The most desirable shotgun brands: revealed!

One of the things that game shots love almost as much as they love shooting is drooling over shotguns - unslip  a new gun at the start of a season and you're sure to spark a conversation about your choice, and depending on what you've chosen, you could provoke gasps of jealous admiration or ridicule (believe it or not, there are still places where an over-and-under is viewed as deeply nouveau, and there are others where to be using a side-by-side marks you out as a fusty old stick-in-the-mud).

Arbitrary gunsnobbery aside (gunsnobbery: a new word I just made up, quite like it.), there is one thing that unites most game shots - a love of fantasising about what they would buy if their 200-1 outsider at Epsom ever came in, and everyone loves a bit of #gunporn. That's why back in 2016's Game Shooting Census we asked people a classic "gunbus" question: If money was no object who would you get to build you a gun?

After a few fallow years, we decided that it would be interesting to see how that had changed. So in the 2021 Game Shooting Census, we asked people the same question, and then again in the 2023 Game Shooting Census.

The results show some very interesting changes that time.

What are the most desirable shotgun brands?

Let’s start with the obvious. In the last Since 2016, in many regards, not much has changed. Of the top ten brands back then, all but one are still there, Westley Richards being the 2016 entry who drop to 12th place this year. Apart from that, the list looks pretty similar, especially at the top where Purdey, Hollands and Beretta keep their 1-2-3 locked down.

Further back in the pack there is a bit more jockeying for position: Boss gain a couple of spots to retake 4th place, where they were in 2016, leapfrogging both Longthorne and Browning. Perazzi hold on to 7th place, while McKay Brown and E.J. Churchill gain a couple of places each to take 8th and 9th respectively, with William Powell dropping back to 10th. 

From this we can conclude that Brits still covet British Guns, for the most part. Of the top ten, seven are British brands, even if William Powell’s and E.J Churchill’s guns are manufactured in Europe. 

Both Purdey and Holland & Holland have been making fine guns for hundreds of years and it clearly shows. They are the pinnacle of gun ownership and which one you’d choose probably can’t be explained. The anecdotal feedback we’ve had is that an individual’s preference has been decided over a long period of time and usually comes back to marketing – “they just seem the best”.

It is tough at the top

This is most notable in the case of market leaders Purdey, who have seen the proportion of people who would take their lottery cheque to Audley House slump from 30% in 2016 to 17.5% in 2023 - that’s a huge drop. Even since 2021 their share of the vote has dropped by 5%, down from 22.9%. 

However, while the storied history and handmade gunmaking chops of Purdey and Holland & Holland sees them still undeniably the most desirable brands of all, it is an inescapable fact that their grip on the imaginations and dreams of game shots appears to be slipping.

Hollands have suffered a similar, if less dramatic, fate, with their share of the vote slipping 8.7% from 25.4% to 16.7% in 2023. New owners Beretta can perhaps take heart that the brand has managed to maintain its 16% share since 2021.

With just 1% of the vote splitting the top two, might Holland & Holland’s new model, the Noble, help to see them overtake their London rivals?

Since 2016 the big winner has been the relative newcomer to the scene, Longthorne, whose share has leaped from 2.8% in 2016 to 9% in 2023. Longthorne’s approach is pretty different when compared to the hand-made London gunmakers. Employing cutting edge tech and machinery, Longthorne have built a brand based upon the solidity and reliability of their guns, and their innovative engineering. It is also notable that Longthorne’s guns are far less expensive, so it could be possible that people see them as representing better value for money.

Most desirable over-and-under shotguns

When it comes to taste in shotguns, there are so many different factors to consider, from engraving style to stocking and more. But the biggest choice might well be between over-and-under and the more traditional side-by-side. People have strong preferences where this is concerned, so what happens to our leaderboard when we filter for this preference. First, let's look at the more popular over-and-under categories.

Here we see a similar drop in the dominance of Purdey, whose share drops to 15.4%, down from 20.7%, as well as good showings again from Longthorne - whose guns are even more popular with o/u users, with 11.8% of the vote. Browning, who occupied 4th place in 2021, slip out of the top five, replaced by a resurgent Boss & Co.

Most desirable side-by-side shotguns

Over the last few years side-by-sides have been a enjoying something of a renaissance. I think lots of people - even those who mainly shoot an over and under - dream of owning a stunning side-by-side; there’s something about the lines and the flow of these guns that make them objectively desirable pieces. When we look at the ‘dream guns’ of those who habitually use a side-by-side, we see some interesting changes.

First, Holland & Holland overtake Purdey, whose popularity with the more traditional guns has dropped from 29% in 2021 to 22% in 2023. Even though Hollands’ share actually also dropped slightly, Purdey’s decline was sufficient to see them fall back into 2nd place. Boss take third and John Dickson & Son take 5th.

It is perhaps not all that surprising that with these traditionalist game shots the UK brands perform well. AYA, the third most popular shotgun brand in terms of what people actually use, is the only non-UK brand, but their popularity overall makes it not surprising to see them here. As an AYA user myself, I’d be hard pressed to choose between an AYA no.1 or a Holland and Holland Royal, upon which the AYA is based! 

AYA, who we know are the third most-used shotgun brand after Beretta and Browning, make it into the top five. AYA have a loyal following, and are comparatively affordable. Speaking from personal experience, I adore my AYA, and if the horse that I backed was only at 50-1 rather than 100-1, my first call would be to Edward King, the UK importer of AYA. 

We can but dream

It is no doubt the dream of every game shot to have a gun (or pair of guns) made by their favourite gunmaker to their exact specifications - it would be an expression of your personality, and the ultimate in self-indulgence. 

In the end, very few of us are ever likely to have deep enough pockets to justify that luxury, even if we tell ourselves that it is really an heirloom, so it's a gift for the generations to come (let's face it, we're fooling nobody). It is heartening to see that the traditional gunmakers still command such reverence and respect, and that handmade guns remain an aspiration for so many game shots.