I took the summer off to spend quality time with my family, avoid the heat of the garage, but also to think through some idea changes to the stocks I’ve been making. You saw the first of those changes with the P.A.G., which introduced the new, fully resin bed holding the receiver. I liked it, but the handgrip didn’t satisfy me like I had hoped.
In the corner of my shop (garage, who am I kidding) I have a slab of walnut with extremely beautiful grain. I had tried to create a stock using my previous full wood method, but the walnut was just a tad bit too thin to make it work. I accidentally cut through the wall and set the piece aside with a little frustration.
When I started making the resin bed, I thought back to the damaged walnut piece and decided it was time to resurrect that beautiful piece of wood. That’s what you see here. I don’t know why I call it the Olyoak One, but it felt right and so I rolled with it. Maybe it’s because this is the look I’ve been searching for without really knowing what that would be.
Another difference you’ll notice with pieces from the past is the incredible shine I was able to achieve. I was walking around Bud’s Guns in Lexington, KY and took a look through the expensive gun room. The rifles that connected the most with me were the extremely polished stocks, and I decided to try it on this version. I love it. Many may not, but I make these to make myself happy, so I’m cool with it.
On a separate trip to Bud’s, I took the final rifle for test firing and ran through about 250 rounds in 15 minutes. Enough to smoke the barrel and really test out the strength of the design. It all worked well and most importantly it felt nice in my hands. I fired it with the M-Lok rail covers, and the wood was a perfect heat buffer.
So…. Is this for sale? Not yet, but I can make these faster than I have in the past and since I’ve made my first college visit with my daughter, I may need some extra college cash. Stay tuned.
