Good traditional gunshops - name your favourites, past and present

Does anybody else remember Youngs of Misterton near Crewkerne? An Aladdin's cave for a young man into wildlife, shooting and trapping. They had every kind of trap, net, snare that you could think of plus loads more. Bought my first rifle from them; a Parker Hale Safari Deluxe 270 Win for £16 (brand new) and a Nikko Sterling platinum scope for £10. I was earning £18 per week so I suppose its still in line with todays
rices, maybe. "Non approved" items were located in the ladies cloakroom! It would be fantastic if there were still some places in existence like them.
I remember them very well. The two brothers downstairs feeding the pigs between sorting guns into, Hammer- no good except spares, Hammer-very good, singles, doubles and every calibre and make you could think of and the sisters upstairs making nets, snares or basket traps.
Yellow wizard cartridges, Shamrock High Velocity cartridges, that was something new being stamped High Velocity and they even had the Home Guard single ball loose in the window sill.
Do you remember the alarm gun they had fixed up by the door too !! I'm not too sure whether they were loaded with blanks or the real thing !!
I still have one of their paper thin catalogues here somewhere and I also have one of their Ferret boxes with their label still attached.
The box wasn't used very much, I bought it when on leave from Germany along with a couple of ferrets to take back with me.
When I left Germany I sold the Ferrets at the Fish Market in Hamburg for a lot more than I paid for them.
Yes good old days, I don't think the scopes were that expensive when I went there first -back in the fifties !! but then not many people used 'scopes then. I don't think I got a scope until the middle sixties and they weren't very expensive then.
In those days Hill Sawtell and Higdons Ironmongers in Yeovil sold shotguns too.
The 'posh' shop was Jeffries in Silver street Yeovil.
The manager was a chap called Bill Southey and he must have had the patience of Jobe because I spent quite a bit of time in there on market day as I was too young to go in the pub with the men !!
 
Elvet gun centre,Durham city sadly no longer there,I spent many a Saturday morning oogling the gun rack when I was a youngster ,my dad would send me on the bus and I'd spend an hour in the swimming baths then POP to the gun shop get a box of 12 bore no6s and a box of 20 bores for me,wrap them in my towel and get the bus home,ready for pigeon shooting on Sunday morning,happy days
 
Has anyone mentioned Emmett & Stone in Marlow, South Bucks? Ryan & Tony are great blokes, really knowledgeable and helpful. Only been trading a year, but already built a decent business that's only getting stronger

Makes a nice change, as my previous RFD is a complete numbnut...but that's for the other thread

Cheers
i.
 
My vote goes to 'Mendip Shooting Ground', good little shop there, Vernon is a top bloke. (If a little busy) good selection of shotguns, and a fair few rifles too, great place if you want an airgun too, and being a shooting ground, you can try before you buy on shotties and airguns.
 
Funny none in Essex so far??

Norman Clark Rugby has been good for me

~+ 1 for
john Forsey
Good deal's for KWF members on rivers west
we always get a deal there :thumb:

paul o'

I'd like to recommend John Forsey Guns in Bexleyheath, Kent. As the sign says in the shop, "Wildfowling spoken here", and they always do pretty serious deals on guns without actually being asked. The last time I phoned to order a gun and asked for the price (having researched beforehand what the RRP was), they immediately said "Weeeeell, the best price I could give you would be..." and then said a number 20% lower than I expected. Which is why that's where I'll order my .22 from!
 
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Rob Tilney in Beccles, Suffolk. Looks like a proper gunsmiths, smells like a proper gunsmiths & Rob is a true gentleman!
 
Riffaut Armurier & Cartoucherie in Orbec, Normandy a real gunshop with onsite Leige trained gunsmith and a 50M running boar range half a mile up the road. It was a tradditional rural gunsmith with service similar to what you would expect from Holland & Holland but last year they moved from the centre of the old town to a shopping centre just up the road and installed a cinema range.
I haven't been there since but doubt if the standard of service has lowered or for that matter the friendliness of the welcome. Don't be in a rush when you go in there though because they like to do things properly. I won't say the prices are cheap but you always come away with a smile on your face thinking that is how a gunshop should be.
 
Riffaut Armurier & Cartoucherie in Orbec, Normandy a real gunshop with onsite Leige trained gunsmith and a 50M running boar range half a mile up the road. It was a tradditional rural gunsmith with service similar to what you would expect from Holland & Holland but last year they moved from the centre of the old town to a shopping centre just up the road and installed a cinema range.
I haven't been there since but doubt if the standard of service has lowered or for that matter the friendliness of the welcome. Don't be in a rush when you go in there though because they like to do things properly. I won't say the prices are cheap but you always come away with a smile on your face thinking that is how a gunshop should be.

My wife is from Normandie and for a second there, I thought I may have found something interesting to do when I'm over there! However, as with everything else, it's miles and miles away from her village...
 
Funny none in Essex so far??

Why funny, I thought you lived here :lol:



Over the last few years I have travelled for a decent deal and been lucky to find some very good gun shops.
Francis Lovel in Oxfordshire, then Chris Potter after not visiting for many, many years, and the last couple of guns have come from Steve Beatty at Ivythorn, who has made me feel very welcome and given a very good deal on each visit.

Neil. :)
 
Funny none in Essex so far??

Norman Clark Rugby has been good for me

~+ 1 for
john Forsey
Good deal's for KWF members on rivers west
we always get a deal there :thumb:

paul o'

John Forsey/GENTRYS same thing. See my post.

What I love about John and indeed the Johh & Ken team period of Gentrys is that both would treat a 13-year old's purchase (with Dad in-toe) of air rifle pellets with the same importance as a wildfowler's interest in a No. 4 single barrel.

K
 
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The Grange Gun Company Redditch Anyone rember it .You could try any gun out you fancied by just walking out the back door onto the clay range.Wf1
 
Highly recommend Ivor Dadswell of Old Mill Guns in Lurgashall near Petworth, very knowledgeable chap with a nice range of guns and only too happy to help, real good old fashioned service :)
 
Another who remembers Youngs of Misterton. Rode up there om my Bantam in the fifties. Truly a magical place. I loved the old sepia photos of dozens of foxes strung up on fences, all caught with Youngs snares of course.
 
Wood's of Ovington, near Watton, Norfolk.
It is still known as "Paddy" Wood's even though Paddy died years ago.
It's a real country shop. They sell mainly cartridges and accessories rather than guns these days but still do gunsmithing work. They couldn't be more helpful. It must be a real Aladdins cave in their workshop/storeroom out the back.
I remember when I was a teenager if you found a shotgun that you liked in the shop Paddy would give you a box of cartridges and let you go out and use his clay trap on the field next to the shop. The trap had a fairly soft spring so you always thought you shot well with the gun as the clays didn't need much lead!
I had a misfire on my Ruger 10/22 a few years ago and blocked the barrel. I took it in and they sorted it for me immediately and wouldn't take a penny for it.
Nice people.
 
Feild Sports Equipe in Rhyl North Wales when Reg was alive.
You walked through the door he insulted you and then closed the shop and took you for coffee

Good old Reg i spent a lot of time in there over the years and bought my first 3 rifles off him if he was shut just go to the coffee shop he was there maybe with sikadog LOL
 
Good old Reg i spent a lot of time in there over the years and bought my first 3 rifles off him if he was shut just go to the coffee shop he was there maybe with sikadog LOL
always took a deep breath before walking in first words 'who has got the money' always made me laugh even when i should not have
 
crockarts of blairgowrie,,nice home made shotgun cartridges from alex martin,lovely hand rolled ends with paper caps with the shot size!!!!!
 
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