Who is Paul Hodgins?
Born in Middlesex, England in 1957 and raised in Buckinghamshire from 1960, Hodgins served a 5 year apprenticeship with Holland & Holland starting in 1973.
There, he was a "stocker" serving under the tutelage of the stocking-shop foreman. The process of stocking a "best" gun included a variety of metalwork tasks to facilitate the progress of the woodwork, i.e. filing and fitting of the triggers and safety connection, adjustment of the lock scears, filing up of the fore-end snapwork and barrel loop for connection, etc.
About a year into the apprenticeship, he and another apprentice were nominated to the Livery of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers and ultimately, Freedom of the City of London (an institution dating back to the 12th century). After completion of the apprenticeship and staying at the factory a little while longer, "Journeyman" Hodgins left the employ of H&H and worked for various gun shops around the U.K. and also in a self-employed capacity until migrating to the U.S. in 1983, working in a fine-gun gun shop near Dallas, Texas.
In late 1995 a move to the Rocky Mountain state of Utah was undertaken (around the same time becoming a U.S. citizen), where he resides and plies his trade to this day.