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Looking for a 1911gunsmith in Chicagoland !

SWIDES
I am looking for a 1911 master gunsmith . I am building my own and someone who knows what they are doing. Any referals are appreciated. Mike
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7 comments

Date Votes
  • 1KYDSTR
    My only suggestion would be the gunsmith at the Gundoctor in Roselle, west of the airport on Irving Park, 630-894-0668.

    "When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
    "Power corrupts...Absolute power corrupts absolutely"(Descartes?)
    "History is written by winners"(Patton)
    "You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
    "There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
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  • SWIDES
    Are you refering to the old man or the kid. I think mandy and kevin run the show now.
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  • 1KYDSTR
    Well, I see we are in the same neck of the woods! It was really sad to see Mikio have to hand over the business to Kevin...I think he had a stroke. Seems like the young fella' has a clue, but I'm not sure if he can match Mikio at his peak! I swing in every once in a while during lunch to see what they have, but havn't bought anything there in years. Sorry I can't help you in finding a true artist. MAybe you could talk to Bill Klicka? I know he has lots of 1911's and SOMEONE must have been doing work for him all those years. He of course sold the shop off to Phil a few years ago, but I see him up there fairly often, so I would assume you could still find him and ask. He has to know more people than I do...he's been around forever and seems to know alot of gun folks. E-mail me through my profile if you wish and maybe we can figure something out!

    "When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
    "Power corrupts...Absolute power corrupts absolutely"(Descartes?)
    "History is written by winners"(Patton)
    "You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
    "There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
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  • CHGOTHNDER
    I used to go to the lake county gunshow and see his daughter sorting mags from piles and piles of them she had to have been about 7 or 8 at the time. Did not know her dad was even sick, just bought an R1A1 there about a year and a half ago. He was also a master with the M1 carbines. Did you try Maxon in Desplaines?

    PJ

    If nobody seen you do it, how could you have done it. NRA Life Member, AF&AM
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  • nononsense
    Michael,

    If you are building your own, why do you need a "master gunsmith"?


    Gil Hebard has been around pistols and pistolsmiths for several decades while managing his business out of Knoxville, IL. Gil has been a target pistol competitor/champion and should know every pistolsmith in the country. Give him a call and pick his brain.

    http://www.smartpages.com/home/gilhebardg28279817

    Without staying in the Chicago area, I would call Richard Heinie to see what his turnaround time is for 1911 work. The waiting list used to be quite long, in the 5 year range, but it wouldn't hurt to give him a call to see.

    http://www.heinie.com/

    Best.
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  • drobs
    I work over at Maxon in Desplaines, Barry is definately a master 1911 smith but he has a long long backlog. Best time to see him in person is on a Thursday of Friday night. You may also want to check out Krebs Custom in Waconda, http://www.krebscustom.com Marc Krebs was building all custom 1911's for a good long time and then recently got into custom AKs exclusively, if you have questions Marc is one of those friendly gunsmiths that will gladly answer any questions. Also depending on your pocket book you may want to check out Les Bauer.

    Regards,
    gadsden.jpg
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  • 1KYDSTR
    ChicagoThunder...I only say that because I saw him in there a while back and he seemed to be slurring a little. It might not be and I sure don't want to "start a rumor" or anything of the sort!!! Kevin has done some simple work for me over the years and it was always done well and promptly. Mikio redid my Grandpa's Colt many years ago and it came out beautifully (to say the least!); I'm not sure it ever looked that good to start with out of the faactory!! It is still shot with some regularity, and I enjoy it all the more because of where it was restored!

    "When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
    "Power corrupts...Absolute power corrupts absolutely"(Descartes?)
    "History is written by winners"(Patton)
    "You get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone!"(Al Capone)
    "There is nothing lower than the human race...except the French" (Samuel Clemens)
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