Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Custom FN98 7x57 project

Most likely this: https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/proddetail.php?prod=4247

^^ It is. ^^

Thanks for the replies. Couple thoughts .... Don't like the Rigby round knob and do like some sort of pad or rubber butt plate over a steel butt.

Still waiting for the bbl so we are a way out on the final cut.

Chris prefers the black pad / black tip over the red pad / no tip but does not force his preference over the client's wishes. Nice guy!

followed the link provided by z1r and went shopping in their used rack and found this one for a visual reference.

Were it me I would go red pad/ebony tip. Prince of Wales pistol grips look foreign to our eyes, but I've done a couple over the years and have come to like them. The open design of the grip is conducive to aiding in snap shooting.

One thing I've done on two rifles is to put a small bit of ebony on the bottom of the PoW grip, in place of the naked wooden knob- 1/4-3/8" thick and blended into the rounded shape of the knob. A dot of ivory in its center as a subtle embellishment, with a single initial scrimshawed thereon, would be a classy touch that I've threatened to do but never got around to. The small piece of ebony at the bottom of the grip also helps tie in the butt with the ebony tipped forearm.

Optics or irons as primary sighting equipment? That'll drive comb height and also effect decision about PoW grip shape. That style grip loses something in the translation if comb is high, IMO only. (Low comb can be used with scope as secondary/backup to iron/receiver sights, not so much the other way around.)

Here's some similar rifles with the same stock pattern but with a few variations on the pad and forend.

IIRC, Chris did work with Martini, so the rifles are very similar.

https://martinigunmakers.com/rifles/


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Why not decelerator?

Their red is ugly and only comes in 1”

10-4 .... Builder offered thinner Galazan red pads.

Small progress update ...... Had a snag getting a bbl so had to cancel and try elsewhere. That detail is holding up the entire project.

Looks good Paul.

It will be worth the wait!

Interesting. I have a bunch of these and I think the 1" is just fine and have not had any issues with the color. I think it looks classy.
But by all means use whatever you like best for this lovely project. I will cast my vote for red recoil pad and ebony forend tip.
And I also think your choice of the 2.5x8 Leupold is a good one. I chose that on my only "bespoke" rifle. But that lovely matte 4X you scored is really all you need. I've killed lots of critters out to 400 yards with the 4X leupold and it is plenty. But, in truth, that 2.5x8 VXIII is the better scope.
And did I hear right that the custom shop is making the M8 3X again?

Cheers,
Rex

After flip/flopping several times, I did finally decide on a .750" red pad w/o the black tip which is more keeping with the Rigby style. The rounded knob will be replaced with a simple steel grip cap instead. The front sight will be a bit farther back on the bbl about .375" much like some of the older English rifles. Trigger guard will be stamped with the ser#.

Barrel came in this week. Will be a Ron Smith 1:8" gain twist .600" at the muzzle. 23" long.

Have you thought about switching to the Jerry Fisher round bottom bottom metal instead of the Argy you are planning on? If you want a really sleek gun that would handle like a little Purdy, it would move you in the right direction. It is surprising how much wood you can take out of the action area by switching to that bottom metal.

Those are very nice bottoms. I did the math and by the time I pay the US to CDN exchange and the 15% duty at the border plus the gas to get to Maine , I'd be into it for almost $1K CDN. Add on top of that, this rifle will have a lot of Rigby overtones and the bottom will be perfect for that.

That Rigby pattern is different in a bigger way than colors. From the one look at it in that photo it has to shoulder and fire like lightning compared the other, more deliberate weapon. Funny, custom tradtional bow buyers talk colors too.

I have a Leupold M8 3x20 with a TK Lee 4 Minute Dot, that I could see with you final rifle. PM invited, if interested.

Went with Jack O'Connor when selecting the Dot size

Jack O'Connor on Dot Reticles

Thanks .....

I thought about a classic Leupold 3x for a bit but ended up sending a VX-III 2.5-8 with the rifle to the gunsmith for overall fitting to the bolt and sights. I will try this scope out for a bit but may end up putting a VX-3 1.5-5 on it when it arrives home.

Small update here .......

I received some advice from a very helpful member here who explained to me that English walnut would be a more fitting wood for this project. Based on his advice and a bit of research, I bought the following blank this week. It's a bit understated, but a good fit for this "working gun" and has good grain through the wrist.