The Life Of A Frontier Gunsmith - An Interview With Mike Miller

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[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

This man is SO proud of his craft, it is beautiful to see. Honest, genuine, hard earned self-confidence.

[@CircumcisionIsChildAbuse]

the bobble head active listening is really annoying tho. like hes not listening but waiting for a chance to speak.

[@kevinjhonson5925]

CircumcisionIsChildAbuse what are you talking about he never cut him off at all. He let the guest talk

[@CircumcisionIsChildAbuse]

@@kevinjhonson5925 rewatch it, and reread what I said,

[@oliverwagunaere1697]

@@CircumcisionIsChildAbuse The head-nodding is just something people do unconsciously to show they are listening and interested in what the other person is saying. To some people it may be annoying, to some not. There is no ill intend behind it. Hope you understand. Cheers.

[@CircumcisionIsChildAbuse]

@@oliverwagunaere1697 its one thing to do it politely and casually,...the way he does it is neither....I know that type of head nodding it's from people who would rather be speaking. Nothing you said changes what I wrote...so not sure what you hope I understand. His body language is rude, and impatient.

[@joshuarankin1905]

I love your food presentations but, this is great! Showcasing skilled craftsmen from 18th century, especially a gunsmith, is an awesome addition to all your other material. Keep up the good work, kudos!

[@maggiee639]

Joshua Rankin I would love more videos like this for sure

[@MCGamerD]

I agree. More lost arts. (Or just scarce.)

[@Gottaculat]

Same. I'd like to see how they made wagons/carriages, or even something super common like a bucket or a butter churn.

[@galenw2339]

Smiths rarely had to do military service. Supposedly that is why Smith is such a popular surname today. They had a chance to live longer and make more descendants.

[@alalalala57]

Lol

[@jamesvatter5729]

"...a horse, a gun, and a dog...." I wonder how many people make that realization when they think of the early frontiersmen? Mike always seems so genuine and down to earth. Jon, thanks for doing this fantastic video!

[@toohardfortheradiopodcast]

I saw my great grandma drop a coyote at 90 from about 200 yards with iron sights on a gun like that. She still holds an Idaho mule deer record.

[@toohardfortheradiopodcast]

She was a Branscomb. One of the larger frontier families, her grandmother married a Seward, one of Secretary of State William Sewards grandkids. Combining 2 of the great American families. I have a different last name, but the Seward and Branscomb names are still around in my cousins. It was amazing to go to Seward Alaska and see how much Williams work is still appreciated today. His biography was done by Walter Stahr and it's really good! I am lucky enough to know my grandparents, and to have known my great grandparents well into my 20's so I learned a lot about our family history. Take advantage of that knowledge if it still exists! You never know what you might learn! Love the channel!!!!

[@yourfairyGodgod]

Sure bud

[@MCGamerD]

Awesome eagle eyes. Some people got it.

[@bengtgronlund9447]

With a flint lock?

[@coasterbrookie]

Mike is a fantastic guy and one heck of a gun maker!! Love to get one at some time but they do not come cheap! Simply beautiful guns for the avid shooter. Very comfortable to shoulder.

[@Cody_Ramer]

seminolewar that and if it takes a month and a half to make it's going to be more expensive then a cookie cutter robot built one.

[@johndowe7003]

@@Cody_Ramer or make a pipe gun for pennies

[@coasterbrookie]

seminolewar agreed. Nothing of any quality is ever inexpensive. So many people just don’t get it. I’ve got my eye on one right now. It is of course, a creation by Mike.

[@steamboatmodel]

His comment about the German Gunsmiths struck me having worked with Modern German Crafts men I can say they haven't changed.

[@SPAZTICCYTOPLASM]

Arrogance and skill is a german tradition.

[@Overlord99762]

@@SPAZTICCYTOPLASM I thinkit helps maintain quality, if the craftsman is proud in the quality work he does, well, he may have high standards.

[@alalalala57]

@@Overlord99762 Yep. Might as well be arrogant, as long as you churn out masterwork.

[@TorianTammas]

steamboatmodel Germans say it straight to your face. This is uncommon for an American who expect certain curtesies.

[@ryand.3858]

Germans still build outstanding firearms. Hk and Walther come to mind (I’m particularly fond of the former). 👍

[@satanicoldlady8060]

I love to see an artist/craftsman light up when they speak about their craft and the history behind it. This man is passionate about what he does, and it's best to learn history from someone who loves what they do.

