Heres some preliminary photos that some may appreciate of a deep relief scoll engraved pattern that has just been finished. With a little luck I should be able to add photos of the complete rifle before the weekend. Caliber 375H&H Mag.
I think it is one of the more dramatic patterns I have seen. It will be interesting to see it after colour casing and wrapped up in its Turkish walnut blanket.
Posts: 107 | Location: New Zealand | Registered: 23 May 2011
However,I don't think I'd have it color cased as, in my opinion (take it for what it's worth), the colors would just compete with the engraving and both would suffer. It would just be too much of a good thing.
Jerry Liles
Posts: 531 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 01 January 2010
Damn, Too bad those single shots aren't good for anything
Wonderful work.
Anyone who claims the 30-06 is ineffective has either not tried one, or is unwittingly commenting on their own marksmanship Phil Shoemaker Alaska Master guide FAA Master pilot NRA Benefactor www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com
Posts: 4226 | Location: Bristol Bay | Registered: 24 April 2004
Thanks, I am glad there are others that enjoy the pictures. Yesterday we finished the Moscow Arms and Hunting fair where quite a few highend European gunmakers were displaying their work, e.g Peter Hoffer, Fanzoj, Christian Springer, Karl Hauptmann, Werner Bartolot etc and it was very satisfying for our work to be closely examined by most of these very high end makers and to receive significant compliments re design, fit and form. One of the above gurus, after closely examining one of my rifles for 15 minutes or so (when I was out of the booth), turned to my wife and said, "whoever put this rifle together knows exactly what he is doing". Shortly after this I came back to the booth and was introduced to him and we talked about rifles, his and mine. He was shown the internal mechanism in detail and was very complimentary of what he saw. This gentleman subsequently brought back one of his clients and gently recommended that he buy a rifle which resulted in a order for a highly engraved rifle from us. Anyway, when one is a new maker, it is very nice to be appreciated by those that have long standing reputations in the industry for extremely high quality (and prices). The Europeans dont seem to be so hung up on just the "old names", they appreciate good quality when they see it and accept that it takes time to achieve such results and will pay accordingly. The vast majority of Russians however are not aware of the falling block single shot as an action type but did show reasonable interest in the concept. However to try and expand our business we have made the decision to start making Mauser bolt actions in the tradional English style, essentially a bolt action version of our single shot which will give those who want a high end English styled bolt gun the opportunity to get their hands on a rifle in say 6-8 months rather than waiting the 3-5 years they have to wait for a rifle from one of the custom makers.
It is interesting to see the difference in what makers charge for their work in the USA and Europe. Most US gunmakers of any talent give their rifles away, comparatively speaking. A Fanzoj bolt action Mauser for example in a Moscow shop sells for between $50,000 and $70,000. A sparsely engraved new production Mauser sells for approx $28,000. When I mentioned to some of the europeanmakers what the US makers charged they shrugged their shoulders and said you cannot make any money charging this much. So, I guess I now have a very different perspective of what rifles can potentially sell for when sold on the international market.
Posts: 107 | Location: New Zealand | Registered: 23 May 2011
Glen, your gentle natured sarcasm is executed and delivered with the same finess and precision as the detail of your metalwork and the fine lines on your rifle stocks (l.o.l) !
Posts: 531 | Location: Australia | Registered: 30 June 2011