I would like a recomendation on a gunsmith to build high quality stock for Bolt rifle which I have which has a cracked stock. Thank you!

Where do you live?
What type (make & model) of gun?
Do you have a budget in mind?
What use for the gun- hunting, target, or collectible?

1: where are you located <country>
2: what gun and caliber (yes, it matters)
3: what kind of wood?
4: what do you want to spend?

jeffe

Assuming that you understand what a

quote:

high quality stock for Bolt rifle

costs, I would not hesitate to recommend Duane Wiebe who has built several stocks for me, or Chic Worthington, who posts here and whose work I have seen.

It is a David Miller rifle with a cracked stock. I had some trouble shooting weatherby with 180 barnes loads as it blew the primer cap of the spent cartridge. The funny thing is I do not know how the rifle was cracked. I shipped it back from Africa and the aluminum case was not damaged. I wish I could upload a picture of the stock as I am actually considering having a gunsmith epooxy the crack.

Minuch,

E-mail a picture of the stock to me and I will post it. glen1jr2@houston.rr.com
Depending on the location of the crack, it could be repairable.

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
It is a David Miller rifle with a cracked stock. I had some trouble shooting weatherby with 180 barnes loads as it blew the primer cap of the spent cartridge. The funny thing is I do not know how the rifle was cracked. I shipped it back from Africa and the aluminum case was not damaged. I wish I could upload a picture of the stock as I am actually considering having a gunsmith epooxy the crack.

Minuch - why wouldn't you send it back to Miller?

His rifles aren't cheap, and if you have any "repair" work done to it, it would benefit the value of the rifle to have had the maker do the repairs. Just My Opinion.

New Guy
He wants 10 large for a new stock. To me that seems like a good reason

God luck on posting pictures. Why don't you look into buying a blank and making your own stock. the first twenty or thirty may not look like much, but you can say I did it my self, and I bet there are plenty of others that look worse.
Judge Sharpe

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
New Guy
He wants 10 large for a new stock. To me that seems like a good reason

He won't reapair it?

10K for a stock (as you know) is nuts.

Minuch e-mailed me a couple of pictures. I can't post them because Hunt101 is down. The stock is broken almost completely through in the wrist of the stock. It's as close to being two pieces as you can get!

quote:

Originally posted by Glen71:
Minuch e-mailed me a couple of pictures. I can't post them because Hunt101 is down. The stock is broken almost completely through in the wrist of the stock. It's as close to being two pieces as you can get!

Without the pictures, I can't say for sure, but I have seen rifles with stocks COMPLETELY BROKEN through the grip section that were repaired with a couple of steel rods inserted into holes drilled into each piece at the break and the whole assembly then epoxied back together. If the break is clean and the ends undamaged, it is possible to do a repair that is barely detectable by people who are LOOKING for it! Of course, this requires more skill than I HAVE!!

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
New Guy
He wants 10 large for a new stock. To me that seems like a good reason

For a stock?? Cheeewowah!! This rifle must be worth 50K, even broken!!

El Degello
That rifle new is about $20,000. It is a fine rifle. It has been all I could ask for in a rifle. When I had it built 8 years ago it was 8000. He is pretty proud of his rifles and his price of course reflects that. It is scoped with a leopold 3X with mill dots by Premier reticle and I use the snipe stix. I rergularily go on trips to the Jicarilla and Mexico and have killed out to 600 yards. With the price of those hunts a rifle that shoots like that is cheap. Thanks all for the help!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
El Degello
That rifle new is about $20,000. It is a fine rifle. It has been all I could ask for in a rifle. When I had it built 8 years ago it was 8000. He is pretty proud of his rifles and his price of course reflects that. It is scoped with a leopold 3X with mill dots by Premier reticle and I use the snipe stix. I rergularily go on trips to the Jicarilla and Mexico and have killed out to 600 yards. With the price of those hunts a rifle that shoots like that is cheap. Thanks all for the help!!!!

I see! So the rifle justifies the expenditure of a considerable amount to replace the stock. I am aware of David Miller rifles, and know of their quality! I was, however, unaware of their price, but am not in the least surprised to learn of what one would cost these days. Good luck on getting a replacement stock made at a reasonable price!

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
New Guy
He wants 10 large for a new stock. To me that seems like a good reason

How does someone get away with charging $10,000 for a rifle stock?

Thats just insane! His marketing must be geared to the rich and ignorant. Does he wear a tuxcedo and make the stock working at a table with a silk table cloth with candles in gold candle holders for lighting with a live symphony orchresra playing in the room with him.

My sentiments exactly GSP7. What a crock of shit.

quote:

Originally posted by GSP7:

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
New Guy
He wants 10 large for a new stock. To me that seems like a good reason

How does someone get away with charging $10,000 for a rifle stock?

