Jack Haugh, if any of you have heard of him. Saw one of his rifles a few days back, and it turns out he knew one Mr. Childress who had made the barrel of my Rigby up in Indiana. Very interesting gentleman of firm ideas and remarkable skill. His rifle was a .270 built on an Oberndorf Mauser action...and it shoots as well as it looks, even after over a decade of use. Very interesting forend, something like an hourglass profile on the last half, the table slim and trim slightly below the mid section of the top half of the 'glass'. I really liked the way it felt in my hand...had never seen that before. A work of art, and quite funtional too. I coulda talked to him for a week.........

Regarding Mr. Childress, the numerous inquiries and Google searchs for info on him bore no fruit. Turns out he was the head of the Machine Dept. and U. of Indiana for the Physics School, and his interest in guns turned into a full time passion after that. Built bench guns for a fellow named Detmer(among others) before he passed away. From what I understood his primary interest was BR competition, but that is inferred, not certain. In any case, my barrel is cut rifled and it shoots. https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2121043/m/783107514

quote:

Very interesting gentleman of firm ideas and remarkable skill.

Very well put, and I'm sure he would get a chuckle out of that phrasing!

Dan

Just talked to Jack for about hour & 1/2. We mostly laughed about goodly number of subjects, including your description of him. He said he is more used to being called an SOB!

IIRC, I first met him in '77.

Jack is one of a kind and a VERY talented gunmaker.It is very unusual that someone is good with wood,metal and engraving.
Fred

Old Guy, well I'm sure some call him that! However, I'd had the pleasure of fondling a couple of his guns before the conversation and was in a "receptive" mood. Truly, I enjoyed chatting with him...noticed when the conversation drifted to flint locks he became...animated(?)...I assume it a part of the gun world he thoroughly enjoys. Anyway, it was an informative conversation, at least for me...if I lived in that area I'd figure a way to hang around his shop if I could.

Fred, I think his skill goes beyond talent, he is a Master of the trade. Looking at his rifles, and two Ottmars side by side, and I always admired Ottmar's talent greatly...still do...but given a choice I'd walk with Jack's guns...they are prettier, I like the stock lines better, and they shoot better. That's splittin' hairs ain't it?

More amazing is that he can do it for guns covering more than 2 1/2 centuries - from a 1750 fowler to a 2005 bolt rifle! Rare to see a "Jack" of all trades like him today. Of course he is 75 years old too, so he has seen a lot in his time.

Frank Haugh is no slouch either! He did some metalwork for me just before he changed locations. Top quality stuff!


Unless I've made a serious mistake, Frank is Jack's son?

Ottmar was a fan of Jack Haugh's work as well.