I had a friend who bought one of these wwhile we were in high school and had a varmint weight 22 Varminter barrel installed. (This was before there was officially a 22-250.) We shot tons of groundhogs with it while in high school. It would shoot consistently into 1/2".
In the early 80's, Interarms made a nice MkX copy. I bought an action right before they stopped making them. I don't know how many they made, but my late model has a 3 digit serial number. I had a no 6 Douglas barrel installed. With the factory trigger and a glass stock, it shot .25-.3" groups right out of the box. It is in 6x284. I have recently moved it to a laminated stock, but it is still shooting similar groups. (I have swapped to a varmint weight trigger.)
I noticed you have a blind magazine type bottom end. I know Roy's FN and my Interarms both came with a solid 1 piece floorplate which is very stiff. This is a very stiff action form, and I always thought adding the solid floor plate helped to further stiffen it. Was yours originally different, or did you change it?
Posts: 1238 | Location: Lexington, Kentucky, USA | Registered: 04 February 2003
I bought the complete rifle and sold everything but the action. It had been used as a target rifle. The action has no serial number, one of many that were sold to the gunsmiths for customization back in the 50's and 60's. Mark Penrod did the metalwork. The rifle will have no blind magazine or floorplate, as the action has no magazine well opening. The trigger and trigger guard are Blackburn, the bolt handle is Mark's design, and the safety is a two-position Chapman using an original Mauser bolt shroud. The barrel is a Krieger 1-12" twist to shoot the 55 grain Hornady V-Max.
Here's a project I started decades ago, just about the time the local benchrest shooting interest died down. It is an FN single shot action with a Canjar single set trigger, fitted with a stainless steel Hart barrel in caliber .219 Donaldson Wasp. To avoid altering the .30-'06 extractor, the rims on the cases were turned to .225 Winchester diameter, so the barrel can readily be rechambered to a whole gamut of cartridges based on the .30-'06 case head. It is professionally glass bedded in an unfinished Fajan "Hunter-Target stock. It has scarcely been fired.
Some enterprising person needs to take this off my hands and use it for the super varmint/benchrest rifle it was intended as.
I have purchased a thin-shelled walnut blank and a scope. The scope is a Leica 3.5-14x42 ER and the blank and barrelled action are at James Tucker's shop awaiting completion. I was out in Oregon for a fitting last year so James could take the stock measurements using his try gun.
Some years ago, I sold a #7 FN single shot gun to a friend. He has always refused to sell it back to me. However, it has been a while. It has a nice nameless laminated stock and a #6 Douglas .22 Varminter barrel and has shot very nice groups in early BR competition. It appears very low mileage. I would like to have it back for a project. What should I offer, considering I only really need the action for my project? Does the whole package have more value than the parts?
Posts: 69 | Location: Maryland | Registered: 26 January 2011
lowgun, It depends on your project. As you can see, I started mine from scratch. Everything but the bolt and action are new. If you like the caliber and barrel contour, then keep it intact. I think xusa posted above that his FN pictured is for sale as well. My 22-250 barrel is about halfway between a Krieger #5 and #6. I added the bolt shroud safety with the larger flange for better gas protection, as the action has no magazine well to vent gasses in the event of a rupture. These are the kind of things you'll want to think about with your project before you buy a gun just for the action.
Back in the 1970's a retired Marine team shooter sold me his match rifles, including a .300 Winchester Magnum built for 1000 yard competition by the Marine Marksmanship Unit armorers on an FN single shot action, using a Dunlap style stock. It came with Redfield International sights and set up for a Unertl scope. It is another of my rifles which needs a new home.
That rifle is absolutely beautiful. The metal work is so clean and crisp. And the wood is what a consider perfect for a stock.
With it being a single shot and caliber choice what is your intent with the rifle? I envision this as a perfect light walking varmint rifle.
Congratulations to you and the craftsmen who have done such a great job. It is projects like this that keep me coming back to AR for my "gun porn" fix.
William Berger
True courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. - John Wayne
The courageous may not live forever, but the timid do not live at all.
Posts: 3156 | Location: Rigby, ID | Registered: 20 March 2004
Originally posted by M1Tanker: That rifle is absolutely beautiful. The metal work is so clean and crisp.
Mark Penrod's work(from everything I have seen) is the epitome of "clean and crisp".
Here is a Ruger he did:
Jason
"You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core." _______________________
Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt.
Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure.
With it being a single shot and caliber choice what is your intent with the rifle? I envision this as a perfect light walking varmint rifle.
It will be exactly that. It's intended to be a medium-range varmint rifle. I won't be walking very far, as I like to set up in a strategic location and snipe at prairie dogs or woodchucks, and also call in coyotes.
Gun Control - A theory espoused by some monumentally stupid people; who claim to believe, against all logic and common sense, that a violent predator who ignores the laws prohibiting them from robbing, raping, kidnapping, torturing and killing their fellow human beings will obey a law telling them that they cannot own a gun.
Posts: 992 | Location: Spokane, WA | Registered: 19 July 2005
In the original picture series, the fifth picture down, what are you grinding there? I looks like the wheel will take out the recoil lug. Or is that only for showing your setup.
Nice looking project overall.
Jim
Jim Kobe 10841 Oxborough Ave So Bloomington MN 55437 952.884.6031 Professional member American Custom Gunmakers Guild
Posts: 5537 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 10 July 2002
Thanks for all the kind responses. It was a fun project, and even more fun sharing it with you all. It's been a good 10 year run on AR. Tempus fugit! slancey out.