[@kcraig51]

I'm a machinist by trade. I can relate to the apprenticeship system. The amount of talent those back then had was remarkable. I couldn't imagine having to file the threads on screws!

[@FreeAmericaChannel]

As a modern gunsmith I LOVED this video! Thanks so much for doing this! I will contact Mike too. I think this was my favorite Townsends video so far and I love a lot of them!

[@ferebeefamily]

This one of my favorite video also.

[@kylethedalek]

Free America any tips on how to get into the Industry? It’s my dream job.

[@firablazeday7298]

@@kylethedalek it depends on what you want to do. For me I went to SDI and got my Associate in Firearms Science or you can go to a bigger school. There's one in Colorado, North Carolina and one other one.

[@kylethedalek]

firablaze Day well I would love to do anything really, but it’s just my location unfortunately. And how much do they cost?

[@firablazeday7298]

@@kylethedalek You could get a Advance Gunsmith cert for around $10k or less from SDI. It all depends on the classes you take.

[@boss3251]

I wish this was 10 times longer. Just excellent.

[@ferebeefamily]

I wish it was longer also.

[@ryand.3858]

I’m glad nobody has gone for the obvious joke

[@toddposton869]

As a fellow gunsmith who has built several muzzle-loading longrifles, I am so glad to see you showcase both the industry, as well as Mike.

[@spottyskunk1898]

I love hearing living historians talk about little stories from their era that help them get into the mindset of their role.

[@zednott]

18 minutes 38 seconds in some one got very upset and you can hear them yell " i don't stink!" in the background.

[@Jameson1776]

Haha that’s funny

[@tymonritco8578]

Hahahah I was waiting for this and it did not disappoint

[@S33W33D_]

If you have to tell people you dont stink. You might stink.

[@PC4USE1]

I wonder if that was part of a historical presentation. I hope it was. LOL

[@chuckn4851]

Hahah loves it. Also find it hilarious that Townsend found this comment and favorited it :D

[@16v15]

Beyond the rest of the expedition, Lewis & Clark took an airgun. A Girandoni *airgun*. Fascinating history for those who are interested in gun tech.

[@Campernicus]

Are people in the future going to historically reenact a 21st-century factory worker or forklift operator?

[@gabethedizzle]

Welcome to CostCo. I love you.

[@ethan073]

LOL

[@presidentmorsi4677]

this is a really good sci fi idea.

[@theherrdark4834]

They wouldn't need to there is plenty of industrial films to show from the 20th on but there are things that will be lost. Just watch this part of the video kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3bEpYeDhth6qsk See the hand communication? Hand communications is a thing that is gone replaced by radio communications, only the most basic of hand gestures are left.

[@SecuR0M]

