I am building a rifle and I will be sending it out to get checkered. I am probably going to use Ahlmans in Morristown, MN to do the checkering. I was wondering if anyone has used them and what kind of service I can expect? How are the turnaround times? The only thing that I don't like is the limeted number of patterns on the website.

I can't say I've ever heard any bad words about Ahlmans and I like how close they are to where I live. That said I pretty much have my mind set on Ahlmans, unless I hear some bad horror stories or if their turnaround time is unacceptable.

Thank you.

I had them checker a laminated stock once that I didn't want to invest much in...IIRC, turn-around was less than 30 days and the quality of the checkering was good.

Kathy Foster is a checkering specialist with the ACGG... You can find her contact info on the Guild website.

Many of the regular members use her services

Kathy Forster has my falling block stock at this time. I don't think that you could go wrong with her.
Butch

20 years ago my friend Lester the Molester sent his M70 custom to Ahlman's for checkering. When it came back it made me very sad and sick to look at it.

Classiccheckering.com is a good source for prompt and relatively inexpensive service. Tell Tim Smith-Lyon that Big Joe sent you.
Regards, Joe

I sent a laminated stock to Ahlmans last year for checkering. I was very pleased with the job, the cost was reasonable and I got it back in less than a month. My gunsmith was so impressed he recommends them now. I would recommend them for hunting rifles for sure. Custom rifles, I don't know.

Carol (at Ahlman's) did this one quite recently

Carol also did this one last March, 2010

Carol did this one just a few weeks previous to the 6.3 X 62....

I think they need to update their pattern selection or maybe she will do others?

I have several more that Carol checkered.....I'm a happy camper as you can see.

If you want a checkering job they don't offer.....make a print of it and send it along....she has done checkering for me based on photos I have sent....not on the ones they show on their website.

They may have had some poor checkliring historically but they continually get my business.....

BTW....it's the only gun business I would send their way!....they have butchered actions for me historically.

I trusted a faribault poster on the checkering.....I'm happy I did!

Can't argue with Carol's work but those patterns are sure not me.

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:
Can't argue with Carol's work but those patterns are sure not me.

But I like them!!!

quote:

But I like them!!!

That is why there are fors and chevys. Just to much activity for me. I'm just an old point pattern kind of guy.

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:
I'm just an old point pattern kind of guy.

Then you'll literally throw up over this one:....LOL









Carol did that one a couple years ago....

But send her a photo....she will duplicate it for you....even you old fogies with your old style point patterns.....

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:
Can't argue with Carol's work but those patterns are sure not me.

You probably don't like my cocobolo forend tip either.....


Loosen up there Ramrod!!!!live a little....

Is it legal to have this much fun?

And yes....this is all in jest!

Here's one she did for me a few years ago. I like it.






Terry

quote:

Loosen up there Ramrod!!!!live a little

Being loose has nothing to do with it. Just prefer lines over curves in my checkering. Just lean towards TC1s style. Probably why I had a Black Harley with very little chrome. Nope I was just to lazy to polish chrome.

To me there is only one person that a pattern has to appeal to. That is the one paying for it and using it.

Heck my first rifle I built for myself was myrtle 45 deg rosewood cap, full rollover cheek piece and "wild" checkering. All very much in style in 1974-75 time frame.

I love that stock design Terry. Who made it and did they use a pattern- I would like to have a duplicate.

Like I said in my earlier post....

Terry's rifle appeals to me more than the others, a LOT more, although it's sorta Rugerish. The other patterns IMO need work on the smoothness and fairing-in of their ribbon curves and fleur shapes although the diamonds seem well enough executed.

She needs to look at some of the Dale Goens patterns in the same Kennedy book just a few pages from where she saw that 'Buck Rogers Pattern'.
Regards, Joe

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:
although it's sorta Rugerish.
Regards, Joe

You caught that. When I called and spoke to her. I asked if she had something a little more traditional than the patterns pictured on the web page. She said she had a pattern that was extremely close to a Ruger #1 and we agreed on it.

It's a nice checkering job but when you look close it's not perfect. It certainly complements my work though. She is a lot like Tim Smith-Lyon. They do good work at a fair price. Tim did a stock for me a few years back also. I really like Tim and enjoyed talking with him about the job, hunting and his general out look on life. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

mrfudd, that stock was made from a pattern stock that I remodeled. I added the cheek piece, schnabel forend tip, shortened the forearm, opened up the grip a little and generally slimmed the pattern up. I let the guy have my copy of the pattern that let me borrow the original pattern. I'm not sure but I don't think he has it anymore.

Here is the pattern. It was a lot of fun working on it.


