Finally finished an old Mauser project.

I think I started this rifle over 15 years ago and it's finally finished. :D

The the small-ring long-bolt Mauser action was given to me and that started the whole process. I found a bolt for it and fitted it out with a good trigger and found a stainless 7mm barrel and Claro stock on Ebay for decent prices.

I sent it off to a gunsmith in Tennessee to thread and chamber the barrel. Originally, I had a 6.5 barrel that I thought would make a good 6.5 x Roberts Improved but decided that the long action might as well be used to full capacity. Chambering for 280 Remington made sense.

Once the barreled action was settled, I bedded the stock and changed out a few parts to accommodate a scope. I proceeded to shoot it with an unfinished stock as I worked up some loads and broke in the barrel but it sat for most of the intervening years with a rough-sanded stock.

Recently, I finished out a home-improvement project in the shop that involved cutting and sanding a lot of mahogany so there was dust everywhere. I got the notion that while I was sanding and varnishing and making a mess, I might as well have a look at this old rifle project. It didn't take a particularly long time to take out the leftover machine marks and sand it for finishing. A couple of days of applying coats - spray can semi-floss urethane varnish- with one light sand before a final coat and it was ready to reassemble.

Now it's finally ready to leave the house and go hunting when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, I won't feel self-conscious shooting a half-finished project at the local range. :)

nice!! Last Mauser I did, My mentor made me do a lot of thinning of the stock before I got to finish sand. Many hours in it. Probable more hours in the stock then the rest of the project.
Your stock looks good from here!

This was a nicely cut stock with a pretty fine forend and nice detailing in the cheekpiece and grip transition. I don't think I ever knew exactly where it came from but I assumed that it was an old Boyd's offering. No telling when it was made but it had sat around long enough for the plastic cap on the forend to be shrunken down substantially from the original size and no longer flush with the wood. It took a little work to get that leveled out but nothing that some 100 grit and elbow grease couldn't fix. :)

I wonder if it is an old Bishop stock.

Nice work.

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Originally Posted by charlie b

I wonder if it is an old Bishop stock.

Nice work.

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You know...You might be right about that. It's nicely inletted and an interesting, if fairly plain, cut of Claro. I bedded the lug and tang and it seems to shoot very well.

Or, a Richard's Microfit. They have an inexpensive option for walnut stocks, including ebony or rosewood tips.