In the pictures left to right are me , Mr. E.C. McDonald , and my dad Gerald Cantrell

 All of us can think back to those people who have had a profound effect on our lives for me two people jump to mind first my Dad Gerald Cantrell and second my close and dear friend Mr. E.C. McDonald.

When I was very young my Dad was the Chief of Police and Chief Deputy in the town and county in which I grew up so needless to say time with him was very precious.  Much of this time was spent at his feet watching him take apart and fix guns.  While he was doing this he would explain to me what he was doing not that I always understood but he did it anyway.  It was also during my very early years that he gave me my first gun a 1911 Colt .45 that I carried proudly in my diaper. Along with the 1911 came a never ending lesson on safety and proper gun handling ( this included field stripping and cleaning but that was a little later)  With this foundation I was set for a lifetime of gun handling.  I started working on guns when I was in grade school and yes some of those early attempts were bad but daddy keep showing me the way till by the time I started high school I could work on about anything. During the high school and college years I got a job working with a gunsmith and further learning the trade but it was daddy behind the scenes always encouraging me in his very own way.  After high school and college I did a little yondering usually working with guns in some way. Until I came up on a job as General Manager of a gun shop where I spent the next 10 years with Daddy standing behind me all the time.  I don't know how many times I picked up the phone to get  some advice when working on something I had never worked on before and he was always there never failing me.

It was during my time managing the gun shop that I began to hear about E.C. Mc Donald and man the stories I heard.  It was not long until I met the man behind the stories and it was an instant friendship that has just become deeper and richer as the years have gone by. It was E.C. this living legend who was the inventor of the 375 SuperMag , was recruited by Remington for there R&D department ( although he did not take the job) , shot on the U.S. Army pistol team , shot the Wimbledon 1000 yard match with one of the many rifles he has built, and who because of exceptional skill in the use of the rifle and stealth was made a sniper in the South Pacific during World War 2.  This man took me under his wing and took a pretty fair gunsmith and showed him the way of the master. 

It is  because of these two men that DGC Custom Gunsmithing exist today.  So it is to their exacting standards to which I hold myself and everyone here.  Thank you guys for never failing me and by the same token ensuring the very best in custom gunsmithing to everyone who chooses DGC Custom Gunsmithing.

Thanks again Daddy and Mac love ya both.

Tom Cantrell

August 28 , 2007