DEEP in the Worcestershire countryside, more than 120 vintage gun enthusiasts gathered for a celebratory day of old guns.

Although the country has only just finished celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, many of these guns were already old at Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

Collectors and shooting enthusiasts compared guns and shared knowledge with each other – the country landowner, the retired milkman, the antique collector, the farmer, the firearms historian, the local businessman and the shop-keeper were all engrossed discussing the merits of various guns at John Clements South Worcestershire Shooting Ground, near Hanley Castle.

The shooting world of vintage guns unites all those with a passion for the craftsmanship of a bygone era.

Vintage guns were exhibited by revered gunmakers such Rigby, Purdey, Tolley, Horsley, Nock, Piper, and Holland and Holland.

Of particular interest was the table reserved for the renowned Worcester gunmakers Perrins and Sons, first established in College Street in 1831.

The Perrins Gun Owners Club was formed in 2009 to research, preserve and shoot the 19th fine sporting guns built by this enterprising Worcester family.

Since its formation, this owner’s club has been able to trace and catalogue more than 50 guns from 1840 to 1892.

John Perrins died in 1862 and his son Henry who expanded the business in the “golden age” died in 1908.

John Clements said: “Research has shown that a member of this Worcestershire family, Thomas Perrins of Windsor, built sporting guns of exceptional quality for Prince Albert and these guns are now in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.”

The guns put on display, although built well over 100 years ago are still fit for purpose and can handle well in either clay or game shooting.

A quality vintage gun is not only a joy to behold and shoot but will also keep its value in the years to come.

Vaughan Wiltshire, of the Perrins Gun Owners Club, said: “Although Perrins and Sons were provincial gunmakers, they built some excellent guns of fine quality that could rival the London makers.”

For the modern shot, hammer guns are exciting to use and Purdey are still building hammer guns for a select market at prices which few can afford.

At noon, Mr Clements fired off a punt gun salute with a spectacular discharge.

This Victorian punt gun would have been originally fitted to a flat bottomed boat to hunt wild geese and duck for commercial purposes in the English marshes.

With a bore of just under two inches and a barrel length of nine feet a single volley could kill anything between 40 to 80 birds resting on the water.

Out in the cold water of an early winter morning as the dawn broke it was a hard way for a man to earn a living.

At five stands owners tried out their vintage guns on a 50 sporting clay circuit and soon the air was filled with the noise and smoke of black powder.

Among the many shooters on the day, Peter McGowan broke clays with his Charles Piper double barrelled percussion muzzle loader – a superb gun with gold inlay and elegant damascus barrels, and Vaughan Wiltshire shot with his 1858 Purdey. John Leighton gained success with his fine J & W Tolley 12 bore hammer gun.

In the evening, as is the custom, members of the Perrins Club enjoyed a dinner together where a toast was made to the memory, skill and enterprise of John Perrins, Master Gunmaker of Worcester, and his sons John Junior and Henry Perrins.