I tried to have a rifle made, but ultimately decide I needed a new hobby

I have been messing around with making gun since high-school. First welding one together with springs and pipes, than AR-15/10's, then 1911. Recently I have dove in headfirst to bolt actions.

In 2024 I commissioned a custom 416 Rigby switch barrel to 338 Norma Magnum. The gunsmith I chose was very unlucky with illness and accidents. Ultimately after a year and a half not one part was on order, not one suspense was met, and the outlook for completion was bleak. Ultimately, I felt compelled ask for my deposit back.

Then I pivoted to just buying a rifle at auction. Well that turned out poorly as well. The rifle I bid on was given a naming convention and description just similar enough to a desirable chambering, but with half the power. A true wildcat of a wildcat cartridge. The caliber was undocumented in the naming convention given (it was more known under another name, but maybe less desirableif sold under that naming convention). Long story short, after discussing the mater with the auction house they simply canceled the sale.

Hence the reason for diving into the boltaction building hobby. I bought a gunsmith lathe, stock duplicator, mill, and laser engraver. I ordered a bunch of barrels and bought a little bit more than a bunch of action (CZ 550 magnums, enfields 1917 &P14s, mausers K98s, and springfield 1903).

I recieved a delivery of barrels today, and have been teach myself to duplicate stocks. I thought I would share my progress with stock duplication and show some of the barrels I received today.


Two on the left are for the two CZ550 magnums I'm building chambered in Ray Shirlie's 550 Magnum clambering. The two on the right are enfield stocks for another 550 magnum build and a 300 RUM build.


Springfield 1903 stock

Barrels from PacNor (still have a 550 express and a 470 capstick on order).

Top two are CZ 550 magnums chambered in 550 magnum, the second and third from the bottom are Enfields chambered in 550 magnum, and the bottom one is a wildcat I am working on called the 416 Heuer (9.3x74R trimmed to 2.615 and then expanded to 416). I also have two 585 Nyati, a 300 RUM, 416 Strausse, 375 H&H, 458 Win Mag projects I am working on.

Addiction is such a sad thing.

Ray H

Looking great ! Lots worse stuff to be addicted to.

I wouldn’t call it an addiction…….you can stop whenever you want to……you just don’t want to at the moment…….


Gumpy

Grumpy gumpy said:

I wouldn’t call it an addiction…….you can stop whenever you want to……you just don’t want to at the moment…….


Gumpy

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I think all addicts are that way. I was sitting at a bar in Onida, South Dakota in the early 90's, I was talking to an older fella about the difficulty of quitting smoking. He said "There is only one trick to it, you simply have to avoid having the next cigarette. When you can do that, you have quit!" I dont want to get to the point where I don't want another gun. So an addict I plan to be.

Ray H

An expensive hobby for sure. Nice looking stock work.

Nice work
It is a great pleasure to say “I made that!”

You’re off to a great start.

Ray has helped me immensely with 2” .410 brass shot shells made from .444 Marlin brass. For my Army Navy .410 SxS. It uses 2” shells. RST makes 2”
Shells. But reusable brass shells add a touch of nostalgia and class.

Thanks again Ray

teklanika_ray said:

I have been messing around with making gun since high-school. First welding one together with springs and pipes, than AR-15/10's, then 1911. Recently I have dove in headfirst to bolt actions.

In 2024 I commissioned a custom 416 Rigby switch barrel to 338 Norma Magnum. The gunsmith I chose was very unlucky with illness and accidents. Ultimately after a year and a half not one part was on order, not one suspense was met, and the outlook for completion was bleak. Ultimately, I felt compelled ask for my deposit back.

Then I pivoted to just buying a rifle at auction. Well that turned out poorly as well. The rifle I bid on was given a naming convention and description just similar enough to a desirable chambering, but with half the power. A true wildcat of a wildcat cartridge. The caliber was undocumented in the naming convention given (it was more known under another name, but maybe less desirableif sold under that naming convention). Long story short, after discussing the mater with the auction house they simply canceled the sale.

Hence the reason for diving into the boltaction building hobby. I bought a gunsmith lathe, stock duplicator, mill, and laser engraver. I ordered a bunch of barrels and bought a little bit more than a bunch of action (CZ 550 magnums, enfields 1917 &P14s, mausers K98s, and springfield 1903).

I recieved a delivery of barrels today, and have been teach myself to duplicate stocks. I thought I would share my progress with stock duplication and show some of the barrels I received today.

View attachment 757956
Two on the left are for the two CZ550 magnums I'm building chambered in Ray Shirlie's 550 Magnum clambering. The two on the right are enfield stocks for another 550 magnum build and a 300 RUM build.

View attachment 757958
Springfield 1903 stock
View attachment 757957
Barrels from PacNor (still have a 550 express and a 470 capstick on order).
View attachment 757959
Top two are CZ 550 magnums chambered in 550 magnum, the second and third from the bottom are Enfields chambered in 550 magnum, and the bottom one is a wildcat I am working on called the 416 Heuer (9.3x74R trimmed to 2.615 and then expanded to 416). I also have two 585 Nyati, a 300 RUM, 416 Strausse, 375 H&H, 458 Win Mag projects I am working on.

Addiction is such a sad thing.

Ray H

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@teklanika_ray
You sound like a mate of mine. He refused to pay the high prices for a custom knife. So he built his own. $15,000 later in equipment he is enjoying knife making and now has an even better knife.
You on the other hand decii to go and build your own rifles instead of wasting money in gunsmiths
All cudos to you, looks like you do beautiful work.
Well done
Bob

Hey you got in deep. Nice work!

Not sure whatvyou mean by deep, nice work??
Ray H

Great looking stocks! Sorry for your affliction. I couldn’t afford an expensive Griffin and Howe custom rifle either and have since spent enough of my retirement on gun making stuff to buy 5 custom handmade rifles and a handful of top of the line purdeys. My plan during retirement was to make guns…so there you go.

HunterX said:

Great looking stocks! Sorry for your affliction. I couldn’t afford an expensive Griffin and Howe custom rifle either and have since spent enough of my retirement on gun making stuff to buy 5 custom handmade rifles and a handful of top of the line purdeys. My plan during retirement was to make guns…so there you go.

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So.. are you making guns, or buying guns. I was unclear on the outcome.

I am doing more than making stocks.
Currently I am making 4ea 550 magnums, 1ea 550 express, 2ea 585 Nyati's, and I have decided to build the 416 Strauss (which is a unicorn, documented in one article. Which is regurgitate in numerous articles), and two hand fulls of other rifles. None of them are Griffin and Howe's quality, but my trophy wall is not Cabelas quality either (and not likely to be ever). I am having a great deal of fun, and learning volumes.

Ray H

teklanika_ray said:

Not sure whatvyou mean by deep, nice work??
Ray H

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Whole hog? Is that better? Nice work is simply that. Better? Didn't mean to offend.

I am making stocks and building guns with a friend. Still at the beginning of the adventure like you.

HunterX said:

I am making stocks and building guns with a friend. Still at the beginning of the adventure like you.

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gbflyer said:

Whole hog? Is that better? Nice work is simply that. Better? Didn't mean to offend.

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Oh man, I am not offended, at all. I just wasn't sure what you meant.
Ya, it is just an expensive hobby right now.

Ray H

@teklanika_ray
Nice work on those stocks!
You might want to ping Tim at Matrix for his qrib kit
For those 550 magnums. I designed a set of custom integral barrels for the 550 on CZ actions that fit into B&C stocks and did the reload design for barrel stress (his customer was a lawyer of all things) with that fat bullet.