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I only knew Butch by his first time.  He was a regular dealer here at the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show. He looked 65 when I met him in 1995. He looked 65 in June of this year. He was in hospice for the August show, and the cancer reached his brain and killed him in September.

Butch sold gun parts, and knew every part of every gun ever made. You'd hold up a gun.  "I need this."

He'd say, "Middle screw for the sideplate of a Smith Model 57." Turn around, open an old wooden drawer on his rack, and pull one out.  

You'd hold up a piece you found and ask, "What is this?"

"That's the fore end latch spring for a Stevens Model 94. From the bend, I'm guessing it was 20 gauge."

There's at least a dozen guns here that work because he had parts I needed, and a half dozen shotguns I put together from stripped receivers and parts from his tables.

RIP, Butch. You can never be replaced.

His daughter has taken over the business. I hope she's as successful as he was.