Best Gunsmith: Old Shotgun Restoration?

[jmaass]

I have inherited my Grandfather's Remington Model 1889 shotgun (12 gauge, double-barrel, side-by-side, external hammers) shotgun. I have a photo of him on the cover of his employer's in-house magazine from 1929, hunting ducks with this gun. The serial number suggests that it was likely manufactured in 1902 or 1903. I also have a much-used leather case for it, which has my grandfather's name and his address from his teenage years (he was born in 1890) written on the inside.

It's not in working condition: it needs some repair (one hammer is non-functional), and I'd like to have it restored to excellent condition. I'm not a shotgun guy, and I doubt that I'll shoot it (well, maybe once), but it's important to me to honor this shotgun by having it restored.

I'm looking for an honest professional gunsmith with lots of proven experience in the restoration of antique shotguns. Cost is only a slight consideration. I'm in Ohio, but location of the 'smith (other than in the USA) is not important to me.

Who do I want to talk to?

[Toolguy]

Look up Mike Allee at gunsmithingonly.com . He is really good at that and has a lot of restoration pics online so you can see the kind of work he does. Very talented guy.

Edited April 11, 2011 by Toolguy

[Wild Gene]

Another GREAT one is "Coyote Cap Gunworks", in Morristown MN. They are one of the premier shotgun smiths in the Cowboy Action world. They work on a lot of old shotguns.

Good luck!

WG

[Wakal]

Fred and I spent quite a bit of time wandering around the Briley back rooms the last time we were in Houston...they work on a lot of very old and/or very expensive shotguns, and do amazing work. We were both impressed, and we don't usually pay much attention to Fudd guns

They, much like Turnbull, get compensated well for their expertise, but there is a LOT of expertise there

Alex