A gunstock at a time, tradition is preserved

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - A two-week crash course on building gunstocks left the tips of Ryan Mertaugh’s fingers tattered and worn.

Working from dawn until almost midnight at his uncle’s workshop in northern Michigan, Mertaugh, 28, sanded and sanded until he scrubbed away his fingertips.

He was enthralled by his uncle’s skill at gun-making ever since he was given his own custom .22 bolt action rifle when he was a child. But as a youngster Mertaugh never asked to take on his uncle’s work.

It wasn’t until two years ago that he decided he was ready to adopt the practice and become a gun maker himself. He flew back to his home state to learn the art and carry on his uncle’s craft.

“If I don’t take the effort to make that step to ask him to teach me and to be his apprentice, that skill he developed would kind of end with him,” Mertaugh said. “It’s such a cool and beautiful art form that I didn’t want it to end with him. I wanted to keep it in the family.”

Uncle and nephew had three guns to work on in all stages of the process. Early mornings and long nights were required if Mertaugh was going to learn the art of building gunstocks in a fortnight.

He learned as much as he possibly could before taking his newfound skill back to Jackson.

The products of his early efforts weren’t always attractive, but he kept that to himself. Literally.

He held on to his first finished product, a stock made of cheaper wood because he knew he would initially make mistakes.

“It’s not a pretty thing by any means,” he said.

A whitewater guide and substitute teacher, he finishes teaching around noon each day and works on gunstocks for three to four hours in the afternoon.

He soon refined his craft and began receiving praise for his work.

After building a few stocks for friends, Mertaugh took a finished product to High Country Outfitters to see if they had any interest in selling his rifle.

Soon after the shop put a price tag on Mertaugh’s rifle the gun found a home in Florida when it was bought by a tourist.

His work was becoming more than a hobby. But making the money was never the plan.

“When you want a gun I’m not doing it to get the benefit of money out of it,” Mertaugh said. “I’m doing this to build that person something they want to the exact specifications they want it and to the specific woods that go into it.”

Customers can provide the metals or have Mertaugh outsource them before he goes to work on the stock. The customers pick the wood they want and the style, then work with Mertaugh to fit their body and hand size.

Precision means everything and Mertaugh doesn’t cut corners, taking measurements throughout the process of making each custom gunstock.

“It’s one of the most personal experiences they’ll get in creating a custom gunstock for themselves,” Mertaugh said. “I’ll be right with them the whole way. They can be as involved as they want with it or give me the info and let me run with it.”

And while the gun is anything and everything the client wants, Mertaugh adds his own little touch to each one.

“I do a custom inlay on all my guns,” he said. “I really like turquoise and wood together.”

He grinds up turquoise and puts it in inlays on the wood. And the inlay can be as discreet or as dramatic as the client wants. Each year Mertaugh plans to have a different inlay as a way to track his guns through time.

Almost two years have passed since he apprenticed in his uncle’s shop. Mertaugh has just finished his eighth gun for purchase.

Word is getting out, and now three Mertaugh Glory Goat Gunstocks sit behind the counter at High Country Outfitters.

This fall he and his fiance will move into a house south of town with a view of Mount Glory, a goat farm and a new workshop that will allow him to expand his trade.

“My dream would be to eventually have this be a full-time job,” he said. “And just be building these custom rifle stocks.”

His plan is to build 20 custom stocks and no more so as to not reduce the quality of the stock.

“I would really love to not build a ton of stocks but just build beautiful stocks for the individual,” he said.

A decision to make up for lost time as a kid and to learn from his uncle has turned Mertaugh into an artist and a future businessman.

“All this is really possible because of my uncle,” he said. “I’m pretty psyched to be able to carry this on. I feel like I’m sharing my passion with somebody else and then they get to carry that passion on, or just add to their own passion.”

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Information from: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News And Guide, https://www.jhnewsandguide.com