This is also called "having a lathe in your garage", I guess. Long post incoming. A factory, to be a true reenactment, would quite literally need to be a functional factory. In all senses. This would require a few thousand people to spontaneously decide to shirk their greater duties for however long it would take to erect a building to house it, pour the concrete for the floor, install the mega machines needed to operate the cotton spinners and make the spindles for the fibers, and then start having little kids or something run between the machines to start doffing them into bins for transporting to the trucks. Or for a more modern factory, with assembly lines and chain hooks and whatnot, it would be even worse, since you'd need to make all these huge chain hooks and start producing serious quantities of sheet metal and cold rollers and welding machines needed. Actual, true factory reenactment, in the social sense, makes about as much sense as "medieval fief reenactment", but only including the civil parts like taxation, serfdom, and actual harvesting of real crops to be stockpiled; rather than the martial parts like SCA where people hit each other with big sticks. The things which imitate these civil parts are what you'd call "Amish communes" or "Trappist monks", unless there are people who are actually building honest-to-goodness castles or something using quarries and traditional granite slabs or just digging loads of dirt to make those huge medieval Chinese city walls that can stop military cannons. Making things in a small machine shop in an outbuilding on your land is already a thing (it predates the factory anyway) and basically covers the only actual part of factory work that can be considered a hobby to be reenacted I'd imagine. I suppose maybe there will still be factories in the future, running and producing things, but it won't be for fun. Factory work is mind numbing, simple, and repetitive. Very similar to working in a field, but working in a field is probably healthier for you since it requires way more movement and exposure to sunlight, both of which are beneficial for people. It also has more interesting things occur and more varied movements and actions, whereas factories are doing the same four or five things for 10 hours. Being able to make things like wood rifle stocks, guns, metal components, tools, etc, is absolutely an employable skill, after all, even today. There are dozens of small hobby shops in every major city or region of America that supply custom wood engravings or whatnot. After all, hobbies are only fun if they involve learning something, and the difference between a hobby and work is mostly internal perception rather than anything physical or external (barring things like "hitting people with big sticks" which became non-employable I guess around the time when the Hundred Years War ended; now armies require their soldiers have a certain level of decorum and innate ability/talents to function), and the amount of learning and skill needed for factory work is essentially zero. You might consider it to be a platonic form of no-skill work, since even working in a field requires some physical activity to sustain tilling the earth for hours, and particularly good field workers might not be the most skilled individuals, but it is literally back breaking for anyone not used to it. Not the case for factories, at least not anymore, since most work involves pushing things that are already majority supported on hooks or rollers, and anything heavier than about 30-50 lbs is going to be lifted with a hydraulic winch, and at worst you lift a 5-20 lbs piece from waist height about a foot or so without assistance. This excludes sweatshops, and really primitive/early factories that are pre-Fordism, but the latter are less "factories" in the modern Toyota sense and more "skilled craftsmen aggregated under a single roof". At some point, though, and I suppose a factory absolutely qualifies if only because the capital, labor, land, and resources being consumed are tremendous (ex. a factory in my hometown cost something like $50 million dollars for a single work line investment and has 6-8 lines plus two shifts, and a separate stockpile warehouse), you'd stop reenacting and just start living in this self-sustaining vortex of activities needed to support whatever thing you're ostensibly reenacting. A factory, by itself, has a workforce comparable to a small to medium size town of this time period. The necessary amount of people to support a small factory with forklifts and assembly lines (like the example I gave) is probably comparable to the size of Boston in the mid-18th century, TBH. The sheer scale and presence of a modern factory, even little ones with barely a thousand workers, is immense. Sometimes I wonder how the industrial titans of the 20th century did things like the 50,000 ton heavy presses at Alcoa, and the heavy press itself has such powerful presence. That will never be reenacted, as it would essentially be reenacting the building of the pyramids, I suppose. But those people had truly big factories with shifts numbering in the tens of thousands, too, so a little factory with shifts in the couple hundreds, despite being little in comparison to the titanic factories of old, are still not small. That said, if the fast food restaurant disappears in favor of some other method of food preparation, people may start reenacting McDonald's at the county fair or something. A historical reenactment of a McDonald's food restaurant would make more sense, since while it is still a social organization, it is only about half a dozen people at most working together with headsets, uniforms, and some slight training. This is well within the realm of most reenactment groups, and like military reenactment, it would require substantial teamwork and preparation to pull off in a convincing manner. At least in a manner that is like the Platonic ideal of Fast Food Workers: Efficient, quick, and timely responses to rapidly changing conditions and heightening pace. Perfect for fitting into the Autumn fair although I suppose it might make people of such a future wonder why we'd abandoned fast food at all.

[@johnknotabuc]

He's bare footed... sitting on a stool...he's my favorite gunsmith...

[@nifepartie]

Aero Precision and Sons of Liberty are my fav's!

[@juliestevens6931]

My sister's first husband had a Kentucky Long Rifle built specifically for him (he was about 6'4"). I think he said the stock was curly maple and the metal was German Silver(?). I am trying to remember back about 35+ years, so I could be wrong.

[@LOUDcarBOMB]

The sights would be German Silver and it sounds like he was wanting materials for his gun what was specifically the Pennsylvania type (taking it quite seriously).

[@MargaretUK]

I loved this so much, my three times great grandfather was a rifle maker in England in the 19th century, from a shop at the back of the public house that he ran. While it was a later time period than this I'll bet there wasn't too much of a difference between what he did and what they were doing back then. Some of his sons helped him, and then carried the business on until the early 20th century. By the way he sold rifles to both sides in the American Civil War, and died a wealthy man.

[@larryjohnson150]

As a modern gunsmith this video was extremely interesting, I have huge respect for the original gunsmiths back in the day!

