The concept for a Guild was conceived in the minds of Steve Billeb and John Maxson who surveyed and found interest and support among the nationally known artists queried. The purpose was to create a viable association of craftspeople actively engaged in custom gunmaking (stockmaking, metalsmithing and related areas) for the exchange of ideas, views, techniques, to increase public awareness and appreciation for fine quality custom firearms and to generally advance custom gunmaking as an accepted art form.

The Guild strives to promote standards of excellence. Regular Membership by craftspeople is only after submitting work for inspection and acceptance at the annual meeting by current members present. High ethical standards are mandatory and an ethics committee was mandated by the bylaws for the sole purpose of resolving disputes. Offenders are subject to dismissal.

While the American Custom Gunmakers Guild is fortunate to have many of the world's finest craftspeople as Regular Members, the broad diversity of our general membership dictates that we make no endorsement of any member's level of expertise beyond that required for initial acceptance to the Guild.

The affairs and policy decisions of the association are conducted by the board of seven directors. For execution of decisions by the board, there are four officers consisting of president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. An executive director administers the details of the association.

The membership welcomes your interest. You are invited to join as an Associate and enjoy the fellowship of others who appreciate firearms crafted from exquisite wood and fine metal with design and attention to every detail.