David Trevallion was born in London in 1938, three hundred yards from James Purdey & Sons. He fired a gun for the first time at the age of nine, on a farm in Gloucestershire. At fifteen, he was apprenticed at the Purdey factory, where he worked under veteran stockmaker William O'Brien. Six years later, having completed his apprenticeship, David became a full-fledged stockmaker at Purdey's. In June 1963, he submitted his master piece to the Court of Assistants of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers and was admitted to the Freedom of the Company. David remained at Purdey's until 1964, when he emigrated to the United States. He soon founded Trevallion Gunstocks in Eau Gallie, Florida, subsequently moving the business to Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cape Neddick, Maine, where it has been located since 1986. Michael McIntosh has written an impressive number of books on fine firearms, natural history, and wildlife art.

Having served as gun-review editor at Shooting Sportsman from 1988 to 1996, he is now the magazine's shooting editor and coeditor of the "Technicana" column. An internationally recognized shooting instructor, wingshot, and firearms expert, Michael also contributes regularly to Sporting Classics, Gun Dog, Wildlife Art, and The Double Gun Journal. He lives in South Dakota.