Another one on the table

[JEBar]

delighted to see you back on the open forum .... congrats on your course work .... very sorry to hear about your Dad ....

[CT_Shooter]

Sorry to read about your Dad's passing, Roddy. I'm glad you finally celebrated his life and that he witnessed your outstanding progress in college. I'm sure you made him proud.

I lost my wife to lung cancer three years ago. She was my best friend and lover for more than fifty years. The hole she left in my heart is huge; but, I am a lucky man to have spent my life with her. For most of her life, she earned a better than average salary and encouraged me to begin my college career at the age of forty-two.

I quit my job and attended school full time, first at a community college, then at a state university where (after graduation) I was hired and worked for fourteen years before retiring. Because I loved academics so much, she agreed early on that I should continue studying for a full six years until I had earned a Master's degree.

In my opinion, attending college as an older, non-traditional student is a much different and more meaningful experience than it it is for those who attend as teenagers. I highly recommend it as a retirement activity.

Congratulations to you. Keep up the good work.

[markiver54]

Sooo sorry to hear of your loss Roddy!!
Memories never die.
Good to hear from you!

[roddy]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I really appreciate it.
CT_Shooter: Yours hit me especially hard. I admire your attitude...Ang and I have been together (save a short time-out) since we were 16. She's the best friend I've ever had, and I can't imagine life without her...I'd probably "crash-and-burn".
I agree 100% on attending school as an adult. Life experience allowed me to relate to things in ways I never could as a kid.

[BigAl52]

Sorry for your loss Roddy. Losing family has been tough for me. I still miss my mother alot and shes been gone since 1994. She was only 68 and thats where Im at now. My father wasnt much of a father. He spent to much time in the martini world to have time for my sister and myself. Ive always enjoyed your post.

[roddy]

Thanks Al. I'm having a bit of a rough time with this one too...

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your Mom. I had a pretty rocky start as well. At the end of the day, I always had a belly full of food, and a roof over my head. I am thankful for that.

[Ernie]

Sorry for the loss of your Father. I called mine every day and visited often as we had so many interests in common. He was a great sounding board and always had an interesting perspective on my questions and problems. I hope you can find peace and fill the hole he has left.

[roddy]

Thanks again everyone.
I'm going to try to get this thread back on track. I've been (slowly) working away on projects, but haven't been taking pics along the way as I usually do. I've been back to work full time since September, and working from dawn to dusk, so getting decent outdoor pics has been a challenge. I did manage to snap a few last weekend, of a couple I've been working on...

I've wanted to try the .17 HM2 round for some time, but all that is available right now is either a low end Savage MK II (~ $300), or a high end Anschutz (~ $4000). I wanted something in between. I decided to 'make' my own using a CZ 455 or 457, and an aftermarket barrel. I kept my eyes on the local 'Gun Post' ads, and eventually a CZ 457 Varmint MTR popped up for a reasonable price, so I picked it up and fitted a Lothar Walther .17 HM2 barrel.

Varmint MTR .17 HM2.jpg

To those who know CZ rimfires, remember the red or green stained beechwood stocks CZ offered on the 455 'American' line a few years ago? Although I'm not big on colored wood, beech is pretty tough, and could make for a decent 'all-weather' rifle when combined with a stainless action/barrel. I often wondered what that combination (never offered by CZ) would look like, so when one of those 'red' stocks came up for sale locally, I had to bring it home and fit all the bits from my 455 .17 HMR Stainless.
I like it...

455 stainless .17 HMR.jpg

[Hatchdog]

That red stock with the stainless looks great. Now I’m a malcontent, never owned a CZ so if a colored stock comes up for sale on our local trader page I’ll have to give it some thought. Beautiful rifle.

[markiver54]

Very nice roddy!

[roddy]

Thanks. The 'Special Edition Red' stocks came with plain stippled checkering like the one above, or with a simple design...

