Author: Reto Buehler Page 2 of 10

Oklahoma has beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

A little while ago we released the podcast episode #5, featuring Paul Hodgins. Paul is a professional stock maker of best guns and is located in Utah. He takes us through he’s journey from his youth in England, working at Holland & Holland’s, to moving to the US and setting up a workshop in Logan.

Episode #6 features Steven Dodd Hughes. Steven is very well known through his work as a stockmaker and gun builder, he’s numerous writings for several publications and for his books.

Steven really brought the human element into the conversation. His beautiful honesty portrays him as a complex and somewhat complicated person. And I think that is true for most gunmakers, in one form or another. He puts into words the internal conflicts and struggles most talented and intelligent people probably have. When a customer orders a custom rifle, he purchases the experience and the time of the person making it. Most likely, the client might not be aware of the human element that Steve brings to light.

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I’ve been a customer of theirs for years and I can highly recommend this company for your stock blank purchases. Mehrdad Fanousi, the owner of the company, is a real gentleman. He has great connections in Turkey. His business, however, is located in Texas. His inventory speaks for itself! You can reach him at 347 618-0018 or [email protected]

Tell him Reto sent you!

Current Projects:

As usual, there are several rifles in process and in different stages. Here are a couple of the guns in the works: Above are 2 pictures of a .220 Swift rifle. The action was made in Canada by Hagn. The stock is made from a 30-year-old California English stock blank. American styling with skeleton grip cap. I just finished the checkering, and it is ready for test shooting.

Light weight .375 H&H rifle made for a friend and customer in Alaska. It’s very similar styled to a 70’s built H&H rifle (in .300 H&H) that he owns and loves. Ready for test shooting. This rifle will spend many hours in a bush plane.

These 2 cal..275 Rigby rifles are currently out for engravings. No scopes on these. Very much alike, but the stocks have different length of pull. I had to mark every part pretty well so that I wouldn’t mix it up between the guns.

I’m planning to post more pictures of these guns once they are all finished, and I will elaborate further.

A few nights ago, I had the pleasure to talk to gunmaker D’Arcy Echols. Our conversation is now on Spotify. That was a lot of fun. He set the bar high for good natured humor. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did and get to know this fine craftsman a little better.

By the way, if your company is interested to sponsor an episode, or advertise on the podcast, please email me at [email protected]

This is a great opportunity for your company to target a very specific audience, and your support will help to keep this going.

In this episode I have the privilege to speak with Mark Mitchell. Mark is a London trained gunmaker and resides in Scotland. He is a highly skilled actioner and has done work for most of the great gunmaking firms, such as Boss, Holland & Holland, Purdey and Hartmann & Weiss. We discuss his experiences and the current state of the English gun trade.

Gunmaker Mark Mitchell – Custom Gunmaking Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

Mark states: “If you would like to order an English Best Gun, you better do it now, while some of the older, highly skilled craftsmen are still around”.

I probably could make a similar case for us here in America. Times certainly are changing. We still do have a number of great craftsmen. Our problem is more that of increasing harassment and regulations by a hostile government, despite recent Supreme Court rulings in favor of the second amendment.

Many of us have the desire to get better at what we do. In order to do so, I think it is important from time to time to step back and re-assess. It is through inspiration that we get the motivation to pick ourselves up and continue striving to do things better. To improve the overall quality and results of our toils. In order to be inspired, I think we need to get to a humble state of mind first.

Once in a while an opportunity presents itself and I have the privilege to see a private gun collection of high-end guns. Or to visit a museum. Years ago, I visited the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem MA. The craftsmanship and quality of the nautical instruments displayed left a permanent impression on me. We hear the word “pride” a lot today. Seems to me that this word is more and more used to mask bad behavior. Real pride is when a person does his best to honor the Creator and his fellow man by providing a high level of quality in his work and deeds. A humble spirit and kindness are the solution of so many of the problems we are facing. Politicians, are you listening?

Recently I had a chance to spend a couple of hours in the J.M. Davis Arms museum in Claremore, OK. Most of the guns on display have been factory built, but there were a few outstanding pieces that offered inspiration. I took a bunch of pictures and here are some.

The guns that interested me most were the ones that display a high level of craftsmanship.

Very skill-full carvings. Wow.

Old gun shack with barrel rifling machine

Inspiration can be drawn from many different sources.

