tralagar Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Another vote for Bobby at Freedom Gun works. I am on the list to get one of his 6 inch guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvsmith Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 And add my name to Bobby Keigans @ FGW - he's customized my Edge & is now doing both a 6" Limited & 40SW Single Stack - I think we are seeing a trend here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Personal experience: I have commissioned 2 custom builds. For the first build, I called ALL of them. Virgil Tripp understood what I wanted, charged me fairly, and treated me like I was his only customer. And that was BEFORE I spent any money. The gun was flawless in every capacity, looks EXACTLY like I spec'd, runs any length ammo I want to use, and doesn't care a lick about what mags I use. 2 years later I had some money to spend on a 6" gun and made 2 phone calls. One of the was to Matt Cheely, who I would love to have build me a gun and the other was to Virgil. Matt's lead time was a little long for me (being great has a price) and Virgil cut me an outstanding deal. I have about 40k rounds through tripp built guns and have know a good thing when I see it. There are others who can do as good a job, but I've not handled a gun that was better built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWLAZS Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I am an open guy I think Cheely guns are awesome. I think the best advise I have seen is to try out some different guns, talk to the builders, and buy what works best for you. Then Shoot the hell out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1normando Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I have had most of them and all were comparable with cost being the main difference. I preferred the Krebs but last I heard Marc is still not building any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegot38 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Havnt seen to many Brazos votes is there any reason for that? 12+ month wait and cost but my Brazon open and limited guns rund like a Mercedes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
818-DVC Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I have had most of them and all were comparable with cost being the main difference. I preferred the Krebs but last I heard Marc is still not building any more. I know someone who I believe had marc build him one in the last 2 years. It was why I brought him up. His gun looked, shot, functioned so smoothly.I started to hate on my SV! I love my SV! If you have the money for an SV, you have the money to buy a well built used 2011 open gun and shoot it while you wait for your SV. When the SV is done, you will have a backup gun, or you can recoup some of the cost by selling the used gun for close to what you paid for. If it were me, I would have Virgil, Derek or Matt cheely build me my gun. SV's are awesome, but true custom is art and precision, function & reliability. I love the look and feel of the the above mentioned smiths guns for their Creativity, craftsmanship, function & accuracy. Some people can really use a mill and be a great gunsmith. It's rare to see both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Matt McClearn built Nils gun and he won the Limited Nationals. Who ever heard of the guy before that. Hard to argue with success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncboiler Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Bedell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zinnmeister Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Dave Dawson, many years of service with his limited gun. Ultra reliable & accurate. Not so much bling, but everything you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerTrace Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 SV Infinity, hands down for me. I've had Wilsons, Baers, and full-custom built STIs from two of the best in the biz. But after buying my first SV, I sold every last one of the others to buy more SVs. I use them to play the our game, to protect my family and the State of Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Matt McClearn built Nils gun and he won the Limited Nationals. Who ever heard of the guy before that. Hard to argue with success. Lots of people Several years ago TGO predicted Nils would be the youngest U.S. National Champion ever...guess he knows what to look for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I have a Brazos that I am thrilled with. I would not hesitate to do that again. I have a second limited gun in the works and George Huening is doing this one. I am very excited about this one as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth B Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 The only experience Ive had is with brazos. Im happy. Great gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Dave Dawson, many years of service with his limited gun. Ultra reliable & accurate. Not so much bling, but everything you need. I didn't think Dawson did any full custom guns anymore?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danva Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Derek @ Millinium Custom built my wife's gun. Damn nice gun; runs like a swiss watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerwas Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Another unknown guy that is worthy of a look is a guy by the name of Paul Grundhauser Grundhauser gunworks. I have had several other pistols from many 'smiths and they are all very good guns. However, Paul is a pistolsmith and a machinist, so precision is in his blood. You will come across several very good pistol manufacturers, but you'd be hard pressed to find one that is manufactured to tighter tolerances than that of a Grundhauser Gunworks pistol. He is currently building me a 6" limited gun and he is almost done with it. He has kept me up to date on the progress of the pistol and has also informed me of so much precision based information which is fantastic. There are so many little things that go into building a pistol that we (the end user) are so oblivious too. Things that Paul makes sure is done right or it will not leave his shop. Never met anyone who is more pationate about building pistols than Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Payne Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 A big +1 to what Zerwas said. Paul is great guy to work with and a great hidden talent. I was kind of hoping he would stay that way, but oh well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronEqualizer Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 +1 for Freedom Gunworks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDPMatt Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I've been also looking at Cheely guns lately and am getting on the list soon hopefully.... Now, 5" vs 6" I have NO idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turboprop Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 5" or 6"? It matters as some of the top gunsmiths aren't making 6" guns. Like I said in a similar thread on Open guns, I've owned, handled or shot guns from many/most of the top smiths out there now, and there isn't much difference in quality at that level...they're all pretty amazing. A lot of it comes down to whether they build the kind of gun you want/think you want, or cosmetics that appeal to you the most. For example, Virgil Tripp (hey, his name is in the middle of STI) builds outstanding guns, but he tends to be more conservative when it comes to cosmetics. Some folks like that approach, others like guns that have more angles and flash...just sort of what appeals to you. R, I agree. I own several guns from three of the gun smiths listed in this thread as well as others not listed. All have been great guns (thats why you pay the big bucks). How I choose my next builder these da(from these days is by who can build what I want and get it to my door the fastest. When I've got the itch I can't wait around to long to have it scratched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Boit Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I haven't had any experience with top gunsmith in the US, except for Matt Cheeley which is a nice guy. But I have VERY good experience with Brandon at SV. Their pistols are work of art. I've owned 2 Sight trackers and now two short frame with stainless Signature Grips and those pistols are truly built to MY specs. Start with the GunBuilder of SV website and you can configure your pistol on every single part. My vote goes for SV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForrestB Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 +1 for Freedom Gunworks. Bobby is building a 6" Limited gun for me right now. Your not going to find a better person to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
818-DVC Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I go to Matt & dereks sites and I drool. Matt's got his style and Derek has his. I build my guns now, Take machine courses, pistolsmithing seminars etc, but I leave the asthetics to people like Matt for now! JL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCrane Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Matt McLearn or Ed Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now