Has anyone had any work done by Gary Reeder? I was looking at his Ultimate Black Widow in a 475 and really like it. I have never had a custom revolver but this one looked very fun. Thanks

I don't know that you will see much love for Reeder on here. There ae several fellas that have had less than ideal experiences with him.

LOL... that is all that I am going to say on the issue...

I was wondering because I havent seen anything mentioned on here about him. Thanks for the info. That answers all I need to know...LOL

I know my but is just as stinky as the next...


IMHO, you could by a stock BFR in 475 and do a lot better...


Duane


Have you thought looking at Jack Huntington?

Speaking of BFR's ...what am I missing ? Aside from their .500 JRH and .44 Magnum.; every other one is wearing a 7.5" barrel . Do they come with shorter tubes ?


Derail sequence...engage

BFRs are probably the strongest revolver on the market, period, and they are some of the most accurate revolvers built and they cost less than a grand new. I don't like the grip and the front sight, but that is easy to address. The best bang-for-the-buck IMO.

There's nothing wrong with Gary Reeder's work IMO and I have revolvers done by Bowen, Clements, Harton, Freedom Arms and BFR.


I have one of Reeder's Black Widows - the only disappointment with the black widow is it didn't come as shown on his website, as the red dot on the spider wasn't there and that for me is what set it off from the norm.

I think what some people dislike about Reeder is his demeanor, that said, I've never had a problem with Reeder on the phone or in e-mails, so if true, just remember it takes two (2) to tangle.

I have only met Gary Reeder once, in his shop, a year or so ago. he was very pleasant with me, but I could tell that he is probably like a lot of gunfolks we meet. You get to tangling, and he would probably stand his ground ;^) I figured if I ever have him do any work for me, I just need to be clear and specific. No hand holding on his part ;^)

Craig

Send KRal a PM. He has a Reeder revolver in 475 and it is awsome!

Reeder's work leaves alot to be desired, first and foremost, they aren't linebored and tolerances are no better than factory Ruger and second his idea of an action job is throwing some springs in it. I no longer have a dog in the fight since I'm no longer building guns because of my health but I have owned three of his guns and they aren't even in the same league as one built to the proper tolerances with a good action job. I actually owe him a thanks because it was after obtaining my last one that I realized there had to be more that could be done with a Ruger than what I was paying for. The last one a 410 did nothing but fight set back. It was later parted out and some of the parts are in the 454 I built for myself. If you care more about lazer engraving than a properly tuned gun then it's the way to go. I laugh when I see him reinventing the wheel copying JD's work except with the 405 in place of the 444, and cartridges like the 500GNR which is a 50 Bowen with the bullet set out to 500 Linebaugh OAL. I've gotten along with Gary at times and like most people that have a problem with his work I've had it out with him. He's not real receptive to anything he may consider criticism. I can primarily speak to the Reeders and my own guns but I've had customers handle FA's, my Reeders and my own guns side by side and they picked mine everytime. The Reeder was dead last because of it's tolerances it wasn't even in the same field but mine with the tolerances equal to the FA had a smoother aciton. I've also improved as I've gone along, I started out hesitant to build them too tight but eventually I found I could take them as tight as the FA without any problems.

Thanks guys. I just liked the look of the Black Widow. It looked pretty cool. But Im with you Whit and TC on the BFR. I think for the money they are hard to beat and I havent heard a lot of bad things about them. I already have a 7 1/2 (44 Mag), a 4 5/8 in both (44 Mag and a 45 Colt) all of which are Rugers. I have just been chopping at the bit for a 475. I would like to get one in a
5 1/2 barrel. Thanks again for the input!!!!

There custom shop may be able to cut one down for you otherwise any competent gunsmith can shorten the barrel for you. If you do go for custom look at Jack Huntington. Jack is a good guy and I've heard nothing but the best about his work.

Rod what is your suggestion for the BFR grip. I decided that was what I wanted but after handling one I may wait on Ruger to start shipping the SRH in 480.

I have a new .480 SRH, so they are available. The best fix for the grip is to send it to Jack Huntington, with a tracing of your hand and a check for $300.00. You will get a reshaped plow handle that in my opinion is even better than my beloved Bisley and the grip will be a first rate custom English walnut piece of art that actually fits your hand -- unless you want Micarta in which case it too will be first rate.

like Whitworth said the best is someone like Jack that can do a custom grip for you, it's worth it on a hammer. As far as available grips the factory rubber are the most comfortable, I bought a set of the hardwood hogues and they are huge. I don't have huge hands but they are large and fit my 6'3" frame but they were even too big for me. I never felt like I was in control. I know pab who's on here from time to time fit his 454 BFR with Ruger panels and he loves it. Part of it is how much you want to invest but also your personal likes. If you like the plow handle then the rubber or ruger panels but if you find it beats you up too much I'd go with what whit suggested.

As a side note I don't get real impressed with too many people in this business, most of them pat themselves on the back enough anyways. I will say that the two that have impressed me the most in both personality and knowledge are Jack and Mike Bellm. Mike understands things about the T/C platforms and firearms in general that most will never figure out. I sometimes have to write down what he says to keep up but he's a top notch guy if you ever need help in that arena.

Here is a stock Micarta gripped BFR:



And here are two belonging to a friend, with the Huntington treatment. The top is English walnut, the bottom one is Micarta. $300.00 and it's the best thing since sliced bread IMHO.

He made those from a stock BFR handle? My budget just said OUCH!!!

Will a Ruger rear sight assembly still fit a BFR?

Yeah, he reshapes the grip frame and makes a true custom set of first-rate grips for your hand, for $300.00.

Those are some really nice looking grips