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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Mauser Discussion Forum
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AdamFromMN
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Reged: 24/06/17
Posts: 9
Loc: Central MN
Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser?
      #302353 - 25/06/17 02:54 PM

Hello all,
I have always admired British firearms, especially Rigby rifles and although I may not be able to afford a genuine Rigby, none the less I want to build something that captures the picturesque sense and feel of the English adventurer and hunter. I have decided it will be in the venerable 275 Rigby (7x57mm) chambering. I have done a fair amount of research on this topic over the past two years or so, but I was hoping to get pointers from those who have embarked on similar endeavors.

To start, I have a sporterized Romanian contract (1939-1940ish) VZ-24 (large ring 98) in rather good condition save for two or three shallow pits on the receiver ring below the woodline.


1. Is it necessary to have the receiver re-carbuerized if I keep the pressure sane (<48,000 CUP)? On the same note, is there any recommended gunsmith in Minnesota who can give the receiver a good once-over to determine its integrity and suitability for this build?

2. Currently the rifle has a straight bolt but with some shallow pitting around the firing pin hole. I plan on purchasing one of the new FN Mauser 98 bolts from Sarco Inc, if the received is found to be suitable. Has anyone ordered one of these bolts from Sarco? Is it better to have the handle welded or forged to a bent handle style?

3. As far as barrels go, would an Adams and Bennett or Green Mountain be suitable, or is it worth the extra cost for an ER Shaw or similar? Are there any length preferences or profiles?

4. I plan on getting the express sights, barrel band sling swivel, and various accessories from New England Custom Gun. Has anyone had experience, good or bad, with this outfit?

5. For checkering, would it be more practical/ historically correct to with a finer (22/24 LPI) pattern or a more coarse pattern (18/20 LPI)?

I realize this may be a lot of questions, but thanks for taking the time to read! I hope to learn a lot from y'all!

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gryphon
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Reged: 01/01/03
Posts: 5487
Loc: Sambar ground/Victoria/Austral...
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: AdamFromMN]
      #302354 - 25/06/17 03:07 PM

Surely an ER Shaw is not cost prohibitive? If its a custom build why not put a quality barrel on it.

Bargain is there stuff imo.

http://www.ershawbarrels.com/scb-price-list.php

--------------------
Get off the chair away from the desk and get out in the bush and enjoy life.

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paradox_
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Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 645
Loc: Australia
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: gryphon]
      #302357 - 25/06/17 07:58 PM

Capturing, or duplicating a pre war vintage Rigby is not going to be easy, or to do it properly....cheap.
The appeal and handing are in many hidden and difficult to duplicate features, not the least of which is the fine intermediate length original mauser sporting action, allowing exceptional finish and feed
The stock will be difficult to duplicate, both in form ,shape and balance unless you have access to an original, and even then....
You may wish instead to build a nice " English style" rifle that you will be happy with.

Best
Eric

--------------------
Walk softly and carry a big stick

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szihn
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Reged: 24/06/07
Posts: 2121
Loc: United States
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: paradox_]
      #302359 - 25/06/17 11:26 PM

Adam, PM me. I can probably help you in some ways.

A quick set of answers.
Heat treatment of the VZ24 is often not necessary, but that's the general rule, not gospel. I did one just last year and it came out perfectly. I can tell you how I did it if you contact me, but I write slow and make lots of mistakes so I'm not going to go into great detail here.

I installed an ER Shaw on a 9.3X62 Mauser 3 days ago.I use a lot of Green mountain barrels too, but they refuse to make the 9.3MM so they loose a lot of sales there. Anyway here is how the ER Shaw shoots in the very first try.


NECG parts are excellent. However they don't have exact copies of Rigby sights and so on. Also remember Rigby has been in business since the days of muzzleloaders, so their styling has changed a bit from era to era A set of sights from 1912 is not exactly the same as a set from 1940.
Here is what they looked like in 1860.
So before you can get down to the finer points you should settle on a particular rifle to copy from a certain era. Or at least select detail you like that were available from Rigby in a particular year.

I would go with checkering that is perfect for the wood you use. 18 LPI is far better then 24 LPI if the wood is a bit open-grained. Denser wood takes finer checkering. You make that decision when the gun is built and finished.

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AdamFromMN
.224 member


Reged: 24/06/17
Posts: 9
Loc: Central MN
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: paradox_]
      #302366 - 26/06/17 04:56 AM

Quote:


The appeal and handing are in many hidden and difficult to duplicate features, not the least of which is the fine intermediate length original mauser sporting action, allowing exceptional finish and feed





Are there any other Mauser 98 receivers, military or commercial, that would more closely match the receivers used by John Rigby & Co. on the 275's, such as the Yugo M48's?

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Waidmannsheil
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Reged: 19/04/13
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Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: AdamFromMN]
      #302370 - 26/06/17 06:50 AM

1908 Brazilian.

Waidmannsheil.

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There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.

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gryphon
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Reged: 01/01/03
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Loc: Sambar ground/Victoria/Austral...
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: Waidmannsheil]
      #302373 - 26/06/17 08:20 AM

My sheila has one of those Matt but its a 1965

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Get off the chair away from the desk and get out in the bush and enjoy life.

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thirdbite
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Reged: 30/04/16
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Loc: kansas, USA
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: AdamFromMN]
      #302374 - 26/06/17 10:21 AM

Quote:

Quote:


The appeal and handing are in many hidden and difficult to duplicate features, not the least of which is the fine intermediate length original mauser sporting action, allowing exceptional finish and feed





Are there any other Mauser 98 receivers, military or commercial, that would more closely match the receivers used by John Rigby & Co. on the 275's, such as the Yugo M48's?



