Classic stalking rifles - today

Just finished such a rifle for my daughter this August. It is about perfect in every way.

pjaln said:

these husky's are the poor mans rigby stalker all day long ,,trim/slim stocked just like we like and cheap as hell ,this one is in 9.3x57 and minty

Click to expand...

I agree 100%. My 6.5x55 Swede is a laser and my 9.3x62 is MOA at 50yrds with irons. Both less than $600.

pjaln said:

doesn't get much stealthier than these guys ,, 2-6.5x53r and a 6.5x57

Click to expand...

Man, those are well cared for!
What did you use to clean out the checkering?

steve white said:

Man, those are well cared for!
What did you use to clean out the checkering?

Click to expand...

they were in great shape and original ,the army /navy with the horn tip is a real nice original rifle all the bores including the husky I posted are exc. I dont shoot much so once I get them they sit for a bit ,,that mauser Danzig at the beginning off this thread was also mine I sold thru Matt at MNR I buy only nice original rifles

pjaln said:

they were in great shape and original ,the army /navy with the horn tip is a real nice original rifle all the bores including the husky I posted are exc. I dont shoot much so once I get them they sit for a bit ,,that mauser Danzig at the beginning off this thread was also mine I sold thru Matt at MNR I buy only nice original rifles

Click to expand...

You were the previous owner of my Danzig Mauser I bought from Matt. I was very happy to find it. It’s very accurate with the peep sight

pjaln said:

these husky's are the poor mans rigby stalker all day long ,,trim/slim stocked just like we like and cheap as hell ,this one is in 9.3x57 and minty

Click to expand...

Completely agree

Unfortunately they are quite hard to find in Australia. I had to import my 146, but even with import costs, they are cheap for what you get.

Schulz and Larsen rifles have been mentioned on this thread already but I’ll add my recommendation as a new, off-the-shelf option if available in your local market.

S&L are renowned for their barrels (they cut the rifling rather than button drawing or hammer forging so stress is kept to a minimum) but the actions are the smoothest I’ve ever handled straight out of the box.

I’ve just bought a Victory model in 6.5x55 SE and can’t fault it so far. I was able to upgrade the wood and add a silvers-style recoil pad all for considerably less than AU$10k.

On its first range trip over the weekend, my bore-sighted rifle put two rounds 4cm high at 100m after which I adjusted the elevation on the scope and fired the third round from the magazine dead on. The next 3 round group was as below.



The downsides as I see them are: single-stack 3 round magazine as standard (5 round option available direct from the manufacturer) whereas I much prefer the flush, double stack magazine on my Sako 85 but I’ll live with it; and the standard barrel comes threaded for a moderator (again, unthreaded barrels available from the manufacturer but I’m not sure iron sights are offered - that being said, I’m sure you could have an aftermarket set added by a gunsmith and still have change for your AU$10k)

The Victory is a switch barrel model so offers the versatility of changing from 22-250 to 9.3x62 on the same bolt; switching to a magnum bolt covers up to .458 Win Mag (although I suspect the resulting rifle will be a little on the light side for anything with recoil that robust!)

They’re also available in true left handed variants and with a variety of barrel options (profile, twist rate and fluting).

It’s early days but I think it’s a lot of rifle for the money.

Fn De Luxe Mauser built in the early 1950’s still ticks the box as a classic stalking rifle. Fn Mauser 98 Commercial Action, French Walnut, hand checkered stock and chrome vanadium steel barrel all combine to make a beautiful, accurate rifle that is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago.

This one is a 7x57!

Well proportioned and elegant stalking rifles are just a beauty to use.
This one is mine in 7x64:



It is a Dumoulin Centurion, which originally had an older straight 20mm tube on claw mounts. I had a new set of claws made, with this over the front bell mount on a Swarovski Z6i with a 42mm objective, in order to be as low as possible. It is a joy to carry, although not exactly lightweight at 3.95kg, (unloaded, no sling, no scope)

VertigoBE said:

Well proportioned and elegant stalking rifles are just a beauty to use.
This one is mine in 7x64:

View attachment 793889

It is a Dumoulin Centurion, which originally had an older straight 20mm tube on claw mounts. I had a new set of claws made, with this over the front bell mount on a Swarovski Z6i with a 42mm objective, in order to be as low as possible. It is a joy to carry, although not exactly lightweight at 3.95kg, (unloaded, no sling, no scope)

Click to expand...

What an absolute stunning piece, thank you for sharing.

Jon Glajchen said:

View attachment 793888

Fn De Luxe Mauser built in the early 1950’s still ticks the box as a classic stalking rifle. Fn Mauser 98 Commercial Action, French Walnut, hand checkered stock and chrome vanadium steel barrel all combine to make a beautiful, accurate rifle that is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago.

This one is a 7x57!

Click to expand...

One of my dreams!!!!!!

These are my two stalking rifles:
1- 7x57 made with a 1935 Argentine Mauser-Werke action with the original wood (!!!) and a SIG military barrel shortened at 60 cm. Zeiss Diatal DA 4x32.
2- BRNO ZKK 600 (1967) 9,3x62 60 cm barrel. The picture shows the former scope, a S&B 1,5-6x42. Now has a Zeiss Victory 1,5-6x42 in the great Alaska Arms rings.

