The first marketable over-and-under shotguns appeared just before World War I with Frederick Beesley’s ‘Shotover’ launching in 1912-13.
More than 100 years later, we have revived the Frederick Beesley name to launch two new shotguns, we’ve called the Fenice and Eleganza in recognition of their Italian manufacture.
In our design we’ve sought to recognise Beesley’s inventiveness and innovative approach to gunmaking.
Our shotguns are made by highly trained gunmakers from the famous Brescia gunmaking region in Italy, many of whom are the latest generation in long line stretching back hundreds of years. Using precision machines, incredible skill and an expert eye, our gunmakers exude tradition, pride and legacy which is no more apparent than in their care and attention to detail.
Each new gun requires around 1,000 hours of handwork. Our craftsmen and women also treat each shotgun as an exquisite work of art creating a vision of beauty and elegance.
The Eleganza and Fenice are made from the finest quality steel using high tech precision instruments and skills which are centuries old. The mechanisms inside our guns are just as important to us as its outward appearance, our wood is carefully selected and specially treated for gunmaking purposes. Fitting the stock to the action is a highly skilled process which sees stockers working to precise tolerances to ensure the perfect finish.
When we talk about precision engineering we’re referring to tolerances between 1,000th of an inch and zero. With engravers, woodworkers and metalworkers who have finely tuned their skills over generations, little wonder that each gun is a work of art.
Gunmaking is a precise and specialist process and we’re confident that like the Beesley guns which have gone before, they will continue to function immaculately and will still be in use in the 22nd century.
Meticulous, precise and artistic, our shotguns are now available to order and test shoots can also be booked.
