If not a record, then very close
by Terry Wieland
Gun auctions always produce their share of surprises, and Rock Island’s premier auction (the second of the year), held last week in its new facility near Dallas, was no exception.
There were several jewels on offer, including a revolver and badge belonging to Sheriff Pat Garrett, and a pre-64 Model 70 engraved by A.G. Ulrich, but two guns were of particular interest to me: An “A. Galazan”-model 28-gauge over/under from Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company (CSMC), and a Boss 28-gauge over/under with two sets of barrels.
Not that I was likely to bid on either one: The Boss was expected to bring $100,000 or more, and the Galazan in the neighborhood of $30,000-$40,000. No, my reason for driving 675 miles and braving the horrible mishmash of freeways, highways, and die-ways known as the MetroMess, north of Dallas-Fort Worth, was the rare opportunity to see and handle a wide variety of 28-gauge over/unders, all in one place, all at one time.
The list included five Perazzis — one two-gun set and three individual guns, all with multiple barrel sets — and a lesser Italian make which I choose not to identify, as well as the Boss and Galazan. There were also two Parker side-by-sides (an original and a reproduction). The Parkers did not enter into it beyond idle curiosity, but I mention them to show the depth of the 28 gauges on offer.
What I was interested in was how each gun felt as a gun for actual hunting and shooting. My feeling is that a 28 can be fantastic, but only if it has long enough barrels and adequate heft to swing solidly. Too many 28s, especially those from the last century, are too light, with barrels too short. They feel more like toys than guns and, in my case, are impossible to shoot and actually hit anything.
As well as lifting and swinging them myself, I also lurked nearby and watched how other people reacted when they picked one up, opened and closed it, raised to their shoulders, and swung on a hanging light or poster on the wall.
To a man — they were all men — the Boss was regarded with near religious reverence, and rightly so: The workmanship was absolutely exquisite. But there were a few questions. The gun was built in the early 1920s with 28-inch barrels, and weighs 4 lbs., 15 oz. In the 1990s, the then-owner had a second set of barrels made. These were only 24 inches long. Given that a set of Boss barrels back then was still probably $30,000, one has to wonder.
I didn’t try fitting those barrels to the gun, but I didn’t need to. Even with the original, longer, barrels, the gun was far too light for me. Mechanically and stylistically it was a marvel, and I might have looked great carrying it, but I wouldn’t have hit much.
The Galazan, which is the highest model available from Tony Galazan’s Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company, was something else again. It was built on a 28-gauge frame with 29-inch barrels, and weighed 6 lbs., 1 oz. As a gun for shooting and hitting anything, it was undoubtedly the best of the bunch — the Man o’ War, so to speak.
In appearance, the Galazan closely resembled a classic Boss, with a rounded frame, extended forend iron (which enhances an over/under’s graceful looks immeasurably) and Boss-style engraving. Tony Galazan is an unapologetic admirer of both Boss engineering and the Boss aesthetic, as am I, although in Tony’s case it counts for more.
The five Perazzis may have been intended as game guns, but with their sharply curved pistol grips and hefty forends they felt to me like guns primarily intended for clays and such, where you pre-mount the gun.
I did not do a formal poll of the guys who picked up the Galazan, but no one had a bad word to say and the usual response was that it felt “fantastic.”
When the guns went on the block, the Boss went high: The bidding started around $85,000 and ended with a realized price (hammer price plus buyer’s premium) of an extraordinary $164,500! This was considerably more than the high estimate, and if it is not a record, it must be close to it.
The Galazan brought $26,438 — slightly less than the low estimate. The Perazzis with their multi-barrel sets all sold in the thirty thousands, and the two-gun pair for $41,000.
What does this tell us? Well, name recognition counts for a lot, and no name is more recognizable in over/unders than Boss & Co. As for Perazzi, its triumphs in Olympic competition a generation ago made it the gun to beat. Everyone who shoots clays has heard of Perazzi.
CSMC had several guns in the auction, including another “A. Galazan” in 20 gauge that made my mouth water almost as much as the 28. Galazans are all made in the United States, they are sidelocks, and Michael McIntosh described the model as “unquestionably the finest shotgun ever made in the U.S.” You can order one new from CSMC with a price starting around $60,000, which suggests that when you spot one in an auction, there is a potential bargain of major proportions in the offing.
My feeling is that if more people picked one up, examined it closely and hefted it, the bidding would be very lively indeed.
Boss & Co. don’t quote prices to the hoi polloi, but Wieland suspects ordering a new 28-gauge Boss would likely set you back a quarter million. More than he has to spend, anyway.
