"I'm one of Britain's last gunmakers, my trade has been villainised and banks lump me with strip clubs"
1 年前
The company now make bespoke guns for all purposes but say most orders are from people who enjoy shooting as a sport.
One of the most famous orders they produced was a set of 20-gauge guns given to the late Queen Mother on her 21st birthday, which remain at Sandringham today.
Despite the long history of his family-run trade, Steve says people fail to see guns as anything more than a weapon used by the criminal underworld.
Steve, from Rednal, Birmingham, added: “There are many people who do not understand shooting as a sport.
“Back in the day before gun licensing came into effect, it was like the Wild West.
“We are talking a few centuries back, but everyone would walk round and carry guns and pistols for protection.
“A gunmaker back then was like any other profession and was looked at the same way as someone being a butcher or a tradesman.
“Now it is very different.
“It does depend on who you speak to as people in the industry understand that a gun is not a weapon and used for sport and shooting.
“But if someone asks about my job in a pub, most don’t understand.
“I get asked all the time if what I do is legal and of course it is.
"When there's been a shooting in the city, people somehow think I'm linked to it. I even had a camera crew outside my shop one time.
"But I can assure you we are well-to-do businessmen.
"The trade has got so many negative connotations around it today which didn't exist back years ago."
Hortons and Sons make around two bespoke guns a month selling anywhere in the region of £23,000 to £98,000.
Over the last decade, Steve has created firearms for clients across the globe including Scotland, America, South Africa and Australia.
An order can take between nine to 18 months to complete, and each gun is engraved by hand with the company’s name on it.
Before creating the one of a kind guns, Steve carries out thorough consultations with his clients, advising them on the wood, engraving style and finishes.
They are are then made in the shop by two gunsmiths and one engraver.
Steve is confident the business can carry on for centuries to come despite the once- thriving trade declining
He added: “We make all the guns in-house with the help from a local engineering firm.
“The only thing we buy in is the barrel tubes as the machinery to make these in the shop is so expensive.
“My father worked for me for a short time, but he is now fully retired so at the moment, it is just me carrying on the family name.
“I’ve got five boys though so hopefully one of them will carry on the profession.
“People don’t realise that what we do is a craft.
“The people that work for me and make the guns, most of them have never fired a gun in their life and never want to.
“They enjoy the trade and see it as an art and no two guns we make are the same.
“What we do is completely different to those making military weapons.
“Everything is bespoke, and has to be perfect down to the finest details.
“Shooting as a sport is never going to disappear and I hope this business is successful for generations to come.”
* Birmingham's Gun Quarter was for 250 years the centre of the world's gun-manufacturing industry.
Situated slightly north of the city centre, the area specialised in the production of sporting guns and military firearms.
The first recorded gun maker in Birmingham was in 1630, and locally made muskets were used in the English Civil War.
Weapons were later made for armies on both sides of the American Civil War and for British forces in both world wars.
相關影片推薦
- 1:35高血壓男吃重鹹就愛"這道菜"淋醬油 腦中風險喪命民視影音86,965 次觀看・6 小時前
- 1:55陳幸妤投資台中上億豪宅 掛賣11年5度降價求售華視影音479,339 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:51月薪3萬買淡水千萬宅 網友驚嘆:5年後繳得出來嗎?民視影音86,092 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:474年級學童倒垃圾疑遭毒蛇咬傷 校方撒石灰粉驅蛇民視影音162,948 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:382024最大「超級月亮」現身 「獵人之月」照亮夜空 比其他滿月亮14%、大30%Yahoo奇摩(國際通)8,342 次觀看・6 小時前
- 2:11印尼新發現更矮小人類「哈比人祖先」 身高約100公分可能60萬年體型從未改變Yahoo奇摩(國際通)60,995 次觀看・2 個月前
- 3:04太戲劇!守護者「追平轟+再見轟」逆轉洋基 奪美聯冠軍賽首勝民視影音13,327 次觀看・8 小時前
- 65:33南北韓衝突為美選挺民主黨? 美無人機飛平壤誰該負責?|YahooTV《風向龍鳳配》風向龍鳳配106,805 次觀看・1 週前
- 1:51驚呆!夾8菜1蛋1飯才45元? 當事便當店:不可能啦東森新聞影音89,876 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:52佛心便當! 台南8菜1蛋45元 高雄大雞腿飯賣65元華視影音10,559 次觀看・1 天前
熱門必看
- 2:09金鐘59/庹宗康被爆瘦很多!衣服下藏腹肌 LuLu化身白雪公主「帶了可愛七矮人」走紅毯Yahoo奇摩娛樂 電視影音135 次觀看・26 分鐘前
- 1:28金鐘59/陳明珠金鐘紅毯首位女星辣到爆! 呼應山上優雅中空稱「開山路!」Yahoo奇摩娛樂 電視影音154 次觀看・45 分鐘前
- 1:12金鐘59/木木大露美背性感現身紅毯! 甜勾黃豪平扛主持重任Yahoo奇摩娛樂 電視影音22,409 次觀看・1 小時前
- 5:022024金鐘獎專訪/詹子萱想爭「紅毯5美」聽到這些女神秒慫了 曝林哲熹超暖訊息:我好像真的有哥哥Yahoo奇摩娛樂 電視影音146,014 次觀看・1 週前
- 7:002024金鐘獎專訪/派翠克闖金鐘喊不可思議!曝小S淡定反應 收來賓感謝私訊感動「好像做對一件事情」Yahoo奇摩娛樂 電視影音187,644 次觀看・1 週前