Boss & Co. 20 Bore Boxlock

I have wanted to own a fine English shotgun for many years.  I have always regarded them as fine, functional works of art and I enjoy reading about the history of bespoke English gun makers.  “The best English shotguns where not mass produced, instead they endured as mechanical art form.” – Cyril Adams, Lock Stock & Barrel.

I had been on the lookout for a 20-bore gun for quail hunting in the South.  Vintage English double guns in 20 bore with long barrels and a LOP of over 15 inches are hard to come by.  I feel very fortunate to have found a beautiful example of a fine English gun in 20 Bore, with 30-inch barrels and a 15 1/8 LOP and a right hand cast off.  Not only did this shotgun have the desired dimensions, it also has an interesting story. 

My English 20 bore started out as a box lock ejector pigeon gun in 16 bore by Boss & Co. at their Albemarle Street, London location in 1937.  Cyril Adams, the author of Lock Stock & Barrel, ended up with it and had it sleeved by Ron Johnson, a well-respected barrel maker in the U.K. and proofed it in 2013 with 30-inch 20 bore barrels and topped by a flat cross hatched pigeon style rib.  The 30-inch nitro steel barrels were proofed for 2 ¾ shotshells.  I did some research on Ron Johnson and found out that he and his son Matt were fifth and sixth generation barrels makers and their business was a bulwark of British gun making.  Ron had received the “Wonderful Company of Gunmakers” award for lifetime achievement in Gun making.  The Johnson’s have had direct descendants in the gun making business back to Edward Johnson, back in 1823.  His grandfather was born in Birmingham and came to London with his father to work at Holland & Holland.   

My English gun is engraved with the name of John Robertson.  It was made by Boss & Co, which is London’s oldest gunmaker and they have been making fine, bespoke guns for over 200 years.  To this day it continues to be privately owned and is known as London’s finest gun maker.  John Robertson came to the company in 1890 as a half partner and one year later his partner died, and he bought the other half of the company from his partner’s estate in 1893 to become the sole owner of Boss & Company. The Robertson era of the company that lasted multiple generations for over 100 years and was, to date, probably the most important period in the history of the company.

In addition to being able to acquire a fine vintage English gun, this piece also came with a period leather case with a nice patina and accessories to include a two-piece mahogany cleaning rod, snap caps and an oil bottle. 

I have taken this gun out to the sporting clays course now and put about 500 rounds through it.  If fits me so well you would think it was a custom fitted gun and it shoots beautifully.  It has double triggers, an English straight French mahogany stock and ejectors.  I cannot wait until the fall when I will be able to take it to the field with my dogs and shoot birds.

In summary, having an English gun like this is a treasure to someone who can truly appreciate what it is.  I especially like this gun because is has a nice story that includes many respected people in the British gun making history to include John Robertson, Ron Johnson and Cyril Adams and because it was made by Boss & Co which was London’s oldest bespoke gun maker and makers of only the “best guns.”