Thread: Real gunsmiths

Any recomendations on who would be good to lighten a mini 30 trigger?

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@gundoc has done some work for me in the past and I am more than happy with what he has done, his knowledge in the rimfire work I required was great.

For my centrefires I've had 4 jobs done by Hugh Bradley, found his work to be superb, no rush jobs, gets things done properly and asks plenty of questions and gives excellent advice, can't recommend him enough. Unsure of his training background.

I've owned rifles built/worked on by Allen Carr and Hugh Bradley. Both top notch smiths.

I've seen, and currently own a stock made by Kevin Gaskell. I can vouch for his expertise.

For quick jobs and great service, I've always gone to Greg Hudson at Custom Guns Invercargill. Great guy - very enthusiastic and passionate, and he can build stocks as well.

Nelson Collie who works next door at Status Guns, is also a fantastic gunsmith. Although I've only had a rifle threaded by him (done to perfection).

Originally Posted by WallyR

The Collings boys do pretty good work for the $$$'s.
Mike in Whakatane, Ross (Collings & Bradey) in Carterton.
All of the lads shot competitively while Din was alive, Mike still competes regularly, Ross not so much, unsure about Steve.
I've got Ross' first attempt at a metal stock system, with which he won the Ballinger Belt back in 1993.
RH Cast is a bit more than suits my narrow shoulders, so will be checking with him, before I try and DIY it to fit me better.

whats the business name for Mike from Whakatane need a good local ish gunsmith.

The NZ Hunter team are good gunsmiths. They built me a 7 saum that is my most consistently accurate (across a range of projectiles) and lightest rifle.

They are not into wood work or fixing half rooted rubbish (don't blame them) but will make you a practical rifle that shoots for nz conditions.

@mucko Collingsguns

Alan Carr has worked on several of my rifles and I can add my 2 cents worth that he knows his stuff although he's more old school, never seen an ar in his workshop.

Mike has a fairly lean webpage, but it does have his contact details should you wish to contact him.
Collingsguns

Spot on sir. Robert Dollymore is the only TRUE Gunmaker in NZ. His work would be comparable to the best standards around the world. He was a certified gunmaker at Purdey and that is high quality.

Rob used to do a fair bit of work for a few collectors of fine double rifles in Australia and a few here in NZ as well. Now he is mostly retired. He has done a bit of regulation work for a friend's double rifle and overhauled another friend's double rifle.

I have a shotgun that was worked on by Rob many years ago - small job.

The late Din Collings was a very good gunsmith. He was very highly skilled and had job offers from US gunmakers. Roy Weatherby, Oldman Hornady & Musgrave from South Africa have visited Din in his workshop in past years.

Din was a dear friend (and Viv) and i still grieve their passing.

Din built my 280 Ack Imp rifle and worked on a few others.

Originally Posted by Woody

I had a problem getting a spare set of barrels fitted to a high grade Beretta sidelock shotgun. On a second similar shotgun I had a misfire problem. Three gunsmiths could not tackle or solve the problems with these guns. Eventually, and with some trepidation about potential costs, I took these to Robert Dollimore at Lake Tarawera. He identified and made good the necessary repairs and modifications to both guns. It was plain to see he knew precisely how to analyse the faults and then how to rectify them. He is Purdy trained I believe. He is a gunmaker. I have also seen his work with measuring a very meticulous older shooter for gunfit of a high grade round action 28 gauge s by s. Rob Dollimore rebuilt the mans stock perfectly. Costs? I found him to be very fair and reasonable.

One of the issues that many encounter here in the States is the lack of troubleshooting ability that many supposed gunsmiths lack. They are great for chambereing and threading barrels on their high tech cnc machines, but give them a problem to fix and they are stumped. So very few school taught gunsmiths here in WA State, fortunate to have one individual that actually went to school, served his time with the likes of McMillan and Les Baer to have as an option. Not to say that the rest do bad work, but problem solving an issue is a skill many seem to lack.

Mark from Desert Guns Cromwell did a couple of trigger jobs for me spot on.

Originally Posted by Double Shot

@gundoc has done some work for me in the past and I am more than happy with what he has done, his knowledge in the rimfire work I required was great.

For my centrefires I've had 4 jobs done by Hugh Bradley, found his work to be superb, no rush jobs, gets things done properly and asks plenty of questions and gives excellent advice, can't recommend him enough. Unsure of his training background.

similar with gundoc -had work done my my old.303 when he was in brisbane st and all i can say was he did a bloody great job with the rifle ,but also taking time to explain to me(a complete novice) exactly what he was doing and how he went about it. in latter years i had him do some work on a late uncles firearms-again couldnt fault him.
he built a bloody nice 7x57 for a cobber of mine too(unfortunatyely some low bastards theiving paws later nailed it and a walther.22-never recovered)which was a sweet wee shooter.
?greg maclutitis(?spelling) seems popular here in chch likewise of course mr robbie tiffen going by what ive heard on and off from people.but at the end of the day like a lot these days its horses for courses

Originally Posted by stug

Allen/Allan Carr has a great reputation. I've never used him, but will soon. Seen some nice pics of his work.

I second this, bloody nice work and great to deal with.

Originally Posted by stug

Allen/Allan Carr has a great reputation. I've never used him, but will soon. Seen some nice pics of his work.

Definitely recommend Alan, I’ve used him and I know a lot of other people that have used him as well,

The best make mistakes too. They are only human. I've had some very poor work from 2 of the highly rated 'smiths here. One was a Ruger trigger which allowed the rifle to discharge while closing the bolt off cock, and the other was machining marks on a barrel and the extractor clip not ground for a new size case head (same rifle).

And from the worst on here I had a shocker of a gouged barrel after a threading job.

Always have a careful look at any work you receive back from any gunsmith.