Thats just insane! His marketing must be geared to the rich and ignorant. Does he wear a tuxcedo and make the stock working at a table with a silk table cloth with candles in gold candle holders for lighting with a live symphony orchresra playing in the room with him.

and crosseyed persian cats being hand-fed Fancy Feast in crystal dishes by Lauren Bacall in the background.



his stocks are obviously finished with the blood from attractive 18-year old American virgins first bathed in fine champagne.

Well, the good news is that it broke on the way home instead of on the way over. Here's Minuch's broken stock:



I think you have a few options:

Option One (if it's covered): file an insurance claim and let Miller build your new stock for the cost of the deductible.

Option Two: Duane Wiebe can replicate it, but it will still cost you a few thousand - but less than half what Miller wants.

Option Three: Let Duane, or Chic Worthing epoxy the pieces together and use it for a pattern stock. Having a blank turned to start will save you quite a bit.

Option Four: Duane can probably repair it with epoxy and rods. A checkering job would help hide the repair.

I hope it all works out in the end.

Forrest

I am just curious. Is it ethical for one custom Riflebuilder to run another custom riflebuilders stock on a duplicator? I don't know. Just asking.

By the way, that stock was probably built by Curt Crum of the David Miller Company.

Lastly, what does David and Curt have to say about it? Everything else is pure speculation until you tell them what happened and see if they would like to look at the stock. they might not do anything, but you sure as hell will never know unless you first tell them about it.

GSP7 and M16. What is the matter with a $10,000.00 stock? I don't own one and cannot afford one at this tme. But so what. If there are folks that have enough money to afford one becasue of their hard work and business accumen, why shouldn't they have what they want. Its their money and they are entitled to spend it any way they wish.

It's at least as ethical as charging 10 large for a replacement stock.

quote:

Originally posted by GSP7:

quote:

Originally posted by Minuch:
New Guy
He wants 10 large for a new stock. To me that seems like a good reason

How does someone get away with charging $10,000 for a rifle stock?

Thats just insane! His marketing must be geared to the rich and ignorant. Does he wear a tuxcedo and make the stock working at a table with a silk table cloth with candles in gold candle holders for lighting with a live symphony orchresra playing in the room with him.

GSP7:

Your comment nailed it. The hypnotic affect upon some buyers of jacking the price up is just amazing to behold. Does Miller manufacture his own action our of titanium?
No. What he offers is a reworked Winchester. And please do not tell me that his reworking of that action somehow imparts $10,000 in value to it. That is simply ridiculous.

No offense Minuch, but Miller is clearly a disciple of P.T. Barnum who famously remarked that "[n]o one ever went broke underestimtating the stupidity of the American people!" Miller's ability to gull people into believing that a modestly reworked Winchester has the same value of a highly embellished Oberndorf Mauser is living proof that Barnum was right.


Jordan

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:
Well, the good news is that it broke on the way home instead of on the way over. Here's Minuch's broken stock:



I think you have a few options:

Option One (if it's covered): file an insurance claim and let Miller build your new stock for the cost of the deductible.

Option Two: Duane Wiebe can replicate it, but it will still cost you a few thousand - but less than half what Miller wants.

Option Three: Let Duane, or Chic Worthing epoxy the pieces together and use it for a pattern stock. Having a blank turned to start will save you quite a bit.

Option Four: Duane can probably repair it with epoxy and rods. A checkering job would help hide the repair.

I hope it all works out in the end.

I would start with Option Four. If the results of repairing it were unsatisfactory, then I'd use it as a pattern, AND let the insurance company pay for the new one.....

quote:

P.T. Barnum who famously remarked that "[n]o one ever went broke underestimtating the stupidity of the American people!"

To see continuing proof of the validity of this observation, all one need do is turn on the TV and watch a couple of commercials......

Just wondering, does the $10K replacement stock come with checkering or is that extra?

Seriously, I'm with El Deguello on this one. Get it repaired by a pro (or at least someone who has done it before). If you are unsatisfied with the results, have a one-off copy made on a pantograph.

quote:

GSP7 and M16. What is the matter with a $10,000.00 stock? I don't own one and cannot afford one at this tme. But so what. If there are folks that have enough money to afford one becasue of their hard work and business accumen, why shouldn't they have what they want. Its their money and they are entitled to spend it any way they wish.

You are abolutely right! I firmly believe that a fool and his money should be parted. I can afford a stock for ten large but sure as hell wouldn't pay that for one.

Dave Wolf of Waco Tx is a genius at repairing cracked stocks on high end guns. 254-848-4199. For me his turn around time was great. He's not cheap, but I saw some of his work on stocks in much worse shape and it was flawless. Of course 'not cheap' sounds silly compared to $10K! Bob

I quess I'm just getting real slow in my old age. The original Miller rifle is a reworked M70. Looking at several on the various auctions they look like a basic barreled action. No fancy metal work that I can see. Then the wood stock doesn't have any checkering and it sold for $8000?? Would the replacement for $10,000 at least have checkering??? Well maybe I'm missing something. But, there are numerous stock makers (many that post here) around that could supply a beautiful replacment for a fraction of the cost. I would have no problems stating a Miller rifle stocked by so-in-so.