The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing How to go about doing a blind mag on a Mauser...?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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All, I am contemplating doing a blind mag on a project I have started. It is an FN mauser with a stainless barrel, and it is going in a Synthetic stock...yes, I know, heresy to many here... So, the guard would be the Sunny Hill unit, no problem there. How would I best handle the Magazine? Would it be best to take, say, some bottom metal I have lying around off an FN mauser and cut off the bottom "plate" and trim to fit? If one did this, would you try to bed, or otherwise firmly attach it to the action so that it is not rattling around? What about the from guard screw? I figure I could bet a properly sized nut, or similar, for retention? Any sage words of advice from others that have tried this would be appreciated!! Thanks! Bob | ||
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I did one for a friend a while back with an FN Mauser and a Bansner stock. I took an alloy Parker Hale assembly and cut the front and back off flush with the box, then put it on a belt sander and thinned it out some on all four sides. I bedded the barreled receiver normally and cleaned it all up, then I used 5-min epoxy to attach the mag box to the receiver in the correct position, also using some thin shims (cut out margarine lid) to hold the mag box just off the receiver like it is supposed to be. Then I degreased the outside of the magazine box and used bedding epoxy in the stocks magazine well and assembled the rifle. When you pull the barreled action out, the 5-min epoxy breaks away, you clean it up, and the box is permanently in the correct relationship to the receiver. | |||
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IMO the primary reason for a blind magazine is the weight reduction possible with it. Accordingly, I don't install the steel magazine box at all. I don't know exactly how one would go about doing this with a synthetic, but here's how I do it in wood. First, inlet the barreled receiver completely into the blank, leaving a smooth flat wood surface under the receiver's bottom. Then reach down through the magazine well from the top and mark the inside edges with a pencil or similar. Then use the drill press or mill to remove the wood inside the marks, chiseling and rasping the sides and bottom of the excavation smooth. Now fab a thin rectangular metal plate the same dimensions as the rear of the original magazine box and attach it vertically to the inside rear of the stock's magazine excavation, making sure that the plate extends high ehough to fully enter the rear of the receiver's mag box cutout. Also make sure that the sides and especially the front end of the excavation don't extend wider past the edges of the receiver's magazine cutout. I use a front screw escutcheon made from a LW substance like aluminum, horn or ebony or, in some cases, a thin benchmade steel or brass one. A shotgun-style thin steel TG is very lightweight & attractive as is one made of horn, and Ed Shulin made at least one VERY attractive blind mag TG from rosewood with a cute little fillip on the rear of it. Wish I had a pic of it, it's well worth the effort! The blind magazine also allows the stock's middle portion to be narrower and thus more pleasing to the eye, without that awkward obtrusive swell in front of the trigger guard. And 2 or 3 down (4 '06s are achievable) is plenty, IMO anyone who thinks he actually NEEDS 5 or 6 shots would probably be much better-served by spending his money on more practice instead of a different stock! Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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First one I did I found an old 98 guard in bad shape that had the stamped steel box. The cut it off and used a sander to shorten it from the bottom. Second one simple used some thin steel to line the box area. In both cases I put release agent on the bottom of the spring and epoxied the bottom of the magazine. The pushed the spring into it. Making sure that the epoxy only covered the front 1/2" of the spring. After It set I could remove the spring and when I replaced it the front tip would slip back into the glass and the rear edges were held side to side. Kind of like slipping on a loose shoe. Like JD I streamline the stock and lost one down. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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This going to have a blind magazine...not sure how the smith is doing it...I have a tendency to just write checks... That is the stock just off the duplicator  Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Mini 98 - 6lb 9oz. nothing fancy inside, Wondering if this is a Krag trigger guard.   | |||
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Thanks for the input and ideas, guy! Free Miner- I like your concept a lot! That makes a lot of sense to me. Keeps it light and rustproof and quiet. I am planning on ordering a Bansner as well. What I didn't think through yet, and realized after looking at Rich's pic, was the "bushing" for the front guard screw. What did/do you guys use there? Do you have to fab something or is there something out there that can be used to work well? I really appreciate the comments. I am just about convinced that this is the way to go to save weight, and not drop a bunch of coin on nice bottom metal. Bob | |||
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Benchmade from almost any material is usually better and better-looking too, but I've seen folks simply cut off the original front portion, round & polish it and call it good. If you want some ebony to practice on, I'll be happy to send you a few pieces. Also ivory micarta although I don't suggest it for anything except a Weatherby or similar (grin). Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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just have your gunsmith zip you a bushing from a 30 caliber barrel. Give him a mauser screw so he can work out the counterbore size. 30 cal gives about the right screw clearance. | |||
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Joe, When you initially posted that, I misunderstood you and incorrectly thought you were referring to the "new" screw that would hold the front of the new blind trigger guard, not the front action screw in the lug. My mistake. Do you think that something like Ebony would be hard and durable enough for a front action screw? Seeing as this will be a synthetic stock, I believe I would rather use something like aluminum or maybe brass or stainless steel. I happen to have access to a good machine shop and I could manage this even with my meager shop skills. Free miner - thanks for the idea! I will probably machine something up and epoxy it in. As I type this, I am liking the idea of using brass more. What are your thoughts on a good rust and wear resistant metal for this? If I epoxy it home, its something I am not gonna want to have to replace anytime soon. Thanks guys, Bob | |||
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Mine are synthetic. I simply bedded a piece of a M98 rear spacer. More or less like pillar bedding except the spacer didn't touch the action. Used epoxy bedding to hold it in place. As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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Bob, I think you're correct; although the ebony is hard it's also brittle and so might split under the pressure. It could make an attractive inlay around the otherwise plain screw in a wood stock, though, with the addition of a thin metal escutcheon to take the load. Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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Are you going to pillar-bed the action? If so, you could use AL or stainless or "nothing" around the screw in your plastic-fantastic stock...? | |||
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I did one while I was in school. Had a Czech action with stamped bottom metal. Cut the front pillar off and silver soldered a diamond piece of sheet metal onto it. Inletted the diamond flush to the stock. The diamond was about 1/2-5/8 wide and about 1 1/4-1 1/2 long. It's been about 35 years and the gun was stupidly sold shortly after completion to finance another one so details are dim. Best I can remember it was a 3 or 3 1/2-1 diamond, the same as the checkering. | |||
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GREAT idea! Regards, Joe __________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America! | |||
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I did it the cheap way. The proper way to make the diamond and pillar would be to make a pillar with a large flange on one end. Then cut the flange down to a diamond, or other shape as desired. Be sure to have draft on the edges of the diamond to insure easy inletting. | |||
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