doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Gary Goudy, Herman Waldron, Terry Wallace Custom R

I just picked up this custom made rifle in 25-06. It is a collaboration of well recognized rifle builders, namely Gary Goudy, Herman Waldron and engraved by Terry Wallace.

It is superbly executed and the craftsmanship is second to none. Having the action, rings, bases and bottom metal color cased, and engraved, this gun is a real thing of beauty.

I hope to be shooting a deer or antelope with it this fall…

Very nice lovely piece and great craftsman created it. Had the pleasure of haven known Herman and a peach of a man he was. Great gun and good luck this fall on what ever you hunt.

Well, you have an almost identical to mine, built by the same craftsmen!
Only difference is I have an octagon barrel in .300 H&H.
Just talked to Gary, his eyes have gone so no more stockmaking, just building cedar canoes now!
All the oldtimers have gone! But their work is still in others' hands!

I've got a Waldron/Goudy Sako in 223. Gary's stock work is just amazing. One of the greats for sure. Your stock looks to be Black walnut? Thanks for sharing.

John

Custom gun builders don't get any better than this trio of masters.

Shrapnel, could you weigh in on John's question about Black walnut? I do not believe it is. Grain structure and details of the checkering I believe are to fine for Black but I certainly could be wrong. What ever, it definitely is a unique grain structure and figure which is very nice. Is there any markings on the left side on the action telling what the original donor action was?

I was going off the color and grain structure in the buttstock primarily. Also some of the grain is rather large in the forend area. But you are correct, it would take a pretty exceptional piece of black walnut to handle the level of detail in the checkering. Not meant to be a criticism of the rifle in the least.

John

I agree with gasgunner, looks like black walnut to me, too, for the same reasons.
My guess would be that blank came from near the stump. I've made up a couple of black walnut blanks, that were sold as stump wood, that had similar grain as the butt of this one. Some black walnut can be pretty hard and tough, depends on where and the conditions it grew in. Although, in my experience, most is not.
Just my .02.
Beautiful piece of wood and first class work. Glad you're going to hunt with it and not just make it a safe queen.

I took it over to Steven Dodd Hughes this afternoon to have his evaluation. He said the wood is English Walnut. He also remarked about how good all the work was that was done to this rifle…

Wonderful rifle, definitely European walnut, no doubt about it.

Thin-shelled walnut, by any other name: English, French, California, etc. The checkering ribbons are the skinniest I've ever seen pulled off about perfectly. Goudy did some of the best and finest checkering in his day. No checkering is "perfect" but by golly, this is very close.

Folks don't realize that when you layout checkering ribbons whatever size you use in the pencil layout the actual size in the finished checkering shrinks by about 50% in the process because your tool cuts on both sides of the ribbon. It get smaller with cutting the diamonds up to the border, then the ribbon gets even smaller, thinner, as you deepen the border lines on each side. And a single over-run would ruin the appearance.

The butt has so much figure it is almost too much to appreciate, lending to the confusion. The other side has even more figure, and is so dense it doesn't look like it is wood. I was confused at first sight. Almost for sure the butt is the root or stump and the grip through forend the trunk of the tree. The butt may even be a graft to black walnut root stock which was commonly done in California. The native Claro grew better in the local soil and the grafted English produced the preferred nut. I've seen whole walnut orchards with all the trees having a lump about 10" off the ground where they had been grafted. I'll make a closer examination when I'm working on the story.

A very fine quality rifle and Goudy, Waldron and Wallace were at the top of their game when this rifle was created.
It is in my safe and I'm planning photos and a story for Sports Afield.