RichS Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Hello all, Was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about the cartridges in the (hopefully) attached photos and if they are worth anything? Cheers, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFreddysCat Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Don't know about the cartridges but I've got an old leather shotgun motor case in the attic with a Geo Hinton Label in the lid. 1st time I've seen anything else with Geo Hinton on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 The small amount of information i can find suggests George Hinton and Sons was a gunmakers based in Taunton for a while. Thats pretty much all i have found thus far! Hoping somebody out there may know a little more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 The stamping on the head would give a better clue possibly - if any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Ok, cant seem to work out how to add another photo now, im sure it was pretty straight forward when i attached them to the first post? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Aha! Got there in the end..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 The firm was bought out by Charles Hellis and Co Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFreddysCat Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Took some pics but for some reason I can't post JPG images on this site The case is of oak and leather but is in poor condition but I do have the key for the lock. The label reads Established 1818 Geo Hinton and Sons Gun Rifle and Cartridge Manufacturers Fishing Tackle and General Sporting Goods Fore Street, Taunton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Thats about as much as i've managed to find out about the company..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Aha! Got there in the end..... That was only to be expected. He either bought in the components and did load in Taunton or had Eley do them in his name. The firm was bought out by Charles Hellis and Co I wonder what he had/knew that was wanted by a quality London maker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 So are they worth hanging on to, or should i test out their ballistic qualities on the local foxes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFreddysCat Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Don't know if this will work. http://s999.photobucket.com/user/Fatfredscat/library/GeoHinton?sort=3&page=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 BIt of info: http://www.hellis.com/history.html Another Co-Director at this time was Charles William Hellis, the son of Charles Robert, who after a family disagreement in 1946 left the firm to start up on his own, having bought the old established gunmaking business of George Hinton & Sons of Taunton, Somerset. He became Chairman of the Gunmakers Association in 1961 and 1964 and was elected Chairman of the Long Sufferers Association. His son John M. Hellis continued the business after his father’s death in 1983. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I have a Damascus barrelled hammer gun with the name F J Richards 1 High Street Taunton on it. Sounds like Taunton shooters were well served once upon a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumph_Dave Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 George Hinton and Sons and Frank Richards stores served Tauntons shooting population right through until the 1970/80's, I looked at a recently restored Geo Hinton boxlock of theirs last week and it was well made. Sadly in the early 70's the centre of Taunton was "modernised" and the old shop on Fore Street was turned into the entrance for a shopping area.. Frank Richards had a shop on the fringe of the Taunton shopping zone ( now opposite the antique centre). But it closed in the 80's and Taunton lost it last gun store.. Its a shame, I still have the memory of going in as a child with my father and seeing the racks of guns, shelves of knives (and they also sold fireworks for Nov 5th !). Also I remember the smell of the shop.. leather and gun oil. Bloody lovely.. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 Thanks for that Dave, sheds a little more light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanky Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 These cartridges were made approx 1950`s early 60`s, ICI headstamp finished approx 1964, they are not really worth much but are too good to shoot - keep them for a few more years and their value will go up, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichS Posted February 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Thanks Hanky, i'll hang on to them then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMcC Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Geo Hinton and sons used to supply the black powder for muzzle loading wildfowlers that used them on the Somerset levels in the fifties that I know of, so if they were bought out by Hellis they must have traded under the Hinton name right up to the early sixties. We had a gun shop in Yeovil that was closer to where I lived but didn't deal in 'low cost' guns or black powder so it meant a long bicycle ride to Taunton or, when I could afford it, a train journey. I was stopped once cycling home through Langport with a can of powder by a local Bobby and he was very suspicious of me with the powder, he thought I was too young to have 'explosives' It took him a while to confirm that the legal age for possession of black powder was fourteen and a permit to purchase had been granted in Yeovil. Frank Richards came a lot later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Geo Hinton and sons used to supply the black powder for muzzle loading wildfowlers that used them on the Somerset levels in the fifties that I know of, Frank Richards came a lot later. When I obtained my wall hanger (damascus hammer gun), in the 1980's, I phoned F Richards to ask them about it. They were amazed, saying that they were a fairly recent business and that there must have been another F Richards trading in Taunton before them. The gun's probably a Birmingham made gun so could have been sold by a hardware store or farm merchants, not necessarily a gunshop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMcC Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Frank Richards was a lot later than Geo Hinton and I don't think he dealt in muzzle loading components whereas Geo Hinton had everything for muzzle loaders. When I was young, before I left school, I used to hear the old boys in their sixties talking of Geo Hinton and wildfowling with punt guns on the Somerset levels. It was one such 'old boy' that introduced me to muzzle loading after I obtained a single barrel 12 bore made by William Adkin of Bungay. I swopped it at school with a lad for a Bow and Arrow, I reckon I had the best deal. I used that gun quite a bit and eventually sold it down the Lanes in Brighton in 1962 when on my honey moon for 30/- which almost paid for the best part of my honeymoon. ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian f james Posted November 16, 2018 Report Share Posted November 16, 2018 Hi, I have a George Hinton box lock non ejector 12 bore with 28 inch barrels , Serial No 7180.My late father bought it in a iron mongers shop in Wellington in 1950 for £15 the year I was born, I have been using this gun now for 54 years and it is still in great condition.I wonder if any readers have a Hinton gun , I was informed by a gun smith in George Hintons shop just before is closed that it was probably 1925 circa.Regards JIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 The topic is nearly five years old. If you start a new topic in guns and equipment you may get more views. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.