July 17 2001

Wow! It has been 11 months since I last wrote a newsletter for the web site. Things have changed!

I received a number of very favorable press reports over the last year. The most flattering was a profile by my friend, fellow climber and gun guy, Mark Twight, in AMERCAN HANDGUNNER.

The work load and customer support has been overwhelming. I literally spent 6 weeks answering the phone full time and getting little else done because of Mark's article. Mind you I am not complaining. My customers allow me to do the things I live for, building guns, training and climbing. I know some might want me chained to the bench but I try to maintain a good balance for them, gun production and my sanity.

I owe my Mother my creative side and there has been a lot of that going on at BCP. New firing systems for the 1911, new frame textures and new holster designs all produced in the last year's time frame. I know I am building the best guns ever to come from my shop and you the customer as well as me the builder are the winners because of it.

Kimber Manufacturing was nice enough to make me a Master Dealer so I could better help their customers avoid the wait on any Kimber product. Barry at Kimber makes any gun from Kimber only a couple of days away for me. Gary at Caspian has been a great help in supplying me with the frames and slides I need to build the best guns I know how. Irv Stone at BarSto has helped me out more than once when I needed a barrel desperately. Terry Peter's of P-T Partners did a GUNS magazine giveaway of a production FED package. Too much success is not always a good thing so that project was terminated after selling out a year's production quite quickly. No thanks to my success can ignore Brownell's. Brownell's has over and over again allowed me as a one man shop to work within my budget restraints and helped me out of many a tight spot when I needed parts and accessories quickly.

Lou Alessi agreed during the last year to make a holster of my design, the "GWH". Lou has allowed me to sell and design holsters for the 1911 in addition to other serious fighting handguns. I make money by selling Lou's products. That professional relationship means a lot to me. The holsters Lou makes are second to none. I offer Alessi leather at my web site with great pride because of the quality of the product and the integrity of the maker who stands behind his workmanship.

My customers pay these guys on my behalf. But no one-man shop can do it all. I am lucky enough to have some real pros that are willing to support me. Thanks to them and you, the guys who trust me with their hard earned cash!

So what is happening now? I am backlogged on some models from my web page, a full 3 years. The FED package is around a year currently. Grey Ghost closer to 2 years. Never a situation I wanted to be in, that is where I am currently in time frames. I have hired help to do my Glock work in house. That has at least solved that time frame problem. It is fun to be delivering guns with less stress on my part.

On the teaching side of my career, the Rangemaster classes are doing exceptionally well. Working with Tom Givens and Jim Higginbotham is always a treat. Last year we taught classes in Birmingham, Atlanta and Dallas as well as Memphis. I also taught a new class for me, a "basic gunsmithing " class in LA. That class has now been followed up with several more and will be something I continue to do on a limited basis as time permits.

Along those lines, one of the fastest and most effective ways to teach, I have found, is via the Internet. Peter Loron and I started and maintain a forum site, Pistolsmith.Com, that is a great resource for any question about handguns or firearms and tactics in general. I think you will see more of that type of communication in the future. I am very active there now and will continue to be into the future.

The express rifle projects I have been working on accumulated into a new working relationship. Mike Kizler is a friend and an incredible metal smith and stock maker. He and I have finalized the .505 Burns and built guns in .416 Remington, .416 Rigby, and 9.3x62. Mike is a good man and amazing rifle maker. If you are interested in any rifle work check out Mike's website @ kizlers.com. If you want the ultimate big bore, give me a call and I'll fill you in on the .505B/K.

As of today I am delivering guns as fast as I can produce them. There haven't been any "spare" guns for sale now for over a year. If I build them they are quickly snapped up by long term customers or savvy new customers.

Life is very, very good at BCP.

Thanks very much for supporting me and buying my products in the last year and the years to come!

Warm regards, Dane Burns