McClelland Gun Shop

This Longthorne (Gunmakers) Ltd Britannica 12 gauge is in the shop for a decelerator pad and recoil reducer installation, BUT, we just had to share the story behind the custom sideplate engravings.

Aside from the gorgeously streaky walnut stock and forend, the sideplate engravings depict two scenes from the United Kingdom: the church where the owner and his wife got married and their favorite pub. I'm not crying, you are! 🥹

Also, it has 12 engraved on each ejector. Such a nifty detail! Thanks to Don for letting us share it.

Here's a really cool before and after restoration for y'all!

This Re*****on 722 in 300 Savage (mfg in 1951) was brought to us by a customer who's owned the rifle since he was 13 years old. He wanted a full restoration paired with a couple of upgrades and mods. As always, our ultimate goal was to make sure the refurbished rifle still retained as much of the original magic as possible!

Our woodsmiths first needed to plug a pair of old stripped stud holes in the stock in order to install a new set of studs. They then refinished the entire thing and installed a new Pachmayr decelerator to reduce recoil impact. The metal guys got to work removing the old bluing and years of rust/handling marks/age from the metal and silver inlay. Polishing around intricate engraving is always tricky, but we have young eyes on the team -- and Ron's 3x power glasses! -- that do a fantastic job.

Final work included installing a Timney trigger with minor stock modification. We remounted the original scope (keep the magic!) and installed a rear sight dovetail blank in the barrel. Lastly, Ron performed the final headspace check, inspection, and test fire. Now, it's ready for its 8th decade in the field.

Thanks to David for entrusting us with your rifle (and for the before pics 😁)!

The stock on this Simmons Hardware Cannon Breech 12 gauge is held together by two handcrafted copper bands made by a talented old-world craftsman. They expertly hammered, shaped, pinned, and soldered the bands around the stock. The older pieces with DIY repairs -- which the owners want to preserve! -- are easily my favorite jobs that come through the Service Shop.

We removed years of build up on this one and test fired it for a safety check (everything held together just fine!). So cool that we get to be a part of this gun's story!

One of our African big game hunters requested an improved means of sight acquisition than the standard iron sights on his H. Searcy 470 Nitro Express. One of our gunsmiths milled a dovetail on either side of the raised rib to accommodate the mounting plate for a Trijicon RMR 1x3.25 MOA.

And in case you were wondering, we DID test fire the rifle and the sight stayed put! Huzzah!