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Attention - we are no longer accepting firearms for gunsmithing services or transfers. All firearms received will be returned to the origin FFL
The Gearhead Gunsmith as it's known today started in mid 2020, shortly after getting laid off as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak while I was still living in California. I went into business for myself as Vanguard Arms in El Segundo, a sole proprietorship venture in which I reverse engineered and reproduced parts for obsolete antique and vintage firearms, most of which were discontinued and surplus parts had dried up. Many of these firearms were "grandads old shotgun" with broken firing pins, or old bolt action 22's with their bolt handles snapped off. During this time, I ran the business out of a corrugated sheet metal shed, and all of my parts were made using a 1940's Craftsman bench lathe, and a Harbor Freight mini mill / drill, pictured to the left.
Sometime towards the end of 2020 I discovered the vast world of 3D printed firearms. At the time, the FGC-9 had just been released and there was a large demand for the metal components such as the bolt and barrel, and a shortage of machinists within the 3D printing community presented us with a unique opportunity. We began by producing FGC-9 barrels, rifled and chambered, with an adapter bushing that replaced the stack of shaft collars that the original design called for. Within the first week, we had sold out of our first dozen, and had preorders for dozens more. With the money we made, we invested heavily into improving my shop's very modest capabilities, starting with building an addition onto the back of my father's garage, expanding my floor space from 8'x8' to 16'x10'. Once construction was complete, I bought a larger mill and lathe, began offering our early FGC-9 bolts as well alongside our barrels, both individually and as a kit. Once again, we sold out of our early inventory immediately and had preorders for dozens more. This facilitated yet another need to expand, this time focusing on our production speed.
In late 2021, we purchased our first CNC machines - a pair of modest but honest Tormach machines, a 440 mill and 8L lathe. Neither of these machines were designed for production manufacturing, but they were plenty good enough for what we needed, and they fit within our extremely limited space. We were now able to produce our barrels in record time, averaging 15 per hour instead of 5, and we changed the design of our bolts to eliminate the need for any welding, and produced those entirely on the little 440. Bringing CNC machining in-house was a game changer for us, since we no longer needed to rely on outsourced manufacturing that became increasingly expensive for us.
In November of 2021, I got into a tragic collision in my Super Beetle which resulted in myself becoming seriously injured and unable to work for several months, and my daily driver being rendered inoperable. I eventually restored the Beetle - if you want to read the story about my love and dedication for this car, you can check it out here
From late 2022 until mid-2024, Vanguard Arms was renamed to Gearhead Guns, and had incorporated into an LLC. We also received our first Federal Firearms License (FFL) and began operating as a transfer FFL & Gunsmith service for the SoCal / Los Angeles area. During this time, we continued to develop and produce parts and accessories, one of our flagship products being our Mosin Nagant PSO scope adapters, which were designed to be a drop-in modernization replacement for any rifle already drilled and tapped for the WW2 "PU" style optics. This became one of our most popular products, and is one that we still actively produce.
In early 2023 we also made our initial announcement that we were reverse engineering and reproducing the Japanese Nambu Type 100 submachine gun as a semi automatic closed bolt carbine. This project initially began as a personal passion project, but has since grown into a firearm that we plan to put into full scale production beginning in May of 2025. You can follow along with that project here!
In July of 2024, we finally decided to uproot from California and relocate to Texas, with our sights set on either Richmond, or Rosenberg, just outside of Houston. Against everyone's advice, I flat towed my recently restored 1973 Super Beetle using my 2016 Beetle. I was surprised that we still averaged about 25MPG even with all the extra weight!
It took us longer than expected to get re-established in Texas. The first house we were going to purchase fell through, but fortunately we were extremely lucky to have found not only an incredible home for us, but an incredible home for the business as well in the form of a barebones 1000 sq. ft. workshop located on-site. It was already pre-wired for 50A 240V, which meant bigger and better CNC machines were on the horizon.
Gearhead Guns was re-established in Rosenberg, Texas as Gearhead Precision LLC, DBA "The Gearhead Gunsmith" in August of 2024. We didn't officially turn the lights on for the first time until November of 2024, but by then we had acquired a Tormach 15L lathe, and Tormach 1100 mill, machines that were much larger and more capable than our previous CNC's.
Our arrival in Texas allowed my firearms designs to truly flourish. I was no longer bound by California's ridiculous state laws, rules and regulations, and could now focus entirely on the design of several concept firearms. One such design is the "Pathfinder Vanguard", which is a CNC machined, semi-commercial variant of my "Pathfinder" which was a largely 3D printed, low cost, open bolt single shot pistol designed for survival applications. The "Vanguard" is re-imagined as a high quality closed bolt modular pistol, and its name was of course a nod to our earliest trade name.
Between November of 2024 and January of 2025, the primary focus of my efforts in the shop was to deliver a functioning prototype of my Nambu Type 100 PCC design to SHOT Show. Unfortunately due to several design flaws that were discovered during the process of prototype assembly, we were unable to deliver a 100% functioning model, however the barreled action was fully functional, and was able to be fired on a bench test setup. Design changes to the lower receiver assembly were made, and the prototype is scheduled for live fire testing in the beginning of March, 2025.
The Nambu PCC project was one of the stars of SHOT Show 2025, which was something we were not expecting. Supporters from all over the country, and some from even overseas, came to find us to ask about how the project was progressing. Throughout the week, several Youtubers and media personalities came out to interview us and talk about it, and I was honored to have the opportunity to talk about the passion project I had spent the past 10 years working towards. To those that stopped by, and to those that continue to support us and the project - you have my utmost, heartfelt thanks. We would not have been able to make it this far without your support!
While the Nambu project is being finalized, our shop once again began producing our Mosin Nagant PSO scope mount adapters, which were redesigned to be machined from a single piece of billet 6061 aircraft grade aluminum rather than steel from previous designs. This product continues to be one of our most popular, and is one that we plan to adapt to several other firearms, including the SKS and our Nambu PCC!
The Team
Charles
I'm the "Gearhead Gunsmith" behind our operations. A majority of my experience is hands on, having never officially gone to school for manufacturing or gunsmithing, I was forced to figure it out as I went along out of necessity for the business to continue to grow. Thankfully, I had several excellent mentors and role models along the way to teach me the right way to get the job done.
Aside from firearms, I'm a total motorhead. Most of my vehicles are modified classics - anything with wheels and an engine, I want to open it up and figure out how it works.
In addition, I'm a licensed private pilot with over 130 hours in a Cessna 172. I eventually plan to become an independent certified flight instructor, and dedicate time every month to give others the opportunity to learn about the wonders of flight.
The Boys - Kyle and Francisco
Behind every mastermind, there needs to be a strong and competent #2, a right hand man that you can always rely on when there's a job that needs doing, and everything falls apart without them. For me, those #2's are my boys Kyle and Francisco.
Whenever I go to buy a "new", ridiculously heavy / bulky machine that my 120lb frame can't handle, I can call on The Boys and the three of us get the job done in no time.
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