a Jekyll & Hyde or the Two-Faced 458 custom Mauser

Back in June I bought a Walter Abe and another Brevex. Well, I also bought a Custom 458 built on a Portuguese action. I called it my Jekell & Hyde rifle or the two faced rifle.

Right side vs left side looks like two different rifles. As you can see in the auction listing, it had no checkering. I sent the rifle in July to James Clark of Western Hunter Classics - http://www.westhuntstocks.com to have the stock checkered and dressed up a bit. He refinished the stock, did a 4-panel checkering, and added a couple of inlays. He brought out the figure on the left side, but couldn't do anything with the left side. All-in-all it makes the rifle look 100% better than received. This addition makes six 458's in the family.

as always, your comments are welcome.

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/POULIN458-000.jpg



http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/POULIN458-stock.jpg

Not seeing any pics.

One has to go to the posted links to see the pictures.

I would have skipped the inlays.

I am sure one could kill a lot of game with it,

quote:

I would have skipped the inlays. I am sure one could kill a lot of game with it,

I asked James Clark to add a couple inlays to dress it up. He is a Master stock maker.

I see what you mean about Jeykll & Hyde. My No. 1 priority in picking a stock blank is uniformity side to side. It's tougher than one might think.

quote:

Originally posted by squeezenhope:
I see what you mean about Jeykll & Hyde. My No. 1 priority in picking a stock blank is uniformity side to side. It's tougher than one might think.

Yes, I agree, but in this case I had no choice as it came that way from auction. All I could do was have checkering added and dress it up a bit with inlays.

Since it really is "two-faced" - I will rename it ... "The Democratic Rifle".

quote:

Originally posted by buckstix:

Since it really is "two-faced" - I will rename it ... "The Democratic Rifle".

That name doesn't fit. The rifle serves a useful purpose.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:

quote:

Originally posted by buckstix:
Since it really is "two-faced" - I will rename it ... "The Democratic Rifle".

That name doesn't fit. The rifle serves a useful purpose.

Oh yes, the new name really fits "the stock.

Of interest, the rifle also has a forward recoil lug added. That lug, and the action lug, are fully glass bedded. In addition, the rear of the mag box has a hidden cross bolt that is glass bedded, and the tang is properly relieved. The stockmaker really knew what he was doing. I wish I knew who he was.

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/POULIN458-detail.jpg

Sorry, man, that's a reject blank, to me. Great for a pattern but as a production blank? I wouldn't sell it, but might would be on a personal rifle. The money in the stock is the labor, most of the time

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
Sorry, man, that's a reject blank, to me. Great for a pattern but as a production blank? I wouldn't sell it, but might would be on a personal rifle. The money in the stock is the labor, most of the time

You may be correct. Perhaps it was a personal rifle made by the stockmaker that didn't want to sell it to a customer or reject it, so instead he finished it for himself, or a family member. Regardless, I like my two-faced rifle. It is now a rifle with an interesting story, and new name; the democratic rifle.

One forthe money and two for the show somehow seems to fit!

This is a great example of building a Dangerous Game rifle from a WWII surplus Mauser.