Kolar Arms Custom Fitting Process
As the Waldrop family drove to Kolar Arms in Racine Wisconsin to have Cheyenne's custom fitting we all talked about what we might expect to experience. We were all nervous but excited.
As we walked into the office at Kolar Arms we were greeted by friendly faces and warm welcomes. Cheyenne mentioned we had an appointment with Jeff for the fitting and he walked up behind us with a warm smile and light conversation. We quickly learned this company not only made great product but also they are very customer oriented.
The fitting process was more than any of us had expected. Jeff has a thorough understanding of what is required to make a gun fit and why it needs to fit. His technique is by far one of the best if not the best in the industry. He evaluates each client individually and takes the fitting process very seriously while keeping everyone comfortable and smiling the entire time. As a father I was very impressed to see how well he interacted with Cheyenne and how much her input counted to the entire process.
As a family we all watched in amazement as a block of wood turned into a unique stock that fits just Cheyenne. The first step along the process was to do a rough guess on the size that Cheyenne would need for a stock. This required her mounting a few different stocks that Jeff though would work. Once that was done it was time to go to the wood room.
We approached the wood room not sure what to expect. Jeff opens up what looks to be a small storage room to reveal selves stacked with various woods to choose from. Cheyenne spent some time looking at all the various woods that Kolar had to offer. Initially she chose a dozen different colors and grain patterns. Once she had her initial picks it was time to review them against the template to make sure there was enough wood for Jeff to work with. This narrowed down the selection while Cheyenne reviewed her selections again in order to narrow it down to what she really wanted.
After selecting the wood she wanted, it was back to the fitting room. Jeff prepared the wood for the CNC machine and setup the program for a few specific needs for a base model to start with. Cheyenne pushed the button to start the process and then we all stood there in amazement as we watched the machine carve out a stock. This is one of those things that is hard to describe and if you get an opportunity to watch you will be amazed at the entire process too. Once the stock was done Jeff pulled it out and had some work that needed to be done to smooth things out a little before the fine tuning. While he was doing this we had a tour through the Kolar plant.
The tour was one of the most inspirational things I have seen in many years. Kolar Makes their guns right here in Racine, WI. They CNC, cut, detail, polish, and finish all the parts right there in their factory. We had a chance to talk to a few of the workers while we toured around and were greeted with smiles at every station. Every employee enjoy their jobs and are dedicated to a quality product and excellent customer service. I can't overstated this enough, 'Kolar Arms owner, management, employees, and representatives take pride in America and their customers.'
The tour ended just as Jeff finished the rough work on the stock so it was time to get back to work. This phase of the process took the most time but is the most important piece of the puzzle. Jeff focused on the form and fit of the gun to Cheyenne's hand. He would ask questions of Cheyenne as to how it fit and where she felt pressure. He would then do a few things to also get a feel as to what is happening on her hands. He would then take the stock off and pull out the wood rasp and sandpaper to find tune it to meet her needs. Once Jeff modified the stock to the point where the grip was comfortable it was time to move to fitting the stock for her shoulder pocket and and comb for her head position.
Getting the rest of the stock to fit right took a less time but was still no less impressive to watch as Jeff worked through getting it to fit correctly. At one point he had her line up and swing the gun left to right and mentioned to her that the beads didn't line up correctly. She looked at him with a look of how did you know that. He then pulled the stock off and did some more work on it to fine tune it just a little bit more. On her last mounting she noticed that magically the beads were lined up just like she needs them. On her final tests she was amazed at how comfortable it is and how much she enjoyed the entire process.
Before leaving we took one last look at the stock and were all amazed at the quality of the work that was done and how much the stock had changed from just a block of wood. Even after the CNC machine the stock went through some radical changes.
Kolar is Truly A Great American Product!
