British Sporting Firearms Articles

Aug 01, 2026

Westley Richards – 1860 Breech-Loader

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.

171 David Neale

Jun 23, 2026

James Woodward of London

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’.

241 Stephen Nash

May 23, 2026

Henry Watson Whaley - Gunmaker

Henry Watson Whaley - Strood, Kent A Pinfire Single barrel, signed Whaley An interesting article from Stephen Nash, after securing a Single barrel conversion - Muzzle-loader to Pin-fire, by a provincial gunmaker, who likes to doing things the hard way !

315 Stephen Nash

May 08, 2026

Robert Adams - Gunmaker - Pinfire

Robert Adams - Gunmaker - London - 1858-1866 Stories from the Scrap pile Stood in the corner of a provincial gun shop, dusty, rusty, and out of favour, this old gun was getting ever closer to ‘Madame Guillotine’ – fortunately, the gun was purchased for the price of a good Pub lunch. This 1860’s London made Pinfire had a ‘Tale to Tell’

393 David Neale

Apr 26, 2026

Westley Richards - 1858 - Presentation Gun

Westley Richards Muzzle Loader Conversion – 1858 Looking at another quality made British Vintage gun, and then something interesting catches your eye ! – A plaque in-let to the right hand side of the stock, which reads – Presented to John Sidebotham by the late Lord Newton “Jan. 1899”.

518 David Neale

Apr 13, 2026

Westley Richards - Centre Fire Patent No. 2623 - Article Two

Article Two – Centre Fire - Patent No. 2623 The second of the two Westley Richards sporting game guns featuring the Patent No. 2623 of 1864, for a single bite snap action. The patent bridges the Pinfire and Centre fire transition. The use of the lateral thumb lever, has made the guns in both; Article One & Article Two, look up to date and ahead of their time considering their date of manufacture

506 David Neale

Apr 07, 2026

Westley Richards - Pinfire Patent No. 2623 - Article One

441 David Neale

Mar 22, 2026

Charles Lancaster - Base-Fire, Gun & Cartridge

The 1856 patent ‘Slide and Tilt’ action is renowned for its links with the ‘Base-Fire’ cartridge made by Charles Lancaster. The action durability and strength comes directly through the locking of the barrels to the action in two stages.

538 David Neale

Feb 23, 2026

James Beattie - Deer Park Rifle

The Rifle that inspired this article was built by James Beattie, hand-made to order as a Park Rifle, for dedicated use within the confinements of the Deer Park.

664 David Neale

Feb 23, 2026

William Moore & Co.

Patents are an interesting area of study regarding British hammer guns, but not all good ideas were patented, including some innovative ones. For example, when under-levers first appeared on breech-loading guns, they were forward-facing, after the original French design.

492 Stephen Nash

Feb 22, 2026

Charles Frederick Niebour

An uncommon surname and almost forgotten Gun-maker, “Niebour”. Fortunately, Stephen Nash an outstanding Pinfire Game Gun historian, has with limited information given this maker a voice.

433 Stephen Nash

Feb 20, 2026

Edward Paton

Edward Paton was born in 1819 in Dublin into a military family, who were deeply tied to the 42nd (The Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot. Edward became the regiment's armourer, and in 1847

461 Stephen Nash