Thanks for the replies. I won't have internet acces until tomorrow morning, but I appreciate the thoughts. I'll check back tomorrow. Is the stockmaker and the wood purchase usually separate (ie., stockmakers don't normally keep dried blanks to sell)? I'm not sure what I'll do, if anything, but everytime I take that Gold Label out, I think "I wish the wood were nicer." Otherwise it's a fun gun to shoot. It's fun to think about.