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January 1st, 2018

Beautiful Rifles for the New Year

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot
This stunning Celtic Engraved Double Bolt Action rifle is from Fuchs Fine Guns.

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

As a New Year’s gift to our readers, we thought we’d share some beauty pictures — rifle beauty that is. In our Shooters’ Forum, a Gun Glamour thread recently started entitled: “Show me what a beautiful gun looks like!” Well here are some very handsome rifles featured in that Forum Thread. Enjoy.

Beautiful Rifles from our Shooters’ Forum

Forum member Kurz posted a dream gun owned by a friend in England. Kurz included a quote from a book created by the rifle’s owner: “There, with my father’s words ringing in my ears, I shall take that ‘step forward’ and order a perfect machine based on the Mauser ’98 action, built from metal and wood by master craftsmen who truly understand that ‘reliable’ and ‘mechanical integrity’ have as much relevance today as they did all those years ago.”

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

A gun can “shoot dots” and still be handsome. Here is a short-range benchrest rifle with a stunning, exhibition-grade Walnut stock. Forum member Josh B found this beauty.

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

This “old school” rimfire sports a Stolle Swindlehurst Chrome Moly action, Unertl 20X scope, Krieger barrel, and Kelbly trigger. Forum Member FFEMT tells us this rifle “has a nice little piece of English Walnut”. Yes indeed — the stock is from John Maxon

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

Forum member JRS submitted a stunner from Europe. This beauty features a truly exquisite piece of wood with elaborately engraved receiver. It also has escutcheons and special metal work on the grip.

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

Lever-action Falling Block rifles can be beautiful too. This one features a color case-hardened receiver and handsome two-piece fancy wood stock. This was submitted by Forum member Kurz who notes: “Besides exhibition grade walnut, I like the variations available in spalted maple for rifle stocks.”

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

A competition rifle must be “performance first”. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be handsome too. Forum member XTR’s rifle, an F-TR rig, features Maple wood with Bubinga tips.

Ruger Number 1 maple walnut glamour shot

“Wood is Good” — as demonstrated by all the rifles showcased above. But, as a “parting shot”, we’ll add a blue British beauty from the long-running Pride and Joy Forum Thread we started a decade ago. This eye-catching 270-7mm WSM F-Classer belongs to Forum member Elwood from the UK. A well-executed hydro-dip finish can really dress up a competition rifle.

Click Photo to See Hundreds More ‘Pride and Joy’ Rifles…
Pride and Joy Hydro dip F-Class

Permalink Gunsmithing No Comments »
January 9th, 2017

Watch Stock Duplicator Machine in Action

Production wood rifle stocks, both laminates and hardwoods, are commonly made with stock duplicating machines. Stock duplicators allow a stock-maker to copy a master design faithfully and efficiently. The video below, from Colorado rifle-maker Michael Cuypers, shows a stock duplicator (in automatic mode) cutting a piece of Turkish Walnut, for a mauser 98. This machine rotates the blank while a spinning vertical cutting head shapes and trims the blank. This duplicator manually tracks the shape/profile of the master blank. To make another stock, this process needs to be repeated, with the master in place. For more information about this duplicating machine, visit www.riflebuilders.com.

Watch Stock Duplicator in Progress

Future Technology: We are starting to see stocks made with CNC milling machines that cut stock profiles based on three-dimensional scans of master stock designs. However, the traditional mechanical duplicator process in the video is still most commonly used by most of today’s stock-makers.

Turkish Walnut — Where to Get a Beautiful Blank
The Bijou Creek video above shows a Turkish Walnut stock being roughed out. Turkish Walnut is some of the most beautifully figured wood available — but it can be pricy. If you are looking for this kind of ultra-high-grade wood, it makes sense to shop carefully. You’ll find a wide selection of Turkish Walnut blanks at the HunterBid.com website. Hundreds of selections are available at auction. Prices start as low as $150.00. The finest blanks sell for $1,000 or more. New blank selections are added to the website every other day. HunterBid.com is run by Chiron Inc., which is 100% owned by the Ergin family who are of Turkish origin. Chiron maintains warehouses in Dover, NH and Istanbul, Turkey.

Hunterbid.com walnut blanks

Video find by Boyd Allen. We welcome reader submissions.

