About Frank
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After an early interest in guns, hunting ,and shooting, I began my
work in the gunsmith trade at the age of 20 when I entered the
Pennsylvania Gunsmith School in the summer of 1974. As my education
there progressed, I began to put my lessons to use and worked part
time in a local shop doing repairs and rebluing. I graduated in the
spring of 1976, and opened my shop full time. I did general
gunsmithing work including repairs, rebluing, stockmaking, barrel
and chambering work, and because of my interest and participation in
NRA high power service rifle competitions, I built and accurized M1
Garand and M1A rifles to be used in these competitions. The work on
these rifles eventually nearly eclipsed most of my other work, and
when the heavy match barrels and stocks became popular in high power
competitions, I made and supplied many of these for active
competitors all over the United States. In 1988 I accepted a
position at the Direct Support shop for the 99th U.S. Army Reserve
command, where I was responsible for inspection and repair of all
small arms at the direct support level. I attended and graduated
from the U.S. Army small arms direct support school at Rock Island
Arsenal Illinois. I worked at this position for over 20 years, and
after inspecting and repairing countless numbers of rifles, pistols,
machineguns, shotguns, and grenade launchers, It is my belief
that this experience has made me aware of how these weapons work and
how to keep them shooting. This has proven to be especially helpful
in the building and repair of the civilian version of the M16, the
ever popular AR-15 rifle.
During these years, I have kept active in shooting and hunting. I
have been an active NRA high power shooter since my teenage years.
In the early years I fired a M1903 Springfield in local club
matches. I then moved on to regional competitions with an M1 Garand
rifle, which then led to an M1A in the early 1980's, and finally an
AR-15 in recent years. I earned the Distinguished Riflemans badge in
1985, I am the 569th civilian to earn this award since its
inception in 1884. I have also competed in NRA smallbore, IPSC and
practical shooting, silhouette rifle, and even a little trap and
skeet. I have a great interest in cast bullet rifle shooting that
began with my old Springfield as a boy. I have always
considered that the shooting is the "other half" of my education as
technical training is somewhat hollow without the practical
experience of actually using the weapons to know what they do in
action.
Now that my time servicing military weapons has been completed, I
have returned to the civilian work I left in 1988. I am confident
that the experience in the shop, ranges, and hunting fields outlined
here will enable me to provide reliable and competent service to my
customers in any project or repair.