Very nice! Your rifle looks to have very nice grain figure compared to most G&Hs that I’ve seen. How does it compare in fit/finish to your Pachmayr?
Had been looking for a Griffin & Howe Springfield for 30 years, but had never "pulled the trigger" due to what you've also noticed about them: Most have relatively plain wood. This one obviously doesn't!
I would say the inletting of the G&H is better than the Pachmayr 1903. They're about equal in finish and checkering. I sold the Pachmayr to help pay for the G&H, partly because while the Pachmayr had originally been a .35 Whelen, it had been converted to .358 Norma Magnum years later, probably in the 1950s when that made some sense, as the .358 Norma was a factory cartridge and the .35 Whelen then still a wildcat.
Which is also why I bought the G&H: It's a .30-06, and all the evidence points to it being made on a National Match barreled action (apparently quite a few were). Have found that I don't have much need for rifles in larger, harder-kicking cartridges anymore--and my custom-stocked 9.3x62 CZ 550 fills what little need there is. It has pretty nice wood too:
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
Hal, I just do the wood, so afraid I'm not able to offer the specifics that you are looking for. The blue for both rifles was done by Custom Gunsmithing Inc. in nearby Boyce, VA. It is a hot blue, though I can't describe their metal prep with any detail. I do prefer a little texture vs. a high polish for hunting rifles, so perhaps that is why the metal appears as it does in the photos.
My nicest. Built by James Anderson and Shane Thompson. Engraved by Roger Kehr. It was started about 12 years ago and I did a build thread on this board. You can see it from start to finish HERE.
Looking through this thread is giving me wood envy, beautiful rifles! I don’t have any custom rifles because they are out of my tax bracket. I do have a couple of factory rifles with pretty good wood. This Browning 22 Hornet is pretty nice.