doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Jules La Bantchni

There seems to be enough interest in Jules La Bantchni that I thought it was time to start a thread.

A lot I still don't know about the man. depending on what record you want to believe he was either born in Missouri or Illinois in 1909. Both his parents were Austrian/German. Sometime before 1930 he changed both his first and last name. Why he did this I have no idea and I will continue to use the name that he chose because he did all his gun work under that name.

In 1930 he was living in Chicago and working as an interior designer he then moved to California and went to work at the movie studios working on design sets.

He made his first custom gun circa 1932 and in 1933 he opened his first retail gun shop at the corner of Olympic and 17th street at 1708 17th Street Santa Monica, CA. which he called "Olympic Custom Made Guns�.

By 1960 he is now located at 2202 Pico Blvd in Santa Monica, CA as �Jules�s Guns�. This was another retail gun shop where he also did custom work.

BY the very late 1960s or early 70s he sold his retail gun shop and built his shop on to his house and worked out of there. At some time he did work for Continental Guns,I don't know if he worked at their address or continue doing the work at his home shop.

Research material I have in my files are,

Jules La Bantchni: Profile of a Custom Gunsmith 1972 Guns & Ammo.

Rifles- A Modern Encyclopedia a few pictures and one paragraph by Jules.

"Customs of the Past' by Steve Nelson Gunmaker No. 9 1998.

"Introducing Jules La Bantchni A Big Shot in the Hunters World" By C.A. Mortenson Santa Monica, Calif. Format 1 newspaper article.Source Evening Outlook. 09/22/1952.

I have talked with his Stepson on the phone at length. I've tried to locate his two daughters without luck. I would like to talk with any family members before I ever discuss his real name.

I have about a dozen rifles in my files and would welcome information on any new ones you happen to run across. I've heard many times that his work was featured in Gun Digest if anyone can tell me what issue I would be grateful.

He may have changed his original Teutonic name to avoid the very prevalent and public anti-German feelings in the US after WW1. Just a thought....
Regards, Joe

Michael, is there a Robert Petersen connection here somewhere? From the timing of our friend Ken Georgi's purchase, I am thinking he may have bought the rifle at Littlejohn's and it may have been a Petersen gun. The article in the Guns and Ammo Annual may be a clue since Petersen owned the magazine and patronized high end gunsmiths. Also, Petersen's publications wrote of August Pachmayr's early efforts in one G&A article I recall. Three of the old man's guns were pictured on the cover.

Any reference to his working in the Pachmayr shop?

I'm not sure about Peterson but it's certainly possible, being on the West Coast he spotlighted many of the makers from that area.


I have to do the same thing with Jules La Bantchni that I have done with August Pachmayr and that is sort out all the fact from fiction. Over the years many things get repeated and re-repeated until they are now considered fact. There must be over a dozen articles on August Pachmayr they give the town he was born in. However my research shows a different town completely. it's these little things that drive me to distraction.

The jury is still out on this, Pachmayr(frank) outsourced a lot of his work.

At this point I'm still open to anything, one thing that I did learned is that he never ever talked about his family. Many of the things I can think might have happened are probably much worse than what actually was a reason for the name change.

Respectfully, I submit the claim that a rifle photographed at one oblique angle in an 80+ year old grainy photo,being the same one purchased at auction [without any supporting provenance whatsoever]is a lot more tenous, than my statement that I observed JLB working at Pachmayr's. Especially after being supported additionally by the FACT numerous guns in the past have been listed and marked as Frank Pachmayr shop's guns done by Jules La Bantchni. As I clearly stated in a prior entry, I observed him working "in" said shop. Members of course are free to choose what they want to believe,the great thing about that is; like opinions...that goes both ways! FWIW Jerry

Jerry,

I value first person accounts very highly of gunmakers I have an interest in. That does not mean I'm not going to try to verify everything.

Can you tell me specifically what year you observed JL working at Pachmayrs?

Dec.1969 when I met him [JLB] and the crew at Pachmayr's and Sept. 1971 when I resumed my visits while I was at Letterman Army Medical Center undergoing rehab. I would go down to L.A. on the bus when I got weekend leave [most weekends}.HTH Jerry