Craig & DavidC,
Thank you for the kind words. I have built and given away several rifles to family and friends over the past decade (many posted here on ALR ...but others not)....and I have been commissioned to build a few for others. None fall into the category of what I would consider the quality of the guns built by the builders I most admire. Many of those builders have posted on ALR and it has been through their talent and generosity with their time that I can do as much as I do. Sadly, some have "shuffled off this mortal coil", as Shakespeare might put it. Others have never posted here (or anywhere that I know of) but I have seen their work and strive to emulate their mechanical skills and design artistry. I owe them all, and many others here on ALR, a huge debt of gratitude for suggestions, instruction, and encouragement.
The guns that I have built and given away, or done for pay, have been the very best I knew how to do at the time I did them. I know my skills are better than some, but I also know that they are no where near as good as many others. And I also know my knowledge level is severely lacking. Here, with this little rifle for my grandson, I have again done my best. But most importantly to me, I hope that along with the little rifle will go a sense of history......particularly American history.....how this nation came to be.....how important and miraculous it is that the men and women who established and preserved this nation founded a Republic that has allowed so many for so long to live in a state of freedom unknown through almost all of human history. My life has been but a link in a chain. My father taught me most of what I know from working with my hands to the patriotism that led me to serve the nation in a Navy uniform for a quarter century. My daughters, and now my grandson, are the next links in that chain. More important than the carving and engraving or the barrel or the lock or the wood that went into building this little rifle is my hope and prayer for my grandson's part in preserving our true history and this Republic......
