Ottmar's rifles have held their values better than most custom rifles and you couldn't duplicate that kind of quality for under $3K, so I'd consider it a good buy. Beautiful rifle.
Posts: 9487 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: 11 January 2002
A beautiful and unique rifle. If it shoots, you'll have a real winner! The wood alone would cost right at a grand, the pre-64 Model 70 barreled action in .338 Win. is worth at least another grand, not to mention the labor and elegant checkering. Plus, unfortunately, there will be no more Ottmar rifles. I would have likely bought that rifle myself.
If you take $3000 down to the local gun emporium and spend it any way you like on new merchandise, I doubt that the true value of goods purchased will come close to equaling the quality or value of the rifle you just brought home.
Gorgeous! As mentioned, for the cost of the labor and pieces alone you couldn't touch it. I would guess that checkering job from somebody that could do it would run you upwards of 500, but just my guess (Chic would know what he would charge and could chime in).
If you ever need somebody to babysit it for you let me know.
Red
Posts: 4740 | Location: Fresno, CA | Registered: 21 March 2003
Thanks guys. I feel pretty good about having added it to my collection.
Johan, I found the rifle on gunbroker.
I look forward to making many hunting memories with this one. It is true that I will probably suffer greatly with each scratch as they are made, but the pain passes quickly and the scratches later on will bring back memories of each hunt. Thanks again to all.
Ottmar, made hunting rifles! Go hunt with it. What ever use marks you get, will just character to it. You know how to take care of a rifle in the field. As for what you paid, I would say to did very well in that regard. Go shoot a couple of Red Deer with it.
Posts: 1070 | Location: East Haddam, CT | Registered: 16 July 2000
Quote: Some people, mostly those who were taught to do so as youth, know how to take proper care of things. All despite hard honest use.
Hey Chuck, Good for you. I was cleaning Guns in the early 1950's and have been doing so ever since. Discovered that constantly Rusting Blue and Termite Food can be made very pretty, but if you actually take them "outside and Hunt with them", the pretty soon fades.
If you like to make a thing of beauty (like John's above rifle) into something resembling a fence post, it's fine by me. Your retort certainly belies my experience with Rusting Blue and Termite Food. But then, I've actually Hunted with mine, since my youth, rather than keep them indoors.
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Hey John, What kind of groups does it shoot?
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
Hotcore, there's a place for fiberglass stocks and high-tech metal finishes -- and I embrace that technology -- and there's also a place for finely blued metalwork and walnut stocks. I embrace that side of riflebuilding as well. It surely doesn't have to be all-or-nothing-at-all, either one way or the other.
I can name quite a few guys who have literally hunted the world, in every environment you can think of, with rifles built of French walnut and blued metalwork. The termites haven't reduced those stocks to dust as of yet, nor has the metalwork rusted away in effigy to the Titanic.
It takes a heck of a lot more skill for a riflemaker to build an Ottmar-type stock than for some bean-gun builder to order a Remington 700 BDL-pattern stock from McMillan and fit a barreled-action to same, and to be quite candid, that difference of skill deserves more respect (a heck of a lot more!) than the moniker "termite food".........
Here's a fairly new rifle built by Ottmar. Look at the way he shaped the off side of the ejection port. I know it's not unusual to be shaped this way, but he had a finesse not many can match. BTW, the price is almost 6 grand.
I could look at that all day. The way the wood fits to the metal and the finish on the wood really gets my attention. It looks as smooth as glass but still looks like you will be touching real wood, and that rifle just begs to be touched. The curves are all in the right places and the angles too. Gun lust describes it well.
Hey AD, This will probably surprise you, but I agree. (I believe we have had this discussion before.)
Apparently where I hunt the combination of DEET and Sweat tend to make things a bit tougher on " my " firearms. And that is the main reason I prefer S&S for " me".
The "Termite Food" reference is actually more for " my " benefit than trying to rile you Wood Lovers up. I've had problems with it warping in our high humidity environment of the Southeastern, USA. And some of the buddies I hunt with have also experienced similar problems. So, believe it or not, the reference is to keep " me " focused on Synthetic.
If you folks don't like Synthetic, that is fine with me. Feel free to degrade them in any manner you choose, and I'll still be using them, because they are THE BEST OPTION for " me ". At this point in time, with all the information available to anyone who can read, it amazes me anyone would actually choose to Hunt with a Non-Synthetic. People attempting to degrade Synthetic as Second Rate when compared to anything else tells me that his knowledge and experience base certainly are just different than mine.
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That in no way is meant to cast a negative reference toward John's "pretty" rifle. It is indeed a looker. I'd never be able to take it out in the woods/swamps where I Hunt because of a concern for klutzing it up. Doesn't mean that he shouldn't. It is his and if that is what he wants to do, I'm all for it.
I bought an absolutely beautiful B&W 22LR Kimber(the first time they were in business). It had a lot of figure in the stock, the bluing depth illusion was similar to what you used to see on the old Weatherby's, it came with an excellent adjustable trigger and was accurate. Never could enjoy it because I was constantly concerned that an errant drop of water or sweat would get between the barrel and stock. Or that I'd lean it against a tree and it would immediately fall onto the only rock within a mile. Had to trade it off because I just couldn't enjoy it afield.
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I also don't like Pre-64 M70s. That doesn't mean that I can't appreciate John's "pretty" rifle. If you all have ONLY Pre-64 M70s, I don't see where my disliking them should upset anyone. They are just not what " I " want to Hunt with.
So yes, I think of B&W as rusting blue and termite food, and I try my best not to buy them. If you all like them, I wish you all a couple of SAFE's totally full of them.
Posts: 9920 | Location: Carolinas, USA | Registered: 22 April 2001
Your comments are really out of line on a thread like this. We are admiring a superb example of riflemaking. Since wood stocked rifles with blue have functioned for centuries I suggest you vent your opinon where it's appropiate.
Johnair, that's a fine piece of craftsmanship you got and worth the price. Take it out and hunt it, I'm taking my gr. III and IV BARs out hog hunting this weekend (they are not in this league but the nicest I own). The gr. III was unfired when I bought it a couple of years ago but I bought it to hunt with and it does it well.
Remember, just becuase you're out in the woods hunting doesn't mean you can't be pretty too.
Posts: 1242 | Location: Houston, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2002
