Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors A Biesen is headed my way

For me, the Al Biesen rifle is the ultimate rifle experience. Like Bobin used to say, "you could spot a Biesen from across the room".... He sure was right about many things... I miss that old guy...

I'm trying to resist making an offer on the .300 Win Mag as well.

If it had been a 7 Rem Mag it would already been headed this way.

The thing about a Biesen gun, they don't pop up every day, people tend to keep them, not sell them.

These may have come from an estate sale. I'd think that's one way Biesen rifles end up on the market.

DF

Nosler has used more than one source for brass in the past and the quality/durability was variable. I believe they used Norma more recently and that's pretty good stuff. They also bought SSA, a brass making company whose 308 brass I did not find very impressive. Of course Nosler should be working to bring the quality into line with their price. On the other hand Lapua has been a gold standard for a while. I've used a whole bunch of of it for nearly fifteen years in 308 loading. It hasn't all been perfect, but overall it has a great track record.

Here's another option:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/6...ooters-pack-30-06-springfield-box-of-100

Actually..Al Beisen really is NOT a "bigger name"in the Custom gun world .they -along with about a dozen other American Custom stockmakers are about equal.

.Leonard Brownell is famous for being the man who design Bill Ruger's m77 and No 1 classic stocks. Brownell custom rifles are a bit rarer as well since his working life was shorter and did not have a son working in the trade behind him. Most gun people know Leonard Brownell equally as well as they do Al Beisen..
Any difference in valuation is what ever the dealer places on it..Its not truly marlet driven..

Actually..Al Beisen really is NOT a "bigger name"in the Custom gun world .they -along with about a dozen other American Custom stockmakers are about equal.You could also add Dale Goens,Jerey Fisher,Earl Milliron,Clayton Nelson and Maurice Ottmmar to that list..

.Leonard Brownell is famous for being the man who designed Bill Ruger's m77 and No 1 classic stocks and litterally changed the direction of factory stock styling away from Weatherby Cali school in the 1970s.....

Brownell custom rifles are a bit rarer as well since his working life was shorter and did not have a son working in the trade behind him. Most gun people know Leonard Brownell equally as well as they do Al Beisen..
Any difference in valuation is what ever the dealer places on it..Its not truly market driven..

I'll defer to your statement. I just held Biesen in the highest esteem, nothing against Lenard Brownell, whose work work is exceptional. I removed the skeleton butt plate and the inletting was just perfect. This gun shows some use, which makes it easier for me to use it.



DF

I have owned two of Goens' rifles, a .270 and a .300 Win Mag, both of which I sold.

Currently there is a Pete Grisel small ring double square bridge Mauser stocked by Morris Ottmar in the safe. Weighs 8 lbs scoped, and is superbly accurate.

Would love to own rifles by Fisher, Brownell, Nelson and Bolliger, among others.

Paul Jaeger out of Jenkintown, PA also built outstanding custom rifles....

I snagged the Paul Jaeger/Fritz Voigt stock that was offered here on the 'Fire a little while ago, waiting for it to show up so I can drop my custom .257 Featherweight barrreled action into it. I have a deep chiseled oak leaf and acorn floorplate and trigger guard by engraver Jim Blair to finish it off.

Speaking of Jerry Fisher's rifles, that is something you very rarely see for sale. About 30 plus years ago there was some guy who was buying up all that came on the market. As I recall he had 12 or 15 that he would display at some of the high end gun shows out west. Don't recall his name, but he was fairly young at the time and may still be alive. It would be interesting to see the numbers of rifles produced by the top makers. Goens for instance, held a full time job up to retirement and only did gun work in his off time. I will say that for being a part timer he was very prolific.

Speaking of Goens, like this one;

https://mwreynolds.com/collections/rifles/products/custom-mauser-280-rem

They were not and the store closed a couple of years ago.

After I bought my first custom rifle I quit looking at factory guns the same way. There real is no comparison between a Remchester or Winington and a Griffin and Howe or Hoffman. Even my special order pre-64 Model 70 looks crude in comparison to my James Howe Model 54.

Yep, once you’ve seen and handled the real deal, all else is lacking.

Like the old WWI song, How ya gonna keep’em, down on tha farm, once they seen “paree”.

DF

The "Import marking" appears to be "DEAC - Amherst NH", the company that sold it to the OP. (It appears slightly more clear in the photo on the .300 Win). Kudos to the OP - very nice piece!

Question for those of you who know about these customs. When I was a kid reading about and drooling over a custom rifle, there are 2 names that I remember from the 60's-70's and that is Biesen and David Miller. Where does Miller's work fall in comparison to Biesen's rifles? Just curious.

If what the consumer is willing to pay is any indication of quality, Miller would have to be considered a step above.

He, along with a few others such as Darcy Echols, and John Bolliger command in excess of 10k for a bespoke rifle.

A Bolliger is on my short list as well. Used, of course

Bravo my friend on a top of food chain model 70. very best winpoor

Thank you, sir.