Category Archives: general

general, gunsmithing

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, gunsmith@classicamericangunsmith.com 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.

general, gunsmithing

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 Saturday, 30 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, gunsmith@classicamericangunsmith.com 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.

general

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.

general, gun, gunsmithing

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.

general

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.

general

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.

general

Independence Day

In celebration of Independence Day, Classic American Gunsmith will be closed Friday and Saturday, 3 & 4 Jul 2015.

On Independence Day, all Americans should take a moment to remember our Country’s past. It is the day that, as a nation, we choose to celebrate many things. Among them, the Declaration of Independence, the deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and most importantly the birth of our Great Nation.

We hope that you can all enjoy the holiday safely.

general

National Shooting Sports Foundation Retail Education Seminar

Previously published on LinkedIn ⇒ by Patrick Heraghty.

When I was in gunsmithing school we were taught about the bound A&D book and other items associated with the ATF record-keeping requirements for owning a gunsmith shop. Later, when I opened Classic American Gunsmith my assigned ATF IOI (Industry Operations Investigator) sat down with me and the other key personnel and went through all of the record keeping that was expected of us.

Depending on your perspective, surprisingly / unsurprisingly a great deal of what our IOI told us did not mesh with what I was taught in gunsmithing school. Since the IOI that met with us will most likely be the guy who inspects us later we do it the way that he taught us.

With that said, I still think that it is always good to keep learning. So when I saw an opportunity to attend a National Shooting Sports Foundation ⇒ (NSSF) Retail Education Seminar ⇒ I signed up. I attended yesterday.

The course segments are taught by former ATF / LEO folks that specialize in the area that they are teaching. I went to the course with an open mind and really tried to listen to what was said.

I found that I already knew a great deal of what was being taught. However, when you think about it I should or I would not be very good at my job. That said, I still took a few items from the seminar that I brought back to the shop that will clean up my bound book / 4473s and hopefully make future ATF inspections run that much smoother.

I strongly recommend that everyone who works with ATF recordkeeping requirements take the time to attend one of these seminars in your area. If you attend with an open mind and take what you learn back to the shop your records will be better for it.