Jon said he wouldn't drive all the way to my house just to shoot me if I shared this...hopefully Western Union doesn't do drivebys...

They expect (not hope, expect) to have a Brevex Magnum Double Square Bridge, or round top action on display at the SHOT Show in about ten weeks. Followed in less than six months by a 223/7.62x39 sized one. Followed six months or so apart by a standard and intermediate, and miniature (think 22 Hornet or the Cooper lineup).
They expect to finalize the specs on the DSB Magnum shortly, and plan, as of now, to machine them, not use castings. It will have the .850 bolt face as an option, and the design calls for three rounds of 505 Gibbs down in the box...which will be 4.00" inside, or perhaps 1/8" longer. They also think JeffeOsso's suggestion of a 1.2"x16tpi threading is a go. He said not to hold the company to this, but expectations are to retail in the $750 range for a finished action.

They are also looking at producing a quality, yet affordable, single shot rifle action. How cool would that be?

RIP has been the front man with McGowen, and I laud his efforts. I just had to share the good news.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

quote:

$750 range for a finished action.

Very reasonable indeed! Guessing you'll need your own bottom metal and trigger at that price.

no, complete action! Just add barrel and wood.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

[QUOTE]

They are also looking at producing a quality, yet affordable, single shot rifle action. How cool would that be?

QUOTE]


The single shot action got my attention. Any information on the type of action it will be?

Glenn

will they do stainless???

Hot Damn maybe some progress.Maybe my
700H 3.25" will get some more help.
That's great news that they listen to
us big bore nuts on here.Ed

sounds like a foot race with MRC

.850 bolt and 4" and 1.2x16?
sounds as if the 700DA might ride a McG rather than PH

jeffe

Jeff--I hope both can get it going, and really the competition for both as the basis
for the 700H DA is AHR with their slim
700 version. My case is better of course as
bore is full .700 and brass will last
100 plus rounds. And for guys on a budget
doing a 700H on either of the actions is
a huge savings. I've only got $600 in
my Enfield test rifle. If I bought a McGowen
or MRC I'd still have only 12-1300 in it.Ed

I must apologize to Jeffe, the 1.2x16 thread size was his suggestion. I have corrected the post.

1. assuming they do indeed make the box 4.125" inside length, Ed's "real 700 bore" could have up to .800" of
bullet sticking out of the case mouth and fit easily in there.

2. the single shot action. They are looking, among other designs, at the 1885 Winchester HiWall design. I am
hoping to get a landslide of public opinion in favor of the Sharps Borchardt instead. I have been told by
more than one builder/manufacturer of the new HiWalls that they are not 60,000PSI designs, and NOT suitable
for magnum pressures. I once owned a Borchardt that had been rebarrelled and chambered for the 378 Wbee.
They would also be one of ten or eleven manufacturers of a HiWall...that market is covered like a blanket.
I also once owned an original Neidner conversion in 25-06. It was too cool. It had either Zetler Bros or
Zischang double set triggers, and a Krag cocking piece conversion. The cocking piece conversion made it a
lawyer-proof hunting rifle, and in todays society it would be stupid proof...and I do not say that lightly.
If, you do the internals properly, you can offer a standard version with the original safety system. Or,
you could do real double set triggers, and make the cocking piece manually operated. The Neidner would not
cock automatically, as most striker block single shots do, it would have to be pulled back to cock the
rifle. That is the "stupid proof" model. Guys wanting to build a target/live varmint rifle could enjoy the
DST's and benefit from a set trigger pull of less than two ounces. Besides that, they are so esthetically
pleasing to the eye. The flat panel design of the Borchardt offers about nearly 5 square inches of
engraving surface.

So those of you who think the Borchardt is a beauty, as I always have, and appreciate the added strength over any other SS besides the Ruger #1...let them know. If you favor some other design, let them know about that as well. Just be sure to tell them why your design preference is better. They need data, not just a stated preference. They need to sell actions, barrelled actions, and a few complete rifles to make the single shot a go in todays static long gun market.

