Gunsmiths

[MattM37]

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdo...ong-at-82.html

Good article on a gunsmith in Weedsport, NY, along the Thruway in the Syracuse-Auburn area.

[FirstBubba]

I have absolutely NO interest in visiting NYC!
UNLESS......I could visit Doug Turnbull's gun restoration business!
THAT would be worth the aggravation! LOL!

[MattM37]

Bubba, look again. The gunsmith is in upstate NY, not the city. You would probably like upper NY.

Yep, I believe he would. We're kind of southern, actually, in some ways. Not saying my first girlfriend was my second cousin or anything, but in areas like food and some of our expressions and rural lifestyle, we're a lot more connected to Appalachia than we are to NYC or any of the other big cities up here. Technically, these hills around me in the middle of the state actually are considered the northernmost reach of the Appalachians. We drink pop, not soda!

[FirstBubba]

Then I'd prolly be up for a visit then! 😀!

[jhjimbo]

I've been to Rochester and Buffalo. Would like to see the Finger Lakes region someday.

My parents were cousins, lol! Dad is 5 generations from their common ancestors, Mom was 6 generations.

Once you get a few miles south of I-90, the Thruway, there is a lot of wine vineyards. Several are open for tours and wine tasting. Beautiful Country and great deer and turkey hunting.
Seneca is the deepest and has a lake trout tournament each year. Seneca Army Depot has a family of albino deer. If you were to visit I would consider a B&B. If you like formula racing check out Watkins Glenn. I llived near the N. end of Canandaigua Lake. The Lakes were formed by the Glacier as it moved South. Watkins Glen International - 2021 All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

[jhjimbo]

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdo...ong-at-82.html

Good article on a gunsmith in Weedsport, NY, along the Thruway in the Syracuse-Auburn area.

I used to go to Creekside Gun Shop in Honeoye Falls when I lived in Victor.

[Pmacc60]

New York State is beautiful and diverse , great people, mountains , rolling hills , wine country , lakes , rivers and streams , the finger lakes and the Adirondacks ! Everything a sportsman could want ! It is no wonder that some of the finest gunsmiths and gun manufactures are on or have started in the state of New York. Great story Mat a very interesting gun , I wish he lived around me ! I just wished he didn’t make the assault rifle comment in that article , it was irrelevant to the great work this man has done . These guys are a dying breed and it’s nice to know there are some out there like this guy . True craftsman

[MattM37]

New York State is beautiful and diverse , great people, mountains , rolling hills , wine country , lakes , rivers and streams , the finger lakes and the Adirondacks ! Everything a sportsman could want ! It is no wonder that some of the finest gunsmiths and gun manufactures are on or have started in the state of New York. Great story Mat a very interesting gun , I wish he lived around me ! I just wished he didn’t make the assault rifle comment in that article , it was irrelevant to the great work this man has done . These guys are a dying breed and it’s nice to know there are some out there like this guy . True craftsman

The assault rifle comment did kind of jump out there, didn't it? That website is part of the Syracuse Media Group, the Post-Standard newspaper, and they lean pretty far left. It's possible they might not even have profiled a gunsmith if he'd actually spoken out in favor of assault rifles.

[FirstBubba]

Never met any gunsmith who didn't have some sort of quirk.

[MattM37]

Never met any gunsmith who didn't have some sort of quirk.

I haven't known many, but they do seem to walk their own trails. We have a couple who sort of fade in and out as the years go by. Disappear for a couple years, not working out of a shop anywhere, you think they've retired or died ... then all of a sudden you hear through the grapevine that they're back to work somewhere or other. A few years ago, one guy closed his shop and wasn't heard from for five years, then I go into a little corner grocery one day and see him behind the butcher counter -- cutting meat, yes, but one end of it was also his gunsmithing and sporting-goods corner. He only had about ten feet of space there but somehow he always had the stuff you couldn't find at any of the bigger stores. Kind of a neat experience -- one stop shopping for a jar of solvent, gallon of milk, box of 10-gauge turkey loads, slab of bacon ....

[MattM37]

Apologies to any Southerners who might have been offended by my comment about cousins. Didn't stop to think it might actually tick someone off, how some people always say that about the South. Rest assured, though, there are plenty of North Country jokes on the same topic. Some of the counties up here, and especially as you get up in the real boonies toward Canada ... well, it ain't just hockey that gets 'em through the winter.

[FirstBubba]

MattM37,
Not a problem sir!
Most southerners get a kick out of it.
Had some "kissin' kin" (6 or 7 times removed) cousins once who loved to dance. Took the 2 oldest to several dances!
I wouldn't call it a date. More of a dance-a-thon!
We had a blast!

[Pmacc60]

The assault rifle comment did kind of jump out there, didn't it? That website is part of the Syracuse Media Group, the Post-Standard newspaper, and they lean pretty far left. It's possible they might not even have profiled a gunsmith if he'd actually spoken out in favor of assault rifles.

Thanks for the clarification , it makes sense now. Great story .

[fitch270]

Matt lost me at pop. I drink soda, and too much of it. I guess since that was the last sentence it's all good.



The guy's 82 and still working so it's easy to cut him some slack over that comment. I doubt he's lacking for business either. Maybe if he was in his 40's he might not have said it even if he still felt that way.


Wish I could find a good Smith nearby but it's probably better for my wallet that I haven't. Too many ideas floating around in my head, most of them picked up online.

[DakotaMan]

Interesting article. Seems that these guys are dying breed. The love of tinkering with firearms and the desire to learn just one more thing about firearms has kept them going for decades. I've always had a lot if respect for them. Since retiring in 2009, I've played almost daily at a hobby of making precision long range rifles. I have even more respect for them after doing that.

Even with mostly new parts and specialization in rifles, it seems that there is always something unpredicted that costs time. Whether it is finding and buying parts, getting your paint sprayer to work right, sharpening your lathe bits, making tools and fixtures to speed up processes and just testing finished products to be sure they work as intended. Nowadays, we also have so many varied firearms with different designs, assembly techniques and nuances that general gunsmithing often takes more time than it is worth.

I'm not quite his age but I can appreciate his lack of interest in ARs. I was that way myself until I discovered that you can make them shoot as accurately as a bolt rifle. Now they are among my favorite rifles, however they truly are overkill for target shooting and hunting. The are sure fun to shoot though once they get to the point where you can shoot house flies at 100 yards or prairie dogs at 850 yards all day.