Very knowledgeable Gunsmith that does excellent work on Colt 1911's and Smith and Wesson's

One of the best, most knowledgeable gunsmiths on Planet Earth. Dr. Ford is a wizard with 1911's.

I walked in with SA XD Mod 3 that I wanted a red dot mounted on. I bought the attachment plate from SA but didn't have the right tools to mount it. Nelson did the job in about 25 minutes. $20.00! Excellent service and workmanship. Even sited in the red dot! I'll be sure to take all my gunsmith work to him! read more

The Gunsmith - XD WITH RED DOT MOUNTED - Gunsmith Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I want to add my endorsement for Mr Ford. Excellent work, pleasant demeanor, and reasonably priced - excellent price for what you get. Men, and workmanship like his, are rare and becoming ever more scarce. +1 for Mr Ford. read more

The Gunsmith - Unprecedented accuracy out of this revolver after his fixes and action work. - Gunsmith Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

Extremely rude person, zero customer service, it doesn't matter how much experience you have if you do not treat people with respect you do not deserve their patronage! Do not waste your time at this place! read more

Every pistol Nelson has worked on for me performs flawlessly. I have been a customer since 1981

I had a bad experience with Nelson. I had a brand new Smith & Wesson Model 66 sent to him to make sure everything was optimized on the revolver and paid almost $400 for everything he recommended. He took my original purchase invoice out of the box and discarded it, I was supposed to get back the original firing pin he supposedly replaced and never got it so don't know if that got done. No itemized receipt for what he did or charged for and AFTER FIRING THE GUN FOR LESS THAN 50 ROUNDS IT LOCKED UP. I emailed him and got no help for this at all, now I have to take the revolver to another gunsmith and pay to find out what's wrong and get it fixed. I don't know if he really did everything he charged me for and don't have adequate documentation but after $400 to make sure a brand new S&W revolver will be reliable and function properly having it lock up isn't OK. He was nice when we originally spoke and we had a lot in common but other than that I'll never go back. read more

Even though their gunsmith for Remington model 1100 shotguns did not have the specific tip required to TIG weld the receiver stop back on, she was very friendly and engaging, and ended up giving me a box to ship my gun back to Remington and helped me find a shipper in my area that would ship it. read more

Friendly, answer all my question and needs. Customer Service A+, range ammo affordable. I will be back for sight for my Gen 5

Great gunsmith but can be a bit grumpy at times. Make sure you call ahead before going there.

Before I drove an hour to see him (based on recommendations of many reviews and also friends), I called to see if he works on my particular Colt first. He no longer does. I greatly appreciated his honesty and candor. He also gave me a quick history of its lineage given his service experience with them long ago. And a suggestion of something to try given the firearm does shoot -- but does not feed. Apparently the first two generations of magazines were worthless and all mine are brand new 40 year old first generation clips!! Many shops would not know that fact or tell you about it until you spent hours driving there or had "$$$ service work" done upon it. His knowledge and sharing of it is greatly appreciated. Thank you! read more

This review is long overdue. Prompted by helping my friends with selecting some quality handguns I spoke of my appreciation for the best gunsmith I have ever known. Nelson Ford customized my Colt 1911 Govt 45ACP. It is just as much art as it is function with custom checkering on the forestrap, backstrap, trigger guard to mag release lever to the custom beaver tail, safety, slide serrations, trigger down to the whimsical pink mag base plate bumper. This gun drills holes. I once had my 10yr old guardian son who had never shot a gun shoot a sub 1" grouping from 10 yards with it at Shooters World. Unbelievable! Nelson is as opinionated and Frank as he is engaging and patriotic and funny as he is serious about his work. He does specialize in Colt and S&W and he does have a natural disdain for plastic but he did do a sweet trigger and sight upgrade on my Glock 17. My only disappointment in living on the east coast is that Nelson is not here. One of my favorite memories is when Nelson introduced me to Rob Latham (at the time 12 time IPSC World Champion) and we went trap/skeet shooting at Ben Avery range north of Phoenix after sharing a pitcher of beer at the bar the range once had. Nelson and Rob may have missed 1 or 2 clays where I'll just say I didn't come close. If you are fortunate to have a Nelson Ford customized gun you not only can appreciate a life long treasure but will also never forget Nelson! read more

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Nelson did a pair of Smith & Wesson revolvers for me. Buttery smooth action jobs. Highly recommended.

