Forty‑two years.
One gunroom.
The makers who define the sport.
Since 1983 we have stocked the rifles, shotguns, airguns and ammunition that serious British shooters actually shoot — hand-vetted from sixty premium European makers, every entry logged in our Home Office firearms register.
From a Tetbury gunroom in 1983 to one of sixty‑two UK dealers authorised for Section 5 transfers.
The shop opened on Long Street in the autumn of 1983, a single counter, three rifles in the cabinet, and a leather-bound ledger that is still in daily use. Forty-two years on, the address has not changed, but the building behind it has: eleven specialists, three in-house gunsmiths, a CNC Cerakote workshop, and a secure register that holds the provenance of every firearm we have ever sold.
What has not changed is the discipline behind the stocking. We carry 4,800+ live SKUs, but every line has been chosen by a team that shoots it. The room is quieter than the average high-street shop because the catalogue is built on judgement rather than algorithms — and because, as one of only sixty-two dealers in the United Kingdom authorised to transact Section 5 firearms and ammunition transfers, every conversation in the gunroom begins with the certificate in front of us.
The pages that follow are a record of that discipline. The makers we keep. The dates that built the shop. And the index of the sixty names currently on the rack.
The makers we stock — and why
Every name below has been on the rack for at least a decade. None was added on trend, none has been dropped for a cheaper alternative. These are the ten cornerstone houses whose work we will fit, proof, and warranty for the lifetime of the gun.
Beretta
The oldest active firearms manufacturer in the world, still family-held. We stock the SO, DT11 and 686 lines for driven game and clay, and run a Beretta-certified fitting service on every shotgun sold.
- Stocked since
- 1983
- Lines held
- SO · DT11 · 686 · A400 · Bellmonte
- Certifications
- Beretta Master Stockist
Browning
The other half of the European sporting canon. We hold the BAR Mk3, X-Bolt, BL-22 and the full Cynergy and Maxus shotgun lines, with stocks in every popular British calibre from .17 HMR up to .375 H&H.
- Stocked since
- 1984
- Lines held
- BAR · X-Bolt · Maxus · Cynergy · B725
- Workshop
- In-house Browning-trained gunsmith
Blaser
The R8 and R93 defined the modern German straight-pull. We hold every standard calibre and run Blaser-accredited Cerakote and stock-inletting through our own workshop — meaning a fitting from us carries the maker's warranty intact.
- Stocked since
- 1996
- Lines held
- R8 · R93 · K95 · D99 · BBF 97
- Fittings
- 410+ Blaser stock commissions completed
Tikka
The T3x has become the default stalking rifle of the British deer forest — and rightly so. We hold the Lite, Varmint, Super Varmint, TAC A1 and the .17 HMR rimfire lines, proof-tested and headspaced in our workshop before they leave the shop.
- Stocked since
- 1991
- Lines held
- T3x · T1x · Tac A1 · Sako family
- Proof house
- London proofed before sale
Sako
Sako's cold-hammered barrels are still the benchmark for accuracy at distance. We stock the 85, 100 and the limited-edition Quad ranges, and have factory access for custom Proof-House-spec builds in .260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmoor and 7mm Rem Mag.
- Stocked since
- 1988
- Lines held
- 85 · 100 · Quad · A7 · TRG
- Builds
- 62+ Sako custom commissions on file
Sauer
The oldest working gunmaker in Germany. We hold the 100, 101 and 202 lines — the latter being the flagship for driven wild boar and European roe deer stalking, with Sauer factory-trained staff on the counter.
- Stocked since
- 1992
- Lines held
- 100 · 101 · 202 · S404 · Artemis
- Service
- Sauer factory-trained workshop
Mauser
The name that built the modern bolt-action. We hold the M12, M18 and M03 lines, and have the in-house capability to re-barrel, re-blue and London-proof every Mauser action that comes through our doors.
- Stocked since
- 1986
- Lines held
- M03 · M12 · M18 · M98 Custom
- Heritage
- Pre-war Mauser stocklist held on file
Anschütz
The standard by which every other rimfire is measured. We hold the 1416, 1517, 1710 and 1827 target lines — the latter being the action of choice for British .22 benchrest and the kit we use in our pre-application clinic zeroing sessions.
- Stocked since
- 1987
- Lines held
- 1416 · 1517 · 1710 · 1827 · 1903
- Use
- Clinic zeroing rifle
Steyr Mannlicher
The SBS system and the SM12 are the choice for the Alpine stalker — and increasingly for the high-seat shooter who wants one rifle that will eat any factory ammunition. We hold the CL II, SM12 and Scout lines.
