Gary Reeder
Irv pretty much covers it all. This started in Europe
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 12:30

before WW2. There were whole towns that built custom rifles, double rifles, O/U shotgun/rifle combos and so on. One family would do the barrels, one the actions, another the finish and so on.
That sorta ended up being much the same here in the states except not quite that deep. One family doing the frames, another the barrels and so wouldn't work here in this country due to all the never ending laws. But the handgun guild is similar to that. One company may do the engraving, another the finish, another the barrel and so on. Whereas in Europe one family would build the entire action, another the double barrels and so on. Much more involved than here in the states.
A guild gun is still a custom gun built by several custom gunsmiths that are the best in their field. So if a person wants the best and is willing on paying for it, a Guild Gun is something special, and due to our laws it becomes really a hassle of paperwork, as the gun may go to one custom gun guy who will do his part then he ships it to another custom gun guy who does his part, then it is shipped to another custom gun guy and so on. It may go thru 6 or 8 custom gunsmiths before it is finished and often take a couple of years. It drives the Feds crazy as there are questions about exactly who belongs to the gun and whose name goes on it. The Feds are really strict about the "Maker's Mark" on the gun and by law that gun has to have that somewhere on it. I put ours down on the butt of the gun.
Years ago I talked to John Linebaugh about it and he had the same thing to say that I did when asked. That being we are so far behind that I can't stop what I am doing to do a part on the Guild Gun. Plus I don't consider myself in the same league as the guys on the Guild Gun and for that matter I have never been asked to participate in a Guild Gun. There is no question about Hamilton Bowen being the best there is in the custom handgun field. Hamilton may take 4 or 5 years but the gun will be perfect in every way. I am not in that league by any stretch. Sometimes a special gun may take me 3 or 4 years to build but that is not because I do everything by hand, which some custom gun guys do, but it would be because of parts shortages.
But to answer the basic question, if you want a special handgun built by 5 or 6 of the finest custom gunsmiths, and you have a lot of spare change in your pocket, then investing in a Guild Gun is your baby.