Gunstock craftsman finds clients at biathlon

FORT KENT – When biathlete Marc Sheppard watches fellow athlete and Maine Winter Sports Team member Annelies Cook compete at the U.S. Biathlon World Team trials, his eyes are on more than her performance.

Sheppard, of West Yellowstone, Mont., designs and builds custom biathlon rifle stocks – just like the one on Cook’s .22-caliber gun.

“I lost my rifle last year on the airlines,” Cook said after the end of Thursday’s competition. “I needed a new gun and a lot of people recommended Marc to me.”

Though Cook’s rifle and stock are still in the “breaking-in phase,” she is pleased with her choice. “It’s working out well,” she said.

Part engineering and part art, Sheppard’s stocks are designed one at a time for the individual athlete. Each one incorporates a variety of woods, usually padauk, maple and walnut.

“I like the naturalness of the wood,” Cook said. “I like how it feels, like it has its own spirit.”

Sheppard has been a gunsmith and gunstock builder for years. Several years ago, he decided to open his own shop.

Since then, he has designed and built nearly 20 custom biathlon rifle stocks.

His business – Altius Handcrafted Firearms – is the only biathlon specialty shop in the country, and Sheppard is one of only two makers of custom biathlon rifle stocks in the United States. He is also a sponsor of the Fort Kent trials where Sheppard posted a 14th finish in Wednesday’s 10-kilometer sprint race and a 12th place in Wednesday’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit.

“People come to me for various reasons,” Sheppard said. “It used to be just because the factory stocks did not fit them right, but now a lot of people are coming for cosmetic reasons.”

To meet the demands of the discriminating biathlete, Sheppard normally constructs the stock using three layers of wood.

In all, he said, it takes about 40 hours to build one of his stocks, which run from $750 to $1,100.

His own rifle sports a stock with five layers of wood, including teak and mahogany.

Sheppard works with the individual athlete from start to finish on the design.

“I look at how they hold the gun, their shooting position and how they stand,” he said. “When it’s about 95 percent done, I will send it out to the buyer who can try it out and then send it back for any needed alterations.”

Sheppard knows he has to get it right.

“The stock is critical,” he said. “No matter how good the barrel and action [of the rifle] are, if the person can’t hold it comfortably and consistently, they can’t shoot well.”

The trials are Sheppard’s first trip to Fort Kent. He made the trek from Montana with his wife, S.J., and their 2-month-old son, Thoreson, with both competing and sponsoring in mind.

“This was a great opportunity for me to come out here,” he said. “I had heard a lot of great things about this place, and it gives me an opportunity to make sure everyone knows what I do.”