Altitude sickness said:

You were the previous owner of my Danzig Mauser I bought from Matt. I was very happy to find it. It’s very accurate with the peep sight

Click to expand...

yes I was ,thats a nice rifle the Peep sight alone is probably worth 200$ ,I had many of these cigarette mausers always thought they were the best deals on the market before you get to original oberndorfs ,, Matt has a few more mausers right now not a trim small type like yours ,btw I never shot it

Pjain, you have a good eye. How you have them modified is impressive

I would buy every one I find with its profile, handling and accuracy. It’s a gem.

@VertigoBE That 7x64 is just stunning and very well done.

@Ontario Hunter First I commend you on doing your own stock work to get it to where you can see the irons and scope reticle. Second I think that mentioning stock fit is very specific to the individual.

IE
Body dimensions. Short arms, long arms, short neck, long neck, wide shoulder or chest, narrow shoulder or chest, Width between eyes, length of face, full face , angular face. Man or Woman.

All of those have an effect. Luckly a fair number of people either the irons or a scope work for them but very few both will work for.

Rifle itself
Length of pull, pitch, cast, drop at comb and heal of the stock, what is the size of the objective on the scope, what is the eye piece diameter, length of the tube before and after the turrets.

Jon Glajchen said:

View attachment 793888

Fn De Luxe Mauser built in the early 1950’s still ticks the box as a classic stalking rifle. Fn Mauser 98 Commercial Action, French Walnut, hand checkered stock and chrome vanadium steel barrel all combine to make a beautiful, accurate rifle that is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago.

This one is a 7x57!

Click to expand...

Beautiful, and this is the only rifle still on my To Get list. I have one in 257 Roberts and one in 270 Winchester, but would like to find an all original in 7x57.

Shooting German Schuetzen rifles for 50 years, I have grown accustomed to a large amount of drop at the heel and a more upright head position. The Mauser 98s built before WW1 and between the wars have more drop at the heel than modern rifles because they were designed for open sights. I don’t shoot anything with massive recoil so the heel drop suits me. Both of my old Mausers also have some cast off. I am average height and length of pull, so they fit great. I also hunt Kansas deer with open sights.
Mike

PerH said:

If I were able to order from them without too much hassles I would done so .
26 inch 7x57 barrel

Musgrave Rifles | Quality & Reliability | South Africa

Musgrave is a proudly South African company that manufactures quality and reliable rifles for tactical and hunting applications.

www.musgraverifles.co.za

Click to expand...

I don't know about what hassle it would cost you, but they are a lot of rifle for the price.

I have a Lipseys No 1 International in 22 Hornet that I need to pick up soon. I'm sure I could stalk something with her...hahaha!

AZDAVE said:

@VertigoBE That 7x64 is just stunning and very well done.

@Ontario Hunter First I commend you on doing your own stock work to get it to where you can see the irons and scope reticle. Second I think that mentioning stock fit is very specific to the individual.

IE
Body dimensions. Short arms, long arms, short neck, long neck, wide shoulder or chest, narrow shoulder or chest, Width between eyes, length of face, full face , angular face. Man or Woman.

All of those have an effect. Luckly a fair number of people either the irons or a scope work for them but very few both will work for.

Rifle itself
Length of pull, pitch, cast, drop at comb and heal of the stock, what is the size of the objective on the scope, what is the eye piece diameter, length of the tube before and after the turrets.

Click to expand...

Correct. Different size/shaped people require different size/shaped stocks ... to a degree. I can make myself fit just about any gun shooting trap high gun (target pulled when shotgun is mounted) or a rifle on the bench. But shooting moving targets requires a gun that fits the shooter the instant it's mounted. I submit it is possible to make the same rifle acquire instantly with either scope or irons by various modifications to stock AND iron sights AND scope/rings/bases. A stock with "classic" straight comb may line up with iron sights instantly but it will be very hard to drop scope enough to acquire instantly without at least seriously changing the bolt handle. If a person's face is huge enough to find the crosshairs, he'll probably be grinding his face into the stock to see optional irons. The "universal" setup requires being able to adjust everything. I will start with a stock that has a slightly elevated comb (e.g. modified Monte Carlo). Then raise the iron sights, front and rear, till I can bore sight the rifle with cheek resting comfortably on the gun. Then start working on scope height. Hopefully I can find rings and base(s) of right height to give me what I need for instant acquisition of crosshairs and full field of view with my cheek still just resting comfortably on the comb. The irons still should be in the ballpark. If I can't get the scope low enough and still cycle the bolt, I may have to return to step one and raise the irons. Or modify the bolt handle till it clears the scope. I would prefer the latter. Again, that's making the selected gun sight choice fit me every time no matter which sighting option I choose.

Personally, I prefer "modern" irons over the classic "express" stuff. Both my plains game and dangerous game rifles have front sight ramps that are screw mounted. Very handy if I have to significantly alter sight height. Ask me how I know! I also prefer a rear leaf that is adjustable both windage and elevation. And a front sight bead that pushes in from the side (this can provide additional windage adjustment in the event rear sight adjustment gets too far off center). Front sight ramps that are band style and sweated on are too inflexible, especially if the bead is pushed in from the front (= no windage adjustment). Fixed multi leaf rear sights are decorations useful for those who wish to play Mr Dressup.