Th-Tht-Th-Tht, Th...That's all folks.

Rich
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Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

$750 for a DSB mauser and quality do not go together...sorry
Daniel

Don't be sorry, be able to wait and see. The Bible says "...be still and know that I am God..."
In this case, we have two companies, both reputable, that are pricing their actions within a fifty dollar bill (USD) of each other, and saying early 2008.
I am going to give them both a chance to follow up on their promise to us here. They know that we are all rifle loonies, and tend to be their scout teams in the big bore arena.

I will have that DSB in my fat little fingers in less than ninety days...wait and see the pictures I take, and look at their two websites.

Rich
DRSS
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quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
2. the single shot action. They are looking, among other designs, at the 1885 Winchester HiWall design...

Rich:

Being a single shot sort of guy I would applaud the availability of another quality action. I agree with you that there are enough Winchester 1885 clones out there, some of them very good quality.

There are also a couple Borchardts being made, but from the wait it would seem that the demand is greater than the supply. The trouble, from a business standpoint, is just how big is the demand?

An action that I would like to see made, and as far as I know no one is doing so, is the Farquharson. It would not be an inexpensive action to produce but they have a reputation of strenght and reliabilty. A fine old action with a grand and colorful history.

I have a serious hankering to build a stalking rifle on an early Jeffery type action with the side lever safety. Anyone have one laying around cluttering up the place?

Glenn

There are lots of Ruger #1 Farkee Clones cluttering up the universe are there not?!?!

Aww Macifej, that breaks RIP's and my heart...since we're going to have .400BPE's made up on ours Ruger #1s.

Go to your room! Both of you!
There, one apiece.

The cameraderie here is almost cloying somedays...

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
There are lots of Ruger #1 Farkee Clones cluttering up the universe are there not?!?!

Yeah, I guess you are right. Now that you mention it, why are they even bothing with the square bridge action, what with all those Remington 700 Mauser clones littering up the place...

Glenn

Just wanted to come in and clear up some things.

We have not yet decided on square bridge vs. non square bridge receiver.

We are looking at machining the receiver & bolt, the rest of the parts will be farmed out.

The mini action (223 length) will be before the PH action. The design is approximately 75% done. The design on the PH is starting but will wait until the design of the mini is finished. Hopefully the drawings & CAD work will be done within the next 2-3 weeks.

The bolt will be .850" diameter, magazine length (longest box) will be 4.125". It will incorporate a Winchester style trigger.

The single shot will be a 1885 Hi Wall.

Price won't be known until design and prototyping is complete.

Won't approach pricing of the action now as it would be foolish to try to guess what the cost of the action is going to be without having any work done yet on it.

Check out the Gunsmithing forum as I have posted a survey regarding the PH action. Any input you can put in would be greatly appreciated.

Dan

awesome.. .850 and 4.125 ..

means i can feed FROM THE MAG
either the 500 Ar with milsurp bullets, seated on the groove

or
700DA single stack!!!

jeffe

416 barrett anyone?

quote:

Originally posted by McGowenRifle:

Won't approach pricing of the action now as it would be foolish to try to guess what the cost of the action is going to be without having any work done yet on it.

I agree that there is no way of knowing what the cost would be at this point in the game. Although I hope that the final $$$ to us will be a relatively affordable competitively priced action.

Please keep us posted...

Matt V.

Matt, & the group,

Jon and a few others at McGowen came over from Montana. It is just speculation on my part, so take it at face value...but I think they were perhaps frustrated with the PH action and the problem with financing it, etc. The gentleman who owns McGowen comes across as having a genuine desire to be the player in the $750 or so action business. They have expressed a desire to price the actions at a low mark up number, and sell lots of them. I agree with this marketing strategy, and how it ties in with a total one-stop shop program. They are working now to get a stock making division set up, and in discussions with a synthetic stock manufacturer.

