www.champlinarms.com/gundetail.cfm?id=1544

It's not cheap at $11,750.00, but the price is still very fair, and you could NOT get it built for that kind of money today. This rifle is full of great features, and built to hunt with.

Champlin also has a cased pre-war original Rigby in .416 Rigby for sale at some $23,000. Compare that rifle to this Ottmar rifle at less than half the price and tell me which rifle is better-designed and better-built, and represents the better value!

AD

allen,

That is some kind of amazing rifle!!! Would I love to spend 28 days in Tanzania carrying that 416 around.....!

Like you I'll take the Ottmar every single time.

Regards,
Dave

Very nice, classy piece of work, as per usual.

There is a reason Ottmar's rifles look the way they do. He loved the work. He was always excited about the project he was on and the next one in line. He loved the work, he loved planning the project out, he loved talking about the project. Of course, it takes more than enjoying the work to make a good gunmaker. But, the ones who don't love the work don't last long enough to get truely good at it. JMHO

He also had a hell of a work ethic. He put in a 12 hour day 6 days a week (I burnt up about 6 hrs a week talking on the phone with him). Not because he had too, because he loved it and loved being in his shop.

They're not blood sucking lawyers blue. Does your banker charge you for specific time spent across from him at his desk? Does the car salesman (no offence gunsmiths) charge you for time spent on the lot?

I have "wasted" more than one gunsmiths time in his shop and on the phone, but a couple will get my business. I'm ever grateful for the time some have spent on me and as stated, I hope to return the favor.

Chuck

I don't like to waste a gunmaker's time. If I'm just starting out with a riflemaker, I do some research first. I know what I want, know what I'm out to achieve before I ever contact him. I don't waste his time by asking stupid questions that I can answer for myself. I try to avoid being a tire-kicker.

When I do make initial contact, I have a list of questions written down, and I hit all of them one at a time. I'm always pleased at how quickly questions can be answered and decisions reached by being organized and objective from the get go.

If we've come to initial terms, and a firm estimate has been established, I send him an action, perhaps a wood blank or other parts I want to use, plus a deposit if he asks for it. I get this stuff out right away, so he knows I'm sincere and he knows the manner in which I take care of business. This is very, very important, I believe. From there on out, I live by my word, and I pay when the gunmaker requests it until the project is complete.

The longer phone conversations can come after you've established a real business relationship and a friendship, but always try to keep it brief and offer to get off the phone so that he can get back to work.

AD

Roger and Maurice were very close friends and that is why they talked often. I did the same with him but probably not as often. When most people visited Maurice he would stop working and in a fairly short time his wife, Monika, would come out to the shop and make some excuse for Maurice to come into the house. It was a message that your visit was over. After a time, she no longer did that with me and I am sure the same applied to Roger when he drove over. I also told Maurice that I did not want him to stop working when I visited and after that he would continue.

Most gunsmiths do not want long term visiters and would not want someone to spend a great deal of time asking questions nor would they want pay for it, they just wouldnt want the situation to occur. Time is money for them but they want to make their money getting their work done and not getting it for trying to educate someone.

There are situations that require some compensation. I asked Pat Taylor a nujmber of years ago, to tutor me on a MMC electric checkering tool when I bought Maurice's old one. I spent half day with her and she was not going to take as much as I knew she could have made checkering for that time. I left it anyway and told her that it was money well spent.

Blue:



Maurice and I would take turns with who placed the call. Many times it was work related, but almost always deteriorated into bullshit sessions that went far into the night.



BTW, I didn't really have much in the way of mentoring with engraving. I do owe Tommy Kaye a bunch of gratitude. I spent a couple of weeks in his shop. What an eye opening experience. Other than that, I have been pretty much on my own. I try to pass on that help to others. If they are serious and have done their homework. I don't work on customers guns with an audience. I don't think that would be fair to the customer. Besides what good would it do to watch me engrave? I already have the basics down.

I knew Maurice from Trinidad State College. I think he was in the class of 1972 and I graduated in 1971. I was 19 or 20 and he was 35 and already a great craftsman. I sure he taught the stockmaking instructor really how to checker.



After he moved back to Washington I would stop and see him once or twice a year in Coulee City. He taught one of the NRA summer classes down in Susanville and I took the class just to spend the week with him. The nicest man to walk the planet and a hell of a craftsman.



Blue was talking about talking to a gunmaker either on the phone or in person. I think it depends on the gunmaker. I don't mind spending a little time on the phone talking to some interested in the trade as long as it's his dime ( or 50 cents these days). A few years ago I had a local customer order a barreled action, but I could only work on it while he was present. He paid a little extra. He became a friend and stops by quite often.

I've always got time to talk with my clients, and my friends in the trade. If a client calls while I'm working on his project, or I call him to talk about his project, I often leave the billible hours clock running. Sometimes not.

The trick is to be fair to him, and be fair to myself. As a writer, I get an inordinant number of calls from folks who want to tell me about their stuff. I those cases I've learned to be fair to myself.

Besides, I didn't get into this to win any popularity contests. There are two worst case scenarios on the phone: 1. someone asking how to do something so they can tell their gunsmith how I said to do it, or 2.someone who wants me to diagnose the problem with their gun over the phone. Case one, forget it! case 2. I ask them to hold the gun up to the phone so I can listen to it. Anyone who knows me well knows I've been called a prick, or worse, more than once.



I spent many enjoyable hours on the phone with Ottmar, and always had a smile on my face when I hung up!

That is truly a nice rifle, that I would love to own.