[@SpecialWeaponsAndPlastic]

I've gotten a LOT more appreciation for our modern comforts. Screws and tools of predetermined standards, readily available and cheap. Yet I still complain when I can't find the exact and correct cheese head screw... I'm not going to stop complaining, but I will appreciate them more when I do have them :)

[@GundamReviver]

As a non English native: what the hell is a cheese head screw? I've heared of crosshead and flathead and triwings but.. A cheese head?

[@Tina06019]

Wouter Sikkema I didn’t know, either, and English IS my mother tongue. I “googled” it and found it is a common type of screw which I have used many times without knowing it had a special name. The head of it is “blocky” rather than sloping or curved.

[@P_RO_]

@@GundamReviver It generally means a head like a 'hoop of cheese'- flat bottomed, parallel sides, and thick sometimes with a somewhat convex top but the term has also been used to describe similar flat-topped screws. They're not something you can generally find in the usual supply stream.

[@jonpatterson5668]

Is that where the word masterpiece came from... an apprentices master piece...

[@talosheeg]

Probably!

[@Gumby56]

Another incredible video. The history of our country comes alive on your channel.

[@The_PaleHorseman]

Having Mr. Miller build me a weapon! What an amazing guy to speak to!

[@stevep5408]

Just to be nosy but what is it setting you back?

[@The_PaleHorseman]

@@stevep5408 3 grand plus for entry model, also its a 4 year waiting list as of right now.

[@Cody_Ramer]

Vault Boy wow 4 years. I guess if it takes a month or two to make.

[@Nantosuelta]

@@The_PaleHorseman I would honestly expect it to be more than that. I guess the price goes up depending on how much embellishment you want

[@noahh805]

That’s so cooool! I’m so jealous!

[@dogie1070]

This is like a film the ambiance and camerawork, sound...amazing visual experience supports the script. Great historical story! Thank you so much to all of you!

[@mandapanda7407]

I'm not a gun person, so I never understood how someone could geek out over them....Until I went into my local dealer who also sell and trade antiques. I found an old flint lock rifle. Antique hand made guns are something special. You can almost read their life story in the knicks and scratches

[@hawksnake3372]

One of the things that i really appreciate about your videos is the perfect audio. No one is uncomfortably louder than anyone else and that stands out.

[@storybrookhomecreations]

Received my catalog today. BEAUTIFUL! As a graphic designer-I have to add kudos to the layout. I think my Christmas list is going to break the bank! ❤️❤️

[@VentrueMinis]

Where do you find the catalog?

[@storybrookhomecreations]

Nightrader I followed a link mentioned in one of the videos: www.townsends.us/pages/catalog-request

[@wasatchdan]

I've heard it said that the comparative price of a firearm before mass production was the equivalent investment of a family car. Looking at Mike's description of pricing, that pretty much fits. Naturally, modern manufacturing methods drove the price of guns down a lot, comparatively speaking. By the Old West Era, a Colt SAA Peacemaker revolver cost about the same as a blue-collar man's month's pay, around $20. By the 1930's, the price of a Smith and Wesson Model 27 .357 magnum was $60 ($60-$70 a month blue collar pay), which is around a $1100 in today's money. Oddly enough, the MSRP of a Smith and Wesson Model 27 today is...$1020 (Retail is around $900). Amusingly, the current price of a new Colt Peacemaker is $1800, which is pretty much around the net monthly pay of a blue collar guy. The prices remain remarkably consistent.

[@Tina06019]

wasatchdan Thank you for figuring this out; I am very interested in “social” history. For example, unlike with well-made guns, it is much less expensive to buy a basic sewing machine nowadays, relative to monthly income, than it was in the 19th century. I own three antique sewing machines, but only have one machine (from 1908) set up in a treadle cabinet. It works, more or less, and I love it, just because it is beautiful. It also makes me think of that unknown woman who must have loved having it in the early 20th century.

[@roblamb8327]

Tina - remember the scene in "Fiddler on the Roof" where the young tailor got his first (probably only) sewing machine? That was going to make him his fortune because he was (semi-) automated! Not just for 'mere' women aka housewives - this was the future! And what did it lead to? Sweatshops.

[@Tina06019]

Rob Lamb I do remember that scene.

[@pentultimatearsehole9190]

Absolutely fascinating! I loved the little things that you wouldn't normally think of, like hand forging screws. And I'm an amateur blacksmith for crying out loud!

