A Gunsmith’s Top Resource Gordy Gritters
BROWNELLS
’m a definite do-it-yourselfer, and just love learning how to do all kinds of things myself. Back in 1987 when I was still a police investigator, I decided I wanted to learn gunsmith- ing to be able to work on and accurize my own rifles. I also decided to start a part-time gunsmithing business to help make some money in my spare time to supplement my police salary. Within a year I was so busy working on guns that I was working 40 hours a week as a police investigator, 50 hours a week in my “part-time” gunsmithing business, plus I had hired a part-time employee to help me keep up with all the work. It wasn’t long before I quit the police de- partment to do gunsmithing full-time, and I’ve never been caught up since! I started out doing all sorts of general gunsmithing repairs, rebluing and refinishing. I soon started compet- ing in rifle matches and before long my main focus was on building extremely accurate rifles. Even after all these years, I’ve nev-
I
er lost my enthusiasm for gunsmithing! Now I do everything I can to pass on what I’ve learned over the years to help other gunsmiths and do-it-yourselfers learn how to build and accurize rifles. I currently produce instructional DVDs
and hold classes for people interested in learning how to build and accurize their own rifles. I also write articles like this one for the The VARMINT HUNTER Magazine® to help others learn to do their own gunsmithing work. I really believe that if I was able to learn to do this type of work, so can anyone else if they decide they want to. It does not matter if you plan to be a hobbyist and just work on your own guns, or if you want to do it as a busi- ness like I did. Either way, to do it right you can’t do it all by yourself – you’ll need good instructional materials and/ or instructors to learn from, and you need good suppliers to get your tools, parts, and supplies from.
In this article I am going to intro- duce you to Brownells, Inc., a company that has done more for professional and hobby gunsmiths than any other com- pany that I know of. They not only sell gunsmithing supplies, but also actively promote the gunsmithing profession and the shooting sports. They can as- sist you with all sorts of educational products, tools, parts, and supplies, as well as individual help with specific problems and techniques. They also can help gunsmiths with liability insurance and credit card processing to get a much
better deal than what often is available otherwise.
Brownells is dedicated to do-it-
yourselfers and has been extremely instrumental in helping many people, including myself, start and operate a gunsmithing business. To this day, I still order tools, parts, and the lion’s share of my supplies from Brownells. If you are a hobbyist or are just start- ing a gunsmithing business, you need to send for a copy of Brownells current catalog and go online to their website. You won’t believe how helpful it will be for you in many ways!
Brownells has sponsored the “Best
Home Gunsmith” award at the Varmint Hunter Jamboree for many years to help promote do-it-yourself gunsmithing. Darrell Holland and I both judged the entrants for this for many years and we saw just how good the workmanship was from many hobbyists.
Now here’s a little history I think
you will find interesting: Brownells was started by Bob Brownell who was a “gun crank” in the ’20s and ’30s. Bob started out doing informal custom- izing and repair work for himself and his friends, and by 1938 he had started a part-time gunsmithing business. In 1943 he was advertising guns for sale
www.varminthunter.org
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