1903 Turk and the 1909 Peruvian were both intermediate Oberndorf actions, and can be obtained fairly easily, altho often not in the best shape. Both have a longer than normal receiver ring, a longer cocking piece and a shorter bolt. I understand both are basically the same as the Oberndorf intermediate that Rigby used. Interestingly, the overall length and the length between guard screws is the same as a regular length Mauser. The 1908 Brazilian is not an intermediate action.

Edited by thirdbite (26/06/17 10:25 AM)

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Wayne59
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Reged: 20/06/15
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Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: thirdbite]
      #302375 - 26/06/17 11:34 AM

I can never get my deer to pose like your deer when I am taking pictures of my guns. They keep running away.

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paradox_
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Reged: 12/05/07
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Loc: Australia
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: Wayne59]
      #302376 - 26/06/17 12:01 PM

I have an early original intermediate Mauser Sporter which is drilled and tapped, rifle is good for parts, bur I dont you poor buggers in the US can import them??....or no
Find a 1909 in good shape, you cant go wrong.

Best

--------------------
Walk softly and carry a big stick

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Waidmannsheil
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Reged: 19/04/13
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Loc: Melbourne Australia
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: thirdbite]
      #302377 - 26/06/17 02:32 PM

Maybe not but the 1908 Brazilian is what they used on the 275 Rigby rifles, although in a commercial version as opposed to a military version. At least that is what I believe to be correct. The 1908 was made as a 7x57 right from the start.

Waidmannsheil.

--------------------
There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.

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Waidmannsheil
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Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: gryphon]
      #302378 - 26/06/17 02:33 PM

It doesn't matter what age they are, bald is best. Mine is a 1974 model.

Waidmannsheil.

--------------------
There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.

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Waidmannsheil
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Reged: 19/04/13
Posts: 2448
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Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: thirdbite]
      #302388 - 26/06/17 11:16 PM

I just checked the receiver length of my 1908 Brazilian against a measurement I took from an original 275 Rigby which I had at home for a few days to take some measurements from and they are the same length at 43mm long. I didn't measure the overall length as I was mainly after the dimensions for the sights and scope bases but I can compare them next time I see the owner again.

Waidmannsheil.

--------------------
There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.

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AdamFromMN
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Reged: 24/06/17
Posts: 9
Loc: Central MN
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: Waidmannsheil]
      #302406 - 27/06/17 06:38 AM

Thanks for all the measuring Waidmannsheil, I'm looking forward to those other measurements! Perhaps I will use a Brazilian or similar for a future build, but I think I will be proceeding with the VZ-24 action seeing as I already have it and I have heard that most Mauser 98's made prior to 1930-ish tend to be a bit soft. I'd appreciate some photos of that Rigby too, if that's alright.

As for what I'm looking to accomplish as an end result, I was leaning heavily towards this:

http://jamesdjulia.com/item/lot-2234-rigby-mauser-short-rifle-with-case-47100/

but perhaps with a slightly longer barrel. 21" seems awfully short to me. I'd like to find the balance where I can still have a handy, lightweight rifle that still makes the most of the 7x57's powder capacity.


*Note that the auction was in 2013, and is no longer active. I hope this won't be a bother to the moderators.

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AdamFromMN
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Reged: 24/06/17
Posts: 9
Loc: Central MN
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: paradox_]
      #302410 - 27/06/17 07:19 AM

Last I heard was that if it had the stripper clip slot and receiver thumb cut-out, it was a no-go unless you can go back through and find factory production and order records and prove its provenance to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. I appreciate the offer and the advice immensely though!

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Waidmannsheil
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Reged: 19/04/13
Posts: 2448
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: AdamFromMN]
      #302428 - 27/06/17 12:30 PM

Adam, I think that you will find that those Mauser's made before WW1 are of the highest quality, especially the 1908 and 1909. The 1908 was chambered in 7x57 so it will handle that round without any problems.

That Rigby Mauser on the Auction site is what Rigby referred to as the No.3 model which had a 21 inch barrel and was built lighter for ladies and boys. They could be had regulated for either the 175 grain or the 140 grain. Very nice little gun.

Waidmannsheil.

--------------------
There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, so long as there is meat with it.

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xausa
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Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: AdamFromMN]
      #302437 - 28/06/17 12:50 AM

Walnut Grove Gun Stocks (http://www.walnutgrovegunstocks.com/) list a couple of stock patterns which might be helpful in realizing your project.

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AdamFromMN
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Reged: 24/06/17
Posts: 9
Loc: Central MN
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: xausa]
      #302583 - 01/07/17 06:32 AM

Thanks xausa!

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Wanabebwana
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Reged: 11/01/13
Posts: 221
Loc: Canada
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: AdamFromMN]
      #303068 - 15/07/17 01:46 PM

http://www.walnutgrovegunstocks.com

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bouldersmith
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Reged: 23/03/06
Posts: 627
Loc: Boulder Colorado
Re: Advice on Building a Rigby style Mauser? [Re: Wanabebwana]
      #303146 - 19/07/17 11:38 PM

It is possible to import a Mauser with the thumb cut and stripper clip if it is either in original military configuration or built by a known retailer such as Rgby, H&H etc. I am a licensed importer and bring in Mausers fairly regularly. All of the confusion goes back to an earlier ATF interpretation of the regulations which has now been updated. Hope that helps.
Steve

--------------------
New website http://www.bertramandco.com

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