Sheesh, Forrest-

You are not only perfect (or close to perfect) in execution--getting things done--but... what I really admire is your sensibility.

It's a Jane Austin kind of word.

You have a feel, an understanding, for things Custom Gun.

Many here are strong machinists--practical technicians--or stockmakers, or engravers, and I'm hoping what I'm trying to express will not be interpreted as diminishing their profound talents.

Duane comes very close.

It's hard to imagine a riflesmith more talented. I'm pretty certain he could have done most everything--barring, perhaps, the engraving--himself.

And your Silver Lining rifle would have turned out just as well.

All of us, I expect, appreciated Roger's illustrations of the engraving process.

Every single craftsman--and where does one draw the line between craftsman and artist?--involved in the project contributed in the creation of as fine a custom rifle as it is possible to imagine.

I don't think that's hyperbole.

It's a too-well-flogged cliché: A Labor of Love.

But yes, A Labor of Love.

A little bit of a long-winded AR saga, but every chapter worth reading.

I'm hoping everything is straight with the Guild, as this rifle, at least to me, embodies the ideals the Guild represents.

It would be nice if those outside of the the Accurate Reloading world could appreciate this effort. Do we have any feature writers to tell the story?

Well done, boys.

flaco

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:
\That may be sooner than I'm ready to do another raffle project so I really appreciate you volunteering for the job.

Amen - there is really no understanding how draining these are unless you do one, or two, or, if you are a really slow learner, 3

jeffe

The CD is moving along well, and should be ready in about two weeks. I expect that $20.00 would be a more than fair price to pay. Sales details have not been worked out, but will be in the next few days.I will also be adding some photos that were not posted on the web site, courtesy of Duane and Roger. As to articles, I am currently putting three together, one for submission to The Gunmaker, one for the Amercan Rifleman, and one for submission to NEA Today.

Dave

loud-n-boomer,

Great news on the CD. Thanks for all of the work that you are putting into it.

I didn't know that you were writing articles about the rifle and the scholarship fund. What an excellent idea and way to go. I really think that the story of how the rifle came together will be of great interest to our fellow hunters and shooters. The more people who hear about what happened here the better.

Doug

Just to clarify..no invoice from me either..

Duane, you guys are too good! It will come back to you in many ways.
Butch

You know, Duane, if you are getting in the habit of not sending out invoices, I have several more projects in mind.

Since I can't spell "envioce" I won't be able to send one either.
Broke my heart that I didn't win that beautiful rifle; I have been petulant for days.
Just holding it was a joy. What a project! What a group of guys!!!
Mike W.

CAS II I hear any habit can be broken in three weeks!! To: lost okie...great meeting such a master knifemaker. I'm serious about a knife for ME! and we'll make sure you get copies of the posters that Gary Bolster' photography made possible

Looks like you've got 20 days to get the 375 finished then..............

See, I am very accommodating.

Jeffe said it all!

I'd like to thank all those craftsmen who put their time, talents and heart into this project. Along with Forrest and the others who kept this dream alive and saw it through, y'all have done a magnificent job.

A monumental effort by all concerned.

Bravo Zulu!

Well I just finished up reading the last 5 or so pages of this thread and I must say that the generosity shown here is truly outstanding and VERY admirable. Like they say, you only get one chance to make a good first impression and you folks knocked it WAY out of the park. Awesome job!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen....and I use therm Getlemen LOOSELY....

I received my Zeiss Conquest Scope from the early bird draw today. Absolutely beautiful.
Customs never opened it and it only took 12 days.
Thanks again to all who supported this project.

Glad to be apart of it, and this site,
LeRoy.

Coming from a canuck....that's a compliment..personally, I glad someone who appreciates that fine scope has it...thanks for your support Duane

Duane has been all over my case to post some photos from Reno. Here are two from the big drawing at the Silver Baron Bar in the Silver Legacy Hotel:

Duane's lovely wife Jeannie drawing our grand prize winning ticket:



And after the shock and surprise wore off, here's a photo of Duane congratulating our winner, MHC-TX (loud-n-boomer is in the background plotting some type of hostile takeover of the raffle):



Reno was a lot of fun, mostly because I got to meet so many new and old AR friends.

For everyone who is waiting for their checks to clear, all the checks should clear by early next week. All the prizes have been mailed and received as far as I know. We still have one 2-piece stock blank that we'll auction off on the ARBAY forum. I'll take some photos and post the auction in about two weeks.

Glen and I will get together in about a week and work up a final accounting that will include a start-to-finish tally of the money we've raised. I think a number of you will be surprised to see what we've accomplished.

Dave (loud-n-boomer) is working on the gunsmithing DVD and that should generate a bit more money for us - hopefully quite a bit.

Thanks for participating everyone. I'll be back with more in two weeks.

Thanks for posting the images, Forrest-

Got any more?

I'd happily settle for shots from the show.

I'd like to attach some faces to the names we read about every day.

flaco

Guess who picked up the bar tab............well it was the least I could do after being the lucky winner

The rifle is now my wife's and she is thrilled with it (who wouldn't be).

MHC_TX,

Kudos on the win!!! You'll be admiring that rifle for many years..
Have fun with it.
If you're wife gets tired of looking at it, send it to Michigan for some winter training... Every rifle needs some snow time..
Duane looks like my identical twin brother.. Same beard, same hair-do

Don

Forrest:

Actually, I was hoping that while you weren't looking I could stuff the raffle bag with lots of tickets with my name, so that I could win one of Mike William's knives. Unfortunately, you wouldn't turn your back.

Also, the gunmaking CD should be done by the end of next week.

Dave

DMB: I resemble that insinuation...

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
DMB: I resemble that insinuation...

Hey man, ya look great!!!! Grass don't grow on a busy street...

