I feel so good about it I just had to put the pictures in: My .404 is about to be finished. I reshaped the stock a little after my first trip to RSA with it; shortened the fore-end and reshaped the grip. Then I chequered it again. The Alkanet Redoil is not hardened yet, but makes the day.
I was planning on using a Francotte Mauser to make a .404, but it turned out to be a small ring mauser when I got it to the gunsmith. I don�t know what to do with it; it�s still a 7x57, and I am working on the stock as a hobby. I�m afraid I put the comb too far back in my pursuit to make a slim rifle. Any suggestions what to make of it? It has a very accurate adjustable tang sight, with a fine front sight, not very practical for hunting.
I just love Mausers.
Boha
Posts: 493 | Location: Finland | Registered: 18 July 2001
As to the comb on the 7x57, it is fine and keeps ones thumb out of the nose, if it is a problem for you then a thicker recoil pad should fix that.....I like a lot of room over the grip, especially with a hard kicking rifle...I would change the sights...
Posts: 42226 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000
That's a beautiful, clean-lined, classic .404. It looks like an English best rifle. Does it have one of those lovely, oval, shadow lined cheekpieces, or did you leave it straight? Is it for sale?
As for the Francotte small ring Mauser--what could be better than a similarly stocked and sighted .275 Rigby (or 7x57 Mauser to our Teutonic friends)? It would take a fair bit of work, but would be worth it. A matched pair!
Posts: 13757 | Location: New England | Registered: 06 June 2003
Very nice 404. The lines are definitely British, and I am sure that I could find a place in my gunsafe for it . Put matching express sights on the 7x57 and you have a great pair of cartridges for any hunting opportunity.
Jim
Posts: 1206 | Location: Georgia | Registered: 21 July 2000
Thank you all. I believe that is just what I�ll do; get express sights for the Francotte. The current sights are very accurate, but they need a bullseye to get a decent sight picture. I think the parallell profile on the barrel will allow for an express sight close to the reciever, which will be just beautiful. Maybe I�ll stamp the cal 257 Rigby on it. The stock fits me perfectly, so I�ll keep it, if I don�t make any misstakes chequering it.
Thanks for the practical advice on the comb-business, Ray. I am a stockcrawler, and my nose and lips are very familiar with my right hand. I appreciate your judgement.
The 404 has a cheekpiece, but I am not yet a stockmaker able to make shadowlines. The stock is from www.waffen-schweigert.de, called english, but still needed some shaping. It handles recoil superbly. The english stock is perfect for hard kicking rifles.
Boha
Posts: 493 | Location: Finland | Registered: 18 July 2001
Boha: That 404 looks very nice. Could you tell, who is the gunsmith? I have a Mauser-project in my mind and I'm wondering who could be the competent smith for the project... At least your smith's handicraft please my eyes. I understood, that you finished the stock by yourself. How do you made those chequerings? Cutting or filing and do you have some special tools for that job?
Posts: 21 | Location: Finland | Registered: 19 November 2002
quote:Originally posted by Finnlight: Boha: That 404 looks very nice. Could you tell, who is the gunsmith? I have a Mauser-project in my mind and I'm wondering who could be the competent smith for the project... At least your smith's handicraft please my eyes. I understood, that you finished the stock by yourself. How do you made those chequerings? Cutting or filing and do you have some special tools for that job?
Hi finnlight. My gunsmith is Sam Bj�rkholm, Stenlundsv. 83, 6621 Molpe. About 50 km south of Vasa. He keeps an add in the Mets�st�j�-J�garen magazine. He�s an openminded smith ready for interesting solutions, and has an eye for the old style. A good friend who did a lot of work to get the 404 ready for Africa for me. He works alone in his shop and is a busy man.
I use Guneline 18 line/inch chequering tools. Sam got them from Brownell�s in the US, I think. Tough on the eyesight and the neck...
Boha
Posts: 493 | Location: Finland | Registered: 18 July 2001
Posts: 8351 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
I see a step between the front receiver ring and the left siderail on that 7x57; doesn't look like a small ring to me. Unless Francotte & Co. used a K.Kale Turk Mauser action? I do notice a crescent moon on the rear sight; is the front ring undercut (for retaining a handguard?) The 7mm part of that equation doesn't fit though.
Some interesting mysteries to solve, if I owned that gun...
BTW, nice stockwork -- I also like like long upper grips and shallow curves on the pistol grip. Very nice 404 also.
quote:Originally posted by Todd Getzen: I see a step between the front receiver ring and the left siderail on that 7x57; doesn't look like a small ring to me. Unless Francotte & Co. used a K.Kale Turk Mauser action? I do notice a crescent moon on the rear sight; is the front ring undercut (for retaining a handguard?) The 7mm part of that equation doesn't fit though.
Some interesting mysteries to solve, if I owned that gun...
BTW, nice stockwork -- I also like like long upper grips and shallow curves on the pistol grip. Very nice 404 also.
Todd
Thank you, Todd. The rifle is at the gunsmiths for the express sights at the moment, so I cannot get pictures of the markings; but there is something fishy about the action. It looks like a large ring but it is small threaded, and the markings are not FN, nor DWM as I recall. There is something odd about the dimensions as well. The gunsmith and myself went through the books back when I got it, but couldn�t make sense of it. I�ll visit him later this week and post pictures of the markings; maybe you�re right about the turk thing.
It used to be a full length military model with a hand guard, but had been shortened before I got it. The model is civilian, it was sold in Finland for competition back in the twenties, but not wery common.
The barrel length of the 404 is 65,5 cm (25,7").
Boha
Posts: 493 | Location: Finland | Registered: 18 July 2001
The action also has the long reciever ring too. Just like a 1909 Peruvian.
[ 08-15-2003, 01:57: Message edited by: D Humbarger ]
Posts: 8351 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
The Big Bore forum might not be the place to discuss this 7x57 Mauser reciever, but I�ll post a few pictures and serve my theory.
The markings on the barrel are Belgian, but there are some markings on the trigger mechanism that appear to be German. It is a large ring with a small ring thread. It used to be a full length rifle, and the ring is undercut for the forearm. The crescent thing is not a marking but a tool mark.
Our theory is that it is surplus from the shipment that Mauser made for the mexicans; model 1912, who had small ring Mausers model 02 (?)and wanted small threads to have the option of using old barrels already in Mexico. Small makers like Francotte got them from Mauser (or Austrian arms company) cheap. What do you think? Crazy theory?
Boha
[ 08-15-2003, 12:35: Message edited by: boha ]
Posts: 493 | Location: Finland | Registered: 18 July 2001
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