Gunsmith reccomendations?

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CraigK

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Hi All,

I have a nice Fox Sterlingworth 12 that I would like to have restored/upgraded. I recently read an article at http://www.gunshop.com/kindler1.htm about such a project and would like to do something similar. I would like to keep all the work in Canada if possible. So could anyone reccomend a good gunsmith for the gunsmithing part, a good stock maker for the stockmaking part, a good case colourist for the case colouring part and a good engraver for the engraving part ?

Thanks
 
Couple of good ones in the Toronto area. Steve Milton at Precision Arms and
Stelios & Peter at SC Gunworks. Both are very capable of doing such an upgrade.

Needless to say, you are going to spend big $$$$ ( yes that's right, 4 digit number) to get there. The Stirlingworth was a bottom or near bottom grade Fox.
You can easily spend $ 2500 + on the restocking in English/French or Circassian Walnut, $ 500-700 + on the barrels, forcing cones and choke work, including blueing, and another few hundred on general clean up, freshening the action and trigger(s) and colour case hardening.

Sure you want to dump a frew grand into a Stirlingworth ????

Might be a lot easier to invest in a higher grade gun in the first place !

But, if money is no object , almost anything is possible ....
 
Thanks for the tip Baretta Boy,


I will look into both shops.

You are of course correct in implying that putting that kind of money into an old lower grade gun may not be the most sensible thing to do. But as with most things related to fine old shotguns, sensible often takes a back seat to sentimental. Each winter I restore an old wooden camera to fend off the winter blues and each time I use one of them, I get a much bigger thrill than using one of the more modern ones at my studio.

Besides, for the money I may put into it, I will have the equivalent of a "C" grade fox which were near the top of the line in their day...and it will be made to my specifications, my measurements, and with the images of my dogs engraved on the reciever. It will fit nicely back into its original leather gun case (which I also have) just the way it did when it was new in 1913. Each time I use it, I hope to be reminded of the almost 100 years of adventures this gun has seen.

Or, for the same 3 or 4 (more?) grand I could have a pretty decent new gun....pretty much identical to the one my neighbor bought last week and hope to heck I don't scratch it lest the resale value tumble.
 
Craig:

Sorry I didn't catch it all ... having your dogs enraved into the action ( in gold ? ) will bump it up even further ( more $$$$ ) , and require another crafstman to be involved. Most gunsmiths are specialists to a great degree with respect to either metal work or stock work .. and a few are very good at both. Engravers on the other hand tend to specialize in just one thing ... engraving - can't say I've heard of one who is also a good stockmaker, restorer, barrel man, etc. etc.

I understand where you are coming from ... just be prepared for the sticker price
and a lengthy wait to get there. A couple of the good stockmakers I'm familiar with have some 6 months or more of custom stockwork and chechkering ahead of them already, not to mention their day-to-day gunsmith work.

You might want to have the gun professionally appraised first to determine if it is mechanically sound and worthy of your intended restoration & upgrading. Secure an estimate or quote, any initial remedial work, then usually, ( and your 'smith(s) may counsel you differently ) it's stockmaking first ( so any fitting/finishing doesn't mar newly blued surfaces - you might also arrange for a short interval to shoot a few targets to check for final fit before final finishing & checkering) ), required barrel work ( chokes, forcing cones, dent removal, polishing, etc., required action work, engraving, then final blueing/colour case hardening and action finishing/final assembly.

Best of luck wirth your project !!!
 
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