Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Great Article by Phil Shoemaker

I never thought of my rifle as ugly - but EVERYONE else did and weren't shy about mentioning it so I decided "if you can't beat them join them" and named it Ole Ugly.
It's true beauty though is evident once you pick it up and put it into action.
It has taught me a lot about rifles and is still a work-in-progress as last winter I filed a thumb slot (like on the military M-98's) in the side of it's Mk X action. I suppose it may be a little easier to load now - but to be truthful I never found it slow during the past twenty four years. You also can see I must have hit it with a can of spruce green rustoleum between the time the first photo was taken and I photographed it next to the Hein. Now that is a pretty rifle. It worked nice too.