Sometimes it takes someone from somewhere to show you to something in your own back yard. I’m walking in our woods with a visitor. “Oh,” they say, “that’s an American Chestnut tree,” which turns out to be rare. My most recent “introduction” is Bob Adkison and Cherokee Hills Exotic Pistol Grips. Bob is in Guntersville, Alabama - only thirty minutes from me - where he produces custom pistol stocks of a high quality.
One of the cool things about my work is the people I get to meet. A husband and wife were here attending training. While discussing their travel plans they mentioned a visit scheduled with a guy in Guntersville who they had been communicating with by email. “He runs Cherokee Hills Exotic Grips,” they explained, “and makes some really nice stuff.” That evening I looked Bob up on the ‘net and emailed him about scheduling a visit.
Bob started woodwork at the age of ten, repairing and maintaining exotic woods on vintage boats. From there he moved into restoring antique furniture and making commissioned pieces on special order. A friend asked him to repair a cracked rifle stock, and others asked him about making some stocks for pistols. Bob discovered a new passion. “It’s like small pieces of furniture,” he told me, “only easier on the body.”
So far Bob has completed over 1400 sets of pistol stocks. All work is done by hand. He also does fine stippling work for logos and different patterns, plus some fantastic inletting. There are stocks for sale on his website, but about two thirds of his work is custom orders. Custom work takes a couple of weeks to a couple months, depending on the details. His stocks start at about eighty dollars, going up to a couple of hundred, depending on design, cost of the materials and the techniques necessary to produce the desired product.
At our initial meeting I asked Bob about making me a set of 1911 stocks out of camel bone. I use camel bone for knife scales. It’s durable, looks great and is very affordable. Plus, as a kid I had matching toy pistols and knife. Even though I’ve aged, the desire for a matching set hasn’t changed. I had the knife and pistol, both parkerized, and just needed camel bone stocks for the 1911. I took Bob some of the camel bone I had in stock for knives, we discussed finishes, and a couple of weeks later I got notice they were ready.
The camel bone stocks are great looking, and the fit is perfect. “I’m into function and form,” Bob explained. He also made a nice set of stocks with the Shootrite logo worked into the wood. Bob’s work is so good that once I got home and installed the stocks I contacted him immediately to order additional pieces. And, I knew I needed to spread the word about his work.
Artists survive from patrons supporting their work. Buying someone’s work is easy when you get quality results. It’s even better when you can order exactly what you want. Check out Bob’s handiwork. I think you’ll be pleased.
Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama. He is the author of The Book of Two Guns, AR-15 Skills and Drills, featured on GunTalk’s DVD, “Fighting With The 1911 and has regular columns in Gun Digest and American Handgunner.
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