Webley & Scott in America Part I: The 20/28 Gauge Combo
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.
Gary Pyron has a surprise for you.
The Georgia sporting clays Hall of Famer has been kickin’ butt on the tournament circuit with the Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo – comprised of a pair of 32-inch barrels in 20 and 28 gauge. So what’s the big deal? The Webley & Scott combo is intended for wingshooters.
At the Georgia Sporting Clays Association tournament in February 2024, Gary took high overall score in the subgauge event with a score of 98/100 shooting the 28-gauge barrels of the Webley & Scott combo.
For 12-gauge events, though, Gary competes with the Webley & Scott All Purpose Sporting Pro. The APS Pro is designed for clays shooting.
But for subgauge, Gary turns to the Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo.
Why should you care that Gary shoots the Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo?
Because the level of consistency that Gary achieves with that shotgun clearly illustrates its capability to down quail in a flushing covey. The barrel regulation, sight plane, trigger pull and dimensions that facilitate a uniform mount should provide a successful experience in the field if Gary has done it in clays tournaments.
“I haven’t picked up a Webley & Scott that I don’t like,” Gary said. “I think they move good, handle really well and are balanced well. I think the Combo is a good addition to the line.”
Why should you care that Gary shoots the Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo?
Because the level of consistency that Gary achieves with that shotgun clearly illustrates its capability to down quail in a flushing covey. The barrel regulation, sight plane, trigger pull and dimensions that facilitate a uniform mount should provide a successful experience in the field if Gary has done it in clays tournaments.
“I haven’t picked up a Webley & Scott that I don’t like,” Gary said. “I think they move good, handle really well and are balanced well. I think the Combo is a good addition to the line.”
Webley & Scott Director of Sales, Matt Nelson, shows a quail he took at the Guitar Ranch with the Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo.
Gary’s experience with the Webley & Scott wasn’t necessarily an aberration. In February 2025, I had accompanied Matt Nelson, Webley & Scott’s Sales Director and importer of the guns into the U.S., on an extraordinary wild quail hunt at the Guitar Ranch in Spur, Texas.
Matt and I used the Combo’s different gauge barrels on that hunt, tracking quail in 37-miles-per-hour winds and temperatures with a wind shear of 19 degrees. Matt shot the 28-gauge barrels, while I tried to gain somewhat of an advantage with the 20-gauge barrels. Even with the smaller gauge, Matt kept nailing birds in the 10 coveys that were flushed of between 10 and 25 birds each (although I admittedly was less successful). Regardless, the subgauge Webley & Scott Combo clearly proved it had the chops to fill the larder in extremely challenging hunting conditions.
Webley & Scott’s 920 BC Combo with 20-gauge and 28-gauge barrels.
This generation of Webley & Scotts follows the trend by Turkish gunmakers to license the brands of venerable U.K. gunmakers including Dickinson, E.J. Churchill and Cogswell & Harrison. The Webley & Scotts are manufactured by Akdas Arms – a nearly 80-year-old concern that cut it’s teeth on rifles in the 1940s.
While many shotgun enthusiasts still disparage the quality of Turkish shotguns, in fact Turkish manufacturers have integrated modern manufacturing techniques and advanced design principles into their shotguns. This includes the widespread use of CNC machining for precision parts, and innovative designs that up the level of performance and reliability.
The Akdas Arms factory in Beyshir, Turkey.
In Turkey, shotgun makers have shifted towards high-quality materials such as lightweight alloys and advanced polymers. This improves durability while reducing overall weight, making the shotguns more comfortable to handle, as Gary would agree.
Today, Turkish manufacturers produce shotguns that rival those made by more established, mid-range brands, but generally at lower prices. With a focus on quality, performance and aesthetics at competitive prices, Turkish shotgun makers are seeing their currency on the rise.
The Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo shows what the Turkish gunmakers can do in terms of quality, affordability and modularity.
With so many barrel choices, the weight of the Webley & Scott varies, although we can start with a base weight of about 7.3 pounds for the 20 gauge with 32-inch barrels and the 28 gauge coming in at about seven pounds. You can fit the Webley & Scott combo with 28-inch, 30-inch and 32-inch barrels all of them in 20 gauge and 28 gauge.
The Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo.
Three-inch cambers fed into one-inch forcing cones, with slight overboring in the barrels, plus the barrels and chokes are steel-shot proof.
The black barrels are accompanied by two slender, field forends and five sets of flush steel-proof chokes (cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full). The muzzle-mounted bead was fluorescent red.
Rather than blueing the receiver, Akdas turned to black chrome – giving the Webley & Scott a tougher anti-corrosion finish. As you can imagine, for an MSRP of $2,499, you can’t expect much in the way of engraving. The receiver is plain, with the exception of the Webley & Scott marque in gold. It’s a good way to keep down the price while also making the gun more suitable for rugged use in the field.
Lock-up was through a well-proven underlug design. The manual-safety switch, integrated with barrel selector, resided on the black-chrome top strap.
The black chrome receiver of the Webley & Scott 920 BC Combo.
Grade 2.5 walnut proved entirely appropriate for the money, while the uniformity of the oil finish and distinctive checkering pattern spoke to the overall quality of the gun that appeared above it’s pay grade. The 14½-inch length of pull, pistol grip and an inertia trigger pull of four pounds delivered a cohesive feel when I shot sporting clays with the Combo at the Guitar Ranch. The shotgun shouldered in a controlled manner and swung with minimal effort. As you’d expect, the 28-gauge barrels made the Combo more lively and should do well when swinging to fast birds.
If you believe a 20 gauge is more than adequate on big birds like pheasants, what the Webley & Scott 920BC Combo offers is a very affordable all-around shotgun in the field that you can trust to do the job – even on sporting clays as Gary would testify.
Irwin Greenstein is the publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him on the Shotgun Life Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/shotgunlife
Useful resources:
Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.
Comments