By the looks of that Schnabel, if you find you can't make it as a gunbuilder, you probably have a future as a Mohel.

quote:

Originally posted by Westpac:
By the looks of that Schnabel, if you find you can't make it as a gunbuilder, you probably have a future as a Mohel.

I'm Lutheran..we keep everything intact..

Yeah I didn't know. I had heard that in some communities, merely being born entitles a person to 20 percent off, where a skilled Schnabel sculpture'er could make a decent living.

Who is the supplier of the smooth butt plate on the rifle, it looks really good.



w

The butt plate came from Max McFarland.

I used a McFarlane butt plate but I cut my own skeleton shape into it.



Von Gruff.

very nice

The stain worked out pretty damn good. I think he's about ready for checkering.

I agree......looks great!!

That is beautiful work and a beautiful piece of wood as well. That is a beautiful gun! Great craftsmanship!!!

that color on the stock looks great! You are going to have an awesome rifle when it is all put together. Very nice lines. I love the proportions and stock design.

Getting closer. Fitting the safety and the checkering is done. It's off the Roger Kehr for lettering and a little engraving.

simply beautiful. My favorite rifle I have seen on this site.

quote:

Originally posted by Scrollcutter:
Fantastic as always.

I am amazed at the skill some people are gifted with.

Talk about gifted, nice work Roger.

Flat-top chequering... Mr Wiebe, I owe you a couple of cold ones... PM me whenever you get to SA...

Flat-top chequering is the mark of destinction between the talented ordinary and the VERY talented, in my very humble opinion.

Mr Wiebe, if I lived in the US, I would have ordered a rifle right now.

quote:

Originally posted by loud-n-boomer:
Minor hijack.

Hi JA.

Here is what it will look like finished.

very cool. I have been thinking of a very similar type fore end cap with schnable design.

your pictures are a awesome preview, and an Inspiration.

So where are the finished pictures?

I have been test firing the rifle and working on some loads. When I get a good sunshine day I will photograph the gun and post some pics. BTW it shoots great so far with factory ammo.

I was finally able to take a few pictures this weekend.

That's an heirloom for sure. Wanna adopt me?
Great looking little rifle.

is that bolt stop treatment Duane's custom work or is that from somewhere? that is awesome, as is the checkering. I love the engraving ont he back of the bolt stop, is that raised? it looks like it in the picture. what did that action start life as?

fabulous gorgeous wonderful rifle! one of my favorite chamberings

Red

quote:

Originally posted by Dago Red:
is that bolt stop treatment Duane's custom work or is that from somewhere? that is awesome, as is the checkering. I love the engraving ont he back of the bolt stop, is that raised? it looks like it in the picture. what did that action start life as?

fabulous gorgeous wonderful rifle! one of my favorite chamberings

Red

The extension to the bolt stop was done by Ross Billingsly and it is checkered. The action is a BRNO 21.

nice wood

oh my! i may need some along time with pictures of this rifle!

stunning.

Beautiful! How much does it weigh? It looks like a nice rifle to carry all day!

I'm sorry if I missed it, who actually did the checkering? where did they/you get the flattop checkering cutters?
Looks very cool.

Red

quote:

Originally posted by Dago Red:
I'm sorry if I missed it, who actually did the checkering? where did they/you get the flattop checkering cutters?
Looks very cool.

Red

I'm 99% sure Duane said that he did the checkering and he had to make his own tools.

I havent had a chance to weigh the gun yet. I can't find an accurate scale to put it on.

The checkering was done by Duane.

Extremly beautiful gun!
my next project will be a 275 Rimless on an intermediate action.

M

Outstanding in every way. That will be a real delight to hunt.

Von Gruff.

I'm curious about the proportions.

What length is the barrel?

Is that a "short" fore end?

.....ie....does that follow the "golden rule?"

quote:

Originally posted by FMC:
I'm curious about the proportions.

What length is the barrel?

Is that a "short" fore end?

.....ie....does that follow the "golden rule?"

The barrel is a lightweight 26" from McGowen Precision. Duane and I had a lot of discussions about the forend trying to keep good balance with the long barrel. In my hands it feels perfect.

Beautiful,

is that a Jerry Fisher rounded bottom metal?

quote:

Originally posted by manhasset:
Beautiful,

is that a Jerry Fisher rounded bottom metal?

Yes it is.

After careful revue of all the pictures, in consideration of the way the rear site is setup (I love the flush in the back and step at the front), the tasteful and detailed (the little touches at muzzle and cocking piece) engraving, the flat top checkering, the great schnabel treatment, I have decided: this is one of my favorites of all time on here. fabulous.

Red

That is one beautiful rifle. I am building one with the same style right now, also in 7x57. Mine is a personal klutz job compared to this one, but it has a decent piece of wood, and my enjoyment comes from doing it, no matter how bad.

I am not flaming, but I would like an opinion on the scope on the rifle and how it fits esthetically. In my mind, this style of rifle is almost ruined by putting a modern, big, high performance scope on it. They are out of proprtion, must sit way too high, thereby ruining the weight distribution, and make a really classic style gun look awkward. To me, something with a straight front objective, set low to the reciever, and (hopefully) with no variable power ring looks "right" on this style rifle. These are generally not 500 yard varmint rifles in their intent, and a nice tiny, bright 2.5x or 3x scope is much more in keeping. I have actually swapped these types of scopes around, and it is a useful exercise. Try it and see what you think.

quote:

Originally posted by Art S.:
I am not flaming, but I would like an opinion on the scope on the rifle and how it fits esthetically.

The simple response is that sometimes function trumps aesthetics. My primary concern in the design of this gun was to achieve the perfect fit and function for me and my intended use. I have found the 1.5-6x42mm scope to be perfect for the type of hunting that I do here. I agree with you that the straight tube scopes look more to scale on a lightweight rifle but I don't like the limited field of view on driven game and reduction in light gathering capabiliy when shooting hogs at night.

btw, I have't found a mfg who makes a low 30mm ring for the BRNO bases. I would love to have a set because, as you can see, I could go down a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by jawheeler:
The barrel is a lightweight 26" from McGowen Precision.

any reason why you went with McGowen over another brand?

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:Posted 13 January 2010 02:57
one of the betteer second rate barrels out there, only eclipsed by ER Shaw.

Looks fantastic! How does it shoot?

The gun shoots very good. Out of 5 different factory loads it shoots Norma 150gr SP to 3/8" at 100yds. The worst group was 1 1/4" with RWS 162gr. I have only just started to experiment with handloads but the groups are 5/8" to 3/4" with 140gr Nosler Partitions.

Certainly not benchrest performance but pretty darn good with off the shelf ammmo. Thats why I chose the McGowen barrel. Every one that I have owned has been accurate and the staff has gone out of their way to accomidate my requests.