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How to Choose a Gunsmith

Mike in Oregon

Mike in Oregon

Gold $$ Contributor
Is there proper edicate when trying to find a gunsmith? Or are you supposed to just bring your firearm in, drop it off and hope for the best? I realize that there are very well known and reputable gunsmiths throughout the states, I get that. I also believe in one being highly recommended or referred by a friend or someone you trust. But when you're looking for someone local on your own how do you go about it? I'm referring to basic gunsmithing, not necessarily builds.

My thought process is to ask for a time to do a face-to-face or a meet & greet. That way both parties can get a feel for one another. Is this wrong?
 
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Google gunsmith in Oregon would be a start.
I know 2 that I work with 1 is in Hood River, the other is just a mile or so from me.
Have some conversation with them as to what your wanting built, and see if its work they're interested in.
Request a couple customer contacts to see if they were happy with thier service and finished product.
And remember not all gunsmith's are created equal, I've seen and heard the differences.
 
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jackieschmidt said:
You first need to take into consideration what type of Rifle you wish to have built.
There is a huge difference in building a Benchrest Rifle, designed to shoot off of a rest from a bench in a dingle shot mode, and a fine Hunting Rifle that is built carry, feed, extract, and eject rounds flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Not talking builds, just basic gunsmithing Jackie
 
Not sure I know what basic gunsmithing is. Regardless of what you’re having done, I would only talk to someone who has been recommended to me by a trusted source. I wouldn’t be inclined to just google it and go with whoever comes up.

A tale of warning. I took the barrel off my grandpa’s sporterized mauser when it stopped shooting very well to find that it had not been threaded correctly (Mausers have a non-standard 55degree whitworth thread and this barrel did not) and was assembled with pipe dope. Whoever barreled it for my grandpa was not just a hack, but had assembled a dangerous gun. Thank the lord it never came apart on my grandpa, my dad, or me!
 
Mike in Oregon said:
Is there proper edicate when trying to find a gunsmith? Or are you supposed to just bring your firearm in, drop it off and hope for the best? I realize that there are very well known and reputable gunsmiths throughout the states, I get that. I also believe in one being highly recommended or referred by a friend or someone you trust. But when you're looking for someone local on your own how do you go about it? I'm referring to basic gunsmithing, not necessarily builds.

My thought process is to ask for a time to do a face-to-face or a meet & greet. That way both parties can get a feel for one another. Is this wrong?
Click to expand...
Maybe ask to go shooting together and have him bring a few of his own personal toys to show off his skills.
I know thats how I've personally had people want me to work on their guns,
I didn't even offer it was more like, "Hey would you be willing to do that to mine?"
after shooting the ones I've built for myself, and after feeling my trigger work.
Accuracy and feel speak for itself.
If you're impressed with what he does for himself, why wouldnt you have him do the same for you?
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If you know certain basic processes, you might ask how he sets up a barrel or does certain jobs.
4 jaw vs 3 jaw
Live center vs dead center, if he uses a dead center has he ever heard of white lead etc etc.
I know one guy I was talking to at the range was impressed I had my lathe mounted and leveled on concrete.......(Hint: Thats a guy I would not have work on any of my guns)
 
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Mike ---- I get where you're coming from. You're not looking for someone to build the house. You're looking for someone reliable, fix a faucet, wire a new light fixture. The operative word is RELIABLE.
Sadly, those kinds of gunsmiths are few and far between anymore. I blame it on our throwaway society. I had one of those gunsmiths that you're thinking about. I told him one day that I thought gunsmithing would be a good profession for a young person to get into. He laughed at me and said that people don't want to pay your price for the work.
Now most of the so called gunsmiths are just parts installers. Hell, I can do that.
In my town, there were quite a few good gunsmiths, but now they've all died out
 
My 3 blanks to installed on M700's(varmint hunting rifles). I had an in-depth conversations(A plus I stop and visit with him and he is familiar with my hunting/shooting/reloading experience). As 2 were to be matching 22-250 chambers from a new Manson reamer I had made(no turn necks Sig brass). All three are unbelievably accurate, the 22-250's produce/size brass exactly the same.
 
Very important issue in my opinion. The wrong smith can cause you a lot of "stomach acid" and financial pain.

When I first move to my current area, I asked a lot of precision shooters for a recommendation after joining a club. Since I shot both pistol and rifle, I made sure I asked the respective discipline shooters. I received great recommendations for each discipline which happen to be different smiths. It worked out very well for me.

Nothing beats "word of mouth" recommendations assuming you ask the pertinent questions about the smith when seeking recommendations.
 
A local gunsmith is the way to go. I can see by where you are located, it is probably not a gun friendly area to support a gunsmith. The internet will make any gunsmith available, but you will probably have to add $100 to any job to cover shipping to and fro.
 
jwv2001 said:
Mike ---- I get where you're coming from. You're not looking for someone to build the house. You're looking for someone reliable, fix a faucet, wire a new light fixture. The operative word is RELIABLE.
Sadly, those kinds of gunsmiths are few and far between anymore. I blame it on our throwaway society. I had one of those gunsmiths that you're thinking about. I told him one day that I thought gunsmithing would be a good profession for a young person to get into. He laughed at me and said that people don't want to pay your price for the work.
Now most of the so called gunsmiths are just parts installers. Hell, I can do that.
In my town, there were quite a few good gunsmiths, but now they've all died out
Click to expand...
I've known four during my lifetime. The first was old when I met him and to my dismay passed away died over 40 years ago. Gorgeous work and really interesting to talk to.

The second was an obnoxious and insulting individual but highly skilled at numerous aspects of the trade. He apparently had plenty of money from some other source, sold his business and disappeared. Because of his abrasive personality you could never get into a conversation with him on any subject besides what you wanted done with your firearm, At one time Kalashnikov visited the U.S. and spent a couple of days with him. Impressive credentials~!

The third was Jas. Hare in Ft. Pierce, Fla. who was to me the epitome of skilled craftsmen. Most of the rifles he built were for sniper units of law enforcement. During Desert Storm he was asked to build a number of rifles for the military but turned them down because he claimed the couldn't buy the number of actions an barrels required to build the number they wanted and didn't have enough time to build them if he could get those components. He worked alone and wasn't interested in any help or staff. He also built some competitive rifles for a couple of top shooters in the early days of 6MM-PPC. He too was taken by cancer. He had a brilliant sales pitch when he presented a proposed rifle to a unit. He would ask the leader to call up his most accurate shooter and have that individual do the shooting to demonstrate the accuracy of the build.

If I was to want a top notch rifle today I'd go to a guy in Vero Beach named Bill Jenkins at 10X. He is also a winning competitive shooter at 800 yards.
 
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