Permalink - Videos, Gunsmithing 4 Comments »
October 15th, 2016

Unique Metal and Wood Hybrid Stock for .284 Shehane Savage

Aluminum Savage Free-float Action Wood Hybrid stock Michigan F-Class F-Open
Click Photo to see large version.

Here is a very interesting rifle, a true metal/wood hybrid that combines an aluminum front section with figured walnut in the rear half. As you can see, this unique rifle also features a barrel block that allows the Savage action to float. You may be wondering “how is the metal section connected to the wood?” The gun’s owner/builder epoxied a stainless steel tube in the wood and that tube is secured in the aluminum fore-end with set screws.

Aluminum Savage Free-float Action Wood Hybrid stock Michigan F-Class F-Open

Forum member Justin V. reports: “Sometime last fall my buddy wanted to build barrel-blocked Bavage. He is a machinist by trade so he was able to build all of the custom components himself. I know he put a ton of time into this thing over the winter, taking his time to get it done right. If you shoot in Cadillac or Midland, Michigan you will probably see him around. He tried to shoot a match this past weekend but was rained out. Hopefully it will stop raining in Michigan so he can see what it can do at 600 yards. Here are the results….” Learn more about this gun in this FORUM Thread.

(more…)

Permalink Gunsmithing, New Product 4 Comments »
July 26th, 2015

Big Bore Breakthrough — 30 Dasher for Group Shooting

Roy Hunter 30 Dasher Benchrest Rifle wood carbon fiber stock

Roy Hunter’s Brace of Two 30 Dashers
by Jeff Stover, IBS President
Short range benchrest at 100 and 200 yards is the domain of the 6PPC. Since 1978 that has been the case. Yes, an occasional 30BR, the King of Score Benchrest, will sometimes punch with the 6PPC in group competition. But a .30-caliber benchrest rifle will put you at a disadvantage in group shooting over the long haul — that’s certainly the conventional wisdom. Apparently, no one told Roy Hunter.

6PPC Group vs 30 Dasher Group at 200 yards — the “Fat Dasher” is definitely competitive.
Roy Hunter 30 Dasher Benchrest Rifle wood carbon fiber stock

Roy brought two rifles to the 2015 Group Nationals. Both were 30 Dashers. He did not even go with the milder 30 BR. The Dasher boasts more case capacity and, thus, more velocity. (The 30 Dasher is a 6mmBR improved with the neck expanded to .30 caliber and the shoulder blown forward). Speed comes at a price. That price is recoil, especially in a 10.5-pound rifle, such as Light Varmint and Sporter (same as LV but with at least a 6mm bore). Roy can handle the Dasher even in a 10.5-lb gun. The target above shows a sub-.300” group at 200 yards compared to a 6PPC group at the same distance. The larger cartridge and .308 bore CAN compete with a 6PPC – at least in the hands of a benchrest ace like Roy.

Roy Hunter 30 Dasher Benchrest Rifle wood carbon fiber stock

Roy’s 30 Dasher in 10.5-lb trim boasts a 1:17″-twist Pac-Nor barrel. Roy shoots Euber 116gr .30-Cal bullets over 38 grains of H4198. That load is good for nearly 3300 fps. This rifle, shown above, has a distinctive stained Butternut finish.

The stocks on Roy’s rifles are his own, made in his shop near Gettysburg, PA. Before Roy Hunter was a premier benchrest stockmaker he built museum-quality 18th Century-style furniture, following Chippendale patterns and the like. Now he just makes benchrest-style stocks (benchrest only — there’s no time to make hunting stocks). The fit and finish are as good as it gets. Roy’s stocks combine old world craftsmanship with high-tech construction. Roy uses Butternut wood, English Walnut, and other woods laminated with carbon fiber. His 10.5-lb rifle is Butternut, while his 13.5-lb rifle is Walnut — and they both shoot superbly! If you are interested in a Roy Hunter stock, the best way to reach Roy is by phone: 410-259-7944.

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December 24th, 2014

Labors of Love — Doan Trevor, Master Gun-Builder

We recently featured the “Hornady Number One”, a showcase rifle featureing a CAD-designed, machine-cut stock. While many viewers liked that one-of-a-kind Hornady rifle, others lamented the absence of hand-shaped curves on the Hornady’s angular stock. So, for fans of curvy, hand-crafted rifles, we’re presenting this homage to a truly great stock-maker, Doan Trevor, an artist in the old style.

