Nothing like seeing photos of well executed single shots, bolt guns and double guns. Please post away. I'm sick of swirly plastic and textured metal work.







http://www.davenoringunmaker.com/images/photo%2015.jpg
(big photo, sucker for double triggers)

whos' got a small ring mauser in 7x57?

You've seen my Mexican in 7X57.
Butch

VO is usually gud fer chasin the blues away

whoa, is that a take down???

Case coloring is doing it.
I've never seen a 1911 cased up before, and I'm not sure its working, lol



post it butch!

Yes, it is a VO Vapen takedown. I would have to win the lotto before I could afford it. I'd really rather have a Martini and Hagn. Neither are very realistic for me, but I wouldn't need a Saudi prince to name me as his sole heir in order to own a M&H.

Martini and Hagn

Couple of photos of my 7X57 Mexican. I think a lot of you have seen it.



Butch

oh la la, ahem arrrribaaa

Did you commission the work or do it yerself, Butch?

Claude,
Here is some quality gun porn for you. Both the first and second rifle were put together by James Anderson and Dean Zollinger. Top one is my Dad's and the stainless is mine. The Ruger #1 is my sweetheart in 7x57.













[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/M1Tanker70/DSC00771.jpg[/img]

Magnificent, absolutely fabulous all. This site is so good.

How about a Cooper .22

No comparison to the outstanding stuff already on display, but just to add to the festive mood. A couple of simple old cartridges - Dale Goens plain old M-70 270 WCF (on top) and Bob Owen Springfield in 30-06 (below).

You are too modest. Those two rifles are the best of the best. Wish they were mine and you had something better!

nice nice!

googled "english walnut" and this came up, LOL


I didn't know you could actually order a custom anti-aircraft gun.




cool detail loading port


one of my earliest "customs"
[img]http://claudegatewood.com/html/various_work_photos_32.html[/img]

Nice butch, I personally dont grow tired of seeing it.
there was one I've searched for here that done, I think, by the owner, and its gorgeous, cant recall...maybe after coffee

Here is at least one I did short time ago, maybe two

I've only done two skel butts, but I really need to make one for myself...and hide it!

I'm da man

Claude, Did you do Terry's beautiful 10/22? You're too much Terry.
Butch

urf, I just vomited a little bit, LOL


I'm on the fence about that hiccup in the ribbon.

Left to me from a departed best friend this spring. FN mauser done by his father in the early 60's as his first rifle. In 308 Norma Mag. 58gscott

I can't take classy photos like you guys, but perhaps the lefty bolts will raise Claude's spirits.





Hey Claude--how about I send you this T-bolt to checker?

Yes~ LH is always better!!
Just quit working on a pattern.
A goudyesque modern classic for large ring. I'll post pics.
I really like it. My only two previous mauser patterns were stalking/Obendorf style and more modern monte palm swell
this is slim, more open grip, sort of a cross between mod 70 and early rem700 (pre raised monte carlo)

Would that be a good match to the Mauser whelen I just finished?

I'll post pics when I cut something from it.

am joining your group with a couple of questions-have any of you ever heard of a stockmaker named Temple Lide from Texas??he was born in 1907 and died in 1984-i have a Ruger #1 that he carved and checkered toward the end of his career- if someone could tell me how to post a picture from my computer to this forum, I could send a couple-they're aren't top of the line cause we are new to this, but the work sure is!!!-as an old gunsmith, several of his guns came through my shop in the 70's and 80's-I don't care for Picasso, but I sure love Temple Lide!!-thanks for any help ya'll can give me

Is that the pattern you are using on the 98 you are doing for me?

If you like, I will send you my email addy and I will post them for you. If not, you will need to get a photo hosting site account, like Photobucket. com and start from there.

That's so cool. My pops is trading me his Winny 63 and 12 fer a 10/22. What a sucker.

His looks almost nothing like the one in the picture, unfortunately.

these photos are from oldgunsmith......

Those are rifles ...........!

Thinkin' the same Bob....

The one on the bottom makes me squirm uncomfortably in my seat, and feels "inappropriate"...the way I'm lookin' at it!!!


