There are many things that I see on custom rifles that make me wonder "what were they thinking." Some examples are: tall quarter-ribs, quarter-ribs on rifles that should not have quarter ribs, overly long forends, rear sight mounted halfway down the barrel, etc.

I know none of us would tell the owner of these rifles what we really think. So here's your chance to vent....

What are styling miscues that just make you shake your head?

Jason

I am not a fan of light colored stocks like Birch or maple. Mannlicher style rifles that have no sights....they just look wrong to me. I fail to see the merits of thumbhole stocks and see no beauty in them what so ever. I am also not a fan of the heavy "beanfield" rifles in big game calibers. They just don't fit the way I hunt.

for the most part i have to agree about light colored stocks.....
ironicly, i just glued up a laminate of extremely fidle backed red leaf maple to make a stock out of. this stuff just caught my eye at a specialty lumber dealer so i bought i bought a couple chunks and plained them down to 1/8 thickness to laminate. ....i just just gotta try...one..., you know what i mean?....
i glued them up with west systems epoxy dyed a dark reddish brown to put a little color and definition in the outlines of the glue joints.
now i'm looking for a chunk of real figured,(extremely contrasting colors,that is) claro or similar to use as a fore end tip.
a 1909 in .35 whelen or 338-06...wish i could make up my mind!..., will reside within.
everybody's got to have just one light colored stock in thier life..

i don't really care for the ruger looking bolt handles. i like straight, with just a touch of angle back. i have two of them that were done ruger style years go, before i actually established a preferance, now i feel like having them re-done. although done nicely by a very good local 'smith, they just look a little "ameturish" to me now.
also, i hate it whaen the end of a pistol grip blens into the butt with a large radius and little definition in that area. i like the end of the grip to meet the but with a sharp crease and clear definition of the grip where it meets the butt. another one of those things that just look ameture to me, if not done "right". granted, a stock done this way will have a few more hours in it, but i think that is one of the areas that "seperates the men from the boys" in stockwork.
one more, wrists, i like mine narrow, not so thin that it looks or feels fragile, of course. but generally, there's always way too much material left in that area of most "semi-inletted" stocks when they're done.

Excessive engraving is something that doesn't look good to me, especially if it isn't top notch quality. I think it is better to have no engraving unless it is really top notch.

White-line spacers, Roll-over cheekpeices and carved scenes on stocks..........................DJ

Heavy barrels, excessively long shanks, overbuilt scope mounting systems, spiral fluted bolts.

Huge German made scopes are especially tacky when mounted on an otherwise nice classic looking rifle.

quote:

Excessive engraving,White-line spacers, Roll-over cheekpeices, carved scenes on stocks, Heavy barrels, overbuilt scope mounting systems, spiral fluted bolts, Huge German made scopes

and may I add excessively polished and shiny metal and stock finish that glares all over the mountain when elk hunting.

I dunno, I always' thought a custom rifle was supposed to be, well,,,, custom. Built the way the owner wanted it. Who am I to say what's wrong or right? When I see plastic stocks that look like bowling balls I'm not about to critique anyones rifle for the quarter rib being to high. I never knew there was a rule about height or what kind of rifle gets a quarter rib anyway.

Terry

Well said Terry. It is mine and I am going to do it the way I want. I do agree with some of the other guys, but if you have any of those features on your rifle and like it, good.
Butch

Inlays of any type, except maybe the "shields" like on the bottom of Parker double buttstocks.

Terry and Butch

Everyone is free to do as they please, none of us will stand in their way.

I am sure there must be some things that you see that make you cringe. What are the things that you would not be caught with on your rifle?

Jason

JBrown, I prefer to concentrate on the positive aspects of building a custom rifle. Not dwell on things I don't like.

Here is a perfect example. This is my last custom rifle I had built. I spent a lot of cash on it. What do you think?



IMO, I think this bandwidth would have been better served talking about the things you like in a custom rifle instead of stepping on toes.

Terry

Ahhhh...wellll....errrr....it's certainly an unusual and unique rifle.....I'll bet it very special to you.

One thing for sure......even the Obama police won't confiscate that one!