Doan Trevor is a master gunsmith and stock-maker who works in the old style. He still hand-crafts stocks from start to finish, and does all the metal-work on the custom rifles he builds. Starting with highly-figured woods, Doan carves and shapes his stocks largely by hand, with meticulous attention to detail. Each rifle he builds is optimized for its intended discipline, and custom-fitted for the customer.

Doan Trevor

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

With the help of his talented wife Sue (who does the photography and builds the web pages), Doan has created a wonderful website, DoanTrevor.com, that is a feast for the eyes. You can see beautiful wood-stocked rifles being hand-crafted. Doan also illustrates how he creates custom metal parts, and how he beds barreled actions into the finished stocks.

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing
Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

Set aside a few minutes and visit Doan’s website. Be sure to click on the site’s secondary pages: Rifle Building, Woodworking, and Metalworking. You’ll find dozens of high-quality photos and fascinating information on gun-building.

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

For more information, visit DoanTrevor.com, or call (505) 890-0368, 10am-5pm M-F.

Doan Trevor RifleBuilding
4119 Lanceleaf Ct NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
505-890-0368

Permalink Gunsmithing, News 3 Comments »
August 1st, 2014

Wow Factor: Seb’s Wood and Aluminum F-Class Stock

We first featured this amazing stock last year. We felt this creation was such a stunning piece of work that it deserved a second look. If you missed this masterpiece the first time around, feast your eyes…

Sebastian (“Seb”) Lambang, creator of the SEB Coaxial Rests and the Coaxial Joystick Bipod, has engineered an impressive new wood and aluminum F-Class stock. The stock features a long, box-section aluminum fore-end with a wood rear section and wood-trimmed “wings” on the front bag-rider. The aluminum fore-arm has “buick vents” for weight reduction. From the end of the action rearward, the stock is mostly wood, with light and dark fancy wood laminates on opposite sides (left and right).

Accurateshooter.com Seb Lambang F-Class wood aluminum stock bag rider

Accurateshooter.com Seb Lambang F-Class wood aluminum stock bag rider

The foot of the buttstock has a very wide aluminum rear bag-rider with rails. The rear wood section appears to be two solid pieces of wood — but that is deceiving. Seb explains: “To save weight, the buttstock is hollow (using thin-walled wood)”. To strengthen the construction, Seb added carbon fiber inside the buttstock. So what you see is a wood outer shell with carbon fiber layers on the inside. The stock sports vertically-adjustable cheek-piece and buttplate. The thick, rubber buttpad should diminish felt recoil even when shooting big cartridges with heavy bullets.

Accurateshooter.com Seb Lambang F-Class wood aluminum stock bag rider

Accurateshooter.com Seb Lambang F-Class wood aluminum stock bag rider

Accurateshooter.com Seb Lambang F-Class wood aluminum stock bag rider

This is an interesting, innovative stock design. And as with everything Seb produces, the craftsmanship, fit and finish are superb. We may get a chance to see how well this new stock shoots at the F-Class World Championships later this month in Raton, New Mexico.

Seb also crafted a handsome set of angled scope rails with beautifully-machined scope rings. Imagine being able to custom-make one-off products of this quality in your own machine shop!

Accurateshooter.com Seb Lambang F-Class wood aluminum stock bag rider

Permalink Gunsmithing 4 Comments »
February 27th, 2013

Need Wood? Try HunterBid.com for Turkish Walnut

Many of our readers want a custom rifle that looks as good as it shoots. When it comes to wood stocks, one of the most prized materials is fine Turkish Walnut. You’ll find a wide selection of Turkish Walnut blanks at the HunterBid.com website. Hundreds of selections are available at auction. Prices start as low as $150.00. The finest blanks sell for $1,000 or more. You’ll find both one-piece blanks (for rifles) and two-piece blanks (for shotguns). Most blanks are 36″ or shorter, but some longer Mannlicher blanks are available. Here are two examples from past auctions. The first is an exhibition-grade blank, the second a low-priced blank that still exhibits excellent figure.

hunterbid turkish walnut stock

hunterbid turkish walnut stock

New blank selections are added to the website every other day. The operators of HunterBid report: “If you are interested in any of our blanks in Hunterbid auctions, but you do not like the bidding process, please give us a call (603) 433-8908 or send us an e-mail. We will help you choose a blank that suits you, and even close the auction for you and ship your purchase the same day.” HunterBid.com is run by Chiron Inc., which is 100% owned by the Ergin family who are of Turkish origin. Chiron maintains warehouses in Dover, NH and Istanbul, Turkey.

