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I recently had Tony Small rebuild my 250 Savage varmint rifle into a more 'classic' styled stalking rifle.

All three of my custom rifles by Tony have the same stock dimensions and shape. Only the forends and weight for each rifle differs. I contributed many parts and ideas and Tony turned it into a rifle I have wanted for many years. This should have been my first custom rifle, however dreams and trips to Africa and NZ put those plans and finances on hold.

Pictures and captions tell a story quicker than typing it out.

Barrel was a special order .25 cal Lothar Walther 1 in 10" profiled blank. They don't make a .257" so it cost a bit more than their pre-chambered barrels. A 250-3000 reamer proved to have a short throat (for 87 grainers) so delivery was delayed while Tony ordered a throat reamer. It now has a +0.035" longer throat for 100 and 120 grain projectiles. Tony suggested a lighter profile and I should have listened to him. This is quite heavy and with mild loads won't warm up till 9-12 rounds have gone down the barrel.

[IMG]http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r568/Campcamel/141_zps1ef9da43.jpeg[/IMG]

Tonys stock cradle. Wood came from a random block of Queensland Maple. I wanted a little bit of Australia in this rifle and Qld Maple appears in a lot of WWII SMLE .303's. Not a wood like walnut, but with a battle proven pedigree.

Raw stock with pre-fit grip cap. Packmayr recoil pad.

First coat of oil. Not much detail

Trigger guard recontoured with older floorplate (replaced with a new one)

Butter knife bolt handle in the white.

Ten coats of hand rubbed oil and one of stock wax.

Recknagel front sling wivel, custom contoured

Dakota Arms rear sling swivel inletted into stock. No engraving on this rifle. I kept in plain, black and Maple.

The Underbelly. Trigger is a Sako. Balance is just behind the front action screw.

Not shown are the action screws which were made from scratch, indexed and the rear screw head contoured to fit the curve in the metalwork. The rifle is finished in Tony's magnificent rust blue.
I replaced the Swaro shown in the early photo and fitted my trusty and world travelled Zeiss 2.5-10x42 T* Victory scope. The magazine well is blocked off at the rear and a shorter floor plate and spring fitted.

First group post sight in, a load of 33 grains of 2208 under 100 grain Sierra SptBt's went 0.90". It's a shooter.

BTW, Tony is booked out for 12 months.

Edited by tophet1 (25/06/13 12:48 PM)

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