Commissioned in March 2024, this beautiful Westley Richards over & under represents the company’s current style for modern game guns. With the over & under now the preferred configuration for the majority of modern shooting men and women, a settled design was required to drive our latest model onto the market and assure it a long-term future.
The current Westley Richards over & under is based on the 1913 Woodward and Hill design, which has proven itself among the best game gun designs of the twentieth century.
Its low-profile action, with a complex arrangement of lumps, bites and draws, creates a beautifully satisfying gun to shoot and operate. However, it requires the most precise, no-compromise approach to gunmaking currently being practiced anywhere.
This gun was built for a large man with big hands; we had to custom design the stock to accommodate his physical dimensions. That required thickening and lengthening the Prince-of-Wales grip and taking the nose of the comb back ¼” further than usual. Serial Number 20168 is a ‘Model de Luxe’ grade over & under game gun with 29” barrels, chambered for 70mm (2 ¾”) cartridges and fitted with Teague multi-chokes.
It has a rounded body, pinless locks and a non-selective single-trigger. The safety is automatic and the trigger guard is rolled-edged to protect the trigger finger. It sports a tapered, flat top rib and has Westley Richards’ characteristic nibs applied to the side ribs.
The slim forend is removed by way of our modern Anson push-rod catch. The completed 12-bore weighs 7lbs 11oz, with a stock length of 14 ¾” to centre. For decoration, the order stated ‘elaborate deluxe scroll with relief background and carved fences, with gold name and numbering throughout’.
The design was based on a drawing by our engraver Leo Lambert and features a gold ‘Westley Richards’ name in a banner on either side of the action, surrounded by large deluxe floral and foliate scrolls, with a cut-away background.
The gold lettering of the name is replicated on the rib and ‘SAFE’ as well as the serial number on the guard strap. There is further deluxe scroll around the muzzles, and extending from the breech down the rib for a short distance. All pins and furniture have been engraved to match.
This game gun very much reflects modern ‘best’ gun tastes among keen shooters. The demand for more expressive wood and bolder engraving than was the case a century ago are reflected in the beauty of these two most obvious points of interest to customers.
Every era has its fashions, from the tiny rose & scroll of James Lucas at Purdey in the 1880s to the bolder scroll work and improving game scenes of Harry Kell in the first quarter of the twentieth century, through the deep-carved scrolls and gold game birds of Ken Hunt in the 1980s.
Engraving today is better than it has ever been. The level of artistry possible now seems almost limitless and even ‘normal’ game guns, which will be used, rather than merely displayed, are expected to be visually stunning from every angle.
Visually stunning this certainly is but it is more than that. We have designed the new over & under models to be the ideal game shooting tools for our most avid customers. They can, and do, stand-up to repeated use in shooting season weather, using the best modern ammunition and subject to the normal stresses of a day in the field.
They are mechanically superb, actioned by true masters of the craft, every hole drilled with precision, chambers reamed perfectly straight and smooth, proof tested for Superior (lead) loads.
With its multi-chokes, it can accommodate lead, bismuth and standard steel cartridges. However, Westley Richards does not currently recommend the use of steel shot loads for general game shooting.
Ammunition developments continue apace and lead remains the most efficient projectile, while questions about the efficacy of steel and its effect on gun barrels over time are still hotly debated topics.
Westley Richards may be traditional gun makers, with a two-century-long history of best gun making and a factory full of bench workers using tools that Victorians would recognize, but we are dedicated to remaining relevant and building the guns that modern sportsmen want to shoot.
The heart of those guns remains true to the designs of the early twentieth century, because they have never been surpassed from a quality or an engineering perspective. Later ‘improvements’ tend to be geared towards the ease and cost of production, rather than imparting greater strength, smoother operation or finer handling qualities to the guns.
Just as the mechanical watch industry survived the quartz crisis of the 1980s, so the best gun industry has survived the introduction of mass-production, stainless steel, laminate and plastic. Today, Westley Richards’ best shotguns stand, like the Patek Philippe Calatrava, as representations of all that is most valued and appreciated by aficionados of the fine arts of design and manufacture.
These are the best hand-made shotguns that can be bought and there is an enduring market for them, led by knowledgeable and passionate sportsmen who appreciate the finest things in life.
Whether for the discerning collector or the avid sportsman, Westley Richards firearms represent the epitome of excellence in the world of bespoke gunmaking. Known for the droplock shotgun, over and under shotgun, double barrel rifle and bolt action rifle, the company has achieved an illustrious 200 year history of innovation, craftmanship and artistry. As part of our best gun build, clients can choose from three levels of gun engraving: the house scroll; signature game scenes; and exhibition grade masterpieces. All Westley Richards sporting arms are built at their factory in Birmingham, England. Discover more about the gunmaking journey at our custom rifles and bespoke guns pages.
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