Did you guys see the March issue of Rifle?

kentdep · Post by **kentdep** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:15 am

I liked the story of Doug Turnbulls rifle. Looks like a real nice thumper. What did you guys think?

I liked the idea alot but I am not ready to sell off my 1895GS to get one.

Jay

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:20 am

I think you would need to sell off a good deal more than just your 1895 rifle to finance one of Turnbull's 'Thumpers'.

wm · Post by wm » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:45 am

Beautifull rifle and no doubt about it being a thumper........for me and my needs it would be more rifle than I care for.

On the other hand if I was in Alaska or Africa and had to deal with big nastiness I would certainly see how much to order one & how long the list was.

Wm

kentdep · Post by **kentdep** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:19 am

I would think you are 100% on with the financing of one of those. My 1895GS, 1895LTD-v, all my 1894s, my collection of Ruger SAs......

They look great but if I needed a rifle to do what that gun was capable of doing, I am sure I could come up with something else that would be much easier on the wallet. Sure looks nice though.

Jay

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:29 pm

There was an earlier thread with some good info ... TomD had some detailed thoughts on the chambering, etc.

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=3707

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:32 pm

[I would think you are 100% on with the financing of one of those. My 1895GS, 1895LTD-v, all my 1894s, my collection of Ruger SAs...... ]

And prolly your house, as well. The last whisper, I heard, was around $25K.

kentdep · Post by **kentdep** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:01 pm

Pete44ru wrote: The last whisper, I heard, was around $25K.

Are you kidding???

Yikkes!

Jay

Jarhead · Post by **Jarhead** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:08 pm

I'll keep and take my 1895GS 45-70/457WW Mag.($2200.00) anywhere and feel confident that I can kill/stop anything that walks the face of this Earth. I can buy a lot of nice lever guns for 25K! Ouch!!

kentdep · Post by **kentdep** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:42 am

Jarhead wrote:I'll keep and take my 1895GS 45-70/457WW Mag.($2200.00) anywhere and feel confident that I can kill/stop anything that walks the face of this Earth. I can buy a lot of nice lever guns for 25K! Ouch!!

I agree. The DTB rifle looks great and I think that it would be a great caliber but for crying out loud that is in the Millionaire price range. I will stick with my 1895GS.

Jay

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:36 am

[Are you kidding???]

In the Janary 2007 issue of Rifle (#229), Turnbull's two previous "stars" were featured in a buffalo hunt article, during which the 1876 .50-95 and the 1886 .50 Express were quoted on pp32 as being worth about $40,000.

The latest iteration has a cartridge bearing his name, and is profusely decorated in the bargain.
I wouldn't think he'd ask any less than the older ones, for it.

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:45 am

Doug Turnbull's restorations and creations are top-drawer quality done to as close to perfection as humanly possible. Good restorations are not cheap. Hiis creations and restorations are works of art and good art can come at a hefty price sometimes. Thank God that the beauty of nature is free for the beholding or I'd have been bankrupt from toddler on!

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:57 am

[Doug Turnbull's restorations and creations are top-drawer quality done to as close to perfection as humanly possible. Good restorations are not cheap. Hiis creations and restorations are works of art ]

Amen. They definitely are not for everyone. Nice porn, though.

Birdman · Post by **Birdman** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:22 pm

I was at the 2007 NRA convention at St. Louis. Turnbull had a great display. I can't say if it was Doug or one of his hands, but we got to talking. He knew right off the bat I was not a paying customer, just someone who was admiring their work. We was shootin the bull about guns, and life in general. I can't afford what they build, but what a nice bunch of people.

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:51 pm

There's a Browning 71 on his site now that they've converted to 475 Turnbull with a full mag, octagonal barrel, straight grip, shotgun butt. It is otherwise unadorned. It's listed for $4750 ... but they've done some work on it, clearly it has some replaced wood and a straightened lower tang.

As for the one in the article, I suspect that if you supplied the '86 or 71 you'd have to add about $13k to duplicate it. It was case colored with a takedown ring, H pattern checkering, pistol grip, shotgun butt with pad, octagonal barrel, XX wood (guess on that), and a light engraving pattern (approximating a #6 in detail) ... except, of course, for the golden bull encircled in gold wire.

I think that if you started with a Browning 71, you'd be somewhat ahead of the game with the existing 71 style stock needing only the pad and the checkering added. Add a bit if you want that Browning gloss stripped away and an oil finish in it's place.

I'd guess that 1/2 the cost in the gun would be the engraving. There's a guy on here going by "engravertom" that would know for sure, but I'd think the retail cost of the engraving on that gun is from $7000 - $9000.

But if you're really just looking for a top quality conversion of an existing gun (like a Browning 71), I'd bet that it's more reasonable than you might think. For the rifle used in the hunt though, I could very well be low and it MAY be closer to $25k. I find engraving pretty hard to estimate in value as a layperson. Further, with the value of the dollar what it is, I'm sure he's got new pricing for this year that has pushed things up a bit.

I would bet that the gun used in the hunt will go up for sale on his site at some point unless he's not done experimenting with it.

SJPrice · Post by **SJPrice** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:20 am

Rimfire McNutjob wrote: Add a bit if you want that Browning gloss stripped away and an oil finish in it's place.

