Colt Commander back from Mario Ruffino

[Micro]

Took my new Colt Commander to Master Gunsmith Mario Ruffino. Had an Ed Brown grip safety, and Ed Brown thumb safety, and some MGW sights installed. I had recently installed a Nighthawk Custom trigger and Hogue faux ivory grips. I think he did a great job. The thumb safety feels much better than the stock job, and the grip safety lets me get further up on the gun. The sights are nice, high, and give me a bit more radius than the stock sights.

Before


After (Sorry for the crappy photos - taken with a flash. Will try and get some outfoor photos soon.)



Mario Ruffino is a quite a man to talk to. He's been gunsmithing since WWII. He showed me his catalog and he's built thousands of guns. He is also a master engraver and stock maker. His custom rifles are a sight to behold.

Most interesting were his pistols. He showed me mods he's been doing since the 50's that seem to be the rage today. Such as slimming the front of the 1911 slide like is done on the Browning Hi-Power. He told me stories about showing Dick Heinie how to tighten frames and slides. His work with the South African team at the "world shoots." Showing Bill Wilson how to perform modifications before he was in the bigtime. His time at Abercrombie and Finch as their gunsmith. He's got an amazing life history. I think I could talk to him for hours and not be tired of listening to him.

[allingeneral]

ahhh...very nice! Sounds like a neat experience as well! So, have you shot it yet, or just played with it to check out the new features?

[Micro]

I just picked it up from him tonight. No chance to shoot it yet. Soon....

[Micro]

One more pic I took tonight.



I wish he had blended the grip safety a bit. It still feels a lot better than the old safety.

[Yarddawg]

Mario is Da Man! He has forgotten more about gunsmithing than most will ever know.

Beautiful gun BTW!

[Dreghorn]

Dang, I didn't know Mario was still around. I had him do some custom work on a Randall I had many years ago. He was always an interesting man to talk to. How can I get in touch with him, can someone PM me a phone number and address of his shop.

[Unkn0wN]

Dang, I didn't know Mario was still around. I had him do some custom work on a Randall I had many years ago. He was always an interesting man to talk to. How can I get in touch with him, can someone PM me a phone number and address of his shop.

Google search brought this up, not sure if it is accurate or not...

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/GunSmith ... sid=112321

[Micro]

It's accurate. That's how I contacted him.

[Dreghorn]

Thanks.

[zephyp]

Sweet...

[t33j]

[Unkn0wN]

Wow, just look at the picture of the map on the link I posted. He is really close to me.... I live off Fox Hill rd.

[Micro]

The map on the Cheaperthandirt site is WRONG. You need to Mapquest the address, which is correct. Mario lives in a house off Fox Hill, not in a townhouse off Mercury.

[Unkn0wN]

The map on the Cheaperthandirt site is WRONG. You need to Mapquest the address, which is correct. Mario lives in a house off Fox Hill, not in a townhouse off Mercury.

YOu are right. I just looked and he is actually really close to me. A couple of side streets over. Never knew.