Hope you all had a good 4th of July, well I figured I should pass some information along that some may or may not know about already.

Barney Lawton has been brought back to his home in Dillon Montana from the hospital. They have stopped all medications and such. So with all due respect and a heavy heart I dont think he will be with us much longer.
I have been advised that he doesnt like flowers but enjoys cards so please if possible can we show him and his family respect and honor that..
Barney Lawton
580 1/2 N. Montana St.
Dillon, MT 59725

Also on a side note (before all the WWW rumors start). Lawton machine will continue. FWIW Bud Williams and Bruce Baer have both been up there within past couple months to assist and train others. It is my understanding that Bud is going to sorta handle the management aspect and at this moment they are working hard to catch up on all the orders.

Thanks
Louis Corkern

Very Sorry to hear!!!

Hoping for the best for him and his family!!

My sympathies & prayers....

BTT

Later,
Please keep me updated either here or by pm,
Thanks,
Chris

Sorry to hear this latest news. Barney has made great contributions to the shooting sports. My prayers go with him and his family. regards, Dale.

I have 4 rifles in my safe with his name on them. He has made a great contribution to the shooting sport. I send my prayers to he and his family.

Guys, FWIW I have recieved no updates on Barney. Will keep you all updated.

Thanks

I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to talk to Barney today on the phone. It was very difficult. He seemed in good spirits, but was (for obvious reasons) not the same old Barney. It was more uncomfortable than I expected. What do you say to a friend when you know it may be the last time you speak to him. He didn't have a lot to say, other than he had been watching some videos and enjoying time with family. He did say the business will go on. Ending the call was the hardest part, not feeling quite right with the usual "talk to ya later". It sure makes you realize that all of us live on a house of cards, never knowing if or when it will tumble. Live today like there is no tomorrow.

Barney and his wife Sue have spent many a weekend at our home. We've burned plenty of meat and shared many a laugh.
We've enjoyed many weekend special projects.

I love him like an older brother.

I've been honored by his friendship.

Do send the cards, I'm sure he'll enjoy them.

Tough for me, I'll leave it at that.

Here's a pic of Barney and Cody.


That was a great match that weekend.

Prayer's and best wishes to him and his family. Truly a tragic situation.

Prayers to Barney and his family.

Later

thanks for the information; I'm glad to see that someone will be making barrels to shoot solids. Barney will be missed.

JeffVN

Guys & Gals,

Barney is in a tough position, but don't count him out just yet. He has been improving physically and with help, went with Sue and a few friends took a boat tour on Lake Helena, about two hours from Dillon. He talks of more hunts and shoots. He has a positive attitude most of the time and I talk to him or Sue every day. The least we can do, is encourage him in his struggle. Miracles do happen!! Bud

Bud,

Thanks so much for the update. I posted this here to get some cards and letters going to Barney to show our appreciation for everything he has done, to show that we are thinking and praying for him and his family. I am truly glad to hear of the progress.

Thanks to you for spending the time you have and do with Barney and his family.

Thanks

Talked with barney tonight and he plans on accompanying a fellow who had Barney build a .375 out to shoot it tomorrow. I asked him if he was going to be strong enough to make the North West 1000 YD benchrest Club Championship Shoot in Missoula, Mt on August 9/10th and he said he really wants to go and compete, if nothing comes up to stop him. Optamism with an eye on reality! I told him he better get the strength back in his legs as i didn;t think that I could drag him from bench to bench without some help from him. If he can make it, I plan on giving up my 10 match aggs in Pa to shoot with him in Montana. i will keep you all posted as to barneys progress. It sure would be nice to have a lot of fellow shooters show up for what could very well be his last match. I am sure it would mean a lot to Barney and his family. Sincerely, Barney's buddy, Bud

Prayers sent from my family to Barney & his family.

Family is in my prayers

Best wishes to you Barney from the other side of the Pond.

I have recently had this delivered from a UK riflesmith, its a 7000 in 6.5x55, Manners MCS-T stock, Badger Bottom Metal, Jewel trigger, Lothar Walter barrel 1:9 twist. Swaro 4-16x50 scope. It SHOOTS !





I just wanted to show my appreciation here for a fine action and service from Barney Lawtons company,

Thankyou.

T260

Any news on Barney's condition?

He is hanging in there. We were able to get him to the last Montana 1000 yd match Championship. He took 2nd place in closest to center. Right now he and I are planning on hunting Elk the end of October, God willing.

Hi Guys and Gals,

Hi Guys and Gals,

An update on Barney. On OCT 31st, Halloween, Barney was able, thanks to a very generous gentleman by the name of Tim Clark, to harvest his elk at just short of 800 yds. He used his 375/408 Chey-tac rifle with Chey-tac/Sierra 350 grain bullets. These bullets probably are not going to be that great on whitetails but they sure do a pile of damage on elk sized critters. Besides Tim, Barney was accompanied by his friend Darrel (DRO) and myself. He and I hunted (road) the whole week I was there. As afflicted as he is, it is amazing what he wills himself to do. He told me that if he is still with us come January, he wants to hunt boar with some friends in Texas.

At this point, he has outlived the Doctors prediction of less than a week after he left the hospital on July 4th. He has improved in some areas and not done so well in others.

The shop is doing well with new orders and has been busy catching up on backorders. As I understand it, his barreled actions won 5 of 20 awards plus the Queens cup in Australia. I intend to confirm this and use it to advertize/promote his products and the great shooters who are performing so well with them.

