October
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 364 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums10
Topics38,969
Posts551,311
Members14,464
Most Online1,344
Apr 29th, 2024
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 477
Likes: 71
Sidelock
**
OP Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 477
Likes: 71
FROM A SOWS EAR TO A SILK PURSE

With a few notable exceptions, Im a lover of most everything that goes bang. And even those few guns that dont set me all-aquiver can usually be appreciated at least from a design standpoint. Of course, Im a product of my age so my more serious firearm infatuations are with designs that I came to love many, many years agoand still favor to this day.

Take fine rifles, for instance. For me, these pieces of functional art are crafted properly from two materials: WOOD and STEEL. Trust me, I know ALL the arguments for staying entirely with a stable, man made stock materialand theres more than a few fiberglass stocks in my inventorybut while they are tolerated, they are DECIDEDLY unloved. For me, a day spent afield with one is about as fulfilling as a day spent afield with a framing hammer. The traditionalist in me finds them cold to the touch, dead in the hands, and utterly lacking anima or soul. My utilitarian side finds them useful in inclement weather in the same way I choose rubber boots over leather when Im out in the mud and muck.

OK, so Im a wood stock fanthis is not news to folks that know me. Wood has warmth, and life, and provides me a very real tactile connection. As well, my preferences run to handsome wood as opposed to the average chunks of AA-grade chair-leg that the bean counters at the Remchester mega-factories utilize.
Im also a fan of Mausers (the action style, of coursenot the company per se). So, when the opportunity to pick up an unfired, 80s vintage Brno ZKK-601 in .223 Remington appeared a few years ago, I snagged it! Now, I knew from the start that 1980s Eastern European and Classic stock design were mutually exclusive termsbut I wasnt prepared for the chasm I was confronted with!

Heavenswhere to begin? Where the factory stock finish (and I use the term advisedly) remained, it was a thin coat of hastily applied polyurethane; where it had been rubbed off while in the box there was a featureless blonde wood exposed. The forend sported a tip of contrasting wood (apple box?) set off by a white line spacer (I suspect 1970s vintage linoleum but I could be wrong). Both the wrist and forend wore panels of checkering cut with all the finesse of an octogenarian armed with a horse-shoeing rasp. The finishing touch (and needed for something as brutal as a .223) was a 1 ventilated recoil padcomplete with linoleum spacer. Taken as a whole, the stock held all the elegance and grace of a Cro-Magnon club.

The metal work was exactly what Brno has produced for years: rock solid but ROUGH. Many Brno rifles have been used by young and broke (as opposed to old and broke) African professionals over the yearsmen who needed rugged and affordable firearms with which to ply their tradeand this rifle was no different. A very utilitarian matte finish was applied to the metal, and the barrel wore a very serviceable set of iron sights. For a bang button, there is the instantly recognizable straight Brno single set trigger...as well as the damnable backward safety so common on many European guns. The whole thing needed help. Professional help. Great, whacking doses of PROFESSIONAL help. No timid amateurs need apply.

I wrote Aaron Little (of A.M. Little Bespoke Gunmakers, LLC) with my ideas for the project. My idea was simply this: take the bones of this Brno and craft a mate for my Everyday Double Rifle, the Sarasqueta 28 bore that Aaron converted to a .30-30 WCF for me. If the Sarasqueta was the heavy rifle in my Texas safari battery, the Brno would become my light riflethe real workhorse of any safari gun rack!

Being a gifted young man (and fearless, apparently), Aaron took the commission.

All successful projects begin with the end in mind. For this Brno, the end should have the look and feel of a fine English magazine dangerous game riflealbeit in a varmint cartridge chambering. The basic to do list looked like this:

Barrel & Sights: Provided that they perform adequately in testing, lets leave them alone.

Action: Smooth action overall and correct current feeding/cycling issues. I suspect that both the rails and ramp will need attention.

Bolt: Straighten bolt & fill knob.

Safety: The factory backward BRNO safety is an abomination and should be replaced with an M-70 type swing.

Trigger: Leave the original BRNO single set unit. Tweak as necessary.

Stock: Like the safety, the original stock is an abomination. Ill keep it just for the carnival-sideshow look of it. Replace with a nice piece of walnut. Install Niedner buttplate and checker butt. Install skeleton grip cap and checker the butt of the grip. No forend tip.

Aaron began the hunt for a suitable stock blank and sent loads of pictures of prospective lumber. Most had gorgeous figure but grain flow is incredibly important in stock layout and Aaron vetted my choices, and we finally settled on a blank from Cecil Fredi. With my measurements in hand, Aaron could begin shaping and inletting.

Ed LaPour provided the three-position safety. Aaron installed it and straightened and filled the bolt handle. Smoothing the action was a challenge in its own right; Aaron texted me at one point to comment that Brno had evidently broached the bolt raceways with a butter knife! He managed it, thoughand today the bolt throw is slick as can be!

