Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Gunsmith/Machinist - Boise, Idaho

I have a friend in Boise, Idaho who needs a recommendation for a gunsmith/machinist in the Boise area to thread a barrel for a muzzle brake.
If anyone could recommend one I will pass the info on to him.

Thanks,

drover

Mel Doyle but I think his son has taken over….Doyle’s Gunshop 206-686-1006

He did a lot of work for me back in the day and was extremely reasonable, did great work and had a fast turnaround.

I recently saw that Williams bought Answer Brake which was a very effective brake. Maybe search for the Williams Muzzle Brake?

Good luck

Thanks for the response but he is looking for someone in the Boise area. I edited the post to add that.

drover

While I have not used them I have read good thing about them.

https://buckhornguns.com/gunsmithing/

Thanks for that Ed - I forwarded the info to him. Their reviews look pretty good but then who posts bad reviews on their website

drover

I know John Taffin has had them do a lot of work.

PM sent
Avoid Buckhorn

Thanks to all for the info - I have sent the recommendations to my friend and it is all in his hands now

drover

What did they do for you that left you disappointed? Threading a barrel?

If you’re speaking of the Mel Doyle from the St. Maries and later Plummer area, he sadly passed away about 2 years ago.
He was a good gunsmith and a great man. Very missed.

Rk Gunsmithing Phone: (208) 467-3075

Be wary!

nothing wrong with using a hammer.

Don't know what individual experiences others have had but do have one experience each with two mentioned and a couple not mentioned so far.

Buckhorn Gun has an expert machinist and a general gunsmith on hand, they seem to complement each other with their respective skills.. They seem to know what they're doing and did good work in a reasonable time frame but they are expensive. They charged me $239.30 to cut a few hundredths off a barrel and recrown it. That was last year, maybe that's the going rate this year after 12 months of Brandon's inflation.

RK Gunsmithing gets mixed google reviews, apparently some folks have had good experiences there. In my one and only experience, the man ruined a fine revolver. Calling that guy a hack and a butcher is an insult to hacks and butchers. I would never, ever take a nice firearm there. I would never, ever take a POS firearm there, either.

QPR Gunsmithing is in Nampa which is only a few miles west of Boise. He does good work for a reasonable price. He is mainly a pistol smith but from what I understand is set up to do gunsmithing on rifles as well. I'd recommend him, just don't expect to get anything back from him soon. It took three months to get a pinned front sight installed in a S&W revolver. His work is in demand which explains the wait times but he's honest with you about the time frame and keeps a sign in his shop that tells you exactly how many jobs are ahead of yours.

I would not recommend the gunsmith at Independence Shooting, either, but that's all I'll say about that.


A good gunsmith is hard to find. "Fast, cheap, good - pick two" definitely applies. We used to have two excellent smiths in Boise and Nampa - good work, good prices and pretty quick turnaround. One had his work featured in Rifle magazine, but he died and the other retired to Florida about 3-4 years ago. I haven't found anyone to replace them yet. There may be some folks just as good, I just haven't found them.

Milton Morrison, QPR in Nampa.

I think you got hosed.

Are there good gunsmiths left anywhere? My experiences with them go something like this.

If you don't mind a little drive to Twin Falls, Lock Stock and Barrel (Wes Wilson) is a good gunsmith. He also carries a pretty good selection of guns and ammunition. He gets work done fairly quickly as well.

Alas, I recall the days when George Hoenig worked out of his Boise home. He did a lot for me. Those days are gone, and most of those worth their salt in the trade are expensive and have a big backlog.

Ask around Boise Gun Shops and find Andrew Pike, i haven't heard from him for a while and have lost track of his # but he was in Boise last I knew, his wife owns a custom gun shop of some kind in Boise. Rio7