Heritage Guns Update 17th November, 2025
I hope you are all well and enjoying your sporting opportunities as defined by your national and regional hunting seasons!
The Game shooting season in the UK opened for grouse in August, partridge in September and pheasant in October and after a dry summer, with huge amounts of natural food in the hedgerows, woods and moor, the partridge and pheasant seasons have opened well but grouse have been patchy at best.
I have been extremely lucky to have enjoyed several small days with my syndicate in Essex and the birds have been well feathered and flown well. Unfortunately a good friend’s recent invitation was cursed with continuous rain which was pretty miserable for both the beaters and Guns and many of the pheasants were unwilling to fly well. However, the good company, a few memorable shots and a delicious lunch of pheasant casserole and homemade cake more than made up for the soggy kit!
Here in the east of England, the weather is definitely on the change with falling temperatures and more rain. Nights have drawn in and the sitting room’s wood burner is bringing a cheery glow to the evenings.
Tilly, my 11yo Lab, is now fully retired from working in the field. It’s not that she is old and physically compromised, far from it: she is quite capable of doing a full day. Just not in the same drive as me! If let off the lead, she immediately heads for the most interesting piece of cover, only returning when she gets bored or thinks there might be food on offer. And retrieving is simply not her ‘thing’: ‘You shot it, you fetch it!’.
However, Kiwi, the 7yo Lab we rehomed almost exactly 3 years ago, is going from strength to strength and did a couple of stunning retrieves on the wet day mentioned above. She is amazingly steady on the peg, walks beautifully to heel off the lead (mainly!) and after 3 seasons of doing her very best to avoid anything too prickly, has now discovered the excitement of runners tucked into bramble bushes or beds of stinging nettles!
Mandy’s little terrorist, Pips, is a right little character and makes the Big Girls lives a misery when she is up for mischief! However, she has never been happy around gunfire and most certainly can’t be let off her lead if there are interesting smells close by! She may not be that fast on her little legs but she is persistent and no pheasant or hare is safe from a good chase while she is loose!
The final, and most significant piece of domestic news is that Mandy and I have just celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary with a return overnight stay at our reception’s venue, The Bull Pub in Troston, Suffolk. What an amazing place to spend time with my lovely wife! Many thanks to those of you that spotted my post on FB and sent us kind congratulations, it was much appreciated.
And so to guns:
In the last few days I have uploaded details and photos of two lovely new stock items, both of which are destined to be exported to the USA in early 2026. The date is unknown as yet, mainly due to uncertainty with the issue of ATF Form 6’s because of the budget shutdown in the USA, but we are hoping for January or February.
The first of these is a simply beautiful 1891 12b toplever SLE by Stephen Grant & Sons: 30” x 2 ¾” nitro sleeved barrels, lots of original hardening colour on locks and action, 14 ¾” highly figured original wood including a 1” leather covered recoil pad and presented in a relined oak & leather case.
1891 Stephen Grant & Sons 12b SLE no 6377
Next we have a very cute circa 1890 28b hammergun by Chas Osborne & Co: 28” x 2 ¾” nitro sleeved barrels, modest coverage of nice engraving including some game scene, 14 ¾” highly figured original wood including a ¾” leather covered recoil pad. This sweet little hammergun came to me with horribly pitted and dented 20b barrels leaving me no choice but to sleeve it. However, its diminutive size lent the gun to being sleeved to 28b and it has been a real success, combining the fast action of the smaller gauge barrels with the slight added heft of the 20b action.
Circa 1890 Chas Osborne & Co 28b hammergun no 18867
I hope to also include a lovely 1906 12b BLE by J Blanch & Son: 29” x 2 ¾” nitro reproof steel barrels, 15” highly figured original wood including a ¾” leather covered recoil pad. Cased in a canvas & leather Brady case with original Blanch trade label, numbered to the gun. Pictures and price will be available soon on the website, stock reference 319.
Featured in my
July Update and also travelling out to the USA with the three above are the
following:
A very beautiful back action hammergun by John Dickson & Son. It sports lovely 30” x 2 ½” nitro reproof damascus barrels, a fabulous original stock and is presented in a oak lined hammergun case.
1879 J Dickson & Son 12b Backaction
hammergun no 3606
And in its case:
Next, another Scottish gun: a 1898 round action ejector by James MacNaughton. Rebarrelled by Dickson around 1959, it carries the most beautiful wood and is in overall very fine condition.
