The OPs title asks for "great" 'smiths, while he later asks merely for "good" 'smiths. I gotta ask, then, how "good" is "good"? How long are you willing to wait? What will you be using this gun for?
I got the impression that the OP wanted some Cunningham alternatives because of Grant's long wait list and turnaround time.
Good questions and comments, sir; let me try to address them.
I am indeed looking for someone who is highly accomplished with revolvers, specifically–my idea is to finally reward myself with one of “those” guns: you know, the ones we see in the magazines and crave. I figure that I’m not going to be customizing everything in my collection, and I’d just like to have one really great carry piece. I’m not looking for a race gun.
Grant Cunningham looks to be at the top of the google list because his direction and take on all of this modification stuff is pretty similar to mine; I am a graduate of both LFI and a couple of schools that are LFI trained/affiliated/descendants, and therefore, a bit of a brainwashed mini-Mas.
The back-story here is that, upon doing my web research, I decided to do what Cunningham’s site says and wait for him to open his list, and then give him a shot. I therefore bookmarked his site and checked it once a week religiously, for almost a calendar year (I know the dates exactly). Then, in late October, my best friend from college was killed in action by an RPG in Afghanistan; we buried him November 1st. Needless to say, this put a cloud over my November and I got away from dinking around on the web until I had leisure time after thanksgiving–at which point his window had both come (the 10th), and gone (the 24th). Such is life.
Nothing against Cunningham’s process at all, I actually think it’s pretty darn cool that a fellow can be so good at what he does, and be in such demand, that it’s actually that hard to get on the list for what’s essentially a high-end duty/carry revolver. And I have no problem whatsoever with long wait lists and turn around times for good people, so long as they are accurately noted before the transaction.
That much said, long waits and turnaround times only matter if you can get on the list in the first place! I mean, there’s just got to be another revolver ‘smith who can do a primo duty/carry/liability/pride-of-ownership artwork tune and refinish job that has a window longer than exactly 2 weeks a year to get on the list, fer pete’s sake!
Hence the post.
Again, I’m just looking to have one killer (for now) carry piece that can do double duty as a fun take-to-class gun. A 3-inch 65-3 should do the trick, assuming that I find an artisan that I see eye-to-eye with to turn it into a defensive Faberge egg…
I figure that some of the folks around here might have at one point or another had the same goal, and might have opinions on the matter.
I appreciate the input thus far, for sure!
