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Gunsmithing Looking for a good smith

stwfireparamedic

Private
Minuteman
Jan 10, 2012
5
0
37
I am looking for a quality gunsmith. I am from the Oklahoma area and I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations on a smith. Here is the setup I have so far. It is going to be a benchrest gun.

Remington 700 short action, 26in stainless Kreiger barrel chambered in .308 with a 1:11.25 twist heavy varmint contour. I want it mounted on a Bell and Carlson varmint/tactical medalist stock. I have a Wyatt’s DBM and a Shilen trigger.

Basically I am going for accuracy so I want the smith to really take his time and do the job right. Who do your guys recommend? And if it all possible, I would like to stay local. (within a few hours drive)
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

Well, not sure if its local but its in Oklahoma so maybe its near you??

Anyway, give Jon Beanland a call, one of the nicest smiths you will ever have the pleasure of dealing with and as far as his work goes its also the tops. He built a 7mm-08 for me thats a hammer.

I'm sure others will chime in about Jon's work. Jon knows how to build a fantastic rifle.
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

for a benchrest gun i would look at nobody but Dave Bruno in Dayton PA. He has built numerous competition benchrest winning rifles. He specializes in 6PPC bench guns, rail guns, and FTR / F glass guns. His work is second to none. He is also a world record holder shooter himself. he is awesome to work with. down to earth guy, and will help you out along the way. he has built numerous guns for friends of mine, as well as myself. he is building me a 6.5x47 as we speak.

His shop number is 814-257-8089. give him a call. you wont regret it
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

I will for sure give him a call. I also would like to stay somewhat local that way I can drive over and answer any questions and actually be there in person if he needs me.

Just doing a search on gunsmiths.com, I came up with 2 that were under the competition category.

Clemens Firearms LLC
Cutting Edge Arms LLC

Know anything about either one of those?
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

I wouldnt worry about staying local. Daves shop is 90min from my house. And i visit him often. But there has never been anything he needed from me that he couldnt get over the phone. find the best gunsmith you can afford ,and run with it. dont settle for a local smith just because you think hes going to call you and have you come over and help with the build
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jig Stick</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I wouldnt worry about staying local. Daves shop is 90min from my house. And i visit him often. But there has never been anything he needed from me that he couldnt get over the phone. find the best gunsmith you can afford ,and run with it. dont settle for a local smith just because you think hes going to call you and have you come over and help with the build </div></div>

I disagree. I've had problems with 2 builds (one of which is still in progress) and I can not seem to get the gunsmith to move foreward on it. He has had my rifle back at his shop since 12-5 and (to the best of my knowledge) he hasn't even started making corrections. I've tried the email and phone tag route. If this smith was not in the middle of the U.S., I sure would have been paying him a visit by now.

I have LEARNED MY LESSON and will only build with a smith that is within a REASONABLE drive from me. Mark at Short Action Customs will get my builds from here on out. I will say this. When I had a rifle built by APA, there was a minor issue with it and they sent a call tag for the rifle and they had it turned around for me within 24 hrs. Hats off to those guys. They took care of the issue in a very professional manor. On my latest build, I had to pay for return shipping and it's still in limbo after 6 weeks.

Builder beware.
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

I checked into Short Action Customs and they seem to be somewhat cheaper than some of the others I have looked at.
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

Mark at Short Action Customs is a great guy that builds great rifles. You have nothing to worry about dealing with him.
 
Re: Looking for a good smith

well i guess i have the fortunate privilege of being personal friends with my gunsmith...i should of mentioned that