Just as you may collect fine guns you may also appreciate and/or collect vintage automobiles, fine art and unusual wines. Each of the latter has concours events, museums, societies, etc., where collectors, admirers, historians, journalists, readers, etc., can come together and see these fine objects displayed and appreciate them with fellow enthusiasts. No doubt you have been to a vintage automobile concours, art museum, or a food and wine society event and enjoyed yourself while meeting others of similar interest. In 1999 Roger Sanger, Founder of the California Side by Side Society, Inc., and Silvio Calabi, Editor-at-Large of Shooting Sportsman Magazine attended the combined 49th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the 25th Annual Monterey Historic Car Races, and the 14th Annual Concourso Italiano, all held in the beautiful Monterey Peninsula area of California. Vintage automobiles, gourmet food and wine and wonderful art in a picturesque setting - all enjoyed by fellow collectors, journalists, and admirers. It dawned on them, why don't they create the same thing for fine guns? Why don't they start something that could grow into an event bringing together collectors, journalists, and admirers? They can. It became the Gold Medal Concours d'Elegance of Fine Guns. Like an automotive concours, the Gold Medal Concours event would feature fine break-action guns and rifles on display for all to admire and for a panel of distinguished judges to rate. They identified nearly 80 distinct classes of fine guns, and would award gold, silver and bronze honors in as many of those as appropriate. Best of Show, People's Choice and other special awards would be given. "Fine," or award-worthy, would not necessarily mean gold-encrusted and bearing a London name. A fine gun could also be a Famars quattrocanone, an Ithaca Flues or a Parker VH, a Ferlach drilling, or an AyA Modelo 37-so long as it would be in crisp condition, bear a notable provenance or would in some way be unusual or outstanding. Nor need they be vintage guns; contemporary pieces would also be welcome. They would ask only that the guns be privately owned and not for sale. Their goal would be to create a low-key, very enjoyable, intimate event where devotees of the art of gunmaking could gather to see, admire, and learn in a lovely setting. The Gold Medal Concours d'Elegance of Fine Guns is now a bicoastal event. The west coast event is in California in the spring. The east coast event is in New York in the fall in conjunction with The Vintage Cup. Since the west coast did not have any exhibition and shooting championships for double guns like the Vintage Cup back east, starting in 2002 all concours events on the west coast would have both an exhibition of double guns and numerous shooting championships where both side by side double shotgun, side by side double rifles, drillings, cape guns and falling block single barrel rifles could be used. The shooting competitions would be similar to those offered at the Vintage Cup World Side by Side Championships. Hopefully, winners in the western event would compete in the world event, thus creating some cooperation between the two events. The California Side by Side Society would be one of the sponsors at the concours, exhibition and shooting competitions. The events since 2001 were held at Rock Springs Ranch and Lodge. Starting in 2004 they will be held at selected sporting clays courses in California. Since 2003 the event is now owned by Down East Enterprise, Inc., which also owns Shooting Sportsman Magazine and Countrysport Press.
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