Which are your go-to gunsmiths/retail stores?

[Dogangun]

For rifle work or advice I go to Valkyrie Rifles owned by Dave Wilde, aka Baldie on UKV forum.

 

[CarlW]

Tam the gun in Inverness, Rupert Blackwall in Oxfordshire, Rakers in Sussex, Bushwear in Perth, Baldie in Rotherham, plus all the usual online places.

 

[Bestman]

Andersons gets my vote; great staff and great prices.

 

[delta wolf]

Braces in Bristol or Greenfields in Salisbury. Both knowledgeable and friendly.

 

[JackD032]

If you’re near West Sussex then Rakers in Petworth are fantastic. Always a good supply of used rifles and shotguns, resident gunsmiths and staff who really know what they’re talking about. I ordered a £15 trigger kit from them for my CZ 455 and they fitted it free. Bought my brand new 223 Tikka T3X and Wildcat Evolution from them and they had the Wildcat cut to fit free of charge.
Online I’ve had excellent service from Optics Warehouse and Uttings.

 

[Bandit]

Braces in Bristol or Greenfields in Salisbury. Both knowledgeable and friendly.

And we always spend to much in each

 

[terrier1]

Forest Lodge Guns, Wragby, Lincolnshire. In 40+ years of shooting I have not found any where better.

 

[mudman]

Guess I am a retailers nightmare, I buy very little new apart from ammunition, always buy guns private sale secondhand and very infrequently at that. New stuff just seems so expensive..

 

[stubear]

Steve at Ivythorn Sporting.
Sportsman Gun Centre.
Uttings.
Dauntsey Guns.
Fultons at Bisley.

I have used them all over the last year or so and have had great service from all of them, in particular Steve at Ivythorn. Personally I would always go to him for gun purchases, I think his service is second to none.

 

[Tazz]

I have had great service from

Swillingtons
Steve at Ivingthorn
Cluney for all things optics

i am in Bedfordshire and we are lucky to have Donaldson’s gun shop close to us, family run business all staff are shooters and all the staff very knowledgable and great customer service plus an on line presence

 

[Blaser243]

I am happy to travel fairly widely to get the bits I need - always making a point of re-using anywhere that I get good service from instead of buying online, although sometimes its the only way if you just want something quickly. The more interesting question is where to avoid though!

The best - Lovells, Witney - good prices, good stock just a bit far away. Dauntseys - great reloading stock and excellent prices (if a little higldy pigldy inside). William Evans Bisley - always a polite but not intrusive welcome, good stock and prices are surprisingly normally pretty keen.

Ones I'm neutral about - Greenfields. Sometimes fantastic service, good prices and (normally) good stock levels. Other times, very wishy washy service - for instance, not telling me when they sold a gun that had been left with them and then taking ages to send a cheque when they did remember. From afar - Gregor MacLeod is excellent for all things Blaser. Cluny are also a top outfit especially for optics.

Ones I'm not keen on - The Gun Shop (Botley) - run by kids who haven't got a clue (although think they're experts) and very overpriced tat (clothes especially) and expensive cartridges. Lamberts of Ringwood - not so bad downstairs, but the big fella in the gun room I find unpleasant. Generally can't be bothered to even come and see if you need help and when you do, doesn't seem interested. West London gun room - expensive (not a surprise) and poor stock. When I asked the price of some game cartridges the response I got was "if you're paying to shoot pheasants sir, you shouldn't need to ask the price of cartridges".

 

[CarlW]

the response I got was "if you're paying to shoot pheasants sir, you shouldn't need to ask the price of cartridges".

What a dick! Hope you bought nothing.

Kind regards,

Carl

 

[danban]

What a dick! Hope you bought nothing.

Kind regards,

Carl

I wouldn't spend my money there then!

 

[Blaser243]

Funny thing was, the price of their cartridges was no higher than anywhere else - cheaper in fact than many. So, he was clearly just an arse for the sake of it!

What a dick! Hope you bought nothing.

Kind regards,

Carl

 

[nicowilson]

In person:
- Emmett & Stone, Little Marlow
- Atkin Grant & Lang, near St Albans

Mail order:
- Uttings
- Swillington

 

[White Hart]

Go to Gun shop - Greenfields of Salisbury, excellent staff who are very knowledgeable I also like to try and support my local shop were ever possible. If im visiting relatives I always pop into - Derek Lee near Horncastle, Lincs. Derek is a very knowledgeable chap and a deal can normally be done.

Shopping on the internet for bits and pieces it's, Bush Wear or Uttings and Occasionally Grube over in Germany.

 

[JTO]

We supply a fair few top end gunsmiths around Europe so I’m definitely interested if you’ve got someone who you think we should be talking to... Fine Ballistic Tools springs to mind straight off that we have worked with for a while...

So, you weren't looking for a good place to buy stuff, more a mailing list of clients to sell stuff to.

 

[toby9946]

In person I've had good experiences with Portsmouth Gun Centre, William Evans at Bisley, Dauntsey's, and Greenfields.

In terms of kit online it tends to be Uttings, Bushwear, CDSG and Sportsman.

 

[Wulliewinky]

Dumfries & Galloway....... Stewart at glen Luce Gunroom & Graeme at Northern optics

 

[highseat6.5]

Anything rifle / optic ammo Rick Whitely is my go to man , not a full retail outlet ( you can buy overpriced clothing anywhere ) but one of the most knowledgeable and decent people out here ..