Ingwe

Ingwe: We use to use a winter's day to run down into CT and hit Hallowell's where you could look at a head-swimming array of G&H's, Owen Springfield's and Mauser's Dowtins',Biesens' etc....it was sensory overload.....I used to have a Goens that is very similar to Wildcatter's,and another with lighter colored wood.....selling them was among my more irrational decisions...but I still love those rifles! They define true "custom",in contrast to some of the stuff that gets passed off as custom today....

While nobody else here seems to like maple, I sure do.

I love beautifully figgered Maple. I have an extra soft spot fer bird's eye with that permanganate finish.

Exbiologist, what's the caliber of your maple stocked rifle that you killed the elk with?

I'm thinking of going maple for a .260 Remington. I'm told that maple can't handle heavy re-coiling rounds well at all such as .375 H&H, .416 Rigby, etc. but I'm thinking a .260 Remington should be alright. It will see a lot of use.

Derby, that's a .264 win mag.

Thanks. Well if your maple stocked rifle can handle that round maple should be able to handle a .260 Remington.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

fun little touch with the stainless lilja barrel coated with teflon:

Maple will take the pounding. Proper bedding, fit, no worries.

hey guys, I was wondering if you have any tips for taking really sharp photos to post-tried it yesterday, but you can't see the intricacy of the checkering and incise carving on my gun-I'm not trying to brag on the gun, I am trying to get some info on the man that did the work and see if there are many people who have examples of his work-I was told that Brownell's used to cut his checkering tools special-think they are 36 lines to the inch, I haven't measured-they are alot finer than 24-any pointers would be helpful-thanks!

Most cameras have a "macro" setting for up close shots, often signified by a flower or something. Tripods also help, so does lighting at an steep angle, instead of directly overhead

I was lucky enough to spend some time working on this piece of wood. One of those blanks that I will never forget.

For the maple lovers, here's an interesting old fajen stock. Factory stock I bought from an ex Winchester employee. Had never been used. Doesn't stand alongside these beauties, but I sure like it.

Wow! tell me about that full stocked rifle

"Wow", is right.

Ahh...What a relief from the "other" stuff. Thanks all for posting.

Damn right!

C'mon gunmaker! You have to have more pictures of a spectacular stock like that!

It is like you have just given a crack addict a taste -- I have to have more now! Post more pictures of that rifle!

John

Wish I had more pics.
It's a 35 Whelen built on a Mex length Dbl Sq bridge titanium Mauser action. I think it tips the scales around 6#. I worked for Taconic Firearms Ltd for about a year and didn't get to finish this one.

+1

Well .. there went my load ... that is nice .... very nice

Here's one of my homemade rifles for your viewing pleasure. Nothing fancy but lefthanded and maple.
Doc

I wonder in the real old days if they ever made any left-hand muzzle loaders. They were all custom made so one would think so but I've never have seen any in museums before.

back in the day, they were all custom!

Wow, beautiful rifles all. Goens and Owen? Yup, those will do!

Butch, please feel free to post pics of that lovely 7X57 ANYTIME you want to.

It is still amazing that no left-hand muzzle loaders of the date have turned up in museums. Has any body else ever seen any?

These rifles were all made by Dennis Olson of Plains, MT using Sako Rihiimaki actions for the short actions and Sako L-57 actions for the medium length. They were all fitted with Lilja barrels and the wood is American Walnut. It is hard to find American walnut with the grain some of these stocks have...

+1

Would only add that bigleaf should be used for lighter recoiling cartridges only, but hard maples will do anything, and well.

Bigleaf and 25-06 top, 7-08 bottom

Its maple! What a freeking boomer! Available with 10 bore barrels too.
whats the math (recoil) on an ounce and an 1/8 going twice the speed of sound? I couldn't help but notice the space age recoil absorbing material, its called "steel", anyone hear of it?

Per this recoil calculator, assuming a 10-pound gun and 200 grains of powder (quick googling on the approximate powder charge), it puts out 45.6 ft-lbs of recoil energy at exit. I could be way off on the numbers though, so don't take that as being worth very much.

According to the handy-dandy pre-set buttons on that calculator, that's around the threshold of a .458 Winchester.

Could be worse, I suppose....700 nitro or some such silliness.

