Stephen Grant's Best

The bulk of my stock duplication these days is almost solely devoted to double shotguns or rifles. Born in the houses of Purdey, Sauer, Watson or Boss to name a few with the vast majority being much older than I am. When one comes through my door for duplication the stock is beyond use for reasons of damage beyond repair or is being restocked to fit a new owner. In a classic case of modern recycling the old is being made new again.

Stock Maker Stephen Dalzell (stevemdalzell@gmail.com) recently sent in a typical butt stock that needed to be replaced. I became a participant by evil association. Very few of the stocks I machine are to be completely duplicated rather the head of the stock is cut and the butt is left in the block. A lot of time can be saved for the stock maker in machining the head if the head is in good enough condition to do so. Consequently the craftsman can devote more time to the shaping and finish work while still keeping the project within budget. A win, win situation for both the client and the craftsman.

The quality of the original walnut used to stock this Grant was excellent to say the least, real old world Pre War lumber. Made with Cast On for a cross threaded shooter and stocked in the old traditional manner I'm sure it gave the original owner a sense of confidence and pride when both were put to the test. I can only imagine the Red Grouse that may have careened across its muzzle traveling with a tail wind at just under mach 1.

Sadly at some point in changed hands and was subject to a less than expert butt extension which looked as out of place as an elephant in a canoe. It then fell victim to series of blows and abuse that eventually took a toll, it was now time for resurrection.

Mr. Dalzell expertly repaired and prepared the stock for duplication as I could clearly see it had been broken through the grip with all four horns cracked and now carefully glassed back into position. Not an easy exercise on a side lock where you have a small amount of wood and metal contact mated together seamlessly to keep the whole intact. Surprisingly the upper frame, trigger plate and lock work inletting was still clean and crisp, no apprentice ever put a chisel to this stock.

Stephen's instructions were simple "Cut as close as you dare, the center line lay-out is scribed, allow for Cast Off and do not machine beyond the end of the trigger plate". The wood supplied was as good as the original in every regard being both dense and hard with bold mineral marks, loud actually and it was not necessary to apply mineral spirits or alcohol to convince me this makeover was being done proper. The transplanted Scotsman in Maine was given good canvas.

I first degreased the face of the original stock as best as possible then screwed and epoxied a center onto the head of both the original and the replacement stock.

Then a block embossed with drive spur pattern was also screwed and epoxied to the end of the pattern butt stock and the drive spur pattern stamped into the stock to be cut. Care was taken to position each spur to allow for enough wood for cast off, drop and length as requested.

Care in operating the machine is now paramount as every job regardless of its pedigree is given the same amount of attention to detail.

For the next 4 hours I machined the stock closer and closer to its final dimensions by progressively  changing the size of the stylist for each individual cutter. Wood was selectively left in certain areas to allow for  the metal to be properly be fit by hand. From the rear of the tangs the replacement blank was left in the block to allow the stock maker to shape the stock as required to fit the new owner.

The final results will now hang on the skill of the stocker and a keen edge on his tools. I can only  hope this Grant will soon be in the hands of man that hunts Ruffs and Timber Doodle's with a cunning and determined Short Hair.

Coming to a receiver near you

I have just returned from the SCI convention in Las Vegas. I met with some old clients and many old friends as well and met a few new clients. The dramatic change in temperatures from Cache Valley to Las Vegas was worth the trip alone. Campbell Smith brought his usual South African humor that kept everyone within ear shot rolling in laughter for hours. We did acquire a bottle of Blue Sapphire, some tonic and I seem to recall some limes that got flown in from Colorado. 

Tia Shoemaker picked up her 416 and then spent the rest of the convention trying to explain to everyone why it had head lights. With a 12.5" Length of pull and 8 pounds and an ounce or two fully loaded with 5 rounds you don't have to eject an empty to know its gone off. Together the pair should make a formidable force to deal with in a punch up as the lady is now packing some serious heat.

During the week I spent some time looking over what the optics companies have in store for us in 2017. There is noticeable trend a foot and I must admit I'm a bit puzzled by it. The number of Precision Rifle shooters in this country seems to be increasing every year. I think this is partially due to the lack of anyone being able to draw any tags in the west anymore and I'm told this shooting discipline is a lot of fun. The sport requires practiced skill and dedication and this has spawned a need for ever evolving kit with optics being front and center.

It would appear that we, the shooting public, have requested our rifles scopes to be Biggie Sized once again to allow for that currently fashionable 1138 yard shot onto the next ridge line, or over the county line or perhaps into the next time zone. To do so we now apparently "need" larger scope tube diameters to better fill this need. The new darlings of the game come with 34mm tubes but hang on folks a 36mm line is now plowing ground into the market as I type.  Allowing enough reticle movement in the come up turret to almost insure a hit on a target at the edge of your horizon. Be still my beating heart.  

