Suits you, sir

Forget love at first sight, buying a new gun should be a slow process, says Tom Payne

- Tom Payne

It always amazes me how many people are seduced by the aesthetic of a gun before they’ve even analyzed how well it’s built and given some serious thought to how it handles.

I suppose, in many ways, that’s the point. We all like pretty things, it’s simply human nature, so if a manufacturer can churn out well-figured stocks and laser up some pretty engraving, a potential customer decides to buy at first glance. It’s love at first sight and no matter what you do your mind will allow that gun to feel and handle perfectly for you while you’re in the shop and even for the first couple of outings. It’s a condition I like to call ‘new gun syndrome’. You have no hang-ups with the gun so you shoot with a clear mind. Then suddenly the wheels fall off and your shooting is doomed because the gun was never right for you in the first place, no matter how pretty it is.

In truth, we’ve perhaps all been guilty of falling for a pretty but inappropriate gun at some point and the reality is that, in doing so, we’ve got it all the wrong way round. Aesthetics should be the icing on the cake, not the starting point.