doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gunshops / dealers in Charleston area?

Are there any higher-end shops / dealers in the Charleston, SC, area?

If you know of anything/anyone, please let me know.

Thanks,

OWD

Can't speak for Charleston, but Darlington Gun Works is a 140 miles from Charleston, up I26 and North on I95, and is the home of owner master gunsmith Jim Kelly. I haven't been by in a few years, but they have some doubles for sale usually. Jim is the smith who put Bo Whoop back together with a restock. He was a gunsmith while in the USAF in France and worked under General Curtis "Bombs Away" LeMay who permitted him to moonlight in French gunmaker and gunsmith shops where Mr. Kelly honed his craft. He is a first class gentleman. You could call ahead and see what's up there. Gil

Carolina Rod and Gun on Hwy 17 south of Charleston usually has a few doubles.

Yes to Darlington

Thanks for the tips.

I think I'll have some spare time to swing by Carolina Rod & Gun.

Appreciate it.

OWD

I second a visit to Darlington Gun Works, and a highlight of that is meeting Jim. Call ahead and find out when he will be in, though. The shop is open regular hours but Jim doesn't stay in there all day everyday anymore. He's begun taking more time off.

SRH

Stan, According to Mrs. Kelly, Jim is the "go to" man in his shop for working on old doubles. Last year I sent him a double that had its safety lock-up at inopportune times (for instance when I needed a second shot) and he went inside it, fixed it, and left no trace of his work which was a topic in a recent thread of what a good 'smith should and shouldn't do. Gil

That's how I've always understood it to be, Gil. Jim is a master, plain and simple. I am planning a trip up to see him for the next rainy day that we can't pick peanuts or cotton. Got a couple things that need sorting out on some doubles. But, if possible, I want him to be there in the shop when I go. He's just the kind of craftsman that inspires your trust.

As I recall, it was Jim himself who restocked BoWhoop (buttstock only), but Phil, another gunsmith in his shop did the checkering. It's just a well run business.

That twinkle in my eye is faint evidence of the pounding in my chest as I shouldered Bo Whoop, just before it left Savannah for Julia's auction house. There really is something to "shaking the hand that shook the hand". The nostalgia and presence of Mistah Nash was thick in that office, that grey October day.



SRH