doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Whitey-J.D. Steele Award

I'd like to create an award to honor two former members of this forum who shared technical knowledge so freely,
"Whitey" and "J.D. Steele". They were both wonderful contributors to this forum.

The award is for the best thread on this Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles section of this forum started between
September 27, 2017 and September 27, 2018. With the winner to be announced on October 10th 2018, the fifth anniversary of Whitey's death.

The award will consist of a certificate and a slide blank for a Lyman 48 sight.

Please use this thread to nominate other threads and please send me a PM if you wish to help judge.

That's a great idea! I miss those guys.

I absolutely agree with Brent, and think this is a very moving idea, thanks Fred.
Mike

Lots of threads to look through in the last year, but I like it! Whitey Hanson was a good friend, and JD Steele was someone I really enjoyed reading posts from!

I thought I would bring this back to the top for a bit.

Great idea! I miss them both terribly, but the guns/parts I got from them keep them alive in my life.

I own a Rolling Block I pictured in the "favorite gun" thread. The action was a trade from Whitey. The wood from another departed friend, and skeletonized buttplate from a recently departed friend. I think of Whitey every time I shoot it!

I'll take a stab and nominate Dewey Vicnair and Dennis Daigger. Their posts weren't like the honorees', but there won't be any like theirs again.

I really love their posts, but please nominate a specific thread either which they've started or significantly contributed to.

Oops, sorry. I had in mind Dewey's posts regarding his sidelock, from scratch double rifle and Dennis' last Martini series.

Dewey Vicknair has left the building. All of his posts are gone, and he is gone. When he decided to quit posting here on Doublegunshop, he must have requested that Dave Weber totally delete his user account, because all of his posts, photos, etc. are gone, and even his name no longer appears in the user list.

Guys who followed him and looked forward to his posts and projects may recall why he quit. It wasn't because he lost interest in fine guns. I was sad to see him leave, and I, for one, wish he'd reconsider. I don't know if I've ever agreed with Bill on anything, but I'd second the nomination of either Dewey's Thread, or Dennis Daigger's "The Last Martini" Thread because both demonstrate that fine custom gunmaking is far from being a lost art. However, "The Last Martini" thread appeared in this sub-forum., and it did pertain to Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles while Dewey's equally beautiful gun was a Double Rifle. And "The Last Martini" is still here for others to judge and enjoy, while Dewey's thread is gone.

It is my pleasure to announce that the first Whitey-J.D. Steele Award goes to Dennis Daigger for his thread "The Last Martini?"

I'd like to thank rocky mtn bill and keith for their nominations.

I corresponded a lot with Whitey, sometimes the subject turned to alcohol. I hope that if you have some bourbon or whiskey, that you'll take a sip tonight in their memory. I miss them both.

Salut.

PhysDoc,
Good on you too, for doing this. I know Whitey is smiling.
Mike

I have an original Rolling Block Sporting action I got from Whitey in a trade for an action I had. I built it into a Sporting Rifle in .40-65 with a full round barrel. The wood came from another friend Bud who passed away, and his wife gave me 4 blanks he had set aside. The engraved, skeletonized buttplate came from my friend Wind who passed away ths year in May.
I miss all of them, but am glad I have a great shooting gun that reminds me of each whenever I shoot it.

Vall,
It sounds like you are in the same boat with me; I've lost so many old friends that it looks like it is dangerous to be my friend.
Mike

Things have been a little slow this summer, so I thought I would bring this back to the top. In case, it wasn't clear, I intended this to be ongoing.

The Whitey-J.D. Steele is for the best thread on this Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles section of this forum started between
September 27, 2018 and September 27, 2019. With the winner to be announced on October 10th 2019, the sixth anniversary of Whitey's death.

The award will consist of a certificate and a slide blank for a Lyman 48 sight.

Please use this thread to nominate other threads and please send me a PM if you wish to help judge.

I can't believe he has been gone that long.
Mike

PhsDoc, Thanks for the reminder. I hope members will step up with nominations. Whitey and JD are missed and shouldn't be forgotten.

bumped to the top as a reminder, thus far no nominations have come in.

Doc, I wanted to review the threads from the past year but, and I don't know why, in this sub-forum I can only view threads as far back as May 18, 2019, whereas in the main forum I can go back to 2006.

Anyone else have that problem?

now, that you mention it... here is the solution, go to the forum you are interested in and scroll down till you see "display options", look at the box that says "show topics"
and change the setting to say "active in the last year".

That did it, wonder when I changed that or if it's the default?

about one week left for nominations

Hell, I'll nominate SKB's thread started on Dec. 05,2018, " A Best Rifle by Any Measure".

Just long enough (24 posts), not too esoteric (60 posts discussing the rim diameter for a wildcat that only 2 people have ever seen), great photos which are still viewable, maintained civility and devoid of any of any useless posts.

