Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Interesting laminated stock

I've never seen anything like it. Boards are 90 degrees to what I'm used to looking at. Much better looking than most laminates though.

Who made it?

According to the seller, Al Biesen made the stock. The riflemaker I never heard of....Jim Lewis.

I can't tell that it's laminated.

They've been making those for a while.

Large pieces instead of thin layers cut and put together.

Some are real lookers and you have to look hard to see the lines.

IIRC, some guy Montana patented the process but couldn't get the business up and running. Another group bought the rights and is now manufacturing them.

Its on GB with a full suite of pictures. You can tell the stock is laminated when you look close up but its still way better looking than the vertical laminates on a drop in stock. Maybe not as rigid?

The "guy in Montana" was Mel Smart, a gunsmith in Kallispell, and he passed away. Another guy who worked for him bought the remains of the business from Mel's widow, and made some improvements in the process, calling the new company Serengeti Rifles. He and a partner ran out of money and sold to a guy who had quite a bit, who renamed it Kilimanjaro Rifles.
Anybody interested in looking at some incredible laminated stocks should go to their website: www.kilimanjarorifles.com

I think Jim Lewis worked out of Butte, MT.
He was a very good smith and built mostly high end rifles

Predictions on what the gun will sell for?

Dont know but found another one by the same smith with a more conventional stock and he really knew his way around a rifle it seems.

http://www.nwponyexpress.com/firearms/high-end-collectables/jim-lewis-custom-winchester-m70-300-h-h/

I've always really liked the lines of Biesens stocks, especially that laminated one. He was one of Jack O'Connors favorite custom gun makers and for good reason.

I think there might be a bit of confusion here. The pictured rifle has the laminates stacked vertically.

The other type of laminates mentioned here have the laminates stacked in a horizontal manner.

They are both laminated, but the wood laminates runs in different directions from one to the other.

I have a Rem. 700 with the original and most popular type of laminate, but I think the one pictured looks better.

The two types of laminates are similar to to a solid base ball bate, with the grain running such as to keep the bat from breaking when the ball is hit.

I don't think strength would be a question on the two types laminated stocks shown, although, as mentioned, I think the pictured one is nicer looking.