Custom work by "unknowns"

S

Sport

New member
I recently had my Colt series 70 government
model totally customized by a local gun-
smith. He has a good local reputation but
is unknown outside this area.
I've been shooting the result for three
months now. Last weekend, I went through
a two day advanced tactical pistol course.
I intentionally did not clean the gun
throughout the several hundred round
course.

The Colt performed flawlessly. It was
accurate, easy to shoot, and put the
rounds where I aimed.

With the long waits for the "name" smiths,
I'm wondering how many of you have taken
chances on the unknowns?

What has your experience been?
 
My Ruger Super Redhawk is in the hands of a local gunsmith right now. I'll let you know the results before too long. I took the chance of his reputation locally, I hope not to be dissappointed.

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Know Yourself, Know Your Weapon, Know Your Enemy; then Know Victory! ---DaHaMac
 
The advantage of going with a "known" smith is resale value. The 1911 has been around long enough that many 'smiths have an excellent understanding of what makes it tick. That being said most will be able to do an excellent job, and as long as resale is not a consideration, go for it. After all Bill Wilson, and Richard Heinie had to start from point A just like everyone else.

Gator
 
I have used an "unknown" pistolsmith - John Bettendorf of Sandy, Or and have been really pleased. I have a Lwt Commander that he built and I bought. Then I had him work on my CCO and my wife had him work on her Officers acp. He is now doing a Hi Power forme. I am anxiously awaiting it.

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acp Mikey
 
Hello. In my opinion, Swampgator makes a very valid point. I've used a "local" for about 29 years now. He does excellent work, but is "unknown" outside of this area. He says he has all the work he can handle and doesn't want national prominence. Best.
 
Lots of local 'smiths have all the business they can handle already and so don't care about developing big names and reps. I've used a couple of locals before, after seeing examples of their work, and have been quite satisfied. The more common guns like the 1911 have been around a long time and there are a good many folks who have learned how to do good work on them. I'd be perhaps a bit reluctant to take my Steyr M40 to someone who'd never worked on one before, but many local 'smiths do fine work on 1911s, S&W and Ruger revolvers, etc.
 
With your replies in mind, in your opinion
can the unknown local smith be just as
competant as the major players?

Or is there something the handful of
really respected smiths do that sets
them apart?
 
Sport -

"Or is there something the handful of
really respected smiths do that sets
them apart?"

The really respected smiths - local or national - do good work and stand behind it.

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Jim Fox
 
JimFox makes an excellent point. The bigger smith's stand behind their products, for the most part. The smaller shops would be less likely to eat the (profit) loss on "warranty" work.
So ask for references. A good smith would be happy to provide them. Also ask (competitive) shooters at the range for recommendations.
The town that I live has three local within driving distance. Three completely different types.
One nothing bad leaves his shop, if it does it's "his oversight" and he repairs.
The second is a "gunshop" smith, scope mounts, minor repairs, etc. He's the first to say, "hey, I can't fix this type, let's send it back to the factory, or send it to this guy, he's an expert."
The third I wouldn't take my worst enemies gun to. A very knowledgable friend bought some aftermarket parts for the 1911. He was more than capable of fitting and installing. Smith says "hey, I'll do it for you, no problem." (Job was fitting new barrel, bushing and slide stop). 6 months later he's get a call and a bill. Goes to pick up and there's alterations not originally requested, etc.

So be careful, but don't be dissuaded, local guys can do excellent work.

Gator
 
Several of my friends and I have had a lot of work done by Bill Scarpino at Anthony's Gun Shop in Pompano Florida over past 7 or 8 years and we are all very satisfied with his work. He can do everything from standard trigger jobs to full blown race guns. Very good work at reasonable price and time...hard to find these days :D
 
Couple of points - advertising in a magazine or being one of American Handgunner's top 100 pistol smiths is not a recommendation.

Some 'smiths do great work on gun "A" and do not have a clue with gun "B". A good 'smith will admit to this. Good 'smiths are hard to find.. :(

Don't take a lack of advertising as indicative of poor 'smithing. :)

Never be the first to ask a 'smith to do something. If he hasn't done it before, don't let your gun be the learning base.

Try to pay with a credit card. Offer to boost the price by %4 if you like the guy. The idea is to have a financial firewall between you and the 'smith. If there's a problem, the credit card company is good about suspending the payment until the issue is resolved.

Always write a letter to the 'smith detailing exactly what you want. Even if you hand deliver it. Don't tell him how to do it unless it is important. (I tell folks doing revolver trigger work to polish anything they want, don't weaken the springs) Written instructions are much eaiser to follow than oral ones.

If you find a good one, latch on.

Always give the 'smith room to fix things and to grow. There is a young guy in my town that was a bit shaky at first. Two years later he's doing fine.

Never bitch about his prices after the fact. You should have gotten a firm price up-front.

Don't begrudge him a decent living. The guy at the auto dealership makes $20 an hour. Fifty bucks for a two hour trigger job is not unreasonable..

Giz
 
If I had one of the 1911 variants I might take it to a local smith. I'd want an accomplished SIGsmith to work on my P229 though.
 
Sport,
I checked your profile and see your in Tn,. Ive used several in Nashville and one around madison. I would tend to stick with the older experienced smiths, and if you go with a newer smith remember there still learning. Dont expect top of the line work from them, it will be a pleasant surprise if it happens. A good personal relationship with a knowledgable experienced smith is worth gold. I take projects from time to time and have the newer smith's do them, generally because I stay with the same type of firearms I have an example to show them. I have had an experience were I had a local young, fresh out of school smith preform welding on a bhp frame and then the frame was sent off to Novak's for other work, the frame was sent in a metal box back and forth and when the local guy went to put it together the slide wouldnt fit the frame. He was insistent that the other shop had damaged the frame. Well, I just accepted the situation and sent the frame back to Novaks and had them straighten it---to this day he dosent believe he did it, Im sure now he uses a heat sink when he welds....you have no gurantees. Do your homework on the local smiths, email me if you want and perhaps Ive used the local guy your considering. Btw, if its a guy I know in donelson he's about the best kept secret in the country...and I dont think he works for the public anymore.....fubsy.
 
Local smiths can be good or can be hacks. Usually the ones with their own shops do a pretty good job, I have had better luck with them than smiths who work at a gun shop. Being a member of APG is not necessarily a good indication either. I do like the idea of knowing who is actually doing the work on a pistol, not possible with Laughridge, Wilson, Novak, and other big name smiths who have a crew working on the guns for them. The smith I found has built many 1911's for shooting at Camp Perry and has a good record there, so I knew that he knew his way around a 1911. Lucky for me he knows Brownings, S&W revolvers, and Ruger revolvers too. The only problem is that he can be tempermental and refuses to touch certain guns (S&W autos) and refuses to do some work. He won't work on anyone's gun, only people that can appreciate the work so he 'interviews' the gun owner before accepting the work and he has a limited client list that is mostly LEO and competitive bullseye shooters.
 
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