[@najroe]

Yeah, just making a small rivet or pin is quite bit of work. then making threads (plate or filing)...

[@genericpersonx333]

I am reminded of the famous gun-accessory maker Davis, the man whose son-in-law would become the famous Webley of revolver-fame. He technically was a gunsmith, but he made his name and fortune making the tools you needed with guns, such as molds for the bullets. All the best gunsmiths in Britain wanted Davis molds for their guns. I can appreciate the value of masters knowing how to make everything to produce a complete product while choosing to only focus on making specific parts so that others can make even better products. Collaboration was and remains the key to quality.

[@The_PaleHorseman]

I live only an hour from him, I may have to check him out!

[@andrewhunter9995]

I live 30 minutes away.

[@FriggOff361]

@@andrewhunter9995 I live 15 minuts away

[@FriggOff361]

@Serpent Descendancy Thats 15 minuts in a plane!

[@OhioRiverFisherman]

Mike is so gifted!!!! His guns are so beautiful and flawless!!! He's the Master, of Masters.

[@wyatt1339]

It’s really inspiring to see how committed Mike is to his craft! I could listen to him talk all day about this stuff.

[@yodadf]

Mike is one of the nicest and most talented guys you'll ever meet. I am fortunate to own a beautiful English Officer's Fowler flintlock that he built for me several years ago. Great interview, Mike!

[@lukedavid6640]

This has to be one of my all time favorite videos you have produced. Mike is articulate, knowledgable, and extremely engaging on this fascinating topic. I would love to get a rifle made by him!

[@susankerr9521]

This is wonderful. I'm related to a family of Pennsylvania gunsmiths who emigrated/ran away from a German principality in 1760. The trade remained in the family well into the latter 19th century. A few of them seem to have been long hunters, too. Thanks for these great videos.

[@kathymack3791]

My late father built muzzleloader rifles and pistols. He started building them in the 1960s and built them until the 90s. He made everything except the barrel. His percussion locks and flint locks were highly desired by enthusiasts. He was featured in the 1970 (or '69) Guns & Ammo Annual. I have one of his Kentucky long rifles. It is a work of art. If you ever come across a Holzborn muzxleloader (it will be stamped on the lock), know you will have a high quality gun. He also made period clothing, including a full set of beaded leathers. As a young girl, my mother. Sisters and I made ourselves pioneer style dresses to wear when we we t to shoots and when there was a Rondezvous. It was so much fun. In the early 80s, he and my stepmom bought a tipi and they even lived in it once for about 2 months.

[@madogllewellyn]

Absolutely amazing interview and review of Firearms from Our Nations Birth!!!! They are wonderful rifles to shoot and enjoy as well as proud to own!!!! Please keep up the Good Work showing people the way of life back in the Day and the importance of Perspective!!!!

[@jasonpatterson8091]

It's survivorship bias - the large numbers of plain guns were used by people who needed to use them. They were tools that were damaged through use and eventually discarded, or more realistically, recycled into new steel. The highly decorated guns were owned by people with more money and were more likely to be treated as heirloom items. Even those used as tools were almost surely treated more gently by their owners than a plainly finished gun. We see a large number of decorated guns because those are the ones that survived. In exactly the same way, we see buildings that people say, "They don't make them like they used to," about because those are the ones that have lasted 200 or 300 or 500 years. The poorly built shacks all fell, burnt, or were torn down.

[@Tina06019]

Jason Patterson You make a very good point. It is certainly true that most people in the past lived in houses which were not well built and which have since fallen down. If you like vintage clothes (I am mildly interested in this), you may notice that the clothes of regular people from the late 1920s and the 1930s (in the US, at least) are very scarce on the ground. During the 1930s, most folks couldn’t afford to buy new clothes, and wore what they had until it fell apart.

[@portialancaster3442]

@@Tina06019 Clothing was also passed down until it was a rag or remade and reused until it was a rag. I was the youngest and smallest of three daughters born over 12 years. I wore remade hand-me downs augmented with home made clothing and, rarely, store bought items. It wasn't until I was 12 and earning babysitting money that I got some control over my wardrobe by buying fabric and making my own clothing.

