| Joe Graziano |
12-22-2023 01:56 AM |
Over the past 18 months, I’ve gotten a fairly good feel for the British gun market. I’ve attended a few Holt’s auctions in person and have bought a couple guns at auction. First, the cost to import a gun from the UK to the U.S. has come down considerably. This is mostly due to Holt’s working with a new importer. They sell a huge number of guns to American clients. In the auctions I have attended, I’ve seen several old guns, particularly Purdey’s, go for absurd prices, usually to buyers bidding by phone or online. One can assume most of these are Americans. One particular Purdey was shown to me at a shooting ground before it went to auction. It was thoroughly worn. I considered offering the owner £1500 but decided to pass as it would have likely been a money pit. That same gun sold for £3500 plus commission. That’s nearly $5800 before import fees. I thought, someone is going to be very disappointed when that Purdey finally arrives. You can get amazing deals by buying at auction in the UK. And as I mentioned, the import costs have come way down, thanks to Holt’s. Personally, I would only buy from Holt’s and only after attending in person. Or, have a friend or pay an agent to inspect the gun in person. Or, go to the auction! Seriously, if you are going to lay out serious money for a dream gun, hop on the plane and fly to the UK. Attending in person is huge fun and quite exciting. Plus, you can spend hours and hours viewing and handling the finest guns in the world, asking questions and chatting with the incredibly knowledgeable and personable Nick Holt. I wound up buying a Rigby from Holt’s at about 1/3 of what I would have paid in the US. But I spent hours in the gun room pouring over every gun of interest, taking notes and setting personal bid limits for each. In the end, I got an awesome gun at a great price. It wasn’t easy and took a bit of luck in terms of other bidders. Always remember, you are bidding against extremely knowledgeable collectors and other retailers in the British trade. They aren’t sitting at home looking at pics and bidding by laptop. They come in person or have an employee or trusted friend view them in person.
Another great option, as Ed mentioned, is the Southern SxS. Francis Lovell ?owner of Atkin, Grant &Lang), Edward Martin, Diggory Hadoke and others attend each year. Francis moves a heck of a lot of guns at the Southern. All are very reputable. They can source a gun for you and bring it with them. These will generally be antiques, 1898 or older, to avoid ATF Form 6 paperwork. Or, just go to the Southern and see what they’ve brought with them for sale. From what I saw this year, there were some great deals, particularly from AG&L.
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