Thread: "Too pretty to use"

@Flyblown brings up some valid points, and I'm a firm believer that there are some in this game that really amplify the 'wank factor' when it comes to gear.

I like nice kit. Definitely. But there is a point where it just gets beyond reasonable and sensible. If we look back at some of the great rifles that came from the Rigby workshops around the turn of last century, there was nothing 'fancy' about them at all. Plain wood, no engraving, no gold leaf, no cheek pieces for a lot of them, and reasonably plain checkering at a sensible # of lines per inch. They were made to be functional and reliable, and that exactly what they achieved. The famous Corbett .275 was rather plain-jane by todays flashy standards.

I'm all about nice woodwork, because I can build if for myself. But they will still get used (and looked after appropriately). But they also have to be functional. My next stock is going to be for a Model 7 .308, and it will have nice but not flashy wood, no cheek piece (because they're just extra weight) and sensible but not over the top 24 LPI checkering. I'm building it because 1. I can. 2. It will be a better shape than the HS precision it came with. 3. It will be lighter than the HS precision too.

Perfect form, follows perfect function.