Ive' been lurking and reading posts for several months now, learning about Africa and Rifles. Anyhow I'm partial to the Enfield 1917, for no other reason than the person who mentored me in shooting and hunting went to Africa when I was 16 and built 2 rifles from Enfield actions. I guess what you learn 1st you remember the best and retain the longest. In the fourms the only negative comment about the Enfield action was the cost to modify it for BIG cartridges. I can see where it costs some $$$, maybe $1000 including the action but other than the CZ what is available. I see the Satterlee for $3000-$4000 i'm sure others are similar. Even a CZ modified by AHR is going for that. What other alternatives are available and at what cost? Is a modified Enfield action really that cost prohibitive? I know that a modern action has its advantages over something that was made 90 years ago but what else am I missing?
FYI, i should be getting my 1917 in 458 Lott back in a couple of weeks, I can't wait. But i already want another big one.

4K for an action, that's Crazzzzy! That's a price of nice Mauser 03 .375H&H + QD mount + nice Leupold 'crystal'. Wee, wee.

Stuart Satterlee will build a stainless magnum Mauser with square bridges machined to take your choice of mounts, and your choice of 0.750" or 0.700" bolt diameter, and a 3-position safety and good trigger are included. Only $3000.

Forget the stainless part if it is not to your liking. He does them in chrome-moly too.

This is a fantastic bargain.
Nothing else compares.
I say this after buying a $2500 Dakota 76 African action from Brownells and having to then pay to send it to Dakota to get the boogered as purchased action threads recut to a nonstandard size before it could be barreled.

Granite Mountain and Prechtl/Golmatic do not even offer stainless, and are priced similar to Satterlee Arms, or more, with all those features.

Start with a CZ or an Enfield and you will have more than $3000 in it and still be trying to get it to the quality of a Satterlee. Impossible. Impossible.

Also impossible to put a dollar value on sentiment or nostalgia.

That's it, buy something new. Turning Enfield clunker into modern sporting arm is akeen to Bolshevik idea of turning mule into raceing pony with training, or a peasant into a prince with the right amount education. It's almost as stupid as kissing a frog with expectation of getting a dashing price in its place!

Thunderstick,
I see you already have a 458 Lott on a 17, thats a good choice for a 17 and a good start for a collection of big bores.

I have 2 Large ring standard magnum mauser receivers in process,one of which is going to a man in Texas as a 500 Jeffery, the other one is not yet spoken for.

I've got one .750 magnum mauser that will make a good 505 Gibbs. Both of these are chromoly steel. If you wanted to go 375 H$H I've got 2 of those that are nearing completion, they are like the one on the front page of my website.
www.satterleearms.com
Timan/Stuart

quote:

Originally posted by thunder stick:
I see the Satterlee for $3000-$4000 i'm sure others are similar. Even a CZ modified by AHR is going for that. What other alternatives are available and at what cost? Is a modified Enfield action really that cost prohibitive?

thunder stick - welcome to the forum.

I just had my idea of the ideal 404 bolt rifle built on a Mauser and chose a Satterlee action and Satterlee as the builder of the gun too. You should call him and talk to him.

Even on comparably priced actions, a gunsmith that’s used them will tell you there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done to them to make them feed and function. The thing that separates Stuart's action is the fact that that work is already done on his action: effectively, it’s included in the price.

As for bringing surp actions up to speed, RIP is right – you’ll end up with as much (if not more) money in the action than if you just bought a new “premium†action to begin with. I handle mostly double rifles in my business, but do see a fair share of used custom bolt guns.

My advice is start with one of these “premium†actions if you’re going to build a top-shelf custom rifle, as those are the ones that I see people get their money back for on sale day. Don’t get me wrong, there are some extreme examples of surp actions that have been turned into excellent guns, but at the end of the day, the guns built on premium actions bring more money in the used market.

Thunderstick,
before you let these guys move you off the enfield/Remington action as a starting point, talk to some knowledgeable gunsmiths about what it needs and the cost. Jeffeosso here or contact Jim Wisener can help you out. I had the loan of a Wisener-built Enfield in 505 Gibbs that was artwork.

Rich
DRSS
P-series and M30 Rem fan

Chris your rifle is a beauty! Can't wait to see it in person.

Hi Stuart,
I just looked at some Mauser magazine lengths inside the box, on another thread here at AR.com, thanks to ForrestB.

Maximums in these categories of interest were:

Medium: 3.400"
Long/H&H: 3.640"
Magnum/Rigby: 3.840"
Magnum/Brevex: 3.900"

I have measured some CZ boxes right at 3.84" coincidentally.

What is the inside-the-box length for my .395 Tatanka (.416 Rigby Length) to be? Let us say the max COL is somewhere between 3.750" and 3.900", as SAAMI has not certified this one yet.

Can you make my action with a box length as long as 3.900"? Somewhere between 3.800" and 3.900"?

BTT to stay above the hit-and-run compaint thread started by Dr(ool) B(ucket). No complaints ever with Satterlee Arms. Stuart and the business are young, of course. May they live long and prosper.