DC Area Gunsmith
 

Gents, I had asked the question in a previous thread on restoring damascus barrels but thought best to create a new one specific to the question.

Does anyone know of a good gunsmith in the DC area who can evaluate a set of damascus barrels to determine if they are safe to shoot?

Thanks for your help!

So far as an actual gunshop, the short answer is they're aren't any. The only 2 shops that had equipment and competent personnel (The Gentleman Hunter in Bethesda MD and Nimrod in Leesburg VA) who actually knew how to use it are long gone. There are a few of us who have accurate measuring equipment and are competent in its use but none I know claim to be gunsmiths and of course are justifiably leery of the liability factor.

The best person I can recommend is Bob Altenhof in Leesburg, VA. Bob is a former master machinist for NASA and has worked on some pretty spooky stuff. He is in fact a gunsmith and advertises as such on his business card, but has no gunshop, just the workshop behind his house, which alone is worth the trip to go see him. Bob is super-meticulous and skilled; he builds combat handguns, sniper and varmint rifles, and is an ardent Class III craftsman. Many of us have had Bob work on SxSs for us and I don't know of any complaints so far.

Thanks, Kevin. Do you have contact info for Bob?

Reach Bob at 703-669-0962 or by eMail at RALTENHOF@VERIZON.NET. The name of his business is BRB Industries, Inc.

I think Bob is semi-retired now. I had him open up the chokes on two Foxes for me last fall and he said he wasn't taking on any new work, just taking care of existing clients. He did do an outstanding job on the chokes.

PS. Phone calls are best for Bob usually.