I have been living in a bush community 150 air miles from Fairbanks since May and have really been enjoying many different facets of the "real" Alaska. Being a gun nut I find the firearms of the trappers,natives,and locals fascinating. One thing is pretty apparent, looks dont mean much to most of these guys. If the gun shoots, thats all that matters. I have seen rifles held together with tape,guns finished in a traditional rust finish HaHa(I am not talking rust blued), a broken rifle butt replaced with an empty oil bottle, and buggered rifle muzzles "freshened" up with a hacksaw. This evening I saw a rifle that both fascinated me and almost brought tears to my eyes. An early pre-war Winchester 70 375 H&H barreled action mated to a chiseled out, battered and beat Remington 700 BDL stock. Collector value would be about nil, but I am sure that there are some pretty good stories behind that rifle.

I know a few guys up there and most of 'em regard rifles, and guns in general....as tools of the trade.

The trade being Life.........

Most of 'em I know are pretty hip on things stainless and synthetic.....on purpose.

An oil bottle butt stock eh?

That's classy.........................