This M1903 M-S in 6.5x54 M-S was bought many years ago by a friends grandfather who hunted with it extensively. At some point it was handed to my friends father who also used it for many years. The father doesn't hunt any more so the rifle was passed to his son who is an avid hunter.

A while back, my friend asked me to take a look at the M-S to see if I could "clean it up a bit". He told me it was "pretty rough".

Here's a few pictures of "pretty rough".









After looking it over I agreed to refinish the stock and slow rust blue the metal. It was the metal that really had me worried. With all the crap growing on it I figured it would be badly pitted. Such was not the case. After a good cleaning it didn't look so bad.

Any way, here's a few pictures of the finished product.











I wasn't able to get some of the deeper gouges in the stock cleaned up but all in all it turned out pretty good.

Sure looks good to me. Nice job.

Wow, talk about breathing new life into something! that looks great, I'm glad you left some of the age on that stock, it really adds to it and I'm sure the guy is glad some of the history is still there for him to see. It will last another three generations, more if they learn to take care of their shit!

Red

That is an amazing transformation. Congratulations.

That is a great achievement you accomplished with that rifle.

Nicely done! I hope you delivered it with an oil soaked cloth and instructions.

well done

Good job - I hope your friend looks after it a bit better than his father and grandfather did!!

GG

You did a great job & saved that fine rifle from the parts bins.

well done!

Looks great, I'd love to find one that needs some TLC. Any plans to re-cut the checkering?

Great job, especially the metal work.

Great job. I hope I can achieve that with my mod 1910 9.5X57. I will have to restock it though.

That's a major league save!

Good for you, and done up nice!

How many hours do you think you used saving the old girl? Darned nice work.

It's a shame that one of the finest rifles ever made would fall into that state of repair, but you certainly restored it fine shape. I own a pristine MS Mod. 1952 and one of my most prized rifles. As mentioned, would attach a bag full of oiled rags as a subtle hint.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I appreciate them.

quote:

Originally posted by L. Rivard:
How many hours do you think you used saving the old girl? Darned nice work.

I didn't keep track of the hours involved. I had the rifle for about six weeks and worked on it regularily. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say 40-60 hours including drying/rusting times.

One of the biggest challenges was the dis-assembly/assembly. The bolt in particular. Thank you Frank deHaas!! Also the narrow screw-head slots that required customizing quite a few of my screwdriver tips. And I drew the line when it came to dismanteling the rotary magazine. No way.

As mentioned, the metal was in pretty good shape so that was just a matter of polishing/bluing. But the stock was badly marked up and soooo dirty. Literally caked below the ejection port and the checkering was full of stuff. Paint stripper and sanding did the trick. Other than cleaning and finishing, I didn't do anything with the checkering. I don' have the skills or the tools.

All in all, quite an education.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodhits:
Looks great, I'd love to find one that needs some TLC. Any plans to re-cut the checkering?

Wellllll...I have one that is available.
It is a 6.5 stutzen with an interesting stock....the cheekpiece can be raised (push-button) for scope use....and then pushed back into position. A few corroded spots on metal. I recall that they are the only sites needing attention. Bore perfect. I will look more closely if you (anyone) is potentially interested.
I also have another Mannlicher Schoenaer ....that has been (gag) customised ...albeit neatly.....in 257 Roberts. I don't need it also.
Alex
aax1@bellsouth.net

quote:

It is a 6.5 stutzen with an interesting stock....

Like to see some photos and if you'd like to part with it, PM a price please.

Thanks

Has anyone here done a re-stocking of a take down model - with a flip up peep sight on the tang & the wing latch in front of the trigger guard?