Gunsmith Profiles

In my time on the National Guard and Army Reserve Service Pistol Teams I’ve been fortunate to meet some of the finest marksmen and armorers on this planet. Most of these fine fellows are now retired, but a few are still around, pulling triggers or building worldclass target guns. Let me tell you about two of the best. Daniel Norwood One of the greats still working in the military marksmanship program is Daniel Norwood.

A native Arkansas, Dan works on Army weapons as a civilian technician (gunsmith) employed by the Arkansas National Guard. Before that he was a full-time National Guardsman, working the same job (building and repairing military weapons) at Camp Robinson, outside of North Little Rock. He also runs his own custom shop: X-Caliber Gun Works, LLC A member of the Guard for 40 years, Daniel has worked as a Soldier-gunsmith for the last 31.

Just recently retired, he has seamlessly transitioned from SMSgt (Senior Master Sergeant) Norwood, All- Guard Armorer, to Mr. Norwood, senior technician/gunsmith, Arkansas National Guard. And all done without having to move his work bench. The Guard is lucky to have him as decades of experience like Norwood’s is impossible to replace. Another reason military armorers at the national level are so good is that they’re also competitive shooters.

Daniel Norwood is Distinguished with both service rifle and pistol, has earned the President’s Hundred tab numerous times, and possesses the National Rifle Association Distinguished Revolver Badge. Being an experienced marksman makes it easier to tune a match gun to the shooter’s wishes when he knows exactly what that competitor needs and wants. Daniel has "been there and done that" and earned the respect of world-class shooters, both military and civilian, nation-wide.

Like most military armorers, Daniel Norwood likes working on the 1911 pistol. He has rebuilt, accurized, tuned, and repaired literally thousands of GI and civilian 1911s, both combat and target, over the years. His guns have won numerous Norwood bending a civilian shooter’s 1911 sear spring while checking a trigger for weight. If there’s a problem, the military armorers will fix it for free. A cold soft drink is appreciated, though!

The Guard (along with the other national military teams) sends their best armorers to the Nationals to fix weapons for the military shooters. All the military vans will also do trigger jobs, diagnose, and repair civilian shooter weapons for free, in between fixing GI guns. national and international matches in the hands of the Guard’s best shooters. 1911s aren’t the only guns Daniel works on. He’s tuned and repaired High Standards, Smith & Wesson 41s, and all the exotic .22s that are issued to the All-Guard squad.

That includes the European pistols that the International competitors shoot. His M41 S&W conversion, set up for optics, was an issue item for Guard team members when the 41 was popular for NRA Precision Pistol a few years back. Some members still shoot their 41s. I have one; it’s phenomenally accurate with Eley Tenex and 100% reliable since Daniel

22 phase of NRA Precision Pistol matches. A 7 3/8" S&W barrel has been cut to 5.5", sleeved, and a rail attached for optics. Barrel is fitted to the slide and receiver, extractor fitted and tuned, and new springs added. A nice 2.1 pound roll trigger completes the project. Scotch tape added by the shooter around the front of the optical sight keeps the haze filter from rotating during Timed and Rapid fire.

This modified S&W 41 was favored for many years by many of the best shooters on the NGMTU (National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit). It’ll easily group into 1" at 50 yards from a machine rest with Eley Tenex. built it for me over 20 years ago. The Guard armorers are now building and repairing the Beretta M9, accurized and set up for Civilian Marksmanship Program Service Pistol events. Last time I stopped by the All Guard trailer at Camp Perry, Mr.

Norwood was repairing a Smith & Wesson revolver that the owner was going to use in the NRA revolver matches. Every year at the National Matches the National Guard, Marine Corps, and U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit weigh triggers, repair, and rebuild civil- American Gunsmith Mailing List Policy Like many other publishers, we make portions of our customer list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we believe you may enjoy.

If you do not wish to receive these offers, and/or information, please let us know by contacting us at: American Gunsmith Opt-Out Program Norwalk, CT 06854 Please include your current mailing label. ian-owned rifles and pistols, free of charge, for competitors. If the armorers have the parts (and they usually do), they’ll fix it. Having a master gunsmith trouble shoot and repair your match gun is a nice bonus when attending the National Matches.

