Pretty Groups

The sun is beaming down and you’re sweating. Your shoulder or maybe your hand is a little sore from too much time behind the trigger. And, possibly, your elbow is a bit weak from working the reloading press. You and your buddy walk down range and gander at the target and he say’s, “Boy, that sure is a pretty group!” You smile, turn, and walk the 100 yards back to the bench thinking about how nervous you were when you squeezed off that fifth shot.

How many pretty groups have you ruined with that fifth or maybe 10th shot? My friend Johnny Walker likes to say, “Anybody can shoot nine good shots, its that 10th one that gets you.” How true. But it could also be said that there’s always one shot in a group you’d like to do over. Pretty groups are one thing and I guess some pretty groups have won some trophies. Me? I like pretty guns that shoot little groups and I’m not overly concerned with how pretty the cluster is.

I’ve had the luxury of working with a variety of custom gunsmiths over the years. Charlie Sisk down in Texas builds some good shooting rifles and he is a pleasure to work with. Lately he has strayed a bit from crafting one of a kind custom hunting rifles and is working diligently on perfecting his unique S.T.A.R. rifle. At 5 Gs +, Charlie’s guns are not cheap. Once you get a reputation for quality work your prices have to reflect that reputation or the waiting list would be as long as time you wait to get that tax refund. Melvin Forbes with New Ultra Light Arms has built several rifles for me too and since I like good shooting, lightweight hunting rifles, there are several of them in my safe. Melvin’s guns start on the other side of 3Gs; its that reputation thing again.

Thing is, a gunsmith dose not have to have a big name reputation to build pretty guns that shoot. They just have to know what they are doing. And, I’ve learned that sometimes the prettiest and best shooting guns come from the guys who are working to establish that reputation. Jerry Dove at Dove Custom Guns is one such guy. Jerry was at one time a top ranked IPSC shooter and during that time he was building guns that allowed him and a few other shooters to reach that top rank level. Jerry still shoots competitively but mostly on a local level. And, he still builds guns. When my wife decided she wanted a .45, Jerry took a box stock Remington and turned into a sweet looking, smooth functioning, serious shooting iron.

More recently Dove has been experimenting with longer guns and he is the guy I turned to, to build CUR # 1. While he was working on my conditional utility rifle (CUR) he was also building a 6.5 x 55 on a Winchester action. I stopped by his shop the other day and he presented the finished product. I thought it was a fine looking rifle and when he showed me the groups he had been shooting I said, “Them sure are pretty.”

Jerry suggested I take the rifle out for a spin and yesterday evening I probably got the barrel too hot for its own good. Admittedly, my groups were not as pretty as Jerry’s (Maybe you have to be a really good shot to make really pretty groups.) but they were small. I asked Jerry what he was going to do with the 6.5 and he said, “She’s ready for sale; I’m going to build something else now.”

I thought, this is not a good thing. I finally find a gunsmith without that big name reputation, a gunsmith that can turn projects around for me in just a couple weeks, and he goes and starts building fine looking guns that shoot like a house a-fire. (Where did that saying come from because it makes absolutely no sense?) Then I thought, maybe I should just keep Jerry a secret; if I don’t spread the word I can keep him all to myself.

No, that won’t work. When a guy is building guns like this, word will get out. Better for me to be the one to tell you. How would it look if you learned there was a good gun builder living and working right in my home town and I hadn’t told you about him?

Pretty groups or pretty guns, which is most important? Those two things are not mutually exclusive and if you find the right gun plumber you can get both at the same time. The bigger the name, the more you will pay and the longer you will wait. So, I suggest you give Jerry Dove a call, I know that tax rerun money is burning a hole in your pocket. But do me a favor and give me a couple months; there are still a few things I need him to do!