The Finest Examples of the Art of Gun Restoration, PLUS Two Brand New Manufactured Guns—SHOT Show 2014

in Authors, Paul Helinski, Pistols, SHOT Show 2014

Updated: January 21, 2014 BY GunsAmerica Actual

Turnbull Manufacturing
https://www.turnbullmfg.com/

Turnbull Manufacturing, located in the bucolic community of Bloomfield, NY, in the Finger Lakes region, is known far and wide for their exquisite restorations. The company does museum restorations as well as jobs for individuals who had a favorite gun damaged in a fire or bought a rare find suffering from the effects of age and neglect. The meticulous attention to detail is simply amazing. Everything Turnbull does is period correct, right down to the bone charcoal case hardening process that produces that gorgeous mottled look on steel. What you may not have known is that the company produces new guns as well. We took a look at two guns in particular. Their best-selling Turnbull Model 1911 is a modern reproduction of the 1911s produced in the early years of the design. As you would expect, the fit and finish on these classic guns is as good as it gets. The best-selling version is the ‘Heritage’ Edition, which features a color case-hardened frame and carbonia-blued slide. It’s hard to do it justice on video, but check it out for yourself. We also got to see the company’s version of the AR sporting rifle, the Turnbull TAR-15. Yes, Turnbull craftsmen designed and built this gun themselves from carbon steel. The lower was case hardened and the furniture is American Black Walnut. What a beautiful interpretation.

Turnbull1

Turnbull4

Turnbull5

Turnbull3

Related Posts:

Max January 26, 2014, 10:04 am

I don’t blame “SLIDER” for not wanting to do biz w/a NY-based company. As a NY resident myself, I am searching for a new homestead in a free state. Since Comrade Cuomo doesn’t think we 2nd Amendment supporters have a place here, I will take the hint-move my family AND my biz. It would be “idiotic” to stay where I’m obviously not wanted.

↩ ∞
- kp January 28, 2014, 4:07 pm
  
  move to the South or particularly to NC – my county (Cherokee) has the largest amount of CCW holders in the state yet has one of the smallest populations (about 30k) – when the local newspaper wanted to publish the names of all the CCW holders it was damn near a revolt here and we wound up getting him (the editor) fired. We even had the backing of the local sheriff. We love our guns down here. We welcome you and your business.
  
  ↩ ∞
Jim January 25, 2014, 2:27 am

For a crying eye Administrator! Why are you always so downright nasty to people. You’ve treated me that way as well, which has caused a lack of interest in your blog. You seem to have the inability to treat anyone with a common level of respect no matter what kind of comment is made. Are you a New Yorker?

↩ ∞
Noel Mellen January 22, 2014, 6:34 pm

One of my older pieces is case hardened. It still looks great but does not see a lot of sunlight. If this is actually a problem then we need an expert to lecture us upon the merits and demerits of such a treatment.

↩ ∞
Pete January 22, 2014, 4:11 pm

Administrator,

check this out, before anyone else sees that you call people names who read and comment to the posts as”idiots” just delete the post you dont like because you are the adminstrator………duh.

then the person knows you think they are an idiot and you retain the highground. As a reader of this blog I was actually a bit taken back that they let you have Admin rights to go willy-nilly with and now with this perhaps we should hire an ADMINISTRATOR QA position which will eventually lead to forming a government red-tape/Dr.Suess type B.S. for a gun-blog post…..

↩ ∞
SLIDER January 22, 2014, 1:55 pm

Sorry, I refuse to do any business with anyone in the People’s Republic of New York.

↩ ∞
- Administrator January 22, 2014, 2:19 pm
  
  Why dont you try moving your business with 30 employees or more and see how that goes for you idiot.
  
  ↩ ∞
  - ApK January 22, 2014, 2:55 pm
    
    Hmmm, a bit childish maybe? Yes its difficult to move a company of any size out of your home state, others have done it happily and some were/are bigger than 30 employees. IMHO, calling SLIDER an idiot for his comment makes YOU look like an idiot, great administrative skills. Turnbull could absolutely move if they wanted to, having 30 employees doesnt mean its impossible.
    
    ↩ ∞
  - GORDON BAILEY January 22, 2014, 2:56 pm
    
    TO ADMINISTRATOR,
    
    If you are the actual “administrator” for this blog site, you should know that personal attacks on people who write in should not be allowed. If you are just a guy calling himself “administrator” the word “idiot” should have been deleted by the actual administrator.
    By replying to your comment I of course leave myself completely open to such attacks.
    
    yours,
    Gordon
    
    ps…..damn, that is a beautiful AR Rifle. ( and the D word ought to be censored too)
    
    ↩ ∞
    - Administrator January 22, 2014, 3:04 pm
      
      No I broke into the system just to call him an idiot and I am not really the administrator. The Internet has become a dumping ground for verbal diarrhea from fools and this is 1 place where we call a fool a fool.
      
      ↩ ∞
      - GORDON BAILEY January 22, 2014, 3:49 pm
        
        To Administrator,
        
        Thanks for the info. And I agree, some things are easier said than done, especially moving a business enterprise to another state.
        
        yours,
        Gordon
        
        ∞
Richard Lewis January 22, 2014, 10:28 am

I have a WW II Remington Rand. Will having it restored affect it’s value?

↩ ∞
- kp January 22, 2014, 8:51 pm
  
  Richard,
  
  No matter what shape your Remington is in you will be better off financially leaving it like it is. If it doesn’t function then then that’s another story. Fixing an older rare gun to make it work again is usually accepted as an okay thing to do. However, just making it look better will usually result in the gun being worth no more (or just slightly more) than it was before the restoration. Look for Turnbull’s restored guns in GA now and make note of them. Look again in a month and they’ll still be there but usually with a reduced price.
  
  The wood on the AR looks great but I just can’t justify the price in my mind. The 45’s are real nice too but if investing in a quality 1911 I’d rather have a slicked out accurate one for the same price from Les Baer.
  
  RK
  
  ↩ ∞
bph9 January 22, 2014, 10:22 am

Case color hardening is beautiful when new but tends to fade out very quickly leaving a very ugly looking gun. In the old days factories did this to gun frames before the frame was milled out because of the warpage factor. When case color hardening is done to an existing firearm the frame warpage may damage the gun beyond repair or at the vary least necessitate milling or straightening of the guns frame. A costly and complicated process. In other words if the gun is an antique collectable it is often not worth the risk of ruining it by re-case color hardening it.

↩ ∞

Send this to a friend