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For those of you that know John, this will come as no surprise, but for those of you that don't....read on. When I bought my 1919FA, I found 1919A4.com. I got a couple of parts kit with the FA and when considering to build one as a SA, John McGuire's name kept popping up as the guy to go to. I contacted John a couple of days before the creek and since he was going to be there, we made plans to meet. We met breifly in the parking lot and I assured him I would be in touch shortly.
It's only a 4 hour drive to McMinnville TN, where John's located, so after several phone calls and emails, a friend and I decided to go check out John's shop and drop off 2 1919's to be built. While making plans to come down, John suggested we spend the night and take the guns home the next day. REALLY??? Build 2 1919s in a day? I must have misunderstood something. No, that was correct. John made sure he knew exactly what kits and parts we were bringing, so he could get a head start. He even ordered the KMP plates and triggers to save me a step and make sure he had them in time.
While telling another buddy about our trip, he decides it would be cool to have a 1919SA and he wanted one. I emailed John to see if a 3 gun build would be possible. He said "Sure, come on". With 1 week to go, my buddy found an Izzy kit, and got it before our departure.
We arrived at John's shop about 8AM on Friday. He heard us drive up his driveway and yelled at us to come around back. If you would expect a 2000+ sq.ft shop as I was, you will be shocked. John must have the record on the abount of equipment you can fit in a 1 car garage. CNC, EDM, lathe, welder, work bench, etc and more 1919 parts than you could count. He asked "Where's your guns?". I answered in the car and he said "Well go get 'um and let's get statrted". Being preparred for our arrival is an understatement. He had 2 big boxes behind him. One was full of parts and one was empty. As he disassembled out "kits" and went thru our box of parts, he laid everything in groups of three. Three bolts, 3 lock frames, 3 barrel extensions, 3 springs and guide rods, 3 top covers, etc. Once he took inventory and was satisfied that he had most of the big stuff, he put them all in the empty box. He put it on the floor and slid over the other box. As he unloaded it, those also went into groups of three. Three SA bolts, 3 SA lock frames....well you get the idea. He had already machined 3 sets of internals and had them all assembled ready to go in the the receivers. He had also parkerized all the external stuff like the front sights, bolt handles, hand grips, top covers, etc. Riveting the boxes was the biggest thing left to do.
He pulled out the sideplates, told me to pick one out and hand him a receiver. Man what an experience. I not only am getting a new gun, but I get to see it built and get to help, although it was basically helping hold it and handing him tools from the toolbox behind us. As he finshed up riveting up the 3rd box he looked up and said "Lunchtime, I'm hungry". We hopped in to his Suburban and he took us to a Mexican restaurant downtown where the food was pretty good. Our lunch conversation consisted of his experiences and background and of course guns.....go figuire!
After lunch, we went back to his shop were he test fit all the internals. That didn't take long. He then told us to pick up the receivers, a small box of other parts and follow him. "Were are we going?". "Well you want these things parked don't you?" he said with a laugh. We piled into the Suburban again and headed out of town to another location were he had his "bead" blaster and parkerizing tank. He turned on the heat for the park tank and started blasting the receivers. I asked how long it would take to heat up and his reply with a grin was it would be ready when he's done with the 3 receivers.
I also wanted to park my M2 tripod which he said was no problem, but again with a laugh, he said I would have to do the blasting. By the time we were done with all the parking, it was mid afternoon. We loading everything back into the Suburban and headed back to the shop. He started assembling the guns one by one, testing the triggers as the last step. It was late afternoon at this point and he said "Enough for today, we'll test fire in the morning. I'm tired and thirsty." As we were enjoying a little liquid refreshment, he informed us that he had made dinner plans for us at his favorite "watering hole". He told us where an inexpensive motel was (you notice I didn't say cheap) and said he'd pick us up in about an hour for dinner. The motel was actually very nice and was about $60.
After our steak dinner, a few more beverages and a little live country music we headed back to the motel. We agreed we'd be back at his shop about 8 in the morning. Because our original timetable was fairly tight he said we'd run out to his buddy's farm to test fire them. After a good nights sleep and throughly enjoying the day before, we decided we would make addition time if needed. After arriving at his shop, we did all our paperwork and told him we could stay in town until the afternoon. He then decided to take us to a range of his with a bench and he also loaded up some other goodies. We test fired the 3 1919s without a problem running a short strip of links thru them. I even got to try out my '06 conversion. Then he drug out a MG42 and a RPD. A local friend also had his suppressed mini 14. THAT WAS COOL. I had always wanted to shoot a MG42.
After a morning shooting session, we stopped at a local Bar-B-Q shack down the road from the range. After lunch we headed back to his house, loaded up our stuff and said our goodbyes.
If you have any thoughts about having a 1919 built, need some FA repair or just need some advice, John is your man.
