Can any of you recommend an Alaskan gunsmith for good basic gunwork such as rebarreling, dependable feeding, etc? Honesty, fair pricing and decent turnaround...is that too much to ask for?

That's a tough one. I'm in Fairbanks and the best we had (Down Under Guns) closed. I've heard of one in Wasilla, but I know nothing about him.
I second this topic.
Are there any good gunsmiths in Alaska as Yukon Delta asks?????

In Wasilla, i'd check with Bob Padie at Artic Custom Guns. I've had nothing but good experiences with him in all the work he's done for me. Worth checking out anyway, Greg

Greg, I have heard of that shop but have zero experience with them. Do you mind sharing any testimonials? Thanks.

I use Steve Untiet here in anchorage. He used to be the head smith over at WWG until he got sick of Jim's crap.

I think hes fair, hes done my 416rem and 9.3x62 for me.

Well, anyone who couldn't stand Jim is probably a good man. Any contact info?

Steve Untiet @ Alaska custom Firearms. (907)351-7808

Steve is fair in priceing. I'm sure you can find cheaper but he does good work. a big bonus for me is that since he works out of his house, I can go over there on a sunday morning and talk about what I want done or pick up my rifle.

One time I forgot to bring the loaded ammo so he can test fire my 9.3 so he stopped by my house and picked it up. excellent service.

Thanks. I will give him a call later this week. He works out of the house...regular hours, etc? In your opinion, he does a good job on big bore rifles?

IMO he does good with bigbores. Hes also good with oddstuff like 1917's that some smiths dont see all the time.

He has a full time job, outside of smithing, but his timeframe is really good. Has real good machinery (really nice CNC lathe that excepts up to a 50BMG with a 30"bbl I believe). He did my 416rem in about a month (on a 1917 action).

You can call him anytime.

Thanks. PM to you.

Bob at Arctic Custom Guns does all my work. He's currently doing a re-barrel for me now.

Any examples on pricing and backlog for Arctic Custom Guns? Thanks.

Just to let you know, Steve is opening a shop up right next door to Wiggys on Old Seward. I am also using him to do some work on my XLR. Trigger job, bead blast, and install bear proof ejector. He's done a friend of mine's GG and he does excellent work.

Thanks for the additional recommendation. It's great to hear several guys saying the same thing. We need good 'smiths around here...several would be even better. Per capita, we could support more than most places.

Is Stan jackson still around? He did great work and had quite a machine shop.

I had stan build my 458 Lott and true up my 300 wsm. He is top notch. One thing I can say about Stan's work, it will be ACCURATE! My 458 Lott thinks its a varmint rifle! My factory winchester 300 WSM was a 1.75-2" rifle before I had stan true it up and bed it into a nicer stock, now it will do honest 1/2" groups enough to not be surprised by them.

Stan might not be the cheapest in town but his work is definately of known quality and turn around time is very quick.

300 WSM


how it shoots now


458 Lott

I don't know Stan. Is he still around?

Stan is still around. LAst time I was in his shop, I was looking for bases for a different 1917 (last year). Unfortunately, he kinda set me off. he was shaking so bad, he couldnt hang onto the screws. Hopefully it was just a bad day for him.

Looking around his shop, he does do impressive work. He had 2 young guys in there working and he is obviously teaching them well. The guy is old school (which did impress me). alot of his machinery does not have a computer hooked to it. His work is good.

He has his boys in there learning the trade but he still does a lot of the work himself. They mainly do the easier stuff as they learn to become the master machinist that Stan is. I was in there the other day. He was doing well. You will find that a lot of local smiths farm out work for him to do, barrel fluting and custom mount/base building especially. Might as well go straight to the source.

Any contact info for Stan?

Stan Jackson
907-349-3854

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
Greg, I have heard of that shop but have zero experience with them. Do you mind sharing any testimonials? Thanks.

I've had him do some stock work (bedding, pads and what not) and just some meat and potatos work for me. He always has a couple high end projects going at any one time when I stop in. What's impressive about him to me is that he's such a down to earth guy that will talk to you about what you want done and get it done. The best thing to do is go in and talk to him and decide for yourself. I'm not much of a gunsmith and so easily impressed, I guess. . Greg

I'd recommend Stan Jackson as well. He has worked on several of my rifles--quality work, fair pricing and prompt service. He's closed mondays I think, but drop in and see him.

Cheers,

Dan

Try Stan Jackson 349-3854, his shop is off Ellen St.,just off Klatt road in Anchorage, Ak. He has built several rifles for me. I have my own wildcat.

The problem with finding a good 'smith is word gets around and then everything goes to hell because gunners beat a path to his door.

I also recommend Stan. I had him do some touch-up on a 9.3x62 stock and you cannot tell from the original finish where he did the work.

Hopefully not too many people yet know about him. He is a really nice guy to work with too.

Stan has done work for me for the last 15 years or so and I was only dissatisifed one time. He tuned a trigger for me on my sons model 70 and it would fire when the bolt was slammed. He quickly fixed it at no charge.
He is currently installing NECG sights front and rear on my Lott and will also be doing my barrel/chamber work on an upcoming 35 Whelen.
I heard (but can't confirm) the work done by his boys is not as good as what Stan does.
His only short coming is he pushes a little for you to have more work done than what you ask for.
During the non hunting seasons he usually has any job I drop off ready within 2 weeks if I have the parts in hand.

Used Precision Arms Inc's Vince Baldauf 279-5755 on Duke Drive in Anchorage last year to help with a minor problem on my Sauer 202 take down. Solved my problem in a timely manner.