David Miller Co. Rifles & A Book Review

Mastery Of Wood and Metal

So what makes ANY hunting rifle worth $50,000?

That's a really good question. I hear it often when high dollar custom rifles are the topic of conversation around the fire or at hunting shows. I asked it myself a long time ago when I was first learning about international hunting and saw some rifles in this price range for sale at a Safari Club Convention. Many of the rifles I saw were Holland and Holland and similar names, today those rifles are worth even more. While I was admiring them I couldn't figure out what made them worth so much darn money, so I asked one of the guys in the H&H booth and he told me that the number of hours it takes to build one of these rifles is huge. So if you figure you have to pay a craftsman only $50 per hour for 1000 hours you can see how easily this can add up.

At that show I spent a little time in the booth of David Miller and Curt Crum of the David Miller Co. of Tucson Arizona. I had met David and Curt a few times at local Safari Club events and just wanted to say hello. While we were standing there I was admiring a few of the rifles in David's booth and inquired as to what it might cost to have David and Curt build me a rifle. When I heard the price I knew it would be a few years before I could afford one. As I walked away I was thinking that his rifles were some of the nicest I had ever seen. Over the years I have come to know David and Curt and spent a lot of hours shooting with them at our local rifle range. They have always gone out of their way to help if I was struggling with a rifle or a particular load.

Last year I stopped in the shop to have them check out a rifle that a friend bought which was supposed to be an early David Miller Co. rifle. Sure enough David actually remembered the rifle which they built in 1979. He also had all of the original paperwork associated with that rifle. It was incredible to be able to review every detail of the rifle's "birth" with David and Curt. Then David asked if I thought my friend would be interested in allowing them to put a photo of the rifle in a book that was being written about them by author Tom Turpin. My buddy agreed and the rifle appears on page 97 of Mastery of Wood & Metal - David Miller Co. Published by Safari Club International Publications.

There is a story about the great jazz musician Miles Davis who was invited to dinner at the White House and when one of the guests asked Davis why he had been invited his response was reported to be "I changed music 4 or 5 times"

To say that the David Miller Co. "changed rifles" is not an overstatement. Miller and Crum take classic American rifle building to it's apex. When Winchester reintroduced the controlled round feed Model 70 in what they called the "Classic," it was Miller and Crum they turned to for redesign of the stock and parts of the action. The result was a much improved Model 70.

Mastery of Wood & Metal is an in depth exploration of the methods and tools used by Miller and Crum to create some of the finest hunting rifles on earth. It chronicles practically every step in the process. When you see the detailed meticulous work they put into a rifle you can begin to understand it's value. The photos in the book are excellent and the text and descriptions are detailed.

In Mastery of Wood & Metal, Turpin clearly points out that David Miller Co. rifles are working rifles, made to hunt. Miller calls them "functional art" which I think is a perfect description.

If you have even a passing interest in classic American rifles, rifle building, gunsmithing or hunting rifles in general you will surely enjoy Mastery of Wood & Metal.

Mastery of Wood & Metal is available from Safari Club International Publications:

Email: Lorie-Anne Peltz lpeltz@safariclub.org or call 520-620-1220 extension 244