I’ve owned several of Jim’s rifles, all pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters. One was a 338-06 of no great distinction apart from its remarkable accuracy. Another was a 35 Whelen in a Borden Rimrock stock. My favorite was a 308 Featherweight in a Pacific Research stock. A serious big-game hunter had upgraded it a few hundred dollars at a time over many years, then sold it when he quit hunting. I was looking for a 30-06 when I first saw it, so I put it back on the rack at Adventure Sports in Lynwood, WA. I quickly realized the magnitude of my error, went back, and bought it. I had to sell it a few years later during my divorce, but it remains one of two guns that I will buy it back instantly, no questions asked, if I ever see it again. It was in a Pacific Research stock and I shot it like it was growing out of my arms.
All of this happened in his shop near the Aurora Bridge in Seattle. I used to visit on lunch breaks when I worked a few miles away. He also worked on a couple of Palma rifles for my father; the two of them knew each other from the match circuit. I visited him a couple of times after he moved to Machias, where he worked on a couple of Mausers for me.
As I understand it, Pacific Research was the original name of the stock. Jim designed it, but as you can see from his walnut stocks, the Biesen influence is undeniable. These stocks were built on Vashon Island, WA, about 20 miles as the crow flies from his shop.
I can neither confirm nor deny the pantograph story but it wouldn’t surprise me. The checkering on both stocks was superb, so perhaps there was some other voodoo involved, but I doubt that a pantograph would have captured it in its full glory.
Jim Borden later bought the machinery and moulds from Pacific Research. He built the stock for a while; Jim seemed to like them and built rifles on them without complaint. I called Mr. Borden a few years back to inquire about the Cloward stock but he said that there wasn’t enough demand to keep them in production.
The only way to truly understand the Pacific Research/Borden Rimrock stock is to use one for fast offhand shots. Jim built accurate rifles, but he hunted the brush and tree farms like the rest of us in western Washington and he knew what it took to get good hits in a hurry. His hunting rifles come up like quail guns and everything about them is exactly right when you need to drop a blacktail NOW.
Jim also had a dry sense of humor. He was a fearsome competitor but he’d drop a point now and then like anyone else. On that rare occasion, a relative greenhorn might win the stage. If the new kid crowed about it, then Jim would hand him a business card that he’d had specially printed for the occasion. It read, “I beat Jim Cloward on Stage_________. Date ______.” Below that was a line that Jim would sign before handing it to the greenhorn.
He could be gruff if he thought you were wasting his time. If not, he’d help you but he made it clear that he was busy. I grew up around people like him and later became one myself. There are worse things to be.
I hope that the mention of dementia is wrong. I would hate to think of him that way.
Okie John
