Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles JC Higgins Model 50

Great rifles worth far more than they ever bring. I've presently got two M50's in my safe. One is a .30'06 belongs to my oldest son, handed down to him from his great-grandfather on my wife's side of the family. The other belongs to my youngest son, a .270 bought off the classifieds here. Both wear Talley LW's.

The pics linked below are the older son's .30'06 in the AA walnut I did for his birthday a few years back. Factory LOP was fine for his great-grandpa, but almost 2" too short for him. We kept the factory stock for sentimental value.

The .270 came nicely bedded in a Boyd's laminate. I find it too heavy, but my son loves the weight and stability, so I'm not arguing.

All original for barreled actions, both have good triggers, and both hold 1-1.25" for 5 rds with multiple loads. The .270 stays under an inch for 5 with the best load we've tried in it, so far.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/135435.jpg

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/135436.jpg

I think I have it ready to shoot. The Timney is installed, and I got the safety to work. The correct scope bases are on order with the idiots at Optics Planet. By measurement, a Weaver #47 rear base it came with is about .045" too low. I decided to measure the heights of various brands of rings to try to find a couple that mismatched by the about the right amount. I found a cheapo ring that's about .045" higher than a Weaver ring, I mounted it up, and the rings align pretty well. I check this with a 1" diameter dowel pin. The wind dies down some this afternoon, and I haven't been seeing deer lately, so I'll shoot some paper and see how it shoots.

Those are the bases I have on order. I'm trying to cancel my order with Optics Idiots, but no luck so far.

She's a shooter! Even with my Rube Goldberg scope mount, I got a 3 shot group under 3/4" at 100 yards. But, she's a chubby girl, weighing 8.5 lb with a scope. Does anybody make a lighter weight stock that does not cost more than the rifle?

Unless you have a recoil pad added, I think you'll find that the stock is pretty light weight. It's all the steel in the action and barrel that weighs a lot. Just weighed two M50 stocks and both weighed right at 2 lbs.

Thanks for the info. The walnut stock on my M77 Ruger weighs 2.5 lb, and drops 1/2 pound with a B&C composite.

Yup, and the bbls are fairly light as well. I measured my 30-06 this week at the muzzle. 0.550"

It would be interesting to know what just the barrel weighs as muzzle diameter is just one of the factors in the overall weight. Barrels that are chubby near the chamber can really add some weight to the overall package.

Yes, the barrel isn't exactly a lightweight. And, as you so correctly pointed out, muzzle diameter is just part of the equation. The actual taper of the barrel and the diameter of the area just ahead of the receiver contribute a lot to the weight. The nice thing about the
barrel is that the area just ahead of the receiver is small in diameter and short in length which contributes greatly to shedding weight. The down side of the barrel is that though it has a small muzzle diameter, the transition from that short cylinder section by the receiver to the muzzle is to gradually making for a barrel that is heavier than needed. I didn't have a take off barrel on hand but did have a barreled action which weighs 5.3 lbs or 84.8 oz. A complete FN action on hand weighs 46 oz. So the barrel weighs 38.8 oz, or 2 lbs 6.8 oz.

Not the worst but a true light weight barre, of pleasing contour, l for a Mauser would be a 2 lb barrel.

I've been the beneficiary of much good info on the 'Fire, so it is payback time.

I have a take-off M50 .270 barrel.
Barrel 22" long, including the threaded shank.
It has a very short, 3/4"long, cylindrical portion just in front of the receiver. Diameter is 1.211"
There is then a quick taper in about an inch to about .975". (hard to measure accurately)
After that it appears to be a straight taper to the muzzle.
Diameter at muzzle is .550.
This is one of those weird barrels with the rear sight dovetail just in front of the receiver.
I have removed both front and rear sights, but the front ramp is still present.
Weight on an accurate electronic scale is 2 lb. 7.5 oz.

Gun Doc

Great info, thanks. Useful for me in that I have a pre 64 std wt barrel (2lb 12 ounces) that I want to get recontoured without going all the way to a fwt profile (thinking about a 1" shank). Thinking a douglas barrel company profile will help me get the weight off vs some of the other contours used.

Is this one of the barrels with the dovetail cut over the chamber?

A couple of the M50s I have on hand have had the stocks slimmed down a bit. Probably didn't really lose much weight but they felt lighter to me. I have one that is all original as well an it feels rather clubby to me. Seems heavier too. Probably all in how it feels in the hands I guess.
Paul B.

I also liked to slim the stocks on my M50's . It was an easy chore as they were basically simple to start with and fairly soft wood.

Perhaps just to round out with few quik pix of Sears Model 50 in original skin. My intent to leave it that was as "artifact". Such commemorating "wonderworld of Sears" recollections from youth in fifties. Going there with parents. Especially this time of year Christmas Season... Just wandering! No blitzing in & out. No overwhelming urge to buy everything at hand. A certain entertainment value of itself.
Pardon the trip 'down memory lane'!
God Bless & Happy Holidays to All!
John

Got two M50's here, both barrels only measure 1.118" t that cylinder and that cylinder is right at an inch long. Then, in about .625" from the end of that cylinder it tapers quickly to roughly .975" as well.

Just weighed a barrel with the sight in the normal position, 6lbs. 6.2 oz without the rear sight.

Love those Model 50’s. I bought one a while back for 375 bucks with a Leupold M8 4x scope. I intend to install a 2 or 3 position safety and different trigger. Then leave it as is. Just holding it brings back memories of a bygone era. To think you could order a gun out of the Sears catalog!