Real wood gives unique character to a rifle that is as original as it's owner. The more time you hunt with one, the more dynamic the sweet subtleties of figure, color & grain flow unfold. This helps vividly linger in your memories as having hunted with a close friend as opposed to just shooting critters with a trusted tool.

These photos tell you why James is doing a stock for me at present.
Butch

I have to say that JR sure knows how to shape a pistol grip! Man, that is perfect! Talk about elegant!

(Not that there is anything wrong with any other parts of that rifle either!).

John

I'm thinking I need serious re-hab.
Thought pretty wood was just for guns
THIS I want in my hallway.
Claro "occasional" desk. Occasional?




edit: yah, I thought the same thing, wonder how many gunstock blanks died to make that thing, LOL

Thanks John. While working at a semi-custom rifle shop I had to get stocks out the door on a much faster schedule then I preferred. This allowed me the chance to shape a large number of stocks and come up with my own style. Not that I can lay claim to it. Without the ability to glean what other stockmakers had done before me, and still do today, my efforts may have produced something more like a factory Rem700 BDL, white line spacers and all. A well known gunmaker that I respect highly, looked at my grip shape and told me, "I hate those open grips". He did appreciate the attention to detail I put into my work, but had little use for the style of it. To each their own. Here's a better shot of the grip. I still have to do something with that horrible looking trigger.

thats gorgeous btw
We all have our own style. We are artists (even tho most of us are a bit uncomfortable with that word) and as such, when someone looks at what you offer, they are attracted to it, or not.
I have volumes of books with photos of bespoken guns around the world. some are hideous, some just flatten me.
Personally I'm a huge fan of Johann Fanzoj, Miller, your work and a few others. Its art man, all of it.
The best kind of art, functional.

Gunmaker

Is that your own personal hunting rifle?

What did it start its life out as?

Yes, it's my rifle. It's still in the white as I'm waiting to make my first $100 million as a full time custom gunmaker and then have it engraved.

The action is Pete Grisel's version of a short action M70 in 244Rem.

The action that Mr. Grisel designed and sold before he joined Dakota Arms, or was that a Mauser action?

(I would think that you could afford a little engraving after your first million! )

Pete's M70 version drawn up in Bend, OR. While my action was manufactured in Sturgis, this version of the M70 was spawned far West of the continental divide. No meaningful engineering or design work for this Grisel version of receiver was done East of the Rockies.
Just giving credit where credit's due.

A few fun with files & stones pics.

Absolutely gorgeous hand work!!!!!!!!!

wow.

think i'll be saving up all my pennies.

Here's some eye candy I got:

These are a couple of Kleinguenther K-15, which I've had in my safe for a while. The stocks were made by R. Fajen and the inlays were done by EW "Pat" Patrick (? can't remember) who was Wby's manager in Cali. Mr. Kleinguenther was Roy's man in Germany hence the connection. They're purely safe queens













The rifle is a custom job by Johnston & Gervais, 338 Win on a Pre-64 action. The EELL, who cares.......








The top rifle is a Patrick Holehan 416 Rigby, he uses a Dakota action. The bottom is a 375 H&H built by Kevin Weaver on a Pre War Mod 70 action (with the "Tilden" type wing safety replacement).



[img]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/fcavallo123/DSC00551.jpg[/img]




And I saved the best for last. This is my daily hunting rifle a 270 Win on a Pre War mod 70 ser# 10X which makes this a first year (1936) second/third month production. Krieger barrel, custom bases for Conetrol mounts, leather covered recoil pad. Rust blued, nitred screws and extractor....and the bitch can shoot 1/4" groups all day long (nothin like a chisel and action blue for a proper bedding). It ain't no safe queen either- it's banged up and killed a buttload of animals.



[img]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/fcavallo123/Rifles/270_right.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/fcavallo123/Rifles/270_left.jpg[/img]

Frank

You have some beautiful rifles. I like the lines of the Johnston and Gervais the best. You can't get more classic than that rifle. How about some close ups of various parts of that rifle?

Who did the work on your .270 everyday hunting rifle?

All these stocks beautiful and some look like they belong in a muesum.

With that being said, I think the sexiest rifles are ones that have been used (not abused)and have blueing wore off and nicks, scratches and gouges. If only some of those guns could talk.

