I was born in North Carolina at Fort Bragg Army Base in 1956 but spent most of my years growing up in Richmond, Virginia. I became interested in muzzle loading guns in 1972 while still in high school. I made my first rifle in the school shop class. This was when you could still take guns to school and not be expelled! I would sometimes skip school or on weekends, drive to Colonial Williamsburg. I would bribe the master in the Gunshop, Wallace Gusler, with Moon Pies and Dr. Peppers to let me sit and watch them make guns and critic my work. Then in 1988 the master then, Gary Brumfield, asked if I would like a summer job interpreting in the shop. I of course jumped on it. That fall a position opened at the Anderson Forge in Colonial Williamsburg and I transferred there for 2½ years working under Peter Ross and Ken Schwarz. I am grateful for my time with Peter and Ken as I was able to learn more about blacksmithing there than I could have ever learned at the Gunshop. Those skills carried over to the Gunshop where I ended up doing most of the hammer work which further increased my skills. An apprenticeship then came open at the Gunshop so I transferred back in 1991. I received my Journeyman's papers from the Gunshop in December 1995. In January 2009, due to cutbacks at Colonial Williamsburg, my position there was eliminated so I went to work at home full time. What you see on this website is a result of that. Kind of sucks when a nice hobby becomes a job. I now work 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day to keep up with it all. Good thing I enjoy it. I'll never be wealthy making guns for a living, but as they say "I'm keeping my head above water." Well, maybe not, I recently had to buy a snorkel.....
  

Thanks for checking me out.
(Unless you are from the IRS or BATF.)