Webley & Scott was established in Birmingham, England in 1790. Today, like some other revered names from the Birmingham and London trades, the shotguns are  made in Turkey. Under the leadership of Matt Nelson based in Baird, Texas, Webley & Scotts have returned to the U.S. In this series, we discuss the Webley & Scotts currently available at affordable prices to American wing and clays shooters.

When Webley & Scott was founded in Birmingham, England in 1790, clays shooting seemed inconceivable. It wasn’t until the early 20^th century that Webely & Scott’s homeland would get around to introducing sporting clays to the British shooting public as a means of keeping their shooting skill sharp during the off-season.

British marques dragged their feet for hundreds of years before producing sporting shotguns. When they finally came around the shotguns cost around $100,000, locking most enthusiasts out of the market – unless they wanted to take out a second mortgage on their house. In 2019, some 200 years after its founding, Purdey introduced it’s trigger-plant over/under in both game and clays models. Holland & Holland came pretty close with its 12-gauge, trigger-plate Noble over/under unveiled in 2023. It was portrayed as an all-around sporter. 

The Webley & Scott APS Pro.

If anyone wanted to bring an affordable shotgun with British panache to the clays ranges, Turkey stepped in to fill the breach by reaching American shooters starting in the early 2000s. Turkish gunmakers started licensing the defunct brands of venerable U.K. gunmakers such as Webley & Scott, Dickinson, E.J. Churchill and Cogswell & Harrison. 

Any enthusiast who still disparages the quality of Turkish shotguns is pretty much behind the times. Turkish shotgun makers have clearly leaped into the 21^st century with the adoption of advanced digital manufacturing that has paid dividends in increased reliability and better fit and finish – with prices that most of could afford. 

Now Webley & Scott is back in the U.S. with their Turkish-made All Purpose Pro (APS) Pro and its cousin the All Purpose Monte Carlo Pro (APM) priced at $1,799 (the APM designation refers to the Monte Carlo stock.). The shotguns are priced approximately $700 less than the $2,500 you would pay for a new, entry-level, clays over/under from an American or European manufacturer. For cost-conscious clays shooters, that price difference can buy you about 20 four-packs of 12-gauge Winchester Universal shells at Walmart. 

Webley & Scott’s APM/Pro with its Monte Carlo stock.

The Webley & Scotts are manufactured by Akdas Arms – a nearly 80-year-old  concern that cut it’s teeth on rifles in the 1940s. And for those of you who still believe that Turkish shotguns are inferior because of their price, the Webley & Scotts are backed by a five-year warranty. 

For starters, Webley & Scott’s APS Pro/APM Pro comes with a single, inertia selective trigger that smoothly breaks at 3½ pounds. Aesthetically, the receiver features polished half panels with the matte silver accents.

The appearance of the Webley & Scott APS Pro belies its affordability.

You can choose 30-inch or 32-inch barrels that have a 10mm vented mid-rib and Hi-Vis fiber-optic bead at the muzzle. The barrels, chambered at 2¾-inches, are steel-proofed as are the five color-banded extended chokes.

Made from Grade 2 Turkish walnut, the stocks of  APS Pro/APM Pro have adjustable combs. Also, since the stocks have a palm swell, it’s important to know that both versions are available for lefties and righties.

I shot the shotguns on the sporting clays course of the Guitar Ranch in Spur, Texas. Both shotguns were equipped with 32-inch barrels. 

The target presentations, mostly for intermediate shooters, played off well the South Plains landscape of arid gentle slopes and flat prairie.

The receiver of the APS Pro is shared by the Monte Carlo stocked APM Pro.

Lifting the guns off the rack, I was immediately surprised by the heft associated with higher priced over/unders. Given the price of the APS Pro/APM Pro, you expect a shotgun that feels flighty and flimsy. By contrast, the weight and balance of the approximate nine-pound shotguns suggested that they were made for the earnest weekend warrior who could feel the difference between a serious clays crusher and one that’s aspirational. 

The shotguns fit well and felt controllable. The balance was a bit muzzle heavy and for some folks that’s OK. For low-gun sports like sporting clays and FITASC, it’s best to keep up the Webley & Scotts as high in the arm pit as possible before shouldering them to get an early start on the swing by maximizing the momentum to the target. Once shouldered, the shotguns felt quite intuitive.

The triggers had a bit of travel, but nothing extraordinary for a Turkish shotgun. In both models, there was virtually zero felt recoil, although the APM Pro snugged up to the face more comfortably than the APS Pro. The recoil management is particularly important to reduce fatigue in high-volume tournaments or just shooting all day with your friends.

Overall, for $1,799 the APS Pro/APM Pro deliver a high level of competency for the money. And to take it a step further, both shotguns clearly illustrate the advancements in quality and performance for competitively priced Turkish shotguns.

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

Important resources:

The Webley & Scott web site

Webley & Scott in America Part I

Irwin Greenstein

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

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