[@jasonpatterson8091]

@nateman10 That's a good point. There are definitely "they don't make 'em like they used to" things that are 100% valid. It's only recently that people started making equipment that is intentionally cheap and effectively disposable. I don't know about the wood carving though - the highly decorated stocks have a level of artistry that is really impressive, as well as fine metalwork and the like. I can see it to a degree, but not to the degree we see preserved. :-)

[@P_RO_]

@@nateman10 My 28 year old workvan is much the same. If you take into account it's original cost and what has been spent on it to keep it going, it is at least ten times the value of a new van which will be turned into scrap metal in half the amount of time. The old standard was to make it the best you could; today's standard is to make it just good enough and no more. Today's stuff may be more efficient and better in some ways but it will never reach the level of real value that the old stuff had, has, and always will have.

[@everythingknife8763]

The whole point of the conversation was that 200 years ago people made crap and people made quality... just like today. The quality was preserved because it was worth the time and effort to do so. The crap was discarded or recycled because it no longer had any value. Historians don't see what is no longer there.

[@liberaceboiithe3rd5]

Why an absolute gem of not just a video, but a piece of history

[@Jessie_Helms]

That’s a really neat 3 degrees of separation! I’ve met the gunsmith in Williamsburg, who worked with the guy in the video at some point, who met with the host. I guess what they say really is true about people being connected through fewer links than you’d expect.

[@jamesfry8983]

Wow what a skill, its amazing to know people can still do this it really is an art form

[@charleswilson577]

Could watch this stuff all day every day. Thank you much.

[@OTT822]

A great video again! Thank you for your work that you put into this videos!

[@justdoingitjim7095]

I bought a 1700's secretary desk that was badly damaged to use the hardware on another piece I was restoring. All of the screws were hand cut. I had about a dozen screws left over and decided to sell them on Ebay. I had no reference as to what price I should ask, so I just started an auction at one dollar and waited. That dozen screws sold for over $60 dollars! I never would've thought they'd be worth that much until I did some research into it and saw how much work it took. You can't hardly find anyone to make hand cut screws anymore! But this guy does!

[@stonecutter2]

What a wonderful conversation with someone living the history and sharing it! Thanks for bringing this to us through your channel.

[@frankhoffman3566]

This video is important. It illustrates exactly what the Founders were contemplating regarding firearms.

[@DougPalumbo]

So much history and knowledge! Great interview! Thanks for the video!

[@user-of9il6cd2i]

This man is so eloquent, thank you for sharing this story!

[@Brianthehistorynerd]

This was very interesting. And as always with this channel I actually learned something. Nice job as always Townsend

[@herbertsmith6416]

A great guy I could listen to him allday.

[@JoeyP322]

Words can’t describe how incredible this is !!! Thanks so much !!!

[@EndingTimes0]

Really makes you appreciate the modularity and ease of assembling/getting parts of an ar15.

[@MrNpc81]

Amazing isn't it. I found myself thinking the same thing. These are the gifts that the industrial revolution and modularity gave us.

[@nopushbutton]

Incredibly relaxing video to watch. Love this guy's shop too

[@bswins9648]

Outstanding! I love your videos which highlight individuals who’ve taken ‘living history” to the next level. Fascinating discussion!

[@lotrojoe]

Mike is such a cool southern boy, very good informative video as usual John!

[@Zogger568]

Stuff like this always gets me encouraged to go out and train with my modern rifle. If my ancestors can feed their families and protect their homes with a flintlock, I should be able to use my own rifle just as well.

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

What an utterly fascinating video, I am so thrilled to know there are those keeping this craft alive.

[@BJOlson]

Nice to see these videos of you branching out into other facets. Thank you for keeping the torch lit, so many people are obsessed with the "here and now" that they forget we have a rich history.

[@wendigogo]

I really appreciate vids like this and your providing them. There’s just nothing else like them.

[@s0nnyburnett]

Outstanding video. Thank you both for help keeping history alive.

[@mikerogers9711]

What an awesome interview. That man is so soft spoken and into his craft. Thank you.

[@JohnPrepuce]

This video was absolutely fascinating. Great work.

[@stephpavone]

What a joy to watch. Awesome video: Mike was so passionate and does beautiful work. This channel is such a treasure!

[@imahoare4742]

I love the artisan nature of antique gunsmithing. Even though they're roughly 60 years out of the 18th century, the revolvers of Samuel Colt are pieces of art, even though they were mass produced pieces. It just goes to show how much early gun manufactures and smiths cared about their craft.

