Super Gunsmith Experience

[mike hudson]

there've been so many horror stories posted here recently i thought i'd write in with a positive one. about three weeks ago, i sent my 1878 frontier da .45 off to gunsmith david chicoine.

the old sixgun suddenly wouldn't hold at full cock, and i wasn't interested in keeping it as a da only.

the gun had been messed with previously, it seems, and the safety & half cock notches had been removed for some reason. other rather unique "improvements" had been performed, too complicated to explain in detail here. he emailed me about what he would do to fix it, and how much the work would cost.

in less than 20 days i recieved the gun, along with a bag of parts he had replaced with correct vintage colt parts scrounged from various sources.

the big da functions now like a new gun. double action pull is as smooth and light as a modern revolver. it wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny.

chicoine specializes in 19th century colts, smith & wessons, merwin & hulberts etc. he's been in business for many years and knows his stuff.

[broknaxl]

Does he have a website, or how about an address,etc. Always good to know an honest and knowledgable gunsmith.

[swamprat]

http://www.oldwestgunsmith.com/

[d.r.e.]

Great news! Nice that you got the parts back as well.

[broknaxl]

Thanks - Bookmarked it for future referance.

[fhlevib]

I had a very similar experience with Mr. David Chicoine. I just got my 1st Generation Colt SAA today from Mr. Chicoine. He did a repair on the base pin and trigger. The revolver is now in great condition. Dave and his son Dave Jr. are true artists. I was lucky enough to get to see some of his work in person, absolutely beautiful. I was so happy with his work I bought a 3rd Generation Colt SAA from him. I would trust these guys with any firearm I have. Check out his website to see some of his work. www.oldwestgunsmith.com

[d.r.e.]

Perhaps it's worth having a thread w/ gunsmith recommendations from various people w/ their experiences? (Good and bad)

Always nice to recognize those that do good work.

[mike hudson]

well d.r.e., maybe tomorrow i'll have another experience for you that isn't quite so good. another famous firm has had a colt .41 new navy of mine for the PAST NINE MONTHS and i finally got some sort of supervisor to call me this afternoon. coersion was involved. we'll see tomorrow.

m.

[broknaxl]

Let us know the details on this - It's also good to know who not to send it to.

[mike hudson]

absolutely. i've been tempted to write about this before but want to give them this last chance to make things whole.