Add a bit and then some. Have you ever tried to remove that Browning gloss finish? I finally took my 1886 Hi Grade to a professional refinishing house. They did it for a reasonable quoted price and then told me if I ever wanted another one done the price would be prohibitively higher. Looks much nicer now with an oil finish. I think it would make a great candidate for a 475 conversion.

Leverluver · Post by **Leverluver** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 1:52 pm

Quotes from Doug:

"To take your rifle, diss, do internal alterations, FE hanger, rebore to .475, rechamber, recaliber mark, reblue barrel,reassemble costs $900."

Forend hanger mod explained:

"As for the forends. We install a new tennon, set it deeper, larger screws. The mag tubes are either screwed in like on the 71's, or have a screw at the end into the barrel with lip. We will also be doing Marlin type end caps that the stud will be silver soldered in palce."

Yes, if you want all the bells and whistles, you'll need a second mortgage but if you just want the cartridge, you get a pretty fair amount of work done for $900.

Rimfire McNutjob · Post by **Rimfire McNutjob** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:16 pm

Leverluver wrote:Quotes from Doug:

"To take your rifle, diss, do internal alterations, FE hanger, rebore to .475, rechamber, recaliber mark, reblue barrel,reassemble costs $900."

I'd say amazingly reasonable. But I'm sure he's assuming you have a .45 caliber 1886 to start from. I can't see any of my .348 barrels taking a .475 bore.

Grizzly Adams · Post by **Grizzly Adams** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 5:16 pm

SJPrice wrote:
Rimfire McNutjob wrote: Add a bit if you want that Browning gloss stripped away and an oil finish in it's place.

Add a bit and then some. Have you ever tried to remove that Browning gloss finish? I finally took my 1886 Hi Grade to a professional refinishing house. They did it for a reasonable quoted price and then told me if I ever wanted another one done the price would be prohibitively higher. Looks much nicer now with an oil finish. I think it would make a great candidate for a 475 conversion.

I find that really odd.

I have done about 6 or so Brownings and it is no big deal to strip them and refinish the wood.

SJPrice · Post by **SJPrice** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 5:22 pm

All I know is none of the off the shelf strippers would even soften the finish on my 1886 Browning Hi Grade. I tried four different ones to no avail.

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:31 pm

[All I know is none of the off the shelf strippers would even soften the finish on my 1886 Browning Hi Grade. I tried four different ones to no avail]

FYI- The Browning finish is an epoxy, and the plain/usual paint strippers mostly won't work.

Grizzly Adams · Post by **Grizzly Adams** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:15 pm

I don't know what the finish is, but I know it comes off with Citristip. It's an orange gel that you can find in almost any hardware store. It works for me everytime. You paint it on, wait until it loosens, then you scrap it off. You may have to reapply it a couple of times in some areas, but it will remove the finish on the Browning/Miruku guns. I have done 2 B92s, 2 B1886s, 1 B95 and one B71.

DON"T use sand paper!

Just to keep this on topic, I'll bet Doug also knows how to refinish the Browning guns!

shawn_c992001 · Post by **shawn_c992001** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:19 pm

I'd like to have one when the "Rich uncle gets out of the poor house", or if someone would be kind enough to give me 6 lucky numbers I'll buy them one too should I win the lottery.

Wrangler John · Post by **Wrangler John** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:03 pm

Turnbull's rifles are works of art, museum quality works at that. They are for the connoisseur, and priced accordingly.

I was at one point thinking seriously of having one of my Brownings redone to a bigger bore by Mr. Turnbull, until sanity overcame me. It isn't the cost, it's the practicality, I just can't tolerate greater recoil energy of these cartridges. There is no practical reason to use a .50 Express or .475 Anything, over the .45-70 or even the standard .348 Winchester. My .45-70 loaded with 350 or 400 grain bullets (hard cast or jacketed) and a heavy charge of 3031, has and will, shoot through any animal I care to hunt.

If a man wants a big bore at a reasonable price, check out Gary Reeder's 1895 Marlin conversions to .476 GNR. It'll push a 375 grain LBT bullet to 2,200 fps. Or the 475 GNR that pushes a 430 grain LBT to 2,000 fps. Both cost $1,595 on owner's rifle. Cape buffalo and elephant beware!

As for the stock finish, use any preparation containing methylene chloride. I use it to remove hardened glass bedding splotches from places where it wasn't supposed to get, without damaging the finish - like that unseen little glob that sticks to a glass beaded barrel. Klean Strip is one brand. Methylene chloride dissolves any epoxy or plastic save maybe Nalgene.

Grizzly Adams · Post by **Grizzly Adams** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:17 am

Wrangler John wrote:Turnbull's rifles are works of art, museum quality works at that. They are for the connoisseur, and priced accordingly.

I was at one point thinking seriously of having one of my Brownings redone to a bigger bore by Mr. Turnbull, until sanity overcame me. It isn't the cost, it's the practicality, I just can't tolerate greater recoil energy of these cartridges. There is no practical reason to use a .50 Express or .475 Anything, over the .45-70 or even the standard .348 Winchester. My .45-70 loaded with 350 or 400 grain bullets (hard cast or jacketed) and a heavy charge of 3031, has and will, shoot through any animal I care to hunt.
.

Yep, I figure if I can't ground it with a 348, it must be something I should NOT be shooting at!