Has anyone used mesquite wood for gunstocks? Any thoughts? Any pictures?

There is a mesquite sawmill near me and some of the wood looks great.

Weatherby used a bunch of mesquite back in the 50s and 60s.

It is heavier than walnut.

It is also said to be hard on checkering tools.

http://www.oldtreegunblanks.co...nblanks.php?woodid=6

Never used it, but here are some examples...

It can be beautiful, but the good blanks are expensive.
Butch

Butch, what are we talking "Expensive"?

The Screwbean Mesquite is the wood that is used for rifle stocks and is very hard to come by and expensive. It is only legal to cut in a few states now and to find a tree large enough for a blank is rare THEN to get it to cure correctly is even more difficult. I have a few very nice blanks plus one of my Marlins built by Marlinis on Gordon’s web site above.

Screwbean when dry is just about the strongest and dimensionally stable wood you can use. To address the above --- it is not harder on checkering tools than any other wood.

I don't have any pictures of mine, but I did it the same way you are thinking. I called Abilene Mesquite Hardwoods and had them look for me a couple nice 3" slabs 36" long. Charles looked for a while since he knew what I was using them for. Paid $85 for both slabs and sent them out to be semi-inlet. They are nothing fancy, but they are hell for tough.

I am doing a mesquite stock ona Marlin 1894 44 mag right now. I used the more common Texas red mesquite. It is going to make a beautifulk stock once I get it finished. If you are looking for a lot of figure dont go with mesquite. It can have figure but it tends to be subtle - which I really like.

Do a google for mesquite stock blanks and you will get several good links. But be prepared to pay a healthy chunk for a pretty plain blank. When i was looking for a blank to use on a M70 project to find a blank that had excellent layout and very modest figure was $400 and up. I ended up going with a 2 piece blank for my Marlin at that point.

This is a page from my 70's Fagen catalog.



Von Gruff.

Screwbean has nothing in common with the other mesquite varietals with respect to the way the tree grows ---- better to know what you are working with than think you have something you don’t.

So we can all understand--see the following pics and know some of this is in my blank "pile"

Thanks for all the help and information, looks like it is a go! I will be using the more common Texas Red Mesquite. The project is a BSA Cadet single shot in 5.6X50R.

Now to find a duplicator.

Try Donnie Gemes at Show-Me Gunstocks. I have used him for a number of stocks, rifle and shotgun. He is fast and reasonable.

Donnie Gemes
Show-Me Gunstocks
19557 Quail Ridge Rd
Warsaw, MO 65355
(660) 438-4568

my wife's custom-stocked encore was originally in regular Mesquite


but United Airlines broke it on the way home from Africa . . . Bullberry generously covered it under warranty but they did not have any red mesquite blanks, so her new one is in screwbean Mesquite


(all woodwork and barrels by Bullberry)

Troy Hibbitts

Screwbean? To match her husband????? :-)