Book Description

The best hunting guns hold a unique place in the pantheon of sporting equipment. Objects of great beauty, agents of immense force, these rifles conjure images of wild safari runs, upland game hunts, and still mornings spent huddled behind a duck blind, accompanied only by a trusted retriever. Highly prized by hunter and non-hunter alike, the great guns and their storied past are explored fully in this enthusiastic, colorful survey. Combining the lore of the hunt with exquisite historical images, Legendary Sporting Guns offers a double-barreled approach to the subject. A thorough, anecdotal opening text relates the long saga behind the creation and refinement of these arms as well as many rich stories of their use in the field, from the moors of France to the expansive veldts of Africa. Then a brand-by-brand catalog examines the finer points of the most exquisite guns in use today, providing specifications on action, barrel, engraving, weight, stock, and caliber (or gauge), along with illustrations featuring both the complete gun in profile and a detailed view of its action. In tracing the international odyssey of the gun -- from the historic manufacturing centers of Liège, Birmingham, and Saint-Etienne to the unparalleled gun makers Purdey, Holland and Holland, Francotte, and Lebeau-Courally -- Legendary Sporting Guns also tells the story of hunting itself.