Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors My JK Cloward Pre-War Model 70s

What kind of wood is on those? English Walnut?

Great story and that is an exceptional rifle. Sorry to hear you lost your dad so early.

kwg

I visited with Jim Cloward at his shop when it was in North Seattle. He was helpful, chatty and his wife was in the shop with him. He had stock blanks and patterns up the walls, and we spoke about a prone rifle build and his recommendations. I remember there was a framed page out of a shooting magazine. It was an ad (Winchester IIRC) that highlighted his winning the Wimbledon Cup with a Winchester rifle. I enjoyed my time with him and he was nothing but nice.

I believe he moved his shop to Douglas Ridge eventually. I've got a pic of he and his wife in the shop somewhere. I'll see if I can dig it up and scan it.

I have a RimRock stock and knowing a little about composites and their production, I believe he produced the "plug" which is the basis for the mold. The checkering of the RimRock stock is fine and well done and wouldn't transfer with a pantomime. I'd like to know who ultimately ended up with those molds.

This thread about Jim Cloward has me thinking about how big shooting and hunting was in the Seattle area just a few decades ago. George "Dad" Farr was from Washington and became a legend at Camp Perry with a Long Range trophy named after him. Alice Bull starting shooting competitively at U Dub (Imagine that!) and went on to earn awards and accolades in NRA Service Rifle and also has a Highpower trophy named after her.

You could shoot a full distance highpower match every weekend at Douglas Ridge, Macchias, Fort Lewis etc. When I visited Seattle, I would make the rounds seeing folk with the good stuff. Rifle smiths Cloward, Dan Cowan. Russ Haydon in Gig Harbor, Wally Seibert for scope boosting and reticles, Nesika Bay Precision in Poulsbo... There was a sporting goods store in downtown Seattle that was great for hunting and shooting supplies.

Ahhh...the good old days.

Reviving an old thread to see if I can get some opinions- Looking at a Jim Cloward custom .505 Gibbs built on a CZ550 action. Stock looks very similar to the bottom rifle in the original post on this thread. Rifle appears to be in as new condition, and given the caliber, probably shot very little. Anyone that is familiar with his rifles have an estimate of what this gun would be worth in the current market?

I know thus is a very late addition to this thread but I'm responding to those who didn't get along with Jim. My exoerience was just the opposite. I used to go up to his shop and have lunch with him once a month or so and he also taught me how to shoot. As I recall, jim had cluster headaches which would make anyone grumpy. Two of the rifles he made for me were with wood he hid behind his refrigerator. These were blanks he had back for himself and they were extraordinary. I miss him

BChunter

Do you have any picture of those blanks/rifles.

Hal

Those are gorgeous rifles!!

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

I'd check with https://www.hallowellco.com/magazine.htm and https://stevebarnettfineguns.com/


Okie John

Thank you for pointing me here. One of them was able to confirm this rifle recently sold for $6k, but that the exact same pictures I was given were the ones used for that sale and they are offering it for half the price. Clearly a scam so if anyone sees a Cloward .505 Gibbs listed, it's likely a scam- beware!