I had the pleasure of going to Kolar for a custom stock and fit this week. I’ve never done something like this before and what an eye opener. I know there are other manufacturers who treat their customers right, but let me just say that I’ve never been treated like this before. Jeff Mainland is one of the nicest, most personable and all-out competent guys I’ve had the privilege to meet. He spent about 7 hours with me from blank to shaped but unfinished stock and at the end of the session I had a stock in my hands that felt more natural, more comfortable, than I could imagine. It's also vastly different from any off the shelf stock I've seen, with buckets of offset and a wicked twist for toe-out, but I can mount the gun with my eyes closed and when I open them, everything lines up. When I shot it at their patterning facility, there was very little felt recoil.
Will it make a difference in my shooting? Perhaps yes, perhaps no – I’ll see in 10 weeks or so, but I’ll still be a happy camper. I got to pick out the blank, I got to see it rough cut and machined, I got to feel it get more and more natural as an extension of my hand as Jeff asked questions, had me mount the gun (many times), made marks, filed and sanded.
On the metal side, I was lucky enough to have a tour of the factory, to see the various bar stock in the process of being machined into receivers, ejectors, trigger guards, hammers, etc. Virtually all of the metal in the gun is machined from bar stock. Only the opening lever is investment cast. I saw the barrels in the process of being mated to the monoblock. The amount of handwork that goes into these guns – the basic guns, not just the incredibly engraved guns, is pretty enlightening. What I particularly enjoyed was the pride that came through in the voice of my guide, Keith, as he showed me around the factory – not only in the final products, but also in the skill of his colleagues.
The next 10 weeks or so will be very long weeks, indeed.
