BEST STORY0:57
The Missed Coues Shot
He recalls the hunt that changed everything.
EP 207: Gunwerks Rifle System Series - The Rifle Stock
May 27, 2026 · 2 hr 14 min · 13 segments
- Speakers
- Aaron DavidsonHostJim AllenGuestDerrickGuest
May 27, 2026 · 2 hr 14 min · 13 segments
Yeah.
Cool.
Well, when I started Gunwerks, that was 20 years ago.
We're celebrating that this year.
Um, I actually started working on the, the prototypes and the concept in 2005.
So we, w- we, we built a, a test mule and, you know, using some off-the-shelf components and learned a lot about that.
And, you know, I'd learned how to bed stocks and do all those things, so I had a, I had a pretty good feel for, you know, the, the process and concept of, of rifle manufacturing.
But I also, I also was able to step back and say, "All right.
From first principles, you know, what's a rifle stock supposed to do?" You know, really identifying with, okay, well, the look and feel drives the outcome of the product.
So there's a, there's an aesthetic and visual component of that, but then you, you back up.
There's a huge, really cool underlying engineering story in terms of the design geometries and what each line on a stock represents and produces in terms of a result of that overall system and its performance.
Yeah, and if you look at a rifle stock, like, you know, generically they can look the same, but you'll notice the difference in the geometry when you shoot one that's not been engineered to, to work well and one that has, you know, the difference is noticeable a- if you're paying attention to your shots and trying to make a, a long shot.
I- if we, if we go back and look at classic American stock design and, and our recent experiments with wood have kinda-
[laughs]
... give us some insight and learning as to why s- things were a certain way.
Yeah.
You know, swept grips and, and dimensions, et cetera.
There's, there's wood grain structure issues in that rifle stock.
Yeah.
And y- you know, when I came onto the scene, every, every composite stock that was getting made was essentially just duplicating that, you know, that classic American wood stocked design, uh, rifle.
And plus those two by fours that were getting made for military applications for 12-pound, 14-pound sniper rifles.
Yeah.
So tho- those were the two state-of-the-art at the time.
And, you know, r-I was always attracted to the kind of the art of rifle stock design, the flowing lines, the, the way things moved.
You know, built, I'd built a few rifle stocks.
Yeah.
Cool.
Well, when I started Gunwerks, that was 20 years ago.
We're celebrating that this year.
Um, I actually started working on the, the prototypes and the concept in 2005.
So we, w- we, we built a, a test mule and, you know, using some off-the-shelf components and learned a lot about that.
And, you know, I'd learned how to bed stocks and do all those things, so I had a, I had a pretty good feel for, you know, the, the process and concept of, of rifle manufacturing.
But I also, I also was able to step back and say, "All right.
From first principles, you know, what's a rifle stock supposed to do?" You know, really identifying with, okay, well, the look and feel drives the outcome of the product.
So there's a, there's an aesthetic and visual component of that, but then you, you back up.
There's a huge, really cool underlying engineering story in terms of the design geometries and what each line on a stock represents and produces in terms of a result of that overall system and its performance.
Yeah, and if you look at a rifle stock, like, you know, generically they can look the same, but you'll notice the difference in the geometry when you shoot one that's not been engineered to, to work well and one that has, you know, the difference is noticeable a- if you're paying attention to your shots and trying to make a, a long shot.
I- if we, if we go back and look at classic American stock design and, and our recent experiments with wood have kinda-
[laughs]
... give us some insight and learning as to why s- things were a certain way.
Yeah.
You know, swept grips and, and dimensions, et cetera.
There's, there's wood grain structure issues in that rifle stock.
Yeah.
And y- you know, when I came onto the scene, every, every composite stock that was getting made was essentially just duplicating that, you know, that classic American wood stocked design, uh, rifle.
And plus those two by fours that were getting made for military applications for 12-pound, 14-pound sniper rifles.
Yeah.
So tho- those were the two state-of-the-art at the time.
And, you know, r-I was always attracted to the kind of the art of rifle stock design, the flowing lines, the, the way things moved.
You know, built, I'd built a few rifle stocks.
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3 of 7
The Missed Coues Shot
He recalls the hunt that changed everything.
COVID Resin Crisis Pivot
A pandemic left them weeks from shutdown.
Negative Comb Revelation
Why their comb angle changed rifle recoil.
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