John is one of those individuals that makes you feel right at home. We thanked him for his hospitality and when we apoogized for hanging around and "getting in his way", he just smiled and said "I like company".
It's only a 4 hour drive to McMinnville TN, where John's located, so after several phone calls and emails, a friend and I decided to go check out John's shop and drop off 2 1919's to be built. While making plans to come down, John suggested we spend the night and take the guns home the next day. REALLY??? Build 2 1919s in a day? I must have misunderstood something. No, that was correct. John made sure he knew exactly what kits and parts we were bringing, so he could get a head start. He even ordered the KMP plates and triggers to save me a step and make sure he had them in time.
While telling another buddy about our trip, he decides it would be cool to have a 1919SA and he wanted one. I emailed John to see if a 3 gun build would be possible. He said "Sure, come on". With 1 week to go, my buddy found an Izzy kit, and got it before our departure.
We arrived at John's shop about 8AM on Friday. He heard us drive up his driveway and yelled at us to come around back. If you would expect a 2000+ sq.ft shop as I was, you will be shocked. John must have the record on the abount of equipment you can fit in a 1 car garage. CNC, EDM, lathe, welder, work bench, etc and more 1919 parts than you could count. He asked "Where's your guns?". I answered in the car and he said "Well go get 'um and let's get statrted". Being preparred for our arrival is an understatement. He had 2 big boxes behind him. One was full of parts and one was empty. As he disassembled out "kits" and went thru our box of parts, he laid everything in groups of three. Three bolts, 3 lock frames, 3 barrel extensions, 3 springs and guide rods, 3 top covers, etc. Once he took inventory and was satisfied that he had most of the big stuff, he put them all in the empty box. He put it on the floor and slid over the other box. As he unloaded it, those also went into groups of three. Three SA bolts, 3 SA lock frames....well you get the idea. He had already machined 3 sets of internals and had them all assembled ready to go in the the receivers. He had also parkerized all the external stuff like the front sights, bolt handles, hand grips, top covers, etc. Riveting the boxes was the biggest thing left to do.
He pulled out the sideplates, told me to pick one out and hand him a receiver. Man what an experience. I not only am getting a new gun, but I get to see it built and get to help, although it was basically helping hold it and handing him tools from the toolbox behind us. As he finshed up riveting up the 3rd box he looked up and said "Lunchtime, I'm hungry". We hopped in to his Suburban and he took us to a Mexican restaurant downtown where the food was pretty good. Our lunch conversation consisted of his experiences and background and of course guns.....go figuire!
After lunch, we went back to his shop were he test fit all the internals. That didn't take long. He then told us to pick up the receivers, a small box of other parts and follow him. "Were are we going?". "Well you want these things parked don't you?" he said with a laugh. We piled into the Suburban again and headed out of town to another location were he had his "bead" blaster and parkerizing tank. He turned on the heat for the park tank and started blasting the receivers. I asked how long it would take to heat up and his reply with a grin was it would be ready when he's done with the 3 receivers.
I also wanted to park my M2 tripod which he said was no problem, but again with a laugh, he said I would have to do the blasting. By the time we were done with all the parking, it was mid afternoon. We loading everything back into the Suburban and headed back to the shop. He started assembling the guns one by one, testing the triggers as the last step. It was late afternoon at this point and he said "Enough for today, we'll test fire in the morning. I'm tired and thirsty." As we were enjoying a little liquid refreshment, he informed us that he had made dinner plans for us at his favorite "watering hole". He told us where an inexpensive motel was (you notice I didn't say cheap) and said he'd pick us up in about an hour for dinner. The motel was actually very nice and was about $60.
After our steak dinner, a few more beverages and a little live country music we headed back to the motel. We agreed we'd be back at his shop about 8 in the morning. Because our original timetable was fairly tight he said we'd run out to his buddy's farm to test fire them. After a good nights sleep and throughly enjoying the day before, we decided we would make addition time if needed. After arriving at his shop, we did all our paperwork and told him we could stay in town until the afternoon. He then decided to take us to a range of his with a bench and he also loaded up some other goodies. We test fired the 3 1919s without a problem running a short strip of links thru them. I even got to try out my '06 conversion. Then he drug out a MG42 and a RPD. A local friend also had his suppressed mini 14. THAT WAS COOL. I had always wanted to shoot a MG42.
After a morning shooting session, we stopped at a local Bar-B-Q shack down the road from the range. After lunch we headed back to his house, loaded up our stuff and said our goodbyes.
If you have any thoughts about having a 1919 built, need some FA repair or just need some advice, John is your man.
John is one of those individuals that makes you feel right at home. We thanked him for his hospitality and when we apoogized for hanging around and "getting in his way", he just smiled and said "I like company".
