Finally got this one done and ready to send off to be checkered. Please let me know what you think, good or bad.

It was done on a budget, so I used some scavenged parts off of other projects. The stock wood came from Cecil Fredi. The scope mounts are just to see how it shoots. It will get a set of Warne bases and rings.

Santa Barbara action, military bottom metal (holds 3 rounds), recontoured Douglas barrel at 21", english walnut stock, Wisner 2 pos. safety, Timney trigger, rust blued. Final weight came in at 8 pounds 6 ounces.

This is the second stock that I cut from a blank. It went a lot better than the first, and my inletting isn't half bad. Not a lot of figure in the wood, but it straight and has a little streaking to give it character.

The sights came off of an old Westernfield, the tip is out of a parts bin at the gun show, grip cap is from Brownells.

You may notice the safety cut at the tang. The friend that I am building it for wanted a side safety. I argued for the 2 or 3 position safety, but he liked the look of a commercial shroud better. Then we are at the range, and he shoots my 9.3X64 with a Wisner safety, and says that is what he wants. Well, the wood is gone at this point. I'll patch it when it gets back from the checkering folks.

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wow

Thats a nice hunting rifle.
Its not a museum piece, but provided feeds and ejects flawlessly i would carry it proudly.
In fact if it was mine , i would ask you to build a twin in a round like the 06 or whelen that i would shoot just for fun!
nice work for a budget rifle...tj

I was very pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to get the feeding and ejection working. After I fit the extractor, I opened the front of the feed rails, and that was that. I don't think it took more than an hour.

Thanks guys for the comments. I still have some work to do to finish it off.

Jeremy

I'd be happy to own it.

There's something about that cheekpiece that looks a bit wrong to my eyes - like it covers too much of the stock, but it's better work than I can do, so I'll shut up.

Bren,

You are not the first to bring up the cheek piece. It is too long and deep. The front should be cut back a bit and the overall shape more oval. The way I did it makes it too boxy.

I am reworking it now and will post that side again when I finish it.

Thank you for the honest feedback.

Jeremy

quote:

Originally posted by farbedo:
Bren,

You are not the first to bring up the cheek piece. It is too long and deep. The front should be cut back a bit and the overall shape more oval. The way I did it makes it too boxy.

I am reworking it now and will post that side again when I finish it.

Thank you for the honest feedback.

Jeremy

Good decision. All in all quite a good effort!

Here are the preliminary alterations. It still seems, maybe, a bit large to me. I hate to take off too much, so help me out here.

It is thick, but the guy it is for has a thin face and it fits him very well.

You've done a lot of very fine work.....and you have a sweet little rifle......but it begs for a classy checkering job.....

It's a shame to put a lot of fine work into something and leave it unfinished.....

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
You've done a lot of very fine work.....and you have a sweet little rifle......but it begs for a classy checkering job.....

It's a shame to put a lot of fine work into something and leave it unfinished.....

The OP said in his very first sentence it will be sent out for checkering.

quote:

Originally posted by Glen71:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
You've done a lot of very fine work.....and you have a sweet little rifle......but it begs for a classy checkering job.....

It's a shame to put a lot of fine work into something and leave it unfinished.....

The OP said in his very first sentence it will be sent out for checkering.

Yup.....and I didn't miss that at all....

This one looks good to me.

Thanks guys. It is indeed going to be checkered. A fairly simple point pattern is what was chosen. I think that will work nicely on this.

ForrestB: I like it, but I am not sure that I can lower the top line without changing the fit too much.

I was also directed to the style of Mr. Duane Wiebe's 450 Rigby creation posted here.

It appears that I have a bit more work to do to cut the front back a touch more and give it a more oval shape.

That is a nice piece of wood and a beautiful rifle overall.

I am not fond of a full stock on any gun but in combination with a long barrel it is not something I would want. Just my preference there.

It is still a beautiful gun!

That is a beautiful piece of work. Congratulations!

"Fit" is King. If it fits and he shoots it comfortably, you have made him happy for years to come.

What's the latest on this rifle. any updates?

One of the nicest looking and most useful "budget rifles" I have seen in a long time.

.458win,
yeh But your grotesquely ugly .458win mauser actually appeals to me much more,
abit like Pugs and French bulldogs,where ugliness reaches an extreme point where it actually
becomes rather appealing & loveable in a wierd kinda way....

I thought this thread had died. Thanks again for the kind words.

The stock is out for checkering right now. We went with a simple point pattern in 20 lpi. Probably still a good month from being done as the checkering service is a bit on the slow side, but the work is top notch. I'll add the finished photos when it is back.

The final plan is to put a Leupold VX3 1.5-5X20 on it and a nice canvas/leather sling.

I shot it a little just before sending it out for checkering, and it looked like it had good potential. I got 1.5" at 100 yards with Hornady 300gr DGX factory loads. If it will do that or better with 250gr bullets, I think we have a winner.

We tallied it up and have $635 in this rifle excluding scope and a good 100 hours of my time. Really a fun project.

Jeremy

Be sure to post some photos when it gets back from being checkered


Thanks Trax but they are horses for different courses

I like your rifle !
It has me thinking of a full stocked .375 H&H or a 375 Ruger. I would just have a CZ or a ruger re stocked.
A 21 inch tube would be fine , for any hunting i would do with a rifle in that caliber.
Not likly to shoot more than 200 yards anyway.
...tj3006

Love it.

I sure wish I had that stock pattern.

The stock has returned and, if I do say so myself, it looks pretty darn good.

Thank you for all your comments, and suggestions. The final touch is to sight it in and see how she shoots.

Just my own taste, but I would blue the bolt....maybe even a bit of engraving on the knob beforehand. That would make it look more like a fine custom than a very well-restocked Ruger.

Very nicely done, you should be proud of it!
Doing a customized rifle myself has been on my list of things to do and now that I am retired I should get around to it! Just picked up a good FN actioned 06, might be a good starting point!

Beautiful Work

quote:

Stealth
one of us

posted 02 June 2014 05:51 Hide Post
That is a beautiful piece of work. Congratulations!

"Personal is not the same as important", Corporal Carrot, Men at Arms

wow great end.

love it.

Way beyond my skill level, but I dig it! Nice lines.

nice touch to finishing the job.....now you need to go hunting....