Bob, it's funny that you brought up Bill Cody because a couple days before you made that comment I told John after seeing the finished rifle that it gives me running around my backyard playing cowboy with my air rifle as a child nostalgia!
Randy, I haven't taken possession of it yet but I already love this rifle to death, it's particularly special to me because John is a close friend of mine. I was talking to him a few years back and I said "John, you make a fine rifle, I'd like to own one." So he says what did I want him to make and I said a rifle, and he said what kind of rifle, and I said a Gaeckle Gun. I said there's a lot of people out there making guns but I want one of your guns and only you know what that looks like. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. I'm pretty sure he was sneaky about it and brought it up to the Log Cabin shop a time or two to get my reaction to it and see if it fit me while it was in the works?
John, that curl is electric, you did an outstanding job exposing it! I had to reread your post there because I wasn't sure if that was the stick I gave you or you had to use something else. For context, I got a great deal on several high curl half stock blanks from a member here a while back. One of them in particular was geared for an advanced builder, the board was tiny, enough to make a rifle out of but not much else. I decided it'd be best to give that one to John and I'm really happy I did.