Heckman Specialties produces world class firearm restoration. Our work has included some of the finest and rarest guns ever made. Our customers have entrusted these treasures to Heckman Specialties and we have met their high expectations time and time again.
Bill Heckman
has been correcting "barrel misfortunes" and improving shotgun performance
for about 12 years. He has studied with gunsmith extraordinaire William
Nittler. Heckman's bore work and shotgun barrel modifications have been
enthusiastically sought after by competition trap and skeet shooters as
well as sophisticated double gunners.
Heckman
designed and manufactures a barrel honing machine which is the only precision
device made solely for interior bore modification. His eighteen month tenure
at Krieghoff International was involved with improving and streamlining
their repair facility at Ottsville, Pennsylvania. A large percentage of
Heckman's work comes from return clients and personal referrals.
Heckman
Specialties manufactures shotgun barrels as well as providing restoration
and repair of fine guns. Always searching to achieve a better repair, Heckman
Specialties often diverges from traditional methods. As an example, consider
the current technique for sleeving double guns. (Sleeving is the installation
of new barrels using the original lumps, ribs, extractors, etc.) The traditional
method would be for the gunsmith to buy a pair of stock barrels from the
barrel maker and then make them fit the gun as best he can, often without
the benefit of proper machinery. The end results vary greatly. Heckman
Specialties makes new barrels copied from the originals, so the weight,
balance, and appearance are unaffected. Using correct machining practices,
the results are new barrels on your gun without objectionable joints and
ill-fitted ribs. These departures from traditional techniques are not acts
of hasty rebellion. "My goal is not to be a renegade," says Heckman. "I
am simply open to an idea that will give a cleaner repair".
Heckman
Specialties is located in Livingston, Montana near the Paradise Valley
in the heart of some of America's best fly fishing, wingshooting, and big
game hunting. Surrounded by four mountain ranges, Heckman continues to
offer quality repair of fine double shotguns and rifles.