My humble French MAC 16 gauge SxS is now repaired with a new firing pin in the right hammer thanks to members of this forum recommending the services of Kirk Merrington. I was in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and far away from my Illinois home on an extended detail when I purchased the MAC. In the course of test firing the shotgun at the time of purchasing the gun from my friend, I managed to break the firing pin. Members of this forum were quick to come to my aide with the recommendation of Kirk (http://www.kirkmerrington.net/).
Yesterday I fired the MAC for the first time since the broken pin. Kirk not only replaced the pin (he faced off the hammer, drilled it and set a new pin into the hammer), in the process he cleaned and lubricated the action and without making any mention to me of any additional work he had done, he had obviously devoted more attention to the shotgun than I was told because he managed to eliminate any trace of hammer drag (which had been very pronounced prior to his working on the shotgun)!
Kirk lives in the remote Texas Hill Country and the scenic and winding drive to Kerrville, Texas was very pleasant. Kirk had allowed me to ship the action to him and he was kind enough to ensure that I have my gun repaired in time to pick it up on my visit home. Now that is what I call customer service! Kirk is a delightful craftsman. As I learned from him, he is English born and an English trained gunsmith. He and his two hunting dogs (a Brittany and Chocolate Lab pup), met me at the door of his shop. Kirk greeted me with a smile, warm handshake and an hour of engaging conversation with he and his wife Kirsten. I could have visited with them all day, but they had work to do and I had a long trip ahead of me.
I was immediately impressed by the surgical neatness of his shop and bench and I was a bit surprised to see Kirk’s wife, Kirsten working at a lathe in the back room.
Kirk with the MAC-
Kirsten at the lathe-
