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In the strict sense of the word "smith" as one who makes something, there are very few gunsmiths today who can make a gun, action, barrel, stock and all. A few might be able to actually make a rifle action, but no one would want to pay for it when Mauser actions are available by the ton. I know of no general gunsmith who can make a barrel; that work is left to specialists
From time to time, someone posts on one of these sites that he is unhappy with a factory product, intends to make his own action from a block of steel and wants to know how. Just the fact that he asks almost certainly means he hasn't the foggiest idea how to go about such a project and is unlikely to complete it.
But in fact it is not a matter of knowledge and skill being lost, but of our own misunderstanding of "how it was" in other times. Almost from the time guns were invented, some workers specialized in barrels, others in locks, others in stocks. (The expression "lock, stock and barrel" comes from firearms; it meant the whole gun.)
At the time the famous Pennsylvania (Kentucky) rifle was being made, most makers bought barrels, locks and rough rolled and cast brass parts from suppliers. The resulting similarity of guns by different makers has led to some interesting discussions among collectors, few of whom recognize that there were common suppliers involved.
Jim
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