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WJ Jeffery was a retailer my friend. The double rifles were built by Harry Leonard and I believe most of the shotguns came from John Saunders, both these guys were from Birmingham.

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Again, I learn something new every day! Terry Wieland is absolutely wrong on this one, too. Reference pages 43, 48, & 49 in his book "Dangerous Game Rifles". Well, I never cared for Terry, anyway He claims that W. Jeffery, a noted gunmaker in London, was taken over by H&H in 1960 and that Paul Roberts acquired the rights to the name in 2000. Wm. Jeffery went into business in 1889 as W.J. Jeffery & Company and built double rifles, including the .600 NE in 1901. He states Jeffery also built single rifles, bolt rifles, and shotguns. All this, according to the book.

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In his joint patent application with E. Harrison (of Cogswell and Harrison) on January 29, 1886 for a Vernier and Wind Gauge Sight Adjuster, Jeffery described himself as a Gun Salesman, and that is what he was in brief. After a falling out with P. Webley where he was the manager, Jeffery set up business during 1887 at the age of [30]. Just how many guns Jeffery made is unknown, it is possible that he made none, preferring to source from the trade. Early on, the Birmingham maker Thomas Turner Jr made most of Jeffery’s rifles. H. Leonard & Co seems to have been his major source, some came from Webley and Scott and others as mentioned previously. They were finished by firms such as Thomas Turner, Richard Ellis, H. Leonard, Webley & Scott, Saunders, and Charles Osborne. He even retailed Sharps single shot rifles for a time.

Jeffery was basically co-ordinator, buying in parts, and sending them out to out-workers for assembly. Perhaps, his best contribution is as a cartridge designer, his crowning achievement being the .600 NE, but he played around with most bore sizes, .500 being a notable exception.

Hope this helps clear it up for you.

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