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A very warm welcome to Heritage Guns

We are dedicated to the restoration of fine shotguns and their accessories. Using a finely balanced combination of traditional and modern techniques and materials, we work tirelessly to bring these beautiful examples of true craftsmanship back to full working condition.

I am delighted to tell you that the USA consulate in London has
finally issued my visa after 2 years of waiting!
I will therefore be hoping to see you all at the shows listed below.

 
Upcoming Shows

 

The Southern Side by Side
Championship
 & Exhibition
25th to 28th April, 2024

Venue: Deep River Sporting Clays, Sanford NC.

This is really the premier, dedicated S/S show in the USA
and we look forward to exhibiting our stock, meeting old friends and making new ones!
If you have been before, you will know that a single day wouldn't do it justice so try and make the whole weekend.

Click below for more details.


 

Recent Shows

 

The Vintage Gunners Cup
7th-9th September 2023

Venue: Warrington Sporting Clays in Wellesville, PA.


This was a new venue for the Vintage Gunners Cup and it was a hige success. There were upwards of 40 vendors selling everything from fine guns and accessories to clothing.
In times past, this really was the go-to event for classic and antique shotguns and rifles but in recent years it has really struggled to get the attendance it so richly deserves. We seem to have reached a turning point and the attendance was tremendous.

We are already looking forward to next year!


Full details of the event can be found at this link.

 

 

 

 

Some Recent Additions To Our Stock List

I have a great affection for Blanch Back-action SLE’s as my father shot with one from his early 20’s until he retired from shooting at the age of 85. When I say ‘one’, I mean he used the same gun for 60 odd years! It may not have seen a huge number of shots but it certainly saw huge amounts of weather and is still in good functioning condition in my guncase some 20 years later.
Blanch had a great affinity for back-actions, the vast majority of their sidelocks being such right up to the early days of the C20th and their engraving was also most distinctive. At this time their engraving can be divided into three distinct styles: areas of ‘Creeping Vine’ with foliate scroll, an open pattern with around 70% coverage which adorns this gun; classic bouquet & scroll, about 85% coverage, used mainly on their Grant style sidelever hammerguns and lastly 100% coverage bold foliate scroll on their most ornate guns.
This is a most attractive gun with its bold engraving style and, given its fine balance, interceptor sears and strong stock, it would make an excellent gun for upland game or clays.

Read full details here.

This pair of James Purdey hammerguns are a very rare thing in that they have never apparently been broken up nor lost their original case, complete with original charge label. Hammerless pairs of the late C19th can quite often be found together but as hammerguns were superseded, they were almost invariably split up and sold on or gifted to employees and impecunious relations.
 We opted to have them sleeved together so balance, weight etc could be best maintained.
Both guns now balance exactly on their hinge pins and there is only 2oz difference in total weight.
The engraving is beautifully crisp on all the hard metal which is testimony to the high quality of Purdey's hardening and there are substantial traces of original hardening colour in protected areas. Both guns carry their delicious, original French walnut stocks and forends, with 14 7/8" LOP’s including 3/4" leather covered recoil pads.

Presented in their relined, original Oak & Leather double case with some cleaning and reloading accessories, original charge card and digital reproduction label


Click here for the full story.

Holland & Holland records show that this gun was finished in 1891 for ‘Dodd’ and is a very lovely example of Holland & Holland's 'flag ship' gun. The original Whitworth Fluid Pressed Steel barrels have survived the intervening years brilliantly and were specified with cylinder chokes but a little choke has been added over the years in the left barrel. There is considerable original hardening colour on lockplates and parts of the action. The highly figured restock is thought to be quite recent and although we have no indication of just when it was done, the head of the stock is stamped ‘AWR’ which might help in tracking down the stocker and his records. The stocking is the work of a very skilled craftsman and this leads one to assume that the work was done by a stocker with considerable experience of H&H stocks, maybe even an ex-H&H worker. The gun balances almost exactly on the knuckle. With its excellent weight and balance, interceptor sears, fine stock and barrel dimensions, this gun would make a superb target or game gun for the discerning shooter. Presented in a contemporary leather & brass case, relined with ‘Rifle Green’ baize, equipped with some accessories and fitted with the Gunmakers’ labels.


For more details on this lovely gun, click here!

 

 

 

 

 

We have become familiar with the cartridges of RST Ltd through the US double gun competitions and exhibitions that we attend and can thoroughly recommend their products. Their range includes many light loads for those shooting classic guns or simply wanting to take advantage of light recoil and improved patterns. For those not able to access CIP standard ammunition, we would strongly recommend the use of the RST Ltd cartridges in our guns, ensuring of course that the correct case length and load is used for the gun in question.

Technical inquiries about RST Ltd cartridges should be addressed directly to them.

 

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