When I go back out, we are planning to construct a new addition for the office people. This will get them away from the noise of the machines and also make room for a couple additional machines Barney wants to see in place.

Please keep him and his in your prayers and support his business if you are in need of a very good action and/or barrel. Both your prayers and business will be appreciated. For anyone who wants to drop him a line, his address is: Barney Lawton, 580 1/2 Montana St., Dillon, Mt.

Wishing Barney nothing but good, god bless.

Praying Hard. I sure hope he gets to do that hog hunting. Its amazing what Human Will Power can do for a person. Keep fighting the good fight Barney. We are all still thinking of you. God Bless you sir...

I don't know Mr Lawton, honestly had never heard of him but am sending a prayer - hope he recovers and proves the docs wrong - it can be done!!!

My g/f is living proof of that.

Is it cancer?

Get him some Essiac tea to start sipping on - daily....it's been known to vastly help.

He thanks all you guys for your support. Yes it is and i will let him know AL. We appreciate it! Thanks. Bobby

This greatly saddens me, I dont know excatly how I can put this so I will do my best.

My father Barney Lawton's battle with cancer ended tonight. He was born March 26, 1946. He will be greatly missed by all his friends and family. When he was a boy he enjoyed racing his fast cars and working on them when he could. Fast cars was one thing he loved. He was so fascinated with them he quickly became a expert at automotive machining. He was know well for his amazing engines. I remember a guy that put a extra container of oil on his circle track car cause it ate that much oil be it still worked so well. Think that engine lasted 2 season's.

One of his other loves in life was guns. He got married to my mother Sue when he was 35. Shortly after that I born into this world. I grew up watching and helping him with woodworking, master the art of a great engine, and shooting long range. He built his first long range gun in 1987. He used the manual machines at his disposal (he made the action) in his automotive machine shop. This 30-378 Wby was the first long range gun i ever got to shoot and enjoyed it ever so much.

In the early 90's my farther went on a few hunts out west in wyoming. He quickly decided that the west was the place he wanted to be. In June 1991 we made our big move. He worked for a local automotive machine shop for a few years untill he decided to start up his own business.

One thing that me and my father started to share was the love for bowling. In 1998 my parents decided to buy a local bowling alley. A few years after running this business my father just couldn't be contained. He was on a mission to resume using his amazing machining skills and his new direction was guns. I will tell you one thing it did not take this brilliant man long to figure out what made things things really tick. Some of my fondest memories I have of this guys was our great hunting trips and just down right throwing those projos down range. I hope i haven't talked to much. I would like everyone to know that he was a great man. I could not have asked for a better father.

Thanks for your time.... God Bless. Bobby.

Deepest Condolences from Sniper's Hide...

Bobby and all your Family,

God Bless you all, I know your father will be missed greatly. We will keep your family in our prayers during this tough time. I am glad you have such fond memories of him, keep them and treasure them. The world and the shooting community will miss him greatly. It is so fortunate that he gave to us so greatly while he was alive. Thanks for all he has given in friendships and knowledge and his great family. Such a sad thing to hear, I hope he did not suffer too greatly.

Dave

Bobby,

I too, send condolences, prayers, thoughts, and respect. In line with DD and everyone else for sure.

You have been blessed by your family and opportunities to continue greatness.

Keep on keepin' on.

Bobby,

Prayers and thoughts lifted from our family to yours.

It sounds like you had a relationship strong and full of memories together. Treasure them and think of him often. It sounds like you had a bond that many wished they could have....

deepest regrets,
Scott

Bobby, I'm very sorry to hear this news. The shooting community truly is the looser with the passing of Barney. May God bless you and your family during this time of sorrow.

Bobby,

My prayers go out to you and your family, he did a lot of great things for the sport we all love but it sounds like his greatest accomplishment was being a wonderful dad.

Take care,

Jason

Sincere condolences to your family. At least he was able to pursue the things that he enjoyed while he was here.

Prayers to you and your family.

Bobby,

I too send my prayers to you and your family. Should I ever have kids of my own, I hope that they would speak as kindly about me as you have about your father.

I never met the man, but talked a few times with him on the phone. He seemed like a nice guy with a good heart. I am sorrowed at the loss of another one of "us" gun guys. Our prayers go out to you and yours.

Jerry Stiller

Truely sorry for your loss, this thing we love just lost one of the good ones.

Sorry for the loss of a loved one. I have the highest respect for the Lawton products. I always get great enjoyment from my Lawton equipment!

Your family is in my prayers. You're dad was a very skilled and intelligent man, he will be missed.

god bless

Truly, the passing of a good man. It made me smile to realize that Barney likes bowling, as it's something I enjoy too. Thank you for sharing a little more about the man with us. I know we'll never appreciate him in the same way you do, but I think we got a little closer in the telling. My condolences go out to you, may your futures be brighter than even Barney imagines.

Craig

May he rest in peace.

God bless you and your family. My deepest condolences go out to you.

Mike

RIP Barney.

My very dear friend has passed.

My tears, prayers and thoughts are with the Lawton's.

I will sorely miss my times with Barney, out here in my shop, pokin around on projects, designing and laughing along the way.

(21 gun salute) Ready,,,,,Fire,,,,,,

He left his legacy, memories, ideas and products with us. So, in a way, he's not really gone.

RIP Barney.