It's the silver Leupold that sets the stage for the rest of the rifle. You bet, it's the jewel in the safe. My only regret was bypassing the white line spacers.

Terry

The Maple Fajen Aristocrat styling coupled with the bakelite forend and grip cap are rare and not often seen anymore....a classic from the 70's

Complete with Uncle Mikes sling swivel studs and hardware and Milsurp sling this thing really says things about the time of old.....

The gold engraved barrel fits quite well with the entire package.

Yes, I would love to tell you who built it for me but the smith asked that I keep that a secret. I really not sure why.

Terry

i got one, but it wil be unpopular...

i can't STAND it when someone pays for something they didn't like/want and didnt have the stones to tell the guy "hey, X aint right"

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
Yes, I would love to tell you who built it for me but the smith asked that I keep that a secret. I really not sure why.

Terry

Jeffe huh?

I like this thread, and I don't think it's insulting, unless you show a pic of a particlar example.

I'm looking for a used custom, and I guess the only things that would prevent me from buying a specific rifle would be a thumbhole stock, or a fluted bolt, or something that looks excessively ornate.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
Yes, I would love to tell you who built it for me but the smith asked that I keep that a secret. I really not sure why.

Terry

Jeffe huh?

He said it would be unpopular

Nah, I like Jeffe. I can't hang this on him.

What's the problem with showing a picture Jaywalker?

Terry

quote:

I guess the only things that would prevent me from buying a specific rifle would be a thumbhole stock,

Now you've gone and dun-it....dems fightin words pardner!

This one is a classic too.....I don't remember the smith here either.....some guy from bxvscfdhfjsv As I recall

I like that!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vapodog:
The Maple Fajen Aristocrat styling coupled with the bakelite forend and grip cap are rare and not often seen anymore....a classic from the 70's

Here are a couple of rifles of a good friend but not realy to my taste....How you like the Fajen Vapo it is a 70's model for sure.

Terry

I wonder if you notice the irony in the fact that you jump in this thread as the speech police and tell us that we should not talk about what we don't like, then you post a photo of an actual custom rifle to poke fun at.

I know that in the past I have owned some rifles that I would not want to show to anyone today. We all have our likes and dislikes. I am just interested in hearing what others dislike.

We spend a lot of time gushing over rifles we like on this site. I am not looking to poke fun at people or post photos of specific rifles, I would simply like to discuss what we don't like.

So once again, what do you dislike?

Jason

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:



I am sure there must be some things that you see that make you cringe. What are the things that you would not be caught with on your rifle?

Jason

I wouldn't be caught dead with

See through bases or simms donut on any of my rifle barrels

- white line spacers
- carving
- fluer de les
- inlays
- maple
- extra high front sights
- flared grip caps
- stock inlays
- roll-over cheekpiece
- "Monte Carlo" stocks
- angled forend tips
- dog-leg bolt handles
- more than 10% engraving
- painted metal (including any teflon or other -- so-called high tech finishes
- stippling on the stock
- sandpaper glued to the stock for gription
- scopes with larger than 44mmm objective lens

and the one thing I hate to most:
- see-thru scope bases

I honestly don't like any of these things but if the customer wants any of them, and I can't convice them otherwise, then I'll figure out how to get it done. I believe Americans should buy what they want and that's the way it should always be.

Toomany Tools

You used to hate some things twice as much as some on your list

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
Terry

I wonder if you notice the irony in the fact that you jump in this thread as the speech police and tell us that we should not talk about what we don't like, then you post a photo of an actual custom rifle to poke fun at.

I know that in the past I have owned some rifles that I would not want to show to anyone today. We all have our likes and dislikes. I am just interested in hearing what others dislike.

We spend a lot of time gushing over rifles we like on this site. I am not looking to poke fun at people or post photos of specific rifles, I would simply like to discuss what we don't like.

So once again, what do you dislike?

Jason

The only reason I did it is because you ask twice and then again in this post. Irony? yea I got it, I wondered if you would. I never said one bad thing about the rifle I pictured.

Here's the deal. As time passes we like different things. Don't believe me, go look at an old picture of yourself and look at what cloths you picked out or the way you combed your hair. The rifles that were built back then looked different too. Some folks still like that stuff and I see no reason or need to tell anybody it's not acceptable or doesn't meet my approval. I guess if I'm the speech police what's that make you, the style police?