The spartan matte finish was polished smooth and richly blued. Talley rings hold a Leupold 2x7 in placejust the right amount of scope for the work Ill be asking of this rifle. The checkering is flawless (at least I haven't found anything to quibble over). My eyes aren't good enough anymore to accurately count lines-per-inch on something like this; Aaron says 24-26 and I believe it. Exquisite.

The finished product is all Id hoped for and more. From a distance one might easily mistake this for a fine .375 H&H. It is slim, elegant and handles like a 5 weight fly rod.

Make no mistake: Aaron Little is a craftsman of the first order. Not a gun mechanic, not even a gunSMITH. A gun MAKER. Thanks, brother!

GUNMAKER NOTES:
What can I say, hearing these thoughts so eloquently written brings me much joy. Wood has warmth, and life, and provides me a very real tactile connection. As a gunmaker who also has the same feelings about fine wood and steel guns, I cant argue with that.

Something I dont feel is talked about much is the life of the craftsman during the time of these projects. Looking back at these and other projects I can easily remember doing the work on the project itself, forming a relationship with a new person who impacts my life, and also what was going on in my life at the time. The first project I did for this specific person I can recall being a year into business, with all its joys, concerns, and uncertainty. I remember making my girlfriend into my wife. I remember stumbling upon a better way to regulate these double rifles I was building.

With this BRNO rifle I remember buying and moving to our property. Becoming a follower in Christ after 28yrs, becoming a Father. I learned its better to reposition your work in the vice instead of putting yourself in an awkward position, resulting in a slip with a chisel which led to a bit of leaking.

Warmth, Life, Connection. Ill add encapsulator of memories, for the craftsman and commissioner. And more shall come!















A.M. Little Bespoke Gunmakers LLC.
Mineola, TX
Michael08TDK@yahoo.com
682-554-0044
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 637
Likes: 95
Sidelock
Offline
Sidelock

Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 637
Likes: 95
Beautiful job. Awesome rifle!

Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
Likes: 3
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
Likes: 3
Which walnut did you choose? And would you mind saying what a blank of that high quality set you back?

Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 477
Likes: 71
Sidelock
**
OP Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 477
Likes: 71
California English Walnut from Cecil Fredi. As I recall it was $800ish.


A.M. Little Bespoke Gunmakers LLC.
Mineola, TX
Michael08TDK@yahoo.com
682-554-0044
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
Likes: 3
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
Likes: 3
It looks well worth that, if not more.

Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 153
Likes: 1
Sidelock
*****
Offline
Sidelock
*****

Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 153
Likes: 1
Stunning job on that rifle. I am envious.

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,288
Likes: 94
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,288
Likes: 94
I wish I could apply stock finish that good.

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 8,158
Likes: 114
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 8,158
Likes: 114
And make that fine 5 wt, fly rod a pre-fire Leonard 49. Hardy reel set for LH wind, Wulf TT 4/5 wt. line- leaders and dry flies- your option. a true "Steinway", with nothing taken away from: Jim Payne, Paul Young and Everett Garrison and Pinky Gillum. All masterpiece fly rod makers, from a golden age we will never see again. How many cane rods do you see being fished today on the Railroad Ranch, the Henry's Fork, or the Gallatin. Maybe a Wright&McGill Granger, or a Phillipson- or, "barf" an Orvis impregnated cane rod-- alas.. RWTF


"The field is the touchstone of the man"..
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 128
Sidelock
*
Offline
Sidelock
*

Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 128
Nothing wrong with an Orvis. There are rods out there that rival these rods. Per Brandon for example. Wojniki, too.

Last edited by pmag; 09/17/20 12:06 PM.
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 910
Likes: 45
Sidelock
*
Offline
Sidelock
*

Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 910
Likes: 45
To my mind that is the perfect pistol grip. Kudos

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard

doublegunshop.com home | Welcome | Sponsors & Advertisers | DoubleGun Rack | Doublegun Book Rack

Order or request info | Other Useful Information

Updated every minute of everyday!


Copyright (c) 1993 - 2024 doublegunshop.com. All rights reserved. doublegunshop.com - Bloomfield, NY 14469. USA These materials are provided by doublegunshop.com as a service to its customers and may be used for informational purposes only. doublegunshop.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials. THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. doublegunshop.com further does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these materials. doublegunshop.com shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result from the use of these materials. doublegunshop.com may make changes to these materials, or to the products described therein, at any time without notice. doublegunshop.com makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. This is a public un-moderated forum participate at your own risk.

Note: The posting of Copyrighted material on this forum is prohibited without prior written consent of the Copyright holder. For specifics on Copyright Law and restrictions refer to: http://www.copyright.gov/laws/ - doublegunshop.com will not monitor nor will they be held liable for copyright violations presented on the BBS which is an open and un-moderated public forum.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.0.33-0+deb9u11+hw1 Page Time: 0.139s Queries: 35 (0.089s) Memory: 0.8561 MB (Peak: 1.8990 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-10-11 08:13:35 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS