doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Post-War Custom Gunmakers

Thanks everyone, interesting. Yes, it would be extremely hard to limit to just 10 names, and you would no doubt leave out many worthy smiths.

Steven, I know what you mean about the inside information. Michael has eluded to this before in regards to his research. He often comes up with information about a gunmakers personal life, and he does not know whether to share it or not. Great workmen or artists are often times lousy people. This is one reason you have to include Fisher. He has proven over the long haul that he knows how to run a business and treat his customers.

If we were to limit it, how about those who contributed to getting us to the current state of the art. Those who raised the bar to a new level.

John

Pachmayr,Pachmayr, Pachmayr,

Is there anyone here from the Cincinnati area familiar with Charlie Grossman from Milford? 1960=1970.
Tom

Another name that I believe deserves to be on any list of post-war makers is Don Klein. Don has made few rifles over the years but his workmanship and style are second to none.

Not only is Jerry Fisher one of the finest gun builders and stockmakers, he is one of the finest men I have ever had the privilege of meeting. He is a true gentleman and class act!

A very good discussion with a lot of valid points.

I stated collecting pre-war custom rifles a long time ago with the idea that I would get one rifle from all the better pre-war makers. I decided that “Better- Maker” is very subjective and I would collect and write about the makers that I thought made a nice rifle. Not counting the many “Unknown” makers, some who were very good there are many who I will not be writing about.

I have had a lot of correspondence over the years asking why I don’t write about Mr. X and his fabulous custom rifles. Some I just don’t have all the information I need but many I just don’t care for. When I started writing about them I made a rule that it was unfair to me or the reader if I wrote about a maker whose rifle I just saw a picture of or read what some other writer had to say about them. I like to see as many of the makers work as I can, Living in Alaska kind of limits me but I have traveled to some wonderful collections, and of course the big gun shows at one time had scores of old custom rifles to look at and handle.

With makers like Adolph Minar it was just luck that I found and bought a like-new rifle of his then I got to handle O’Connor’s. I have tried to own, take apart, shoot and live with at least one rifle from every maker I write about. My business or collector plan soon went out the window regarding some makers like Wundhammer who I have owned about a half-dozen of his rifles over the years. I’m embarrassed to tell you how many S.R. Griffins there have been.

I’ve been lucky and had a lot of help and encouragement over the years in preserving the history of these makers. Many custom makers like Jerry Fisher has been very supportive of my work. One year in Vegas Jerry took me to task because he felt I had been too hard on Alvin Linden, when he got home he sent me a Linden stock for my collection.

This is getting a bit long but the truth was I was in the right place at the right time. I think many of you are at the same place in regard to post-war makers, good luck.

You are so right Shane. Besides being a great gunsmith whose work has stood the test of time, he is a first class person. His wife certainly is also. He is who I got my copy of Contemporary American Stockmakers by Ron Toews from. He related about being back to Wisconsin to look at Linden's grave. Someone mentioned to him that he ought to visit Emil Koshollek before he headed back West because he was a very good friend of Linden. He did and was a bit surprised to see a lathe sitting in the living room. He said, "I can well imagine how impressed my wife would be if I moved a lathe into our living room"!!

I will always remember the smirk on his face while telling that story.

(Michael, Thanks!)

In reading the above comments I found several names that made me cringe, and several who's work I truly admire. And because I have made it my life's work I have had the privileged (believe me I consider it that!) of visiting many craftsman's shops and have had their work in my studio to photograph.

I agree with Red's earlier post about the limits of perfection and yet everyday at the bench I struggle for unachievable perfection. I consider the ability to maintain an extremely high standard of quality over the course of a career to probably be the best criterion for judgement. Style is so subjective and although Harry Lawson was one of the names that made me cringe, he certainly did make a career of it and, as Mark brought up I have never seen a lick of his work to examine for quality. (I've been told he an David Miller worked in the same shop early on?!)

Other fellows mentioned like Fred Wells, Pete Grisel and Ed Webber were hugely influential but in a quiet, behind the scenes way. I visited Grisel in Bend in 1977 and he sent me back to Trinidad with a scrap of checkered walnut to show our stockmaking instructor Ed Shulin that he did in fact learn to checker. Pete showed me a lovely Mannlicher Mauser with a double schnabel and went on to developed the Dakota action and much of Dakota's proprietary hardware with little or no recognition. An unhearalded career craftsman.(Don Allen might be a candidate, but not on my list for personal prejudice.)

I visited Fred Wells in Prescott about 1982(?). Fred shut down the entire shop and gave me (who he didn't know from Adam) the Grand Tour! What a guy, what a shop and certainly the consummate Mauser craftsman, probably Ever! Never a pubic peep out of him, but world renown!

I've been fortunate to know Ed Webber for nearly 30 years and had lunch with him during the Livingston Gun Show a few weeks ago. I met Ed at the ACGG Show the year I joined (1985??) and he was the guy I would call on the phone when I had a single shot rifle question over the course of the next couple of decades. I had a story published in the Big Sky Journal (that probably none of you ever saw) Fall 1997 and got to tell a bit about how Ed invited Wolfgang Droege to Big Timber spawning both Sharps rifle makers to locate there. Ed was The guy to redevelop the Sharps '77, the finest!. He is the Finest Kind as a gentleman and friend!

So please don't ask me how to chop this subject up?!? Maybe set some time frames, notion of quality and consider fellows who had a career in the trade. There have been lots of flash in-the-pan, lately johnies and all. Sure wish I could get paid to do this!
Best,
Steve
(WE NEED BIGGER PICTURES!)
Ed Webber M-77 Sporter, one of two or three, this a .405!
And an M-52 with Steve Heilmann metal and a James Tucker stock.

A few more ideas after rereading: I like to think about "small shop " guys, so Pachmayr, Jaeger or Weatherby wouldn't fit. Neither were they making my notion of "custom rifles" regardless of style.

Ackley and Sukkalle were primarily barrelmakers, and should be considered as such.

Breaking it down by stockers and metalsmiths, or guys who did both, or guys who designed the whole rifle but worked with other craftsman??!!??

(BTW, Did any of you know Jerry during his "prickly years" between marriages? In Dubois, WY?)
Not much accomplished in This shop today!
Best, Steve
Fisher single shot .220 Swift on solid bottom FN Mauser.

Ed Webber's "gopher gun", caliber .25-20 SS, Remington action.

Steve, Not a problem I wrote it with "Word" cut and paste and out the door this AM. Thanks for calling it to my attention.