You begged for bigger and the Industry has listened. All this is well and good for the practiced Long Range Shooter/Hunter but the trend I now see is the morphing over of these specialized optical marvels into a line of scopes now marketed as a "standard" hunting rifle scope. No, I'm not kidding, I wish I were. 

In one booth I was being shown such a scope and the Rep was doing his absolute level best with a straight face I might add to convince me his companies newest model, engineered around a 34mm tube was without any question the finest general purpose hunting scope on the market and would insure me precise shot placement from off the muzzle to beyond a 1000 yards. 

             I swirled the ice in my $18 G&T and asked him if he'd ever seen me shoot ? 

Confused by my question he pulled up short for a reply. I'm sure when he saw my eyes begin to glaze over that he decided to help out a more likely prospect that had just entered the booth. 

Look carefully at the 2 pictures below, seems far fetched doesn't it ? A 77mm, many pound Hubble sitting atop my daughters hunting rifle conjures up an image of a Buck Rogers taking on Martians that have over stepped their boundary. 

                                           No way you say, it will never happen!!

As the M-16 has evolved into what is now termed by many as the "Modern Hunting Rifle" so may a rifle scope such as in my mock up become a standard on many deer rifles in the future. Can you imagine the balance and dynamics of this sweet combo ? Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

I fully understand the internal space required to add an additional 1/2 mile come up to your turret column but are we beginning to not only loose sight of the forest through the trees or have we lost sight of the whole damn forest ? 

                                    Time will tell, anyone want to take some odds ? 

No 77mm Leica's were harmed during the filming of this picture

2016 is over, and 2017 is a wide open gate

I'm not all that sure where all of 2016 went. Before I knew it all 365 days had clocked out. What was accomplished ?? Quite a lot thank you very much.

For one thing a long over due trip to visit McMillan Fiberglass can be logged in as a major plus. I flew to Phoenix to sort out some ideas with Team McMillan. I was given a solid day to plead my case, toss out some ideas and vent. They listened hard, express their own ideas and they vented while I listened in turn. We cut stocks, we altered a mold, we got shit done. I flew home at the end of the day a very happy camper. The results have begun to trickle in the door and the results are as anticipated. Jeff, Mike and Kelly many, many thanks.

On a sad note Dick Davis, part of the backbone at McMillan for all these years passed away. I for one will miss Dick and considered him a wealth of information and a good friend.

A Frogman washed up, Keith Wood stopped by to try some new skill sets, my 83 year old mother swanned in to stay and the annual float trip on the Teton was great as usual.

The work load in 2016 was diverse and very satisfying. A lot of rounds went down range and a lot of feed back came in from the field as the year progressed. I spent much of this year on R&D, mostly at night and over the weekends. I believe it was effort well spent and long over due. Central Valley Machine put up with my constant intrusions as usual and offered me a cot in early fall to save me from having to go home every night. Thanks Bret as always!

Now time will tell if the use of all that  midnight oil is going to bare fruit. If you don't evolve, you rust. Bathing in WD-40 can only help for so long.

A number of great projects were completed and there are some dandies in the works now. I have another Echols & Co. Lid in the works and should be ready to test drive soon. Artist and Illustrator Dan Burr is finishing up the Art Work for the Logo patch as I type this .

I need to send Kevin Dilley Kudos for his consistent photographic skills and ability to work with a mad man. Kev, you da man !!!!

Soon I'll be heading to the SCI convention and getting out of this ice box for a week. I'm sure I'll see a lot of old friends and clients hopefully make a few new ones.

And to think the Turkey season is just around the corner

                   In the words of Timbuc-3            The Futures So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

See you all in Vegas

You Just Never Know What Will Walk In The Door

I am occasionally asked to machine a set of grips for some rather ornate Handguns. A while ago I took the time to make a couple of additional fixtures to allow me a bit more versatility when called upon to do so. Making the fixtures took considerably more time to fabricate then to machine any actual pair of grip scales but the sweat equity was worth the up front investment. This pair of fixtures was used initially to machine a set of grips for a highly engraved Luger Parabellum. They allowed me to machine the raised inletting bosses on the underside of the Lugers grip panels for the 1st operation. Then allowed me to rotate the grip scales 180 degrees, index each scale back onto the fixture and then contour the exterior sides. On that particular project the scales exterior surface thickness was left  oversized to allow them to be carved per the clients request.

Recently another highly engraved Colt 1911 required a set of grips to be machined and the same fixture was pulled out of a drawer and dusted off. As the underside of the 1911 scales fit flush against the frame each scale was set up in the mill, machined smooth with an end mill then the screws holes were precisely located and drilled. Each scale was then rotated 180 degrees and each screw hole precisely relocated with gauge pins then counterbored for the screw heads. Low Head Allen screws were machined to mimic the original 1911 grip screws and then each scale was securely screwed to the fixture. Only then was the exterior profile and contour machined.

