Meet Gordy Gritters: Record-Setting Master Gunsmith, In-Depth Discussion

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While taking the week-long Precision Rifle Building class at the Extreme Accuracy Institute, I had the privilege of sitting down with Gordy Gritters to talk about his journey as a master rifle gunsmith and competitive shooter. If you are curious about extreme precision rifles and shooting, you'll want to watch the entire video!
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[@dinoc.5537]

Nice interview with a guy that is very modest for all his accomplishments. I'll guess that is because he keeps so busy doing what he loves that he isn't insecure or concerned with what other people think... and people think the world of his work. Wishing him many more years of success.

[@Ultimatereloader]

Wow- very well said Dino!

[@jasonhumphreys261]

What a stand up guy. Truly in love with his craft and the fact that he’s willing to share really says a lot.

[@cwing606]

As a SWAT sniper Gordy took my stock Remington 700PSS .308 and turned it into a 1/4 MOA rifle. Still shots sub 5” groups at 1200 yards. That was when he was still here in Iowa. I was very fortunate to have him up here.

[@zeke1eod]

What an absolute humble teacher! Definitely someone worthy of taking a class from! Thanks for sharing, God bless.

[@PatriotPaulUSA]

Really nice to hear from a master craftman of his caliber ! Nice job Gavin!

[@garylewis9173]

David just gave me a rifle and I just found out Gordy built it. We use to shoot the varmint comp. that was a lot of fun meeting the people from across the country.

[@dwightvl]

I bought my first gun from Gordy when he had a gun shop in Pella Iowa.

[@Ultimatereloader]

Awesome!!!! I hope you still have it :)

[@kais7455]

This is an awesome interview! Been gunsmithing for a few years making several guns I'm over proud of, and this guy makes me want to get even better!

[@jjs811]

Absolutely amazing stuff you share with us. Keep up the great work!

[@2111devildog]

Thanks for the video. I went to Gordy's class when he was in KC. Highly recommend it! He is an awesome instructor.

[@weloveups831]

Thanks so much for this interview. Always been interested in Gordy himself. Like you point out grizzly video started it. I bought that DvD!

[@macolson1433]

Thank you! Very encouraging.

[@richardwitt4308]

What a great video. So glad Gordy agreed to it. I'll be taking a trip down to Florida soon!

[@seapierce]

Awesome video! I've got all of Gordy's videos and got the new book. Looking forward to taking this class

[@robertlunnar8260]

Looking forward to attending his class

[@ChadCooper03]

Great Video, Thank you!

[@redraiderreloading7612]

Great interview! I really enjoy the information that this guy has on making gun barrels. I to wish i could go back to my 20s and go to the gunsmithing school in Trinidad, Colorado.

[@TJVarmint]

BEST RANGEMASTER EVA! It was always a pleasure working with Gordy. Plus, he always brought pastries from Pella.

[@Ultimatereloader]

Awesome- cool that you got to shoot with him :)

[@hernandovillamarinbuenaven7476]

Many thanks Gavin for one of your most interesting videos, specially this interview with (very modest, indeed!), Grand Master Gunsmith Gordy Gritters!!.. 🤗🇺🇲🏆

[@meadowwalker4284]

I love this episode

[@stevekrilich3040]

Thanks Gavin. This is one of your best videos👍🇺🇸

[@Ultimatereloader]

Thanks Steve! Game changer to hang with Gordy for the week :)

[@fredzeglin7016]

Had the honor of co-authoring a book about chambering barrels with Gordy. He is a true Gentleman!

[@Ultimatereloader]

Fred, that's a great book, enjoyed both parts- the part you wrote and the part that Gordy wrote!

[@fredzeglin7016]

@@Ultimatereloader Thanks, that is very kind.

[@tallyman15]

Great interview Gavin. I live in Tallahassee. I need to get down to see Gordy.

[@duckslayer11000]

Great interview!

[@Ultimatereloader]

Thanks man!

[@lukkar69]

I know and have shot with Gordy, he’s a super good guy.

[@bigrockcandymountain8397]

Hey Gavin, had a great time with the boyz in Florida last week I’ll keep in touch, JG

[@Ultimatereloader]

Right back at-cha JG :)

[@JPsaysno]

This content is KZbin platinum level stuff. I love benchrest and fclass so this fits my Interest perfect

[@dragonusmc0311]

Good one I always thought you were some type of Engineer.

