In 1995, during a visit to Holland & Holland in London, I experienced what proved to be a life-changing event: I handled, for the first time, a Boss & Co. game gun from 1910.

The Boss was one of a matched pair of guns for sale in Holland’s show room in Bruton Street. I never had the opportunity to shoot the guns, but I never forgot them. More to the point, I never forgot how they felt, and that lurking memory has provided a comparison for every shotgun I have since held in my hands.

The Boss in question was a side-by-side, and we should note right now that during its century and a half of existence, Boss has made many more side-by-sides than it ever made over/unders; for that matter, it made many more conventional side-by-sides than the renowned “rounded-action” gun that causes fits of uncontrollable drooling among the cognoscenti. Altogether, Boss made fewer than 300 round actions, yet they are truly legendary.

To read the rest of the story go to www.thecontemporarywingshooter.com