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Marcus Janssen visits Watson Bros., a small, independently-owned London gunmaking firm that still does things the old way.

Iwonder how many people, when asked to name as many London gunmakers as they can, would mention Watson Bros.? Despite being founded almost 150 years ago, and boasting an excellent reputation for best sidelock shotguns, I would wager at least a tenner that Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman would give them an impressively low score on Pointless. I wonder why that is?

Well, it might have something to do with the

fact that they only produce 12 to 15 guns and rifles per year, or the fact that for more than half of the 20th century not a single Watson Bros. gun was produced. It could also have something to do with how difficult it is to find their premises.

I was pretty certain that I was at the right address – I had repeated it to proprietor Michael Louca over the phone a few days earlier – and yet I was pretty certain that I was

at the wrong address. I called the office number from my mobile.

“Hi Staci. I’m afraid I must have taken a wrong turn. I’m stood outside a nondescript front door, behind which I am pretty certain is a derelict flat or shop. Can you give me your address again, please.” At that, the door opened and Staci greeted me with a smile. “Welcome to Watson Bros.,” she said cheerily, before leading me into the workshop where a team

Flying under theradarof gunmakers were hard at work on a range of spectacular-looking shotguns, including a mighty 4 bore wildfowling gun.

Intrigued, I followed Staci into Michael’s office, a veritable treasure trove of gunmaking and sporting paraphenalia and memorabilia. Every table, shelf, windowsill and ledge was cluttered with trinkets, gadgets, journals, books, maps, guncases and luggage, the walls were adorned with a range of taxidermy, and the

floor was strewn with rugs, skins and the odd lion head. It was

like taking a step back in time.

“Have a seat,” said Michael, as he cleared a number of guncases from a Chesterfield sofa.

H I S T O R YWatson Bros. was founded in 1875 by Thomas Watson, a gunmaker who had taken over the London premises of Durs Egg, a Swiss-born British gunmaker noted for his flintlock pistols and his company’s production of the Ferguson rifle.

Within a few years, Thomas Watson had established a reputation for producing fine smallbore shotguns for ladies and boys. In 1885, his two sons joined the firm, both of whom remained integral to the business for many years to come.

In 1935, however, the company of Stephen Grant and Joseph Lang

(Grant & Lang) bought Watson Bros., and shortly

thereafter, one of Thomas Watson’s sons – Arthur H. Watson – became sales director of the company. Although the company’s name was kept alive under the Grant & Lang banner, it was not until 1984 that it was once again seen above any gunmaking premises (albeit as part of an amalgamation of Charles Hellis, Frederick Beesley and Watson Bros., which was then owned by Fred Buller).

However, in 1989, Buller sold the business to its current proprietor, Michael Louca. “When I bought the company, no guns had been produced under the Watson Bros. name for about 50 years,” explains Michael. But that was about to change.

A N E W L E A S E O F L I F EMore than 25 years later, the names ‘Michael

Louca’ and ‘Watson Bros.’ have become inextricably linked. Indeed, anyone who knows anything about the firm will tell you that Michael Louca is Watson Bros.

Born in Stepney, East London, in 1961, Michael secured a gunmaking apprenticeship at James Purdey & Sons when he was 17 and remained there for the

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next nine years, honing his craft as a barrel-maker and actioner. Thereafter, he set up on

his own in Canterbury, making barrels for the trade and a number of private clients,

which he did for the next eight years. But during this time, as his

client list and reputation grew, he also started to build

some new guns out of his small workshop

at home.

“I was actually making guns before I had a company name,” he explains, “but I always wanted to set up on my own, so when the opportunity to acquire the name came about in 1989, it seemed a perfect fit.”

Michael’s next step was to find suitable London premises (Watson Bros. had always been based in London), and by 1990 he had set up shop in a building on Red Cross Way at London Bridge, which he rented for the next six years (he eventually bought the building in 2006). It was from these premises that he started producing distinctive round-body sidelock side-by-sides with coffin-shaped backs. These guns, based on the Beesley self-opening design, were the first in more than 50 years to be engraved with the Watson Bros. name. They also fitted perfectly with the

company’s long-established reputation for fine lightweight, smallbore shotguns.

