I recently purchased a custom built rifle based on a U.S. Model of 1917 Remington. The barrel is marked Dubiel Arms Co. and Cal 280 Dubiel. On the underside of the barrel just forward of the receiver is a milled flat marked C M ONEIL ELMER KEITH 1936. The rifle has been converter to a single shot, probably for varmint or target use. There is no magazine or loading tray and the bare wood of the stock is visible beneath the action. The stock is reminiscent of Schuetzen rifles with a carved swirl, but is not found in any period catalogs, or books like Petrov's Dunlap's , Kennedy's & Whelen's, nor are there any photos or mentions of a .280 Dubiel Magnum built on a 1917 Remington in any of Elmer Keith's books or articles.
So here are my requests for help:
1. I would like to feed it and I am not currently a reloader. Does anyone have any loaded .280 Dubiel Magnum rounds or die sets they would part with? I have already sourced components and am in discussion with vendors about custom built dies sets so I don't need any additional steers in that regard. 2. Does anyone know of any reference to, or pictures of, a John Dubiel built rifle on a 1917 Remington action, and especially one built foe O'Neil/Keith? 3. Is this rifle familiar to anyone that can shed some light on its provenance? It was bought from a dealer in WI who had it on consignment and although I asked, no additional information was available. 4.Does anyone have any information on the maker of the stock? I have already had it apart looking, and there are no markings that would help. I have seen a similar stock in person on a Winchester 52 and one on a Remington 37 offered for sale, hence my belief that it was offered for target use.
I've read about everything Elmer ever wrote and though he does mention Mr. Oneil as well as praising the Dubiel rifles I do not remember any reference to a single shot and the odd stock does not look like anything Elmer would likely want on anything he used. He was pretty specific about what he wanted in anything built for him and that does not match anything else I ever read about. That does not mean it couldn't have belonged to him. Could have been one of his Dubiel rifles someone bought and customized to suit themselves. Could also be just an outright fake. Too bad Ted died , he would have been able to say one way or another. Doubtful anyone else in the family now that would know.
Grumpy old man with a gun.....Do not touch . Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Don't bother my monument and I'll leave yours alone.
Can't help with provenance, I wish I could. I am curious though as to what number Dubiel put on the barrel. My Dubiel Springfield target rifle is Number 734, purported to be one of the last ones he did before he died in 1937.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
gnoahhh: Annapolis... my old stomping ground many decades ago! There is no number on the base of the barrel, but based on the dimensions, finish, marking, and comparison to a Dubiel built SA Model of 1922 MI I have, etc, I am confident it is a Dubiel barrel. It is massive.... 1.25" at front of the action, 1.00" at the muzzle! Given the difference between the Dubiel Arms and the caliber marking, it wouldn't surprise me if it has been set back at some time. the 280 Dubiel was a hot load & Dubiel's barrels reportedly a relatively mild steel.
Eddie S, Your thoughts about it having been restocked make more sense to me than the outright fake. See my response above in to gnoahhh about why I don't think it's a fake. The stock height brings the eye right up to where a Unertl or Lyman line of sight would be, and even though the old Lyman sight has been left in place, it is virtually impossible to get a good picture through it with this stock (I have mounted a tunnel front sight to check). If I ever find some, or get some ammo made up, it will wear an old Lyman or Unertl. The other thing that has occurred to me is Keith's account of having sent an action to Dubiel shortly before the latter's death and the report that it had disappeared from the shop when he was in correspondence about it with Dubiel's son later.
Get you some .300 H&H and a set of dies and start forming . Read this thread . If you can locate a November 1934 American Rifleman , Elmer has an article on the .280 Dubiel Magnum on page 10 . Including a link to the magazine where you can read it online. Click the single page view and open full screen for easier reading . It shows Elmer's .280 Dubiel with the Winchester scope. Hawk has .286 bullets for the Ross rifle that might be made to work in the .288 barrel.
Elmer mentions selling a rifle like that to a man in Alaska. But it was a .300 H % H. He also wrote of having is .300 H % H rebarreled to a .280 D. That was a sporter, he said he also had a bull gun for the same caliber. Pretty cool. Ammo shot be simple to make, it was just a 300 H &H necked down to 288. Awesome find.
