It has been with reluctance that Jesse James has been welcomed into the firearms community. His custom line of guns with the appropriate abbreviation JJFU, or Jesse James Firearms Unlimited, have been criticized for being overpriced and for not living up to spec. But are these allegations true?
I contacted Jesse recently to see if I could stop be his place in Austin, Texas to find out.
Jesse left California for the more gun-friendly pastures of Texas where he’s been manufacturing guns for the last two years. He does all of his work in his own personal forge a few feet from this house.
There’s no denying that he is a master craftsman who has spent the better part of his adult life building beautiful things.
But can he make guns?
Well, the answer is yes, but not in the typical sense of the word. Jesse likes to hand-make his firearms starting from scratch. And when I say scratch, I mean the beginning.
He blends multiple layers of different metals in Damascus style, which he then machines into finely tuned weapons that are pieces of art and ooze style.
So, in answer to the first criticism that his guns are overpriced, I disagree. When you consider how much work and skill go into them, you can understand why a 1911 like this can cost more than a car and why people such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among some of his loyal customers.
In regard to his firearms not living up to spec, well, the guns we shot worked flawlessly and Jesse’s customers seem to be very happy. And when you consider that most of business is word of mouth and he is on backorder for the next eight months, this says a lot about quality right there.
Before leaving, he mentioned to me that he has some interest from Law Enforcement. If this is true, I would love to film it so that there is no unfounded criticism in the future.
In my opinion, I think that the firearms community should be thrilled to add a craftsman and entrepreneur as skilled as Jesse James to the fold. I look forward to seeing what he has in store in the coming years.
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