thanthepartsandlabour of the
makersthemselves.
Howmanyoftheworld’sbest
gunmakersarestillalivetobuildthe
gunsthatbeartheirname?Imagineif
youcouldbuildyourowngun,whose
namewouldyouputonit?Diggory
HadokeofVintageGunsoffershis
clientsthechancetobuildtheirown
guns,by“selectingthebestmenin
thecountrytoundertakeeachpart
ofthegunmakingprocess.Thename
weputonthegunis thenameofthe
customer,whois involvedat every
stageandbecomes the gunmaker.”Specialists
Thisis onlypossiblewithoutworkers,
highlyskilledcraftsmenwhowork
forthetrade.Mostgunmakers
specialiseinoneofthesevensteps
ofgunmaking.If youweretoseek
outthebestofthebestyoucould
builda gunthatwasthesame
quality, potentially even better,Gunmaking
34 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
References& quotes:
LWButlerGunmaker,
WestWycombeParkHouse,
HighWycombe,
BuckinghamshireHP143AJ
Phone: 01494533388
http://www.lwbutlergunmaker.com
DiggoryHadoke
VintageGunsLtd
CaynhamCourt,Caynham,
ShropshireSY83BJ
01584878485 / 07977 149207
[email protected]
http://www.vintageguns.co.uk
GunCraft:FineGunsand
Gunmakersinthe21stCentury
byVicVentersButlerdescribes‘ultimatequality
control’asthedrivingforceto
starthisownbusiness.“Whenit
comestogunmaking,beingableto
micromanageeverypartofthebuild
ensuresa product of top quality,”
heexplains.
WhenLeestartedgunsmithing
decadesago,manyoftheworkers
couldbetheresimplyfora light
engineeringjob,withnolovenor
interestinshooting.Bysettinguphis
ownbusiness,Leeis abletocontrol
eachstepandmakesureeverygun
thatleaveshisworkshopis up to his
impeccablestandards.
If youdoyourresearchandinvest
sometimeintogettingtoknowthe
smallerbusinesses,theindividual
craftsmen,youwillcometoseethat
manyofferthesamestandardof
qualityastheBestLondonmakers
thattheytrainedwith,butat a much
moreappealingprice.Youwould
not be paying for anything other
thananythatsportedan immediately
recognisablename.
Whiledoingsomeresearchforthis
piece,I readanincrediblyinteresting
bookwrittenbyVicVenters.GunCraft
featuresa chapteron‘TheUnknown
Gunmaker’,abouttheextensive
careerofRobertE.Turner.Bob
Turner,ashewasmorecommonly
known,builtgunsforThomasBoss,
WilliamEvans,WilliamPowell,
Holland& Holland,WestleyRichards
andmanyothers.Heis renowned
forhisexceptionalworkandis
consideredoneofthefinestEnglish
gunmakersofhistime,yetmany
don’trecognisehisname.Turneronly
builta handfulofgunsforhimself,
engravingthem‘TurnerRichards’.
It hasalwaysbeencommon
forprestigiouscompaniestouse
outworkersandmodestprovincial
makerstobuildcertainpartsof
theirguns.FirmssuchasWebley
& Scotthavebuiltgunsfora number
ofLondonnamessuchasJoseph
Lang,WilliamEvansandHolland
& Holland.I haveoftencomeacross
HenryAtkinboxlockswiththe
followingengravedontherib:‘Shot
andRegulatedbyHenryAtkin’.
Theybeara famousnamebutwere
mostlikelybuiltbya rural maker
faroutsideofLondon.
Thereis nodoubtthatBest
Londongunsarebeautiful,exquisite
worksofcraftsmanshipandwell
worthinvestingin.However,
I believethatthetruevalueofa gun
is determinedbyhowit wasmade,
notthenameengravedonit.Often
gunsmadebysmallercompanies
andindividualmakersaresoldfor
a fractionoftheprice,yetthe quality
remains unquestionable.LeeButlersays
‘qualitycontrol’is
thedrivingforce
of his businessAtShooting Times contributor Diggory Hadoke’s Vintage Guns, you can be involved in every stage