Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots My 2017 project...

A clean work bench is like a clean honey jar -- not nearly as useful as it could be.

Like the others, I'm anxious to see more photos as progress continues.

I will send this out to Charlie Grace shortly after the first of the year... I hope. I have promised myself that I will clean up this mess whilst I wait for it to come back. Due to old age and the fact that I was seriously sick all last winter I have a very limited amount of ambition. (Didn't work on this for about six months.) Now I am devoting almost all my energy to working on the gun. Due to this mess I spend half my time looking for things that would be easy to find if I were organized.

This gun is being made for something other than to look at and brag about... Next summer it is going to be used to shoot competitively in the matches we have scheduled at the local club. That means that when I get it back I will have to do load work-up and practice before the matches start. I really need to get it to Charlie soonish if this is to happen. Time to quit screwing off at the computer and get some finish on the stocks.

When I shot it in the pattern stocks I shot groups under 2/10" at 50 yds. and under 4/10" at 100 yds. This with no load work-up at all. This is why I think that, with some tinkering, I can be competitive shooting against contempory rifles... we'll see.

Yesterday I put the first coat of finish on the stocks. Here is the butt stock. I shot it first with flash and got a washed out picture. This is without flash and it's pretty close to the actual color.

This taken after the second coat of McWilliams Alkanet Refinishing Oil.

Awesome! Please keep updating with its progress!

That is REALLY looking good Dick!

I really like the lines on it!

Have you considered color case hardening the receiver?

Beautiful!

Happy New Year Sir!

Todd

No case coloring. I really like the subtle case coloring that Winchester put on the old single shots. Most of today's case coloring is a bit too much for me. Chuck Grace is going to rust blue it for me.

I'm now on my sixth coat of the McWilliams finish. Every one seems to bring out more color and grain. A few more coats and my new safety which is coming next week and it will be on its way to Colorado and Charlie.

I'm getting kinda attached to this gun. Not happy about having it gone for a couple of months.

I'd really like just a little subtle engraving on it. But the only guy that ever did some for me was Jack Haugh who was both good and quick. Alas, Jack is no longer available. The first match I'm going to shoot this in is near the end of April and there's just no time.

Charlie Grace and I go back forty years or so. He was here in October and promised to have it back to me so I can shoot it before the matches. I've shot in competition since I got out of college. This may not be competitive with modern bench guns but, based on my shooting of it so far, it will probably do a lot better than you think.

One side of the butt stock after six hand rubbed coats of McWilliams Alkanet Refinishing Oil. It's starting to get a little lustre.

The other side after six coats.

Dick,

You, sir, are an artist. A very good artist. That is beautiful work and I thank you for sharing this with us.

I can't wait to see your load development results.

Ed

Stunning! Looking forward to seeing it finished!

Dick,

There is an engraver up here in Montana named Brian Gouse. I think he is in the Columbia Falls area, Northwestern Montana...

I can't find his contact info, but he is good, fast and VERY reasonably priced.

With a little Google-Foo I'm sure you could see some of his work and his contact info.

Todd

Another day... another coat of finish. Here is the whole rifle held in my vise whilst it is drying. Getting closer.

I ground and filed down a factory safety and had Kip Wood down at Central Michigan Gunsmithing checker it for me.

I like the way this looks much better than the factory one. The edges are a little sharp but I can take care of that easily. Soon to be polished and rust blued by Chuck Grace.

Dick,
Great work, your rifle is a wonderful piece of shooting art - I like everything about it. I have enjoyed very much following your builds and I appreciate you taking the time to post pictures. These are my favorite threads. I like the safety better than anything available after market. I have seen a similar one that was narrowed and then recessed into the tang (by Wayne Baker). A friend of mine owns that rifle and I have tried to buy it several times.

Best
John

John,

Thanks. I wanted a recessed safety but didn't want to wait. This gun has a twofold purpose... I want it to look good but I also want it to shoot well. We have 100 yd. centerfire benchrest matches here and this is the only rifle I have that is remotely suitable. They start in April so time is a factor. I've shot competitively ever since I got out of college and want to continue as long as I am able.

Re: posting... I was a Precision Shooting writer for twenty-one years and I really miss it. Since the magazine went out of business I have been stocking rifles and doing these threads as sort of an outlet for my need to write.

This goes to Charlie soon. I will then wait on pins and needles till it comes back. When it does I will spend as much time as I can, weather permitting, doing load work-up before season starts. It shot 3/8 MOA when I tested it. If I can make it do 1/4 MOA I think I can be competitive in the class I will compete in. Since everybody else will have real bench guns I have my work cut out for me. I do have my 50 and 100 yd. range just outside my office door so that's convenient.

I agree. There's something about these old target scopes. When I got out of school I scraped all my pennies together and bought a M52 Win and a 1" 10X Unertl target to shoot in local rimfire matches. That was fifty-five+ years ago. I've owned many, many Unertls over the years and still love them.

I'm thinking about getting this bumped to 12X and having a 1/2 MOA dot installed. Ackermans want $300.00 to do it and I'm concerned about the wait. I'll probably wait till next winter for that.

Dick, I used to faithfully read Precision Shooting and your articles. I really miss them both.