You can go by reputation or walk in the door and meet the man! I did the latter... a smith who did all of Terry Wieland's work when he lived in Canada.
I've known him for over 20 years... I pick up the phone, give him a call and within 45 minutes I'm at his door. Recently, he removed a scope for me that he'd replaced the slot screws on Ruger rings with torx a couple of years ago. I couldn't get them out, I wanted to replace the scope, which I normally do on my own. He did the job within an hour of my call and charged $0.00. He's a world-class smith and his work has been written up in some journals.
I'm lucky... I can just walk in. Not all gun smiths are dishonest or lazy!! Far from it.
Bob
www.bigbores.ca 