1898 J MacNaughton 12b RAE no 2000
And in its case:
And the last, a beautiful 12b sidelock ejector by John Rigby & Co. Made circa 1887, it has 30” x 2 ½” damascus barrels and stunning 14 ¾” highly figured, replacement wood.
1887 J Rigby & Co 12b sidelock ejector no 15447
And cased:
Still on consignment with Bob Nay are the following:
Firstly, we have a very nice damascus barrelled, sidelock ejector by the famous W P Jones of Birmingham. With its 30” x 2 ½” nitro reproof barrel and highly figured stock, it is a very nice gun at a sensible price. Notably, it has not only a pair of replacement strikers in their dedicated pot but also a pair of spare mainsprings and spare ejector springs.
1892 W P Jones 12b BA SLE no 1072
W P Jones no 1072 in its Oak & Leather case.
Also a gorgeous 1890 Holland & Holland 1st Type Royal with two sets of barrels, both 30”, one 2 ½” Nitro and the other 3” Nitro (1200 bar). Presented in a leather case blocked for both sets of barrels. This is an absolutely delicious example of H&H’s premier model. It features the best level of engraving and with its two sets of barrels can handle everything from soft, 2 ½” x 3/4oz up to the occasional 3” wildfowling load (not Superior Steel).
Holland & Holland Royal 12b SLE no 12561
Holland & Holland Royal 12b SLE no 12561 in its leather case with both barrel sets.
Next, with lots of
original colour, chopperlump Whitworth steel barrels and a very smart ‘Rifle
Green’ relined case is another Holland & Holland 1st Type Royal
12b. Nitro reproof 30” x 2 ½” x Cyl/IC and a 15 3/8”
replacement highly figured stock.
1891
Holland & Holland 12b Royal SLE no 12860
1891
H&H no. 12860 in its Leather and Brass case.
And looking
forward, here is a selection of the goodies that I am working on….
1887 Holland & Holland 16b Royal SLE, 28” x 2 ¾” nitro modern replacement, chopperlump barrels; 15 3/8” spectacularly figured replacement stock and forend wood. This is the most startling rebuilt gun. Someone spent a fortune on rebarrelling and restocking this little beauty and we will be offering it for a fraction of what must have been paid!
1888 Stephen Grant & Sons 12b sidelever SLE, 30 ½” x 2 ½” nitro reproof damascus barrels, 14 ½” highly figured original wood including 1” Silvers recoil pad.
1883 J Blanch & Son 12b sidelever hammergun, 28” x 2 ½” nitro reproof damascus barrels, 14 ½” well figured wood including 1” leather covered recoil pad.
1892 Holland & Holland 2nd Type Royal 12b SLE, 29” x 2 ¾” nitro reproof steel barrels, set of 4 interchangeable Teague chokes, 14 7/8” well figured replacement wood.
1870’s J Blanch & Son 12b thumblever hammergun, 29” x 2 ¾” nitro reproof damascus barrels, 15” highly figured original wood including ¾” leather covered recoil pad.
And so on it goes: lots more guns in the restoration process, visit http://www.heritageguns.co.uk/stock.htm.
I have also recently updated my case listings and would suggest that you tour my offerings if you are looking for a case for your treasured possession! Full listing can be found at http://www.heritageguns.co.uk/Cases/Case%20Stock.htm.
A few worthy of mention are:
Stock No.
051528 Holland & Holland double leather gun case. A lovely case lined with original ‘Rifle Green’ baize, blocked for up to 30 ½” barrels and 17 1/2” breech to butt, 2 lidded compartments and provision for oil bottle, snapcaps and cleaning rod.
061590 Boss & Co double hammergun/hammerless case. Beautiful original crimson baize lining blocked for 30” barrels and 17 ¼” breech to butt. 2 lidded compartments.
101126 Westley Richards single leather hammergun case. Original green baize lining with full complement of labels. Blocked for 30” barrels and 18” breech to butt. In need of some restitching to the lid corners.
271416 Very rare double sided mahogany and leather gun case, possibly built for Live Pigeon shooting: blocked for a single hammerless gun with 30” barrels and 17 ¼” breech to heel. Opposite side takes up to 96 x 12b cartridges. Lined in purple velvet with new handle and captive straps. This case is of the highest quality and is a must for someone with the appropriate gun to go inside!
Gun side:
Cartridge side:
Outside:
Well,
that is about it for now.
Keep safe
and enjoy your shooting sports!
Very best regards,
Toby Barclay
Historic Guns For The Modern Sportsman
