If you guys were going to have a new Varmint Rig built What Gunsmith would you have do it? looking to have one made in under a year.

In no particular order: Gordy Gritters, Darrell Holland, Speedy Gonzalez.

George

Sorry, duplicate post.

George

[ 01-30-2003, 00:47: Message edited by: GeorgeS ]

If you have a bunch of money then go with what George said,but if you want a gun built just as good but with less cost then I would(and have )have Mark Penrod (219-982-8385) do it.
Dont get me wrong Darrel and the other two smiths mentioned do great work also but Mark will build you a rifle for $500-$1000 cheaper.
I have a bud that had Darrel build a rifle for him and total costr not including scope was $2800.
Marks price would have been $1700.

There is so many great gunsmiths it would be unfair to pick one. I found you can usually find a local smith who can build them as good as one can shoot them.

Rem. 222

I'd go with Greg Tannel at Gre-Tan Rifles, Kersey, CO. He has several NBRSA 1000 yd. records to his credit, designs precision gunsmith tools, and according to Dave Kiff at Pacific Precision, his innovations are state of the art.

BB,

I'm going to see Gordy Gritters next week. Let me know if there's anything I can check out for you...

Roger

Rogerinneb,

Tell me about Gordy, it looks like he is only about 75 miles from here

BB,

You're not far from the SL BR club. Ron Hoehn is very well known out there and could certainly do the job for you. There's also guys out there that will recommend guy's other than Ron. FWIW, I have not worked with Ron but I think he does good work. I never wrote them down but I've heard of other guys in the SL area that do very good work. I think one works out at the Calloway nuke plant. If this is of any interest to you whatsoever you should probably give the benchrest club a call and ask whoever answers the phone for recommendations. Sorry I couldn't be any more specific. I kind of fall on the side with some of the others. If you go with a big name you'll be guaranteed of two things. One, you'll get a quality product. Two, you'll pay for it too. With a little research you can probably find somebody to do as good work for considerably less. Also, those popular guys can be booked up and may not work with your one year window.

Good luck,

Reed

BB,

Gordy has always written and advertised in Varmint Hunter magazine, and he is on their gunsmith/technical advisory board. He builds mostly on 700 actions I believe. he is heavily involved in 1000yd shooting. His guns have won numerous competitions at the national level. It's been a while since I considered him for a project, but I continue to hear nothing but great things about him.

Here's some contact info:

Gordy�s Gunshop, Inc.
Gordy Gritters
641-628-3044
gordy@iowatelecom.net

Bottom line, how can a guy named Gordy Gritters NOT be great gunsmith? Only thing better would be as a linebacker for a 60's era Bears or Packers team...

.222 is right I think. You don't have to go acrost the USA to have a rifle built. Lotsa good smiths out there that no ones heard of 'cause they have all the work they want without advertizing. A close to home smith lets you meet the guy face to face; tell him what you want and see what kind of set up he has and look first hand at some of his work. You can also drop in on occassion to see your gun in progress. For his part, he should be willing to take the time to explain to you what you can expect and how he is going to get there. A meeting of the minds as it were.
Some smiths effect a lofty distain of any sort of customer input. This appeals to some; it is a turn off to me. After all, it is my money and my rifle we're talking about. If he has issues with some of your ideas, he can gently lead you away to the better idea.
Thirty minutes of the smith's time decides for me whether I use him or if I say, thank you very much, let me get back to you. The time may be while he is in his shop working on projects or it may be sitting down face to face but if he doesn't have the time for me, I don't have the time and money for him.

Darlo Beazley @ Swede's Gun Shop Grand Island, NE. 68803, 308/382-9573. He has made Varmint rigs on 1-Ruger, 1-Winchester and 3-Remington actions for me and a 375 H&H on a Mark X Mauser as well a 338 Win Mag on a Win pre-64 new model Super Grade and a Rem. action in 270 Win.

The Varmint rigs will shoot sub-half minute if you can. Even the 375 was sub-minute and the 338 will cloverleaf at about 5/8" to 3/4". He will use any good action and likes Sako and Remington and preferes Hart Barrels. Tell him "Z" sent you. I don't get anything out of it however what I'm thinking is he may get to you a little sooner.

Good Hunting, "Z"

Well.....I can't agree totally with the "go local" approach. I blew $1,500 for a nice doorstop by following that advice. Had I sucked it up and gone with my first choice, Darrell Holland, I would have been a heckuva lot better off (this was 4 or 5 years ago before he was insanely busy and his prices were OK). And, even though you never get your money out of a custom gun, a gun built by a "known" smith will make a difference if the time comes...

Roger

Zedman,

What's the address? Is it a shop or his house? I'd love to stop by and look at some of his work. I've not found anyone closer that I'm crazy about....

Roger

Itis...1004 West 2nd Grand Island, NE. 68801. There are two businesses in the building a pawnshop;and don't let that mislead you, and Swede's Gun Shop. It is the biggest REAL gunshop for 100 miles to the east and with the exception of Cabelas about 200 or more to the west.

There are more expensive rifle makers but there are none better. He gets a fair price, that is not inexpensive but well within reason. It all gets down to the old saying...you get what you pay for. Believe me, everytime you squeeze the trigger and hit your target and giggle you will be completely satisfied.

My preference is to buy the "parts" and take them to him and pay for his "TOUCH" in the assembly. He may be able to get a better price on a barrel if you don't have an FFL, but you can check on that.

If you want more specific info. drop me an email or better yet call me 308/381-0791.

Good Hunting, "Z"