One of my all-time favorite museums is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. If you come to Oklahoma, make sure you plan a visit to the museum. I promise, you will be inspired.

The second episode is streaming on Spotify. In this episode we learn more about Stephen Heilmann. Steve is an inspiring person and a great craftsman. Enjoy!

Please spread the word. I’m having fun doing this and will continue if there is enough interest.

The majority of my work is performed standing at a bench and working on parts clamped in a vise. Being a self-employed one-man show does have a few perks. For one, I have the chance to listen to radio and podcast programs while working. Particularly I do enjoy podcasts. I have a pretty eclectic playlist, from political programs, science, psychology, history, faith, business to guitar making. I’ve been thinking for a while to create a podcast about the people that build and sell high end custom guns. I’m more interested in the personalities then the technical aspect of their work. After all we are a pretty unique bunch, and it is only possible to pursue this trade when driven by a large amount of passion. Certainly not the motivation of money. Perhaps we all fret over that we should have done something more profitable with our life.

I might have found very well a new venue to make a fool of myself in public. So be it. Perhaps sometimes you just have to try something and see where it goes.

I tasked my teenage son to research and come up with solutions to make our own podcast.

So here it is:

Currently we are doing a trial on Spotify. It will be added to the usual outlets shortly.

The first interview is with long time stock maker James Tucker. It is only befitting that he is the first person featured. After all, I had the pleasure to working next to him on and off for over 20 years. My plan is to add one new episode each month.

Let me know what you think and if it is a worthwhile endeavor to be continued.

[email protected]

Over the years I’ve built several .300 H&H calibers. It has been one of the most popular calibers in my shop. A great caliber but does require a long magnum action. But does it ever shoot!

Lisa Tomlin engraved the rifle and Turnbull restoration performed the color case hardening.

My client is planning an Elk hunt this fall and I’m looking forward to his feedback.

It is fun to work on a mix of large and small rifles. Surely keeps a guy on his toes in regard to the proportions of the guns. This especially true for me when doing the stock work. The challenge is to keep everything within the appropriate proportions. My latest finished guns have been a .404 Jeffery bolt action rifle, a .223 Remington miniature falling block rifle, and a .204Ruger miniature falling block.

Pictured above is the.404 Jeffery rifle, my model English Express.

.204 Ruger rifle. Martin Hagn built the barreled action. I stocked it and finished it for the client. Lisa Tomlin cut the engravings; Turnbull Restoration performed the color case hardening of the receiver. As the colors will fade a little over time, the engravings will showcase much better. This rifle is ready for the Oregon varmint season.

.223 Remington rifle with a miniature Hagn action. This little rifle has been in the hands of my client for 3 months and has killed by now more game in Texas than many guns will do in their lifetime.

The barrel has an integral machined rib and wedding band at the forearm transition. It has a half round, half octagon profile. At the time I was working on the gun, I had often a nasty looking coyote visiting our property during daytime. I figured I might get the first kill in with the little rifle, but it was not meant to be.

Martin Hagn from Cranbrook, Canada was kind enough to weigh in on my little essay. Martin is an incredible craftsman, one of the best. He is one of a very few, in that he not only has a great eye and feel for the right proportions of stocks and firearms but has incredible engineering abilities that allow him to think outside the box. His famous single shot design is unique and genius in its simplicity, strength and reliability. While modern German firearms are typically over-engineered, his designs remind me of the German golden age of gun development, think Mauser 98. I’m honored to have Martin as a friend.

In Martin Hagn’s words:

I would like to touch on the quality of the “Buechsenmacher” Education in Germany and Austria. Actually, there is not that much praise to speak off! I spent 5 years in the gunmakers school in Ferlach, Austria. During that time, I worked for one year as a stock maker. The craftsmanship aspect was not bad at all, we certainly learned to file. But as far as styling was concerned, it was pretty bad, and we had no idea. The usual stock shape was in the alpine styling, primarily Bavarian. Basically, stocks with Bavarian cheek pieces, “Kaisergrips” and hog backs. The theoretical schooling was pretty good and included mathematics, bookkeeping and technical drawing. The goal of the education was not only the technical aspect, but also to acquire the skills necessary to be a business owner.

