Introduction/7x57 Mexican Mauser Project - 02/14/18
Hey everyone,
After foregoing a number of 7x57 mauser project rifles and a year or so of searching, I finally got ahold of a barreled action that will make a good project rifle.
In my various google searches relating to custom mausers I kept finding useful threads on this forum so here I am. This barreled action was originally put together by a gunsmith in South Lyons, MI and is marked with his name "B. McDaniel". I couldn't find much information on the company as it went out of business a few years ago. The barrel appears to be new and all the work done on is top-notch. That said, it appears that this barreled action sat neglected for quite some time because there are some spots where the bluing must have rusted:
Other than those spots the bluing looks brand new. I can't tell for sure but it looks more like rust bluing than any modern nitre-bluing job I've seen.
My initial desire was to make something like a classic British stalking rifle, like the old 275 Rigby Mausers. In my mind those were the consummate hunting rifles and I love the style of them.
But after looking at examples online I'm now also considering something along the lines of Jack O'Connor's rifles. Reading his stuff is part of what cemented my love of this particular cartridge, and I like the style of mid-century American sporting rifles with stocks made by guys like Al Biesen. The action was originally made in North America anyway so keeping the theme would be comforting to my obsessive-compulsiveness. (It would also save me a decent chunk of money to not put iron sights on this rifle.)
[img]https://i.imgur.com/x4hbIt5.jpg[/img]
This also appears to be the original intent of the gunsmith who started the project given that it was blued without iron sights and has been drilled and tapped for a scope mount. Though he also kept and blued the original flag-style safety that won't clear a low-mounted scope so I have no idea what the idea there was.
Either way, this will be a long-term project given the cost, limited time I have to work on it, and time it takes to find parts. But that brings me to one of my questions...finding parts. The first order of business is a trigger guard/bottom metal. So far it seems like I can either pay a few hundred dollars for a new, custom trigger guard made by a gunsmith or I can wait and watch a number of auction sites/forums hoping to get lucky. Anyone have any leads or ideas on this front?
Thanks,
Matt
After foregoing a number of 7x57 mauser project rifles and a year or so of searching, I finally got ahold of a barreled action that will make a good project rifle.
In my various google searches relating to custom mausers I kept finding useful threads on this forum so here I am. This barreled action was originally put together by a gunsmith in South Lyons, MI and is marked with his name "B. McDaniel". I couldn't find much information on the company as it went out of business a few years ago. The barrel appears to be new and all the work done on is top-notch. That said, it appears that this barreled action sat neglected for quite some time because there are some spots where the bluing must have rusted:
Other than those spots the bluing looks brand new. I can't tell for sure but it looks more like rust bluing than any modern nitre-bluing job I've seen.
My initial desire was to make something like a classic British stalking rifle, like the old 275 Rigby Mausers. In my mind those were the consummate hunting rifles and I love the style of them.
But after looking at examples online I'm now also considering something along the lines of Jack O'Connor's rifles. Reading his stuff is part of what cemented my love of this particular cartridge, and I like the style of mid-century American sporting rifles with stocks made by guys like Al Biesen. The action was originally made in North America anyway so keeping the theme would be comforting to my obsessive-compulsiveness. (It would also save me a decent chunk of money to not put iron sights on this rifle.)
[img]https://i.imgur.com/x4hbIt5.jpg[/img]
This also appears to be the original intent of the gunsmith who started the project given that it was blued without iron sights and has been drilled and tapped for a scope mount. Though he also kept and blued the original flag-style safety that won't clear a low-mounted scope so I have no idea what the idea there was.
Either way, this will be a long-term project given the cost, limited time I have to work on it, and time it takes to find parts. But that brings me to one of my questions...finding parts. The first order of business is a trigger guard/bottom metal. So far it seems like I can either pay a few hundred dollars for a new, custom trigger guard made by a gunsmith or I can wait and watch a number of auction sites/forums hoping to get lucky. Anyone have any leads or ideas on this front?
Thanks,
Matt