Thanks, John Boy.  I’ve consciously avoided Facebook for several reasons, but that was worth making an exception to my own rule. There is a paperback book somewhere in my stuff, a collection of Lucian Cary’s writings.  He too was an interesting guy and did some shooting a lot of us would enjoy.   

IIRC, he built what was supposed to be a combination outdoor office (for his writing) and shooting shack.  He admitted that his writing often got short shrift.  He described having Pope build both a centerfire and a 22 LR rifle for him, both on Ballard actions, and arousing the ire of other customers who apparently had their jobs pushed back when Pope built them.

Froggie

Longevity, and self promotion has a lot to do with it, and not meant to take anything away from the man. Both are a good thing! There is a very good article in the 1971 Gun Digest by John Dutcher regarding the barrel maker George Schoyen, and his successor Axel Peterson and his son. There are also a number of good articles about Axel Peterson in the American Rifleman.

That really was a wonderful read, John Boy. Thank you for posting the link. 
I have long wondered what it was about Pope's barrels that made them so accurate.

Pope and Carey were very good friends. Carey helped Pope allot in his daily life. With food and other necessities and if Carey was favored it was deservingly so. Carey also bought Pope a drill press and one Pope could not afford. True friends do take care of each other in life and it was Pope who wanted to make the rifles for Carey and not the other way around. When and why he did it was simply all up to Pope and not the business of anyone else. Including those who were still waiting in line to have their own done.

I doubt Pope just made barrels for Carey without Carey wanting them. Carey indeed requested those barrels, and as a close friend often does, Pope moved Carey's work to the head of the line.
Pope was pretty much a recluse, and was untrusting of most people he didn't know, thinking their attempts to befriend him had ulterior motives. He was justified in some of this by having helped others learn and then they became competitors. Pope saw this as stealing business from him, and those people became enemies. 
And for those who wanted to just be friends with Pope, he saw these "fan friends" as just an incumbrance to his time, and didn't want the distractions to his busy schedule. In the case of true friends, Pope was happy to see them, and take time for them. But it seemed his general grumpy attitude limited the number of friends he held closely.
Carey was indeed a true friend, and Pope appreciated all he did monetarily, and in his writings to promote Pope, and his work. Anyone who ever even slightly said anything less than glowing about Pope's barrels would likely never get another Pope barrel made for them! This has been well documented when CW Rowland mentioned liking his Schoyen barreled rifles better than his record setting Pope Ballard. Pope never made him another barrel, and refused to even answer letters written to him from Rowland.

Top of barrel one line "GEO. C. SCHOYEN DENVER. COLO." 

Regarded by many as one of the finest gunsmiths of his era, George Shoyen came to the United States from Norway in the late 1860s.  Initially settling in Chicago, he was forced west due to the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  Settling in Denver, Colorado, he soon found employment at the Carlos Goves' Denver Armory, which was sold to Schoyen and his business partner D.W. Butt in 1884.  The firm soon gained a deserving reputation for producing a product that was not only highly accurate, but aesthetically pleasing.  Requests for Schoyen's work came from across the world, and included such personalities as William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and Anne Oakley.  Even into the 21st Century, Schoyen's works continue to hold their value as highly desirable pieces.

John, You have said more than enough on this subject. Thread is closed as far as I am concerned.
Chuck