Bowen Classic Arms corporation, located in the rolling countryside of East Tennessee in the shadow of the Great Smokey Mountains, is one of America’s pre-eminent custom handgun making firms. Founded by Hamilton S. Bowen, the company is recognized the world over for the exceptional style and execution of its revolver work. After completing undergraduate studies in History and English, Hamilton studied gunmaking at Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado. Fascinated by fine firearms of all sorts, he was drawn particularly to revolvers and returned to Tennessee to concentrate his energies upon them. Shortly thereafter in 1980 he commenced formal operations as Bowen Classic Arms. Or at least entered his apprenticeship to himself. At the time, gunsmithing school curricula were heavily focused on riflemaking so Hamilton devoted several more years to study and experimentation, developing the designs, procedures, parts and tooling for the sophisticated revolvermaking that constitute the core offerings of the firm to this day. The cylinders, in particular, ranging from the simple factory replacement style components for Ruger 6-shot and Colt SA revolvers to the 5-shot linebored Ruger and the more complex 5-shot Redhawk double-action parts, are often at the heart of a great custom revolver. Building on these basic elements, Bowen Classic Arms has pioneered the field of fine custom revolvers. The focus is on guns in the classic style but with a contemporary twist, combining modern materials and engineering with traditional elegance. There is no mistaking the influence of tradition arms and gunmaking on the firm’s work. Many of the shop’s best efforts revisit pre-war Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers, borrowing heavily from the elegant sights, barrel contours and finishes that distinguished these great guns. Nineteenth century riflemaking also offered up many touches such as damascus steel barrels and fittings and the lovely ovate ribbed barrels peculiar to single-shot rifles from the British Isles. Back when working on revolvers was not cool, virtually none of the basic accessory and remedial parts so essential to efficient, quality work existed. It was every man for himself. Consequently, Bowen Classic Arms undertook the design and production of numerous dedicated revolver parts initially for in-house consumption and, once demand was evident, for consumers, as well. In addition to several semi-custom cylinders available to the trade, the firm offers not only some basic tuning parts such as endfloat bushings and oversize base pins but also steel ejector housings and a wide variety of front sights. Perhaps the most important and popular part is the Ruger pattern target-quality adjustable rear sight, the finest available for these modern revolvers. Over the last twenty years, Bowen Classic Arms has grown from its humble basement beginnings into a well-equipped shop with one part-time and three full-time employees. Two are graduates of gunsmithing schools and each has been trained in-house and generally practices a particular specialty, whether machine work, fitting, finishing or testing. Specialization affords the chance to perfect each task to a higher degree than any one man could do because specialization affords greater experience. Consequently, every completed job is executed to the highest standards. By the same token, the crew is still small enough that every client can receive the personal attention that results in right gun for the job at hand. In any case, the shop uses the best material and tools available and subscribes heavily to old fashioned hand fitting and finishing. The shop facility itself is one of the best equipped in the country. While some of the parts are produced on CNC machinery by outside vendors, virtually all of the serious machinework is done in-house on conventional machines including horizontal and vertical mills, engine lathes, surface and cylindrical grinders, precision jig boring machines, welder, heat-treat furnace and honing machine. Future acquisitions will include a pantographic duplicator/profiling machinery and, perhaps, a forge and air hammer. Ancillary gear consists of a variety of belt and bench grinders, bead blast cabinet, bluing set-up and an enormous selection of tooling, fixtures and chambering reamers. Only barrel reboring, specialized finishing (color hardening and plating, etc.) and specialty machine work (EDM, tool grinding) are sent out which minimizes downtime and delays in delivery. Bowen Classic Arms is also proud to subscribe to the goods and services of some of the finest suppliers in the field. Our reboring is exclusively by Labounty Precision Reboring. Most of our chambering reamers are produced by Dave Manson of Loon Lake Precision. Barrel stock comes from Douglas, Kreiger and PAC-NOR and others of similar quality. We use not only our own but also Belt Mountain Base pins. The rare scope mounts come from Weigand Combat or SSK Industries. We have used (Ron) Power Custom parts and tools almost since the first day the doors were opened and the lights came on in the shop. Most of our custom grips are by Roy Fishpaw, Paul Persinger or Dan Pursley. The list could go on and on. Each job that we deliver is accompanied by a owner/source information for cast bullets, ammo, leatherwork and other related products and services so that the owner of a Bowen revolver can enjoy it to the fullest. Hamilton Bowen is active in the affairs of the custom gunmaking industry. He is a member of the American Pistolsmiths guild (a past president and current board member) and the American Custom Gunmakers Guild. Not only a National Rifle Association member, he is a regular guest instructor with the NRA Summer Schools program, lecturing at Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado and Montgomery State Junior College in Troy, North Carolina. Not content to rest on its laurels, Bowen Classic Arms continues to expand and refine its revolver artistry. The Gallery section of the website feature a sampling of some of the more recent projects. Closet riflemakers for years, the company also builds heavy express rifles based on the Ruger No.1 and M77 actions and is directing some of its creative energy into both contemporary high-tech hunting rifles and classic sporting arms guided by the same philosophy for which the firm's revolvers are justly acclaimed. The best is yet to come. . .