I've been fiddling around with a few things. One of them was the concept of a very short, light single shot carbine in .375 something. I bought a Ruger No.3 in .375 Winchester. I have seen people put No.1 wood on No.3s and call them No.2s but I didn't want to do that. I wanted to retain the straight stock but with something better than the No.3 club with the flat comb. I replaced the forearm with an Alex Henry type purchased from a forum member. Then I bought a semi-inletted No.1 stock, hacked off the pistol grip, and sanded it to shotgun style.

Now, before anybody oohs or aahs, I must explain that this was an experiment and, contrary to what the photography suggests, the inletting and finish are just crap. However, I proved to my satisfaction that the idea will work.

I had originally planned to rechamber the rifle in either .375NE 2-1/2" or .375 JDJ. But after shooting it, bending some steel and penetrating some alders, I just may keep it in .375 Winchester. With a single shot I will be able to use pointed bullets. Perhaps Hornady 225gr Interbonds, Speer 235gr Spitzers, or 250gr Sierra Boat Tails would work well in this caliber.

It's 38" overall with a 22" barrel.

What are your thoughts?

Grenadier -

I am going to ooh and aah anyway. That is a really nice looking piece of wood, and I like the shape of the buttstock too.

Finish is, after all, replaceable. And improving inletting is why God and Bob Brownell began marketing dyeable Acraglas about 50-some years ago.

(I guess I should have just posted my original response to your thread...something along the lines of "Jeez, Louise, sh--ty inletting and ugly finish! I think you should just dust-bin it! But since you tried so hard, I'll take care of all that emotional let-down for you....PM coming to you with my dealer's address & FFL, so you can send it UPS shipping C.O.D. I'll do you the favor of getting rid of it pro bono.)

Nice gun, anyway. I sure wouldn't mind having it sneak into my home as a permanent squatter!

I like the concept. I’ve got one of those “#2” guns in .45-70. Now you’ve got me thinking about rounding up a #3 in .375 Winchester and doing some wood swapping. Most of the whitetail hunting I do here in Kentucky is in the woods, inside 100 yards. The .375 should be just right.