There is no easy solution. Builders are going to have problems with the judging, and judges have a thankless job, and everybody wants the judging to continue. Everything has been said.
It is obviously not easy to communicate that the standard is an ideal that the judges have arrived at in their minds. No recreation of an existing rifle, no matter how excellent that original was or how superb the recreation is, is given allowance for variation from the ideal.
It is difficult to know that judge's mind, let alone agree with it.
Builders will continue to do a lot of research and carefully work within a particular style as evidenced by one, two, three or four examples of work and will produce guns that are superb re-creations within the context of existing, original, landmark arms.
If the judges think, "Verner" when they think Bucks County, then rifles like those of Shuler or Weiker or unsigned rifles with Bucks County characteristics blended with Lehigh characteristics (as many originals were) will not hit the mark for the judges. That's life; we need to accept that and move on. It is helpful to discuss this here so entrants know what to expect and take the best from what the judges do out of the goodness of their hearts and love of the craft and craftsmen.