A guy named Bill Soverns. Unfortunately he had to recently close up shop. He's baggin up and shippin me back a coupla bareled actions and blanks. One is a G33/40 with a hollowed out/4 panel bolt, again with custom bases for Conetrol rings, set triggers, Lothar Walther barrel (yet another 270), the other is I believe at least a transition pre 64 (maybe pre war, can't remember) mod 70 in 300 win with a Krieger barrel and the same Conetrol set up. The blanks are english for the 270 and paradox for the 300 Win.

I will say this, there is no substitute for a properly wood/steel bedded action. None of those custom jobs have a stitch of glass or pillars in em and they shoot better than any synthetic stocked rifle I have (most of which need pillars, etc..........)

I hope you get them back!!!

You're right Jim, maybe Frank will get lucky, a lot of others didn't.
Butch

"I will say this, there is no substitute for a properly wood/steel bedded action. None of those custom jobs have a stitch of glass or pillars in em and they shoot better than any synthetic stocked rifle I have (most of which need pillars, etc..........)"

Gotta love the guild for living on lunacy... There is simply no way a rifle will shoot better because it is not bedded. It may not improve it, but saying they shoot best when perfectly inletted denies a whole lot of years of proving.

If that were true how many benchresters would go that route? And expect it to continue to remain stable?

The Guild members I know that glass bed are also concerned about the finish beyond rubbing in oil...

But they are gorgeous!
art

Well here is some "fancy" wood and some vintage "custom" work.

[img:left][/img]





A Marlin 1897 Deluxe that was in much need of some TLC (bulged barrel, finish (both metal and wood) and checkering just about gone) - recieved it this past summer.....man they literally do not make them like these any more!!!

PennDog

Other rifle styles come and go as fads,funny curio's and relics;today's plastic stocked "customs" costing $3-$4k will never hold value, but rifles like the one above have been around for decades,and never go out of style.Some variation of the American Classic style constructed by a skilled maker stays popular.And contrary to contemporary misconceptions, such rifles also withstand a pretty fair amount of abuse and still keep hunting.Nice!

I love the open grip. It reminds me of Helen Hunt's neck.

ah, tis the season!!

In a gentle and loving Homer & Bart Simpson kind of way????? "Why you little..... aaakkk aakk aaaaakkk"

I'm sorry if I offended. I love Helen Hunt's neck. I also think you make one of the best looking grips. I also have a soft spot for the English straight stock on SxS shotguns. Sorry if the complement landed off mark.

...well, I think I'll throw in a couple that I tried to make pretty, with my limited experience, and even more limited budget...

Ageed! 100%

you jerks need to stop quoting that pic...i drool every time i see it. i can't believe that stock.

FN-Browning B 25 "Special Chasse" 12 ga


Browning B 525 "Prestige" 12 ga 3" + Invector chokes


FN-Browning CCS 25, 9,3x74R


K 31 "Private", anno 1938


Blaser R93, .300 Win Mag


Sauer 202, barrels in .30-06 & 7x64

No pics yet but the first one has been turned and will be at the Guild show 289 AI by Chuck Grace. The others will be next years projects by Chuck including a matched set of single shots by using Ralph's actions.

Oh my God! I got a woody.

G&H Mauser 7x57

MPetrov

Was that stock that red originally, or did you add that when it was restored.

I dig that 7X57. Something about fine bolt guns and rx sights.

It's just as it left G&H in 1923, no restoration.

Pages of wood stocked rifles and only one set of photos with actual dead critters.

Kinda reminds me of the chic threads....

Maybe someday you will be able to appreciate the finer things in life. Understand your background but jezz give everyone a break. If we all had the same taste if firearms it would be boring indeed.

I don't think he's criticizing wood/blued rifles (as i understand he has one or two his own self), but rather the fact that all these pictures, only a few photos show the rifles in anything other than "safe queen" format.

What fun is it buying a bunch of rifles if you never use 'em for their intended purpose?

It's like buying a Ferrari F40 and never driving it, just leaving it in a climate-controlled garage, only changing the tires when flat spots occur from sitting in the same spot 24/7--i.e., a travesty.

Scott's chain yankin'. He has sum of the finest woodstocked rifles I've seen that actually do what they were built to do.

This is where the old adage applies �If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand�.

