Purdey 20-bore Trigger Plate

James Purdey & Sons is to shotguns what Stradivarius is to violins and Rolls-Royce is to luxury cars. Even if you know nothing about shooting you will have heard of Purdey, such is its reputation. You couldn’t be blamed for thinking this quintessential gunmaker would rest on its laurels and be thoroughly traditional. I certainly did, but in recent years the London gunmaker has brought out various innovative shotguns, such as the Trigger Plate over-and-under. Traditionalists might have thought Purdey would be more at home with sideplate side-by-side game guns, but no, this well-established gunmaker is still at the forefront of shooting technology. So can the latest version of the Trigger Plate – tested here for the first time in 20-bore – live up to my expectations?

Prototype

I was given the honour of being only the second person in the UK to shoot the prototype of the new Trigger Plate