I am in the process of pulling the components together for a 35 Whelen built on a 1903A3 action. I already have a Shilen barrel and the action. Where I need your input is what should I do to make the action into a nice custom gun. I also need someone to the work once I decide on what I want done.

I was considering doing the following:

Remove magazine cutoff and weld up for recontour
weld up stripper clip slot
build up rear bridge
Orbendorf style bolt handle
Winchester style safety
have receiver surface ground and recontoured.
new bottom metal or have exhisting floorplate hinged (who does this conversion?)
New trigger
Nice rings and bases (not sure which to use)

I am planning on having the action, bottom metal, steel grip cap, rings and bases color cased.

The stock will definately be a traditional American Classic with inletted sling swivels with a Pachmyr Decelorator installed. Leaning toward Claro walnut with nice feather crotch.

Any suggestions and sources for doing the work would be greatly appreciated.

M1Tanker,

Jim Dubell is dropping off a Springfield today for me to stock. He revamped the bottom metal on that one and hinged it. I will take a photo and post later. I know it will be like all of Jim's work and that is exceptional. He also did custom bases, I believe for Talleys. I won't use anything else on my rifles.



Other than that, you have everything covered except the wood choice. Hate be blunt to you but Claro is a rookie choice. Lots of glitz for the money but poor wood. I have had some that were decent wood but the odds of getting a good blank are very slim. Lots of it for sale but I would stay away from it. It is porous, brittle and does not take fine checkering. It can be beautiful and often is, you certainly get a lot of bang for your buck in that area.



On a second reading, I would leave the stripper clip slot alone. You may not like the looks of it, but it will be expensive to get rid of it and very difficult.



You might talk to Bill Soverns about doing the stock work. He is doing excellent work and you will be getting a bargain.

I am sorry to have to tell you that IMHO a 1903A3 is a poor choice for a really fine custom rifle. The quality of the machine work and the finish is very inferior to a 1903. Sell your 1903A3 action and wait until you can find a double heat treated 1903 from either Springfield or Rock Island armory. An early Remington 1903 - not a Remington 1903A3 - is also a well machined and well finished action.

M1tanker,
I was not talking about grain flow or color characteristics. I was talking about the wood being suitable and have the quality for a stock blank. Claro is a poor choice. Black walnut is a lot better choice than Claro. It is certainly not going to self destruct if you build it from Claro.

M1Tanker,

Hey if you dont like English thats not a bad thing. Its your rifle. I like a good piece of black walnut all day long. I would have Jim Dubell do the metal work. He is doing all of my metal work and I cant speak highly enough of his work. I didnt see anything on your list that he cant do.

I can certainly build the stock for you if your interested.

Chic - thanks for the plug

Can you post Jim Dubell's contact info. Does he do the floorplate alterations for others? I sure appreciate the input.

Jim Dubell
Delta Gun Shop
989 Bear Creek Road
Colville, WA 99114
(509) 684-5855

Im almost certain he will do a floor plate alteration.

M1Tanker,
I did not think your reply was rude, no problems here. Claro is not west coast black, it is a completely different species of tree, different botanical name etc. I think that one of best buys available today are in black walnut.

You are better off with trees that do not have an overabundace of moisture. I would doubt that one being in someone's lawn would get that much but it may. The Willamette Valley in Oregon gets too much water to suit according to a wood supplier friend who has unfortunately passed away. Look for good grainflow through the wrist. A slight upsweep of the grain in the fore arm is considered ideal. You can get a slab sawn or a quarter sawn blank. Both will serve you well in a rifle but a lot of knowledgable people prefer a quarter sawn blank. BTW, the grain flow is not the black lines you see in a blank, that is mineral streaking. It can and often does flow the same direction but it is not a given. Any blank dealer should have a return policy. Usually you have to pay the shipping both ways. The good ones will also take a return if you find an interior defect, or they will repair it or expect you to if the defect is small. If a dealer does not have a return policy like that, I do not deal with him. More for my clients than anything else. I do not want them stung by my recommendations.

This is my .338 Win Mag on a 1903A3. And I think it makes for a damn nice looking custom gun.

The barrel is from Douglas, the stock is from Wenig and the trigger is from Timminey. The whole thing was put together my Mike Scherz (MichaelS. of this forum) of Gila River Gunsmiths of Yuma, AZ.

That is a very nice set-up. What did you do for the bottom metal?