“I loved the idea of taking a classic design and modernising it,” he explains.

“And that is exactly what we did with our round-body side-by-

side.”But Michael isn’t one

for resting on his laurels – he had further ambitions to produce an innovative over-under as well. “I started looking at the

classic Woodward and Boss designs,”

he continues, “and I soon

realised that I wanted to make something completely different; I wanted to make a really lightweight over-under. Everybody else’s was at least a pound more in weight than their side-by-side, and I was convinced that this wasn’t necessary.”

So, for the next two years, Michael spent a great deal of time designing, redesigning, developing and refining his lightweight over-under shotgun, finally launching it in 1995.

With a brand new lightweight ejector system (which Michael designed from scratch), a smaller, round-bodied action, and barrels made entirely in-house, Michael was able to produce an over-under at the same weight as the equivalent side-by-side (i.e. 6lb 8oz for a 30” 12 bore). “This got rid of the need to downsize to a smaller bore if one wanted a lighter gun,” adds Michael.

But of course, in recent years there has been a trend towards higher pheasants, longer barrels, bigger loads and faster, hotter cartridges, which Michael’s lightweight gun – or indeed any handmade English gun – wassimply not designed for.

So, two years ago, Michael decided to design a new ejector system and a heavier actioned over-under to cope with modern cartridges. Nowadays, all Watson Bros. over-unders are built on this heavier action (a 12 bore with 30” barrels now weighs in the region of 7¼ lb).

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With four full-time gunmakers – Ryan Glyde (barrel-maker), James Brown (actioner), ShaneScase (finisher) and Bradley Topley(apprentice) – every Watson Bros. gun is entirely handmade in theirfactory in London.

Indeed, only best sidelock g uns (and a few double rifles) are produced, with every one boasting exhibition-grade wood and best hand-engraving. They generally use five different European and British engravers to produce a range of different styles of engraving. “There is no point in having an in-house engraver because there is such incredible talent out there, and of course each client will have different expectations and tastes,” says Michael.

An average of 600-700 man-hours goes into the making of each Watson Bros. shotgun (barrels: 60 hours; action: 150 hours; ejector work: 40 hours; stock: 150 hours; regulating the gun: 50 hours; polishing: 50 hours; engraving: 100 hours; finishing: 150 hours), so from order to delivery takes an average of 18 months.

Having said that, with popular combinations such as a 30” 12 bore over-under, they will make them up to a point and have the components ready to complete within 14 months. They also carry a few new guns ready for delivery immediately (they currently have a pair of 12 bore side-by-sides, a pair of 20 bore side-by-sides and a couple of 12 bore over-unders) for clients who don’t want to wait 18 months for a new gun.

Between 12 and 15 guns are produced per year, including one or two over-under and side-by-side double rifles (at present, they have a .375 H&H over-under, a couple of .300 H&H side-by-sides and two .500 NE side-by-sides on order).

Shotguns tend to be a range of gauges, with 12 bores making up about 50 per cent of orders and the rest being a mix of 20s, 28s and .410s. In addition, they have produced a number of 4 bores, with three going through the workshop at the moment.

“Regardless of the gauge, all of our guns are incredibly well balanced,” says Michael. “Which comes down to the fact that we still make every component, including the chopper lump barrels, in-house. This gives us complete control over every aspect of a gun’s balance and how it will feel in the hands. At the end of the day, our guns are built to be used in the field, and I firmly believe that a gun can enhance that experience.”

Michael also asserts that modern technology and machinery might have made gunmaking a lot easier and faster, but it hasn’t improved the end product. “Remember, with CNC, you have to design the gun to suit the machining process. When you build a gun by hand, the traditional way, you design the gun first and then make the components to suit that design. The end result? A gun that isn’t just pretty, it is perfectly balanced and a genuine joy to use.”

If you want to visit Watson Bros. and see and feel some of their guns firsthand, you’ll need to make an appointment. Oh, and you’ll also need a map.

www.watsonbrosgunmakers.com