Shiloh Rifle is a superb model for this; they own their own pantograph machine, all the barrel making equipment, even an automatic screw making machine. Shiloh even has a foundry next door. They make good $$$ and fill in a 40 hour week for everybody there by doing small runs for other companies.

McGowen can do the same thing, and 100% control their own destiny. Their new owner has the $$$ to do things right, the brains to hire good people and let them make him a good ROI, and the common sense to do so.

I am sky high on what I am hearing.

Rich
DRSS
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quote:

I am sky high on what I am hearing.

Ditto...

trophyhunter,

we will do everything in our power to keep this a reasonably priced action. we know what the market will bear and another $2000 action isn't it. we might spend more in machining the receiver and bolt but I have quite a few contacts in the machining and parts world to get the other parts for this action at reasonable prices.

I'll keep you guys posted as to the status as we go. We are definately not going to bs anyone into thinking we're going to do something if we are not.

Dan

Idaho Sharpshooter,

Most of us did come from Montana and we all learned a lot there, good and bad, it is in our past and that is where we'll leave it.

We are going to do everything we can to price these at an acceptable level for everyone out there. We are not interested in making another $2000 action or a subpar action. Here's an example of our thoughts here at McGowen. We brought in some barrels from other makers as we weren't up and running with the calibers/twists that the customer wanted. When we got the barrels (supposedly premium grade) we bore scoped them, we were definately surprised at what we saw. Out of 5 barrels 1 was good, 3 could be fixed and the other we sent back. This is not the kind of quality we are interested in. We are not perfect by any means and will make mistakes, but what we probably do better than anyone out there is take care of any problems that may arise. We are not only selling a product, we are selling ourselves and our reputations.

Someone in another post speculated that we were trying to beat another company to the punch. Not interested in that at all. We will take our time and ensure it is right before we send anything out. I don't want to deal with a bunch of returns for something that should have been right in the first place. That is why we will do extensive prototyping and testing to ensure that everything is the way it should be.

We are working on a stock company to do both wood and laminates and as you said we are making connections with synthetic manufacturers to be able to offer variety for our actions.

Thank you for the "hire good people and let them make him a good ROI and common sense" we like to think that way and the owner definately tells us this frequently.

We are excited to be back in the business and making barrels and actions the right way.

Dan

Dan...I applaud your philosophy and quality standards
I wish you good luck

May you be the common sense action/barrel manufacturer messiah the gun world has been waiting for.

boomy...were you a politician in a past life?

See there boomie, someone (besides me) thinks you were a politician in a past life or you are practicing to be one in future times

KMule

Sorry for the momentary hijack -

Back to the topic at hand - McGowen folks, good luck, do it right the first time and you will develop a loyal customer base.

KMule

sorry

next time I will sound jaded and negative.

they are taking on a huge undertaking and one we have been clamouring for so I will wish them good luck and try not to piss on a starting fire.

Again good luck and many customers.

Thank you everyone for the comments. We plan on being successful by being straightforward and honest on everything. We are not interested in becoming just another barrel and action company, we will always strive to be the best.

Dan

Dan:

I would urge you to look at an internal hammer single shot action such as the 1885 internal hammer conversion. Which is both unique and nice looking. As has been said, there are already a bunch of 1885 clones, including a couple of excellent U.S. made ones.

PM me if you are unfamiliar with the internal hammer 1885 conversions and are interested.

Dave

Dan,

follows a list of HiWall mfgrs and variations by various distributors:

1. Pedersoli
2. Uberti
3. EMF
4. C Sharps
5. Ballard
6. SD Meacham
7. Dixie Gunworks
8. Navy Arms
9. Cimarron Arms
None of which are rated for cartridges developing more than approximately 50,000CUP


The following is a list of Borchardt Action Mfgs currently taking orders:
1. Story in NM, starting at $4000

Original Borchardts have been chambered for the W-bee cartridges and all sorts of wildcats making more than 60,000CUP.

The comparison, strengthwise is like comparing the 71/84 Mauser to the better 1898 models or an old model 70.
If you are going to copy something, copy the best.

JMHO.

Rich
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