T.Hepplestone 8 Bore Shotgun

Welcome back to another Firearm Friday, where we take a closer look at some of the fascinating pieces from the Owen Guns Museum collection. This week we're showcasing a firearm that is becoming increasingly difficult to find, a Victorian English 8-bore single-barrel sporting shotgun retailed by Thomas Hepplestone of Sheffield.

During the second half of the nineteenth century, Sheffield was renowned throughout Britain for its steel industry and precision manufacturing. While Birmingham was the heart of Britain's gun-making trade, Sheffield was home to a number of respected provincial gunmakers and retailers who supplied firearms to local sportsmen, landowners and gamekeepers.

Thomas Hepplestone was one of these craftsmen, operating from Sheffield and selling quality sporting firearms under his own name.

Like many respected provincial gunmakers of the Victorian era, Thomas Hepplestone is believed to have obtained high-quality components from Birmingham's renowned Gun Quarter before finishing, regulating and retailing firearms under his own name in Sheffield. 

This practice was common throughout Victorian Britain, allowing provincial makers to offer firearms of excellent quality while maintaining their own reputation and customer base. Contemporary records also show Hepplestone trading in Sheffield during the late nineteenth century, a period when the city supported a thriving trade in quality sporting arms.

Although the exact address of Thomas Hepplestone's gun shop has yet to be confirmed, this impressive 8-bore would almost certainly have been sold from the bustling commercial heart of Victorian Sheffield during the 1880s.

The city's principal shopping district centred around High Street, Fargate, Church Street and Haymarket, where respected gunmakers, cutlers and sporting outfitters traded alongside jewellers and merchants.

A sportsman purchasing this shotgun would have walked along streets filled with horse-drawn traffic, the sound of blacksmiths and steelworkers, and the smell of coal fires drifting from Sheffield's famous workshops. 

Behind the polished glass windows of Hepplestone's premises, customers would have found sporting guns displayed alongside powder flasks, leather cartridge bags, cleaning equipment and other shooting accessories, with each firearm carefully selected and fitted for the discerning Victorian sportsman.

Whether destined for the marshes in pursuit of wildfowl or carried across a country estate by its proud new owner, this remarkable 8-bore would have left Sheffield as a fine example of the quality sporting arms that made Britain's provincial gunmakers so highly respected throughout the nineteenth century.

The shotgun featured here is a substantial 8-bore, a gauge intended long before today's lightweight sporting shotguns. During the Victorian era these large-bore guns were prized for waterfowl hunting, where heavy black powder charges and large shot loads provided the range and striking power needed for geese, ducks and other game birds. Unlike the far more common 12-bore, an 8-bore was built specifically for sportsmen requiring exceptional performance, making them relatively expensive and far less numerous.

This particular example is especially interesting as it is a single-barrel external hammer gun, fitted with a beautifully figured walnut stock and an elegant side-swing underlever action. The barrel retains its traditional Damascus construction and is marked "CHOKE," indicating it was built or later bored with choke to improve shot patterns.

Under the barrel are Birmingham proof marks including "NOT FOR BALL", confirming it was intended solely for shot cartridges, along with 8 BORE markings and later Nitro Proof stamps. These markings tell an important story, showing that although the shotgun was originally manufactured during the black powder era, it was subsequently returned to the Birmingham Proof House after the introduction of smokeless powder proofing in the early twentieth century and successfully passed proof under the newer standards. This later proof demonstrates that the firearm remained valued and in service long after its original manufacture.

Today, surviving English 8-bores are becoming increasingly scarce, particularly single-barrel sporting guns retailed by provincial makers such as Thomas Hepplestone. Their combination of craftsmanship, history and sheer presence makes them highly sought after by collectors of British sporting arms.

Standing as a reminder of the golden age of Victorian gunmaking, this impressive shotgun represents a time when British firearms were regarded as the benchmark of sporting excellence throughout the world.

We hope you've enjoyed this week's look into another remarkable piece from the Owen Guns Museum Collection. Be sure to join us again next Firearm Friday, where we'll continue exploring the stories behind the firearms that helped shape history.

Until next Friday, keep your powder dry and your passion for history alive!