For years I have combed the internet looking for a Bruce Gray gun. Two years ago I found this 10mm for sale. The seller was a cop named Jimmy and he said he was Bruce’s friend. I called Bruce and Bruce said “oh yeah Jimmy is a great guy. He helped me move when I left California.” The gun had a bald front strap so I asked Bruce if he would do the honor. He respectfully told me that he was under water with his current responsibilities and I completely understood. I considered asking his friend Ted Yost to checker it, but after thinking about it, I decided this is a Bruce Gray masterpiece…not a gun by committee. I don’t leave front straps bald,so I bought some Pachmayr wraparound grips. I thought, if it’s gonna give Combat Special vibes, why not go all the way. I chromed the lower, blued the plum colored upper, and dropped in the best trigger ever made. Long before Bruce Gray became synonymous with Grayguns, he came of age during one of the greatest periods in American pistolsmithing. He worked at Devel with industry legend Charles Kelsey, he worked at Behlert Precision, and then there was his association with Jim Boland, perhaps one of the most imaginative pistolsmiths who ever picked up a file and welding torch. I will finish this post with a direct quote from Mr. Yost on Bruce. “I love the guy. People overuse the word GOAT to a point where it really doesn’t mean much anymore. Bruce is our GOAT, no asterisks, no explanation, and no excuses. His expertise exceeds those he worked with, and for, to such a degree as to render them footnotes in his story. When you consider that most of our industry’s “heroes” have two, sometimes three decades of working experience, ponder that Bruce’s career spans six decades…and the guy still goes in every day and makes the best products you can buy. He’s respected by everyone in the industry who matters, and he is admired for his character, wisdom, humility, grace, and of course, his talent. He’s loved by his employees and customers. Bruce is what I often refer to as a rich man.”
