Got word late yesterday that John Jardine, an old time gunsmith has passed. While not a well known maker by today’s gun forum crowd, he was quite sought after back in the day. I don’t recall when he closed his books for custom work, but it was probably more than a decade ago.
Two things he is most known for is one, the Jardine Valtro. These are 1911’s imported from Italy, then worked over by John. They almost always have “Jardine’s Custom” on the dust cover. And are marked 1998 A1 on the slide
The second thing his guns were known for was durability. As in 800,000 to 1 million rounds of durability. Yes, you read that right. There are rumors some of his guns have come close to, or surpassed 1 million rounds fired, and are still in service.
Impressive.
In closing, the final thing I can say about John Jardine is he represents a time when the center of the American Gun Universe was in…wait for it…California. As hard as that is to believe by our younger readers.
John got he start as a California gunsmith during the late 60’s. All the best shooters either were in California or went to California to compete, train, or make it in movies. Many gun publications were actually based in California. And with all that came home grown, custom gunsmiths to support that market. Many of them legendary.
John Jardine is one of them.
Rest in Peace, John and our condolences to your family. There is no doubt you made a lasting mark on the world.
Sincerely,
Marky
www.John1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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