A bit about pistol-gripped stocks

Not long ago, I received a Comment from a reader asking if I have ever considered incorporating a full pistol grip as part of the buttstock design in my Faeton rifles. The answer can be seen below in the form of this special request custom rifle.

(Click the pic to enlarge it for closer viewing, then click the Back button to return to the text.)

The customer requested a heavier rifle than my standard-weight Faeton and supplied a rather stout, straight-octagon .58 calibre Getz tube with a medium slow (round ball) twist for this project. The wood chosen was a beautiful stick of quilted Oregon madrone, a dense, fine-grained wood that is similar to maple. He also requested a large shotgun buttplate, a tall blade front sight, and a Sharps-style rear sight. The metal was rust blued using my own proprietary Genuine Weasel Piss rust-browning solution.

Although the pistol grip does add more bulk to the rifle, all in all we were quite pleased with the rather racy result of our walk on the wild side. While not very clear in this photo, the forearm sports a stylized ebony Schnabel tip and sheaths a jet black, Gaboon ebony loading rod with brass tips at both ends.

Sorry for the poor quality of the  photo as it was taken in a hurry as the customer was about to leave my shop. It was a last minute thought to capture the image and all I had was my vintage 35mm film-burner, a Minolta SRT-101. Obviously I didn’t know what I had captured until I developed the film. By then the customer was off to parts unknown and I was never able to get a better photo of the rifle.

However, it does serve as an example of what can be done with the simple bent-cylinder type of underhammer actions when it comes to attaching wood. Being sure of your structural integrity, watch the lines and proportions to keep them pleasing to the eye and you should be okay.

BTW, pistol grips are a traditional underhammer rifle feature having been used by several of the great makers of old, including Billinghurst. So, be brave ye underhammer builders and push the boundaries a bit. Remember, no guts, no glory - just the dull reward of mediocrity.

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