MGW
10-15-2016, 07:02 PM
Cool trip yesterday. Dad and I traveled with a friend of mine to Berryville, Ark. We were given a tour of Nighthawk Custom's manufacturing facility. Pretty interesting tour. The majority of the facility is inside of a converted rental storage facility. The various gunsmiths have their own pod as a workstation. From the outside it just looks like a storage facility. No signs or anything indicate that it's the home of Nighthawk.
They have a unique way of doing things. When a pistol is built it is done from beginning to end by the same gun smith. Every single step of the fitting process is the responsibility of the smith that gets the order. Final test firing a zeroing is done at a range off sight. Nitron finishes are outsourced.
Almost every single part is built in house. They have a really impressive CNC facility. They build most of their own barrels. Slides and frames are machined from forgings purchased from another manufacture. They also build all the small parts in house in their CNC machines. It looked like springs, magazines, and sights are about the only major parts not built in house.
They are also building some really nice high powers there. The pistols are bought new from browning and then go through a lot of custom changes. They are stamped with a Nighthawk serial number. Beavertails are extended and blended. Trigger mechanism geometry is changed and trigger jobs are done. Unique texturing is done to every contact point on the outside of the pistol. I have zero high power experience but I now see what the fuss is about. Of course these are $3k custom pistols so that probably helps.
I was blown away at how much they do in that little facility. They even reload their own test ammo there.
My only regret is I didn't take a single picture while I was there. I have no idea what I was thinking. Really enjoyed it and feel fortunate that I had the opportunity.
They have a unique way of doing things. When a pistol is built it is done from beginning to end by the same gun smith. Every single step of the fitting process is the responsibility of the smith that gets the order. Final test firing a zeroing is done at a range off sight. Nitron finishes are outsourced.
Almost every single part is built in house. They have a really impressive CNC facility. They build most of their own barrels. Slides and frames are machined from forgings purchased from another manufacture. They also build all the small parts in house in their CNC machines. It looked like springs, magazines, and sights are about the only major parts not built in house.
They are also building some really nice high powers there. The pistols are bought new from browning and then go through a lot of custom changes. They are stamped with a Nighthawk serial number. Beavertails are extended and blended. Trigger mechanism geometry is changed and trigger jobs are done. Unique texturing is done to every contact point on the outside of the pistol. I have zero high power experience but I now see what the fuss is about. Of course these are $3k custom pistols so that probably helps.
I was blown away at how much they do in that little facility. They even reload their own test ammo there.
My only regret is I didn't take a single picture while I was there. I have no idea what I was thinking. Really enjoyed it and feel fortunate that I had the opportunity.