Every now and then you see a shotgun and it gets you very excited, this week we have been  struck down by total Gun Lust, after seeing the beautiful  Longthorne Hesketh 12bore and it’s glamorous, yet serious big sister version – The Hesketh Deluxe.

We’re wowed, this lightweight, low recoil shotgun seems to be the perfect gun for a lady shot. While the English Gun Making trade may have reached it’s peak some 150 years ago, enter James and Elaine Longthorne-Stewart and their fabulous creation, which is set to be a classic. This gun seems to have it all and is very original, so what exactly does it have that makes it so good? We investigate…

The Hesketh has 30’’ barrels and looks like a very smart 12 bore, one might think that you were shooting a 20 bore given the weight of it as it tips the scales at a very light 6lb 15oz, which makes it the perfect shot for long days in the field and reduces fatigue on high bird clay days. Our initial thought was this gun is going to have a fair bit of kick to it, as usually associated with lighter weight guns, which are renowned for bruising shoulder sockets unless there are some very low recoil cartridges in it, however this is not so – even with the heaviest of cartridges it remains a very low recoil gun. Which gets a very big
thumbs up from us.

We thought the engineering to this gun was most impressive, the barrels, rib and action on this gun are machined from one piece of very high quality Swedish steel, not your usual assembly, with the more conventional method being welding the barrels to the lumps and fitting the rib separately. Longthorne have turned this on it’s head and done it all as a one piece. Very impressive indeed!

The engraving on the body is very classy and elegant, let’s be honest who doesn’t love a beautifully engraved gun. Longthorne have kept it understated and neutral with a stunning border and scrolling pattern detail, which makes a nice change from the usual more predictable engravings. There is the option for full intricate pattern, which makes for an incredibly beautiful gun in the Hesketh Deluxe.

Vic Harker recently reviewed this gun and we quote him saying ‘This gun just moves – that’s the only way I can describe it, you point, swing, hit the target and that’s it’ which makes us want one even more. It’s lightweight, it’s relatively cheap in comparison other top end guns, it’s cutting edge, it’s made by a jolly nice couple from Lancashire and it should make you shoot better, we literally can’t think of anything else we’d ask for.

One of the biggest draws to the Hesketh is the price, this beautiful piece of British engineering is available as standard with fixed chokes cost £12,766  or for £17,500 for the stunning Hesketh Deluxe. If you’re in the market for a brand new shotgun this comes highly recommended.