Michael Scherz is an established builder of custom hunting rifles and specialty gun parts. With clients all over the country, Scherz Custom Gunworks is a business that can be operated virtually anywhere. But Scherz has recently chosen to move from Arizona to Pocatello lock, stock and barrel, and for some good reasons. “ Idaho is a wonderful state,” he says. “Big-game hunting here is about as good as it gets in North America . And Idaho has to have more serious hunters per capita than any other place I've ever been.”
Serious hunters are of special interest to Scherz because serious hunting rifles are the only kind he builds. Usually, Scherz works with fine wood and steel, though he is not against working with specialized and synthetic materials when appropriate. Scherz rifles are often chambered in classic, unusual or dangerous-game calibers and always reflect a very high degree of finish in metalwork and stockwork, both of which represent the refined craftsmanship areas in which he excels. Scherz has built almost 300 complete custom rifles in his career as a gunsmith and stockmaker, an unusual accomplishment for a man of his relatively young age, and these fine guns have been used in hunts all over the world, from prairie dogs in Wyoming to Cape buffalo in Mozambique . He is an uncommon gunmaker who holds to the tradition of doing virtually everything himself with his own hands, so a client who commissions a custom Michael Scherz rifle truly gets a custom Michael Scherz rifle.
One of Scherz's better known prototype rifles – developed alongside and specifically for the innovative .550 Magnum cartridge – is featured in a major new firearms book, Africa's Most Dangerous by profession al hunter Kevin “Doctari” Robertson and published by prestigious Safari Press (2007). One of his most popular custom products is a low scope-mounting system with sleek bases said to offer the strength and stability with more elegance and versatility than even integral machined bases offered on only a few factory rifles, namely Sako, Ruger and CZ. Scherz is known for skillfully fabricated small parts, including a sculpted quarter-rib for the installation of traditional safari sights, and he also specializes in building the most massive of big-bore rifles, such as the .505 Gibbs, on the large magnum CZ action using a custom-made oversize bolt for greater strength and more reliable feeding.
Scherz is known for skillfully fabricated parts, including a sculpted quarter-rib for the installation of traditional safari sights. One of his most popular custom products is a low scope-mounting system with sleek Talley-compatible bases said to offer the strength and stability with more elegance and versatility than even integral machined bases offered on a few factory rifles, namely Sako, Ruger and CZ. One of Scherz's better known prototype rifles – developed alongside and specifically for the innovative .550 Magnum cartridge – is featured in a major new firearms book, Africa's Most Dangerous by pr ofessional hunter Kevin “Doctari” Robertson and published by Safari Press (2007).
Michael Scherz
PO Box 6072
Pocatello, ID 83205
gilagunwks@aol.com; 208-241-2718