Hello to all. I need to pick your brains for information. Although Im an experienced hunter and shooter I know liite or nothing about serious gunsmithing. I have done a lot of refinishing projects but that is about the end of my experience. I have been bitten by the bug and now want to try may hand at rifle building project. Problem is I dont know where to start. I have always paid someone to do my work so am really pretty clueless about the realities of a serious project. I need sources of info and suggestions. Thanks

well, there are a wealth of gunsmithing books and videos out there. Some of the best ones are the old ones, which you can usually find at gunshows, flea markets, etc. Most of the gunshops which carry book lines will have the "Home gunsmithing" type books, or do a search at your library. Read, read, read. Once you've seen a lot of the material, and how it's done, you can then decide realistically what you want to do. Hope this helps. - Dan

Get some gunsmithing catalogs, at least Brownells which is the standard that all others are judged by but costs money, and Midways gunsmithing catalog which is free.

Buy Jerry Kuhnhausens book on mausers, you can't go wrong on that one.

My next suggestion is to buy a surplus mauser and try your hand at what you are comfortable with. In a worse case scenario you aren't out much money if you were to screw something up but you will learn a lot doing it this way.

Mark is right there is nothing like doing to learn. My first project started with a vz24, a midway barrel, a boyd stock and a very generous gunsmith who was willing to let me ask a thousand questions, and watch while he did work I needed to see. Brownells is a super source for sights, butt pads and the like but go super simple with the first one and the next one can be better and better and better and more expensive and so on and so on and so on. Have fun!

I learned how to do all the machining (ie, chambering, action truing, threading) by building the rifle with my smith.
I paid him like I would if he was building it himself, but sat there and did most of the work while he showed me how to setup the tools and check measurements.
When you have someone with lots of experience right there, helping you along, you can learn how to do everything quite easily.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have used Brownells and Midway for small projects in the past. I like the idea of paying my gunsmith to teach me. Probably save me lots in the long run. Im not trying to save money though, just want to do it myself. I have considered the mausers and will probably do that first. Your right. Its cheap and if I srew up no big deal. Thanks again

Thanks for all the previous suggestions. I guess what I wanted to know was is there a particular book or series of tapes etc that you like and why.

As previously mentioned the public library is usually a great starting point. The gunsmithing books there are usually geared toward beginners and they are free. Otherwise, the Gunsmithing Kinks series Brownells offers is my most useful resource. I also prowl the used book stores for old gunsmithing books and have gotten some great bargains there.

I agree there is nothing like experience, but I'd start out with smaller separate projects rather than trying to build a rifle right away. Building a rifle is just a series of small projects, but you generally don't get feedback as quickly, so if you do something wrong, its more difficult to determine what it was. First try to improve one of your guns that doesn't shoot so well anymore. In the beginning patience and attention to detail will usually make up for a lack of skill.

A good gunsmith has to be a "Jack of All Trades" to an extent. There are related activities that improve your skills. Any machine tool work will help a lot. If my job takes me away from home for a while, I usually bring along a whittling project. Whittling is good experience for some stock work and the little wood pigs and coyotes I produce make great gifts (lets the spouse know I was thinking about her and staying out of trouble while I was away). The internet is a great resource too, but don't spend too much time online or you won't get any work done. - John

[This message has been edited by Beelzebubba (edited 03-23-2002).]

Through 2000 and 2001, Guns and Ammo carried a series of articles on home gunsmithing that have been very helpful to me. Please try them - they might have something for you. Good luck!

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Mehul Kamdar