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Gunsmithing Looking 4 reputable gunsmith in San Fernando Valley area in Calif.

B

BroncoMustang

Sergeant of the Hide
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May 5, 2018
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Ordered and just waiting for delivery of an ARC (American Rifle Co.) Nucleus action, which I heard from another Hide member might be a few more months, but am wanting to research who would be a good local gunsmith for my future build. Do any of you have a recommendation?
 
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EXTREMEPREJUDICE said:
Not exactly.................................but if you are willing to go a couple three hundred miles north Marc Soulie (Spartan Rifles) is in San Jose and I would recommend him as much as anyone.
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Thank you. It is not a bad drive from where I live; we went near for a recent vacation & may go again in a few months.
 
Always baffles me why guys ask for "a local gunsmith." I know of dozens of good smiths but most don't live near me. No offense but why the "local" requirement? Did you purchase the action from a local or just get the one you want and have it shipped? I am not trying to offend, just wonder what you are thinking?

Good luck with your project.

BTW, Chad Dixon at LRI is top notch and accepts UPS delivery. :)
 
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rth1800 said:
Always baffles me why guys ask for "a local gunsmith." I know of dozens of good smiths but most don't live near me. No offense but why the "local" requirement? Did you purchase the action from a local or just get the one you want and have it shipped? I am not trying to offend, just wonder what you are thinking?

Good luck with your project.

BTW, Chad Dixon at LRI is top notch and accepts UPS delivery. :)
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I have to confess I had tunnel vision; as long as they do a great job, that's what I am after. Where is LRI located? Do they have a website? I will check them out. Thanks.
 
South Dakota. Long Rifles Incorprated.
Chad Dixon. Yes, website. Also easy to contact by phone.
 
Apnea said:
OP, I used Spartan at the beginning of the year and they had good communication and did the work on time.

As a resident of the people's republic, I like supporting a business behind our blue curtain when I can.
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A few people have recommended Spartan, and hearing that they have good communication & that their work was done when they said it would be is good to hear. We might drive up there again in early summer; am wondering if they could do the work over a weekend. Will reach out to them to find out. Thanks for your feedback based upon your experience with the company.
 
Adding to the Spartan recommendation and also in CA, Rubicon Precision. Don’t have anything from them but their work looks solid. See a recent post in the bolt action section. Also TacOps, not sure if they take that kind of work or timeframe though.
 
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duramaxed said:
Adding to the Spartan recommendation and also in CA, Rubicon Precision. Don’t have anything from them but their work looks solid. See a recent post in the bolt action section. Also TacOps, not sure if they take that kind of work or timeframe though.
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Thank you for the feedback; much appreciated. I will check them out. And, upon reading yours and Apnea's comments about supporting CALIF. gun businesses, that makes sense and would certainly help them continue to be in business.
 
Last time I spoke to Mike at Tacops he was only doing his stuff and not other builds. There's also Jim at Grunning Precision in Riverside. Communication can be spotty because he was a one man shop and mostly does work for Mil/ le clients so he's usually slammed. If* he does take in your work it may not be a quick turn around but Jim has gone out of his way to help me more than once and is a really great guy and damn do his rifles shoot.
 
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Bandit31 said:
Last time I spoke to Mike at Tacops he was only doing his stuff and not other builds. There's also Jim at Grunning Precision in Riverside. Communication can be spotty because he was a one man shop and mostly does work for Mil/ le clients so he's usually slammed. If* he does take in your work it may not be a quick turn around but Jim has gone out of his way to help me more than once and is a really great guy and damn do his rifles shoot.
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Thanks for the information; I will check them out.
 
Randall with 700barrels is good as well, he also goes by the username ar15barrels on alot of sites. Hes just south of Panorama City. You can find his info with a google search of either username.
 
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WleeSC said:
Randall with 700barrels is good as well, he also goes by the username ar15barrels on alot of sites. Hes just south of Panorama City. You can find his info with a google search of either username.
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I just recently heard of him. Do you know anyone who had him do some work for them? Thanks for the referral. He's pretty close to where I live, too.
 
WleeSC said:
Quite a few people on calguns have used him and he is in charge of my current rifle build.
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Good to know. I'd definitely be interested in hearing your thoughts once he's done with the build and you got to take it out to the range. Thank you for the information; I appreciate it.
 
