Small Arms Review selects T. Mark Graham of Arizona Response Systems as 2007 Gunsmith of the Year!

It is flattering and feeds my immense ego to have so many people placing their trust and confidence in me. I continue to earn this trust because I treat every job as if it were my own. Popularity, however, is a two-edged sword. While I was thrilled to have my peers elect me 2007 Gunsmith of the Year, I already had more work than I could handle. For the same reason, I don't advertise - what would it bring but more work? The more work I accept, the longer my turnaround becomes, and the more frustrated and impatient my customers become. I also become more frustrated as the volume of jobs for which I am accountable becomes overwhelming. Due to the large number of committments I have already made, I have suspended many of the services I used to offer. Do not send any work without prior authorization. At this time, I am accepting non serial-numbered parts (no firearms) for Parkerizing or Refinish Black only. Sending a serial numbered part without prior authorization will only incur unnecessary shipping expenses to have it returned. After 20- years in business, I am closing out my ATF records and getting every serial numbered part out of the shop to start fresh. I will announce here when I can once again accept firearms for refinish, and when (or if) I will start accepting gunsmithing again.

Another way to increase production is to hire more help. I have given this option considerable thought and experimentation. The bottom line is that I cannot simply pull someone off the street and expect them to become "gunsmiths" after a few months training. It is really difficult to find help that has the pre-requisite discipline, motivation, and inherent mechanical aptitude to be worth training - and training someone is a full-time job! It takes many years to develop the specialty skill sets required to put out mechanically sound and artistically appealing work every time. While I certainly will utilize helpers as needed for mundane tasks, such as cleaning, sand-blasting, and maintenance, Those who already have the basic skills seem to lack the ability to do it MY way and not "how they've always done it."

The final way to increase productivity is by streamlining. I can and must do this. I have carefully examined my invoices from the last few years to determine those services that are highest in demand, and I am temporarily suspending the rest. While I understand this will make those with interesting and unusual projects unhappy , I see no other realistic option. I must focus on those jobs which are in highest demand and I must temporarily suspend those with the lowest demand. This is a business, not a hobby, and accepting those obscure projects that I enjoy so much has resulted in unreasonably long turnaround times for the rest of my customers.

This section of the ARS website provides general guidelines for ordering, packing, and shipping firearms. Check your order status and estimated turnaround time here.