Your premier source for historic British Sporting firearms information
Our focus is British Sporting long arms from the early Sporting muzzle‑loading period through the birth and evolution of the breech‑loading Sporting gun into the early 20th century. Military links appear only where a pattern saw genuine Sporting use.
Westley Richards – Gunmakers 1860 Breech-Loader The first Westley Richard Sporting Game breech-loading guns emerged in 1858 and were of Pin-fire form. The majority of early breech-loaders from Westley Richards encountered today are of Top-Lever patented designs.
Frederick Barnes & Co. Gunmaker, London - 1825 to 1865 The established business of Frederick Barnes, is not well known for its contribution to the Victorian Sporting game gun. However, there have been a number of surviving guns bearing the Barnes name, including Shotguns, Muskets, Rifles, and Pistols. The period of gun-making and manufacturing took place between 1825 and 1865.
James Woodward of London Charles Moore, Pellet-Lock conversion to Pin-fire An interesting ‘Woodward-Moore Conversion’ – With the unending discussions over the terms of ‘best gun,’ ‘best-gun maker,’ and ‘best gun maker’, these discussions are seemingly hard to avoid, and are even harder to settle. While there have been many storied gunmakers, the period 1851 to 1869 is of primary interest to the author of this article, Stephen Nash, to which he reminds us, ‘It must be remembered, Gun makers of the new concept in building breech-loaders were all equally new to the task, no matter the pedigree of the maker, or their name’.
Westley Richards – Gunmakers 1860 Breech-Loader The first Westley Richard Sporting Game breech-loading guns emerged in 1858 and were of Pin-fire...
Frederick Barnes & Co. Gunmaker, London - 1825 to 1865 The established business of Frederick Barnes, is not well known for its contribution to the...
James Woodward of London Charles Moore, Pellet-Lock conversion to Pin-fire An interesting ‘Woodward-Moore Conversion’ – With the unending discus...
Reverend Alexander John Forsyth Inventor of the Percussion Lock Alexander John Forsyth (1768-1843) was the Presbyterian church minister of Belhe...
Thomas Wild - Gunmaker - Birmingham - The gun retailed by Thomas Wild of Birmingham, with the William Baker ‘Coil Spring Lock’ patent No. 2899 of 1902...
Edward Bond – London 1865 Pin-fire Gun maker 1762-1879 Edward Bond of London is best known from the era of the Muzzle-loader covering pis...