- Stocked since
- 1994
- Lines held
- CL II · SM12 · Scout · SSG 08
- Calibres
- Full .223 to .458 Lott range
Zoli
The smallest of our ten cornerstone houses, and the most personal. Zoli builds every gun to order in Brescia, and we keep the Antonio Zoli, Kronos and the side-by-side game-gun lines — proofed in our own workshop and fitted in-house.
- Stocked since
- 2002
- Lines held
- Antonio Zoli · Kronos · Side-by-Side
- Build lead
- 9–14 months · deposit secures slot
Four decades on Long Street, Tetbury
A dated, sourced record of the five dates that built the shop — from a single Tetbury counter in 1983 to a 4,800-SKU specialist in 2024.
-
1983
The Old Armoury opens
A single counter on Long Street, Tetbury. Three rifles in the cabinet, a leather-bound ledger, and a card index that survives in the back office to this day. The first entry in the firearms register is dated 14 October 1983.
-
1997
Registered Firearms Dealer status
The Firearms (Amendment) Act brings the RFD framework into force. We are registered on 3 November 1997 — registration number RFD-4192-2016 — and have held the designation continuously for twenty-eight years.
-
2018
The Coaching & Pre-Application Clinic
Two BASC-affiliated firearms coaches join the team. Since launch, 850+ S/C and FAC applicants have been signed off through the clinic, with a 99.2% first-time Home Office pass rate across the cohort.
-
2022
Shooting Industry Awards · Specialist Retailer of the Year
First of two industry honours. The award recognises the lifetime gun-fitting service (1,200+ custom stock fittings to date), the in-house Cerakote and CNC workshop, and the 90+ years of combined trade experience across the team.
-
2024
4,800 SKUs · 60 makers · 62 Section 5 authorisations
The current standing. One of only sixty-two UK dealers on the 2024 Home Office register authorised to transact Section 5 firearms and ammunition transfers; 42,500+ verified five-star reviews across Trustpilot, Google and the Shootinguk forums; a second Specialist Retailer of the Year award landed at the 2024 ceremony.
“I have never been interested in selling a rifle I would not personally put in a customer’s hands at dawn on a Cotswolds ridge. The register is not a marketing device — it is a discipline. If the team will not shoot it, it does not go on the rack. After forty-two years that rule still decides what walks out of this door.”
The full maker index — sixty names, one gunroom.
What came before was the curated shortlist. This is the complete register of the sixty houses currently held in stock, grouped by discipline.
Rifles
- Anschütz
- Blaser
- Browning
- Chapuis
- Christensen Arms
- Česká Zbrojovka (CZ)
- Haenel
- Heym
- Holland & Holland
- Howa
- Krico
- Mauser
- Merkel
- Nosler
- Pulsar
- Remington
- Rigby
- Rößler
- Ruger
- Sako
- Sauer
- Savage
- Steyr Mannlicher
- Still Precision
- Strasser
- Swarovski
- Tikka
- Voere
- Weatherby
- Winchester
Shotguns
- Armsan
- Benelli
- Beretta
- Beretta USA
- Blaser
- Boss
- Browning
- Caesar Guerini
- Chapuis
- Churchill
- Escort
- Fausti
- Franchi
- Holland & Holland
- KTW
- Lincoln
- Mossberg
- Perazzi
- Pursoux
- Remington
- Rigby
- Rizzini
- Sabatti
- Savage Arms
- SKB
- Winchester
- Yildiz
- Zoli
Airguns & Rimfire
- Air Arms
- Anschütz
- BSA
- Cometa
- CZ
- Daystate
- Diana
- FX Airguns
- Gamo
- Hatsan
- HW (Weihrauch)
- Kral Arms
- Logun
- Marocchi
- Norica
- Ruger (10/22)
- Steyr
- Stoeger
- Umarex
- Weihrauch
- W&W (Waldegger)
Reloading & Components
- ADEX
- Alliant Powder
- Berger Bullets
- Bisley (PPU)
- CCI
- Federal
- Fiocchi
- Forster
- Hodgdon
- Hornady
- Lapua
- Lee Precision
- Norma
- Pacific Tool
- Prvi Partizan
- RCBS
- Redding
- Remington
- Sellier & Bellot
- Sierra
- Speer
- Vihtavuori
- Winchester
Every maker above is held in current stock; live SKU counts and chamberings are listed on each product page. Section 5 transfers (where applicable) require Home Office-approved variation to your FAC and are handled face-to-face in the Tetbury gunroom. Full compliance notes.