Reeder vs Bowen

[P7HVN]

I know there are a lot of great custom smiths out there, but these are the two companies I've narrowed down for a project Ruger SA(4"bbl Bisley, for plinking). Looking for feedback from those of you who've had or have guns from both, which you prefer and why. Thanks!

 

[rcmodel]

No contest.

Hamilton Bowen is a custom revolver Master Gunsmith.

IMO: Reeder is a Ruger re-finisher compared to Hamilton Bowen.

rc

 

[DPris]

RC & I occasionally disagree, but he's right here- it'd be no contest.
Denis

 

[Loosedhorse]

I have one from Bowen, not from Reeder.

Looks just like this, though the caliber is different:



Bowen's "Perfected Bisley" package is $675 on your Ruger Bisley. Reeder's "Ultimate Bisely" is $1295 on your gun, and seems to include things like a new cylinder and barrel (for .45 Colt ), gold bands, and faux vory grips.

Depends on what you want.

 

[lowerunit411]

i have a ton of money tied up in custom wheel guns..i had a reeder which i sold at a loss..his work is like lip stick..the engraving is third rate, the grips are ok but nothing special, his prices are way high for what you get and he is an <deleted> to deal with, one thing is for sure, his name will be all over everything. if you want a semi third rate "glam" job covered with reeder billboards ....go for it... as you may have surmised..i am not a fan

 

[Sam Cade]

About 8-9 years ago one of my buddies (owner of the FLGS) ordered a .218 conversion from Reeder after seeing a write-up in one of the glossy magazines. When he finally got the thing it not only shot 18" low at 25 yards but the ejector rod was too large to knock out the empties being sized for a .45.....so it was never even shot after the barrel and cylinder were fitted. When he contacted Reeder about it he was told that "most of his custom guns don't ever get shot"

 

[Coal Dragger]

I have only seen photos of Reeder's guns, and they all look atrocious and tacky. Kind of like a vinyl roof and gold plate emblems package on a Cadillac. If you want a revolver that looks like it would be owned by someone that wears a mullet, drinks cheap beer by the case, and wears a stained wife beater then go for it.

Otherwise I would contact Hamilton Bowen, his work displays not only superior workmanship but also great taste.

 

[BlkHawk73]

BOWEN HANDS DOWN! Reeder isn't even in the same category as Bowen. Bowen is also very much a gentleman, which again, is far from the same category well, never mind. That said, I certainly wouldn't discount Clements or Gallagher. The later one gets all my work.

 

[Coal Dragger]

Another good revolver smith would be Jack Huntington, at least photos of his work display good workmanship and impeccable taste as well.

 

[Sam Cade]

I have only seen photos of Reeder's guns, and they all look atrocious and tacky.

This just blows my mind.

Look at this poor C96. It looks like its been spray painted, then attacked by an artistically talented 8 year old with an electro-pencil.

 

[Loosedhorse]

he is an <deleted> to deal with

Bowen is a prince. He takes as a matter of simple fact that he knows more about his revolvers than I do. He politely made sure that my relative ignorance didn't end up hurting me...

...Or his nice revolver! Seroiusly, it was always a treat to speak with him.

 

[P7HVN]

Thanks for all the feedback! Had pretty much made my decision before posting, but still wanted some other opinions. Yes, the Reeders are/can be very gaudy. Whichever package I ended up with was going to be sans any adornment. My main draw(no pun intended) to him was the gunfighter grip frame available. However the Ruger will be heading off to Bowen's shop in the next couple of days. What I reeaaalllly want is a short-bbl, round-butt FA, but that's another $1000-1300.

 

[Jim Watson]

Plan B.
http://www.gallagherfirearms.com/
A friend keeps two guns in John Gallagher's shop at any given time.
When one is done, he sends in another.

I haven't had anything done by him, but another guy here took in a mistreated Ruger and got back more than he expected for the price.

 

[griz1]

I have a Bowen Bisley in 45 Colt. I went to the shop to order my gun years ago and Hamilton personally showed me around the shop. He is hands down in a class by himself.

 

[paul105]

P7HVN said: "What I reeaaalllly want is a short-bbl, round-butt FA, but that's another $1000-1300."



You mean like this? Freedom Arms Model 97 3 1/2" round butt, .45 Colt


.

.

.
.
Compared to a S&W 396 3 1/8"
.

.
Paul

 

[theicemanmpls]

Reeder has a better website, and pictures. However, he sure does like to engrave "cartoons" on them. Not for me. I like to shoot em, not look at em. IMO, Reeder paints em up for non gun guys with disposable incomes for display only.


I wish I had the $$ to have Mr. Bowen upgrade my Vaquero. What a fine looking handgun he turns out.

 

[shootniron]

paul105,

That is a fine lookin' 97 that you' ve got there...

 

[Prosser]

Bowen is a class act. Don't know much about his production staff. He's always been very high priced. I'd check into that, and see if you can get what you want for a reasonable price.

Don't know if he does his own work.

Reeder? Hang out at his website forum, ask him questions, get the feedback from his guys.

My understanding is Reeder's specialty are the laser engravings, and bluing. So, whatever you do, don't insult his rather 'unique' engravings.
He has a huge shop, and does a lot of guns. Go into the forum, and ask Gary if he actually works on guns, other then those two areas. I could be wrong...

That said, you might consider Jack Huntington Advanced Gunsmithing. Jack works on guns, and, all he's EVER wanted in life is to be a gunsmith. He's got another couple guys, Sean for rifles, and Jason is a fantastic pistolsmith.

Jack designed the .500JRH to fit in a FA 83, and, he cut the rim down on the .475 Linebaugh so it fit in the FA 83.
He also does conversions for a reasonable price, on the FA 83.

