
PaulWestnotedthathehadbeenaskedby
a potentialcustomerata showif William&
Sonmadea pigeongun.“No– butwecould.”
Thiswasthe“spark”,hetoldme,andelabo-
rated: “People are tending towards high
pheasantsagain,sowethoughtit wouldbe
interestingtomakea side-by-sideinspired
bythepigeongunsofthepastthatmightbe
usedforhighbirdsor,indeed, high volume
shooting of any sort.”
William & Son pigeon gun
Thestunningengraving
extendsontothechopper-
lump barrels;noteside-clips
andthirdbite
Right:pinlesslock-plateswith
gold-lined cocking indicators
