Hey I'm new here, so I thought what better way to celebrate my first post than to show you what I just finished building. This is also my first rifle build ever, so don't be too hard on me!

Found an old 1970's Santa Barbara Mauser kit in 7x57, bought it for 390 bucks.

The kit was still in the original box, unopened. I felt almost bad cutting it open, but I think a kit like that never becoming a rifle is a worse fate. I decided that ~50 years spending in a shops dusty corner was just enough, and that I'd give my best to turn it into a nice rifle.

The stock was 80% finished, which means I had to finish all the fitting including the barrel channel and of course the finish. The metal parts were very rough and required the use of a very course metal file, and lots of polishing by hand (ouch!). I also had to polish the feed lips, ramp and the inside of the magazine a ton in order to get proper, smooth feeding.

The hardest part was actually getting the rear of the buttstock flat and even for the installation of the butt pad. I did that with my stationary disc grinder and LOTS of patience and trys.
I decided to use a different butt pad when the stock was finished, so I had to very carefully shape the butt pad to fit the stock. I had lots of fun finishing the stock with linseed oil.

But I bet you are getting impatient now! So here is the finished rifle! I decided to put a Williams peep sight on it, instead of glass. Weird thing is, I'm in my early 30's but I have a huge crush on classic rifles, so I tried my best to replicate that look & feel a bit.

Last thing I did was adjust the trigger to a crisp approx 3 lbs.

Aaaaand, thats all! Hope you like it!