Terry

Thnks Terry- that stock would be sweet on a .404

Thanks for all the responses and pics of thier work. I like the fact that I can drive to ahlmans, talk with the person doing the checkering and go over some designs, and browse the gun store show while I'm there.

I'm building sort of a DGR on a SAKO L61R action. I like simple designs, but I want it to look SAKO'ish in appearence. Does that make sense?

You will definitely find the Alhman's store interesting.

Vapo, Terry,
That checkering is WOW+P.

WOW - thank you for posting! I needed someone to checker my father-in-laws rifle when I'm done. I don't have the time to learn how to this even 1/2 ass

I have a couple of questions, because Ahlman's was recommended to me by a very close friend and a good gunsmith.

Is Carol their only checkerer? Or their only female checkerer?

I had called for a quote and they connected me to a woman. She quoted me $125.00 for pre 64 Win 70 Supergrade style.

I was carrying it (done but not sent for checkering yet) at a gunshow and it never made it back home! So, I never got to see their work first hand. The examples posted here look pretty good to me.

I checkered my 375 H&H and it doesn't look too bad; there are plenty of flaws, but it grips nice and that is what I wanted - something for gloves to grip on a cold, snowy day!

18 LPI checkering doesn't look too bad with a few flaws to me but If I paid big money for something finer, I wouldn't want flaws.

quote:

Is Carol their only checkerer?

As far as I know. Carol does all the checkering there.

The company was started by Capp Ahlman many years ago and he died of complications of inhaling bluing fumes.....His son Larry took over and Larry has done checkering but would rather not...

Larry is about 75 now (just a guess) and his son Mike is now doing most of the management....

Mike's wife is probably who you talked to....she estimates prices on a "similar to" basis of their patterns and consults with Carol about the pricing.

You probably don't get to talk to carol unless you ask for her personally.

She and I sat down and she used a grease pencil to sketch out a pattern for me a couple years ago....

I grew up about thirty miles from there and feel like I know the people.....They are a few miles from the old Herters buildings and it was always a great trip to go to Herters and Ahlmans for a "look see".....and if one got to the showroom in Faribault's Gopher Shooters Supply He had a memorable trip indeed. Gopher was north of Ahlman's about 20 miles or so.

Ahlman's is the only survivor of those days....I do business there for that reason but also because they earn it with price, quality and delivery.....

here's a few more. carol has probably done 40 or 50 jobs for me. she will do what ever you ask here to, but i finally got to the point that i'd tell her a dollar amount and turn her loose. like most craftsmen she really doesn't realize how good she is.

this is a matched pair of dakotas that she embellished the job they did


this is a redone ruger that was this winters project

couple of old sakos


1878 sharps

few martinis
she did all of these. i know i'm partial because i've known the family for way over 50 years, but you will get a nice job for a reasonable pricetag

Had some stock inletting done by Ahlmans many yrs ago. Well satisfied at a good price.

Vapo-

Was Don Ahl of Chippewa Shooters Service in Bloomington related to Ahlmans ? Had a lot of correspondence with Don back in the 70's but he was slowed down by illness and I lost track of him.

Thanks, Bob

quote:

Vapo-

Was Don Ahl of Chippewa Shooters Service in Bloomington related to Ahlmans ? Had a lot of correspondence with Don back in the 70's but he was slowed down by illness and I lost track of him.

Thanks, Bob

Jim Kobe or Butchloc might be able to answer that....I have no info to help on this.

quote:

I'm really liking this one. Is this an Alhmans pattern or one of your own? Would you be terribly upset if I were to use a variant of that design?

If you don't want to use Ahlman's here is another guy that does pretty good checkering.

http://www.cgm-gunstockcheckering.com/frame.htm

rub line - go to it, this is another one of the ones that i gave here a dollar amount (200) and she took off on it. and no don ahl wasn't related in any way. only thing she really doesn't want to do is the really fine lined stuff (like 28 or 32 line) like the rest of us she's getting older and the eyes aren't what they used to be.

Fellow member just posted photos of my Ruger No. 3 carbine(under Single Shot Rifles) which has common walnut stocks and in order to "dress it up" a bit, had Ahlman's do a pattern of my own liking and they did a good job. As for turnaround time, have never waited more than 3 weeks for some large coverage jobs. My poor photo work does not do justice to how the checkering really looks, but gives you an idea of what they are able to do.

just for info. ahlmans has done the checkering for winchesters custom shop for quite awhile, as well as doing a bunch for browning. that market is pretty dead for them now with the advent of cnc machine cut checkering

I too really like that arrow versus the fluer de lis for instance. I think it looks very sharp (no pun intended!). I'm wondering if it is even worth me attempting to checker my own stock, I never got to where I could do a full panel without ruining it, and then I'm faced with starting all over again. maybe better for the time involved just to have them do it.

Red