The DREAM FACTORY

How often have we admired them at exhibitions or in catalogs: Hunting guns that are impressive testaments to the ancient arts of hand craftsmanship with splendid engravings and the most noble of stock woods. Whereas such jewels were previously commissioned mainly by well-heeled hunters in the Germanic countries, the market has become distinctly more international in the last few decades. Totally new challenges are suddenly being set for gunmakers and engravers by customers that now hail mainly from the CIS States and the Arabian Peninsula. The centuries-old tradition of so-called ornamental weapons thrives once more, yet the tastes and preferences surrounding the artistic realization of such rifles and shotguns are constantly changing:

Three decades ago, elaborate stock carvings and gold-inlayed engravings were practically a ‘must’; today, understated elegance is on trend and only connoisseurs should be able to discern that the gun you are carrying is not ‘off the rack’. Besides the indispensable role that hand craftsmanship plays in the construction of individually decorated models, new processes such as laser technology now play a significant role as well. For one example, barrels can now be fashioned with very attractive surface structures thanks to lasers. On another front, more and more stocks are now being ordered with slip-proof leather overlays for an optimal grip. In any case, the most extraordinary ideas can now be realized. Special requests can still remain quite affordable since smaller details such as hand-finished pistol grip caps or bolt handle knobs can transform any gun into a highly personal object.