All posts by Patrick Heraghty

One Year!

Virginia and I made the decision that I would go back to school to become a gunsmith more than five years ago. Since then, there have been numerous times when even opening the shop seemed doubtful.

Yet as of this morning, Classic American Gunsmith has been open for one year! To many, this little business we operate in our basement may not be much of an accomplishment. To us, it is the realization of a dream. A dream made possible by our clients.

We are not saying that have not been issues. We certainly have had our fair share. We thank, from the bottom of our hearts, those stalwart souls who patiently endured our learning curves and thankfully have come back again.

So to say thank you and celebrate the New Year, everyone who was a customer during 2015 will receive 16% off their first job 1 in 2016.

1 – The 16% discount applies only to labor cost. The discount will be applied to the first job only. The discount offer is only valid during during 2016. The discount cannot be transferred.

DIY Gunsmithing Workshop: AR Platform Maintenance

Our gunsmith and graduate of the Pennsylvania Gunsmith School’s Master Gunsmithing Program, Patrick Heraghty, will be teaching a Do It Yourself Gunsmithing Workshop on the AR Platform Maintenance on Saturday, 2 Apr 2015 from noon to four PM at the Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club (RRPC) main clubhouse.

The cost is $10 per attendee. Any proceeds that are not used for the workshop will go towards the maintenance of RRPC firearms and / or the RRPC youth program.

Attendees are required to have an AR for the hands on portion of the course.

The DIY Gunsmithing Workshops are geared towards giving attendees who have a basic set of tools the skills they need to work on their own guns.

If you are a member of RRPC, please contact Patrick Heraghty at 434-989-1263, [email protected] or by stopping by the shop if you, or your guest, would like to sign up, have questions, etc.

Attendees are admitted to the course on a first come first served basis.

DIY Gunsmithing Workshop: Glock Pistols

Our gunsmith and graduate of the Pennsylvania Gunsmith School’s Master Gunsmithing Program, Patrick Heraghty, will be teaching a Do It Yourself Gunsmithing Workshop on the Glock Pistol on Saturday30 Jan 2015 from noon to four PM at the Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club (RRPC) main clubhouse.

The cost is $10 per attendee. Any proceeds that are not used for the workshop will go towards the maintenance of RRPC firearms and / or the RRPC youth program.

Attendees are required to have a Glock Pistol for the hands on portion of the course.

The DIY Gunsmithing Workshops are geared towards giving attendees who have a basic set of tools the skills they need to work on their own guns.

If you are a member of RRPC, please contact Patrick Heraghty at 434-989-1263, [email protected] or by stopping by the shop if you, or your guest, would like to sign up, have questions, etc.

Attendees are admitted to the course on a first come first served basis.

Holiday Hours

Classic American Gunsmith will be closed on Christmas Eve (Thursday, 24 Dec 2015), and Christmas (Friday, 25 Dec 2015).

We will also be closed on New Year’s Eve (Thursday, 31 Dec 2015) and New Year’s Day (Friday, 1 Jan 2016).

The shop will be open regular hours all other days in December 2015.

Ammunition In Stock

We have just received a small shipment of CCI & Winchester ammunition.

The shipment includes:

      • CCI .22 LR 40 grain CPRN Mini-Mag
      • CCI .22 LR 36 grain CPHP Mini-Mag
      • Winchester .22 LR 36 grain CPHP
      • Winchester .40 S&W 180 grain FMJ
      • Winchester .380 Auto 95 grain FMJ.

First come first served. See you soon.

Random Knowledge: Brown Bess Frizzen

A recent client speculated that the frizzen of his Brown Bess flintlock musket was too hard. The issue is not enough spark. Thus, if the frizzen is too hard it would not be effected by the flint and diminshed sparking would be the result.

I made a call to the folks that know everything muzzleloader (Track of the Wolf, http://www.trackofthewolf.com/,763-633-2500), and found that the frizzen of a Brown Bess flintlock musket should be 62-64 HRC (Hardness Rockwell C Scale).

The next step is to test the hardness and see if it is within range.

Have a Great Labor Day Weekend!

We, at Classic American Gunsmith, wish you all the best as you take time out to honor all the hard working American men and woman out there.

We are open our normal hours (9 AM-6 PM Saturday, 2 PM-4 PM Sunday, and closed Monday) this weekend. If you have the chance to make it to the range this weekend stop in and say hi.

RRPC Shooting Team

RRPC Shooting TeamI attended a recent Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club (RRPC) membership meeting. During the meeting, Frank Moore, the Club’s longest continuous member (50+ years), presented the Club with this picture. It shows eight members of an RRPC Shooting Team (year unknown) with some of their trophies.

When they passed it around for the members to see it, I snapped a quick photo with my cell phone. I wanted to post it here in the hope that someone might see it and be able to identify some of the men in it (and possibly guess at the year). So if you have any relevant information be kind enough to share it with others in the comments section below (or on the RRPC forums ⇒ if you prefer).

If you click on the small image (in the text) it will give you a larger version of the picture.