SDH

Well, if the next book is as good as the last two, I look forward to it. Make sure and come on this forum and let us all know when it will be released. I hope it will be avialable with your signature as the last one was.

Blue

P. S. Just out of curiosity, have you switched to digital yet?

SDH I've much enjoyed your books also. A lot of your articles have been a source of inspiration to me. I'm a beginner at stockmaking and everything I can learn from you and the other Masters is another expensive mistake I can avoid. Please keep them up. Did you have any luck this year with your Dakota Model 10 257 Roberts hunting this year? I especially liked the engraving. Would you mind letting me know where you had it done and approximate time/cost it entailed? Also what do you think about Case-Hardening on the Model 10. I was thinking about having it and the engraving done to mine. Thanks............DJ

SDH

Thanks for that explanation. I know you also write for a living as I have two of your books and enjoy them very much.

Blue

SDH, I have a different take on fiberglass-stocked custom rifles than you do, but even so, I love fine walnut-stock classic custom rifles, and there will always be a place for each in my battery. As a client I'm critcal, maybe overly so, but that comes from getting burned a few times on projects and from having looked over in great detail scores and scores of custom rifles in various collections. It also seems the more I hunt, the more I expect out of my rifles. I'm more of a hunter than a collector, and I hunt a great deal. For big game hunting purposes, sameness is of great value to me in that it's advantageous to pick up a .270 Win., or a .338 Win. Mag., or a .375 H&H and have the balance and feel of the rifle the same, regardless of what rifle you have in your hands. Every operation is the same, and becomes second-nature.

I don't think there is another true, best-quality craftsman - perhaps in the history of custom gunmaking - who turns out the variety of truly unique and useful custom rifle and shotgun projects that you do. I suppose someone could argue for Monte Mandarino's fine work in that regard, but that's about the only other man on a very short list.

I hope you have maintained detailed photographic records of all or most of your custom projects to date. It would make for another truly great custom firearms book in and of itself, and another legacy.

AD

Jeese guys - blush, blush - those are awfully kind words!

I do photograph all of my own work and many others as well. Shot a P&V break-open single shot today (a very accurate and elegant .270) for a cover story for Accurate Rifle.
The next book is written, but lord knows when I'll get time to put it together. It will have lots of color and lots of fine contemporary custom guns.