I was shocked to read on the Parker site that Steve Barnett passed away last night. I knew he was ill, but didn't realize the gravity of his illness! I knew Steve for over 20 years and had many fine dealings with him and spent a lot of time with him at all the many Vintage events, Safari Clubs in Vegas and Dallas and other events around the country. He was a gentleman and a fine human being. The gun world will never be quite the same. You'll be missed Steve and my condolences to your family. I'm sorry we never were able to take that trip to Argentina!

Godspeed, Mr. Barnett. You had a fine store full of beautiful guns, and while I never did business with you, I enjoyed being the kid in the candy store, many times.

Best,
Ted

sad news...

I am so saddened to hear that Steve has passed. I always looked forward to spending some time with him at shoots and exhibitions. I assume it was his heart?

My condolences to his family and associates.

SRH

I corresponded with him a few time on Reilly's he was selling. He was always accommodating and the guns he offered in the South were high quality. RIP.

I’m told it was lung, liver and bone cancer.

Steve was a good friend of mine for the last 30 years or so. He was a fine man with volumes of knowledge and a glowing personality. I’ll miss our conversations and just knowing he was only a phone call away. Rest easy my friend. I’ll see you on the other side.

Thanks, Bill. Bad way to go. Gonna miss Steve.

SRH

That is terrible news. Tom Bryant; thank you for such kinds thoughts about Steve.

I talked to him this week , gave him a report on how well his and her family members did in showing a large selection of his wares at a private function in western Georgia last weekend. He thanked me for my help ( it was limited) and said he was looking forward to the Safari show season.....Good guy, I shared a LOT of laughs with him....did a good bit of business as well. His will be a hard niche to fill in the fine gun world....

There are a few of us who knew of his diagnosis several months back but didn’t mention it here out of respect for him, his family, and his business.

Steve was a true friend of mine, he always made me welcome at his shop, which I visited many, many times over the past 15 + years. It was sensory overload. His place allowed me to see and handle stuff I would otherwise never have gotten remotely near. I feel highly fortunate to have shared a drink and victuals with him more than once. A wealth of knowledge and experience gone.

Rest easy in the bosom of God, my friend...
JR

I agree, Steve was a great man who was always a friend.

Sad news. Prayers to his family.
It's a big loss to the double gun community. Some of my most memorable gun deals were with Steve. He has big shoes to fill.

Sorry to hear.

A loss to the gun world...I was lucky enough to visit his shop a few times.

I didn't actually know Steve, but saw him and admired his tables at the Vegas show for many years. I did have a memorable deal with him maybe 25 years ago. I had my heart set on a Holland Dominion, and he listed a nice one. I called to ask some details about it, and after a few minutes he said something to the effect that I seemed to know what I was doing and that he'd be happy to ship the gun to me on approval. He didn't know me at all. The gun came, and I sent him a check. My son still has the Holland today.

Very sorry to hear of Steve's passing. Bought a few guns from him and each purchase was seamless. A good guy to do business with and a pleasure to talk to regarding guns in general. Prayers sent for the family.
Dave

So sorry to learn of his passing.
Does anyone know if his gun business will continue? A friend was interested in one of his doubles.

My understanding his son will try to run it

John Boyd

A good guy to deal with and a fine person. We are all diminished by his passing. May he rest in peace. Gil

Bad news Steve was a good man. He will be missed.

I bought and sold a number of guns through Steve and enjoyed talking with him at shows. He was always a pleasure to deal with, a nice guy who will be badly missed.

Talked to him more then a few times at the NE SXS event. Had some excellent guns for sure. He will be missed in the vintage gun world.

I would always stop at his table in Tulsa and visit a few minutes. Suckered one time for a fine Sauer. Super man! Too few of his type around......we have lost a fine man.

I had the occasion to talk with him on the phone and found him always pleasant and informative. The double gun world has truly lost a great man. My prayers for him and his family. I do hope his son will continue his legacy.
Karl

I wish August, Steve's stepson who has been on the scene for a few months, and Jo Ann, Steve's wife, the very best of luck going forward. Tough duty for sure.

But I don't see how that will be anywhere near a possibility. Steve's knowledge and acquisition skills were not replaceable or transferable. It's too easy to make a $20,000 mistake on a Purdey. Steve Barnett had learned over 30 some-odd years how to avoid that. Effort is no substitute. Again, I wish them the very best.
JR

Agreed, John. His breadth of knowledge was amazing, especially his mental Rolodex of just the right people to call for just the right guns. What many don’t know is that many of Steve’s guns never made it online, being sold with just a few phone calls or emails.

For sure, Tom, more than anyone really knows. I handled many rare pieces that, when I asked Steve how it would be priced, he would reply, "it's already sold".

