It's been 15 years since I made a stock, and now I live where a lot of great French walnut for gunstocks comes from... I decided to get back at it. Three months ago at the golf course I met a nice guy who knew someone who made stocks and owned a sawmill. Long story short, I met the guy. He was already about 90 but after a half an hour I learned he had sold walnut to the best gunmakers in the world. Two weeks ago I called to come and look at some blanks, and his wife told me he had passed away, but then she said that he had told her all about our meeting and told me to come to the house and look at the wood with her son. He was also a stockmaker. We had a great visit and I left with two nice blanks.
The stock in the photo is what the original gun came in. It wasn't checkered so I did a quick checkering job and added the pistol grip cap out of Wenge, an African hardwood. It was a quickie as my Alaska hunt was coming up in a week.
They are air dried for over 30 years and had good grain for rifle stocks. The longer blank has fiddleback that should really pop when finished. I've got another pre-64 in 270, but it is a standard weight. I don't like lugging it around but it shoots MOA with factory Remington 130 grain. I'm not like Wolfdog... if it can kill a pig at 100 yards I call it good enough.

Anyway, I've gotten started on the rough work and will start inletting this week. Since it has been so long, I'm going slowly, but I have a good cutout and my action screw holes are good. A treasured piece of paper is under the work. It is a full scale sheet for Model 70's from Al Linden's famous book from 1942. One of the three great books for those who want to get into this sickness.


The gun is an early production Featherweight that I had rebarreled to 35 Whelen years ago.

If I'm finished by hunting season I'll be happy.

Pete

Pete , that's a labor of love I do believe ! Please take plenty of pictures as progress continues .
Allan

Cant wait to see the finished stock.
The wood looks great.

Pete Several years ago I bought a box call turkey call from you Made from Chestnut and Oak that was part of an old barn that had collapsed. It looks very nice and it works like magic on turkey In a.3 year time period myself and a brother in law killed our first ever turkey And we had a combined 3 days that we hunted On those 3 days we spent about a combined total of about 6 hours So you mentioned hunting with the gun you are making the stock for .Well be sure to use some of that magic as you put the finishing touch to it And as other said we all will love to see a few pictures as the work procceds

The one and only stock I ever built. Did this sometime prior to the fall of 1985.

That Ruger is BEAUTIFUL! What kind of wood is that?

Very neat project. And you have some beautiful wood to use there. Please do post pictures of the process. My grandpa had a side job of restocking military surplus rifles after WWII, this would be right up his alley.

You do beautiful work. You have some serious skills. i can't wait to see how this project progresses. Nothing like a highly figured piece of wood.

had a gunsmith put a howa barreled action on a stock he made to fit my wife. he used a mill for a lot of it. When he was done i sanded and finished it with linspeed oil. I would like to try my hand at making one with hand tools. Not with such a pair of exquisite blanks like you have for my first try.

Myrtle wood.

Nice job Newhouse. I loved Myrtlewood early on as my uncle lived in Oregon and gifted us some bowls.

Wood is truly magic. I have small pieces of hardwoods that I've carried around for 20 years waiting for the right project

Pete