The Betters Hunting Guns Manufacturers

" When you take delivery of your new gun from us, you can be assured it is every bit a Purdey. Every part of a Purdey is machined and then hand-worked and finished in our factory in West London. Only the highest quality materials are used, with all load-bearing parts being made from certified forgings." ... more

"The Holland & Holland factory, located in London not far from Paddington Station, is a true example of a place where Best London guns are built in the traditional way combined with the most modern materials and equipment. (...) When our clients visit the factory at Harrow Road they never fail to marvel at the number and variety of craft skills required to build the shotguns and rifles that are justly considered to be amongst the best in the world. Lock, stock and barrel, every element of the weapon is made and finished out to impeccable standards of mechanical function, handling and form by specialist craftsmen. Engraving is one of the most intriguing of the skills and plays a vital part in the sporting gunís appeal to its owner. Indeed, more time may be spent on discussing the subject and execution of the gunís engraving than on the practical and functional features of its mechanics. " more

DUMOULIN-HERSTAL'S calling is to perpetuate the internatioanlly recognized talent of the Liege gun trade and to offer rifles and shotguns of the highest quality concieved in a marriage of traditional craftsmanship and the most modern technological processes.

" Verney-Carron, gun maker in St-Etienne since 1650 is France's number one manufacturer of hunting guns (semi-automatic, side by side or over and under shotgun & double rifle, bolt action or semi-automatic rifles). Small or big game, every hunter will find the firearm for his style of hunting in our exceptional range. "

"The drilling used to be called the “forester’s gun”. The various barrel combinations make this splendid implement a universal gun. The term “forester’s gun” also includes the notion of high-level professionalism.

This professionalism is demanded of the marksman at the moment when stress levels are at their highest: when firing the shot. In the past, the arrangement of barrels and trigger blades made it difficult to master the drilling in stressful situations. For this reason, Merkel has further improved the legendary Suhl drilling and developed a safe trigger constellation to guard against drilling confusion on the hunting ground. The principle: Suhl gunmaking art with three Blitz locks - in a new combination.

Merkel has always been a drilling specialist. With the new drilling family in the Meisterstück category, the company is now producing probably the most extensive drilling range on the market. The classic drilling (two shotgun barrels and one rifle barrel) comes into its own in small game hunting. The Bergstutzen drilling (one shotgun barrel, plus one small and one large rifle barrel) excels in the mixed hunting ground and the double rifle drilling (two rifle barrels, one shotgun barrel) has proved itself to be a responsive gun for the driven hunt. The universal gun has retained its versatility where interchangeable barrels are concerned - Merkel offers all versions as an optional extra. In addition, the “uni-type” rifle drilling and shotgun drilling are available. The breech of the Merkel drilling has a triple locking system. Firstly with the Greener cross bolt between the two upper barrels, secondly with two barrel lugs." ... more

"Meisterstück side-by-side shotguns are light and wonderfully elegant hunting guns; fine representatives of the good old days. The side-by-side arrangement of the barrels is a classical design principle of hunting guns - this principle has been applied in Suhl since the early days. Even if the Merkel brothers were more committed to the over-and-under gun at the start, the Merkel philosophy was soon devolved to the traditional side-by-side gun. An example of this is the aesthetic line of the slim soldered barrels - a trademark of Merkel Meisterstücks.

Whether with Anson & Deeley locks or sidelocks, the Suhl shotguns soon developed their own style and cleverly improvised on the existing systems and solutions.

Besides the classical barrel hook, Suhl soon adopted the cross bolt developed by William Greener - which represented gunmaking at its finest.

Merkel maintains the elegance and optical lightness of these shotguns by consistent adherence to traditions. The individually adapted receivers also play a role. Three different receivers are manufactured for the three calibres on offer - calibre-adapted. This keeps the receivers slim and the guns light and responsive. With the shotguns too, steel is interlocked against steel and the Merkel top-down principle is applied. Thus the receiver of a side-by-side shotgun is constructed in such a way that it can withstand the same gas pressure as a Safari rifle." ... more

"Whilst many makers of fine English shotguns can trace their ancestry back a considerable number of years, Boss & Co can claim to be one of the longest established, dating back to 1773 when William Boss began his gunmaking apprenticeship in Birmingham.