Those of us who were close to Steve knew he had a buyer that really blew his business wide open several years ago. Steve's exact words about this person were, "he told me he wanted to acquire the finest gun collection there is, and I intend to see to it he gets it", lol.
JR

I only met Steve once, the only time I went to Tulsa. His inventory was only a fraction then of what it is now. Had a nice chat about a 16ga Beretta sxs that had him in a bit of a quandary.

Easy enough, for sure, to go to his website and be very impressed. Have a cup handy to catch the drool.

Bought from and sold to Steve. Always fair with me buying or selling. Rest in Peace.

I spoke with Steve on numerous occasions at the Vintagers, Las Vegas, and Southern Side by Side. He was always friendly and outgoing. There were many times I would have struck up a conversation with him but didn't, because he stayed so busy.

I had two transactions with him; both of which illustrate good integrity. The first was for the purchase of a Westley Richards Mod. 1897 single shot rifle. It was a .400/360 NE. On the phone he cautioned that the bore was quite worn. He offered to send it to me for an extended trial, including firing the rifle. True to what he said, the rifle would only shoot keyholes. It went back with no reservation or hassle whatsoever.

The second was for the purchase of a stellar PD Farquharson in .450/400 3-1/4" NE. That rifle needed no excuses, and it still resides in my gun safe today.



R.I.P.

Curl

Back in 2006 or 2007 Steve had a nice little 20g Purdey for sale. At the time I thought I needed it. I offered him 18 nice doubles for trade. I gave him a brief description of each. He said them down. I boxed them up and sent them threw UPS. He sent me the Purdey. A super smooth deal. There had to be trust both ways. He sold the same gun for me a year or two ago. He was always fair and tried to his best for his customers.

Someday you have to tell us how you went from thinking you needed that gun, to selling it.
In any case, it was good you had Steve to move the inventory.

Best,
Ted

What stunning news, Steve was such a fixture in the gun trade. He was a real wheeler and dealer. The price he listed for items was almost never the "real" price. Once, I offered him 1/2 the list price of a 28ga SxS, which was more than the item was worth. He talked me into splitting the difference and feeling good about the transaction even though I knew I had been taken to the proverbial cleaners. What a great fellow who will be sorely missed. Prayers for his family.

This is so sad. He was very helpful and was a very selfless guy to speak and deal with. This year really sucks

I dealt with Steve a couple of times. A true gentleman. Was easy to deal with and very fair in our dealings. He will be missed.

R.I.P.

Greg

Dealt with him a number of times.Live close enough to the shop to go there for the trades.It
was an amazing shop and Steve as nice of a gentleman as could be.He even let our Boykin ,Sassy, come in.He made a friend for life with her.Steve will be missed;he will not be replaced.

No one ever insulted me with more wit and grace than Steve Barnett. One of a kind. Somewhere he is on a golf course, betting, and making money at both ends. Rest in peace

I`m shocked by this news. Few Russians visited the Barnett`s store, but his site was known to many. Rest in peace, Steve. Condolences from Russia

Here's my story about Steve Barnett. Years ago I was at the Louisville gun show and I was looking at the model 21s at his table, as he had several of them. I bought one of them from him for $3,200. I walked down to the end of the that aisle with it over my shoulder and somebody behind me asked how much I would take for it. Just to be a wise guy , I said $4,000 and turned around and started to walk on down the aisle. The guy said, well, can I take a look at it? I thought- you got to be kidding me. Surely I'm not going to sell this gun am I?

But sure enough he pulled out 40 $100 bills and I ended up selling it. And I was madder than h--- at myself even though I made a dollar or two in about 10 minutes. I really wanted that gun.

So I walked back over to Steve's table again and found another nice Model 21 - TRAP grade and bought it for $3,200. When I got home I contacted the Cody Museum to get the paperwork on it. They had the registration and the factory worksheet on the gun and they said that the final inspection was on September 11, 1947 and that it was probably shipped on the 12th which just so happened to be the day that I was born. So that's the one gun I've always kept. We both came into the world on the same day. What are the chances?

But I am really sorry to hear about Steve and his passing. I bought a few guns off of him over the years. And he always seemed like a nice guy. So rest in peace, Steve. And thanks for the pleasure you always gave me.

Had a number of dealings with Steve and many more conversations and meetings at Gun shows. He could get Cody info quickly and helped me out a number of times.
R.I.P

Steve was awesome. I've bought two guns off of him over the years and he was one of the few honest gun dealers I have dealt with. I never had to worry that the gun I was buying was misrepresented.

So were the late: Don Criswell, Bill Jaqua and Thad Scott-RWTF