G.A. Heath wrote:To be perfectly honest I am leaning towards sending the gun to Wilson Combat for new internals and upgrades, although I am open to suggestions for good smiths.
Call Desert Guns in Hobbs, NM. (575) 391-9090.
They can give you the contact info for a very good local gunsmith. Joe . . . something. I think he uses the business name "Lone Wolf Gunsmithing," which you could probably get by calling information in Hobbs. But the guys at Desert Guns can tell you for sure.
Joe used to work for Desert Guns. He studied gunsmithing at the Colorado School of Trade (one of the best gunsmithing schools anywhere). Sometimes he's real busy and may take a while to get to your project. That's the only complaint I've ever heard about him and I recommended him to many, many customers when I worked at Desert Guns. And the same can be said for nearly every gunsmith worth his salt. If his work is in demand, it may take a while.
Hang on . . . I found a refernce to him on another site:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/GunStore ... sid=100116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Has contact info and a map. He's practically local to you.
Another guy I know, have shot with, have talked about projects with, is Jimmy Mitchell in Breckenridge, TX.
http://www.bulletworks.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I haven't used him but I have personally handled guns he's built and/or modified and he's very high on my list (like in the top spot) of people to talk to when I get around to having a custom gun built.
He also makes a nifty right-side mag release for those of us who have to shift the gun in our grip to hit the mag realease with the right thumb, this allows you to push it from the other side with your trigger finger without shifting the gun in your grip. That's sold through Dawson Precision, but also avalaible direct from Jimmy. If you're having him work on your pistol anyway, you might consider it.
Benny Hill at Traingle Shooting Sports in Corpus Christi is another great one.
http://www.triangleshootingsports.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(But one of his guys actually suggested I use Jimmy Mitchell if I'm local to him because he is a very good smith. I'm not local to Breckenridge, but I do get there several times a year.)
Brazos Custom is a very well-known and respected Texas gunsmith with whom I've had no dealings so I only know by reputation.
http://www.brazoscustom.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Virgil Tripp is one of the best gunsmiths in the history of ever. But I'm not sure if he's doing anything but magazines these days. Another Texas smith.
http://www.trippresearch.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;