Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Hunting with a beautiful wood stock

I will be here, somewhere, shooting some of those guns, I look forward to your visit...

What beautiful rifles posted on this site. I love to see fine guns actually being used. After all, that's what they were made for.

I've been reading some Jack O'Connor stories and have marveled at the high quality rifles he routinely took hunting. And these were from the finest master craftsmen of the time, like Al Biesen, Alvin Linden, Keith Stegall, Tom Burgess, Lenard Brownell, and others. And there they are, magnificant works of art, pictured with trophies from remote corners of the globe.

Honest wear adds character to a fine gun. Jack's famous #2 by Al Biesen wouldn't be the same if it was a pristine safe queen.

IMHO,

DF

When I first read the subject line, I thought he was going to tell about hunting something beautiful when he was at Woodstock!!!

Yep, hunt'm that is what they are for...

ditto....always thought stuff tasted better anyway when you killed it with nice lookin guns.

I won't own a gun that I'm afraid to take hunting, that mentality simply baffles me.

So I hunt with what I've got, and that includes factory stocks. I did take a chip out of a stock from being bounced in a zodiak. The steel looked much worse from the salt spray. I sold the gun because it was too heavy, but would have no problem using a properly wood stocked gun in the nastiest of conditions.

I love beautiful wood stocks, once they have been used and have scratches and dents.

I'm not a big fan of pinball glossy woodstocks that look like they have never been in the woods.

Can't believe I missed a thread where I had a chance to post a pic of my favorite rifle



Alan

One of my favorites

Spoilsport.....grin

The wood on your rifle is about as perfect as it gets. I would love to hear more about your rifle.

shcit happens....

nothing wrong with hunting with a beautiful rifle. makes for great memories and pics.
non woods stocks have their place, but make for ho hum pics.

Whoa there. A chip, dent or scratch on a painted tupperware stock will take alot more work and cost alot to fix and make look good again ? Whereas the same on a fancy wood stock wouldn't ?
A fancy wood stock is far, far more expensive to buy, fit and finish than the very best of the synthetics. Perhaps you aren't aware of the color built right into the gel coat option on the McMillians but I am. I have two that have had lots of rough treatment. Neither needed to be repaired as the damage is almost invisible. The same damage would take a real work or a replacement stock on any wood stock.
I'm also objecting to the idea that "with a little consideration and care," a wood stock holds up just as well as a synthetic. I can't help but wonder how many times the people making such comments have ever had to jetson their rifles to deal with a lose of footing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of a beautifull, well done wood stock. They have their places on less than really hard used rifles and upland bird guns. But there are hunting situations where a top quality synthetic works and holds up alot better. E

M1Tanker,





Couple of years back my mom's passing left me with her inheritance. An only child, I got it all I went shopping Blew about $20k that year on guns and guns stuff. I'd always wanted a classic, something along Jack O'Conner's lines having grown up reading his stuff. Decided to have one built and found a gent on Gunbroker who was selling actions. We got talking and next thing you know he asks what I was planning on doing with the actions. I gave him a few details and he said he might be able to help. Turns out the 4 yr wait he went through to get the 257 Rob got longer since a miscommunication (neither he nor the 'smith can be blamed) resulted in a LOP which was too short for his 6'4" frame. We made a deal and in about 2-3 weeks, it was mine. Played havoc trying to get it to shoot 100 gr E-tips, about 400, before I gave up and sent it to Charley Santoni. Charley was in awe of not only it's workmanship but it's balance too. He looked it over and deemed EVERYTHING about the rifle worthy. He asked if he could shoot it; "yes" I said. After a few weeks we talked. That thing is a "tempermental whore when it comes to monometal bullets" he announced. But it loves Nosler 115 BT's and 4831. The pics you see above were taken by Charley in his shop. Once back in my possession, I verified it liked the 115 BT's along with the 120 Partitions and either H or IMR, 4831. It's been spike elk hunting two years running around the Fish Lake, Utah area. Came darn close to getting bloodied this year too. Two years running, we've had less than pleasant weather and I've been unable to get to my favorite spot where the elk always cross the ridge on opening day I babied it in a full length Cabelas rifle sock which was then in my Eberlestock Gunslinger II or J107 Firefly pack scabbard with full hood.

The rifle was built by Glen Morovitz, of Newell, SD. He's done work for Dakota Arms, Imperial Arms and Searcy Doubles for quite some time.



It spins thusly.

-1953 Pre 64 action
-Calif Engish, 2-3 levels above a Dakota Special Selection blank
-24" Krieger CM barrel, 2.75" cone, .605" muzzle
-Krieger marks on bottom of barrel
-Krieger blue printed action
-All metal rust blued though I did replace the medium S&K rings with lows and they don't match, at the moment. Their going back to Glen to be rust blued.
-Glen did go over the action and really slicked it up.
-Sunnyhill BM
-action completely glass bedded, no pillars and ungodly tight wood to metal fit.
-About 20 LPI checkering

Weight 9 lb 1.4 oz. It carries like a dream. On my elk hunt earlier in Oct I brought another rifle I had build last year which weighed 8 lb 10 oz and it actually feels heavier than the 257. That's with a 2.5-8 VX3 which "JUST" barely fits in between the rings by about .020"



My best friend, who got his grizzly 3 yrs back, has me convinced I need to go back up either in 2012 or 2013 and try again. I'll have to sell this rifle to pay for a large hunk of the trip. It will at least get bloodied on that cow hunt this January out on the Ute Indian tribal lands. Supposed to be a "sure" thing

All my rifles have had Fajen wood stocks because I love wood, but my sons are B&Cs. My Citori rabbit/grouse shot gun which is in the brush all the time and my rifles have a hand rubbed mixx of bees wax, boiled linseed oil and true turpintine mix rubbed into them by me, I do not baby them but they have not been on a goat or sheep hunt either, or toss them in the back of a pick up truck and go huntin, non have a scratch on them and if they did a light sanding and a rerub would take care of it. The Weatherby Glossys if they get a scratch it would lift some of the finish, be yellow under neith it and need to be redone by a pro.

What good is a hunting rifle you don't use?

I'm with RDFINN on this, most of these rifles look fairly new and have possibly been on a FEW hunts. (most)

Wood rifles that have been on multiple hunts over a lengthy time period show it. I know mine do.

How many of these rifles have been in scabbards,snow, rain, dropped when you tripped on a rock in the dark( I dont want to talk about this, but it lead to my first Mcmillan)brought up and down from a tree stand on a rope? etc.....

And lets be honest, you do spend extra time/effort protecting that beautiful wood instead of just simply hunting...

i just got mine finished and away it went.
i didn't carry it any differently than any other rifle.
cold, wind howling, snowing, and it was slung under my shoulder (euro carry)
I wanted a beautiful rifle to hunt with, and look at.
I got it.

If I get scratches, dings, dents, etc., that just gives me memories every time i look at it.
got this scratch on this hunt, got this ding, on this hunt.....

But,

i do have beater rifles that wear mickey's. those are the rifles that i take less care of because, well, there just plastic's we'll say, and no beauty in them.
they are for the hard hunts.

Looks pretty similar to that Kimber Montana picture floating around the net...

Except it ain't from a Kimber