I Visited Elmer and Skeeter's Gunsmith Today. The Old Christy's Gunworks.

[Wyatt Burp]

I decided to check out the building where the old Christy Gunworks was located. Whatever the place was now, maybe in an old dusty storeroom were boxes of old gun parts! But it's now an antique mall. The old ladies running it knew about Christy's and said a plumbing company was there before them. They gave me directions to the plumbers new location and the owner said Christy's closed when the owner retired twenty seven years ago. And no. He didn't have the boxes full of gun parts either. But it was interesting walking through the old place where talented gunsmiths rebuilt the personal sixguns of Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton.

 

[feralmerril]

Thanks matt. I have a short barrel and ejector for a 44 saa I belive was built by them.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Ferril; Yes, that's a Christy barrel. Back in the '50's I worked Saturdays for Frontier Gun Shop in Lafayette, Ca. Colt SA's were the rage then. Many were rebuilt using Christy parts, We did some also. When the Ruger SA's came out in 44 Mag. The Colt faded then. I still have my old Colt made into a .44 Special. It's older than I am by 5 years.

 

[feralmerril]

Thanks dick. I once had it mounted on this 1st generation I have. I didnt like it and changed it back as the ejector was really too short to much more than "kiss" the emptys.

 

[Bat Guano]

Still have a 68XXX serial range 1st gen. SAA that I picked up in Seattle in 1962. It had a Christy barrel on it at the time which I eventually replaced with a Colt one. The gun had been renickelled , probably by Christy's.

Paid $84 for that old Colt, which lettered to 1882.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

A local guy just told me that there's a shooting range under the building that goes all the way to the train tracks. I didn't see any train tracks so it must have been pretty long. Maybe that's where all the old gun parts are piled up!

 

[2152hq]

The back page of a couple of catalogs I remember used to have an overhead view of the building.
I always thought their range was the ground floor, very long narrow part of the structure extending out and away from the rest of the place. Maybe that was more workshop.

Anyway,,they sure had lots of good 'stuff' for gun builders. I still have a Christy marked SAA bbl and cylinder in 44spl too.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

The back page of a couple of catalogs I remember used to have an overhead view of the building.
I always thought their range was the ground floor, very long narrow part of the structure extending out and away from the rest of the place. Maybe that was more workshop.

Anyway,,they sure had lots of good 'stuff' for gun builders. I still have a Christy marked SAA bbl and cylinder in 44spl too.

You could be right about the range. One guy just said it was underground. I'll check the current and previous tenants about a long basement area. I wouldn't mind owning the building and living in that upper part.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Merrill ; Most of the Colt's we did were .44 Spec. Mine was a 32-20 when I got it. Tried to shoot some rounds thru it, did OK but I wanted one like Elmers. Sold the 32-20 bbl & cylinder to a guy in Montana. Wish I had kept them now. But I've taken 5 deer with the old gun thru the years.