[@harveygussow7913]

INTERESTING REALLY INTERESTING!

[@randalloc]

Uhhh Ohhh.. someone is really hooked now.. lol Great insights! Thanks Gavin.

[@Ultimatereloader]

Hahaha- so true.

[@Jeff_Seely]

Gordy has such an interesting resume that is hard not to appreciate his skill through and through. And you captured all of this with a lot of detail. The class sounds like it is a keeper for sure. Does Gordy attempt to keep the classes in a certain headcount number so that people have a chance to interact more easily with Gordy?

[@paulkoohy679]

Gavin, we would love to see you do a video about barrel slugging along with theory, not much out there and would like to see it done the right way.

[@littlerhino2006]

Commented this on his other interview, hope he sees the requests!

[@littlerhino2006]

At around the 22 minute mark he mentions he's going back into his .300 PRC to slug the barrel specifically checking near the crown after the work he did to it. Hopefully we'll get the video soon.

[@richardlawton1023]

Sent to a friend that I sold a lathe to so he can build a barrel etc

[@lohikarhu734]

That comment about finding something that occurred on the 15th shot resonated with me..oops, could have been a pun! Anyway, in one device that I was testing for large-scale production, it was "standard practice" to test from -40 to +85°C, in 10° steps, but I decided to do some testing over a temperature range using a hot air gun, to get a continuous change, and monitoring the device running normal tests continuously, monitoring with an oscilloscope (not too many of these in gunsmithing, -*-yet*), and found a failure mode at 63° +/-** 2°, that would never be found in normal tests, but, in the field...oops! Just to say, I appreciate the kind of rigour that you need to apply to get to the bottom of issues, or, indeed, to be able to *identify* an issue!

[@raythemanroe]

Hey Gordy, maybe I will see you at Nationals again.

[@ReconMan772]

Only 2hrs north of me !! I know who I'll be seeing to thread my new barrels for me once I figure out what can I want ... great video, have fun in Florida, enjoy the sun before going back to the ice box .. lol

[@Ultimatereloader]

Yes, definitely have Gordy do your work!!!!

[@robertblaze5549]

Would like to see your rifle you built soon.:-)

[@young_of_the_mill9560]

More shotshell videos

[@jeffreydohl6036]

I am looking at Grizzly Lathes.What is the smallest lathe I could buy in order to thread and chamber a rifle barrel up to 30" lengths?

[@Ultimatereloader]

Hi Jeffrey, I'm not up to speed with Grizzly's current portfolio. On the small side, look for a machine like the Precision Matthews PM-1340GT: www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1340gt/ - the biggest factor is through-spindle capacity for holding and dialing in barrels. This machine has 1 9/16". The PM-1440GT I have has 2". If you don't need to do 50 BMG (or similar) you can get away with 1 9/16". Quality matters- the PM machine linked to is a Taiwanese machine, not Chinese. Good luck!

[@klintonodonnell3318]

So since Gordy bought the PM1440GT, compared to the Grizzly Gunsmithing lathe, has he given any feedback as to whether he likes one over the other, and why?

[@Ultimatereloader]

He absolutely loves the PM-1440GT, I've talked to him several times. FYI: he doesn't have any Grizzly lathes.

[@klintonodonnell3318]

@@Ultimatereloader good to hear. That is on my list of future machines. Thought I would be happy with my baleigh 10x22 lathe, but it just isn't up to the same standards is the PM lathe seems to be. Especially when needing a spindle hole larger than 1" 👍

[@ifell3]

Very passionate man, sounds like you are going to be like a kid in a chocolate shop!!

[@rossilake218]

Gavin, Does Gordy have a local 1000yrd (public?)range nearby? I’m looking for a warm weather retirement (59 yrs young) move. Friends live in Hobe Sound, i’ve Been to Florida many times and love the weather. Also I’m a hobby machinist with lathes and Bridgeport.

[@tommybreaux9430]

You should have put a mike on Mr. Gritters

[@coplandUSA]

I can never get Gordy's webpage to work, anyone else have this problem?

