These pages are dedicated to Pachmayr - the man (Frank Pachmayr), the company and the legendary custom guns that were produced there. Paul pays tribute to Frank, clarifies some of the misconceptions regarding the later years of the company and secures the legacy of the Combat Special pistol by continuing to offer his version(s) of that iconic weapon. He continues to offer repair and restoration services on original examples of Pachmayr Combat Special, the Signature Model and Marksman as well as the more obscure handguns such as the Pachamyr Modular Pistol, Pin Gun and compensated models.
Please keep checking back as pages and blog posts are added on the subject.
Combat Special '23
"It’s fair to ask why I have such an affinity for the Pachmayr Combat Special and why in fact, of all people, I had the audacity to adopt it and include a version in my own product portfolio. I didn’t 'design' the pistol, I only worked at the company for a few years before taking on a contractor role with the company. There were number of individuals who came before me with a greater potential claim to that handgun than I do and whom I have much respect for.
The answer is quite simple though. I was asked to do so by Frank Pachmayr himself.
Having been in the throws of selling the company when I got there, and then admitting to me privately some time later that it was the biggest mistake of his business life, Frank asked me to make sure that the Combat Special didn’t fade into obscurity while the company was being taken in a very different direction by the new owners. There were plenty indicators that time was short for pistols in the custom shop under the new regime. In fact one of the new owners quite brazenly stated to me at one point that ‘they’ believed that there are “good guns and bad guns” and that what we did in the pistol division fell under the latter. He's instruction from to remove the FN-FAL from the premises that I was making ready for the SOF three gun match that year was in itself a clear indicator to me of things to come.
I couldn’t be part of that new environment and I stuck my foot in a door that was ajar. I booted up Pistol Dynamics, negotiated a contract to complete the pistol orders remaining in the gun-shop and acquired the relevant tooling and parts to do so. I also inherited the Centimeter cartridge project that Whit Collins had promoted to Pachmayr Gun Works and continued to develop the pistol package for what would ultimately became the 40S&W."
Excerpt from the upcoming book: 1911 Enigma - Paul Liebenberg, A lifetime of Work.
Paul