Build should be complete before the end of the month and cerakoting finished by mid june if nothing changes. Range report may take a little longer as los angeles doesnt have the greatest selection of ranges exceeding 600yds and work limits my travel time.
 
Don't know where you live, but if close to his shop there is Angeles Shooting Range (which goes out to 600 yards) and another range in Piru, CA (that goes out to 1,000 yards according to my friend). Maybe one of these would suite your purposes. FYI
 
Neat, didnt know Piru was still active. last I had heard it was sold. If its back up and running Ill check it out. Better range then Angeles.
 
I have not gone there yet, but heard of it from my friend. Given what you heard, I would call first.
 
WleeSC said:
Neat, didnt know Piru was still active. last I had heard it was sold. If its back up and running Ill check it out. Better range then Angeles.
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I heard this also, but a quick search turns up a rifle range with same address. I haven't been there since the change in name/ownership.
 
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Apnea said:
I heard this also, but a quick search turns up a rifle range with same address. I haven't been there since the change in name/ownership.
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My friend told me that the sale happened a while ago, but that the Piru shooting range is still open. F.Y.I.
 
Another vote for Randall @ 700barrels.com.he chambered 3 rifles for me and all 3 have been hammers.

Piru is open i was at the public range 2 weeks ago and will most likely go there tomorrow . The name is CA tactical academy now. They also hold different types of matches every sat and sunday. I go to the monthly multigun matches. There are talks about adding precision rifle type of matches as well.
 
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Randall at 700Barrels built my current 6.5 match gun, as well as several friends' rifles. All have been hammers. He does excellent work. I highly recommend his work.
20160308_202135.jpg
 
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LA260 said:
Another vote for Randall @ 700barrels.com.he chambered 3 rifles for me and all 3 have been hammers.

Piru is open i was at the public range 2 weeks ago and will most likely go there tomorrow . The name is CA tactical academy now. They also hold different types of matches every sat and sunday. I go to the monthly multigun matches. There are talks about adding precision rifle type of matches as well.
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Thanks for the feedback about Randall; having had three rifles done by him says a lot. Glad to see that it was well founded-given the good results you've had.
Also, I am glad to hear that the range might be expanding what they offer. Thanks again.
 
Another vote for Marc at Spartan. He's built me a comp bolt gun in 6.5 CM that, even with m pulling the trigger shoots 3/8 MOA, and a 1/2 MOA gas gun. Awesome dude as well.
 
TJAndriesen said:
Another vote for Marc at Spartan. He's built me a comp bolt gun in 6.5 CM that, even with m pulling the trigger shoots 3/8 MOA, and a 1/2 MOA gas gun. Awesome dude as well.
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Thanks for the feedback about the good work that Marc has done for you; I appreciate the information.
 
If possible, please do support your local Ca builders. The taxes and fees here put a pretty big squeeze on us so all business helps. I'm on the extreme northern end of the state and pretty much out of the way for most people in the sport so I have a lot of customers that ship. But I'm one of the few who is licensed and insured with a lathe large enough to build the .50's. My lathe can accommodate barrels up to 2" in diameter.
 
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Skkeeter, Grebski & 47guy,
Thank you for the feedback/information; I appreciate it. I do plan on using a California gunsmith, many of the reasons being those mentioned by skkeeter. It is tough here i Calif., so we need to support the few that remain. Thanks again.
 
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rth1800 said:
Always baffles me why guys ask for "a local gunsmith." I know of dozens of good smiths but most don't live near me. No offense but why the "local" requirement? Did you purchase the action from a local or just get the one you want and have it shipped? I am not trying to offend, just wonder what you are thinking?

Good luck with your project.

BTW, Chad Dixon at LRI is top notch and accepts UPS delivery. :)
Click to expand...
Have you thought maybe those dozens of good smiths that you know might be local to those who are asking for local a local gunsmith
Marc is local to me and I'm not going to ship my rifle off to someone if I don't have to. Marc is good people and a good smith
 
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You should skip R&D and go with DMR rifles in Vegas. Dane makes some unbelievable rifles and is one heck of a Smith. I'm in Orange County and use him all the time
 
I have a gunsmith a mile away, but I'll be taking my rifle to Marc at Spartan for a new barrel in a couple weeks. :)
 
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