I had a nice visit to several gun shops in London last week. I’ve wanted to check them out for years and got home last night after spending a week across the pond.
Considering how far from great days in the field most of the populace in England now is, finding a bit of the outdoors was a welcome change of pace. In fact, the current detachment from anything off the pavement was essentially discussed in an article in The London Times last week as they wrote about how most children in England were more likely to recognize a picture of some online or cartoon creature than the most basic of animals that live in the wild.
I was shopping with my daughter at Harrod’s on the first day that we visited the stores. On the top floor you’ll find an assortment of sporting goods. Much to my surprise, over in a corner, is a closet type area full of Beretta shotguns. Considering that most of the store is stocked with items that will occupy the interest of a housewife, this was an unexpected find. Of course this isn’t your typical gun shop, but it was my start as I searched for sanity.
After leaving Harrod’s I hopped in a cab and went the short distance to the Purdey store. It was very nice and the gun guy was pleasant to chat with, but the inventory was modest compared to my expectations. They had quite a few nice shotguns out, but no double rifles, which was my quest. Their clothing line has lost a bit of its appeal, however, since there seems to have been an effort to market it through outside distributors and outlets.
My next stop was at a long-time favorite, Holland and Holland. I’ve visited their NYC store several times, particularly before it was downsized and relocated, as well as when they had one in Beverly Hills where they tried to run it gunless (which, of course, failed).
H&H was full of guns of every variety, including a beautiful rack of double rifles. I tried not to drool but I’m sure they had to clean up the place after I left. Gorgeous guns that took a 3-year gunsmithing effort to make where lined up. Most were nearing the $200,000 price tag. The ones I held felt as good in my hands as a well-fitted 20 gauge I’d carry when hunting quail. You just couldn’t help but ease it up and imagine the stare of a buffalo looking back at you.
Another nice feature at H&H was their gun clerk. Finding someone that could talk about Africa must be hard in their labor pool. In their case, however, the fellow from South Africa was very pleasant to visit with, and he knew well places like Moyowosi, Monduli, the Selous, Chirisa, and Lemco. He’ll be hunting in Namibia next month.
Of course the clothing in H&H is about prohibitive to buy. Spot an item, imagine some very high price for it, triple that number, and then double it again and you might be getting close. The store is deathly void of serious shoppers and you wonder how they stay in business. I guess they make such a whack off that random guy that tries to see just how much he can spend that they are able to keep the lights on. A strange business plan they have.
My next stop was at the 3-story Beretta store on St James. This was a very refreshing stop as the combination of quality goods, large inventory, and reasonable prices made this a solid visit. They only had one SxS double rifle, and have had a second on backorder for 3 years, but we know that is not Beretta’s focus. They did have several of the O/U double rifles, which really do feel good when held. They said they are quite popular in Europe. Their inventory of shotguns and bolt action rifles was very impressive; I particularly liked the new S10 they showed me. They had serious shoppers in there and broad enough inventory that I’m sure this store will be open whenever I visit there again.
My last stop was just down the street when I checked out William Evans. This store had a very “homey†feel without any attempt to make it pretentious or particularly upscale. Most of the items offered for sale had brand names that you might see in many other hunting or clothing stores and the clerks were pleasant but distant. Down an old staircase in the corner you’d curve around until you entered a basement gunroom. The large old table in the center of the room was one that I’d love to have for a similar purpose at home. The wall at the other end had shelves with worn but handsome leather cases holding a variety of good but used shotguns made by a scattering of the best in the trade. There was even a gun resting on the floor. Some basic gunsmithing tools were sitting around, along with other parts and cleaning items that you might have if you had a bundle of working guns at your home. Double rifles were absent, but I soon learned about a new 500NE they were having made that would be adorned by their finest engraver. They showed me the cracked barrels of a DR, previously owned by the “Born Free†fellow that had “doubled†and then needed to be replaced. William Evans was a very nice stop, but you won’t confuse it with the pristine style of others I had seen.
London is a changing place as its liberal immigration policy is rebalancing the city’s mix. You won’t find many people there that enjoy days in the field, and you have to be careful about with whom you express an interest in hunting. That said, there currently are still some great stops there for the visiting sportsman that likes to simply look at some awesome firearms. Most things you’ll see will still be there when you leave, but this was a case of window shopping I can fully endorse.

Vic,
Thanks for the report!

Very nice, Vic. Thank you for the perspective. I've often wondered what one might find if one went to London in search of the "golden days" of English firearms....now I know.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

Vic, thanks for taking the time to write up the report; and welcome home.

I do exactly the same journey myself whenever I am in London, excellent summation. I was totally blown away by the range of shotguns at Beretta and you are right those O/U double 9.3/74's sure do feel good, but for the real "wet your your pants experience" H&H is the place to be. Until my next visit I'll just dream on.