UK Gun Repairs

Born in 1958, the son of a farmer, as a young teenager I had a keen interest in motorcycles and fishing.

As job seeking time approached, I realised I wanted a career in engineering. One weekend I was invited fishing by a neighbour and some of his friends and I had my first contact with the gun trade. Two of the group who worked for James Purdey & Sons convinced me that gun making (actioning) was very similar to tool making and I saw an opportunity and contacted Purdeys. Purdeys had already taken their quota of apprentices for that year and suggested that I try Holland and Holland.

With a successful application I started my apprenticeship with Holland & Holland in September 1974. During my eight years there I worked on some of their finest, best known guns, including the last .600 bore double rifle, the Herculean 4 Bore and some of their multiple sets. I left Holland & Holland in 1982 to work in Canada with a small gun company, but after thirteen months returned to England to a job with James Purdy & Son. There I learned a different style of actioning, picking up different skills and methods which have held me in good stead.

By 1990 I found myself at a crossroads and decided to go self-employed and have not looked back since! During twenty years on my own I have worked for some of the world’s best gun makers, principally for the London, Scottish and German companies.

I specialise in new build, replacement barrel jobs (fitter-ins) and repair on quality side-by-sides and over-and-unders. However, with my skill base, I can turn my hand to almost any repair job presented to me.

Some of the more interesting jobs I have completed recently include the fitting-in of replacement barrels on a pair of John Dixon 20 bore 3 barrel (side-by-side-by-side) shotguns, now completed and used in anger this grouse season. Also a top London gun company has just taken delivery from myself of a .410/28 bore, round body, single trigger shotgun, which consists of a single action with interchangeable .410/28 bore barrels with individual fore-ends incorporating a Boss style ejector system.

At the time of writing, jobs on my workbench include the making of a .470 side-by-side double rifle with Holland & Holland style ejector system. A J Dickson 12 bore side-by-side requiring replacement barrels.

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I am Dennis Stepney now 56 and one of the four gunsmiths that make up the partnership at UK Gun Repairs.

I am the son of Sussex farmer who was also a celebrated game shot, so it comes as no surprise that I left the womb carrying a box of cartridges and a copy of the Shooting Times. Seriously, my early life much as now revolved around all things guns and shooting. By the age of 15 I had represented both county and country in two shooting disciplines, later I experienced some of the best game shooting in the South and South West.

A career in the gun trade was a must. On leaving school I joined the London based Millard Brothers Gunsmiths and Arms Importers. I was fortunate to work under Graham Homewood gunmaker ex Churchills and stocker Michael Webster. I am seriously indebted to them both for imparting their considerable knowledge and for their patience. Michael's knowledge of the complexities of all things wood was astounding and under his guidance I was left in no doubt what part of the gun trade I wanted to be in.

During the following years I learnt my trade and further fuelled my passion for all things wood. This fabulous material never ceases to amaze me, just how forgiving it can be, that stands the test of time so well, even after a hundred years or more it is still sufficiently pliable to allow adjustment to cast and drop. How it responds to a good helping of TLC and returns to its former glory. I derive immense pleasure from taking a tired looking stock and forend, stripping, removing the dents and scratches re-checkering and then a final finish preferably a traditional best London hand rubbed oil finish. Yes it’s my job but it’s far more than that. I have always been passionate and even more so now about precise gun fit, fascinated by how a small adjustment to length, cast or drop can make such a vast difference to a sportsman's performance in the field.

During this time I was enjoying considerable success with both shotgun and rifle on the competition circuit and an opportunity arose to train as a shooting instructor under John Mayo of the West London Shooting Ground. I took to it like a duck to water and the results I was getting out on the open circuit certainly helped. John Mayo decided to open his own shooting school in Andover Hampshire and I chose to join him there - I loved it. The Shooting school grew and we added a gun shop. In a matter of a few years the ground and shop's reputation grew and became a premier venue to buy best London guns and have them properly fitted. Sadly, John's retiring to Spain led to the closure of the business.

As for me, the following years were spent building a successful business outside the gun trade but throughout I kept my loyal gun trade clients and still coached on a regular basis.

