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I wanted to share some pics of a rifle build that I have been working on now that it is in the near finished mock-up stage.

A takedown Mauser 98 in .35 Whelen.

I started with an Interterms Mark X rifle in 30.06. Pretty much for just the action and some other odds and ends from it.

I fitted and soldered on a slick claw mount base and ring set from Clawmounts Manufacturing. The bases were machined specifically for the Mark X action. They make these mounts/rings for FN, Interterms, military 98, 96 swede and Win 70 actions. Very high quality product. So when installed it makes a Double Square Bridge action with easily detachable claw mounts on the scope.

I welded on and finish fitted a butterknife style bolt handle onto the bolt body. And installed a Dakota bolt shroud with Win 70 style safety.

The bottom metal with Oberndorf release and double set triggers was sourced complete. I thinned out the guard bow and made/fitted up the screws for it.

The takedown mechanism is a very simple one of my own design that utilizes two steel plates tightly fitted together and attached to steel lugs on the bottom of both the action and the barrel. The barrel lug houses a spring loaded check ball which aids in locating the plates and also a plunger tube that extended out to the forend tip. Inside the plunger tube is a plunger that is spring loaded and is retained in a "J" shaped channel in the tube. Kind of like a tubular magazine on .22 rifle. The end of the plunger has a thin slot in it which allows a turn-screw to be used to twist and pop out the plunger or push it in and turn to lock it in. When the plunger is popped out, the barrel and forend are screwed off the action.

Obviously a precise fit of the plunger pin through the two plates is critical for maintaining headspace. The plunger pin is lapped through both plates. Between that and the tight fit of the plates. There is NO movement of the barrels on the action when locked down.

I will end up making a special 90 degree angle wrench for operating the plunger when all is staid and done.

The stock is english walnut.

I will next be mounting a barrel band swivel to it and open sights on the barrel.

All the metal will be engraved with just tasteful line borders and some accents of scroll. The majority of the metal will be Rust blued and I might do some accents of case color on some small parts.

The Plunger and escutcheon will be blued so that it will cleanly blend right in with the Ebony forend tip.

The rifle was grouping well on its first trip to the range for 10 shots to make sure all was ok. Was shooting at 50 yards.

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