Gunsmith Recomendations Near Fort Wayne

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  • Fergy35

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jul 9, 2008
    572
    18
    NE Corner of our gre
    I have been thinking about having some work done on a Norinco 1911, but have no idea who's good. In fact, I have never used a gunsmith.

    I would like to have a barrel fitted to it (the originals tend to be soft and subject to peening), a beaver tail added and some proper sights for starters.

    I don't have ton's of money to dump into it and can't afford to pay to fix someones mistakes. So, I want someone that knows what they are doing to do the work.

    Any suggestions in the Fort Wayne / NE IN area? I have seen the sticky list in the general firearms section, but do not know who's good.
     

    Hondo

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Dec 7, 2009
    524
    16
    Fort Wayne
    Ed swarzee is the best...but good luck trying to get anything done in under a year unless it goes through a gun shop. He machined a muzzle break on my 300 win amg through my dealer (took 3 weeks) but I know other guys wo went direct and hd to wait forever to get their guns back...:twocents:
     

    JohnP82

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Apr 2, 2009
    10,218
    63
    Fort Wayne
    Ed swarzee is the best...but good luck trying to get anything done in under a year unless it goes through a gun shop. He machined a muzzle break on my 300 win amg through my dealer (took 3 weeks) but I know other guys wo went direct and hd to wait forever to get their guns back...:twocents:

    :+1: he is the only one i have dealt with around here and he was great. i guess it may depend on what you are doing for turn around time. i went to him directly with some feeding issues, he polished up a feedramp and changed some springs for me. no major work, and i had my gun back in a week. i highly recommend him. great guy and great work :yesway:
     

    doglb

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    50   0   1
    Jul 13, 2009
    1,326
    38
    Ft. Wayne, IN
    Ed swarzee is the best...but good luck trying to get anything done in under a year unless it goes through a gun shop. He machined a muzzle break on my 300 win amg through my dealer (took 3 weeks) but I know other guys wo went direct and hd to wait forever to get their guns back...:twocents:


    Another :+1:he is a great smith!
     

    WhitleyStu

    Keep'em Scary Sharp!!!
    Rating - 100%
    11   0   0
    Feb 11, 2009
    1,466
    63
    Whitley County/Allen County
    Ed swarzee is the best...but good luck trying to get anything done in under a year unless it goes through a gun shop. He machined a muzzle break on my 300 win amg through my dealer (took 3 weeks) but I know other guys wo went direct and hd to wait forever to get their guns back...:twocents:

    Just to clear up the details it is DAVID SCHWARZE 2527 CRESCENT AVE
    FORT WAYNE, IN
     

    jdude

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 100%
    8   0   0
    Oct 25, 2009
    311
    18
    N.E corner
    A great choice would be Richard Clauss, I have known him for over 30 years and he has done some incredible things with guns. He is a perfectionist at what he does. He lives at Holiday Lakes about 4 miles south of Garrett right on St. Rd. 327
     

    teddy12b

    Grandmaster
    Trainer Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    40   0   0
    Nov 25, 2008
    7,661
    113
    Just to clear up the details it is DAVID SCHWARZE 2527 CRESCENT AVE
    FORT WAYNE, IN


    I've taken several guns to Dave over the years and he's great. I've told him more than once he should charge more for the quality of work that he does. He's a good guy to deal with.
     

    Amishman44

    Master
    Rating - 98%
    48   1   0
    Dec 30, 2009
    3,678
    113
    Woodburn
    DAVID SCHWARZE 2527 CRESCENT AVE FORT WAYNE, IN 46825 260.484.5783

    Dave is the best I've found in the area...he's pretty busy, you'll need to be patient with him...but does a great job with just about anything...dad and I have been using him for around 30+ years.
     

