Peculiar Purdeys: Four unusual shotguns from the last 200 years
George Browne - GunsOnPegs · 18 Dec 2019 · 5 min read
On a recently visit to the James Purdey and Sons store at Audley House in London, George Browne was mesmerised by the guns on display. Here are four of the most interesting and unusual.
I don't care if you use a multi-coloured laminated-stock over-and-under or a camo-patterned pump-action shotgun that would have traditionalist shots of yesteryear spinning in their graves, everyone likes looking at old and unusual guns. I was recently fortunate enough to get the full history talk and tour from Nick Harlow, one of Purdey's gun room team at Audley House. Nick is passionate and has a wealth of knowledge about the company and its history. Naturally somewhere with a pedigree like Purdey is full of fascinating guns and stories, but I thought it would be nice, with Nick's help, to share a few of the more unusual ones with you.
One of the earliest surviving guns built by the original James Purdey over 200 years ago, in the company's first premises at 4 Princess Street, Leicester Square. The gun incorporates refinements in the shape of the pans to make them waterproof, a leather cheek-piece, and a grip safety which was patented in the same year as the gun was built. The innovative grip-safety was a manually-operated version of the intercepting safety which Purdey fits on side-by-side guns today.
A unique example, similar to a design by H.A.A. Thorn, it was sold to a French officer, General De Lignierres, in 1886. This is one of the most unusual pieces in Purdey's archive collection.
A true one of a kind, this piece is the only four-barrelled shotgun ever produced by James Purdey & Sons.
The mechanism uses a rotating striker, but the complexity of the design and increased weight meant that such guns were more curiosity than practical. The single trigger operates a rotating mechanical striker; and a lever is fitted to the grip strap which turns the striker a quarter turn to line up with the next barrel .
This gun was constructed at the same time as the pair of miniature guns for His Majesty King George V in 1935, and is sometimes known as a 'moth gun'
It is as a true 1/6 scale fully working hammer gun based upon the 12-bore hammer ejector guns that Purdey had built for the King in 1931. The gun was built by the finest craftsmen of that time including Harry Lawrence and engraved by Harry Kell.
The leather case was completed by Harry Lawrence’s mother, and contains a full complement of accessories and one final cartridge. The gun and case both bear Tom Purdey’s initials and the gun was presented to Tom by the Lawrence family for his 41st birthday on 22 March 1938.
The cartridge is loaded with .162 grains of E.C. powder and 2.02 grains of Dust Shot.
Purdey Hammer ejector gun, 2004
Following an upsurge in interest in hammer guns, in 2004 Purdey reitroduced a design from the "golden era of game shooting" - the 'bar in iron hammer ejector gun'.
It is natable that some of the greatest shots of the Victorian era used hammer ejector guns, including King George V. The King's own gun is displayed in the Long Room at Audley House.
These guns and more can be seen at Purdey's store on South Audley Street, London. You can also learn more about the company's long and illustrious history on their website. Why not drop in to look around over the next few weeks?
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