Somewhat familar with the his work but looking at a rifle of his now and would like some feedback from others who own his work... thanks!

quote:

I would think that each piece must speak for itself!

Well that is profound and probably true of any custom rifle but looking for some input from someone who has collected some of his rifles and has some background on how their rifles have performed...

My absolutely favorite rifle was a Frank Wells.

Custom .375 H & H built on a pre 64 Winchester
Model 70 action;
Features:
Deep magazine box;
Smooth bolt knob underside; top engraved; bolt
handle angled forward of trigger; Jeweled bolt.
24" Douglas premium grade, one half octagon barrel, ring where octagon joins round; crowned muzzle.
Matte finish;
Hand checkered, oil finished, fine grain English
walnut relatively straight stock with Pachmayr
decelerator pad, 14.5 inch length of pull; and
Ebony fore-end tip.
Ken Warren engraving:
Scroll engraved where barrel exits receiver, and on each end on each side of receiver; all french grey.
Gold "N'Gonyama" on flat of left octagon;
".375 H&H" on right octagon;
"Frank Wells, Tucson, Arizona", on top.
Scroll engraved steel grip cap, french grey;
Scroll engraved floor plate;
"Bulimo" engraved lion head;
".375 H&H" in gold; french grey:
Gold ring end of barrel;
Engraved trigger guard, with gold "B";

Leupold 1.75 x 6 power Vari X III, matte finish,
and rings.

There's Frank Wells and then there's Fred Wells, no relation but both in AZ and both built high-end custom bolt rifles.......
Regards, Joe

quote:

There's Frank Wells and then there's Fred Wells

For sure. Fred Wells was the "Godfather" of the resurrection of the modern Magnum Mauser action, at least here in America. Most of the folks making them these days studied under Fred, or mimicked his improvements. His wife Rachael did the engraving on many of Fred's rifles, and she and his sons have now continued on with the business.

This is a Fred Wells Action---currently in work to be a 416 Rigby for the ugly critter I will be hunting.

Well the funny thing is it is SN 01 as well. Had it at the Guild Show and Freds wife verified that it was indeed SN 001.

My Smith had one of his clients call him as he was getting up in years and did not shoot anymore. Long story short he has had this sitting in his safe for a build since I was a young man and wanted to know if he wanted it. I was called and said yes and sent the money. Am sure there are a lot of people that would like to have it but it is always better to be Lucky and in the right place at the right time than be good LOL..

Lately have been thinking about selling it because the rifle I want to build is not exactly someting I would want to get beat up. Had a reamer made and have the barrel blank in process by Speedy and my other Smith has the blank ready to start carving. Just hate having second thoughts about a build!!

I have a buddy that I think exemplifies proper use and care of your possessions. You could probably eat off the floor of his shop, it's spotless, I've seen him wipe up silver dollar size drops of oil from the drip pan where he parks his car before pulling in. Everything meticulously maintained. YET, he uses it hard! he does major 4x4 treks, hunts as often as he legally can, all over the place, he's serious. has the best gear, takes care of it, but never hesitates to use it. We were in his older blazer hunting a week ago, he took it all over, I can hear things scratching along the sides, we're crawling up rocky trails. It's nice to see somebody that has their priorities straight.

I made the mistake once of selling a rifle I'd gotten a killer deal on, because I couldn't bring myself to hunt with it, it was too pretty. I realize now that every honest scratch and ding are part of the history of it. I love seeing a well used (but taken care of) old rifle and wondering all the places it's been.

Red

I have 3 1909's and a mexican mauser I'd trade straight up, for that Wells action...

Balls in your court...

SRTRAX

No, I'd say you have alot of Balls for making that kind of an offer.

Hey, if you dont ask.............
A lot of balls, NO, just two!

Well I must say by making that offer your balls drag the ground LOL!


Now 22WRF the truck example is not good because my Raptor is kept to the very highest standards because I am a fanatic about it. It is also used hard but looks new. I can post the pics of it at the ranch in NM or in the driveway in Texas if you would like to see an example.

Boss

If you have a ranch in NM and a driveway in Texas you do not have to worry about beating up a custom rifle!!

You are killing me here!!

The ranch is in Eddy County in NM with the southern border 600 yards from the Texas State line. Look that up on a map--very very ugly land!!!

We are doing some business with the oil companies and it requires some degree of personal interaction.

This is what the truck looks like before and after---yes I have changed tires since the trip they were horrible on the road walked everywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
--very very ugly land!!!

Reminds me of a story My Daddy used to tell. He was the pilot of a B-25 flying from Pensacola NAS to San Diego NAS in 1943 with a(nother) fellow (also) from Mississippi as his navigator. At some point not far West of Dallas the navigator looked down at the scenery and commented, "Goddam, Joe, we got throwed-away land back home that's better than THIS!"

Daddy especially liked to tell this story to our rich cousins in Dallas.......(VBG)
Regards, Joe

QUOTE]Originally posted by Dago Red:
I made the mistake once of selling a rifle I'd gotten a killer deal on, because I couldn't bring myself to hunt with it, it was too pretty. I realize now that every honest scratch and ding are part of the history of it. I love seeing a well used (but taken care of) old rifle and wondering all the places it's been.

Red[/QUOTE]

That's character, to be savored.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:

quote:

There's Frank Wells and then there's Fred Wells

For sure. Fred Wells was the "Godfather" of the resurrection of the modern Magnum Mauser action, at least here in America. Most of the folks making them these days studied under Fred, or mimicked his improvements. His wife Rachael did the engraving on many of Fred's rifles, and she and his sons have now continued on with the business.

I had a Fred Wells scout rifle built on a 1950 MS action; stainless barrel with integral scope mounts.

That's the beginning of a tale to painful to relate.

quote:

That's the beginning of a tale to painful to relate.

Like I need another .375 but it seemed a good deal for a solid working rifle...

http://www.cabelas.com/product...ells&Ntt=frank+wells

Looks like a steal to me.

TT

Nice rifle...Good price!

What is that piece of septic pipe on the end of the barrel?

quote:

What is that piece of septic pipe on the end of the barrel?

Easily removed and recrowned... then again maybe I am getting soft as my beard grays, maybe I'll just leave it on!

My only "wish it had" was a barrel band swivel instead of the front swivel but then it might be close to perfect and I wouldn't ever need to buy another .375.

Nah...

Beautiful rifle for sure and it seems to be priced well too.

I have owned two rifles by Frank Wells through the years. Both were extremely nice and performed well. The strange thing is that I see Wells rifles for good prices regularly. I have seen several of his guns on Mark X actions. My favorite was a 416 Remington on a pre 64 model 70 but I also had a 458 Lott on the Mark X. There is a very nice Model 70 270 by him available on Guns America that I handled for $1500. Also a nice synthetic stocked big bore is either on Guns America or Guns International. His guns are good values.