26 October 2004, 20:00
Bill LeeperRe: Rimmed round in 98 Mauser
An English sporter I saw used a slanted magazine and some rail work and fed very well. I built a 30/40 ona Siamese mauser and it sucked. The magazine was too wide at the front. After I installed inserts to narrow it up a bit the rails were still way wrong. Just not a satisfactory conversion in the end. Basically, if one could duplicate the angle and general shape of the P14 mag, he would probably have it. On my list of projests is a 303 on a MRC action but it will be a while. Quite a while! Regards, Bill.
27 October 2004, 02:42
tiggertateIs it my imagination or did someone put a pipewrench on the bolt?
27 October 2004, 05:15
Swede96Alf: Nice gun! I noticed the angle of the mag in relation to the receiver, I guess that is one way of putting in the slant needed for the rimmed rounds. I bet it feeds great and shoots better. The english really had a way with a good Mauser action, Too bad it's a dying art. You would think that with CNC machining we could fabricate just about any great design cheaply and better than the original, With most of the hand work cut out it should be easy. But i see that to buy a repro Mauser 98 action we are talking $2500 minimum for a starting price. I'm talking about the really good ones not a C. Daly or Interarms. I don't like investment cast either, Why is it so hard to CNC mill one from forged steel, It's a simple design to reproduce? Anyway, Nice rifle! Swede96.
27 October 2004, 09:41
Bill LeeperA glance at that rifle in profile shows the increased depth of the magazine at the rear to provide more room for the rimmed cartridge. If one was to look at the mag out of the stock he would likely see the rearward angle to both ends as well. In a standard depth magazine, the capacty for 303 cartridges would be reduced to about the same as a belted magnum since the diameters of the rim on the 303 and the belted case are similar. Regards, Bill.
27 October 2004, 11:44
zimhunterI have a very pretty little Mannlicher style carbine on a Siamese Mauser in 30-40. Feeds perfectly and shoots like gangbusters. Don't know who did it but the workmanship is absolutely best quality. Have no idea how much feed work was done but can't see any visible changes were made. The slant box has not been changed and rails don't appear to be.
27 October 2004, 12:21
DeBeeThere were two slanted magazine Oberndorf Mausers on Gunsamerica awhile back... Mark Serod??? was the seller- has alot of Rigby actions too...
27 October 2004, 14:56
tiggertateHere is what it looks like out of the stock. This one is being rebuilt. You can see a great deal of rake to accomodate the rimmed 303 geometry both in the magazine walls and the fore-aft slant.
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Alf, my reading was that less than 100 were made in total, both for Rigby and any Mauser wanted for the European market; and that many of those remain unaccounted for. According to Rigby's records this one was made up in 1916 as a sniper rifle for the war effort. Maybe special ordered by a British officer? I haven't studied the various marks well enough to see any that indicate government procurement.
Another interesting fact is that they are transitional: they have a large ring front bridge and small ring threads.
27 October 2004, 22:01
Daniel MHello Alf
with the modified extractor it work like a Controlled Feed or it work like Push Feed ?
Saludos
Daniel
28 October 2004, 01:08
tiggertateThat is a wonderful rilfe. Mine is an action only (boo-hoo) but I am going to build a correctly styled rifle from it. My serial # is 23658; the same general production period as yours. The Rigby number is 4421.
I have a second 303 slant box action serial numbered 39 with a Rigby number of 2112. I didn't know the Mauser numbers started that low. Can you shed any light?
On the front ring it has BU proof marks and what looks like a crown with a V under. Is that the british mark?
28 October 2004, 01:15
tiggertateAlf, I am curious about the bolt handle on that gun. It sweeps a bit to clear a scope unlike mine which is a typical straight handle. Was that a factory original modification or do you think it was done later?
28 October 2004, 01:19
tiggertateOn Alf's and my actions it works like a normal claw extractor because the bolt face is relieved on the bottom like normal. There were special single-shot match rifles made in a rimmed cartridge whose bolt faces were not cut at the bottom to let a round slide up. On these guns the same extractor would snap over the rim.
Look carefully at the lug in the left of Alf's picture and you can see the highly sloped bolt lug too. That allowed a lot more metal and strength in the part of the extractor that flexed when snapped over the rim of a round.