The best English cases of long ago were made by Robert Bryant, a London leather company, and they show astonishing durability. The leather is such high quality that, if properly cared for, it lasts indefinitely, and can often be restored to life even when it looks unsalvageable. Later, cheaper ones, such as the canvas Brady cases, are not nearly so durable, and many a fine gun in a tattered Brady case has been rehoused in a new case by such craftsmen as Marvin Huey and the late Jim Wear.
Kade Gile’s work on two vintage (circa 1890) Bryant cases. They needed new handles and straps, and in one case, leather reinforcement at both ends. The new work blends with the original like gin and tonic.
When I buy a good gun that is without a case, I usually try to find a Bryant that can be adapted to it. These float around in surprising numbers, and can be found on eBay and various websites, or at auctions. I suspect they get separated from their original occupants because the owner has stored the gun or rifle, assembled, in a vault or upright rack. When he dies (it’s always a ‘he’) the heirs either forget the case or don’t know about it, and sell the gun separately.
Kade Gile is a craftsman in Kansas, an associate of Marvin Huey, who specializes in restoring old leather. He can put on new corners where the case is worn, make new straps, new handles, refurbish the interior, and so on. Naturally, he’s overworked and has long waiting times—what fine craftsman isn’t, these days?—but if you are rehousing a Purdey, well, it’s worth the wait.
Another approach is to buy a new old-style case. Tony Galazan’s Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company has sold wood and leather trunk-style cases for the last 20 or 30 years. I have two of them—one housing my precious E.M. Reilly with its two sets of barrels, and the other my H.J. Hussey pigeon gun. Checking Tony’s website (www.connecticutshotgun.com) I found he offers quite a range of cases for full-length guns and rifles, two-gun sets, and so on, ranging in price from $750 to $1500. If you have a lovely old Purdey, Parker, Fox, Scott—well, any nice gun at all—I can’t think of a much better investment than a good, sturdy, long-lasting case.
For that matter, even new guns from reputable makers will benefit. I was told some years ago that the plastic cases with the plush-looking interiors, which are now ubiquitous, cost the gunmaker about $2.50 apiece. That is not a misprint: two dollars and fifty cents. I can’t testify as to their longevity. They haven’t been around long enough. But I suspect the parts that break soonest will be the hinges and locks, and those will be impossible to repair.
Do yourself and your gun a favor and get it a proper case. It will thank you, and so will its future owners. And even an old Iver Johnson can look up from its case at a homeless Purdey and say, “Yeah, but I look good!”
Gray’s shooting editor, Terry Wieland, after a career of rescuing nice—and some not so nice—guns, finds the job never seems complete until the gun is nestling contentedly in a good case.
