First, I’d like to say that I appreciate you looking at what we have to offer on the Web. Now that you’ve seen the pictures and read the descriptions, I’d like to share with you why I think you should seriously consider doing business with us.

I started shooting competitively when I was 12 in 4-H Club air rifle matches. After that I moved into shotgunning and won the Georgia Junior trap & skeet championship in 1993. As my shooting continued, I became more and more interested in high powered rifles and handloading. (I guess there is a lot of truth to the old saying about the difference between men and boys being in the prices of their toys…) Around this time a neighbor traded me a reloading setup for a whole lot of yard work and I soon learned what a difference handloading made in getting a bullet to go where you wanted it to go. I soon saw that the combination of a customized rifle and hand-loaded ammunition was the key to accuracy.

Once I was able to add the right techniques for wind reading and lining up a shot, I moved to the national level in competition. In fact, I have been fortunate to be able to pursue this sport hard enough to win the national High Power Rifle Long Range Championship at Camp Perry, Ohio 3 times now.

I started selling custom rifles and accessories in 2006 when I realized that some of the things I was doing in the shop were really paying off in competition and would interest others in the sport. I have developed techniques and processes for producing precise, repeatable results from my custom rifles. No matter how carefully you have chosen the cartridge you want to shoot, it won’t put the bullet where you want it without an action and barrel that are precisely mated. And you can’t point that barreled action where you want to if it isn’t mated to the stock as precisely as possible.

These are parts of shooting as old as gunpowder. And I think manufacturing technology can provide better ways of building a rifle the same way that technology has improved gunpowder itself. A CNC lathe can custom thread a barrel blank to match an action much more precisely than a set of thread cutters and a wrench. A milling machine produces accessories – like the V-Block mounting system - precisely manufactured to firmly mount an action and leave the barrel floating for increased accuracy and confidence. Through competition I have gotten to meet a lot of people who are just as passionate about shooting as I am. Talking with them and getting their thoughts on what I do gives me ideas for the accessories, techniques, and materials that make Whidden products the best they can be. I’d like to hear from you, too, if you have any thoughts to share – and especially if you think one of our products can help you get more out of shooting! Thanks again for your interest and your business,

John Whidden