This is the 1903 type action with a split bridge and the following features

* No action bolt in the front lug or the tang
* The front is anchored by a wing latch in front of the trigger guard



* The tang hooks under a flip up peep sight
that is screwed into the stock



* There is a cross pin that goes into the front barrel band




* The barreled action comes off the stock by removing the magazine, the cross pin & the wing latch.

I would like to know how you start off inletting the stock when there are no screws to bolt the action to the stock and I do not want any screw holes that are not true to original.

Yes I have and if there is ever a place for a precision pantograph this is it. Glass Bed the barreled action and hardware in place making sure all the latch components, receiver, barrel tie down escutcheon, etc are fit correctly and then cut the stock 1 to 1. Hopefully you have such a service in NZ. The little time & money spent doing this will pay off in spades for this project.

Keep in mind that the stock in the photo is not a factory original. If you are going to use a pantograph, try to find an original to copy.

Or use the stock at hand as a basic pattern to rob the inletting and leave the OD a rough block. It's the inletting you want to obtain and copy on this project if at all possible

Interesting pictures. I got a 1914 (?) in a raffle from Judge G, but have sold it. It was the model in 9.5x56. It was not made this way. It had the pop up peep, but it was mounted to a long rear tang and didn't hook under it. You had a rear action screw in the normal place which had to be removed, along with the front wedge. It was a takedown, not a quick takedown. I never shot it, because I was afraid of the heavy recoil in the old stock with a questionable bedding system for a heavy rifle.

I have another old pre WWI german gun made in this style stock. It is set up the same way, and on the first shot a crack appeared at the rear tang. I found that it had a recoil block held in the front part of the inletting by a bolt. It was out of contact with the recoil lug by 1/4". Heed the advice about glass bedding and a perfect fit.

Incidentally, that is not a peep sight, it is a diopter with a tiny hole to aid your eye in focusing on the actual sights when shooting at long range. Works like a pinhole camera. It has settings at 100 and 200 yards just like the actual sight. The hole is so small that if you set the sight leaf at 100 and the diopter at 200, you can't aim. They have to both be set the same. They make such a difference it is shocking. With my old eyes, I have a hard time seeing normal sights at 25-50 yards. With the diopter up, I can clearly see both sights and the target at 200. They can only be used this way on deliberate shots due to the tiny tolerances.

I had a 1903 sporter and this stock is a pretty good replica except for the inletting work.



The rifle handles very well right now & points well for the open sights. I would like to replace the trapdoor but pad with a Pachmyre Decelerator in red colour.

Here is 1903 carbine that I did a couple of years ago.


A few errors but the first full stock that I did & oil finished with 20+ coats of Tru-oil.

Thanks for all the suggestions.