If you were having a fairly nice Big Bore rifle built where would you go to look for a blank?

I understand pricing varies on quality, etc but what would you consider a reasonable price range for a blank on nice custom rifle...got any internet links to point towards...

I appreciate the help!

www.gunstockblanks.com

www.dressels.com

www.wattswalnut.com

For ~$300 you can get extremely nice black walnut. For $400-700 you can get some very attractive english...english goes up to as much as $3K.

Permit me to ask a question. What type walnut would you use to handle the 458 Lott?

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
Permit me to ask a question. What type walnut would you use to handle the 458 Lott?

Bastogne or english.

Some American black is dense enough.....some is not and Claro is almost always too light for the task.

The Lott is a seriously recoiling cartridge.

quote:

Bastogne or english.

Some American black is dense enough

I second that. I would also say the run of the grain would be important as well.

quote:

Originally posted by jjs:
If you were having a fairly nice Big Bore rifle built where would you go to look for a blank?

I understand pricing varies on quality, etc but what would you consider a reasonable price range for a blank on nice custom rifle...got any internet links to point towards...

I appreciate the help!

Check the classifieds...there's blanks for sale there occasionally.

Contact Ray Atkinson and ask what he has...he listed several at one time and I think he had some left over.

Check with ElCaballero he had a bunch of English for sale here earlier.

So for a DGR stay away from Turkish as well?

I went through those sites...for someone with no experience (like me) it was a bit confusing when looking at all the choices, etc...

How should the grain run for a 375 on up?..more horizontal? ie butt to tip of barrel...

Thanks for the help...

Fjold:

Did he post some pics on Gunsmith...I will do some searches and see what I come up with....Thanks

You're looking for a quarter sawn blank with grain running parallel along the barrel and then down into the pistol grip and butt of the stock.

Turkish is way cool, and, in theory, the same tree as English.

As far as I can tell, these names have been sort of faddish, one year it's English, one year it's Turkish, one year it's French.

Find a blank you like, and be prepared to spend a lot of money.

The stock is a huge part of the aesthetics of the rifle.

flaco

N.B. Now, were you to ask what kind of stocks were most commonly displayed by Guild member at Reno, I'd suggest... there's a certain amount of conformity to what I can only believe is a commonly held ideal.

This is English, quarter sawn, with strong contrasty mineral streaking against a very warm reddish--sometimes verging on orange--brown background.

Like I said, be prepared to spend money.

You've got the cart out front... pick the stockmaker, then have him pick a good stock that he wants to work with. If you pick a good stocker, with experience building large caliber rifles, you will get a good blank and a good stock.
SDH

SDH:

At this stage I just attempting to find out what I like...not at the buying stage just yet...my questions about what to look for, at least point me in a direction....

You are correct I will depend on a stock maker to make sure it is right..for sure...but I find it helpful to at least guide someone about what I like in terms of style/looks and go from there...

You might want the weight of Bastogne, its often very dense and you can often get a great looking and well laid out blank for less than you'd pay for an "equivalent" english or turkish piece. Excuse me if you know all this but by "quarter sawn" the guys mean tha when you look at the butt of the blank, like the gun was facing away from you right side up , the grain of the wood runs horizontally. When looking at the blankl from the side, the grain should flow through the wrist, parallel to the lines of the stock, and ideally slightly rise through the forarm. Ideally. The reason I don't post a pic is because I don't own a blank with all these attributes. In my opinion, with a Lott go for layout, and structural integrity first, cosmetics second. Pretty's great until your lovely splits under recoil. You can of course buy both if your patient and have the means...

snowcat,

Thanks that was very helpful post...

Now I know you can spend a bunch of bucks on a stock...I do not intend to go hog wild here by any measure..if it becomes an issue I just put a syn. stock on it and latter do a wood stock...I want to be able to use it not a closet queen...

But what would you think would be a reasonable budget for just the Blank, very nice not over the horizon?...I know the work in finished stock is going to add much more...thanks!

quote:

what would you think would be a reasonable budget for just the Blank,

A bastogne or english stock with some fancy grain in the butt and straight grain thru the pistol grip area can be bought for $200-$500 and it depends on amount of figure and who has it.

I guess I missed out on these sites since I was looking for black walnut originally, but WOW! I like this guys blanks.

Can I ask if there are happy customers of his here on ACCForum?

Yes.

flaco

vapodog,

Thanks!

333_OKH...yea! thats why I asked about Turkish being an acceptable wood...nice looking stuff for sure, if it will work..

I am looking for a stock myself and checked out the sites of various suppliers.It seems that many of the stocks offered are rejects in some way.I am planning on finding a stockmaker and having him find me a stock that I approve of.These guys might have the means of getting their hands on the good ones before they are put up for sale on the web.If this is not the case then I at least will see what a stockmaker can come up with.