Update March 7, 2010: I have had a hard time finishing this gun. The burs I use have been back ordered for the past three weeks.  Pictures will be put on here either Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for waiting so patiently!

 Today I have started another gun. It is a Ruger .243 Model M77. This Ruger gunstock carving has been inspired after finding a mount from a taxidermist. It is of a mountain lion attacking a mule deer. The image that formed in my mind helped me develop this custom carving on this gunstock. (Pictures will be forth coming). To bring some of the old west into this century has been a wonderful experience. This gun has been carved and painted to show the detail even more.

Just a little history of the M77 Ruger rifles. They where first produced in 1968.

Design details

From the beginning, the Ruger M77 was intended as a modernized Mauser 98, though numerous changes were made. Bill Ruger wanted to use investment casting in place of a forged receiver. The Sullivan-designed bolt dispensed with controlled-round feeding and instead used the simpler plunger style of ejector. A two-position tang safety and redesigned trigger system were also designed from scratch.

Perhaps the most novel feature of the M77 is the only one that has not been redesigned, the angled action screw. The front action screw of traditional bolt-action rifles draws the receiver directly down against the stock. The M77 uses an angled screw that draws the action down and to the rear, tightly bedding it against the stock.

Variants

The M77 has undergone one minor and two major redesigns. The first change involved incorporating a proprietary scope mount milled integral with the receiver. The first rifles had simple rounded-top receivers drilled and tapped for separate scope mounts.

M77 Mark II

The M77 was retooled almost entirely and reintroduced in 1991 as the Mark II. The safety, bolt, and trigger were completely redesigned. The claw extractor was retained, but the bolt face was opened up to allow controlled-round feeding. The plunger ejector was replaced with a Mauser style blade ejector. Finally, a three-position safety allowed the bolt to be operated while the gun was still on safe, making unloading of the rifle less hazardous. Ruger also eliminated the adjustable trigger that came stock on the original M77.

Hawkeye

In 2006, Ruger introduced new features and a new name for their rifle, the Hawkeye. Major changes were made to the trigger system and the stock was recontoured, but otherwise the rifle remained unchanged.^{[citation needed]} The LC6 trigger addressed complaints from consumers that the Mark II trigger, though safer than the earlier one, was poorly designed for accurate shooting.^{[citation needed]} The LC6 trigger is lighter and smoother. Despite the listed improvements of the LC-6 trigger there still seems to be nagging complaints about it

While attending one of the many gun shows my husband and I frequent each year. We found several guns that, in my opinion, needed help. We purchased this Winchester .308 model 88 rifle. I chose to put a gunstock carving on this Winchester 308 because the stock was in desperate need of being refinished. There are several deep nicks and scratches on the butt of the gun. Along with the fact, someone has applied several coats of varnish to the stock. I would venture to guess they where trying to cover up the large scratches in the stock. In doing this, they have filled in the original checkering on the grip and forend of the gun. Thus making the gun look like the checkering is almost warn off.

I have stripped the stock of the old varnish, carve mountain goats on the stock, carve the basket weave pattern on the grip and the forend of the stock. As well as painted the carved sceen to bring it to life even more.

The history or background of the gun I am carving has become a very intersting past time for me. Here is some of the history I have found of the Winchester rifle. I hope you enjoy reading about the gun as much as I have. (If the pictures do not load. Please right click on the picture and choose “show picture”).

History of the Winchester Rifle

The term Winchester Rifle is frequently used to describe any of the lever action rifles manufactured in the United States by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, although the name is usually more specifically used in reference to the Winchester Model 1873 or the Winchester Model 1894 rifles.

Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeating rifles, and as such the Winchester name has become synonymous with lever action firearms. The gun is colloquially known as “The Gun that Won the West”, though public perception of its role in the Western Expansion is exaggerated due to the Winchester’s prominence in 20th Century fictionalized accounts of that period.

Predecessors

The ancestor of the Winchester rifles was the Volcanic rifle and pistol of Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson.

 Volcanic Pistol .41 cal

It was originally manufactured by the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, which was later reorganized into the New Haven Arms Company, its largest stockholder being Oliver Winchester. The Volcanic rifle used a form of caseless ammunition and had only limited success. Wesson had also designed an early form of rimfire cartridge which was subsequently perfected by Benjamin Tyler Henry

 Henry 1860, Winchester Musket 1866

Henry also supervised the redesign of the rifle to use this new rimfire ammunition, retaining only the general form of the breech mechanism and the tubular magazine of the Volcanic. This became the Henry rifle of 1860, which was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company and was used in considerable numbers by certain Union Army units in the American Civil War.