Of the 45 students in the school, only about 10% where really interested in the craft itself, and some still work today as gunmakers. The apprenticeships in Germany were not that great. Besides some learning in the workshop and a good filing foundation, it wasn’t great. Especially the machining skills where completely neglected. Probably better were the apprenticeships offered by the larger companies, such as Krieghoff, Heym and Sauer & Son. Those companies built tastefully executed guns before the war, especially Sauer & Son. In Austria, Johann Springer in Vienna was one of the best. After the war it all went downhill.

I was hired in 1962 by Griffin & Howe in New York. There I had the fortune to examine for the first time classic and tastefully built high-end guns. The shotguns from Churchill, Purdey, Holland & Holland and Westley & Richards where my new world. From those guns much can be learned as far as styling and execution is concerned.

In closing I would like to mention that in the USA, the gunsmithing schools provide probably the best opportunities for learning.

Martin Hagn

Like Martin mentions, most of the fellows I knew that apprenticed as gunmakers, shortly after changed career. Unfortunately, the trade has always been very small and didn’t offer employment opportunities nor the desired wages. Only people that truly have been “bitten by the bug” prevail and grind on, often against many odds, such as regulations and changes of laws.

Martin mentions a lack of taught machining skills to the German apprentices. Looking back, that was my greatest weakness also. In our shop in Switzerland, we had a horrible worn-out milling machine with huge back lash, and a terrible lathe. My master always said that if you learn on bad equipment, you can run any equipment. Well, later in America I learned the value of good equipment. The first time I run a proper Bridgeport it opened up a whole new world and I realized how wrong my master had been in this aspect.

I hope the different experiences are of interest and offer a little insight.

My friend Mark Mitchell from Scotland was kind enough to share his experiences after reading mine. Mark is a veteran of the English gun trade. Over the years he has worked for just about all of the great English gunmakers, as an employee or contractor. He is one of the last masters and is a highly accomplished actioner and gun builder. In his own words:

Hi Reto,

Your experience was quite similar to mine. My apprenticeship was 5 years long, and with the company Holland & Holland. We did a year in a training school to give us basic hand skills and machining skills. During this year we made tools that we could use when we went on to the workshop where we would do the rest of our time. I still have and use a lot of those tools and to be honest they came out pretty well. I went into the Machine shop for my next 4 years machining actions, barrels, ribs. We made all of our own chambering tools and also the bolt action Rifles. It was an interesting time but as you have said, it was a bit focused on one discipline. Once I’d finished my 5 years, they moved me into the barrel shop where I very quickly learnt how to make shotgun barrels up. I didn’t stay there very long. Only 6 months before I left and ended up working for a gun shop. This is where the rest of my learning happened. I spent 4 years working with an ex-Boss actioner and he taught me a lot. I still only do metalwork but can pretty much make anything gun related now.

Youngsters here are not encouraged to go into anything where they’re going to get their hands dirty. There are government apprenticeship schemes, but they tend to be 3 years long and I don’t think the training is anything like it used to be. The gunmaking apprenticeships are still 5 years long, but I think it’s got to the point where the people doing the training don’t really understand the jobs properly themselves. I would say over here that the future of handmade guns is looking a bit bleak. If you got all of the fully qualified Gunmakers that were any good together, we wouldn’t fill a small room.

The finances are an issue, indeed. It’s only profitable if the apprentices stay on after their time. The company got a subsidy towards our wages for the first year but then it was up to the company. I started in 1979. Now you can get a small subsidy from the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers towards an apprentice but it’s not a great deal. I don’t think the apprenticeship program made H&H any profit.

The wages started off very low. I started on £24 a week gross. Each year they increased slightly. Once I’d spent a bit of time in the machine shop, we started on production work. We made all of the bolt action rifles which must have contributed to the company but in those days, we made everything including the sight blocks and sights. You couldn’t get them off the shelf then. We started off as 7 in the training school for the first year and once they were satisfied that our skills were good enough, they chose where to put us in the factory. We all got through the first year ok and continued on. Out of the 7 of us if I remember rightly only 2 left before they finished their apprenticeships.

Mark M.

Perhaps somebody from Germany or Austria could weigh in and share his/her experiences. Most people I’ve known that apprenticed as gunsmith changed their career shortly after. There are just not many employment opportunities out there. Mark too has expressed interest in doing some teaching. On and off we’ve had some discussions about it, and perhaps one day something may come of it.