Gordon R Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Saw one of these at Rishton Clay shoot on Sunday. Very nicely made - superb finish. I knew they were not cheap, but got a shock at the £15,200 price tag. http://www.longthorneguns.com/cgi-bin/scribe?showinfo=12-bore-sidelock-english-over-and-under-shotgun-game-guns- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Poon Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I've never seen one or shot one even though they use to be based a few miles away from my house. So what's so special about them to ask for that price tag? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted December 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Will - not sure. They have similar lock up to Perazzi and Gamba and are very well finished. I don't like the extension to the forend iron - it looks over elaborate. Bit like Purdey, Stephen Grant etc. - British and can charge what people are prepared to pay. That said, I would sooner pay that money for a Longthorne than £10k for a Krieghoff. Edited December 22, 2015 by Gordon R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 I've talked to the lady who represents them on a few occasions at Lowther and the CLA; the last time just before they moved, and haven't yet dared to ask to pick one up. They are stunning pieces of work. I would buy one if they made a box lock, but they don't. Their loss. I wish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSpredder Posted December 22, 2015 Report Share Posted December 22, 2015 Admired them a couple of times at shows. Looks expensive if you have only a Baikal-sized budget, but a good deal cheaper than something like a Beretta SO6, which seems to me to be roughly equivalent. It all depends on your circumstances. Some people happily pay that much each year to buy shooting (500 pheasants at £30/bird = £15,000). As for myself, I'll probably just stick to the old AYA No3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
button Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 I think for a sidelock o/u made by a British firm, or to be fair a sidelock o/u in general the price is not too bad, although for that money there are alot of options open unless one of your requirements is it has to be a sidelock. What would I consider? Perazzi, Kemen or Browning B25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Would rather spend that amount of money on a hand made gun, not a cnc factory gun, thay are hand assembled not hand made. My choice, a nice s/h Beretta or find an SHO Perazzi.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 (edited) I can't afford one but I have had a play with one, and I think it is actually quite cheap relative to the competition. (I did say relative mind you) It is British as well! David. Edited December 23, 2015 by Kalahari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wj939 Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 They are using an interesting new method to make the barrels, it's milled from a single piece rather than mono or Demi block, no side ribs as a result. Lots of hand made guns now days use a number of pre fabricated parts, probably done on cnc, before final fitting by hand etc. So it can be misleading. Personally I think hand made can be over rated, although not always. if guiseppe had two bottles of red rather than the one with dinner last night I doubt he's as accurate as he can be. Interesting gun at the price point, lots for your money, if you can live with the fact it's not got the heritage of a perrazi or beretta. I've been good all year, hope Mr. Claus has one on his sleigh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 It's an English hand/CNC made to your absolute every whim order, (hand made just means it took longer to get to the micro perfection ). There are people parting with not dissimilar money for P and K guns which are essentially machine made, hand finished clones of one another, in my opinion they occupy an extremely desirable and clever niche/segment. I've loved the look and concept behind them for a long time and the only thing that would stop me getting one is clay use longevity, I can name at least a dozen people who have Parcours (one or two got rid) , there are dozens of Perazzi guns at every shoot but I've yet to see a Longthorne. It's like the man who choses a Bristol over an Aston or Ferrari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Hamster has hit nail on the head for me. But then I'd love to own a Bristol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 It is just the same as so many 'luxury' items, it is what goes into making the gun and how you value that element that will make you decide whether to buy one or not. The cost of the man hours invested in making the gun, the overheads associated with having the manufacturing in the UK, the small volume of products requires a higher level of margin, less efficiency in the effective productive time of the employees, etc all have a massive bearing on price. It saddens me quite a lot that we seem to have lost our appreciation of craftsmanship and so therefor the value of craftsmanship, but it is entirely understandable as we can mass produce things with such accuracy and quality that it is often hard to differentiate between artisan or mass production at face value. Had I enough disposable pennies to splash out on one I would do it without hesitation, however I have far too many other things I also enjoy so my disposable pennies are much more widely distributed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Totally brilliant and taking British gunmaking into the 21st century with some new innovations and techniques.. Pity the barrels are the wrong way around though. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett1985 Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 if I was looking at buying a bespoke, hand regulated gun then this would be in the list of contenders. unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money spare. But here would it not be rather nice if we did have. Merry Christmas. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Hamster has hit nail on the head for me. But then I'd love to own a Bristol. I'd love a pair of Bristols! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Just for you TC. Longthornes look very nice but i've never seen one in the flesh so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil w Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 You would need to be "Nut's". To pay that kind of money for a shotgun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 They are using an interesting new method to make the barrels, it's milled from a single piece rather than mono or Demi block, no side ribs as a result. Lots of hand made guns now days use a number of pre fabricated parts, probably done on cnc, before final fitting by hand etc. So it can be misleading. Personally I think hand made can be over rated, although not always. if guiseppe had two bottles of red rather than the one with dinner last night I doubt he's as accurate as he can be. Interesting gun at the price point, lots for your money, if you can live with the fact it's not got the heritage of a perrazi or beretta. I've been good all year, hope Mr. Claus has one on his sleigh.... The barrel system is new to the UK, it has been done before, Having been in the factory and watched production, compared to spending time in the Gamba factory as an example, these(longthornes) are built by an engineer not a craftsmen, barrels are machined out, watching someone hand boring barrels (in Gamba), there is no comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Posted December 23, 2015 Report Share Posted December 23, 2015 Actually, Whitworth developed the barrel system a very long time ago, but it was British then as well. David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das Posted December 24, 2015 Report Share Posted December 24, 2015 If you bought a totally hand built English gun, say from a London maker, you would'nt get it for anywhere near this price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ste eibar Posted December 24, 2015 Report Share Posted December 24, 2015 One of our shoot members has just paid £18500 or thereabouts for one of these. It's a thing of beauty alright, he waited over a year for it from his order date. I think it's going back after a thousand carts to finish the stock its already the best looking stock I've seen. He handed it to me for a look I was frightened to touch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longthorne Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Happy New Year to you all and many thanks for your frank discussion about our guns. To answer some of your questions, our guns are all made entirely in house at our factory now in Northampton. We do use machines to produce many of the parts involved in our guns, all gun manufacturers do. At Longthorne we utilise the finest space-age gunmaking materials crafted using state of the art automated high tech machinery enhanced through Computer Aided Design that guarantees a degree of accuracy of machined parts unachievable by any human being. However, There is also a great deal of hand crafting involved in the manufacture of our guns. All the major parts, actions, barrels stocks and forends are hand finished using pains-taking hand finishing techniques to guarantee results that can only be achieved by skilled craftsmen and then hand assembled. Each Longthorne gun is measured and entirely bespoke fitted, our stocks for example are roughly shaped by machine and then hand shaped at our factory often with the client present, to their requirement to ensure that his gun is looking where he/she is looking, our barrels and actions are all polished by hand and our engraving is hand finished. Of course we are able to do this entirely by hand but it takes much longer and is more expensive. Our barrels are very unique and we currently have patents in the UK and USA. They are made entirely from a solid block of high specification steel which makes them very light and very strong, the benefit of which produces a gun with very little recoil and muzzle flip which can be proofed for magnum steel. Our barrels are also parallel which means that the shot exits the barrel on a constant path, we have found that our guns maintain a better pattern for a longer distance for this reason. If anyone is interested in handling a Longthorne it would give us great pleasure to demonstrate its attributes, so please don't hesitate to contact us. Very best wishes 'Longthorne' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted January 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Longthorne - you do make excellent guns. I was very impressed with the machining on the draws and wedges. I confess to not particularly liking the shape of the forend metalwork - the bit that protrudes forward near the top of the barrels. I like the idea of parallel barrels - it cuts out the bottom barrel shooting higher - compared to the rib. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Thank you for your post Longthorne. I think I read somewhere that you are exhibiting at the British Shooting Show 2016. I hope to get there and say hello. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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