You asked what I didn't like and I gave you a very clear answer.

Terry

Yes people are free to make their rifles look however they want too (at least for now).

I'm also free to make as much fun of their bad taste as I want too.

If you saw a 300lb woman walking around in skin tight spandex it might be rude to suggest a change in her wardrobe. It also would be a community service. Suggesting restraint in certain stylish elements in custom guns is the same service................................DJ

quote:

I never said one bad thing about the rifle I pictured.

Let's not be obtuse.

quote:

Here's the deal. As time passes we like different things. Don't believe me, go look at an old picture of yourself and look at what cloths you picked out or the way you combed your hair. The rifles that were built back then looked different too. Some folks still like that stuff and I see no reason or need to tell anybody it's not acceptable or doesn't meet my approval. I guess if I'm the speech police what's that make you, the style police?

I wondered why you seemed upset, now I understand. Somehow I was not clear, I am not interested in telling others what to do, I would simply like to hear what others don't like. I agree with everything you said in the above paragraph except the part about me being the style police. I know our tastes change over time, as I said I used to own some rifles that I would not be caught dead with today.

My reason for starting this thread? When we only talk about what we like we are only looking at half the story. For example, I agreed with Mr. Farner's list 100%, but the funny thing is that I had never realized that I don't personally like fluer-de-les checkering patterns. Sure, I knew that I liked a "simple point pattern," but I had never stopped to realize that I dislike fluer de les in general, I guess I always thought that I didn't like the particular patten that I was looking at.

I would still like to hear what others don't like.

Jason

I'll be the first to dive in and say I have a rifle just like one someone described in this thread

I have a mannlicher stocked rifle with no iron sights AND I had it built that way. Wears a 1.5-5x scope full time.

The only things that leave me scratching my head are functional ones. Cosmetics to each his own. Stuff like .375 rifles in heavy barrel/varmit stock type stocks and stuff like that.

Well, you never told me if you liked my rifle.

I'm sorry, if we were talking face to face I don't think you have been offended by anything I said.

Terry

quote:

I'm sorry, if we were talking face to face I don't think you have been offended by anything I said.

And I don't think you would have been offended by my question if I had made my intent clear.

As to "your" rifle, if someone pulled that out of the safe and said, "what did you think of this one?" I would answer honestly, "wow, quite a bit of work went into that."

On a more serious note, why do you suppose the barrel is so short? I am guessing that the plating tank could not accommodate anything longer.

Jason

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:
- scopes with larger than 44mmm objective lens

and the one thing I hate to most:
- see-thru scope bases

I completely agree with John about the large scopes, they get in the way of my see-thru mounts
-Don

Sometimes the design is a "function" thing rather than a "style" thing.

Had you asked this two years ago, I'd have said I didn't care for monte carlo stocks. I still don't like their looks as much as a simple straight stock, but I realized recently the monte carlo actually fits my body type (long neck, sloping shoulders) better than the straight stock does.

JBrown's great two-step: 'I would answer honestly, "wow, quite a bit of work went into that."' I wish I'd known and used it 20 years ago when a guy showed me an absolutely nasty job of engraving on his Smith 44 Magnum and asked me what I thought of it. I said, honestly, that the rose design was nice and even, but it appeared to have been done with a chisel as the raised edges of the figures were sharp enough to cut the hand. Wow, quite a lot of work went into it.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
Yes, I would love to tell you who built it for me but the smith asked that I keep that a secret. I really not sure why.

Terry

Jeffe huh?

LOL, thats at least 150% past my skill level..
i mean the engraving goes from sight to bolt shroud, and the gold spray paint, and 86 clear coats are so even....

while not MY cup of tea, i hope it suits the owners request

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:


On a more serious note, why do you suppose the barrel is so short? I am guessing that the plating tank could not accommodate anything longer.

Jason

No, I ran out of money and had to stop there.


Sorry, couldn't help it.

Terry

Poorly executed (disproportional) schnabel forearm tips. Any schnabel tip on a shotgun.