James Purdey the Younger was determined to create the best gun — something that couldn’t be bettered. In 1879, Frederick Beesley, a former Purdey stocker, invented a self-opening system that used the residual energy of the mainspring to open the gun. The system was developed and patented with our assistance the following year. Our Side-by-Side hammerless guns and rifles have been built on the Beesley self-opening system ever since. This system proved a great success for us. So much so that by the late nineteenth century, every crowned head of Europe had become a customer of James Purdey & Sons. James Purdey the Younger was determined to create the best gun — something that couldn’t be bettered. In 1879, Frederick Beesley, a former Purdey stocker, invented a self-opening system that used the residual energy of the mainspring to open the gun. The system was developed and patented with our assistance the following year. Our Side-by-Side hammerless guns and rifles have been built on the Beesley self-opening system ever since.