This 1911 had been expertly surface ground, detailed and polished by the Chad Tarbet and Brad Green at Intermountain Gunsmithing LLC. Once the metalwork was completed it was then completely engraved by Lee Griffiths. As Lee owns the 1911 he chose a World War 1 theme for the scenes. It is a damn shame I have no quality close ups of the scenes at this time as they are excellent.

This set of scales was machined from a very hard block of Turkish Walnut that Lee had squirreled away. It was thick enough for me to split in half to give the pair a "Book Match" look. I had considered using a block of Ebony in the same manner but the Turkish won the coin toss. The scales now finished have been left un-checkered to allow a prospective buyer the options of having them checkered, carved by Lee or remain as is.

Doug Turnbull's crew Carbonia Blued the majority of the finely polished parts after Lee had completed the engraving. The gold plating sets off a nice contrast with the French Grey, Carbonia blue and Walnut back drop. Then Intermountain was called to back into the game to refit and reassembled the 1911 without doing any cosmetic damage to the finished surfaces. I have it on good account that all the cell phones were turned off and Brad chose an Easy Listening radio station for the remainder of the assembly time.

The final result is eye catching to say the least and speaks volumes about the time and effort by bevy of craftsmen doing their best to achieve a desired goal. 

More Pics From The Field

It is Thanksgiving Day and the sun is shinning in Northern Utah. We have a light skiff of snow in the yard and for the 1st time this fall and the temps have finally dropped. One of our Spring Gobblers is in the oven and I can already predict the results. By early evening we should all be in gravy induced daze.

Here are some more recent pics from the field. Many have had a pretty productive fall so far.

Terry drew a coveted tag to hunt on the Eastern plains of Colorado for deer. The tag allows you to take either a Mule Deer or a Whitetail. Terry's plan was to try and kill one of the oversized Mule Deer that live amongst the many corn and alfalfa pivots that break up the short grass sand hills and arroyos. At the end of the 5th day plenty of bucks had been seen but nothing found really pushed the envelope. It wasn't for lack of effort, they just hadn't run into a stud. The Outfitter suggested Terry extend the hunt a few more days and the search continued. Late in the afternoon on the 7th day the team ran into this mature Whitetail tending a doe and the 300 H&H was quickly put into action, a single round closed the deal.

  This is Terry's largest Whitetail to date and fine buck it is. 

Craig and his son Will drew two Elk tags in their home state of Arizona and set about to make the most of the opportunity. Each has a battery of rifles to choose from but the hammer of choice for this hunt was a Legend 270 Winchester that has been used in Canada and Missouri with now predictable effects pushing a 140gr TTSX it has been lethal to say the least. 

I'm not sure if the two of them draw straws to hunt with the same rifle. Does one take a morning shift the other afternoon shift ? or if they alternated days ? but there seems be be a division of possession that works and everybody is happy. Another Legend is currently in the works so when completed they no longer will have to share the same rifle on every other Thursday and or alternate Leap years. 

Craig's bull was shot head-on and very close range and the TTSX drilled through the brisket and up- ended the bull right there. Ross Seyfried once said the Winchester 140gr Failsafe turned the 270 Winchester into a true Elk cartridge. While the Failsafe is now a thing of the past the TTSX may be with us for many Elk seasons to come. A smart man would lay in a case or two of his favorite weight and caliber.

The both Craig and Will are now in Missouri hunting Whitetails and I can only imagine who is carrying that Legend at this very moment ???

Both Karl and John drew deer tags Oregon this fall and rolled out their Legends in hopes of having to use them. For a number of year these two compadre's would go to Namibia on cull hunts as they wanted the trigger time more than worrying about the size of the horns. All the meat is marketed professionally and they were more than willing to bring the ammo, lots of ammo. Needless to say they now have a lot of experience under their belts and have become more than passable shots. The bucks below are the results of that hunt. John dropped this 10 plus year old 2 point with his 7mm Remington and Karl killed this mature 4x4 buck with his 300 Winchester. 

Lexi spent less time at the range this summer and most of her time being employed as a life guard. So as the Utah deer season crept up on us it became apparent that some after school range time was imperative and had to happen quickly. 

With the season just around the corner her point of impact was confirmed from sitting and prone rather than off the Hart rest and within a a few afternoons she was back in the groove keeping all her bullets in a 5" group out to 300 yards. She had drawn a General Season Deer tag in the northwest corner of Utah but I was not at all familiar with where we ought to start. The scouting that I would have normally done was put on hold while I moved my 83 year old mother from Virginia to Utah. I called a number of friends that had hunted Box Elder County in the past and all had some good ideas to pass on.

