Meet Our Founder, David Meehan

David Meehan, affectionately known as Dave, is the founder of Master of Arms Smithing. Growing up in Northern Nevada, surrounded by artisans and craftsmen, Dave's journey began with tools in hand and a fierce determination to master all things metallic, wooden, synthetic, and organic. His childhood was filled with the hum of machinery, the clinking of metal, and the scent of freshly cut wood. His father was a general contractor, his uncle a custom hot-rod mechanic, his neighbor a saddle maker and silversmith, and his father's close friend a jeweler. On his third birthday, he extinguished the candles on his cake with a toy hammer—a perfect metaphor for the hands-on life that awaited him.

Dave's natural aptitude for craftsmanship, combined with invaluable mentorship, convinced him that his life had a significant purpose. Upon graduating high school, he eagerly joined the United States Marine Corps in 1999, with dreams of becoming a combat engineer. Fate, however, had another plan, and he found himself on a path as a small arms repair technician, known as an "Armorer." This unexpected twist ignited his passion for weapons, starting a remarkable journey into the world of arms. Throughout his experiences, Dave has seen and used a multitude of firearms and systems from around the globe, sometimes in intense real-world situations. This exposure granted him unique insights into the effectiveness and brilliance of their designs, as well as their shortcomings.