[@nickjones5867]

I thoroughly enjoy hearing people with experience sharing their points of view like this. It makes me think of things I would have missed otherwise.

[@gia1735]

Thank you for doing this Video and keeping History alive. Years ago I visited Colonial Williamsburg and was amazed at the Gunsmiths Shop and Silversmiths Shop.

[@quickattackfilms7923]

What a cool guy. Could listen to him talk all day.

[@chocothemagnificent1019]

The gun was replaced by the car as the status symbol. The smith was replaced by the mechanic. The type writer was replaced by the word processor. The word processor was replaced by the PC. It is good to see that this tradition is still being celebrated by master craftsmen. The things we make with our own hands are more valuable.

[@jamescooper2618]

Really glad you did this video Jon!

[@robertcorradi8573]

This has to be one of , if not the most interesting and insightful interviews I have ever seen ..... Thank you .

[@Squarehead45]

My grandfather, Hermann Moos, a German who lived in New Braunfels, Texas, was also a gunsmith and MADE most of the parts he needed and they fit and worked better then to ones he ordered. He had a collection of guns from all over the world. My ancestors road wagon across the South Texas desert to get to the hill country and the bandits and commoncharoes would NOT bother them because they made their own guns which would shoot Farther and Straighter then the ones THEY had..and could pick them off 50 yrs further out. Bad time to be a pioneer, OR a Bandit

[@bgmaple47232]

I could listen to Mr. Miller all day. My family is from Edmonton, Kentucky! Wow!

[@melaniewestberg2886]

4Carl - Thanks for making the point of importance for replacement parts and the part that automation played. Very nice interview.

[@cauldronadventures8279]

This is such a great channel. Keep up the great work🙏

[@wpherigo1]

What an excellent interview!

[@richardschafer7858]

That was outstanding! Thank you for such a great channel!

[@ashtrix8413]

Amazing work, interesting guy, another great interview John!

[@Stabby__]

This is what IAM talking about, fantastic video.

[@planetwisconsin9901]

Superb video thank you everyone involved! 😊

[@oc7214]

Excellent video thanks for the hard work you do to make all of these!

[@eagleone5456]

Great vid Townsend, love firearms and your videos so the two together are great. Beautiful presentation and rifle, very candid interview as well.

[@CascadeGriz]

This was very interesting, thanks to both of you!

[@wallydat1]

Your interview of Mike Miller is. in my opinion. your best yet. Thanks, and keep up your good work.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Great video. Lots of little tidbits that really bring this craft to life- the sort of insights that can only be gained by a truly masterful understanding of a craft.

[@Accu53Mation]

Gotta have respect for these blacksmiths and colonial era fixer-uppers. It's an art. Not much of this creativity left in the world. Everything is throw-a-way, retail, and shop online. #Townsends , upcoming sequel: Craftsman of the frontier that fixed your shoes/boots.

[@paulnolin862]

Reminds me of my childhood!! Thank you

[@DMM-cv5fh]

This is one fantastic video! Please do more like this, maybe a series with more detail. As an professional woodworker snd amateur blacksmith, I can tell this man is a master craftsman. What I would give to apprentice and learn from him. I can make all kinds of intricate furniture, but I would be helpless without my router.

[@pjkentucky]

Thanks for another great video!

[@paulborne6457]

This was a great video. Thanks to you both.

[@SykesMate]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video and love the channel!

[@mattfinchdesign]

Excellent really interesting guy and love the workshop. More please!

[@theoldehandgonne2503]

Really loved this video. 18th century gunsmithing is so fascinating.

[@monstrok]

Another episode that I've been waiting for! Loved it.

[@brettsims931]

Awesome interview with Mike Miller!

[@Ducaso]

I imagine the ornamentation was similar to ancient Greeks and Romans painting their clay pots with colors, designs, and stories. The attractive designs were a source of pride for the artisans, but it also served to market the piece for potential customers.

[@lcdrhobiesaunders446]

I have an old carved flintlock stock, the patch box is a brass scallop shell. A beautiful piece!

[@rider-uj2kr]

Great material . You produce the best content. Thanks for your effort.. Both you and Mike.

[@jaredlanny03]

Loved this video! I'd love to see more with Mike!