08-Sep-2026
The South West is one of the best-served corners of the country for shooters. It has the ground, moorland, rough shooting, driven days, deer management across the Blackdowns and Exmoor, and clay grounds scattered from the Mendips to the Tamar, and it has the trade to match. Long-established family gun shops, specialist rifle dealers, general country stores with a firearms counter, and a handful of names that have been fitting guns to the same families for generations.
This guide walks through the region as a shooter would travel it, from the Bristol fringe down through Somerset and into Devon and Cornwall. If you have moved to the area, are looking for a dealer to handle a purchase, or simply want to know who is worth the drive, this is a starting point.
Bristol and the Northern Fringe
Bristol sits at the top of the region and acts as its commercial gateway. It is where a lot of South Wales and Gloucestershire shooters end up as well, simply because of the motorway network.
Braces of Bristol is the name most people in the region know. It is a substantial operation with a broad stock of shotguns, rifles and airguns across both new and used, and the sort of turnover that means the second-hand racks change regularly. For anyone in the Bristol, Bath or lower Severn area it tends to be the default first stop, and it is well worth checking what they have listed before committing to a longer trip.
The area around Bristol also gives you reasonable access northward into Gloucestershire and eastward towards Wiltshire, both of which have their own dealer networks. If you are prepared to travel forty minutes, your realistic choice of stock roughly triples.
Browse: Braces of Bristol · Business directory · Shotguns · Rifles
Somerset: Mendip, the Levels and Taunton
Somerset is the heart of the region’s shooting trade and has an unusually high concentration of good dealers for its size.
Avalon Guns at Mendip has a strong regional following, particularly among clay and game shooters, and covers the middle ground between a specialist and a general dealer well.
Ivythorn Sporting, near Street, has built a considerable reputation and generates more search interest than almost any other dealer in the region. It is the kind of place people make a specific journey for rather than passing through.
Tactical Assault in Taunton serves the airgun and tactical end of the market and is a useful stop for anyone in the Taunton Deane area who wants something other than a game gun.
Coombe Farm Sporting rounds out the county’s coverage for those in the south of Somerset and on the Dorset border.
What Somerset does particularly well is variety. Within roughly an hour’s drive of Glastonbury, you can reach dealers covering fine English guns, volume clay shotguns, stalking rifles and airguns, which is not true of every English county.
Browse: Avalon Guns (Mendip) · Ivythorn Sporting · Tactical Assault · Coombe Farm Sporting
Devon: Exeter, Crediton and the Moors
Devon’s dealer network is shaped by geography. The county is large, the roads are slow, and the shooting is spread across two national parks and a great deal of farmland in between. Dealers here tend to serve a wide catchment and have loyal local followings.
Ladds Guns at Crediton is the standout name and one of the most-searched dealers in the entire South West. It sits well positioned for Exeter, mid-Devon and the approaches to Dartmoor and Exmoor, and carries a serious range across shotguns and rifles.
A.W. Rule & Son represents the traditional gunmaking end of the Devon trade, the sort of business where the emphasis is on fit, repair and long relationships rather than volume.
If you shoot in North Devon or on the Cornish border, be realistic about travel time. A dealer forty miles away on the map can be an hour and a half each way in practice, which is worth factoring in when you are deciding whether to view a gun in person or arrange a transfer.
Browse: Ladds Guns · A.W. Rule & Son Gun Makers · Shotguns · Air guns
Cornwall and the Far South West
Cornwall is the thinnest-served part of the region simply by virtue of population, and shooters there routinely look eastward into Devon for choice. That is not a criticism of the Cornish trade; there are good dealers, but it does mean that browsing listings online before travelling is more valuable here than almost anywhere else in England.
This is where a national marketplace earns its keep. Rather than driving the length of the county on the off chance, you can see what is available across the whole South West, and beyond, before you set out.
Browse: Business directory · Shotguns · Rifles · Air guns
How to choose a dealer in the South West
A few things worth weighing up, whichever county you are in:
Specialism versus breadth. Some South West dealers are genuinely expert in one area, English side-by-sides, or PCP airguns, or stalking rifles, and merely competent outside it. Others carry everything and go deep on nothing. Neither is wrong; match it to what you are buying.
Used stock turnover. The value of a gun shop to a regular buyer is largely in how often the second-hand rack changes. Busy dealers in Bristol and Exeter turn stock over considerably faster than quieter rural shops.
Gun fit and after-sales. If you are buying a shotgun you intend to shoot seriously, a dealer who will fit it properly is worth travelling for. This is where the traditional Devon and Somerset gunmakers still hold a real advantage.
Distance and transfers. You are not limited to your local shop. A dealer anywhere in the country can arrange for a firearm to be transferred to a dealer near you.
Browse: Business directory · Shotguns · Rifles · Equipment
Frequently asked questions
Where is the best gun shop in the South West? There is no single answer, because it depends on what you shoot. For sheer breadth of stock, the larger Bristol and Devon dealers are hard to beat. For gun fit and traditional gunmaking, Somerset and Devon’s long-established names are stronger. For airguns and tactical kit, the specialists in Taunton and around Bristol are the better bet.
How do I find a registered firearms dealer near me? The Rightgun.uk business directory lists dealers and gun shops across the UK, including throughout the South West, alongside the guns and equipment they have available.
Can I buy from a dealer at the other end of the country? Yes. Buying at distance is entirely normal, and a great many South West shooters do it to widen their choice. Speak to both dealers about how they want to handle it before you commit.
Do South West dealers deal in airguns as well as shotguns and rifles? Most carry at least some airgun stock, and several in Somerset and around Bristol specialise in it. The region has a strong airgun following, particularly for pest control on farmland.
Browse the South West
Whether you are after a game gun for the Blackdowns, a stalking rifle for Exmoor or a PCP for the farm, the choice available across the South West is genuinely good; you just need to know where to look.
Explore the business directory to find dealers across Bristol, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, or browse current shotgun, rifle and air gun listings on Rightgun.uk to see what is available from sellers and dealers nationwide. If you are a dealer in the region and want your stock in front of buyers actively searching for it, listing on a dedicated field sports marketplace puts you in front of a far better-qualified audience than general classifieds ever will.
Further reading: UK gun shops and registered firearms dealers guide, Ladds Guns, My visit to Ivythorn Sporting, and Good practice guide to buying a firearm or shotgun from an RFD.
