Article reproduced by kind permission of Gun Mart

February 2002

Support your local gunshop

This month: Henry Krank

Report by Tommy gibson

I feel such a fool, I've been shooting for twenty years and I've never been to Henry Krank's at Pudsey in Yorkshire. Living only a mere twenty minutes away, I really need my bumps felt. With a big stick.

Unassuming though the outside of the shop looks soon as I walked through the door I was struck by the vast and varied amount of stock, as well as the highly professional way it was all laid out.

Ken Gray the shop manager broke into a smile as I approached the long counter, I suppose the camera bag was a bit of a give away as to whom I was. "You shouldn't be here for another half an hour" he said. As it turned out I should have been there a few hours earlier, but more of that later......

Kranks have always been in Pudsey - just a bit further down the street - but their current shop was three different shops before Krank's moved here ten years ago. With three shops knocked into one you get some idea of how much space they have. I was also shown just one of the three warehouses they have - boy is this a big outfit.

Ken introduced Zoran the owner to me, who then took me to the privileged upstairs office where he personally deals with the finer antique weapons, which are his passion. I've only ever seen as many fine weapons at the Royal Armouries, but Zoran has weapons the Armouries would give their left arm for, a pair of Collier pistols and a cased pair of pistols owned by King George the third, both caught my eye in particular. He also showed me the print proof copy of the new Henry Krank catalogue. By the time you read this article the new full colour catalogue will be available and is well worth a fiver of any shooting enthusiasts money, believe me it's quality in action.

Muzzle loaders and cartridge rifles

Henry Kranks is very much a family business and I was struck by the friendly atmosphere that pervaded the whole place. Back downstairs Ken gave me a brief run down on the stock available. First was the muzzle loading section again the biggest I've ever seen. They have the largest stock of muzzle loading pistols in the country. They are agents for Euro Arms, Artax, Armi San Marco, Armi San Paolo, Ardesa, Pietta and the Delhi Gun House... and that's just on the muzzle loading side of the business. In fact they have imported Armi San Paolo for eighteen years and Pietta black powder revolvers for thirty years.

Next we looked at the firearms side, here I picked up some .22 Rimfire ammo from the Value Bullet Co. I'd never heard of them before, but the price was right, so it was rude not to.... I stocked up on subsonic hollow point, solid and a few shorts. I've actually tried them now and I'll be hot footing it back to Pudsey to stock up for the winter.

If you are into reloading then you must know about Henry Krank's already. They stock the whole of Sierra's and Lee's ranges, so you know they will have whatever you desire. Again the amount of stock they carry is huge

The Zoli rifles they distribute look very nice, especially the Stutzen version. They are all quality rifles, in keeping with the Henry Krank philosophy of "quality selling itself".

Airguns

On to the air gun side, once again sorry to repeat myself, but the range and stock on show are truly impressive. They have Air Arms, Armi San Marco, Brocock, BSA, Daystate, falcon, Logun, Stealth, Theoben, Webley and Weihrauch to name but a few, and their own 'Cyclone' range of products is expanding all the time. The Triple Action Gun Wipes are a must for anyone's gun bag in the coming winter months. They also have their own very efficient air rifle silencers as well as gun grease, oil sprays and square section main springs and even .25 pellets.

Another ammo I had not seen before were Vogel pellets from Germany. The .177 match grade versions come in five, yes five different head sizes from 4.48 to 4.52mm. If you're looking for an accurate pellet give them a try. The .177 practice versions are less than 3 quid for a tin of 500 and the .177 pointed ones look good for hunting. They stock every other type of air gun pellet you could wish for, take a tip from me and bring a strong bag with you when you pay a visit.

The Armi San Marco air cartridge revolvers are worth a second or third look, not only for the quality, but also the price. The 1851 Navy Standard and 1851 Navy conversion models are £145 and £135 respectively. I was sure Ken had got the prices wrong, but should have known better. Ken is not daft it's just that the guns are at a daft price and a bargain not to be missed. I was also pleased to see beamshot lasers and scope covers on display. I consider these items essential for my hunting rifles, so its good to find a shop where you can walk in see them and buy them. Saying that, Henry Krank have a thriving mail order side for every part of there stock range. With three warehouses full of gear, waiting time is kept to a minimum. Again look out for the new catalogue.

Another rare find in a gun shop is a very interesting book section. Anyone interested in firearms will find a good read on any of the shelves.

Shotguns also filled the gun racks and of course they have many muzzle loading shotguns, muskets and rifles in stock. A couple of the most notable ones being the Parker Hale 2 band 1858 and Euro Arms 1853 model 3 band, both being around £400 mark. It's on accessories where they really score highly on my "gun shops worth a visit" scale. If your looking for a gun cabinet, cartridge belt, sling, knife, torch, decoy, blank firer, target, spring, cleaning equipment etc., etc. they have it. They have been importing Tetra Gun Lubricants for fifteen years, I could go on and on. Ken had to physically kick me out of the door at the end of the day, he wanted to shut the shop and go home as it was getting dark!
Don't make the mistake I did and overlook this gem of a shop which Henry Krank Definitely is.

Directions

From the M62 take the A62 from junction 27 heading north into Leeds. Turn left onto the Wortley ring road (A6110) keep going straight on the A6110 until you see Wickes D.I.Y. Store on a roundabout ahead of you . Turn down the side of Wickes keeping it on your right hand side and head towards Pudsey (B6154). At the top of the hill turn left into Lowtown . Henry Krank is a 1/4 mile up the hill on the right hand side.
Opening times : 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday