Enquire
Every year, the Westley Richards editorial team pushes to keep The Explora vibrant and relevant. Our deep dive into this year’s analytics surfaced fascinating insights, confirming both unexpected hits and consistent pillars of interest.
For 2025, our 'Best of…' arrives as a two-part feature. Part 1 showcases... Part 2 explores...
Selous Inspired .425 Take-Down
Firearms collectors have varied motivations and interests but one thing of common interest to them all is provenance. Buying and owning a gun or rifle once owned by a famous hunter or person of historical interest is a source of great pride and fascination to many people but these iconic firearms also serve as a template to some clients when deciding how they want their new rifle to be made.
The Fine Art of Stock Finishing
Stock finishing is one of the last jobs to be completed before the customer collects his new gun or rifle. On presentation of the finished firearm, the surface of the walnut is the biggest visible area, and the visual impact it has is crucial to the way people will perceive the overall quality. How often have we noticed someone pick up a gun and the first thing they say is “Wow, nice wood!”.
A Sublime Westley Richards .300 WM And .375 H&H Take-Down Magazine Rifle
We built a .404 Jeffery for a customer a little while ago and he was so pleased with it that he came back and asked us to build another rifle just like it in either .375 H&H or .300 Win Mag. Being a take-down magazine rifle, we settled on an interchangeable barrel set, so that both rifles could exist on the same platform.
A Stunning Westley Richards Two Barrel Take-Down Rifle
Westley Richards rifles are traditional but under a constant process of refinement. Take-down magazine rifles first appeared in our catalogues in the early 20th century. They immediately proved popular with overseas travellers, due to the fact that the broken-down rifle can be carried in a case no longer than the barrel, which may be as short as 24 or 25 inches.
The Africa and India .600NE Rifles.
Simon Clode joined Westley Richards in 1987 and managed it until his death in 2016. Those 29 years were among the firm’s most important and pivotal. A few months before he died, Simon posted images of two incredible rifles, of which he was especially proud, and discussed their progress and the process of creating them.
150th Anniversary Of The Boxlock
9th July 1875 is a date in history that should be revered by students of sporting firearms, for it marks the day, one hundred and fifty years ago, on which perhaps the most important single sporting gun design of the breech-loading era was sealed at the patent office.
The Forest Rifle
When a new rifle is commissioned, many customers like to create it around a theme, grounding the stylistic elements to a concept from which it derives harmony of form and function. This ‘Forest Rifle’, completed in 2018, stands out as a favourite build of recent years for its harmony and the tasteful incorporation of a very fitting theme for a hunting double.
Becoming a Gunmaker - Year One
Modern gunmaking is a tradition with its roots in the late 1700s. When James Purdey commented to a patron that, but for his master Joseph Manton, London’s gunmakers would still be a “parcel of blacksmiths”. He was referring to the time before Manton when gunmakers were considered closely related to blacksmiths in status, and whose output was primarily utilitarian.
Return of the Bayonet
Reviving a long-forgotten classic, Westley Richards reintroduces its faster bayonet take-down rifle, combining historic innovation with modern precision and strength. The rifle pictured represents the first of its kind in the modern era. This take-down model, last produced before the Second World War, employs Westley Richards original bayonet-lug system, a very practical solution devised to reduce the length of a magazine rifle to ease transportation.
Pre and Post-hardening in the Finishing Shop
When the steel parts of a gun or rifle come back to the workshop from the engraver, the first task for the finisher to undertake is a full, detailed inspection of the work, as compared to the specification sheet.
The Explora Blog is the world’s premier online journal for field sports enthusiasts, outdoor adventurers, conservationists and admirers of bespoke gunmaking, fine leather goods and timeless safari clothes. Each month Westley Richards publishes up to 8 blog posts on a range of topics with an avid readership totalling 500,000+ page views per year.
Blog post topics include: Finished custom rifles and bespoke guns leaving the Westley Richards factory; examples of heritage firearms with unique designs and celebrated owners like James Sutherland and Frederick Courteney Selous; the latest from the company pre-owned guns and rifles collection; interviews with the makers from the gun and leather factory; new season safari wear and country clothing; recent additions to our luxury travel bags and sporting leather goodsrange; time well spent out in the field; latest news in the sporting world; and key international conservation stories.
