Kimber Valier: a classy SxS shotgun

Guns Magazine, June, 2005 by Charles E. Petty

Many years ago on my first trip to London, one objective was to visit one or more of the shops of the fine gunmakers. I had always admired the classic British double gun and wanted, someday, to own one. So on a rainy March morning I entered the shop of Holland & Holland. The walls were lined with riches. I wandered slowly, touching nothing, and in a few minutes a very proper spit-shined man--dressed as the movies portray the proper English butler--approached me. Perhaps it was because my mac was from Bean not Barbour or that I arrived in a taxi instead of a Bentley or perhaps my dulcet southern accent gave me away but his words sting as much today as they did in 1984. "We have nothing for you," and I could tell that it was a struggle for him to add, "sir."

I bet you can guess how deeply hell will be frozen over before I darken that door again. Of course there are other fine makers who could have met my wants but the desire was gone. Now along comes Kimber with a truly classic side-by-side game gun. It's a 20 gauge with a sleek straight stock of stunning Turkish walnut and real detachable seven-pin sidelocks. Side-by shotguns have three basic types of firing mechanism: boxlock--the most common--boxlock with detachable side plates and hand-detachable sidelocks, the tweediest of all. A boxlock has the firing mechanism entirely within the stock and is often covered by wood. Detachable side plates provide a nice surface for embellishment but have no other function save to cover stuff. A true sidelock has all of the lockwork including the sear, hammer and springs on a plate that can be removed for cleaning, usually with a single screw.

I'm sure the boss didn't know about that long ago experience but he did know about my passion for the type of hunting best suited for this gun--bobwhite quail. That is the only type of hunting that will make me drop everything and hit the road. I am very much my grandfather's boy, for I inherited a love of cornfields and bird dogs that is his greatest gift to me. The location was Buck Ridge Plantation just outside of Orangeburg, South Carolina. They have 8,000 acres full of deer, turkeys, pheasant and, of course, Mr. Bobwhite. On a sunny morning a pair of pointers named Ergal and Babe joined a Brittany named Mack and guide Ben Dempsey to take me out to fulfill my appointed task. We hit the field shortly alter 8:00 in the morning and in a few minutes Babe froze in the classic style of the pointer. Both guys honored her point. We walked up and two birds erupted from the sorghum patch. They went in opposite directions. I swung hard right and the gun went off when things looked good. Sure enough the first shot dusted a plump cockbird at about 20 yards. I'd love to say that I never missed, and anybody who has ever watched quail fly would know I was lying, but the gun handled beautifully and came up to my eye as if it had been custom fitted. The day had far more hits than misses and the Kimber carried effortlessly as we trudged up and down Buckridge's carefully prepared food plots. Ergal the pointer was only a year old and he moved with a stylish grace that heralds the beginning of a great bird dog.

Classic sidelock guns almost always have double triggers and offer barrel selection by the one you use first. The rear trigger fires the left barrel, which is almost always the one with the most open choke, in this case improved cylinder. The front trigger is articulated to move forward a little when the gun recoils and then you move your finger forward for the right modified barrel. To maintain the classic lines and light weight the Valier dispenses with screw-in chokes. You may have any choke you wish as long as it is improved or modified.

The guns are made in Huglu, Turkey, in a small town that follows the guild tradition of gunmaking as established in Ferlach, Austria, Liege, Belgium or the Eibar region of Spain. Turkey produces some truly spectacular wood and they have a long history of gunmaking as well.

In a way, shooting this gun is just a bonus because you really can spend lots of time just looking at it. There is much to see. The fit of wood to metal is precise and this is especially difficult with a sidelock gun where one portion of the lock must fit the receiver while the back is supported only by walnut. A single long screw topped with a blued lever goes from left to right but you can take it all the way out and the locks won't budge. With the screw loose though you can gently push on it and move the fight lock enough to lift it out. The first time I did this--and I really knew what to expect--was still a dazzling sight. The inside is every bit as well finished as the out. The entire plate is jeweled and the lockwork polished in the white. Only the hammer has a lustrous nitre blue finish. Once more the precision is plain to see.

It is hard to say which is more appealing. The case hardened receiver has delicate scroll engraving that almost covers it and the rust blued barrels have the deep lustre you see only after many cycles of rust and rub with fine steel wool. But the stock simply screams, "Look at me. I am beautiful!" It is, too. Turkish walnut has that gorgeous range of color from a very pale tan right up to pitch black and no two pieces ever seem to be alike. Kimber is using only Grade IV blanks but even so they show a diversity of figure and color that makes me drool. They receive 30 coats of hand rubbed oil that take days and days to apply. Instead of a pad, the butt is simply checkered. It comes to my shoulder smoothly and does not slip. Sadly, the stock is the only place to find a small gripe. The checkering has a few incomplete diamonds you can see only if you look hard. I almost feel guilty mentioning it.