Recommendations For a Gunsmith in Southern California?

K

ketchupacket

Private
Minuteman
Dec 1, 2020
10
4
US
#1
Hi everyone,

As I get closer to completing the MK13 clone, I am starting to look for a gunsmith to finish the barrel and ultimately put everything together. Does anyone have recommendations for a gunsmith in the Southern California area?

Thanks!
 
#4
Socal LA or San diego? If san diego and you don't want to ship it out, Fine Firearms in La Mesa does great chamber work. They did a 300 norma and 6.5 Creedmoor for me and both shoot lights out.
 
#5
ketchupacket said:
Hi everyone,

As I get closer to completing the MK13 clone, I am starting to look for a gunsmith to finish the barrel and ultimately put everything together. Does anyone have recommendations for a gunsmith in the Southern California area?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
What mod are you cloning? If a mod 5, LRI has the blueprints for the barrel contour; they will need your Mk11 suppressor to complete the contour work as every can is “machine fit” to the barrel. The also have the mk248 mod 1 reamer

If any other mod that doesn’t require fitment of the Mk11 can, any good competent gun Smith should do, though I’d make sure they have the correct reamer before proceeding.
 
#8
THEIS said:
Hi,

For anything starting with Mk.....first option would be to call AJ Brown. Since it was his day job for shitload of years actually building real Mk's......
Not another smith in the country has more experience with anything "Mk" than he does.

Maybe @sirhrmechanic can advise if he is still taking work.

Sincerely,
Theis
Click to expand...
Perhaps 10 years ago but nowadays he’s either fully retired or not taking on work/backlogged for two years plus. But his clone stuff was the best in the business for a long time.
 
#9
THEIS said:
Hi,

For anything starting with Mk.....first option would be to call AJ Brown. Since it was his day job for shitload of years actually building real Mk's......
Not another smith in the country has more experience with anything "Mk" than he does.

Maybe @sirhrmechanic can advise if he is still taking work.

Sincerely,
Theis
Click to expand...
I don't think he is taking work... and I know a couple of the projects he was working on a couple of years ago didn't make their owners happy.

I consider Alan a friend and an amazing gunsmith. He did my Mk 13 and it is an absolutely amazing rifle. I also took an armorers course with him at Crane c. 2002 or so... Great guy. But right now, I think there are some clone builders who are getting things done faster and with greater client communications than Alan.

Check out the Mk 13 Mod 0 thread in Vintage for more insights.

Thanks for the reference, Theis! I'm honored to have one of Alan's finest rifles... that he built in the first place. But I think there are some people right now who are more able to fulfill orders in the near term than Alan.

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
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#10
Alan and I out near Crane c. 2018...

aj brown 1 (3).jpg


An amazing gentleman and friend!

Sirhr
 
#11
nn8734 said:
What mod are you cloning? If a mod 5, LRI has the blueprints for the barrel contour; they will need your Mk11 suppressor to complete the contour work as every can is “machine fit” to the barrel. The also have the mk248 mod 1 reamer

If any other mod that doesn’t require fitment of the Mk11 can, any good competent gun Smith should do, though I’d make sure they have the correct reamer before proceeding.
Click to expand...
It is a mod 5, but unfortunately I can't buy a suppressor because I'm in California 😞.
 
#12
Runnineh said:
Socal LA or San diego? If san diego and you don't want to ship it out, Fine Firearms in La Mesa does great chamber work. They did a 300 norma and 6.5 Creedmoor for me and both shoot lights out.
Click to expand...
As long as they're in SoCal, it's all good. I don't mind driving. Just checked the Stiller Actions website, and it looks like Fine Firearms is a Stiller dealer as well. I'll send them an inquiry to. Thanks!
 
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#14
ketchupacket said:
It is a mod 5, but unfortunately I can't buy a suppressor because I'm in California 😞.
Click to expand...
recently found out that we can still have suppressors for air guns, which perhaps in the past was meh...
but now that they make ones that deliver over 600ft/lbs of energy, and semi-auto's than shoot one hole groups, it is actually fun as heck.
that information cost me a lot of money recently, lol.

they are illegal in canada, so sucks for them.
 
#17
theLBC said:
recently found out that we can still have suppressors for air guns, which perhaps in the past was meh...
but now that they make ones that deliver over 600ft/lbs of energy, and semi-auto's than shoot one hole groups, it is actually fun as heck.
that information cost me a lot of money recently, lol.

they are illegal in canada, so sucks for them.
Click to expand...
You might have just unleashed demons on my bank account.
 
#22
jcmullis2 said:
Yep most of the patriots I knew in Cali left just like me, with a set of orders.
Click to expand...
it also occurred to me that maybe people that move to california "for the weather" are just fucking pussies and whiners to begin with, since they are obviously willing to leave roots, family and friends instead of putting on a fucking jacket. if they have kids that are "native californians", they are still raised by pussies, so there is no improvement over time.
 
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#23
theLBC said:
it also occurred to me that maybe people that move to california "for the weather" are just fucking pussies and whiners to begin with, since they are obviously willing to leave roots, family and friends instead of putting on a fucking jacket. if they have kids that are "native californians", they are still raised by pussies, so there is no improvement over time.
Click to expand...

Not wrong
 
#24
Cali is a nice place to visit. There’s lots to like about it. However the taxes and gun laws are awful. That wasn’t done by transplant pacifists of the sixties. The majority of people in Cali obviously want it like it is or they would have voted differently.
 
#25
jcmullis2 said:
Cali is a nice place to visit. There’s lots to like about it. However the taxes and gun laws are awful. That wasn’t done by transplant pacifists of the sixties. The majority of people in Cali obviously want it like it is or they would have voted differently
Click to expand...
patriots haven't had real representation for a long time, and certainly not since they legalized ballot harvesting.
they even changed the law so that in many races, the choice is between 2 democrat scumbags.
we aren't even assured of having a candidate from any party but theirs (the top 2 vote getters advance, regardless of party).
luckily, only the ban on suppressors affects me, since i have owned firearms since before the stupid laws.
even the featureless requirements don't affect me, since i don't wrap my thumb around the grip for precision shooting anyway.
 
Last edited:
#26
You turned a good question about gunsmiths in SoCal into a thread dumping on SoCal? Get back on topic, who are the best gunsmiths in SoCal? I'd be happy to read posts from people experienced with SoCal gunsmiths other than Mike R., I know what he can do.

As far as the whinners who can't afford to live in SoCal, don't like California politics or whatever I'd appreciate it if you simply butt out. There's plenty wrong about your own home state so why not start there? Kacey Musgraves' The Trailer Song has it about right.
 
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