Development

After the war, Oliver Winchester acquired majority control of the New Haven Arms Company, renaming it the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. This company modified and improved the basic design of the Henry rifle, creating the first Winchester rifle: the Model 1866. It retained the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge, was built on a brass frame, and had an improved magazine and a wooden forearm. In 1873 Winchester introduced the steel-framed Model 1873 chambering the more potent .44-40 centerfire cartridge. In 1876, in a bid to compete with the powerful single-shot rifles of the time, Winchester brought out the Model 1876.

 This is the Winchester 73 toggle link action.

While it chambered more powerful cartridges than the 1866 and 1873 models, the toggle link action was not strong enough for the popular high-powered rounds used in Sharps or Remington single-shot rifles.

From 1883, John Moses Browning worked in partnership with Winchester, designing a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever-action Winchester Model 1886, Winchester Model 1892, Winchester Model 1894, and Winchester Model 1895 rifles, along with the lever-action Winchester Model 1887 shotgun and the pump-action Winchester Model 1893 and Winchester Model 1897 shotguns.

This history was found on the website www.wikipedia.org

.44 cal Golden Boy made by Henry. The gun will have the basket weave and a rope carved into. Giving this customized gunstock carving a unique flare. This will be another christmas gift for the owner. The rope will be a challenge to design it and then carve it. I am excited to see how this gun will turn out. I have had the opportunity to carve a gun for three of the four men in this family. Each have incorporated their version of the families brand. Each has the basket weave, their brand and then something different just to keep the gun original and the design unique. Each carving has been put on a Golden Boy rifle. I’m sure this gun will be handed down from generation to generation.

Sorry to say, this gun will not be carved. The pattern the customer had choosen would not fit on the gun. So we have elected not to carve the gun. We’ll wait and carve a rifle for their anniversary instead. This will give the customer time to design a custom gunstock carving.

With the snow here and more to come, I’m glad I can stay in out of the cold and enjoy another custom gunstock carving. The gun I am building a pattern for is an Thompson Center Encore pistol. This gun will be a christmas gift from his wife and children.

Thompson/Center Arms Company is an American firearms company based in Rochester, New Hampshire. The company is best known for its line of interchangeable barrel single-shot pistols and rifles. Thompson Center manufactures muzzleloading rifles and is credited with creating the resurgance of their use in the 1970’s. They manufacture guns like the Encore, Contender, and the Contender G2. These guns not only have interchangable barrels. They also are capable of being used as a rifle.  

My husband has two of their guns. He likes the idea of the interchangable barrels and the opportunity of having a rifle stock or a pistol stock. Still he tells me they are not as easy to change as they claim they are.

I have been given a unique opportunity to carve a stagecoach on a W. W. Greener replica shotgun. This carved greener shotgun was completed for a great great grandson of the Wells Fargo Stageline. The great great grandfather was one of the original gunmen employeed by the Wells Fargo Stagelines of long ago.

This gun will always remind my customer of his family history. The story is now well preserved, carved here on the replica of his Greener shotgun. He will no doubt hand this gun down to his children and they to their for generations to come.

I have found it very interesting reading the history of the W. W. Greener shotgun. I hope you enjoy learning as much about this as I have.

Have you ever wondered what kind of gun they use to carry on the Wells Fargo stagecoaches? After being asked to carve a stagecoach on a W. W.  Greener shotgun replica. I was intrigued to find out how the gun came about.

Wells Fargo stagecoaches where equipped with the W.W. Greener shotgun after the stagecoaches where repeatly robbed. These guns where made by W.W. Greener. The gun was an unmistakable icon of Wells Fargo stage lines. There was always a driver and a gunmen sitting on top of the stagecoaches to protect their passangers and the cargo they carried. The gun  usually was a double barrel 10 gauge shotgun with a double pull. It has a short barrel of only 20 inch in length. The gun is very heavy compared to other shot guns I have held.

