This gun represents the best of modern British gun-making. It has been built for the recently formed US firm Long & Sons, based in Texas, which commissioned it and under whose name it will be marketed. It is made on the Holland & Holland Royal pattern, and bench-crafted in west London and Norfolk by vastly experienced craftsmen Mark Sullivan and John Craven: both ex-Holland & Holland (H&H) men. I viewed the new gun at Sullivan’s small workshop located at the West London Gun Club grounds at the bottom of Sharvel Lane near the famous shooting school.

An auctioner by primary trade, Sullivan has, remarkably, overseen the creation of no fewer than 300 best guns since leaving H&H in 1989. He is well known for his carriage trade work for Asprey and William & Son, and for his particular expertise on the Holland-type action. The gun tested, similar in style and finish to many Asprey and William & Son H&H-inspired sidelocks, is presented with both 30in and 27in chopper- lump barrels – weighing in at 6lb 6oz and 6lb 2oz overall, respectively – made by Mick Kelly. Another top man, Peter Roland, was responsible for the svelte but efficient straight-hand stock, and Peter Cusack and William Wild executed the engraving. Colin Orchard finished the gun.

Quality

There are about 1,000 hours of handwork in this gun with the extra barrels. First impressions are, frankly, splendid. It shouts quality. This is a stylish, elegantly formed sporting arm with beautifully executed bulino game scenes and deep scroll acanthus engraving incorporating Celtic ribbons around the game panels. Classic heritage is evident but the presentation and form is subtly evolved. A square-bar gun, it has the bright Asprey look: stunning detail with a coin-finished, exquisitely engraved action. The game depicted – bobwhite and blue quail – creates a Texas connection (I have very much enjoyed shooting these birds in the Panhandle of the Lone Star State. In their wild form they are a testing quarry with explosive take-off and unpredictable flight.)

The Long & Sons sidelock – an iconic English game gun as many might dream of – is refined and fit for purpose but qualifies as art too. The balance with 30in tubes was exactly on the hinge pin, and stock shapes were slim but offered excellent purchase and control. Weight distribution (concentrated in the middle) was ideal. Everything felt and looked right. Why is the gun so good? It is built by an A-team of master craftsmen on the desirable Holland- pattern mechanism in its later forms: probably the most perfect of all sidelocks and only equalled conceptually by the more complex but equally desirable Purdey- Beesley. The Holland is particularly favoured by gunsmiths – many say good things about it. Its Southgate-system ejectors are easier to regulate than others.

This gun is still made with the templates that Sullivan created as an apprentice and to a schedule or ‘time sheet’ plan that also originates from Holland days. There are 300 hours of actioning alone, barrels and stocking account for about another 100 hours each, and engraving 350 plus. Sullivan notes: “John [Craven] does the jointing, locks, lever work and cocking [the limbs that cock the tumblers] and I tend to do the file-up – chiselling and filing the action shape to gauges; the ejector work and the furniture, including the triggers; and the final ‘smooth’: the fine filing and polishing ready for stocking.” The jointing of the gun – bringing barrel and action together – will have taken 20 hours early in the process; the fitting of the cross-pin a further 10. Fitting the locks (mainly by smoke blacking as used throughout the gunmaking process) is scheduled at 14 hours, with 14 more for the lever work. Strikers take another six to seven hours. “It’s all about not taking shortcuts. We use gauges, so parts may be very similar – within 5 thou typically – but not interchangeable as with something machine made,” adds Sullivan.

With its elegant form and exquisite engraving, this gun shouts quality

Technical

This is a later H&H Royal-pattern gun but also notable for its pinless form that allows uncluttered space for engraving. The Royal name first appeared in 1883. Early guns had leg-of-mutton-shaped locks and complex asymmetrical cocking: one lock cocking on opening, the other on closing. The mechanism was simplified and the lockplates themselves changed for a more Purdey-like shape in the early 1890s. This coincided with the expiration of the 1880 Beesley patent to which Purdey had acquired rights and later bought outright. Although outwardly similar post-1894, the Holland and Purdey guns remained mechanically distinct. The Purdey uses one limb of its V-form mainsprings to power its self-opening feature; the Holland, at least in post-1922 form, employs a helical spring in a recess below the barrels to operate its ‘assisted opening’. The Holland system (now attributed to factory manager William Mansfield) is easier to close, selfcontained and extremely reliable.

Shooting impressions

Testing the Long & Sons 20-bore only strengthened positive first impressions: the form, aesthetics and function were all first class. Using it, even briefly, was something to be remembered. Trigger pulls (4lb and 4½lb) had no creep and broke cleanly as one expects with a best London sidelock. Felt recoil was less than anticipated. Handling was fast but not excessively so with the 30in tubes. Targets all broke in satisfying balls of dust even with ½ and ⅜ choke. The gun was easy to control and intuitive to use. I have nothing negative to say about it. It is exactly what one might hope to receive if ordering a new London 20-bore. It maintains a standard of old-school bench-made excellence. This is a delightful non plus ultra creation and whoever ends up owning it will be lucky indeed.

Long & Sons 20-bore

RRP: $255,000 (£187,900)
Long & Sons: Bottega di Lusso, Hangar I-3, 3816 E I-20 Service Rd S, Hudson Oaks TX 76107; +1 817-233-1052

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