The Hammer gun is a relatively primitive, totally hand-built, unique, supremely elegant and satisfying work of art; but it also has some genuine advantages over all the expensive modern guns used today. They remain, according to the author, the best guns ever made – and today they are still in many ways better than anything else available.

Vintage gun expert Diggory Hadoke (author of Vintage Guns and The British Boxlock Gun & Rifle) has now produced an accessible work on the subject for which he is best known: the hammer gun.

With a fascinating mixture of historical analysis, practical application and personal reflection, he makes a robust case for the Victorian hammer gun as the finest sporting gun available today, just as it was a century ago.

The reader will discover all that is worth knowing about the subject: how the guns were devised, crafted and used, how they were perfected and how they work.

Modern applications are given equal weight to historical ones and subjects such as the selection of suitable ammunition, stripping, refurbishing and customising will prove invaluable to anyone contemplating taking a hammer gun into the field and using it as they would a modern gun.

More than a reference book, this is a clearly-written guide for owners and collectors that will prove invaluable for buying and maintaining  Victorian hammer guns.