The Sporting Craftsmen Author: Art Carter
Classic & Precision Rifles
An example of an elegantly styled Sharon Farmer-Dressel rifle.
Paul Dressel, Jr. and Sharon Farmer-Dressel are custom riflemakers in Yakima, Washington. They build bolt-action and single-shot rifles and stock shotguns as well. Paul, who is self-taught, and Sharon, who went to gunsmithing school, are a unique team in that as husband and wife they both build guns on their own and also work together on some projects. They are busy folks. Paul still runs his family's roofing business, and he and Sharon also import high-grade Turkish walnut and sell grip caps of their own design to the trade. "I wouldn't know what to do if I only had to work forty hours a week," he says. "I work that much a lot of times in three days."
He has been in the gunmaking business for thirty-five years and Sharon has been full time since 1982. They prefer to work on full custom projects. As Paul puts it, he is looking for interesting guns to work on. "I'm as independent as a hog on ice. I just want my next gun to be better than the last."
Paul Dressel, Jr.'s custom rifles are a study in simple beauty and function.
Paul Dressel's Ruger No. 1 with a gracefully sculptured cheekpiece.
The essence of a Sharon Farmer-Dressel custom rifle is
beautifully executed checkering.