In the late 18th century, William Boss moved to London to work for Joseph Manton, and his son Thomas Boss (1790 – 1857) followed in his father’s footsteps to serve his apprenticeship under the great master himself..." more

"It has been the general consensus of opinion throughout the gun trade that the development of the best London gun could be taken no further, and that every gunmaker's main task was to emulate the great guns built between the wars as best as possible." ... more

"Over 100 years ago Sauer & Sohn created a symbol of perfection: the “Meisterwerk” shotgun. Today, the fine art of gunmaking climaxes and brings the legend back to life. Handcrafted perfection: the Sauer & Sohn side lock shotgun is a ­one-of-a-kind original. It is the only gun mechanism that was developed according to the rule of Thales." ... more

"Only a handful of Birmingham gunmakers survived the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the period of austerity that followed. But one was established, survived, and ultimately succeeded during this difficult period for the trade. Albert Arthur Brown was the son of John Joseph Brown, a gunmaker who had at one time worked for Webley & Scott, B.S.A., and W. W. Greener

and who ended his working career as resident caretaker with Greener.A. A. Brown was an action filer who carved the leaf fences for the Birmingham trade. Although English gunmakers are a conservative lot by nature, not given to decorating their products with the bas-relief so familiar on Teutonic weapons, better-quality sidelocks are occasionally found with ivy, fern and oak leaves chased to the fences."

It is difficult, demanding work requiring a hammer and chisel instead of the normal hand-held graver, but Albert Arthur Brown

was considered one of the few men capable of executing it.In 1930, after working for F. E. &

H. Rogers in Loveday Street and just a few months after the collapse of the U. S. Stock Exchange precipitated the world's worst economic crisis, Albert Arthur established his own business at 27 Whittal Street in what was then the heart of the gun quarter.A very wealthy few managed to breeze through the Depression in magnificent style, ordering best guns as usual. Since A. A. Brown made a specialty of building high-quality guns that were ultimately signed by more prestigious firms, he appears to have survived by virtue of the trickle-down effect. On the eve of the Second World War Albert Arthur was joined by his eldest son, Albert Henry, born in 1913. A few months later a second son, Sidney Charles, born in 1916, also came on board... more

"An Unrivalled Tradition: Founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1735, John Rigby & Co. has forged an enduring history of manufacturing excellence and design innovation that is unequalled in the annals of rifle and shotgun manufacturing. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the company built dueling pistols and defensive weapons, such as the blunderbuss, that established its reputation for utter reliability in life-and-death situations. Later, and continuing to this day, the company’s mainstay has been the manufacture of the world’s finest firearms for dangerous game and other large animal hunting.

Many of the world’s most-famous hunters and adventurers have relied on Rigby rifles. The renowned tiger hunter Jim Corbett carried a .275 Rigby; Kermit Roosevelt, son of Teddy, shot a .450 Nitro Express Rigby double rifle during their 1909 African safari; legendary elephant hunter Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell used a .275 Rigby; and the famed African safari guide Harry Selby had a .416 Rigby as his favorite lion rifle." ... more

"The Chapuis quest for quality and elegance continues to direct the necessary evolution of the gun lines.

The new round body is a continuing success; the new design has been carried over from our shotgun collection all the way to our side-by-side double rifles.

Innovation cannot be synonymous with compromise. The Chapuis quest naturally remains wrapped in the finest, most traditional æsthetics of gunmaking - but that is only one face of the coin.

Chapuis GunMaker have kept all of the efficiency and strength that have been associated with its guns since their inception.

The new round body actions have given many further opportunities to build lighter, better-balanced, more elegant shotguns and double rifles, with the additional bonus of larger surfaces to adorn with even finer engraving.

Chapuis simply do not compromise. The artisan Collection also meets with greater and greater success as months pass.

Here again, exception becomes the rule for Chapuis Armes. Chapuis have strived to conserve the balance, fastness of both its shotguns and rifles.

That was not the easiest task in the world. Classic lines just are not enough sometimes." ... more

William Westley Richards set up his gunmaking business in 1812 to design and make guns that could not be bettered. Not only has the company achieved that original ambition, it has also been responsible for a remarkable series of inventions that have set new standards in gun design.

Westley Richards' commitment to innovation is matched only by its dedication to superb craftsmanship. The company's standards of manufacture go far beyond those of precision engineering, and every part of every gun is made, finished and fitted with faultless accuracy.

For supreme performance, there is nothing to match a gun, or pair of guns, designed and made for an individual shooter. Every aspect of the gun's specification can be chosen to match a person's needs: the bore, the barrel length, the type of locks, the trigger mechanism - a truly comprehensive range of choices, which can then be matched with a stock of exquisitely figured walnut, shaped precisely to fit the user... more

"Five generations of the Greener family have been making the finest shot guns and rifles since 1829. Founded by William Greener and made famous by his son William Wellington Greener the company continues to make the very best English guns with Graham Greener, fifth generation, being fully involved as a director of the company. David Dryhurst, one of the last apprentice gunmakers trained by the company and Richard Tandy, another exceptionally talented gunmaker, are two of the directors making the very best quality W W Greener sporting shotguns and rifles today." ... more