While I was in Cody (see last post), I stopped off at the John Linebaugh Memorial Shoot. John was a family friend, who not only made time for us whenever we were out west, but also taught my daughters to rope. He spent many hours educating me on revolvers and cartridges, and one of my favorite guns is a 45 Colt that he built some years ago. It is as tight and accurate today as it was then.
When John passed away we were unable to make it to the funeral, a regret I will always have. To make it worse, after he was gone, I decided I needed a little front sight work done on it. I asked a local smith with a stellar reputation to do the work. He did, and the work is fine, but he ran into a problem re-bluing the barrel. I did not expect him to take the barrel off, but he did. Anyway, he ended up Cerakoting the barrel and put it back together. He did not bother to call me about it, and when I went to pick it up, he said that he just needed it to be black and back in one piece. To say I was aghast is an understatement. He is no longer in business.
The shoot was just starting when we arrived, so we visited with some of the guys there for a bit and then departed. Hopefully next year, we will bring the Linebaugh 45 back home and fling some lead at the 1000 yard buffalo target they have. The picture at the top is a memorial that the Irma set up for John. He was a regular at the restaurant. They also have a plaque on a bench outside the front door. If you get over to Cody, make sure to stop by and enjoy some Rocky Mountain Oysters, and pay your respects to one of the pioneers of our craft.
oh that is so awful on your .45 single action, glad to see that individual out of business, but that is a personal scar that sadly will always remain with you, it is not much comfort, but you are not alone in bearing that type of pain, we have all been there
lol, thanks. First world problems for sure.
Cerakoting? I can’t imagine the pain you felt. Do you plan on having it repaired by reputable gunsmith?
I do, but I need to figure out who that will be. I know Rugers can be tough o get a rich blue on, but lots of smith’s still manage to. Any suggestions? Bobby Tyler comes to mind first for me, as I have a gun of his that is very nice.
I’ve only had a couple of guns re-blued. Both are family heirlooms (Ithaca 37 and Winchester 94) and a local old school Gunshop/gunsmith performed the work (Ahlmans in Morristown MN). I was happy with their work, but I don’t know the challenges for something like yours. Keep us informed when you get it done as I’d like to know how it turns out. I have a Ruger Blackhawk that could use a refreshing. It was my first handgun (1973) and it’s got a few miles on it.
Will do. You might check with Ruger, they used to reblue guns very reasonably. Not sure if they still do.