For a long time, Bowen wouldn't work on FA 83's.

Here are a couple of Jack's customs:

 

[P7HVN]

paul105- Exactly what I want! (cussing because I don't have it. great-looking gun!) There's been a recurring one on gunbroker, in 357/9mm with ivory micarta grips that I've lusted over too. Around $3k.

 

[paul105]

P7HVN,


Never thought I would like the 3 ½” RB M97. It came to me as part of a package deal. As It turned out, it is a wonderful little revolver -- well balanced, easy to shoot, packable, and capable of being loaded “mild to wild”. I really should get an auxiliary cylinder in .45 ACP, but just haven’t got around to it.

As part of the package deal mentioned above, I ended up with a second FA83 475 Linebaugh. I have been seriously considering sending the older one to Jack Huntington for conversion to .500 JRH similar to either one Prosser posted pics of above. The problem is I can’t make up my mind what configuration I want. Oh well, half the fun is agonizing over those decisions.

Good luck on your quest.

Paul

 

[Prosser]

Paul105:

Odd you bring that up. I ended up with two .475's, because no one around here buys em. Also, my local shop was trying to get 2300, and I wanted to pay, 1100. We compromised, I paid 1200, IIRC. Gun went to Jack ASAP, for conversion to .500JRH.

Barrel band is functional. .475's have a tendency to recoil hard enough to shed their ejector rod housings.
The barrel band keeps them in place. Problem is they can catch on a holster, if the holster doesn't cover them.

Grip on the FA is PERFECT for me, with large hands, for heavy recoiling handguns. However, they require custom grips to fit my hands. The stock grips are too small, and I can't hold on to the gun right. In other words, it requires a death grip that gets in the way of accuracy.

I've also found the FA 83 grip better then the Bisley grip on heavy recoiling handguns, with custom grips.

I don't really see much to customize. Get the barrel band, custom front site with bright orange insert, custom grips, and a reloading setup for the .500 S&W, and you are good to go. Jack's factory ammo isn't absurdly priced, either. Available from him. I also got a trigger job.

 

[Prosser]

Somewhere around here I have a letter from Hamilton Bowen about doing a conversion on a Ruger. I asked him which was a better way to go, ruger or Freedom Arms.

His response was something like,
"When I get done with a Ruger, it's still a Ruger."

His point was that nothing he could do would make the Ruger as tight and well made as the FA to begin with.

If I was having a custom done, I would start with either a BFR or a FA, depending on which I could find for the right price.

That said, if the Single Six is any gauge, Rugers have gotten tighter, and better made, or at least that's how they appear.

 

[CraigC]

No contest.

Hamilton Bowen is a custom revolver Master Gunsmith.

IMO: Reeder is a Ruger re-finisher compared to Hamilton Bowen.

I have to be careful because I have some very, very strong opinions on this subject and am likely to blow.

What RC said is the understatement of the year. Hamilton Bowen is the finest revolversmith who has ever lived. Period. He is truly a master of his craft, exhibits amazing talent and taste and is a gentleman to boot. He is an absolute pleasure to deal with and you will find no finer sixgun on planet earth than one from Bowen's shop. Which turns out everything from basic tuning and finish work to one of a kind masterpieces that bring a tear to the sixgun aficionado's eye.

I will apologize in advance to any and all Reeder fans reading this. Reeder is none of those things and neither are his guns. His work can be classed as semi-custom production guns. They're built by a team of gunsmith's and turned out by the hundreds per year. If not thousands. They are overpolished, laser "engraved", poorly designed and executed. He also takes shortcuts and omits certain features that other makers include in their work as a matter of course. He does not believe in lineboring or action blocking. Nor has he ever hand-finished a gun in his life. Reeder himself is like dealing with a badger with a toothache. I have seen him deride potential customers for asking honest questions. I have seen him near about blow a gasket because one asked him if he returned unused parts and then why he didn't. Which most gunsmiths do. He flings the "F" word like he's auditioning for Deadwood. Which is sad because he has A LOT of experience but it's lost in the delivery when he is questioned on any level. He does not understand that there are many different ways to skin a cat. He also changes gears when it suits him. He said once that he refused to work on Old Model Rugers because they were fragile and an inferior design to New Models and also questioned .44Spl conversions on the mid-frame platform. Two or three years later he must've figured out that he could make money on them and began offering conversions.

He seems to do well with those who do not cross him. His prices are attractive and his turnaround short. Some folks like his work and that is fine. IMHO, you get what you pay for and while you will pay more for Bowen's work, you will certainly get more. A lot more.

I would also offer for consideration David Clements, Jim Stroh, Andy Horvath, John Linebaugh, Dustin Linebaugh, Ben Forkin, Allan Harton and I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting.

 

[Boxhead]

'I would also offer for consideration David Clements, Jim Stroh, Andy Horvath, John Linebaugh, Dustin Linebaugh, Ben Forkin, Allan Harton and I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting."

I know that Clements, Stroh and Harton will build at least the quality that Bowen does as I own pieces from the all. They are all also supreme gentlemen, as Hamilton is, that will ensure you get what you want with clear, honest guidance along the way. I have been bouncing ideas around with Bowen, Stroh and Harton the past couple of weeks on a S&W build and they all have been very, very helpful. I will not touch a Reeder gun after having touched one.

 

[Prosser]

I find it odd that Taffin hangs out in Reeder's forum.

Pretty much, it comes down to how much money you spend with him determines how he treats you, and how much tolerance he has.

In a way, this makes sense. Reeder is in the business of making money, and the website costs him money. Any bandwidth you use that he doesn't profit from, he becomes short, and wants you out of the group.

That said, there are benefits, group deals, to hanging around Reeder's websites.
He put together a great deal on some really nice shoulder holsters once.