You Will Shoot Your Eye Out

It wasn’t that long ago that I thought I’d never own an engraved gun. Those guns were for wealthy, well-to-do types, of which I never was. That all changed after meeting Bobby Tyler of Tyler Gun Works over 10 years ago. The chance meeting took place at the Whittington Center, just outside Raton, NM. Bobby had a few of his wares lying on a table.

Mixed among his wares was a small, fixed-blade knife. The blade was color cased in Bobby’s trademark finish, which really highlighted the wavy grain of the Damascus steel blade. If that wasn’t enough, Bobby saw fit to use mastodon ivory for the blade’s scales — the intoxicating spell was cast. Whoo boy! It was love at first sight! Needless to say, I had to have that knife, and it came home with me.

New Friends

This was the start of a wonderful relationship between me and the Tyler family. One would be hard pressed finding a nicer family, including Bobby’s wife, Paige, daughter Madie, and sons Dylan and Logan. If politeness, good manners and friendliness are throwback traits to the good old days, then the Tyler’s go back further than those Mastodon ivory knife scales.

It’s common for customers to transform into friends when dealing with the Tyler’s, they’re that warm. Bobby also had a few of his guns on display, some of which were engraved. Admittedly, I’m a stock box kind of guy, with maybe a few improvements done myself, keeping things affordable. But I had to admit, those engraved guns sure were enticing. Bobby noticed my fascination with them. It wasn’t hard — I had drool stains on my shirt.

Giving Chance

Bobby asked me if I had any guns I needed engraved. I chuckled, telling him sure, but I could never afford such a luxury. Then he told me his philosophy on doing things. Bobby likes providing people with opportunities. By hiring local people new in the field, he’s able to keep prices down on such adornments as engraving. It also helps the community where he lives by providing jobs.

While an expert may be able to tell the difference, most lead-slinging shooters wouldn’t. Besides, who cares about any possible imperfections? I sure don’t.

Bobby also likes building guns within reach of the working man. Another trait I highly value and appreciate. As Bobby says, “Working people should be able to afford nice guns too, something to be proud of.” His philosophy is a good one, as I’ve donated money to his cause in exchange for some beautiful gun work.

So, a deal was struck, and I sent Bobby a Ruger Bearcat to be engraved, color-cased, and fitted with stag stocks for my gun. What came back was stunning! I was at a loss for words, as every detail came out beautifully, with even a few extras thrown in for good measure. The cylinder frame case-colored as only Bobby can do, with the mottled hues of purple and blue blend together, looking like the colors a drop of gasoline makes in a road puddle.

Dale Bass did the engraving using his southwestern motif. It is very classy, in a Western kind of way. I love it! Dale has since moved on, becoming quite the popular engraver, establishing a great reputation for himself because of his exceptional work.

Bobby still uses him, but the price of business has gone up, as it should, due to the quality of the work involved. If there are any flaws in his work, I sure can’t see them in my gun.

Nitre Blued Accents

The gun also has nitre bluing on some of the smaller parts, providing excellent contrast in the most beautiful way. This was the “extra” Bobby surprised me with. Besides the trigger and hammer screwheads being engraved, the screws are nitre blued, as is the cylinder base pin and latch. Lastly, the ejector rod housing screw and ejector rod head are nitre blued.

Stocks

The stocks are well figured stag having just enough bark to let you know where they came from. Ruger Phoenix medallions were also added for authenticity’s sake. The whole combination of color cased frame, engraving package, and stag stocks makes for the most beautiful of packages.

Wrap Up

As you can imagine, I’m tickled over my engraved TGW Ruger Bearcat. It is a beautiful gun worthy of BBQ status now. Better yet are the memories this gun provides of me meeting Bobby Tyler and his family for the first time, as he was just starting out with his custom gun business. He’s gained a lot of ground in this area.

Now, he does batches or limited runs whenever he can get 25 to 50 guns and customizes them as only he can, along with his faithful and talented gunsmith Dusty Hooley, who still has the coolest name in the industry. TGW also makes stocks for Smith & Wesson revolvers — most recently, their Mountain Gun re-release — as well as traditional S&W models. Lastly, TGW buys gun collections, selling the pieces individually at fair prices. Check out TGW for any of your gun needs. If he can’t help you, he’ll surely point you in the right direction.

Visit TylerGunWorks.com for more information.