GUNSMITH'S WORK MUSEUM CALIBER; MAN FOLLOWS FAMILY CRAFT IN FIREARMS.Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer As a boy, Jim Davis would sit next to his great-grandfather, a gunsmith gun·smith n. One that makes or repairs firearms. Noun 1. gunsmith - someone who makes or repairs guns smith - someone who works at something specified gunsmith n , during summers in Arkansas and watch for hours as he cleaned and tinkered with rifles and pistols The following is a list of pistols, firearms that are normally meant for wielding one-handed and for self-defence, and that differ from revolvers and other singled handed weapons through their semi-automatic action. . When he was 7, Davis' great-grandfather handed him a rifle and let him give it a try. ``He gave me a gun and a screwdriver screwdriver, n See instrument, screwdriver. and said, take it apart, clean it,'' Davis said. ``Then he made the mistake, I guess, of letting me fire the gun, and I shot it across the pond.'' He's been hooked on firearms This is an extensive list of small arms — pistol, machine gun, grenade launcher, anti-tank rifle — that includes variants. : Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
adj. 1. a. Able to recognize or draw fine distinctions; perceptive. b. Showing careful judgment or fine taste: customers. Old and new rifles line one wall of his store, in the Whizins Center on Roadside Drive, including a Winchester that was made in 1873. ``This is what an average cowboy would have,'' Davis said. ``And those over there, those are the rifles soldiers used in World War II.'' ``Actually, these are tools, nothing more and nothing less. People use these guns for target shooting or hunting,'' Davis said. Of course, some are also bought just to be admired. Some of the old guns are considered works of art or pieces of Americana. Take the Hatfield rifle that looks like an authentic old-style gun but was made in 1970. ``You've heard the story of the Hatfields and the McCoys? The Hatfields were gunsmiths. The McCoys were moonshiners,'' Davis said. ``Well, this is from the original manufacturer. This is a Hatfield.'' Probably the most expensive gun in the shop is a 1862 Spencer, worth about $5,000, Davis said. The rifle has a saddle ring A saddle ring is a metal ring attached to the receiver of a rifle or carbine allowing it to be tied to a saddle or used with a special sling.[1][2] Saddle rings could be attached directly to the firearm, or in some cases to a saddle ring bar , which cowboys would use to strap the gun to their horse, he said. ``Then, if it fell, he could pull it back up by the strap,'' Davis said. While Davis enjoys collecting and sharing antique guns An Antique Firearm is, loosely speaking, a firearm designed and manufactured prior to the beginning of the 20th century- the Boer War is often used as a cut-off event, although the exact definition of what constitutes an "Antique Firearm" varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. with regular customers, he takes pride in his ability to craft a handmade hand·made adj. Made or prepared by hand rather than by machine. handmade Adjective made by hand, not by machine Adj. 1. gun or improve on existing ones, working the trigger so that it pulls smoothly and gently. It's a craft that fewer and fewer people are familiar with, and one that's appreciated by gun owners seeking specialty work, regular customer Harris Mintz said. ``It's becoming a dying art. Firearms aren't very popular today,'' said Mintz, a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County sheriff's deputy who found Davis 12 years ago when he moved to the Los Angeles area. ``Growing up in Pennsylvania, gunsmiths were all over the place. Not anymore.'' When Davis's great-grandfather began teaching him gunsmithing skills, Davis said he had to make a gun before he could be certified See certification. by the American Gunsmith Guild. Today, certification doesn't really exist, and only a handful of people in the area have true gunsmithing skills, Davis said. That makes Davis's shop popular among hunters and target shooters, who regularly bring their guns to him for cleaning and fixing. ``He'll do any custom work or on-sight work. If you have rare parts, he can fix them,'' Mintz said. ``It's like finding a dentist. If you find one you like, you stick with him.'' Davis, part Cherokee and part Welsh, moved from an Arkansas Indian reservation to California with his parents when he was a boy. He still makes trips back to Arkansas and Oklahoma, where the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum was established in his uncle's name. Davis still adds to the museum collection, picking up donations or buying a special rifle he finds at gun shows. Davis, a Northridge resident, started his gunsmithing business almost 20 years ago in Reseda after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. He moved the store to Agoura Hills four years ago. ``I went back to doing what I enjoy doing,'' Davis said. ``Next thing I knew, I had apprentices working for me, and it just kept growing.'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1) Brushing away dust from a trigger assembly, top, gunsmith Jim Davis keeps a family craft alive - one his great-grandfather taught him at the age of 7. (2--ran in SIMI SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative , SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. and AV editions only) At right, with the many tools of his trade arrayed around him, he assembles a Ruger rifle in the shop where he customizes and restores antiques. (3) Gunsmith Jim Davis shows some of the materials he uses to make custom firearms at his shop in Agoura Hills. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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