This is for the folks in the Dallas area. Charles Burford II passed away this morning. He and his family were in Florida on vacation when he had a massive heart attack. The heart attack happened Monday and he passed at 5:00am today.
Last Thursday, Charles opened his own gunsmith shop on Hwy 380 in McKinney. Prior to that he was the gunsmith at the Frisco Gun Club and at Gunmaster in Plano.
Charles was an exceptional gunsmith with a big heart. On many occasions I would take something to him. He would then do what he did best. In short order my gun situation was fixed. When I asked how much, he would always say "I will get you next time". This would irritate me. I would then press him on the subject. Finally he would say how about $20? He might spend an hour working on something I had brought to him, and then say $20. I would give him more. That is just the kind of guy he was.
A couple of years ago I ran across a S&W M66 (no dash) at a Plano pawn shop. It was tight with a light turn line and good trigger. The down side was the exterior appearance. It looked like someone had carried in around under their car/truck seat without a gun case. I took it to Charles wanting him to buff out the scratches. He recommended a light bead blast instead. While he had the gun apart, he did a trigger job. Once he was finished, the gun looked like brand new, and the trigger was even better than before. His total fee was $95. I know you are not supposed to modify older S&W revolvers. This one was so badly scratched that it had little value to start with. It is now a good looking example of the older M66 that I can take to the range and enjoy, instead of leaving it in my gun case because I didn't want to damage it.
I recently considered selling this revolver. A fellow on this site offered to buy it. I am now glad that deal fell through. I will never have a better M66 than the one Charles refinished for me.
Last Thursday, Charles opened his own gunsmith shop on Hwy 380 in McKinney. Prior to that he was the gunsmith at the Frisco Gun Club and at Gunmaster in Plano.
Charles was an exceptional gunsmith with a big heart. On many occasions I would take something to him. He would then do what he did best. In short order my gun situation was fixed. When I asked how much, he would always say "I will get you next time". This would irritate me. I would then press him on the subject. Finally he would say how about $20? He might spend an hour working on something I had brought to him, and then say $20. I would give him more. That is just the kind of guy he was.
A couple of years ago I ran across a S&W M66 (no dash) at a Plano pawn shop. It was tight with a light turn line and good trigger. The down side was the exterior appearance. It looked like someone had carried in around under their car/truck seat without a gun case. I took it to Charles wanting him to buff out the scratches. He recommended a light bead blast instead. While he had the gun apart, he did a trigger job. Once he was finished, the gun looked like brand new, and the trigger was even better than before. His total fee was $95. I know you are not supposed to modify older S&W revolvers. This one was so badly scratched that it had little value to start with. It is now a good looking example of the older M66 that I can take to the range and enjoy, instead of leaving it in my gun case because I didn't want to damage it.
I recently considered selling this revolver. A fellow on this site offered to buy it. I am now glad that deal fell through. I will never have a better M66 than the one Charles refinished for me.
