There is no point in setting up silly and false comparisons. I’m a member of PGCA because I love Parker shotguns. They speak to me as an American. At one point in life, a Parker shotgun was out of reach. I recently used my Krieghoff to win class B singles at the VA state trap shoot. You can bet I love that exceptionally well made gun. And now, I absolutely love my Parker hammer lifter and VH, as well as my LC Smith. Though this will be my first Purdey, and hopefully not my last, I expect that I will be thrilled with it as well. These things are not exclusive.

Anyway, this is my thread and I have made the purchase so I will bring it to a close. Thank you for your input, particularly Kensale for his good counsel. I will post some pics when the gun arrives.

Until then, in the immortal words of Sir Harry Flashman, “I've been a Danish prince, a Texas slave-dealer, an Arab sheik, a Cheyenne Dog Soldier, and a Yankee navy lieutenant in my time, among other things, and none of 'em was as hard to sustain as my lifetime's impersonation of a British officer and gentleman.”