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Denton & kennel myth?


steve s×s
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Hi everyone, hope your getting the rain,a little while ago there was a post on here i think about D&Ks being made from inferior (soft) metal,if this is true why do they command such a good price compared to most other sxs am i missing something or is someone talking Carp,iam a bit bias i have 2 and can't fault them, enlighten me. 

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As far as I knew the Denton an Kennel branded guns were made by a number of different Spanish firms . As with the "Sable "  range in which they were competing . 

Over the time they were sold the same "model" could have come from different factories .

These were guns that were made to a price and over all externally they were reasonably well finished but they inside quality did vary and I have know problems with soft inside work .One of the biggest common  faults was the ejector kickers breaking and the problem obtaining  replacement parts .

Over all they had a mixed reputation and I would be surprised if they sell for more than other Spanish guns 

Personal opinion is that they were not as well made as the AyA ranges but "prettier " to look at and nowhere near as bomb proof as the Ugartachea's  .

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Thanks for your reply gunman,i agree with u on aya at least No 2 up but on guntrader the boxlocks start at£300 ish and sidelocks £800 up,i know these are not top range but theres a hell of a lot sxs 4 a lot less and the D&K do seem to move all be it slowly.thanks once again 

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Friend of mine had a sidelock.  It was reliable enough, but had a 'poor' feel to it compared to an AyA (even the Yeoman I had then was smoother and had better trigger pulls).  I'm certain different D&K models were made by different (all Spanish I believe) makers.  I am surprised that they have a premium price, because most people in the trade I have spoken to don't rate them as well as say AyA, Ugartechea or Arrietta.

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I'm not sure how long Denton & Kennel were around, but they advertised heavily (shooting press) and were based in Somerset I think.  I think the reason some were 'better than others' is that they were made by different makers to different price points.  Spanish gunmaking pre about 1980 was lots of small companies making a whole range of guns from cheap and basic to quite high spec.  The cheapest were very basic, and the most expensive really quite fine.  Some sold under their own names (AyA), but many (Ignacio Ugartechea, Arrietta, Sabel) also made for others to 'name', for example most Parker Hale guns were Ignacio Ugartechea, Gunmark used Sabel a lot, Powell used Arrietta for some of their 'heritage series'. 

In circa 1980, the Spanish government 'arranged a big amalgamation' of the small firms into a sort of cooperative called Diarm, which failed circa 1987.  A few companies didn't join, but many including AyA did.  When it failed, some of the old names were taken on again by the old families (the AyA name was taken back by the Aranzabal family) and business continued as a much smaller company, but with much smaller capacity.  All of the Spanish makers have been having a hard time with competition from Turkey etc.

As to why Denton and Kennel fetch firm prices compared to AyA, I can only think you are right in that there are a LOT of AyA's around, as AyA have always enjoyed a very sound reputation.  As for the 'soft metal' story, I have heard it repeated many times, but my own experience of Spanish guns (limited to AyA and Union Armeria (Grulla)) has been that there have been no problems for me.

There are some old threads about this

 

 

Edited by JohnfromUK
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4 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, looking on gun trader even the D and K  boxlocks are priced at £350 to £500, 2 side locks at £500 plus,  yet my Victor S 6 EC has had no interest at £350

What theyre asking and what they,ll sell for may be two different things!

Victor Sarasquetas are very undervalued at the moment and are good guns to shoot.

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16 minutes ago, matone said:

What theyre asking and what they,ll sell for may be two different things!

Victor Sarasquetas are very undervalued at the moment and are good guns to shoot.

hello, yes i agree on that, i might see if the RFD i go to can sell around September, as he had a VS boxlock at £350 and sold, mine has been serviced as well, , i just do not use now, as prefer my newley purchased O/U franchi, falconet,    

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