Hunterbid.com walnut blanks

Permalink Gunsmithing, News No Comments »
February 17th, 2011

Winchester Factory Rifle Stocks at Huge Discounts

If you have a model 70 or a modern Winchester bolt-action that needs re-stocking, here is a great opportunity to pick up an inletted factory stock for peanuts. Gunsmiths who build customs on model 70 action should also take notice. CDNN Investments has acquired a huge quantity of Winchester factory stocks of all shapes and sizes, wood, laminate, and synthetic. CDNN is selling them off at “fire-sale” prices. For example, a Sporter Walnut Featherweight Blem stock for a post-64 action is just $39.99 including buttpad and swivel studs. A black, checkered, synthetic stock for a post-64 action (with heavy barrel) is just $49.99, including pad and studs. And if you need something fancy for a modern Long Action Winchester, a Grade II/III walnut Sporter stock, checkered, with recoil pad and swivel studs, is $149.99. That’s still cheaper than many uninletted walnut blanks.

CDNN Winchester Stocks

These and other stock bargains are contained in CDNN’s latest 2010-6 catalog, on page 138 (shown above). You can view the new CDNN catalog online, or download the catalog as a PDF file.

CLICK HERE for Direct Download of CDNN Catalog 2010-6 (41.3 megabyte PDF).

Permalink Gunsmithing, Hot Deals 69 Comments »
March 3rd, 2010

CMP Cinderella Rifle — Rem 40X Rimfire Reborn

Forum member Ken Littlefield recently had a older CMP Remington 40X restored/upgraded with a handsome walnut prone stock and top-of-the-components. Ken also added a CG Trigger and a RightSight front sight made by Stallings Machine. There’s also an adjustable cheekpiece, adjustable buttplate, and what looks like an aftermarket trigger guard and handstop. Ken posted his upgraded 40X on our Shooters Forum, noting: “Jim Cloward recently finished restocking my CMP 40X in English walnut. The rifle also has a CG uni-trigger and Rightsight. Jim also fitted a 0 degree rail to the receiver (I have a Leupold 6.5-20 EFR scope for ‘any sight’ training and matches). Jim can be reached at (425) 334-3006. The rifle will be used primarily as a winter training rifle for Palma, but hopefully we will sneak in a smallbore prone match now and then.”

Hopefully Ken can tell us more about the build and all the hardware upgrades. Ken certainly has created of the nicest 40X rimfires we’ve seen. Ken’s beautiful 40X has inspired envy among fellow Forum members. Flatlander posted: “Ken, I applaud your (incredibly successful) efforts to bring one of these old CMP rifles to the level of aethetic beauty and functionality it’s entitled to. I’d love to see more of these rifles ‘all dressed-up’ instead of stored in someone’s closet.”

Permalink Competition, Gunsmithing 4 Comments »
December 8th, 2009

Doan Trevor Completes USA Veterans Team Palma Raffle Rifle

Doan Trevor, a gunsmith based in New Mexico, has created a stunning Palma rifle to benefit the USA Veterans Rifle Team. Doan, a gifted wood-worker and machinist, crafted the high-grade walnut stock, fitted the barreled action, and custom-fabricated many of the gun’s metal features. The step-by-step process of creating this one-of-a-kind rifle is illustrated on Doan’s website. Visit DoanTrevor.com, to see the Veterans Team Rifle being built from start to finish. Below are photos of the finished rifle, plus the “work in progress”.

USA Veterans Team Rifle

USA Veterans Team Rifle

The USA Veterans Team Rifle carries a unique serial number signifying the 2011 World Championships in Australia. CLICK HERE to learn more about the US Veterans Rifle Team, www.USAVRT.org.

