Best gunstock walnut comes from large, old trees, of English or French genetics, felled before they begin to die, lose production of nuts, and rot inside.
They usually are growing in the middle of a field, with thick trunks and spreading branches. Instead of cutting such a tree at the stump, it would be excavated, the limbs removed one by one (maybe by small crane), then pulled over with a chain and bulldozer, in order preserve the crotch at the limbs, and the burl figure at the roots.
A tree like that, bought by Dakota, Beretta or Purdey, would cost $20,000 or more, standing. It would yield $100,000 or more of blanks and pistol grip wood. Today, the cutting would be planned by computer after x-raying the log, and replanned as it was cut into, using saws with as narrow a kerf as possible.