I was first recommended to use Nelson Ford by law enforcement officers that were with my shooting club years ago. He worked my S&W's making them tactical ready. His work helped my Queue Shoot scores go up when using my 686 S&W 6". It made firing and reloading my other S&W's easier as well. I feel good knowing he personally test fires every gun he works on to ensure its results. He's easy to talk to and even though he can be opinionated, which of us out there can honestly say we aren't either. He will take the time to share experiences with you and throughly review what he found with your gun with you. I highly recommend this be your gunsmith if he meets the needs of your weapons of choice. read more

Nelson Ford is in the top 100 gunsmiths in the country and there's a good reason for that. He knows what the heck he is doing. He particularly is great on Smiths and Colts. He doesn't work on Glocks unless you need a set of sites put on. His work is 100% guaranteed and after you leave his shop you'll understand how he made the top hundred gunsmiths in the United States. read more

For anyone who requires gunsmith should want the best. The Gunsmith, Mr Ford is the best at what he does, not because he has years of experience or practice makes perfect. Nelson is the best because he cares, because he is a perfectionist and he wants your business. If you like his work spread the NEWS, is he cheap, No he is not. The Best never are and quality is worth every dollar spent. Be aware he is opinionated but the great ones usually are, God Bless. Guy Jr. read more

Great service with no BS. I was given an exact price and date my project would be completed. The Gunsmith delivered. read more

Nelson Ford is as good as it gets. Pricing is more than fair when you take into account the level of skill and experience that this gunsmith has. He has worked on several firearms for me and every one has turned out beautifully. Besides the excellent quality of work, it is a sheer joy to stand at the counter and listen to his stories. Very funny and friendly guy. I will always recommend Nelson Ford to anyone looking at getting work done on their 1911 or S&W revolver. For a good laugh, tell him you voted for Obama ;) read more

The Gunsmith - Colt 1911 Series 70 Govt Model work done by Nelson Ford - Gunsmith Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I cannot thank Dr. Nelson Ford enough for his help. I inherited a gun from my grandfather and took it to him for help. He not only took the time to help inspect it for me, but he also taught me about the model and how to care for it going forward. Highly recommend his services, he is knowledgeable and cares very much about what he does. read more

First met Nelson back in 1990, when he worked on my Series 80 Colt Govt. Did excellent work. But he can be very bias, he really only cares for Colt and Smith & Wesson. Any other gun is crap. He had numerous pictures of old Mopar cars on his wall. Mopar is awesome, so all good. read more

I have heard about Nelson for years. All positive from people I know. While I have only used him for a quick sight adjustment I would not hesitate to use him for any smith work. And yes like one writer said we can feel stupid around him, it's because we are ! read more

Nelson is one of the top pistolsmiths in the country. He gave his standard workover to family heirloom Smith & Wesson revolver, smoothing up the trigger action, buffing up the trigger itself to be better for double-action resulting in a gun that is easy to shoot well. The work is as good as you'll find anywhere. Highly recommended! read more

I took two S&W J frame revolvers to Nelson and asked him to smooth out the action on them. The work took about 30 days for both and when I got them back I was amazed at how smooth the actions were. I've shown it to several friends, a couple who are armorers, and they were all impressed. He'll probably be getting more business from them. To respond to the low rating below all I can say is you get what you pay for and quality takes time. You want a rush job from someone who just wants your money there are plenty of places you can go. As far as Nelson being rude I couldn't disagree more. Both times there he took a lot of time to talk with me about the work he was going to do on my guns plus we talked about other firearms and our families. Great and knowledgable man. I've recently picked up a new Colt Combat Commander and I'm already planning on taking it to Nelson for some work. read more

Took my AR-15 in to see about getting a side on it. This is my first day or so I'm kind of out of the loop on how things went with it. I think the guy's name was Nelson was super friendly. He showed me how to operate the firearm as well as install the sight for They'll be big now this I didn't know that you have to adjust the scope whenever firing but the guy working there and yet again I think it was Nelson talk to me about how to adjust it and make sure that of course it's working out properly. My next task is to find a range and try to get this done read more

