King Of The Rimfires

American Handgunner, March, 2000 by Barrett Tillman

Beware the pistolsmith who works only on one gun. Pistolsmith Lou Lombardi works exclusively on upgrading .22 target pistols. He does it very, very well.

Lou Lombardi builds .22 caliber competition pistols that are out of this world. For proof, just pick up one of the parts he machined for the Lunar Excursion Module that went to the moon with NASA's Project Apollo.

A native New Yorker, Lou sought a gun-friendlier environment and transplanted his family to Phoenix in 1992. He established Falcon Machining, specializing in small-bore pistols plus the occasional rifle, and has been busy ever since. In fact, he tells prospective clients that he's backlogged 26 weeks and doesn't blame them if they want to take their business elsewhere.

Lou builds pistols for bullseye events, the Chevy Truck Challenge, and has been well represented at the Masters. Among his most successful clients are Doug Koenig and perennial Camp Perry womens' champion Ruby Fox. Koenig used Falcon Machining barrels and shrouds for the Precision Event in at least three Masters' victories, and Fox has used a Lombardi-modified S&W 41 to establish some awesome records.

"At the '97 Arizona State Championship, Ruby shot an 891-43X," Lou explains, adding, "That's only nine points down." He seems at least as happy with his clients' success as with his own.

Paid His Dues

Lombardi certainly paid his dues before reaching the pinnacle of his profession. He began as an apprentice tool and die maker on Long Island, working under "an old German guy who said, 'Do it right, do it once; do it once, do it right."' Lou laughs at the recollection, shaking his head in affectionate memory of his mentor, the late George Daur.

"The first day on the job I spent with a file and a broom," Lou recalls, adding that he benefited by learning the business from the floor up. After 18 months as an apprentice, Lou was ready to start producing.

Daur's shop made intricate metal products as diverse as watch cases and tools for producing IUDs, which Lou reckons are about as far removed from LEMs as possible! From that point he worked two years in the aerospace business, as nearby Grumman was a major contractor for NASA as well as the Navy.

Always interested in firearms, Lou served in the Navy Reserve from 1954 to 1962 and shot with small bore indoor leagues against other New York aircraft companies. In 1964 he began tweaking 1911s, which offered an additional source of customers for bullseye and other events. Additionally, he ran his own swimming pool business as a way of keeping guns and ammo coming across the counter.

Smallbore Needs

Upon moving to Arizona, Lou had already determined that a gap existed in the firearms market. Though some gunsmiths like Jim Clark made .22 pistols at the time, Lou perceived that very few were concentrating on the smallbore discipline and resolved to meet the need.

He began by producing aluminum barrels and front ends, and his brochure grew from there. From his own competition experience he knew what was needed, and sought to produce accurate, reliable, affordable guns for novices as well as experts.

In addressing the accuracy part of the equation, he says with a smile, "A scratch 10 with a .45 is a clear nine with a .22!" However, he was willing to buck the conventional wisdom.

"Shooters used to think they needed a long barrel for recoil control and accuracy," Lou explains, "But I thought that a good barrel is a good barrel."

He set about proving his theory by building interchangeable barrels for High Standards and other guns, paying little attention to such niceties as twist. Lou insists there's not much difference between a 1:14 or 1:16 twist; choice of ammunition is more important.

High Standard Specialist

Though the original High Standard company of Connecticut no longer exists, many target shooters still compete with the classic pistols, and Falcon Machining meets the need for new barrels. Lou offers two types of target barrels, produced from original HS process operation sheets.

One type is a round chrome moly steel liner that is button rifled to produce an ultra-smooth bore with uniform rifling. Aluminum barrels compensate for the added weight of scopes and mounts, which helps to reduce shooter fatigue. Fine-grain bead blasting produces a smooth satin appearance.

Falcon's steel barrels are made from Shilen chrome moly blanks, button rifled and hand lapped, then finished in satin blue or polished blue. The front sight dovetail is cut to accept an original HS blade.

Both types of barrels are available in .22 Short or .22 LR, with either screw or plunger style takedown.

Another popular smallbore pistol is Smith & Wesson's Model 41, which Lou frequently chops from a 7" barrel to 5 1/2". The top of the barrel is milled off, and the top radius is remilled. The barrel is recrowned, reblued, and the customer's preferred scope is added.

Total weight of the barrel and scope mount is 4 1/4 ozs. less than the original barrel, resulting in improved balance and less fatigue, as per the High Standard modifications.