Hello All,

I recently purchased these two rifles from an Ohio Auction House. Very high quality, but maker is unknown. There were 7 similar rifles at that auction. Auction house tags were marked "NB" which I assume are the initials of the consignor who owned the rifles. All the rifle's descriptions mentioned gabon ebony, reinforced stocks, Breako recoil reducers, Timney Triggers, and NECG sites and fixtures. These 2 rifles and 2 others were built on P17 platforms, the others were built on commercial Remington actions. Both of these rifles have large forward mounted recoil blocks attached to the bottom of the barrel. The blocks and the rest of the actions are totally glass bedded with a grey bedding material. Again, very professional with not a single bubble in the bedding. Both these rifles remain in NEW condition with sight leaves still un-cut.

With these two rifles being of such high quality, I was surprised to not find any indication of the maker, either on the metal or the wood. When removed from the stock, the bottoms of the barrels and the actions were marked with matching serial numbers to insure they mated correctly and not mixed with other rifles being built. This would indicate to me some type of professional builder where several rifles were being built at the same time - rather than one-off work. It a shame that such high quality work would go unidentified, not giving credit to the builder.

If you have an opinion as to who built these rifles, please comment.

Have you taken the metal out of the stock..almost all sign it somehow

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Have you taken the metal out of the stock..almost all sign it somehow

Hello Duane Wiebe,
Thanks for the reply.

From the post above ....

" ... When removed from the stock, the bottoms of the barrels and the actions were marked with matching serial numbers to insure they mated correctly and not mixed with other rifles being built. ..."

No maker's marking.

.

.

Just top cover all bases, you might take off the pads. I would judge these are from the 70's or 80's bases on skip line checkering and island swivel bases

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Just top cover all bases, you might take off the pads. I would judge these are from the 70's or 80's bases on skip line checkering and island swivel bases

Hello Duane Wiebe,
Thanks for the reply.

I thought of that, but both pads are "glued" and screwed, so I'm hesitant to pry them loose. As far as when made, the 470 Capstick cartridge didn't appear on the market until Art introduced it in 1990. (A-Square) And the 550 Express wasn't around until Neal Shirley introduced it in 2007. Based on this, I assume the guns were made in the last 10 - 12 years, 2010-2012 or later.

The Auction Tags and the stocks are marked "NB" which I assume was the consignor / Customer for the rifles. I know 7 similar rifles were listed at the Ohio auction. The 470 Capstick is stamped "NB-12" so the customer may have had as many as 12 in his collection.

If anyone knows a Big Game Rifle Collector from Ohio with the initials "NB" ... please let me know.

Coud it be NB from New Zealand?

NB's site is vague without any finished stocks that I could see. A picture sent their way might be worth a shot.

NB-NZ

Hello custombolt,
Thanks for the reply.

The initials "NB" refer to the owner of the rifles. Those initials were were also listed as the consignor on the auction tags. The auction was held near Cleveland Ohio, so NB was likely from there, or nearby Michigan or Illinois.

You're welcome buckstix. I thought you just assumed they were the consignor's initials. Hence the suggestion. Nice couple of 17's.

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
You're welcome buckstix. I thought you just assumed they were the consignor's initials. Hence the suggestion. Nice couple of 17's.

Hello custombolt,
Thanks for the reply.

Could try:

https://www.spencegunsmithing.com/custombuilds.html

quote:

Originally posted by Rockdoc:
Could try:

Hello Rockdoc,
Thanks for the reply.

I had sent them an email to inquire if they are the builder. They replied that they were NOT the builder of these rifles. So, I'll keep looking.

I don't know who built them, but I sure like them. thanks for sharing. - dan

I know PacNor lost most of its stuff in "the fire". You might check to see the records still exist. Being uncommon they might know who the customer was...........
Just a thought.

still searching for the maker .. any clues?

perhaps the auction co might tell you the former owner

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
perhaps the auction co might tell you the former owner

I tried that .. they wouldn't tell me.

Looks to me like you've pretty well exhausted Accurate Reloadiong.

Have you tried other forums? When in WI, I examined a few Leonard Mews' rifles....Never saw that he did an Enfield...but he seemed to really like Skip line.

You might try wandering around local gun shows with the rifle...maybe try to dig up info on Mews.

To my eye,. the style and workmanship is not up to his stndards, but can't help but see vague similarities. may have had a co worker or apprentice?

Hello Duane Wiebe,
Thanks for the reply.

Leonard's style is very well known to me. I collect Leonard Mews rifles, I have a dozen rifles built by Leonard. Leonard was a personal friend and fellow shooter at our Appleton Gun Club. My 7mm Mag Mauser was stocked especially for me by Leonard.

Both these rifles were built long after Leonard passed away. Also, they are very high gloss acrylic finish, something that was never done by Leonard, he only used oil.

These two rifles, as well as several others in this style, came from Ohio. I've reached out to this and several other forums and no one has been able to identify the builder. Perhaps the "NB" stamping is the builder and not the consignor. I'd like to know if anyone knows of a custom builder with the initials "NB". Maybe some day I'll find out?

Good Luck

quote:

Originally posted by buckstix:
"...Perhaps the "NB" stamping is the builder and not the consignor. ..."

I may have answered my own question. I have a custom Mauser 416 Rigby that has a signature in the barrel channel .. "built by Nate Bishop" .. Perhaps the NB is for Nate Bishop. The quality of the work would fit.

Here is the info about my Nate Bishop rifle that I bought in 2016 .. http://forums.accuratereloadin...921078472#5921078472

Mr. Stix.
Did you notice the post with the 416 Rigby?? Its built by Nate Bishop. Just a shot in the dark is this your mystery builder?

Does not look like a Nate Bishop stock, but then again he occasionally fell off the wagon.

Do you know of any other custom gun builders with the initials NB?

I'm thinking.

I'm still trying to find out who built these 2 beautiful Custom Rifles. Its a shame such professional work has gone unidentified.

I think if anyone knew they would have chimed in by now. This post has been out here for almost a year and a half...

This keeps the post up-to-date at the front for any "new comers" that may have missed it.

... and ... its my horse ...

Groan.....

With that stock finish, perhaps Google search custom piano makers.

buckstix - How about some pictures one more time to refresh our memory. The originals don't show anymore. CB

You can't see the original pictures? Others can see them.

Nevermind. I R clicked and the images of the Capstick came up in the background after I openend the file. The caliber on the barrel looks like it is the same identical fine-line font as one of my Al Lind rifles. I'll PM you shortly.