Nelson Ford is awesome. I felt like I was back in time talking to him while he fixed my simple issue with my Colt 1911. He is personable, professional and most of all very knowledgeable. I recommend Nelson Ford any day. read more

Nelson does fantastic work. Took my brand new Springfield Defender 1911 to him since I was having issues with reassembly ( the slide stop notch would not go in / it was blocked by the metal plunger ). He fixed the issue within 10 minutes and I was out the door. I will be having him do the same to my Colt 1911 as well. Fantastic work and a pleasure to talk to. read more

Nelson Ford has been in business since the mid-1980s and I've used him for as long. He is a graduate of the Colorado School of Trades and knows the Browning P-35, the Colt 1911 system, and the S&W revolvers completely. Over the decades, he has come to know what works and what doesn't in firearms and in their repair. He is not a general gunsmith and openly says so. While he might occasionally take in a Remington hunting rifle and mount a scope on it, his work is dedicated to quality defensive handguns. If you want work done to certain brands or models, he won't touch them. The Ruger LCR, the Taurus 92 clones, Filipino 1911s, etc. will be refused because they are problematic in quality straight from the factory. Arguing that the Ruger LCR is popular and thus, must be a good firearm is using the same faulty logic that Ford Motor Company used to defend the Pinto automobile, once a very popular compact car until it was learned that they had a propensity to explode when rear-ended in a collision. Popularity in the marketplace quality in design or manufacture. He is a highly opinionated person and can be mercurial. Some craftsmen are. If you expect a smile and a polite greeting when entering, you may not get it. Many gunsmiths and people in the firearms industry have reputations for being brusque or acerbic; Ed Brown, Jeff Cooper, etc. Nelson Ford is the same way. He will tell you what works and what is not worth the money. He does not pad his invoices with parts and work you do not need. His work is first rate and he will stand behind it [as long as no one else has worked on or modified it]. He has the same guarantee that Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat does and will not charge extra labor to fix it a second time. Unlike many, he is not merely a parts replacer. He diagnoses what is wrong and can design and build/modify parts to meet specific applications. In short, he may be a pain, but he knows what he is doing and does only quality work. read more

Anybody who knows Nelson and owns a 1911 also knows he is the authority. So if you're offended by his candor go to your safe place and shut up. read more

This business states it's a "gunsmith" shop but yet when I call to have a weapon worked on he declines to say he doesn't work on that type of weapon. If your going to work on a specific brand and model change your name to something else... Example... 1911's Only Gunsmith read more

Nelson is extremely knowledgeable about revolvers and 1911's. He has worked on a variety of my handguns and done a fabulous job. Very helpful with several vintage S&W revolvers and made several new Ruger revolvers work like fine machinery. Nelson is a quality guy and he will only work on quality handguns. No interest in spending time with inexpensive or polymer products. Respect that and you will toughly enjoy his company and benefit from his expertise. read more

Really cool guy, he installed sights on a Glock there while I waited and chatted about all kinds of stuff. Very helpful and he definitely knows what he is talking about. He prefers 1911s and revolvers so know that if you need major work on something else, but he had no issue getting sights on my gun. I would come back here in the future if I needed anything else done read more

Don't trust Nelson Ford with your gun. My Ruger .357 had a sticky cylinder that got tighter with every trip to the range. When I had to knock the cylinder open with a plastic hammer I took the revolver to The Gunsmith. "One-hundred forty dollars," he said, "paid in advance." The price included a trigger-job, smoothing some rough edges, and test firing. Gun will be ready in two weeks. Fifteen days later I phoned and Ford said he needed another week. That remark and the $140 cost were the only truths to come out of his mouth. Picking up the gun, I asked him what was wrong with it? Ford said there was a ball bearing inside the cylinder all fouled up with powder residue. "Worst I've ever seen." Last week my other .357 started sticking at the cylinder. An hour on the 'net revealed that the ejector rod screws into the cylinder and repeated firing enabled the ejector rod to back out until it snagged in the ejector rod housing. Took 10 seconds to fix. Ford could've fixed my Ruger in a few seconds on the spot, made ten or thirty dollars and a happy customer. Instead he chose to deceive for money. read more

