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I just received two pistols back from Michael Gouse in Montana (Gouse Freelance Firearms Engraving & Montana Art Emporium). He engraved them both in exactly 7 weeks, including shipping time both ways.
He had previously engraved a Walther PPK (stainless Interarms .380) for me with with 75% coverage American Scroll. I'm very partial to American Scroll and find it very pleasing to my eye. In fact, all of the other guns I have had Gouse engrave have been done in the same pattern with the same coverage.
I couldn't pass up a deal on a Walther PPK/S that a co-worker was selling. The price was too good. I decided to have Gouse engrave it in the 1930's German style of Acorns & Oak Leaves relief engraving.
Here is the result, which I am very pleased with. I just love how it turned out, which is pretty much how Walther would have done it 75 years or so ago:
Here is the first gun I had done by Gouse. An 1893 S&W 1st Model .32 Double Action Lemonsqueezer. I had the factory pearl grips for a couple years while I looked for a gun to put them on. I found this beat up old S&W that was mechanically fine and decided it was a great candidate to have engraved.
My second Gouse gun was my S&W 624 .44 Special Skeeter Skelton tribute revolver. Gouse engraved Skeeter's cattle brand on the backstrap.
Then I sent him two at one time. The aforementioned Walther PPK (which I also had him engrave a Camillus knife to match):
And a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 made in 1917 that was in horrible condition:
I decided that my custom 16" Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum would look really great with Gouse's American Scroll and Turnbull's color case hardening.
When Ruger came out with their New Model Blackhawk in .44 Special (like Skeeter always said they should!), I just had to have one. I really like that Ruger moved the "warning" to the underside of the barrel. It makes it much more desirable to add engraving! A set of birdseye maple handles, Gouse's American Scroll, Skeeter's cattle brand again, and Turnbull's case hardening, and I had a great .44 Special to match my S&W 624!
Since I was a kid reading my dad's old gun magazines, I was fascinated by the Fitz Colt custom snubnose revolvers with their bobbed hammers and cutaway trigger guards. I always wanted one. I bought a 1948 Colt Official Police in terrible condition and had Mario Matelli with Bullseye Firearms & Gunsmithing in Crystal Lake, Illinois turn it into a Fitz'ed Colt .38 special for me. Of course, Gouse did the engraving and a set of Executioner's American Elk stag grips with the factory medallions swapped over from the original grips adorn the handle.
I do have one more, but it's the one I had done along with the Walther PPK/S and I'm not ready to show it yet. It is a blue gun that Gouse engraved, but I need to have it plated before I show it.
Every time I have Gouse engrave a gun, I tell myself it's the last one. I usually have to sell a gun to afford the engraving. But I do have a 6" S&W 617 .22 with a pair of custom Hogue grips that would look really great engraved....
-Steve
He had previously engraved a Walther PPK (stainless Interarms .380) for me with with 75% coverage American Scroll. I'm very partial to American Scroll and find it very pleasing to my eye. In fact, all of the other guns I have had Gouse engrave have been done in the same pattern with the same coverage.
I couldn't pass up a deal on a Walther PPK/S that a co-worker was selling. The price was too good. I decided to have Gouse engrave it in the 1930's German style of Acorns & Oak Leaves relief engraving.
Here is the result, which I am very pleased with. I just love how it turned out, which is pretty much how Walther would have done it 75 years or so ago:
Here is the first gun I had done by Gouse. An 1893 S&W 1st Model .32 Double Action Lemonsqueezer. I had the factory pearl grips for a couple years while I looked for a gun to put them on. I found this beat up old S&W that was mechanically fine and decided it was a great candidate to have engraved.
My second Gouse gun was my S&W 624 .44 Special Skeeter Skelton tribute revolver. Gouse engraved Skeeter's cattle brand on the backstrap.
Then I sent him two at one time. The aforementioned Walther PPK (which I also had him engrave a Camillus knife to match):
And a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 made in 1917 that was in horrible condition:
I decided that my custom 16" Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum would look really great with Gouse's American Scroll and Turnbull's color case hardening.
When Ruger came out with their New Model Blackhawk in .44 Special (like Skeeter always said they should!), I just had to have one. I really like that Ruger moved the "warning" to the underside of the barrel. It makes it much more desirable to add engraving! A set of birdseye maple handles, Gouse's American Scroll, Skeeter's cattle brand again, and Turnbull's case hardening, and I had a great .44 Special to match my S&W 624!
Since I was a kid reading my dad's old gun magazines, I was fascinated by the Fitz Colt custom snubnose revolvers with their bobbed hammers and cutaway trigger guards. I always wanted one. I bought a 1948 Colt Official Police in terrible condition and had Mario Matelli with Bullseye Firearms & Gunsmithing in Crystal Lake, Illinois turn it into a Fitz'ed Colt .38 special for me. Of course, Gouse did the engraving and a set of Executioner's American Elk stag grips with the factory medallions swapped over from the original grips adorn the handle.
I do have one more, but it's the one I had done along with the Walther PPK/S and I'm not ready to show it yet. It is a blue gun that Gouse engraved, but I need to have it plated before I show it.
Every time I have Gouse engrave a gun, I tell myself it's the last one. I usually have to sell a gun to afford the engraving. But I do have a 6" S&W 617 .22 with a pair of custom Hogue grips that would look really great engraved....
-Steve
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