Last years Whitey-J.D. Steele Award winner was going to be hard to top. The craftsmanship and artistry exhibited by Dennis Daigger on his "Last Martini" build was stunning. He certainly deserved recognition for the rifle build he shared with us.

That said, I think nothing posted since then comes close to the work that Bailey Bradshaw has shared with us this year. It's one thing to photograph and document a rifle built by someone else. It's another thing to take an existing rifle and use it as a canvas for new engraving, stockwork, and finishing. But it is another realm entirely to do what Bailey Bradshaw has done and shared with us in two threads here, and two in the main Double Shotgun forum.

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubb...3424#Post553424

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=553131&page=1

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=555272#Post555272

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=555852#Post555852

Bailey has joined the ranks of the relatively few men who started with a raw forging or block of steel, and built a totally new rifle of his own design from scratch. In fact, Bailey has done this not only with his Underlever Falling Block, he redesigned it and built a Sidelever Falling Block action. He also came up with a novel new action with his Rising Block Double Rifle.

Bailey didn't just build crude prototypes either. His machining and metal finishing skills are immediately evident. He has told us that the work he has depicted here was all done by him, other than making the rifle barrels. It is refreshing to see that he is so multi-faceted, prolific, and isn't simply farming out much of his work to other shops so that he can spend countless hours here. Yet he was very forthcoming about the fact that Aaron Little will be stocking at least one of his current run of falling blocks, and is generous with his praise for Aaron and his skills. Here's how one guy summed up Bailey's work... short and sweet:



But Bailey took it to still another level with his Sidelever Falling Block. The second thread here details that this very attractive and functional rifle isn't a one-off, but that he has moved into custom manufacturing. On top of that, he seems willing to take the time to show us and explain to us many details of his innovative designs and his machining operations. His photography is very good, considering that it seems he is often taking the photo with one hand while holding an action, trigger guard, etc. in his stained machinist's opposite hand. I really enjoy seeing a working gunsmith shop rather than a photo studio.

Unless something else better is posted in the next couple days, this nomination seems like an obvious choice to me. I'd like to think Whitey and J.D. Steele would agree.

It my distinct pleasure to announce that Bailey Bradshaw has been selected to receive the Whitey J.D. Steele Award. I am sure that both Whitey and Joe would have loved both the threads by SKB and Bailey Bradshaw, I would like to thank the nominators as well.

I am sorry that this has been delayed, it was a combination of the forum being down with the switch to a different server and me being busy at work and at home.

I miss them both, they were good guys and their example made and still makes me want to be a better person.

Fred (aka PhysDoc)

Great choice, Fred

Thank you gentlemen. This is really nice.

And thank you Bailey... for taking the time to share details of your innovations and superb craftsmanship with us. It is both very interesting and very inspiring.

I've been a bit distracted this year, and remembered that it was about time to do this again. The Whitey-J.D. Steele is for the best thread on this Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles section of this forum started between
September 27, 2019 and September 27, 2020. With the winner to be announced on October 10th 2020, the seventh anniversary of Whitey's death.

The award will consist of a slide blank for a Lyman 48 sight.

Please use this thread to nominate other threads and please send me a PM if you wish to help judge.

Hey Doc, who gets the award, the thread starter, the best contributor to the thread or the guy who nominates the thread?

In the past, it has been who starts the thread, but "best contributor" sounds good to me as well. How does that sound?

Would vote for SKB for many useful and interesting posts.
Know he is a Pro, but helpful to many of us hackers.
Chuck

Thanks Chuck,

I was beginning to worry, that no one would submit a nomination. Yesterday, when I remembered that it was about the time of year to put out requests for nominations, it hit me, I thought what would the last 7 years been like for me if Whitey was still alive. He would have encouraged me as far as projects were concerned, probably sent me a bunch of stuff, punctuated his e-mails with "smile". I miss him, same with Joe. They were good honorable men.

Fred

I didn't know Whitey much. But Joe, I really miss him. He was a go-to guy for 1885 Winchesters (among other things) and a guy with whom one could have a polite disagreement, that's pretty rare around here today.

BTW, I'll second the SKB nomination.

Here it was flipped, I knew Whitey pretty well and Joe to a lesser extent, but I knew that both Joe and Whitey thought highly of each other and hence the award. Thanks for seconding the nomination.

Whitey Hanson was a great guy! We talked often, and did a lot of parts and gun swapping too. He went way too soon!
I loved that he bought an old John Deere dealership and lived in it! Always wondered what happened to that place in Joe's, Co. after Whitey passed?
Whitey was a real renaissance man, with many talents beyond gunsmithing and guns!

I'll go with SKB,too.

In looking over threads in this Custom and Classic Rifle forum for the past year, there are two that jump out as special in the same manner as winners from past years.