The Canadian got maple Leaves,

CZ-455-Canadian-Maple-leaf-detail-400x400.jpg

The Australian Bushman got the Southern Cross (Crux) constellation,

CZ 455 Australian Bushman SE.jpg

and the Saint Patrick's Special got a Shamrock, and a very green hue...

CZ 455 Saint Patrick's SE.jpg

The green ones are scarce as hen's teeth.

[markiver54]

The green ones are scarce as hen's teeth

Not surprised!

[roddy]

Next one up (actually, it's already finished) is a cheap-as-chips Savage 93G in .22 WMR. 93 is the model designation Savage gives to their basic magnum rimfire bolt-action rifles (pretty much a Mark II). These rifles are known to punch well above their price point accuracy-wise. The G denotes a 'hardwood' stock. Savage (at least on the rimfires) does not make their own wood nor laminate stocks. They are contracted out to Boyd's Gunstocks.

Now, I would expect a 'cheap' rifle with a wood stock to have one made of Beechwood, but to the best of my knowledge, Boyd's only works with walnut, laminates, and maple. With that in mind, and a recent conversation with my father in-law about him never having a .22 Magnum, I didn't hesitate to pick one up when a local shop had some on 'clearance' this past spring.

Just for reference, here is a 'stock' (giggle) photo of the rifle in question, as I didn't take one before I started...

93G.jpg

They do their best to hide what's really there and make them all look the same, using a shot (or 12) of 'universal brown'.

[JEBar]

The green ones are scarce as hen's teeth.

very different and scarce indeed .... other than standard finishes, over time, I remember seeing blond wood stocks on rifles and a couple with a reddish tone .... don't ever recall seeing a real rifle with a green wood stock

[roddy]

The green ones are scarce as hen's teeth.

very different and scarce indeed .... other than standard finishes, over time, I remember seeing blond wood stocks on rifles and a couple with a reddish tone .... don't ever recall seeing a real rifle with a green wood stock

Speaking of blonde, it turns out that the Savage 'G' stocks are maple. When I got that 93G home and pulled the action out of the stock, sure enough, there was a 'Boyds' stamp, and a sticker with a barcode and the word 'maple'.

[roddy]

This stock was a bear to strip. The top finish was easy enough, but the stain was another story, and required a fair bit of careful sanding to remove. This wasn't helped by the fact that maple is almost white in color. No amount of scrubbing with nylon brushes and assorted strippers was able to get all of the stain out of the checkering, so I 'blackened' those areas, and continued with the sanding/stripping/prep work.

I didn't take many pics on my way through this one, but here are a couple after most of the sanding was done and the stain was added to the checkering...

93 G ''hardwood''.jpg

93 G 'hardwood'.jpg

The rifle is up at the farm...I'll give Ang a call and see if she can pry it out of her Dad's hands when she's done tending the horses. I'll try to get some pics of that one today.

[markiver54]

Wow, that did turn out light. Will be interested to see how it looks after staining. Should be a beautiful contrast against the black checkering.

[roddy]

Wow, that did turn out light. Will be interested to see how it looks after staining. Should be a beautiful contrast against the black checkering.

I didn't use much in the way of stain...just enough to highlight the figure a bit, and make it a little darker than linseed oil alone. IIRC, it was 1 part Minwax 'Provincial' to 10 parts BLO. If I could go back in time, I would use the 'Ebony' stain, and mix it 1:7 or so...

The figure in this wood is 'busy' and changes so much depending on angle and light, it's going to be hard to get a decent picture.

[markiver54]

I have used the Minwax Provincial before on other projects. It has a nice tone, even diluted I would think.
Looking forward to seeing it.

[roddy]

The weather didn't clear as forecast, so I had to try some indoor pics...that was an exercise in frustration. Most were a blurry mess, but here are a few that were close to acceptable...

93G 1.jpg

93G 2.jpg

93G 3.jpg

...and a couple more on the next page...It's hard to get a picture that really shows the figure/'tiger-striping'.