Written by Irwin Greenstein | Photos by Marc Murphy

If you were the managing director of the Harris & Sheldon Group on Regent Street in London during the 1970s, you were probably suffering from financial heart burn directly related to your acquisition of the stalwart Birmingham gunmaker, Webley & Scott.

Yes, you were quite pleased with the other companies in your diversified portfolio that churned out office furniture, fishing tackle, luggage and consumer goods. But the 1970s saw an international influx of new-generation competitors to the British trade such as Beretta, AyA, Miroku, SKB and Browning who sold superior mid-market sporting guns at lower prices. For a an old-guard Brit who enjoyed a few gin and tonics over lunch at the club, it may have been a bitter pill to swallow. The U.S., Europe and Japan were leapfrogging British manufacturing by capitalizing on post-war industrial innovation, in particular when it pertained to that Harris & Sheldon financial black eye, the 180-year-old Webley & Scott.

By the 1970s, the sporting gun world had gained momentum for the mass adoption of over/under shotguns that overshadowed the fading elegance of old-world crafted side by sides as produced in their Birmingham factory. Firmly trapped in the Victoria era, Webley & Scott, which made guns in-house, had nothing to offer the newbies. Over/unders were cheaper to produce, and gained favor with the growing number international competitive shooters who recognized advantages of handling and reliability in the stacked barrels.

Well, you know the old saying: if you can’t beat them, join them.

So Webley & Scott contacted Beretta to buy over/unders based on the Italian’s mass-produced BL series of low-profile boxlocks. Webley & Scott imported the actions and barrels in the white then stocked, engraved and private labeled them to reflect the panache of a fine British gunmaker.

Those “modern” Berettas featured selective triggers, 28-30 inch barrels, three-inch chambers, ejectors and interchangeable chokes that were available in most gauges. In Birmingham, England the shotguns were usually marketed as the Webley & Scott 900 Boxlock by Beretta, although sometimes the Beretta name didn’t appear. Regardless, Italian proof marks and date codes indicated Beretta manufacturing.

Between 1970-1978, the over/under appeared in the Webley & Scott catalog with the designations of 900, 901 and 902 – varying in higher grades of finish. They were primarily made for the British and European markets.

Records will show that about 1,350 of the Webley & Scott 900 Boxlock by Beretta were sold during that eight-year run. The shotguns were priced in the mid‑hundreds of UK pounds or about several hundred U.S. dollars. Given their limited run (and sketchy availability in the U.S.) and initial low price, these Webley & Scotts have become a little-known candidate as a sporting gun  collectible for those of us on a Pabst Blue Ribbon budget.

Marc Murphy is owner of Michael Murphy & Sons, Fine Firearms and Accessories in Augusta, Kansas, that has been in business since 1974 – coincidentally right in the middle of the production run of the Webley & Scott 900 Boxlock by Beretta.

Marc characterized the shotgun as a “Good entry level collector gun that’s fairly unknown in the U.S. I’ve seen a few over the years. It would be a great gun that you shouldn’t be afraid to shoot. Generally they’re all in very nice classic shape.”

At the time of this writing, he actually had one in inventory bearing serial number 3005xx for $999.00. Interested in becoming a collector? You can make it easy on your wallet by visiting https://www.michaelmurphyandsons.com

Irwin Greenstein is the publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him through the Shotgun Life Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/shotgunlife#