Years fly by

[bandit1250]

In 1983 my wife and I had been married two years and lived in a mobile home. It was easy to maintain but it is easy to run out of room fast. We had no children so I was able to use a bedroom made into a gun room for my things to be in one spot. It was also set up similar to my room I have now and had a decent bench to work on my guns. I felt fortunate to have a place to do my work. It was in '83 I wanted a solid bottom varmint wood stock for my fairly new 700 Varmint rifle. I never had money then to buy things I didn't really have to have. So I got a walnut blank and decided to make a stock. I had no power tools so my uncle roughed out the inletting to save me time and help me out. The rest I did by hand with scrapers and wood chisels and a little help using a Dremel tool. I wanted it to be similar to the Bishop Chucker stock I always liked for its shape and to my eye its good look. I wanted the fore arm fairly wide and finger grooves on the sides to fit my hands that are not big. It was a fairly long process by hand but as time when on it was satisfying to be doing it myself. My uncle had a milling machine and made me a 1" aluminum hexagon shaped pillar for the front and contoured the top of the pillar to fit the radius of the 700 varmint action. I glassed the pillar in the stock with acra-glas and then put an aluminum pillar in the rear. Glass bedded the the 700 Varmint 222(I loved this rifle) into this stock with the 700 converted to a single shot. Final shaped the out side and after removing what seemed like a never ending amount of wood this started taking shape. Installed a rubber rifle pad and sanded everything down even. Finished the wood in tru-oil and looked great. This rifle shot fantastic in this stock from day one and I was thrilled. The stock over the years found itself on several different 700 Remington Varmint barrel rifles and was good shooters with this stock on any of them. Then it started getting some battle scars from getting used so much and I got lazy and painted it instead of refinishing it. Put Brownell's grit paint on to give it some grip and painted a grass type camo pattern on it. I may get caught up on projects and go back to a Tru-oil finish this winter. This is my 35 year old first attempt at stock making. It now has about the fourth rifle to be in this stock. This one is a late 90's 223 Rem. Sorry, thread got a little long.
Full view of rifle


The next two photos show the fore arm shape I like. Bottom first. You can see the size of the hex shaped pillar at the action screw. Could have been slightly flatter but still lays well and the bipod fits it nice for prone shooting prairie dogs.

This is the grooves I shaped into the sides to fit my hands.

[bandit1250]

If some one can remove one of the double threads please do so. I don't know what I did there.

[CT_Shooter]

Great story and beautiful work, Bandit. Thanks.

[CT_Shooter]

If some one can remove one of the double threads please do so. I don't know what I did there.

Done.

[PT7]

If I recall, Bandit, you showed us that rifle several years ago.
I liked it then....I still like it now.

You know I love beautiful wood and wood grains for rifle and revolver furniture. But I would keep this one just as I see it in your "full view of rifle." I think it is a very sharp-looking painted stock. Thanks for bringing it back for all to view.

PT7

I got lazy and painted it instead of refinishing it. Put Brownell's grit paint on to give it some grip and painted a grass type camo pattern on it.

[North Country Gal]

I've refinished a stock or two in my time, but never made one from a blank. That's impressive, bandit. Love the story that goes with it even more, though. It's that personal touch that makes your posts such a pleasure to read. Thanks for sharing.

[TNman]

That stock looks great...I would never have the patience nor talent to do something like that...

[BigAl52]

Neat story Bandit and yes the years fly by. Im startin to wonder how many I have left.

[Henry88]

Is that an old Chrysler Fifth Avenue ?

[bandit1250]

Is that an old Chrysler Fifth Avenue ?

That is a '85 Dodge Diplomat that had 280,000 miles on it when it made that second trip from Pa. to NW Montana. The funny story to go with that picture is a rancher stopped me on that road and asked what I was doing there and I said shooting gophers. I asked if I was trespassing and he said I wasn't and shooting was OK. He then told me I couldn't make it the rest of the way through that road in a car. I told him I had been on worse roads with it and he said I will follow you through just to see this. I went through to the end and he stopped at the cross road and said his F-150 Ford 2 wheel drive dragged on places I didn't. He asked how that car could have that kind of clearance and I told him I had turned the torsion bars up and had 130lb. of air in the rear shocks and had no muffler to drag. These cars were not loud even with out mufflers. He thought that it was really nice to ride in a air conditioned car that had the fancy Chrysler 5th Ave. interior in it that I took out of a wrecked Chrysler and put it in the Dodge. Had 297,000 on when I sold it and it is still running around here. Toughest car I ever owned bar none. Here is a 34 year old 5th Ave. I still own.