AA Brown and Sons.  Introduction by John Gregson

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“I can only compare guns of this quality to a sculpture in wood and metal. Artistry and skilled craftsmanship combined.”

Quote by legendary British gun writer, the late Geoffrey Boothroyd, describing the shotguns of AA Brown and Sons.

   The best quality English sidelock sporting gun is surely one of the world’s great artefacts. In such guns, form truly follows function as grace, beauty and superb handling dynamics come together to give the sportsman unequalled pleasure and joy in ownership and use. These qualities are synonymous with the guns of AA Brown and Sons. Albert Arthur Brown established the business in 1938 and made his name building guns of fabulous quality which were ultimately signed with the names of many famous makers. He, together with his sons Albert H. and Sidney continued to work this way for many years, his company establishing itself as a “gunmakers’ gunmaker” - a firm that the trade turned to when only the very best would do. However, in the early 1970s, ten years after Sidney's son, Robin, started his apprenticeship, it was decided that if AA Brown was going to build the very best, it would do so under its own name.

     Today, under Robin's leadership, Browns build the very finest sporting guns in their workshops, a short distance from historic Birmingham, in the Mediaeval village of Alvechurch. They have enjoyed more than seventy years of continual production with an order book that has always bulged. During my visits there I have been struck not only by the evidence of fine gunmaking, epitomised for me by the stunning shape of Browns rounded-action sidelock, which has an aesthetic appeal all of its own and is quite unlike any other gun I have seen, but also by the huge amount of servicing, restoring and customising that gives the workshop a constant buzz of activity. Brown’s reputation precedes it and seems to ensure that the company is never short of work. I was delighted to be invited to write this short introduction to the AA Brown and Sons website and hope you will enjoy what you read and see. So Please, come in, browse and get to know the guns of AA Brown and Sons. Guns that are “best” in every way.

John Gregson. Writer, Sportsman and proud owner of an AA Brown gun.