doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cost of stocking a sidelock action

Joe, I hate to speak for Steve but I do believe that is his gold "cartouche" that he uses on his custom projects.

The most impressive thing about that close-up is that ALL the wood pores are filled!!

SDH - 24kt: I call it my hallmark, this version since about 1992.
The process is detailed in my Double Guns and Custom Gunsmithing book.

First thing I noticed was the wood pores...I just didn't say anything because viewing the quality of your work I figured it was just the norm.

Kyrie, I just picked up on this thread but your % are a bit off I think, at least here in Europe, a top end Spanish gun is now about GBP 15k or $24k, a top end London best is GBP70k or $112k so it�s about 20% but as the head of one of Londons top gunrooms said to me "It is amazing what they do for the price" and also "If you took the name off 95% of gun buyers wouldn�t know which was which", best, Mike p.s. shame half the threads have been deleted, p.p.s if you want a stock inletted to AYA no.1 standards in Spain it will be about $4000

Hey Steve, is that top photo my .30-06 ? I�m still waiting for it to reach London best, Mike

Kyrie, I should make clear that $4k includes a reasonable piece of wood, best

I am late to this thread, but let me share my opinion. (I own 2 London bests and 2 Spanish sidelocks) The reason for the exact inletting is not to show off superior skills but to provide a more secure structure. Notice the black screw heads imprint. This type inletting literally keeps the pins and bridle tight, they can't easily loosen. The more wide open inletting would allow a pin to loosen and back out. Also should a spring break it hopefully will stay in place, not fall into the mechanism and cause further damage. Further, the cost of living in Spain is less and the wages are less, which accounts for some of the cost difference. American custom gunsmiths do some of the best work available anywhere and they feel they deserve a good hourly rate. Thankfully we are still free to choose what to pay for such services and they are free to set their prices.

Stephen- you don't have to take a back seat to anyone here for the quality of your craftsmanship- and your fotos are worth a thousand words-- Joe just likes to "stir things up" a bit-- looks like he got a nice pissing contest a going (at the expense of your thread) with another guy named after a fat piece of Spanish sausage- all this International flavor makes me want to take my 1911 era LC Smith 3E 12 with the straight hand stock, and convert it to a "prisoner of War' style grip- then sit back and watch Steve McQueen shout "Nicht Schiessen" in the super biker movie -The great Escape"- sure wish he had cleared that barbed wire and hit Switzerland-alas--

Yes Mike, that's your rifle.

Nitra, You've got it all spot on, except; Stockers have been know to imprint the screw heads a bit more than they actually touch... between you and me.

I can�t wait !!!!! best