Are There Any REAL Gunsmiths Left?

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cal01

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East Texas
I have a Winchester 94 in .44 Magnum that was manufactured in 1971. It is one of my favorite rifles and I carry it with me to my farm regularly. Recently it has developed a problem. When I cycle the action I will occasionally have a cartridge release and go under the lifter. This causes a jam and I have to take the lever out to clear it.

I would like to get this problem fixed. Research indicates it can be one of a few things and all are repairable. So I started looking around in east Texas where I live for a good gunsmith to make this repair for me. To my dismay I have found that all the gun shops I have contacted either no longer have a gunsmith or their "smith" is only capable of placing high dollar accessories on AR rifles - not much more.

So I started asking around about reputable gunsmiths and have found again that none are interested in working on anything much more than 1911s or AR rifles.

I am willing to ship this rifle anywhere I need to in order to get it to a competent gunsmith who will repair it for me. Can anyone anywhere suggest a good gunsmith who is competent and willing to work on a Winchester 94?

Thanks very much for all advice and assistance.

Cal Barton
Tyler, Texas
 
Trinidad Gunsmithing School. 600 Prospect, Trinidad, CO 81082. Best school in the nation and the teacher supervises the students. If the student has to make a part, that's what is expected of him/her. After all, that what has to be done in a real gunshop (if the part can't be purchased).
 
Master Gunsmiths

Kan Brooks can repair your firearm or recommend someone locally twho can do it.

Write, Call, or Fax, for more information.

PISCO
1455B N Hemlock St
Coquille, OR 97423

Phone (541) 396-5558
Fax (541) 396-2347
 
I don't like tooting my own horn, but I graduated from Trinidad and work at Ahlman's Gunshop. We have six full-time "real" gunsmiths. One of us (Bob) is very good with lever actions and has been smithing for 30 some-odd years. Any of the rest of us could fix it as well, but he's the guy for that.

http://ahlmans.com/
 
Surely there's somebody good closer than this, but I'm taking the opportunity to say nice things about the guy that does work on my stuff, who I rather like. He does great work and you pay a reasonable, realistic amount for what you get (the aforementioned great work). I've learned a ton just chatting with him when dropping stuff off and picking it up.

From personal observation (either my stuff or stuff I've seen dropped off), he'll work on anything from an inexpensive single shot 22 to a 1911 to an H&R Sportsman break top to a Mosin.

His name is Bob Fannin, and his website is The Gun Dr. He's located south of Springfield, OH.

The only bad thing (which I guess suggests his work is viewed with favor by a lot of folks - or else we're really thin on gunsmiths around here) is a nearly 2-month backlog.
 
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I have found that true gunsmiths are few and far between and usually start to specialize. I have one guy for my shotguns, another for bolt action rifles, and another for lever actions. You would have to ship your gun to upstate New York, but if you're interested I'll give you his info.
 
When I lived out West, I used Lee Baker:

http://www.thehuntersden.com/

He is very methodical, and very good. Not sure if he is retired yet, but his website is still up and running - you might give him a call. He did some work on some of my rifles, including making a jig to redo the straight bolt on my Swede for mounting a scope
 
Good luck!

I had the same problem with a gun i took on a trade. Noone wanted to touch it. I was really disheartened at the fact that i live in texas and no one wanted to fix the gun... I did it myself, admittedly quite well with a little bit of time an ingenuity. The closest i found was a gunsmithing school in trinidad CO...

Did y'all know that place has a hollywood style sing on the mountain side? i saw it myself driving to col springs to pick up my cousin. It was a cool little town built up onto the hill.
 
Gunsmithing has pretty much gone the way of the medical trade. Everyone specializes in one thing. Your problem is actually kind of common on Winchesters and is usually caused by the shell stop losing spring tension. Check with the smiths who do work on cowboy action shooting guns. They've seen that before and there are quite a few guys into the cowboy guns now. Try Oglesby Gunsmithing in Illinois. I used to work a lot of gun shows in Illinois and have seen their work. He's a pro.
 
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I just searched and the company name is Oglesby and Oglesby in Springfield Ill. It's a father and son I believe. Give them a call. They do very good work on lever guns. They have a website. Nuline does great work also.
 
Before you send it off, I would like to make a suggestion that you check and tighten all the screws on the frame.
I have had 94's in the shop before with similar problems and its almost always caused by a screw or two being loose.
 
Lever action problem

Contact Dennis Tittle (Tittle Gunworks ) 903-529-1042, Located in Marquez, Tx. he can do the job. Al
 
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