Great American Gunstock Company

[jim in Anchorage]

Any body have have any experience with them? I have a 1917 that needs a stock and it looks like their stocks are fairly well finished and have nice lines.

 

[dirtyjim]

i've had good luck with them. if you place an order with them instead of buying out of their bargain bin you will normaly get a better stock. but i've got some real nice stock very cheap from the bargain bin but most of them have flaws that showed up during machining.
i would give henry a call & let him know exactly what your looking for.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

How much finishing did they require? I got a "semi inlet" from Bishop once that was little more than a blank.

 

[rossiscratch]

I'd recommend doing a google search for this company. There are many threads and posts regarding people's experiences with Great American Gun Stocks. It seems that there have been a lot of unhappy customers, but I have not dealt with them directly...

 

[krs]

I have an old Stevens rifle that Henry was able to perfectly recreate the original buttstock for after the original was broken.

I don't know how he could have found Walnut of the color, density, and quality used for gunstocks in those long ago days, but he did. And with that wood he made a stock that even though plain and basic really is a work of art.

HOWEVER, this job was a full year in doing. There were some sort of issues at the GAGSC at the time, supposedly, but I didn't feel at the time that they were sufficient reason for being impossible to reach or to obtain from at least some sort of progress report.

I've seen people say that those issues are now a thing of the past and I hope so because they've really got a skillset along with an appreciation of the fine rifles of our last century.

The further from camera of these two is wearing the stock from Great American Gunstock Co.

 

[dirtyjim]

the inletting on the stocks i got was about 85% on the action & triggerguard area & about 60% in the barrel channel. all if them inletted just fine but if your used to boyds semi's you will have a lot more inletting to do.
i know a few people who have gotten stocks with problems but after they brought the problem to henry's attention they were all taken care of.
i've also seen more than a few posts from people who bought one of gag's stocks that had a problem & instead of then telling henry about it and getting it taken care of they screamed all over the internet about how gag's stocks were crap & no one should ever buy one.

 

[Acera]

You might look at these, I've had good dealings with this company.

http://macongunstocks.net/enfield_no_1_enfield_1917_122.html

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Apparently the factory burned to the ground at GAG stocks in Oct 2007. I wonder if that has something to do with all the Internet complaints?

 

[dirtyjim]

gag's stocks flow better in my opinion but i prefer a longer swept back grip & long lop along with a oval cheekpiece.
gag's british express rifle classic with about a 14" lop, a very short forearm with a ebony cap & a drop box is the perfect stock in my opinion

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Gage's British express rifle classic with about a 14" lop, a very short forearm with a ebony cap & a drop box is the perfect stock in my opinion

That would be perfect for my ZKK 602 .375.
I love the Louis Wundhammer style stock with side panels and schnabel forend for my 1917. Makes me wish I had a 1903 to stock it in.
We shall see. I am going to give them a try.

 

[bglz42]

Love them! I built the "poor man's Kimber" from a JW15. It's spectacular!

 

[SaxonPig]

This is one of their stocks. Looks nice now that it's done but it required far more work than I was led to believe.





This also one of theirs. I cheated on this one and had a gunsmith do the final fitting which he did perfectly for a measly $30. Should have had him do the Krag, too.

 

[nwilliams]

I ordered a replacement stock from them for a Krag a few years back and what I got was a piece of wood roughly the shape of a gun stock. According to them "minor fitting would be required" but it was so rough I didn't have the tools to do anything with it. I was so disappointed that I called them back and asked to return it. They said OK and to ship it back, once it was back they would refund my money. About five months and fifteen phone calls and emails later I finally got a refund.

I will never deal with them again, ever

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

I am done with pre-inlet wood stocks. Gone are the days when a Bishop or Fajen arrived pretty much as described, if not better (OK, that was 20+ years ago).

The last three I have required major inletting, what inletting there was looked and fit awful. One was returned, 2 sit in corners half finished.

 

[Onmilo]

I have had very good luck with Great American Gunstocks.

I can't comment on stocks they fit and finish as I have only bought the 85% stocks from them.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I am done with pre-inlet wood stocks. Gone are the days when a Bishop or Fajen arrived pretty much as described, if not better (OK, that was 20+ years ago).

The last three I have required major inletting, what inletting there was looked and fit awful. One was returned, 2 sit in corners half finished.

I think you got lucky. I got a Bishop stock almost exactly 20 years ago. By the time I finished it[6 months later] there must have been a pound of saw dust on the floor.

 

[natman]

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3165099/1

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/3165097/1

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Looks to be a love/hate company. All I can do is order one and find out. Thanks for all the input. Will update with my experience.

 

[CZguy]

Looks to be a love/hate company. All I can do is order one and find out. Thanks for all the input. Will update with my experience.

Sounds like a wise decision.

Add pics to your update please.

 

[dirtyjim]

I love the Louis Wundhammer style stock with side panels and schnabel forend for my 1917. Makes me wish I had a 1903 to stock it in.

i'm slowly collecting the parts for a wundhammer style 1903. i still need to find a nice usgi barrel from around 1915 & a ross swivel band.
i'm going to use a later receiver so after i'm gone no one tries to pass it off as the real thing. the receiver will get the rear tang reshaped like wundhammers rifles & the chamfer on the receiver face.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

My old[60's?] copy of bolt action rifles by Frank de Haas has a picture of a Louis Wundhammer 03 built for Stewart Edward White. Absolutely gorgeous. Looks like a kicker with that drop at heel though.

 

[dirtyjim]

most of my rifles have a lot of drop & a steel buttplate.
if i shoot them standing or if i'm sitting straight up they don't kick to bad, but if you sit hunched over on a bench they will pack a wallop. i also use my left hand to support the rifle by holding it flat under the magazine without gripping the forearm.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I handle recoil off the bench with a bag of shot between my shoulder and the butt. Can shoot all day. But as much as I love the look of stocks with a drop at heel, they seem to wack my cheek. Lace on pad maybe?

 

[dirtyjim]

most of my stock have a oval british style cheekpeice with a pretty good taper on them & i've never had a problem with them whacking my cheek. i try to make the thickness at the front of the cheekpeice a little under half of the thickness at the rear of the cheekpeice. its supposed to pull the cheekpeice away from your face during recoil & so far it works with me.
right now i'm reshaping a factory mini-mauser stock to use as a pattern. once i get it to my liking i'll have it duplicated. its based on a gag british express rifle classic with a drop box. it will be iron sights only so it has a lot of drop & a little cast off.
it went from this

to this

i still have to make the banded rear sight base & a little more tweaking on the stock but with the drop & cast off it points & shoulders very nicely

 

[jim in Anchorage]

What caliber? I agree on the check piece reducing recoil but boy they can be a job to finsh. Particularly the beading.