This is where the old adage applies "How would you know if you don't know a damn thing about me?"

Or were you planning on having them buried with you?

Wow - I stocked the "Gervais & Johnston" rifle back in the early 90's. Can't for the life of me remember who commissioned the job.
I haven't done any gun work 17 years. What a trip to see a picture of that piece - looks pretty nice if I do say so myself I hope it is giving great service and shooting well for the owner.

Mike Gervais

Armed Ferret- I hate to call you and Steelie out but sometimes you have to do something to explain to somebody who you are tangling with. I am not picking a fight or jumping out like a "fitness expert" and I don't have a SC FN Model 70 Supergrade made in 375 HH.

I don't know if you read precision shooting but Michael Petrov is probably the most brilliant writer pertaining to custom classic rifles that is presently active. His book and work are excellent. He won't toot his own horn but I can tell you many do take top shelf rifles hunting because there is another adage that originally came from the Rifle by Jack O'Connor- "Life is too short to hunt with an ugly rifle." I have guns that I could use to hammer in nails and they work with workmanlike efficiency but there is something to having a gun that is warm and custom crafted that makes you appreciate the gunmakers craft.
My guess is that if you go to the real experts- the dangerous game guides and professional hunters( more like Craig Boddington or the well heeled world-wide hunters) will tell you that a hand fitted or custom gun is specifically gauged for function first. That is how you know you have a top shelf rifle. Function, Accuracy, Form and then consideration for cost. That is why a Bolliger or Miller rifle is so expensive. A custom fitted rifle is now starting at 5K.
Phil Shoemaker of Grizzly Skins who writes for Successful Hunting Magazine has Old Ugly but he also has custom rifles stocked by Lon Paul and Brockman. He would echo sentiments that sometimes the F40 can go faster than the camaro.
We have all seen idiots that beat the crap out of things that we dream about but we have also seen the enlightened hunter who knows how good a custom rifle is.
Weatherby's are a good example of this. You have to shoot them right and they are extremely accurate if you don't they won't hit the side of a barn. Kimbers I believe are the same way. The GH and other fine rifles that Petrov has been illustrating are probably from his collection. He specifically looks for rifles from Alaska Hunting guides that used them and kept them up.

Sincerely,
Thomas

All I know is my johnson is worth a WHOLE lot more than any of the rifles pictured and I continue to put it in harms way.

YMMV

Hummmm













[img]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b297/Shoalcove/Rifle1/35whelen.jpg[/img]

Good for him. that's great that he's had that success.

Doesn't change the fact, that he was acting like an "idjit" by saying more or less that nice rifles shouldn't see field use. What exactly are they being built for, if not to shoot something? That is the question I was asking, and he took the cheap way out by insinuating I'm beneath him. Well, I'm happy to say I've dedicated the last 7 years of my life fighting to make sure he keeps the right to look down his nose at me. But then, I've been seeing that attitude a lot recently on this board toward military members.

Hopefully Mr. Petrov isn't the kind of person who buys a Hummer and keeps it in the suburbs.

I don't know, following the logic of a few I doubt they'd even buy a hummer, just give her a $100 bill to sit there and look pretty..........

Sorry I haven't posted a reply in a while. I'm not offended in the least and was just joking about her gun control stance.

Thanks very much for the compliment about my work.

Koboku: That's a great post.Back when guys like O'Connor were drawing attention to G&H,Al Biesen,Al Linden, and others,such rifles were not only beautifully crafted,but were functionally excellent as well; and represented the highest levels of technology available to them at the time; much the same way a blue printed Remington 700 with custom barrel and synthetic stock represents "high-tech" today.

Rifles like these in the hands of guys like Grancel Fisk, O'Connor,Elgin Gates(Weatherby's but some English big bores as well)accounted for all the worlds big game;the "Grand Slam",big game in Africa and Asia,and all over North America. Obviously they have been used and hunted in some of the toughest environments in the world,back when you took a two week pack trip on horseback just to reach the Cassiars....and rifles were exposed to the elements for weeks on end,instead of just riding in the back of a float plane for 6 days on the mountain as is done today.......

Unfortunately,today, many people today equate "beautiful" with "fragile"; and regard rifles like Jim Anderson builds, or those lovely G&H 7x57's as wall hangers and museum pieces,incapable of handling the rigors of the field.Nothing could be further from the truth,and such rifles are fully capable of serving faithfully as first class hunting rifles.

