In Pursuit of the Best Gun: Westley Richards 1812-2012

In Pursuit of The Best Gun: a bicentennial history of Westley Richards & Co 1812-2012 written by Jeremy Musson is a wide ranging and richly illustrated history of the oldest of the prestigious English gun making companies. It has been based in Birmingham since it was founded and has played an important role in the development of the shotgun and the sporting and military rifle, and is especially famous for such features as the Monkey Tail carbine, an early breech loader, the Anson and Deeley box lock which marked the transition to the effective hammerless gun, and the hand detachable lock (droplock). Guns of Westley Richards & Co. have been owned and used by some of the most famous sporting shots, from Frederick Selous to Count Alfred Potocki and from the Maharaja of Patiala to Ernest Hemingway. Still patronised by clients from around the world today, including royalty, Westley Richards & Co. has had a remarkable resurgence in the past few decades which has helped it retain a worldwide reputation, 200 years after its founding.