Throughout the history of the United States, adventurous types have been beckoned by the mountains and vastness of the American West. Big country allows for men to find themselves, fulfilling destinies that were once a dream and even arriving at places formerly unknown to their adventure-seeking minds. Lee Hadaway answered the call of the wild and in doing so has become renowned for crafting fine takedown lever action rifles.
A Georgia native, there’s no mistaking Lee’s southern roots when you hear him speak. Over the phone, his slow southern drawl allows one’s mind to picture him sitting on the pillared porch of one of those big plantation mansions surrounded by ancient oak trees adorned with Spanish moss. Fact is, he resides in Trinidad, Colorado where the twisting trails of life led him to earn the reputation as an exceptional gunsmith.
Hadaway was drawn to the mountains around forty years ago when he camped at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. The southern boy was hooked, and he later sought employment there at the ranch located in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains. One day he noticed an ad in Guns & Ammo Magazine for the gunsmithing school at Trinidad State College. Having an interest in guns and surmising that was his ticket to making a living in the high country, Hadaway applied and later graduated from the famed school.
From there he took a gunsmithing job in Oklahoma doing warranty work for Wal-Mart where he gained working knowledge of a variety of firearms. Other opportunities led him to back to the south where he worked in South Carolina and Alabama. At some point, Hadaway read an article on converting lever action rifles into takedowns. This interested him, so he performed the task on a Marlin lever gun. A dealer heard of Hadaway’s work and commissioned him to build dozens of takedowns in similar fashion.
Hadaway found another trail in his gunsmithing journey which led him to Scattergun Technologies building combat shotguns where he became the head gunsmith. He also started a side gunsmithing business during this time. Hadaway could not resist the call of the mountains and when he was offered a job teaching at Trinidad’s Gunsmithing School, he again followed the sun westward where he most wanted to be.
From teaching, he opened his own business that became known as The Arms Room where, along with a small staff of gunsmiths, he continues to practice his gunsmithing artistry in a variety of ways. I doubt there’s anything he can’t fix or build, but most of Hadaway’s work these days is on custom projects. The Arms Room offers a variety of services for lever action rifles. From basic action and trigger jobs to custom barrels, caliber conversions, and custom finishes, the work offered list is a long one. The thing that caught my attention when I first met Lee and saw his custom lever guns was the assortment of beautiful Maple stocks they wore. He can dress your lever action in showroom-quality wood. They are something to behold. Photos on his website can give you an idea but seeing them in person brings the quality of the figured wood to a whole other level.
While The Arms Room is probably most known for lever guns, they also specialize in Mini 14 and Mini 30 work, 1911’s, shotguns, Hi Powers, ARs, precision rifles, you name it. I’m told Hadaway is also a talented specialist when it comes to double action and single action revolvers as well. That comes as no surprise. On a side note, until recently I didn’t know he is an expert on civil war era swords and firearms. Along with being a gifted storyteller, Lee has tremendous knowledge of those historical relics of our nation’s past.
When he’s not busy turning out top shelf lever actions, custom guns, and antique restorations, Hadaway still takes time to share his knowledge across the country by educating inspired gunsmiths on how to convert lever action rifles to takedowns, rifle and handgun repair, instruction on building tactical shotguns, and blueing and metal finishing.
The Arms Room is a small shop. When Lee Hadaway and his team build you a custom gun, it’s his lifetime of experience and personality that melds the metal, tunes the action, and hand-finishes the stock. You won’t get it next week, but when you do you will own a legacy firearm.
(719) 680-1255
– Shane Jahn