MHC_TX shared a little story with me: Giving the rifle to his wife, she was unfamiliar with the caliber.."What would you use this for" she asked.."Honey, this caliber has been used for everything from antelope to elephant" "Then why do you need all those other guns?"....whoops!

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
MHC_TX shared a little story with me: Giving the rifle to his wife, she was unfamiliar with the caliber.."What would you use this for" she asked.."Honey, this caliber has been used for everything from antelope to elephant" "Then why do you need all those other guns?"....whoops!

I recovered.........I told her that it wasn't legal for dangerous game.......what was I thinking.

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
MHC_TX shared a little story with me: Giving the rifle to his wife, she was unfamiliar with the caliber.."What would you use this for" she asked.."Honey, this caliber has been used for everything from antelope to elephant" "Then why do you need all those other guns?"....whoops!

That's a great story...

Boomer

When can I send in an order for a CD?

I will be sending the master for the CD to Glen71. It is my understanding that the Sheryl Searcy Scholarship Foundation will be selling the CD directly. I plan to finish the CD this weekend and should be sending Glen the master on Monday of next week.

Dave

CD? DVD?

Well I took my wifes rifle out this weekend and shot it for the first time (she slept in).

I had loaded up some 139gr Hornaday BTSP and 140gr Nosler Partitions over 49.0grs of IMR-4350.

I started off with the 139gr Hornadays and managed to shoot a 3 shot group that went about 6". I knew I could shoot better than that......the wind was blowing pretty good but it was coming from directly behind me, so I didn't think it was that. I checked the scope and made sure everything was good and tight, then chambered another round. I noticed it felt a little tight when I chambered it so I pulled it out for a look........there was the problem (rifling engraving on the bullet) I hadn't quite seated the bullets deep enough, even though I was well below the OAL that was given in the book. I knew the rifle was chambered with a short neck. I switched to the Noslers....they chambered fine (a little different bullet shape). I then shot a 4 shot group that went ~3/4". That load is a keeper.

When I got home I checked the OAL for the 139gr Hornadays and I was about 0.002" to long, so I seated them deeper and will try them again next time.

I hope the SSF prints a BUNCH of those DVDs... I've got a feeling you're going to sell a lot of them. I want one!

MKane160

MHC_TX Wow, your first couple sentences really got my attention! Needless to say, it looks like you found the "magic" The rifle is not quite out of warranty...if you would feel more comfortable with a longer throat, I'd be happy to do it...but...I think you'll get better results overall with the present configuration

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe:
MHC_TX Wow, your first couple sentences really got my attention! Needless to say, it looks like you found the "magic" The rifle is not quite out of warranty...if you would feel more comfortable with a longer throat, I'd be happy to do it...but...I think you'll get better results overall with the present configuration

Duane,
I think the short neck will be perfect for this rifle, as it will probably be used with 140-150gr bullets. It really liked the 140gr Nosler partition load and I would rather use that bullet for hunting. I'm going to try sone 150 grain Nosler Partitions in it and then give it back to my wife.

It was sure fun to shoot.....my smallest hunting rifle (non-varmit) is a 30/06. I think my wife will really enjoy shooting it. She was joking around about taking "her" rifle out. I even cleaned it for her.

It was the pretty woman at the range......drawing a lot of slobber.

OMIGAWD!!! I just decided to see what this thread was all about. This was an INCREDIBLE project by a bunch of real artists!!! Beautiful job, y'all! And a good cause! And I think I want that CD. Just looking at the checkering layout was educational, even though I go blind and hunchbacked doing four simple patterns at 18 LPI, with minimal wraparound. Nice engraving vise, too---must go about 90 pounds!

quote:

Originally posted by loud-n-boomer:
I will be sending the master for the CD to Glen71. It is my understanding that the Sheryl Searcy Scholarship Foundation will be selling the CD directly. I plan to finish the CD this weekend and should be sending Glen the master on Monday of next week.

Dave

Any update, PLEASE? Did I miss an announcement somewhere? I and I am sure others are waiting patiently. Is there an order list or information posted somewhere?

Roger

My apologies to everyone for the delays and lack of news concerning the CD of the Scholarship Rifle Project. We are in production and will post the mailing address for orders on April 17th. The reason for this date is that I am moving and don't want to give out the address until I am there.

The CD's will sell for $22.00 each, which includes return postage in CONUS. Foreign shipments will likely require some postage.

When I post the address next week, just mail a check or money order made out to "SSMSF" and be sure to include your mailing address.

Again, sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience and interest.

Glen Searcy

The CD's are now for sale. To order, please send check or money order made out to:
"S.S.M.S.F." and mail to:

Glen Searcy
17311 Laguna Trail Drive
Houston, TX 77095

Price is $22.00 per CD, postage included (at least in the US).

Glen,
Sent money for 2. I made the check to you. I'm sure you can fix that.
Butch

Not a problem, Butch.

We have received the essays of the 71 qualified applicants from the counselor's office and, the committee is currently reading and ranking them. We hope to have a winning essay selected by Monday the 28th. We will not know the name of the winner until closer to the award ceremony next month. Stay tuned!

For those who have mailed me checks for CD's: Your orders have been mailed out. I humbly apologize for the delays. I had some unexpected logistical problems related to moving my residence to the opposite side of town from where the CD's were being copied. Service will be much faster in the future.

Sorry guys, only picked up on this thread now, what calibre was the final product in? Can someone direct me to the pics of the whole rifle!
Thanks
Johan

Thanks, Glen. I was just gettin' ready to write a post about how you were a low-life, scumbag, ripoff artist of questionable Nigerian descent...You know, really get the crowd fired up, threaten to send my lawyer, Guido, after you....but now...YOU DA MAN!!!

Ah, timing... ;-)

MKane160