I have this one on hold at Griffin & Howe until Monday morning at which time one of the gunsmiths is going to pull the barreled action out of the stock to check for additional identifying markings..

Can anybody help with the makers identification?

To my eye it has the makings of a Joe Balickie rifle.

What appears to be a discoloration at the top of the but is actually part of the checkering pattern.

Skeleton grip cap, the island swivel studs look like Balickie.

Thoughts?

No One?

We're waiting until Monday

Balickie was selling some personal guns fairly recently. If he is still alive surely he would remember the checkering at the butt of the comb??
Or we can wait until Monday.

Earl Milliron?

quote:

Originally posted by metal:
Earl Milliron

If built by Earl Milliron it is a quality gun. Very nice rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
We're waiting until Monday

In the event the rifle is not marked with further provenance I will need to make a decision Monday on whether or not to purchase.

I'm hoping to do so somewhat informed.

I am not familiar with Milliron's work, never having handled his rifles. What would lead one to suspect this might be his work?

At first I discounted Milliron, but after looking at the picture of one of his rifles in Toew's book I would say could be. Normally his cheek pieces did not extend so far toward the belly of the stock, but the one in Toes's book is a dead ringer. Sorry nothing definitive.

Thanks squeeze.

I also had someone suggest the cheekpiece and comb looks much like some Clayton Nelson did in the mid 1970’s

The cheekpiece does look like Clayton Nelson to me. I’ve seen quite a few of his rifles with that. Joe Balickie rifles usually had a very open and distinctive grip towards the front on them. I’m trying to compare mine to the photos of that one but it’s kind of hard to tell. My Balickie rifle is marked under the grip cap, but since that one is a skeleton grip cap it won’t be there. More than likely under the buttplate if it’s not a skeleton too or in the barrel channel.

Here’s mine for comparison.

Thanks JM

Heard from G&H.

The rifle has no further identifying marks or provenance.

Grip cap and butt plate are both skeleton.

However an individual whose judgement I trust suggested that it looks a lot like Jim Carmichael's custom 280 Remington which was built by Nelson.

Which takes me back to the CNN marking on the barrel. Does anybody know Nelson's middle name?

I don’t know what his middle name actually is but his middle initial is N. My Nelson rifle is marked Clayton N. Nelson on the the top of the barrel.

Thank you for that!

I am going to purchase the rifle.

You’re welcome! Good snag on a nice rifle! Looking forward to hearing how it shoots and seeing some better pictures of it. I’d really like to see the checkering on the top off the butt too. Never seen that on any rifles before.

Clayton Nelson built a rifle for Jim Carmichael that looks a lot like this one.

Something to consider, one side of that blank is awesome the other side is flat without grain, and that would make me suspecious as to the makers professionality...but the workmanship seems very good indeed..