I have very much enjoyed this thread. It has made me reflect on the nature of guns today. Many guns are made using CNC machinery to extremely tight tolerances. They are made with space age materials without concern for beauty. I think that the readership to Guns Digest and the Shooter's Digest have declined. Both tomes were filled with beautiful(even if they were in black and white pictures) custom rifles by the best makers. I remember actually working side jobs to get each year's copy of each. People aren't as captivated by fine wood and blued metal. I think that right now there are some Beretta Semi-auto shotguns that have fake fancy wood. You have to look at it close to notice that its not real wood.

Hunters are less connected with the tradition that harkens back to the Pennsylvania style flintlocks made by early craftsmen. A man used to be measured by the quality of his rifle. I don't think that this is the case anymore as most people get their food from Amazon.com or Walmart than from the land.

JOC had the magical ability to take you away from the land of mundane guns to a place where guns had an almost magical ability to have their own personas. JB does this a little with his pet Nulas or that Kilimanjaro stalking rifle.

There used to be more to going to deer camp or hunting camp in the old days. People were judged by the equipment that they used. Accuracy was important. It always has been important but function came first. Every small town had gunsmiths that could work on your rifle and tweak it for better performance. Some smiths were better than others. Today we see all kinds to rifles that have been butchered by back alley hobbyists that were named Bubba. Some smiths were extremely good and reached levels approaching perfection. JOC was writing to a more educated population. He could explain the nuances of an Alvin Linden or Al Biesen Model 70 fwt custom sporter in 270 Win. Jack was great on concentrating on little details. He worked on rifle marksmanship and probably went through the elements on his favorite rifles enough times to definitely qualify as a rifle looney. He practiced what he preached. Many times with gunwriters there are hunters and shooters and Jack like JB was both.

Jack sought a rifle that would appeal to him first but worked every time. Function was the number one priority. I think that this was because he had a problem rifle early in his career. The balance and ergonomics of the rifle was also ultimately very important for JOC. It had to be able to handle snap shots, seated shots and prone shots off of a pack or rest. Finally, I am sure that accuracy was important to him. However, you can have the most accurate rifle out there but if you can't shoot it and handle it well then what good is its accuracy potential.

When you grab a Pre-64 model 70 Winchester fwt, it has a balanced feel. You get a little of this with Rem 700s but its just not the same. There is something that makes the Pre-64 feel like it is ready to go. I don't think that JOC was entirely too worried about the weight of his rifles. It was a consideration but it was not the primary consideration. Jack was into new concepts. It is interesting that his prototype of the Eddie Bauer Skyline down jacket is still the puffy to beat.