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The world’s finest shotguns: 11 top-tier guns from Purdey to Perazzi, and what they cost
Fieldsports Journal’s guide to 11 of the finest shotguns built today, from a Purdey sidelock priced from £249,600 to a Mossberg pump from £890, read for the keeper, the shoot owner and the farmer who shoots: what the top of the market looks like, and how much of it is British
The finest shotguns in the world are built by hand, to the highest standards, and priced accordingly, and Fieldsports Journal’s guide to 11 of them runs from that tier down to a production pump-action: from Purdey’s Damascus model sidelock at £249,600 down to an £890 Mossberg pump-action, taking in Holland & Holland, Westley Richards, John Rigby & Co., Karl Hauptmann, Beretta, Perazzi, Rizzini, Caesar Guerini and Fabarm along the way. For the keeper, the shoot owner and the farmer who shoots, the interest is less in owning one than in knowing the market: the best of these are the guns that arrive on the pegs of the shoots they run, and the London and Birmingham houses that build the best of them are as much a part of the countryside’s working economy as the ground their customers shoot over.
The 11 guns are the Fieldsports Journal team’s selection rather than the results of a test. Each is listed with its price and its maker or UK distributor. Prices are those supplied at the time of publication and may since have changed; note that some are quoted inclusive of VAT and some exclusive.
The spread says something about where shooting’s money sits in 2026. Four of the 11 are British best guns, from Purdey, Holland & Holland, Westley Richards and John Rigby & Co., priced from £137,310 to £249,600 or on application. One is an Austrian three-barrelled .410 from Karl Hauptmann at €120,000. Five are Italian, from Beretta, Perazzi, Rizzini, Caesar Guerini and Fabarm, between £5,950 and £19,181, and the eleventh is an American pump-action from Mossberg at £890. Five are over-and-unders, four are side-by-sides, one is a pump-action, and the Hauptmann sets its three barrels side by side.
Bespoke Best guns from Purdey, Holland & Holland, Westley Richards, Rigby and Hauptmann
Purdey The Damascus model Sidelock s/s
A side-by-side sidelock from Purdey, the London house whose name still stands for the best gun in most shooting conversations.
RRP: From £249,600 inc VAT
Holland & Holland Royal Over & Under
An over-and-under from Holland & Holland, the only bespoke over-and-under among the five best guns in the guide.
RRP: From £175,000 exc VAT
Westley Richards Hand-detachable lock shotgun
A side-by-side from Westley Richards, the Birmingham maker, built to order and quoted to the customer’s specification.
RRP: POA
John Rigby & Co. The Rigby Rising Bite shotgun
A side-by-side from John Rigby & Co., and the only one of the four British best guns listed at a fixed figure.
RRP: £137,310 inc VAT
Karl Hauptmann Triple shotgun s/s/s .410
A three-barrelled .410 from Karl Hauptmann in Austria, the one break-action here that is neither a conventional side-by-side nor an over-and-under.
RRP: €120,000 exc VAT
That is the bespoke tier: four British houses and one Austrian, and only Rigby, of the British houses, puts a fixed figure on its gun; the Hauptmann is a flat €120,000 before VAT. Purdey and Holland & Holland price from a starting point, Westley Richards quotes on application, and on those three the final bill is decided by the specification the customer chooses. For the working professional the practical point is the gap: on the published figures, a British best gun from this tier costs between roughly seven and more than 40 times the Italian guns beside it in the list, and the British four are carried to the same peg to shoot the same bird.
Over-and-unders, side-by-sides and a pump-action from £890 to £19,181
Beretta DT11 EELL
An over-and-under from Beretta, the top of the Italian tier in this guide.
RRP: £19,181 inc VAT
Perazzi High Tech Game
An over-and-under from Perazzi, listed through Perazzi UK.
RRP: From £13,273 inc VAT
Rizzini BR552 ‘de Luxe’ Special
A side-by-side from Rizzini, the one traditional side-by-side in the guide below five figures.
RRP: £7,866 inc VAT
Caesar Guerini Invictus ArtCo SG Specialist
An over-and-under from Caesar Guerini, one of three Italian guns here between £5,950 and £7,866.
RRP: £6,895 inc VAT
Fabarm Grade IV Sporting
An over-and-under from Fabarm, and the entry point to the over-and-unders in this guide.
RRP: £5,950 inc VAT
Mossberg 590 Mariner
A pump-action from Mossberg, the cheapest gun in the list and the only one that is not a break-action.
RRP: From £890 inc VAT
What it means on the ground is simple enough. The guns most people bring to a driven day sit in the £5,950 to £19,181 band here, from Fabarm, Caesar Guerini and Rizzini up to Perazzi and Beretta, and a keeper will see a London or Birmingham best gun on the peg far less often than the names suggest. The Mossberg at £890 belongs to a different world of practical shooting altogether. Between the two ends, this guide is a fair picture of what the shooting trade builds, imports and sells at the top of the market in 2026, and of how much of that trade is British.
Top tier shotguns at a glance
| Gun | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Purdey The Damascus model Sidelock s/s | Side-by-side sidelock | From £249,600 inc VAT |
| Holland & Holland Royal Over & Under | Over-and-under | From £175,000 exc VAT |
| Westley Richards Hand-detachable lock shotgun | Side-by-side | POA |
| John Rigby & Co. The Rigby Rising Bite shotgun | Side-by-side | £137,310 inc VAT |
| Karl Hauptmann Triple shotgun s/s/s .410 | Three-barrel .410 | €120,000 exc VAT |
| Beretta DT11 EELL | Over-and-under | £19,181 inc VAT |
| Perazzi High Tech Game | Over-and-under | From £13,273 inc VAT |
| Rizzini BR552 ‘de Luxe’ Special | Side-by-side | £7,866 inc VAT |
| Caesar Guerini Invictus ArtCo SG Specialist | Over-and-under | £6,895 inc VAT |
| Fabarm Grade IV Sporting | Over-and-under | £5,950 inc VAT |
| Mossberg 590 Mariner | Pump-action | From £890 inc VAT |
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive shotgun in this guide?
The Purdey Damascus model sidelock side-by-side, from £249,600 including VAT, followed by the Holland & Holland Royal Over & Under from £175,000 excluding VAT. The Westley Richards hand-detachable lock shotgun is price on application.
What is the least expensive shotgun in this guide?
The Mossberg 590 Mariner pump-action, from £890 including VAT, listed through vikingshoot.com. The least expensive over-and-under in the guide is the Fabarm Grade IV Sporting at £5,950 including VAT.
Which side-by-side shotguns are in the guide?
The Purdey Damascus model sidelock, the Westley Richards hand-detachable lock shotgun, the John Rigby & Co. Rising Bite and the Rizzini BR552 ‘de Luxe’ Special, plus the Karl Hauptmann triple shotgun, whose three .410 barrels sit side by side.
Do the prices include VAT?
Not all of them. Most prices are quoted inclusive of VAT, but the Holland & Holland (from £175,000) and the Karl Hauptmann (€120,000) are quoted exclusive of VAT, and the Westley Richards is price on application.
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