    LotsofGlocks

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    17   0   0
    Dec 20, 2009
    3,491
    38
    Fort Wayne
    Ed swarzee is the best...but good luck trying to get anything done in under a year unless it goes through a gun shop. He machined a muzzle break on my 300 win amg through my dealer (took 3 weeks) but I know other guys wo went direct and hd to wait forever to get their guns back...:twocents:

    :+1: great gun smith
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    There others listed in this topic may be fine craftsmen, but I've never heard of any of them.

    Most people who know guns across the country have hear of Neil Keller, and he is also well respect among his peers.

    He is my gunsmith. I have two 1911s in his shop right now. I drive a long, long way to go to him and I'd drive twice as far if I had to do so. He's done both major rebuild work and minor things for me for years and I've always been happy.

    For instance, my 9mm Springfield 1911A1 is well known to be ultra reliable. When I bought it new, it was a piece of crap that I would not sell to anyone because it would have been unethical. Neil rebuilt it and made it into a shooting machine that I won't sell ever because I'm keeping it. This was back in 2003 (I think, maybe early 2004) and since then 23,639 rounds have fired through it (as of 06DEC2009). My "maintenance" is to wipe the crud off of the rails and feed ramp every few thousand rounds and relube it.

    If you actually live in the Ft. Wayne area, there is no excuse not to at least try to get him to work on your gun. :yesway:


    Neil Keller in Bluffton - Kustom Ballistics

    Past president of the American Pistolsmith's Guild and Area 5 Director for USPSA. He built a 6" 38 Super 2011 that runs like a sewing machine. See his work here: Neil Keller : American Pistolsmiths Guild Member
    The gun on the top left is mine.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
    113
    Indiana
    Oh . . . and slow1911s longslide .38 super is almost unbelieveable to shoot. It seems to cause the target to suck the bullets into itself. And not only is it perhaps the most accurate pistol I've ever fired, it's reliable. AND IT LOOKS GOOD!
     

    drillsgt

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    108   0   0
    Nov 29, 2009
    9,627
    149
    Sioux Falls, SD
    There others listed in this topic may be fine craftsmen, but I've never heard of any of them.

    Most people who know guns across the country have hear of Neil Keller, and he is also well respect among his peers.

    He is my gunsmith. I have two 1911s in his shop right now. I drive a long, long way to go to him and I'd drive twice as far if I had to do so. He's done both major rebuild work and minor things for me for years and I've always been happy.

    For instance, my 9mm Springfield 1911A1 is well known to be ultra reliable. When I bought it new, it was a piece of crap that I would not sell to anyone because it would have been unethical. Neil rebuilt it and made it into a shooting machine that I won't sell ever because I'm keeping it. This was back in 2003 (I think, maybe early 2004) and since then 23,639 rounds have fired through it (as of 06DEC2009). My "maintenance" is to wipe the crud off of the rails and feed ramp every few thousand rounds and relube it.

    If you actually live in the Ft. Wayne area, there is no excuse not to at least try to get him to work on your gun. :yesway:

    Neil Keller is very well known in the 1911 area and can do basic work up to over the top builds. One thing to bear in mind though is that your base gun is a norinco. He is a nationally known smith so his prices will likely reflect this and are in line with others that are nationally known, not to say that he is high. But before you put a lot of money into it remember when it's done it's still going to be a norinco and not have the colt branding or even springfield. The norinco's are good guns but you likely will not see much of that money come back if you ever want to sell it. Remember you will be doing these modifications for you but you often don't recoup the custom costs later on. I hope I didn't come off as disparaging to Neil Keller or to Norinco's that was not the intent.
     

    bluehdflhrs

    Plinker
    Rating - 100%
    3   0   0
    Jan 11, 2009
    106
    18
    Fort Wayne
    Stay away from Big Mikes.He is way over priced and when he can't finish the job he still charges you.His shop rate is 65.00 hr.He took two hours to replace a rear sight on a 1911 and left vise marks on the slide.Push it out fit it push it in.$135.00.He ended up not charging me anything we will Never meet again.
     
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