I am now becoming much more familiar with App functions that allow you to determine land ownership in the field and this was proving to be a real asset this fall. We finally got permission to hunt a large ranch and spent a couple days behind a spotting scope at dawn and dusk trying to determine how to best hunt the first weekend of the season.

A group of Bucks could be seen on the neighbors alfalfa pivots but so far we only turned up a small buck and some Elk where we had permission. Opening day found us climbing a ridge line and carefully glassing the country around us. We found the Elk again but never sighted any Deer. We did however find a canyon trail that a large buck has been using for some time that I think held some promise. We found a place to set up and wait the buck out just at dusk as he dropped into the base of the hills to feed. While we hadn't seem him it was the only game in town that had any merit and the place as well as the plan seemed to have potential. 

As luck would have it at noon we had to drive to another ranch in the same area so Lexi could pitch a proposal for a science project she had in mind to the land owner that would require a healthy amount of real-estate to gather any useful data. We rolled into the ranch yard to find it filled with family and friends, some out for the deer hunt, some there for the meal to come and others deeply involved in a very serious looking game of poker. I knew many of these participants and walked over to the barbecue grill knowing it was a lot safer than being anywhere near that poker table. Lexi made her pitch, was granted the access and as we were about that leave the owner and his son said " why don't you all drive down to that guzzler on the upper bench and look for a 4 point that's been hanging out there for weeks". I like trick questions just as much as anyone and asked "why isn't anyone else here hunting him ??" the owner replied "Card games to important to worry about that buck right now, you'll go ahead" so with that we saddled up. 

This patch of ground is often where I hunt Chukar's and Hun's and I've seen plenty of deer on it over the years. I stopped the truck 600 yards from the guzzler and began to look for bedded deer, within moments I spotted the very buck snoozing under a tall bunch of sage. He was not alone, in short order I spotted 3 other bucks and a number of does. I got out the Big Eye and had Lexi look through the spotting scope" What do think ?" the smile was all I needed to see, it was game on.

There was no way to put a sneak on that buck from our current position. So we drove out of sight, parked, then Lexi, my wife and I sorted out what little gear we needed to attempt a stalk. We got above the bedded deer and slowly made our way in their direction up slope and into the wind. It was then we ran into another dozen deer that had just gone to water. One old doe knew all was not good in Camelot but just couldn't put all the pieces together well enough to start a rapid retreat to safer pastures. I was afraid she'd bolt down the draw and blow up all the other deer around the buck we were after. 

Instead she watched and waited before making move. We were patiently doing the very same thing 300 yards away in some head high sage. At the end of 20 minutes she elected to leave the draw going way from the other bedded deer, the rest of the herd followed her over the ridge. The stalk continued but now the wind was really beginning to swirl. Three times it hit the back of our necks and I thought we were busted, but when its 4th and goal you just don't hand over the ball and walk off the field.

Now we were on our hands and knees then finally our bellies. I could see other bedded deer below us and eventually spotted the buck still snoozing under the same sage. The range was 200 yards and we were now out of cover.  Lexi found the buck in the binocs and decided to slowly scoot uphill on her rear end until she had a clear view and an unobstructed shooting lane. I pulled the shooting sticks out of my pack, extended the legs and handed them uphill. She was as calm and deliberate as ever as she slid the fore-end into the yoke. She then asked for a little more elevation on one leg and settled into the rest. When she was ready I said "wait until he stands and then place the duplex right where you want the bullet to go, this could take awhile". 

Ten seconds later the buck rose to his feet and stretched. I heard the safe safety go off then as an after thought said "don't forget to breath". Seconds late the rifle cracked and the solid thump of a bullet strike rolled through the draw. The buck took a few feeble steps in a half circle and settled back into the sage one last time. The ping of the spent round let me know her situation awareness has improved and we rose to our feet. Lexi did a bee-line for the buck. I motioned to my ever patient wife that she could now come forward. She unfortunately hadn't been able to watch this all unfold as she stayed 50 yards behind us on the final crawl. The buck was a typical 3 year old and for some time the three of us just soaked it all in. We took some pictures and Lexi and I finally went to work on the buck while Rebecca went to get the truck at least closer than it was. 

The 120gr TTSX entered and exited the ribcage shredding the contents. Over the years I have been most impressed in this bullet when used in the 260 Remington, 6.5 Asp and the 6.5-06. So far, at least to 350 yards it is a stellar killer. Soon the field dressing was complete and the truck could be seen lumbering into view. We cut away the liver noting there was no saving the heart as it had been turned to giblets. 

The buck was very fat having been feeding on Reeds wheat for most of his life and as it was weeks before the rut and I had an idea that the version would be excellent. It had been a grand day on the hill. As we pointed the nose of Kermit in the direction of home I asked Lexi if she had learned anything today? a tired voice from the back of the cab said " yes I have, when's the next poker game ? "