In 1990 I chose to semi-retire and move to the West Country, an area which I had always been passionate about. This gave me the opportunity to work on specialist commissions, refurbishments and general repairs. During this time I have been fortunate to enjoy some very challenging requests, from building a thumbhole stock for a 12 gauge competition gun to being supplied with the most magnificent pair of blanks to re-stock equally magnificent Woodward over-and-unders for the most discerning client – a challenge which was pleasantly fulfilled. I have long realized the diversity of work gives pleasure, therefore I enjoy everything from a run of the mill, minor repair to the most challenging of commissions. This still left me just sufficient time to design and build a camera/computer based clay target training system which I am proud to say I have now concluded, for those interested, please visit Clay Angel.

Since being here in the West Country I have had the pleasure of making friends with the four other specialists which form the partnership of UK Gun Repairs. I am proud to have such talented friends and partners and delighted that we can offer a huge range of talents under one partnership banner - it is truly a one stop shop.

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My name is Paul Stevens. My grandfather was Norman Johnson who was renowned throughout this country for his blacking and browning skills as was his father and grandfather before him. Norman started in the trade at the age of twelve in Birmingham's gun quarter and when his grandfather became ill, the family moved to London to help with the business.

After the war Norman and his family set up Norman Johnson Barrel Browner's Ltd. In the sixties Norman re-married and moved to Devon where he soon became very busy finishing barrels for all the country firms. Such was his reputation, I can remember going to the train station at Taunton to collect barrels from well known London Gun rooms including Purdey. When I left school I went to work with Norman to learn the trade, although, I too had been working on barrels since the age of twelve.

I have spent many years modernizing and perfecting my grandfather's solutions as some chemicals are no longer readily available, the barrels are finished using formulas that are over 150 years old, all the work is done by hand - no caustic or hot dip solutions are used

Many of the modifications to Grandfather's original formulae are unique to me; their development has finally left me with a product capable of achieving a finish which is considered by many as some of the finest barrel finishing available in the gun trade today. My sales register reflects this, as it contains the names of numerous established and respected gun makers, collectors and arms historians.

Achieving quality finished barrels is my primary objective and I revel in the ability to do just that. My knowledge of all things barrels gives me the right to enjoy my place alongside my fellow talented partners at UK Gun Repairs and further enhance the skill base enjoyed by this partnership.

I would be delighted if visitors to this page would indulge me by taking a look at some of my work photo's and trust you will enjoy the finished articles as much as I did in achieving them.

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My name is Christian Whitfield, born 1969. I have been keen on shooting since I was about 7 years old, starting with an air rifle knocking over tin cans, then progressing through the ranks and becoming a very competent shot with both rifle & shotgun.

After leaving school I knew I wanted to work with my hands, so I chose to do a time served apprenticeship as a cabinet maker joiner, making everything from windows to high quality furniture. After fourteen years in this trade, the demand for quality purpose made joinery declined, so I decided to change direction slightly and went into metal fabrication. During this time I became very interested in what the precision engineers were doing and spent every chance I had watching and learning.

Because of the skills I acquired whilst working in these two trades, and the number of gun owners I knew, I was frequently being asked to repair or alter quite a few shotguns. This type of request gradually increased and I soon became a very busy hobbyist gunsmith.

With the increasing work load and more complexed repairs asked of me, I needed to gain more knowledge so had to find a local gunsmith that would help me. I was lucky enough to meet Dennis Stepney , knowing that I now had help at hand my confidence grew and I decided to concentrate 100% on the gunsmithing and to my delight was asked to join UK Gun Repairs.

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My name is Peter Horn now aged 64, retired from banking when I was 50. Bought up in a remote part of Nigeria where my father deemed it necessary even at the tender age of 6 that I knew how a firearm worked. So armed with his Smith and Wesson 38 pistol I was taught to shoot using the seat of a chair as a rest. This kindled a lifelong interest in things that went bang.

Today, I am a vermin, fox and game shooter with an added passion for deerstalking reloading all my own rifle ammunition.

My part in the UK Gun Repair jigsaw partnership is your first point of contact with any query you may have. Whilst I have a surface knowledge of the gun trade, my task is to put your email address or telephone number in front of one of our craftsmen. Having done that, it falls on me to ensure that a response has been executed without delay and further down the line upon receipt of your firearm, that our recommended turnaround times are strictly adhered to with regular contact with updates to you on progress.

I am without doubt the stick wielder in the team ensuring that our principles of good customer service are rigidly stuck to. Alas, I remember my early banking days when customer service was exactly that.