I have been doing business with Nelson for over 23 years now, with NOT ONE SINGLE problem. His extensive training was done in an era of REAL STEEL guns, and he is a master of fixing most in that Genre. Don't bring him your PLASTIC problems. He will politely tell you to bring it elsewhere. He's like the mechanic you cherish to keep your 69 Mustang runnin, Your 72 "Cuda purring, or your 67 Camaro in top condition. Take your KIA and HYundai elsewhere, Rhetorically of course. And keep in mind the old school Smith's like Nelson give you old school SERVICE. He talks about your S&W and COLT with a gleam in his eye, because he knows them like an old lover. A great family man, Competitive shooter, honest businessman and a credit to the industry. Do business with him, and something different will happen to you. It doesn't happen often anymore. You will make a friend! read more

Nelson is a friendly and very knowledgeable gun smith who specializes in 1911s and S&W revolvers. Prices are not cheap for the work, but the work is top notch. Cheap is not one of the adjectives I look for when searching for a tool that may someday be used to defend myself or my loved ones. read more

Took my Kimber 1911 in to have a brass dot sight installed. Was nicely greeted by Nelson, he looked my firearm over and asked me a few questions regarding my firearm. While inspecting he noticed that it had about 6lbs of trigger pull and added that he could fix that if I was interested. I agreed to that and then expressed that it jammed sometimes while at the range. He advised me that it should never jamb regardless of ammo I am using and said that he would check the breach while he had it. I paid him up front for the services rendered and he told me up front that his current turn around time was 30 days. I understood that and agreed to that. After the business part of the visit was done we then spent about 15mins chatting about both of our lives, family and personal experiences. I left there knowing that my Kimber was in good hands and was excited for the 30 days to pass sooner than later. A somewhat short 28 days later I received a picture text from Nelson showing me the target he shot with my newly improved Kimber with an impressively tight group! I went by later that afternoon and once again was nicely greeted by Nelson, he spent about 15 mins or so going over the work that he did on my firearm with extreme detail. I was thoroughly impressed with the work he did and can't wait to get out to the range to try my "new" Kimber out! Once again after we were finished with the business part of the visit we spent another 15-20 mins chatting about life, guns, family etc. Bottom line is that Nelson is a great guy and does good, quality work and has been doing it for 36 years. He's the kinda guy that I would love to have a cigar and a couple scotches with and shoot the sh*t (no pun intended) I'm sort that some others don't feel this way but my experience was nothing but great. read more

I went in yesterday to have a fiber optic sight installed on my 1911 and it was done quickly and professionally. I then had the pleasure of chatting with The Gunsmith about getting into the shooting community here in the Phoenix area and got some great leads on where to go and how to learn about what I'm interested in. Great experience and I have no hesitation about taking my 1911 to him for any and all gunsmithing needs. read more

Great Smith and entertaining. If you have a 1911 or 357 take it here. I don't even bother to shot a 191 until I bring it here.

I had a rather simple front and rear sight installation job quoted to take anywhere between 1-2 weeks at a couple of the larger shops in the area. Although he was closing shop for the day, Nelson asked me to come by so he could take care of it on the spot. Some chatting, and 30 minutes later... I was out the door; new sights installed without issue. read more

I just called this guy needing a Ruger LCP fixed. Tried explaining what was wrong with it and before I could even get half of it out. He started going on about how much a piece of crap that gun is(for the record it's one of the most popular and sold pocket carry guns of all time), and how I need to buy a smith and Wesson snub nose and throw that one away. I tried explaining that it still fires just needed a minor tweak. His reply that once again cut me off was, I've been answering this phone here for 37 years I know what I'm talking about. I said great, I'd still like to get it fixed. He said no one in town will work on that gun?!?!?! For the record he was the fifth gunsmith I'd called in search of the answer and a good price in a timely manner. I like to get multiple quotes and be an informed consumer before just giving my weapon to someone and trust his/her gunsmithing. Well the other four all said they would work on it happily and one even said he had the same gun in his pocket as we spoke. This guy was a real jerk and just wanted to hear himself talk and prove how much he of an "authority" he was. I'll give my business to someone else thanks! read more