After much research, I have found this gun is one of the most reproduced guns in the world. Even gun authenticators have a hard time proving the gun is authentic. Even if a gun marked “Wells Fargo & Co. Express” does not mean it is in fact a W. W. Greener gun. Having the symbols marked on the gun does not mean it is an authentic Greener gun either. The history shows many gun manufactures built this type of gun and would mark it in hopes of fooling the buyer into believing the gun was a real W. W. Greener shotgun. Unless you have paperwork proving complete authenticity and proven by history experts. It is highly likely you do have a authentic W. W. Greener shotgun.

Although the legend lived on in this gun. A authentic W. W. Greener shotgun is one of the most sot after guns today by gun collectors.

Have you ever wondered what kind of gun they use to carry on the Wells Fargo stagecoaches? After being asked to carve a stagecoach on a W. W.  Greener shotgun replica. I was intrigued to find out how the gun came about.

Wells Fargo stagecoaches where equipped with the W.W. Greener shotgun after the stagecoaches where repeatly robbed. These guns where made by W.W. Greener. The gun was an unmistakable icon of Wells Fargo stage lines. There was always a driver and a gunmen sitting on top of the stagecoaches to protect their passangers and the cargo they carried. The gun  usually was a double barrel 10 gauge shotgun with a double pull. It has a short barrel of only 20 inch in length. The gun is very heavy compared to other shot guns I have held.

After much research, I have found this gun is one of the most reproduced guns in the world. Even gun authenticators have a hard time proving the gun is authentic. Even if a gun marked “Wells Fargo & Co. Express” does not mean it is in fact a W. W. Greener gun. Having the symbols marked on the gun does not mean it is an authentic Greener gun either. The history shows many gun manufactures built this type of gun and would mark it in hopes of fooling the buyer into believing the gun was a real W. W. Greener shotgun. Unless you have paperwork proving complete authenticity and proven by history experts. It is highly likely you do have a authentic W. W. Greener shotgun.

Although the legend lived on in this gun. A authentic W. W. Greener shotgun is one of the most sot after guns today by gun collectors.

This is a custom carved gunstock for a long time friend. It is carved on a Remington 22-250 cal. The sceen that inspired me to carve this for him came from one of the many rides my husband and I take every weekend.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Uintah mountains in the fall of the year. You will find a serenity of peace and harmony. My husband and I enjoy going for rides in the mountains. It is a time to see the changing of the leaves and hopefully see some wildlife. One of our favorite animals is the majestic bull elk. They are usually in the rut about this time of year. Just after the bull elk shed the velvet from his horns. He will begin bugling to entice the cow elk to come to him. This is called “the rut.” The rut can begin as early as mid August to early September and will last well into November. When two bull elk want the same herd of cows they will fight each other for the rights to breed with the cows. This keeps the herds strong and healthy.

If you ever have the chance to be in the mountains and hear the bulls elk bugling. You will never forget the sound. It is the call of the wild. Nature’s way of helping animals to reproduce thus carrying on the species. We look forward to this time of year. We love to be out in nature. Looking and listening not only the majestic bull elk, but for the deer and other wildlife as well.

Here is a little history of behind this custom .22 cal golden boy gun I have carved.

In the area where I live. The ranchers still use brands to identify their cattle. It seems like they will brand almost everything they own. There are homes that have walls dedicated to the brands handed down through the years from generation to generation. The brand will be changed slightly from the original design to indicate the  current owner of the ranch.

 This gun is no different. The owners daughter brought the gun to me and asked if I could create a design using this farmers particular brand. I have used the high speed Paragrave tool to sculpt and carve this design. The carved basket weave, on the forend of the gun, wraps around to the other side making it possible to grip the gun better. This gun will be given back tothe owner as a Christmas present from his daughters.

The pictures show are of the finished custom gunstock repairs. This gun had several large nicks in the stock. After fixing the nicks carved this beautiful elk scene over the repairs. You can not see where the repairs have been made. The gunstock art shows the grain of the wood and makes the old gun come to life once again. The smaller nicks and scratches are also fixed. You can not tell where the repairs have been made on the gunstock. Yes, it is more time consuming to repair a gun. Still the end results are well worth the time.

Here is a close up, as well as the full view, of the refinished gun along with the owner Dallas Jensen.

Mule deer gunstock carving –My husband had this gun but was wanting to sell it. The gunstock looked like someone had left it out in the weather for several years.  It was badly weather checked. I refinished the stock then carved a picture of three mule deer bucks along with the basket weave patten on the gunstock. As you can see in the last picture. This gun has now been restored to a pristine condition. And my husband refuses to sell the gun.