doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Montana Custom Gunmaking Seminar 2012

We are well into day four of the Seminar. Day One began with an orientation, shop tour and choosing individual work stations.. the lecture/demonstration for day one was Designing and Developing a Full Scale Rifle Drawing.
In the process of doing the drawing of a single shot Winchester we discussed and studied stock design, architecture, rifle metalwork and furniture. Each phase of the design an each example of hardware studied individually examining as many example as were available. All stock dimensions were evaluated and discussed as they relate to rifle design an body ergonomics.
Drawing in Process


Completed Drawing with examples


Best, Steve

I attended a similar seminar by Phil Pilkington almost 30 years ago (1983), Steve.

Bravo for putting it on. It's very involved work.

Be they practitioner or aficionado, attendees will gain much.......and value it forever.

Good job Steve looks great

Will you do one next year? Who can attend?

Thanks guys, We just finished up six days and I'm beat...
Will post a couple of pix now and more in the future with great explanation. Looks good for next year, maybe with advanced or expanded format.
The second order of focus was forging, filing, hardening, tempering and sharpening inletting tools.
Robert files a bench made chisel.


Lee filing an inletting scraper.

A few more... three students and myself.
Lee Brought a Ruger #1 with a pre-machined walnut stock.

He is using his newly made scraper on the inletting.


Robert scraping the inletting of his Montana bolt rifle stock.


Nick taps home a High Wall fit to a walnut stock.

That would be the one featured in the Gun Digest Custom Rifles book? A historic event brought to many folks via the book. You were a lucky guy to be there...
I was fortunate to do the first Longrifle Seminar at Western Kentucky back in the 1980s, with Wallace Gusler, Lynton McKenzie, John Bivins and other instructors.

The Pilkington seminar featured in that Custom Guns book was his first, held in 1980.

I attended his 2nd seminar in 1983. Ron Lampert covered metalwork in both.

Pilkington held a 3rd seminar......I believe in 1985. I have not heard or read any review of it.

Nice work Steve! ... and what a great idea ..

A couple more pix, I've a few hundred from three cameras to sort through. Will post an extensive page on my website over the next few days, for those interested...

Pistol gripping Nick's High Wall Tang


Discussing stock blank quality and layout.