This One Time:
One time, somewhere back in the long-lost mists of time (probably 1978 or 1979), I was doing some shooting on the rifle range in a Northeast Iowa county park that offered, as rural county parks did in those days, a shooting range. This range had one station where one could set up one’s own clay-pigeon tosser and shoot clay birds; it had one pistol berm, and a 100-yard rifle range with two bench rests, set in concrete for stability, and so nobody would steal them.
I was packing up my .22 rifle, targets, and rest when another shooter pulled up. He climbed out of a shiny new Lincoln and brought a leather gun case up to the bench rest. When he opened the case and extracted his shooting iron, I was amazed.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It’s a Holland & Holland double rifle,” he said. “.500 Nitro Express. Made just for me.”
I looked the piece over. Smiling, he wordlessly handed it to me.
“Wow,” I said. “That’s amazing.” It was a work of art in blued steel and fine walnut.
“Want to shoot it?” I was a little taken aback. “Really? How much does the ammo cost, anyway?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He reached into his vest and produced two big, brass rounds. They looked like torpedoes. “Try a left and right.”
We set up a target, and I loaded the rounds, dropping them in each chamber with a soft plunk. What I didn’t understand was that the anonymous shooter was about 5’6”, whereas I’m 6’1”, and the rifle stock was tailored to him, so that when I fired the first barrel, the recoil drove my firing-side thumb right into my nose. I (awkwardly) moved my thumb over to the right side of the stock and fired again.
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What fun. I’ve never forgotten that, especially since that anonymous guy was willing to let some random teenager take two shots in a rifle that, today, the ammo would probably run around $100 a pop.
That was my first experience with Holland & Holland, the master London Gunmakers.
The Gunmakers
Holland & Holland was founded by one Harris Holland, way back in 1835. He had previously owned a tobacco wholesale business, but was a regular figure in London clubs, attending live pigeon shoots and grouse shoots on the moors of Yorkshire. In 1861, the childless Holland took on his nephew, Henry Holland, and changed the name of the firm to Holland & Holland.
Holland & Holland’s first guns were reportedly built to Harris Holland’s specification by third parties, but the company started its own manufacturing operation sometime in the 1850s. The company went on to obtain patents on some innovative features, such as a quick-detachable sidelock for their side-by-side guns, as well as an assisted-opening device.
Holland & Holland quickly became a synonym for fine guns. And by fine, I mean fine, in multiple thousands of pounds per copy. Holland & Holland could and would measure a shooter as though he were being fitted for a Savile Row suit, as I noted earlier, and then build your rifle or shotgun to fit you perfectly.
Harris Holland passed away in 1896.
It was after World War 2 that the company’s new Managing Director, one Malcolm Lyell, made some trips to India, bringing back with him guns from the collections of various princes and maharajas, launching the company into a high-end, used gun business. Then, in 1989, the company was bought lock, stock, and barrel (hah) by the French company Chanel. And, finally, in 2021, Holland & Holland was bought by the Beretta Holding Group, which owns it today.
The company now has a gun room in Dallas and a London store on Bruton Street.
The GunsHolland & Holland guns are still produced today in the factory on 906 Harrow Road, London. And, oh my, are they something. The company describes their guns as “Revealed, not made,” and they may well be right. These aren’t mass-produced guns. These are hand-made pieces, assembled and completed by Holland & Holland master gunsmiths.
Holland & Holland’s shotgun lineup consists of four models:
- The “Royal” side by side
- The “Royal” over & under
- The “Noble” over & under
- The “Paradox” side by side.
Of their rifles, there are two:
- The “Royal” double rifle
- The Bolt Action rifle
The Double Rifle is the one that always catches my interest. About that arm, Holland & Holland says:
Where the game is close and the perfect shot counts, the ‘Royal' Double Rifle is the best in the world.
Their bolt rifle is downright interesting as well. It’s a large-ring magnum Mauser action, with quick-detachable scope mounts and some of the finest walnut you’ll find on a rifle. About those, Holland & Holland says:
The rugged and reliable bolt action and box magazine have served dependably in the harshest hunting conditions for generations. Our patented quick-detachable mount allows a telescopic sight to be removed and refitted in seconds without the need to re-zero. The result is a rifle that delivers timeless looks with performance you can rely on.
Aside from the one I already described, I’ve handled precisely one Holland & Holland rifle. At some point in the mid-‘90s – I don’t recall precisely what year – my wife and I were in Las Vegas, where I was attending a conference, and learned that the National Gun Collectors Show was there. We went in to nose around – and there was the Holland & Holland table, staffed by two polite, tweedy, well-dressed and very, very British gentlemen. The centerpiece of their table was a Royal Double Rifle in the booming .700 Nitro Express. The cartridges – they only had dummy rounds, but even so – looked like bigger brass torpedoes. When I asked if I could pick up the gun, the answer was “By all means, my good chap” or something British like that.
The gun must have weighed 16 pounds. But, beautiful! A work of art in engraved, blued steel and walnut, you could fall in love with.
Then I looked at the price tag and at all the zeroes. I looked at my wife. I looked again at the price tag. Then I looked back at my wife, who was shaking her head. I put the gun down.
The Price – Oh My, the Price!
Here’s the fun part: A Holland & Holland’s price, depending on what all you’re buying, can run into the mid-six figures. That’s a lot of money, be it in dollars, pounds, quid, or whatever passes for currency in the United Kingdom these days. Of course, in return, you’re getting a one-of-a-kind rifle or shotgun from a legendary company.
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If I’m paying that much for a rifle, then while I’m waiting, the company should have me escorted to a fine English drawing-room, where I can enjoy fine whiskey and cigars while Elizabeth Hurley reads Shakespeare to me. But then, I haven’t thought of a way to spend that much money on a rifle without my wife immediately being on the phone to a divorce lawyer, so I guess it’s not an option. Besides, I’m kind of used to having her around after the last 34 years.
So, my gun safe will remain Holland & Holland-free. But a man can dream.
