Tackle and Guns - February 2017

FEATURE APairOfMuckBoots WIN

Defining a standard of comfort and quality that goes beyond customers’ expectations, Muck Boot distributor Belstane is pleased to support the highest-scoring retailer.

Forest Tackle (Guns)

First impressions?8/10 A nice-looking old building on a corner of the high street. Plenty of parking nearby. The signs are good and easy to find, which is always a bonus.

Address: 18Newer Street, Lydney,GloucestershireGL15 5RF T: 01594 844729 Date visited:December 1st, 2016

Verdict A small shop with a clear understanding of its own strengths, of which there are many.A friendly and welcoming shop that’s worth a visit.

83/100

Step inside?8/10 You walk into the tackle shop on the ground floor and make your way upstairs to the gunroom. There’s plenty of light from the big windows and it’s clean and tidy. The stock levels reflect the role of this shop, which is a local supplier, so no overcrowding here.

Stay clean?8/10 The windows help to light the place nicely and it’s clearly well looked after in the cleanliness department. It may be a little disorganised but it isn’t an enormous space.

Show it off? 7/10 What is there is good but it does look a little sparse – nice horizontal racks with spotless guns; good labels too. The

LeominsterGunRoom

First impressions? 8/10 A nice, old-fashioned-looking shop in a long road of terraced houses.There’s plenty of parking on the street, and if you’re lucky, right outside.Although it feels like a sleepy town, it can get busy. Signage is obvious and easy to find.

Address: 49 Etnam Street, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 8AE T: 01568 615652 Date visited:December 2nd, 2016

Verdict A small but interesting shop that was both average and brilliant in equal measure. The shop isn’t the main reason for the business, but it does a reasonable job.

100/100 81/100

Step inside? 7/10 You have to ring to get let in and once you’re inside it’s a pretty small shop,with a workshop out the back. Looking around you soon realise that selling guns is secondary to the real reason for the shop, which is as a specialist gunsmith.

Stay clean? 7/10 This isn’t one of the top priorities for this shop, it was okay but it wouldn’t get any medals because it wasn’t spotless.

Show it off? 7/10 A little bit like the last category, the point of sale and displays in the gunroomitself weren’t brilliant.Theywere adequate and did the job but certainly not award-winning.

Help me? 10/10 This is where things change.This was simply brilliant.The owner is a very helpful character indeed and I couldn’t have asked for more assistance.

Know your stuff? 10/10 I couldn’t really think of anything that I could ask that the owner couldn’t answer. He is a craftsman at work with a lifetime of experience as a gunsmith.

Pushy or pleasing? 9/10 This was an interesting one – there were a few different makes of gun and equipment in the shop and the owner had definite ideas about which brands to buy when buying guns. As he said to me: “I’m not a shooter, I’m a gunsmith but I’d buy a (insert well known Belgian brand) because I never get them in my workshop.”

Do I need this? 8/10 I was going to leave with what I wanted, not what was necessary for a sale, so I was

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never talked into or coerced into buying for the sake of it.

Family friendly?6/10 To be quite frank, this isn’t a shop where you’d expect to find family custom.This is a shop that you go to as a shooter who needs expert help and advice and not really relevant to family friendliness

What’s happening and where? 9/10 This chap knew the local shooting scene, who to contact and where to go. I left with plenty of information about where you could access local shoots and who to phone to do that.

cabinets are well kept, clean and tidy. Working with what they have, they do a good job.

Help me? 10/10 For a small shop that admits to catering for the entry-level shooter, you couldn’t get a more helpful chap. Knowing their stock limitations meant that the advice I got was to the point, they didn’t try and make out they were bigger or better than they are, and if I needed more specialist help they would recommend people.

Know your stuff?9/10 Despite the focus of the shop, the chap really knew his onions.Anyone who knows Forests will know they like to chat and this chap was no different, making me feel very welcome indeed.

Pushy or pleasing?8/10 Definitely pleasing. The guns and brands that are stocked certainly will do the job, but I wasn’t pushed into anything I

didn’t want or need.Again, a chap who knows his market, his strengths and how to use them to best effect.

Do I need this?9/10 I wasn’t going to leave with loads of equipment I didn’t need. Great, specific and well-tailored service here.

Family friendly? 7/10 This isn’t a shop that’ll be stuffed with family members of varying ages. Saying that, it is a perfect entry-level shop that any newcomer or young shooter will benefit from visiting. The stairs make mobility an issue, so I have to knock some marks off there.

What’s happening and where?9/10 They really know the local environment, locality and shooting opportunities and made sure I left with as much information as I needed.

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