Rifle Raffle Tickets Cost $5.00
You have a chance to own this special Trevor-built Palma Rifle. Raffle tickets for the USA Veterans Team rifle can be bought for $5 each or six (6) for $25 from Mike StClair, 12138 Eastglen Street, San Diego, CA 92131. Questions? You can email Mike: estclai1 [at] san.rr.com. Make checks payable to Palma Promotions.

Components Donated for USA Veterans Team Rifle
A variety of individuals and businesses donated components for the USA Veterans Team Rifle. Krieger Barrels donated the barrel while Scott Riles provided front sight and trigger. Doan Trevor and Richards Microfit jointly donated the stock, while Stillers Precision Firearms, LLC provided the stainless Predator action.

Contact: Doan Trevor, DoanTrevor.com, Ph: 505-890-0368. Photos © Sue Trevor 2009.

Permalink Competition, Gunsmithing No Comments »
August 12th, 2009

Fancy Hardwood Sources for Gunstocks

Virginia Gunsmith Richard Franklin sold his stock-making business to Greg West, but Richard is still making stunning, one-off custom rifles using laminated fancy woods such as Crotch Claro Walnut, Turkish Walnut, Curly Maple, Bloodwood, and burls. One of Richard’s favorite sources for fancy woods is Northwest Timber, based in Oregon. NW Timber has one of the largest collections of highly-figured Claro Walnut and fancy Maple blanks in the country, including many “book-matched” sets that are ideal for a three-layer laminated stock. The two, mirror-image, book-matched pieces form the outer layers, with a central spine of contrasting wood.

When shopping for fancy wood for a laminated stock application, be sure to consider the length and thickness required. For a tri-laminated benchrest stock with a 3″ forearm, you’ll need a block at least 2.5″ wide and 32″ to 35″ long (depending on overall stock length). After sawing that will give you two 1 1/8″-wide slabs, so that a contrasting 3/4″-wide section of wood can be placed in the middle. Thinner blocks of fancy wood can be used in a 5-layer laminate. If you can’t find a block at least 32″ long, a contrasting end cap could be placed on the fore-end. However, Richard prefers to work with blanks that are long enough for the whole stock.

Above is a book-matched set from Northwest Timber in Crotch Claro Walnut. Note how there are two matching pieces, top and bottom.

This above photo shows how spectacular Quilted Maple can look when stained and finished with contrasting highlights. A popular material for fine musical instruments, Quilted Maple can look just as good on a gunstock (below).


For more information, contact:

Northwest Timber
3229 Jefferson-Scio Drive
Jefferson, OR 97352
(541) 327-1000

NW Timber Burl Maple

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February 8th, 2009

Classic Hand Craftsmanship — Doan Trevor

Doan Trevor is a master gunsmith and stock-maker who works in the old style. He still hand-crafts stocks from start to finish, and does all the metal-work on the custom rifles he builds. Starting with highly-figured woods, Doan carves and shapes his stocks largely by hand, with meticulous attention to detail. Each rifle he builds is optimized for its intended discipline, and custom-fitted for the customer.

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

With the help of his talented wife Sue (who does the photography and builds the web pages), Doan has created a wonderful website, DoanTrevor.com, that is a feast for the eyes. You can see beautiful wood-stocked rifles being hand-crafted. Doan also illustrates how he creates custom metal parts, and how he beds barreled actions into the finished stocks.

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing
Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

Set aside a few minutes and visit Doan’s website. Be sure to click on the site’s secondary pages: Rifle Building, Woodworking, and Metalworking. You’ll find dozens of high-quality photos and fascinating information on gun-building.

Doan Trevor Customer Gunsmithing

Doan Trevor Moving to New Mexico
California is losing yet another great “gun guy”. Doan announced in his Blog yesterday that he and Sue will be moving to Albuquerque, NM. Doan explains: “Moving under any circumstances is difficult … moving an entire machine shop without heavy equipment machinery movers is an undertaking. So far we have three pods (one and a half already loaded) and will probably need a 26 ft. truck. Yesterday Ray Del Rio and Gary Eliseo’s son Jeremy helped move the 3200-lb lathe. Any able bodies in Southern California are more than welcome to join the fun!” The video below shows the effort:

YouTube Preview Image

Photos © 2008-9 Sue & Doan Trevor, All Rights Reserved

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