Merrington's Gunsmithing

Kirk Merrington is a native of Durham, England, and a fully trained gunsmith in the finest British tradition.

Kirk started his career as a barrel filer at Churchill Ltd., in Birmingham, UK. After financial ills forced that famous company to fail and be sold, Kirk immigrated to the United States where he spent many years at Buckhorn in Dallas, TX – then set up the gunsmithing shop of Briley Barrels with Briley Manufacturing, in Houston, Texas. There, he became a renowned barrelmaker and multi-talented gunsmith, specializing in classic English double guns.

In 1992, Kirk’s fame as a craftsman had risen to a level where he chose to leave Briley’s and strike out on his own. The town of Kerrville, in the Texas hill country west of San Antonio, became his home. From his workshop there, Kirk’s skills have been in constant demand ever since. The greatest of America’s sporting cognoscente instinctively turn to him for the repair, refurbishment and maintenance of fine double guns.

While Kirk is eminently competent in all phases of double gunsmithing, his time must necessarily be budgeted and his skills focused in the most efficient ways. Thus, Kirk maintains a proprietary circle of uncompromising craftsmen – many of them English trained – to execute engraving, stock work and other painstaking bench jobs that Kirk simply cannot fit into his day.

In a very real sense, this follows in the grand tradition of “The Purdey Way,” in which the most skilled craftsmen in each discipline contributes his absolute best to the whole of the project.

The result is not only incomparable work, but an efficient compression of time – both to the benefit of you, the customer. Thus, Kirk’s shop is often able to accomplish the most esoteric of work in the most reasonable amount of time.

And, as always, Kirk’s reputation in the trade is his greatest guarantee of satisfaction.

Ask any of his clients.