This is a Churchill ‘Hercules’, a lovely thing.
‘Like watching a trout take a dry, there is something unique and exciting about side-by-sides. There’s the short, precise arc to snap them shut, the simple restrained elegance and clean lines. It’s that deep echo of tradition – fine wood and engraving, leather cases, baize linings, Turk’s head brushes, chopper lumps, splinter fore-ends and straight grip stocks. The quiet way some old guns simply extract rather than eject their spent cases.
Knowing that each part was filed by hand, and many were once fitted using a wisp of soot to test for perfect alignment. No alloy or synthetics, just the precise match of walnut to steel. Actions so perfectly crafted that after a century of use some will refuse to close with even a hint of tissue paper in the breech. Yet the same precision instrument can be broken down into lock, stock and barrels in just a few seconds…’
from Hunting Life – Moments of Truth
Peter P. Ryan www.faraway.co