Who we are
The workshop has been operating since 1977.
From the very beginning, alongside repairing and servicing a wide range of firearms, we have also made new ones - mainly hunting weapons.
In 1983 we moved into new, larger premises. Since then we have made more than 300 unique hunting firearms to customers' orders.
Our products have received numerous awards and medals, and we were among the first to receive the Slovenian quality mark (SQ).
After 2000 we also received the Artistic Craft mark, which proves that our products are genuinely handmade, in the spirit of Slovenian gunsmithing tradition.
The two master gunsmiths in the workshop make firearms in almost every known caliber and configuration.
Beyond their technical features, Šteh's firearms can be sharply divided into working guns and prestige guns. The latter are decorated with gold accents and precisely engraved with images of game and the goddess of the hunt, Diana; they are also fitted with the finest pieces of walnut root, which is used for the stocks.
Prices for this precious wood start at around €1,000 for a single gun; top-quality pieces with richly patterned dark grain are worth €5,000 and more. Prestige firearms are made for grand, ceremonial hunts on special occasions.
Their production is demanding, so waiting times for such weapons can be as long as three years, while less demanding firearms can be made in just a few months.
Hunting weapons hang on the walls of Šteh's gunsmith workshop, pieces of wood lean against the walls, and the workbenches are covered with metalworking machines and countless drawers.
In one corner there is a wall dedicated to photos of game that customers have taken with home-made firearms - a lioness, a zebra, a brown bear and its white-coated northern relative - a testament to the customers' high standards.
The Šteh gunsmith craft was started in 1977 by Milan Šteh, and his son Klemen now builds on his foundations. Until 1977, Milan was employed by the Territorial Defence, even though as a child he had already dreamed of becoming a gunsmith.
As the son of a poor family from the Suha krajina region, that dream always seemed far away, until a hunter who used to come to Suha krajina to hunt - and who often stayed overnight with the Šteh family - encouraged his father to send his son to gunsmithing school.
So Milan, as a young man, went to Ljubljana, where he trained as a gunsmith in a gunsmith's workshop.
For four decades, Šteh's customers have mostly been Slovenian hunters and shooters, but a fair share is also sold to Italy, Austria, France, the USA, Canada and Kuwait.
Customers find their products on the internet, where the vast majority of international firearm purchases and sales take place.
Šteh, who is also a licensed firearms appraiser, holds a permit to purchase weapons from the heirs of deceased firearm owners, and regularly buys and sells antique firearms at live and online auctions.
©Copyright1977 - 2022 - PUŠKARSTVO ŠTEH