When not working on match guns or shooting, Daniel teaches military armorer courses several times a year. He also travels with the All Guard squad to all the big matches that might need gunsmith support for the team’s weapons. The National Guard team has a tractor-trailer rig that has the machinery and tools inside that would be needed to repair just about anything that could occur with a competitor’s firearm. You’ll see it parked behind the ranges at Camp Perry if you attend the National Matches.

Daniel is a busy armorer but still finds the time to work on and build match guns when off duty. He’s also a military firearms historian and collector. His knowledge about U. S. military weaponry is unmatched due to his having worked on most any small arms a Soldier would have used in the last century. If you stop by the Guard trailer at Camp Perry next year Daniel Norwood will be there, happily discussing firearms or the Camp Perry weather while weighing triggers or fixing shooters’ guns.

With no plans to retire any time soon, the precision shooting crowd will have Daniel Norwood around for many more years working his gunsmithing magic on Bullseye pistols. Justin Mc Millan Finding a good gunsmith is a beautiful thing—especially if he lives close by. I’m lucky in that respect, because Justin Mc Millan lives just down the road from me. I first heard about Justin almost 20 years ago when he was anew Army Marksmanship Unit armorer at Fort Benning. I was pulling triggers for the U. S.

Army Reserve Service Pistol team at the time and went to Benning often for matches and training. I didn’t realize it then but Justin worked on my M41 .22 S&W when I had a trigger issue. Nice work. Fast-forward more than a decade when I bumped into Justin in Texas where he was employed as a gunsmith building custom rifles. We hooked up and became good friends due to our Army backgrounds and love of hunting. Because he is also a master ‘smith on precision match guns (he’s probably the only guy

who can work on Hämmerli Free Pistols in central Texas), it’s been a good deal for me. Justin Mc Millan is a native Texan who graduated from Murray State College in Oklahoma with a degree in Gunsmithing. After graduation, he did a hitch in the U. S. Army, working as an armorer assigned to the AMU. His daily routine was testing, adjusting, building, and repairing Soldier- 22 Mc Millan-built conversion used for bullseye. These can be tricky when being set up for reliable feeding and function.

Trigger is set for a three pound pull with a nice roll-off. It’s not just a looker, though—this one shot a 1.2" group at 50 yards from a Ransom Rest. Justin built this while working as the manager of Hill Country Handguns, a division of Hill Country Rifles. Far It groups superbly and functions flawlessly. It’s purpose-built to win matches and is all-business. It is the finest .45 match pistol that Bob has used or owned.

Tape on the trigger guard certifies that the pistol is "legal" (it’ll pick up a fourpound weight) for a match. 45 for function. competitor weapons, including 1911s, M9 Berettas, U. S.-made .22s, and foreign match pistols. After a tour with the AMU, an armorer will have built and/or repaired more pistols than an average civilian gunsmith will work on in 20 years. It’s that busy. After his military service, Justin went on to manage 1911 production at STI in Texas as their lead gunsmith.

Justin Mc Millan can do it all. He’s blueprinted, tuned, and bedded hundreds of Remington 700s, Mausers, and Winchester 70s. Rebarreling and chamber work was a daily task when he was gunsmithing for Hill Country Rifles (Hill- CountryRifles.com, in New Braunfels, Texas. His revolver actions are flawless—timed correctly, with correct barrel/cylinder gap and no endshake. Unlike many gunsmiths, Justin doesn’t make his actions too light. His revolvers are smooth, yet totally reliable… the mark of a master revolversmith.

His forte though, is 1911s… mostly because that’s what he loves working on. His pistols are gorgeous. He can build a stunner, but it’ll shoot superbly at 50 yards or it won’t leave the shop. And every pistol Justin works on goes bang every time. My latest match pistol, a Colt Government model that Justin accurized, has won several big matches and hasn’t malfunctioned after over 1,500 rounds. It’ll group into less than 1.5" at 50 yards from a Ransom Rest with Federal factory 185 grain jacketed match.

It’s a purpose-driven shooting machine. I also shoot a .22 Marvel conversion, built on a Caspian frame that was assembled by Mr. Mc Millan. It’s as reliable as my .45 Government Model. Justin is currently employed as the head gunsmith for Jesse James Firearms Unlimited (JJFU.com, in Dripping Springs, Texas, building and tuning custom 1911s. If you call the shop, you can talk with the people there. If you’re so inclined, have a one-of-a-kind 1911 masterpiece crafted for you. It’ll shoot like a National Match pistol.

AG