The Proper Balance Of A Sporting Gun

An unusual item discovered in the Long Room at James Purdey & Sons demonstrates not only gun balance but the firm’s professionalism

- Donald Dallas

How many times have you picked up a gun and thought, “I could really shoot with this – it feels just right.” Whenever you throw a gun up to your shoulder and it feels just right, you have confidence in it instantly and, my goodness, most of us need all the help we can get when shooting. On the other hand, some guns feel like lumps of lead, uncomfortable and not fit for purpose.

Although a great deal of this ‘feel’ is to do with factors such as stock dimensions, the main reason for a gun feeling instinctively ‘right’ is down to gun balance. How often have fellow sportsmen mentioned that their guns are an extension of themselves, instilling confidence, and for the most part this is down to gun balance. Even when standing on the peg there is a certain amount of pleasure derived from just holding a gun that has good balance whilst waiting for the drive to commence.

The importance of gun balance has been well known from the beginning of the 19th century, with makers such as Manton, Egg and Nock ensuring that their muzzleloading guns, often with widely different lengths of barrels, balanced correctly. This was one factor in establishing the English sporting gun as the standard for others to follow. In some of these old guns a distinct rattle in the stock can be heard due to the lead that was inserted in a cavity in the butt to ensure good balance.

DISTANCE FROM BREECH