I've hunted with rifles made by Dale Goens,Kevin Campbell,G&H,and others; for awhile I owned Bob Chatfield-Taylor's 270 made by Len Brownell.It was obvious that Chatfield Taylor hunted this rifle,and even though scratched up a bit after hard use here and in Africa,it was still a worthy hunting rifle under about any condition.

Dale Goens told me one of his rifles was yanked from a saddle scabbard and spent the night at the bottom of a British Columbia creek before being found the next morning,dried off,and later used to kill a stone sheep.

I used to worry about who would pick up the reigns and continue to make splendid custom rifles after guys like Biesen, Brownell, Milliron,Goens, and a number of others were gone.I need not have worried as the work of guys like Jim Anderson,Chic Worthing, and a host of others(based on what I see) may be the best of all time....

In 50 years our synthetic stocked wonders will have all the appeal of trash cans,but these great custom rifles will still have a class and attraction all their own that the modern stainless/synthetics can't match.While I use and appreciate the modern forms of synthetic-stocked machines for what they are,to me they are another sign of the decline of the Republic....

Kudo's to custom makers like them, and scribes like Mr. Petrov, for keeping these fabulous rifles out there and available for those who appreciate outstanding custom big game rifles!

Sako 75 .300 Weatherby

I'd just like to chime in that Mark Stratton and Shane Thompson should be mentioned by name on that list as well; their work has been highlighted by a member who's had work done by both (as well as Worthing and Anderson) and it's all incredibly impressive.

Here's hoping the pending job search as I transition to the much more lucrative contracting side from the .mil side yields results that permit me to also partake.

I just wanted to come back on and say that I appreciated the pictures by Steelie. I think we all echo the same sentiment that classic rifles are the best.

We are not talking about the old Kimbers BGRs that looked fantastic and were not all that they promised. I think some of that is out there. Guns that look like a million bucks but shoot as lousy as a sailor on shore leave.

Armed Ferret- I am like you. I just wish that I could have David Christman or Lon Paul do a rifle for me. More than anything I would like to have one John Bolliger rifle. They to me are tops. I appreciate the lines of the McWhorter rifles but for the money I like the walnut.

Presently my nicest rifle is a Jap Mark V Deluxe that is my primary hunting rifle even if it is no lightweight. I am moving to a FN Model 70 Fwt in 30/06 and I am not putting it in plastic. I am just going to hunt it the way it is.

I guess that I could sell my modest collection of rifles and buy 1 nice custom gun that is in great condition. However, I avoid all sales and trades. I figure that while I can't take my possessions with me that I sure have fun taking a minimum of 10 rifles to the range on my trips. I don't shoot all of them many times but I try to check them every once in a while.

The function part of the equation of rifles is very important and the idea of a tool that becomes part of the user is a critical point. However, sometimes I believe that a rifle can be nice looking and durable as well. The sad point of this is that the seregenti style of laminated stock that delivers both is quickly high stepping out of the everyman's price range. Much like much hunting in many different areas around the country.

The other thing that really ticks the living hell out of me is that the field of hunting and shooting is quickly moving toward TV personalities that shill certain projects. I think that it would show a lot of class to have some of these individuals move away from Bubba(take your pick on the TV personality) and more toward Tred Barta. He sure had a class show this weekend. He, to me, gives the rational why I should spend mucho dinero for a fine rifle. We only have so many days on this earth and should enjoy them with the best that we can.

Sincerely,
The light will slowly start coming back up here..
Thomas

Not only a beautiful rifle, but a well used one too. Any plans to get it re-blued?

No since it's stainless not blued

i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that was likely tongue-in-cheek.

Beautiful guns one and all. Thanks for the pictures

not near enough guns in here! keep on posting keep this alive. my go to gun has plastic handel but does not meen i couldnt get the real thing to hunt with. my first custom build is being made right now and is wood and blue steel. a 22 at that! film at 11 when finished. D O M I T !

Here's a couple of my Ruger









cheers,
- stu

Stuart Satterlee just completed making these and posted a photo of them over on AR. He also did the barreling.

Nice work eh?