338 WM Build X Piper Rifles

[jhawk13]

I wish I would have started this write up a year ago when I started the build with Ben Piper of Piper Rifles down in AZ. The rifle is now finished and I fly down on Thursday to pick it up and do some quail hunting.

I found this whole process absolutely mind blowing with the amount of work that goes into a single rifle stock. So, I wanted to share with you guys a build that showcases the amount of work and detail that went into this rifle.

I will continue to update through the day as I have time!

[jhawk13]

It all started with a block of wood.

When I expressed that I was interested in having a custom rifle built, Ben immediately started sending me a weekly round of photos of rifle stock blanks available to him. I passed up on about 20 unique blanks before finding the one I wanted. I didn’t really know what I was looking for but when I saw this one, I had to have it.

For those curious, this is Turkish Walnut coming out of the Middle East.

[ellensburgpo]

 

[jhawk13]

There was A LOT of nervous anticipation as I checked the tracking info each day. I was still skeptical at this point that this block of wood would make it to the US.

Two weeks later, it was delivered to AZ and I got the call from Ben. He told me this was going to be one sweet piece and joked that he should have bought it! Which, when your gun smith is envious, you know you got something special.

He did end up buying every blank that came out of the same lot/tree as mine and they all turned out unique and incredible.

[jhawk13]

 It carries the figure all the way through. Absolutely loved how unique it ended up being.

[h20hunter]

Yes....more please!

[Magnum_Willys]

Nice piece of wood!

[phildobaggins]

This is gonna be a sweet thread! 

[jhawk13]

Fast forward a few month. I had drawn a late season elk tag in AZ. It was Ben’s home unit, so I got to swing by and check out the shop and my blank.

I have never owned a rifle that was correctly fit to my height and arm length. So we measured my length of pull and Ben brought out a few stocks for me to shoulder and feel out. It was almost comical shouldering something closer to my length of pull. I didn’t realize how much I was compensating and changing my form to shoot my Tikka.

After getting fitted and looking over a few different designs, we settled on a slightly beefier design that Ben normally uses for his safari builds.

He started cutting and shaping the blank that day. He has an incredible process that allowed him to have the rifle stock roughed out before the end of my hunt

[jhawk13]

First cut….

[jhawk13]

The elk hunt was “ok”…

[pianoman9701]

I will enjoy seeing this take shape. 

[Bareback]

Tag.

Bruiser bull.

[jhawk13]

I got to visit with Ben before leaving with my bull. He had my rifle all roughed out and it finally looked like a rifle stock. I couldn’t believe how fast he had it cut. I swear the man never sleeps.

Here is what it looked like rough. I was initially concerned about the pitting where a few of the knots popped out but he assured me that I would never be able to tell after he was done with it.

[jasnt]

Tagging along