doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Vintage sxs gunsmith within 2hrs of Hartford CT?

Looking for a vintage sxs gunsmith within 2 hours of hartford CT for some potential work on some older British, American, Belgium SxSs (BSA, Webley & Scott, Clemens, Parker). As well as some help with the safety on a modern Spanish SxS (AOC Uggie). Some of the guns aren’t worth much, even in pristine shape, so want to talk them in person about what it might take to get them to a “huntable” state. Some stock cracks to be fixed, barrel wall thicknesses to be reviewed, laminated steel barrels to be reviewed, firing pin on a hammer gun not budging when struck by hammer, get the Parker a bit tighter on face, etc.

Is Abe Chaber still working? Does Mike Orlen do this type of work? Who does Safari Outfitters and British Sporting Arms in Amenia/Millbrook NY use for their gunsmiths? Suppose I could call them. Would prefer to drive to someone and talk and not have to deal with shipping unless absolutely necessary.

Wish I learned the trade/skills when I was younger, seems to be a lot fewer with this expertise these days...

Thanks all!

Also testing some linking of pics below of a couple of these guns, via smugmug:

Dan Morgan in Woostock VT (trained at Dickson). He's pretty busy, but worth a try.

In he past, I've had very good experiences with NECG in Claremont NH on several Doubles I had them work on.

A buddy used this guy for a lot of the work on the restoration of his SLE. The gun came out very nice IMO (based on the pictures).

Mitch Shultz
Gunsmithing Limited
(203) 254-0436
3 Lacey Place,
Southport, CT 06890

recommend lou rotelli in gaylordsville, ct...

203-788-4920

Dewy Vicknair is more than two hours in PA but he is one of the better when it comes to English SxSs.

Abe Chaber in Danbury CT does work for Holland & Holland. Abe has a great reputation and is a good guy.

So…I’ve used Abe Chaber in the past with good results, but
I decided to try Mitch Schultz of Gunsmithing Limited (CT). He just did some work for me on 3 guns:

AOC Uggie 16 - lengthen LOP from 14” -> 15.25”, fix a slipping (on) safety after 1st shot, and also do a full clean and checkout.

Fox 16 - second trigger was “mushy”, and also do a full clean and checkout

1800s Clemens 12 hammergun - wall thickness measurements for suitability to shoot low pressure.

He did a great job!  Turned all 3 over at the same time in under 3 weeks!  Pricing was very reasonable.  Probably was about $80/hr.  Very knowledgeable and friendly too.  Looks like I found myself a new gunsmith for my SxSs and vintage guns, about an hour from me.