07 March 2008, 21:31
Prewar70Joe Balickie
Looked at a couple of rifles stocked by Joe and was curious about the stockmaker not having heard his name before. Did a search here and got plenty of info about his videos but nothing really on the man himself. I'd be interested in hearing what anyone has to say about his abilities, quality of his rifles, etc. Is he retired? Was he only a stockmaker? If so, who normally did he metalwork? Did he sign his work or how does one attribute his work to him. The rifles I looked at were really nice, excellent stocks and checkering was as tight and crisp as I've seen. Thanks.
07 March 2008, 22:36
Bill MeyerI met Joe at an NRA show maybe 20 years ago, about couldn't get away from him. One thing led to another and we probably talked 2 hours. Joe was from one of the Carolinas, not sure which. Little guy, knew his stuff. I heard he retired maybe 2-3 years ago. Bill
07 March 2008, 22:47
alvinmackI know nothing about the guy personally other than the fact he mentored Sharon Dressel. I own his checkering video and I can tell you the content went above and beyond to educate the novest on some of the ins and outs of good checkering.
08 March 2008, 04:53
Duane WiebeJoe...great guy, lots of energy, very talented. He developed a severe allergy to WALNUT! A bout with the big "C", told him it was time to hang it up. Last time I talked to him, he was headed to Texas with his wife, who had recently earned her retirement..Would like to hear from him if anyone is in touch
08 March 2008, 05:05
Prewar70Duane,
Did Joe do only wood? Who did his metal?
09 March 2008, 07:04
LongshotI saw Joe and his wife last week at the Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh, NC. They are retired and living in Apex, NC.
Rustystud
09 March 2008, 09:08
Duane Wiebeprewar 70: I honestly don't know...I thought he only did wood...wuld love to hear from him.....
09 March 2008, 09:15
nyriflemanDuane,
Any idea how Joe "signed" his work. Would the initials JB engraved on the metal denote one of his rifles?