This is the second rifle I ever stocked for myself. It is a pre-64 M-70 in .358 Win. It was my deer and elk rifle for years. I gave it to my son-in-law a while back. He and daughter recently send me some pics. It was good just to see my old friend.

I whittled out the stock and had Ted Nickless checker it for me. All metal and rust bluing is by Herman Waldron. Engraving is by Tommy Kaye. This was around 1980.

It proved to be a very lucky rifle for our whitetail deer. Wish I could say the same for elk. I used it a long time till old age and a torn rotator cuff made it uncomfortable to shoot whereupon I gave it to Dave.

The kids sent me a dozen pics. I will post the best two.

Nice looking rifle.

The second pic... shows the engraving that Tommy Kaye did. It's a portrait of my best Michigan Whitetail which I took right here in Clare County in 1981. After I got the mount done I took a lot of photos of same, sent them to Tommy and he scratched the portrait on the floorplate.

I really miss this gun. It and I have been a lot of places together. When I decided that it hurt too much to shoot I gave it to son-in-law who had just drawn a tag for an Arizona bull elk. I now deer hunt in Michigan only with a really elegant Jack Haugh Ruger No.1 .243. Easier on the shoulder.

What a great looking rifle. My father in law gave me a Saturday night special break top that didn't fire.

Tommy is a Hell of an Artist! I have two rifles being done by him now. It must have been very hard to give away such a beautiful rifle, says a lot about your S-I-L!

I remember the article about this rifle. Well done.

Congrats on a great rifle job and story.

The 358 Winchester has also been my primary hunting cartridge. I have used a 99 Savage since 1966 and have a M70 and others so chambered.

Here is the 99F and also a Steyr 358.

Lee440... What is S-I-L?

There was a time when I had a pretty good collection of good custom rifles, mostly Shelhamers and G & H's and a few that that I stocked myself.

However, the time comes when you have to think about what happens to the guns when you are gone. In the last fifteen or twenty years I have sold almost all of the collection simply so the family wouldn't have to cope with it if something happened to me unexpectedly.

We are down to our personal deer rifles and a few others that are "old friends" and that we just can't bear to let go.

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Originally posted by Dick Wright:
Lee440... What is S-I-L?

Son-in-law?

Yes, son in law. You must think a lot of him to give him such a great gift. That's great.

Beautiful classic rifle that had quite a few legends touch it!

Funny story about that rifle... One day (years ago) in hunting season I decided to take Glorya to my deer blind with me. She usually used her own blind. I made sure that we only took one rifle, the .358... two guns/two people in a small blind seemed a bit risky, especially when one of the two is a world-class klutz.

Anyway, a shootable buck soon appeared... "Go ahead and shoot it." I said.

She did.

She looked at me and said, "I gotta have me one of these scopes." Her little rifle had a Leup 3X simply because I liked the proportions when I made the rifle.

Anyway, being a nice guy and taking her with me cost me a 6X Kahles scope for her rifle.

No good deed goes unpunished.

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I used it a long time till old age and a torn rotator cuff made it uncomfortable to shoot whereupon I gave it to Dave.

Congratulations.....you have just created a family heirloom. And a very fine one at that.