Please let me see if I understand this correctly.
I just received a new, I guess it isn't custom, .22-250 Ackley from Gordy Gritters, the WINNING 1000 yard gunsmith. The action was blueprinted to a gnat's ass using Gre-Tan tooling, the barrel is a Krieger 4/3 contour and the stock is a pillar bedded (twice-glassed) McMillan Classic gray & white gel-coat swirl stock. The scope bases were glassed to the receiver (for a perfect fit) and the Leupold rings were lapped. The scope is a "special assembly" (industry insiders only) Leupold 6.5-20 with a special 1/16" dot. And this isn't custom or probably even good.
On the other hand, Bubba Schmuch (Yiddish for dick) can rasp together a wood stocked rifle on a Model 1894 Mauser and it is "Custom."
My personal opinion of wood stocks is that on a quiet night you can hear them warp. On a quiet rainy night, you can hear them rot. Yeah they are pretty, but when I go to the Yukon, the Kalahari, gawdawful-cold Eastern Montana or even here in the rain forests of Oregon, I trust a great glass stock to get me my game.
If that makes me not an armchair aesthetic who has the honor of owning a "custom" rifle; so be it
Anyway, I'm truly delighted that I now understand. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
By the way, the feature article on my not-custom Gordy Gritters .22-250 Ackley will be in the July 2004 issue of Varmint Hunter Magazine. It may be of interest to non-custom guys.
Steve