The first is Jim Westberg's "D. Fraser" thread

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=565091&page=1

The second is Aaron Little's "FROM A SOW�S EAR TO A SILK PURSE" thread:

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=578702#Post578702

There have been numerous other very nice rifles depicted and written about here, but when considering a nominee, I am thinking about the whole picture. Who brought us an interesting build, and more importantly, who did the most memorable and superb work? To me, the most special and talented gunsmiths are those who have mastered many or all aspects of gunmaking. I totally respect the really talented specialists here who concentrate upon engraving, stockmaking, checkering, or machining and metal work. But when one guy has the ability to master several or all of those crafts, then I am most impressed. That's what prompted me to nominate Dennis Daigger a couple years ago, and what made Bailey Bradshaw most outstanding last year.

There are other very skilled and deserving guys who have posted on DoubleGunShop such as C.J. Opacik (CJO), but he seems to specialize in shotguns, and I have not seen his work in this sub-forum. We had Dewey Vicknair post some of his incredible work earlier this year in the new Professional Gunsmith forum, but again, not here in this sub-forum. Every time I see an example of Dewey's work, I feel as if I am looking at a Michaelanglo sculpture. But he has left and has no threads in this forum.

It was real hard for me to choose between Aaron Little and Jim Westberg, because I am a sucker for a well executed single-shot. Mr. Westberg's D. Fraser rifle is a beauty, and deserves recognition.

But it seems as if Aaron Little did more of the total job in his custom rebuild of the BRNO ZZK-601 Bolt Action. I wish both men had included "Before" Photos, but we all know that the BRNO rifles are rough, utilitarian, and most have those butt-ugly Eastern European stocks. Aaron Little's finished product displays more pure fine gunsmithing skills than anything else that has been posted in this forum in the last year... hands down! When last years winner, Bailey Bradshaw decided to utilize the services of another gunsmith to stock one of his rifles, he chose Aaron Little, who did an outstanding and beautiful job. It was easy to see why Bailey chose Aaron Little, and that also is why I nominate Aaron Little. He is a very talented gunsmith that people will still be talking about 100 years from now.

Thanks for all who gave nominations, they are much appreciated. I will ask a group of members of the forum to weigh the nominations.

I have to say, last week, I was writing out the reminder for the nomination and I nearly lost it, I was at my computer and I thought "what would the last 7 years been like if Whitey was still alive?" How much would he have encouraged me, how much stuff would he have send me, and others too, of course. I wonder how much advice he would have given me on guns, parenting, dogs, machining....How many times, we would have talked about auctions and good deals. He was a great friend. I miss him.

I just couldn't bring myself to vote, not because I didn't think any one is worthy. It is precisely the opposite, the work performed by those mentioned above is nothing less than wonderful; how can I claim to be qualified to judge whose work is best when I can't even decide which I personally like the best.
Mike

Should have asked Whitey about custom cowboy boots! Whitey designed some custom cowboy boots for David Pedersoli, and Pedersoli was so happy with him that he had a custom muzzleloader built and sent it to Whitey as a gift. When Whitey got tired of it, he sold it to me.
As I mentioned, he was a real renaissance man!

I'm a boot guy, was Whitey also the bootmaker or did he design them for someone else to make?

Whitey didn't make boots, but did design boots for a well known bootmaker. One of the larger companies, but I hate to say the name because I'm not positive I'm recalling it correctly?
Whitey was also a very accomplished mechanic, and hotrodder. And retired from a career in the USAF. Every time we talked I learned little things he'd done that came out. Seems there wasn't much he hadn't tried, or done in his life.
He used to trade automotive work for guns, or gun parts when he was younger. But towards the end of his life he had to stop due to his health.

Spent a most pleasant afternoon in Joe's with Whitey discussing guns, machine tools, etc.
Quickly discovered he knew more about machining actions than I did. Learned a great deal.
Managed to trade an old Trapdoor for a filing machine which I treasure.
Chuck

Watch out for those nasty finger tip pinches. LOL

Magnifying lens, variable speed and hold downs minimize the problem.
Big machine for delicate work, never saw one like it. Can split a scribe line. Wonderful machine for limited use.
Chuck

A flat filing machine is a handy tool I'd love to own if I had room! I can think of numerous scenarios where I've wished I had one! Even contemplated making one once, but decided space was too cramped here to have it for occasional use.

Thanks to all who nominated and reviewed, it is a great pleasure to announce that SKB is the winner of this year's Whitey-J.D. Steele award. It was wonderful reading the memories of Whitey.

Perfect...Congrats SKB

congratulations, Steve. I particularly appreciate the new forum that you caused to exist. I hope it gets a lot more traffic from other builders and makers over time.

Brent

Congratulations, Steve. Well deserved.
Chuck

Congratulations Steve. A well-earned recognition.

Kudos Steve, thanks for all the informative posts you made here. Good luck on the home front too.

Rob

Congratulations Steve, you earned it.
Mike

Well deserved. Congratulations Steve!

Thanks for the kind words guys. I will continue to post pics of interesting projects as they come through the shop. Quite a few in progress currently.

Steve