[@gregmcmurrey6640]

I think his webpage works but it looks blank, once you click a link on his site, scroll to the bottom, its like 3 pages down for some reason but thats where the info is.

[@coplandUSA]

@@gregmcmurrey6640 Your right thx!

[@hak5323]

What record did he set?

[@Ultimatereloader]

hak his rifles have set multiple world records!

[@57krk57]

I must have misunderstood that statement about the CNC. Why cant someone create a product like that with a CNC?

[@Ultimatereloader]

CNC has its limits when you get into extreme precision. Here, we're dialing things into 0.0001" tolerances. Still a place for the craftsman and manual machines here!

[@57krk57]

@@Ultimatereloader Hmm. I will cut you some slack because I do like your videos and I'm amusing you either haven't been around many CNCs or have been misinformed about them. But I can assure you .0001" is a walk in the park with a CNC. I don't doubt a skilled machinist running a manual lathe in .0001" isn't possible but now make a very complex part holding .0000" tolerance in every direction on every cut. Thats where a good CNC lives.

[@gregmcmurrey6640]

@@57krk57 I don't think he is saying a CNC will not hold .0001 tolerance in its cutting ability, I suspect he knows it will do that all day long, a barrel has to be dialed in though and the bore has a curvature to it so a human really needs to think through all that and it can shift during the turning, threading, drilling and chambering process, all of that has to be checked through the process and maybe even re-dialed in. A CNC would not be able to detect that, it would just keep doing whatever process it is doing. Also a reamer tends to want to chatter at times, you have to feel the chatter to prevent bad chambering. I think that is what they are saying is not the best suited for CNC. I agree with them both on that. Can it be done, sure, is it equal to a human spending hours doing it slow and careful and checking all along the way, I haven't seen one win a match yet so my answer is still no.

[@57krk57]

@@gregmcmurrey6640 agreed but you also have to see a chambering done on a CNC. Its not about just punching the numbers in and leaving it to do its work. Dialing in a barrel can be done the same way on a CNC. And all through the process those 0.0001" adjustments can still easily be made. Chatter is also easily dealt with on a CNC also. Also multi set fixtures held within .0001" is easily done on a CNC. Theres a million ways to skin a cat. But to say a CNC has its limits in precision is false. Not saying anyone using a manual lathe is not creating a nice barrel because 99% of very accurate rifles are chambered on a manual lathe. Not because they do it better but because either thats how the builder was taught and has honed their skills on that type of machinery or because more builders can't justify a $150,000 machine which also makes sence if all your using it for is barrels. But CNC is what I was brought up on and Ill assure you a CNC can do everything a manual can and do it just a good and in most cases better. And much faster.

[@gregmcmurrey6640]

@@57krk57 I have seen chambering on a CNC and I do know it can be done, I have not had the pleasure of inspecting multiple chambers or checking for run out on a CNC chambered barrel. I do know many are doing it now, I just have yet to see people in the extreme accuracy world doing it. I am all for automation, I shoot Borden actions which are made on a CNC and they are great. Time will tell, I follow most all the benchrest and F-Class matches pretty close, so far no CNC chambers have won that I am aware of and that to me is the proof in the pudding and it would not surprise me if we see some at some point in the future but time will tell. I still believe some things, but very few that require true craftsmanship and I put shooting 5 shot groups in the 0's or 1's in that catagory but again, I'm open to being proven wrong, it just has not happened yet in these matches but sounds like maybe you are the guy to do it as you sound like you know your way around CNC very well.

[@ronsanchez2842]

“Mhm”

[@fergusonlandmanagementweld1039]

Is that Alex Jones' gunsmithing brother?

[@zachphirman6219]

Uh hmm

[@Stainlesstumblingmed]

Nice interview. Its hard to watch with you saying umhumm. Ever 5 sec, is my only criticism

[@D460MAGNUM]

Stainlesstumblingmed if that’s your only criticism, then keep it to yourself. Nobody else cares.

[@hebrewhooligan5462]

I had to rewind a sec. I thought he said I'm a racist reader lol. I was like that came outta left field.

[@jhtubevids]

1st

[@Ultimatereloader]

Confirmed!

[@jhtubevids]

@@Ultimatereloader thank you for the great content.