Alan550 Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 This is going to be a long one, so get the popcorn and settle back! In November of '16 a lady showed up at our range to shoot her first NRA Action Pistol match. She'd gotten into CAS about 8 months earlier as her first experience shooting in competition. I had my doubts, as would most MD/ROs. I'll give her this....she was accurate, but slow, as expected from her background in shooting. Her score showed accurate shooting but too slow, even for AP, shooting an XDm. Fast forward to today. She bought an STI Trojan, granted not the most desirable gun for this game, but "adequate". I've been coaching her, meeting at the range at least once a week since mid-to-late November when she expressed a serious interest in NRA AP. She'd been dry firing on a daily basis since then along with getting the 1911 platform to try in Metallic Sight category. That's what inspired me to take her on as a "protege'" of sorts, the dedication to learning and improving her shooting. After buying the Trojan, and a Dillon 550B, she wanted to upgrade it to a relatively decent competition gun, so I started making suggestions to which she immediately said, "Do it!" So over the last month or so, we added a tungsten guide rod and a 4-leaf Clark sear spring to lighten the trigger pull somewhat from the factory 7# and ordered a steel mainspring housing to handle the prone pad set screw since the gun came with a plastic MH. Also got a 17 lb mainspring to go in the gun when it came time to change it out. After a few range sessions where she was tearing out the X-ring @ 10-15 yds, I suggested that she have some more work done on the gun to improve its handling characteristics and get better equipment. She agreed. (money isn't a problem for her, obviously) She ordered a Safariand 014 holster and the ELS belts system in red to fit her gun and her personality. I contacted a gunsmith with whom I'd done business over 15 years ago to 1. checker the underside of the trigger guard, 2.install a Swenson Thumbshield safety & fit a Protocall Design Prone pad both of which I had on hand, 3. cut the grips for the ambi safety & prone pad and re-blue the trigger guard. He's been featured in American Handgunner and one of his guns was in the monthly giveaway that they do, so he's "pretty good"! When I contacted him in late December, he said about 3 weeks time to get these things done. Quote was for about $120.00 + the prone pad fitting, as he was unfamiliar with that aspect of the project, and no quote on hogging out the grips for the safety or cutting them off for the prone pad, or re-bluing after the checkering. I figured $200.00-250.00 total bill for the work. I dropped off the gun on 1-13 with the expectation of early February for delivery, as he'd said ~ 3 weeks. I got a call from him around 5:30 today (1-18) saying that he's done! I asked him "What are the damages?" He replied that it was No Charge because he wants to promote any woman who wants to get involved in the shooting sports! The shooting sports have some of the most generous and giving people that I've ever run into in any sport, but that shocked even this cynical old guy! There's one in every crowd, but finding them is rare. I'm not posting his name or web site unless there's a demand, out of consideration for his privacy. I'll send that info on request only! Thank you to a great guy! Alan~^~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Can you share the name of the gunsmith? Some of us like to do business with good folks like this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiegirl Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 This is such a wonderful story......as in my experience this has not always been the case. I would love to know who the gunsmith is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan550 Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 After 2 requests for the info, here it is: The man's name is Richard Fletcher and he's in the Lexington, VA area. Web site is: http://www.fletchercustompistols.com/ Great guy, easy to work with and as noted in the first post, quick delivery, especially for the ladies new to the game. Alan~^~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zx9rt1 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Good on Richard!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 On 1/19/2017 at 0:00 AM, Alan550 said: I figured $200.00-250.00 total bill for the work. He replied that it was No Charge because he wants to promote any woman who wants to get involved in the shooting sports! Super !!!! He deserves to be given a chance to do a LOT of gunsmithing for us BE's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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