Just added another 404 J to the collection - with a strange stock

[Odinsraven]

Everyone - need some input on this rifle - Beautiful - described as pistol grip stock with patch pocket,

Have never seen this on a Safari Rifle - any thoughts ? I assumed it was a repair on the stock ! Will open the floor to those wiser than myself

 

[Odinsraven]

Everyone - need some input on this rifle - Beautiful - described as pistol grip stock with patch pocket,

Have never seen this on a Safari Rifle - any thoughts ? I assumed it was a repair on the stock ! Will open the floor to those wiser than myself

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I think you are correct. Hopefully the repair included a reinforcement rod down through the wrist. Is the epoxy patch rebated from the tang? I'm interested to know what's going on underneath the action.

Edit: I can see in the image you just posted the patch is rebated.

 

[Odinsraven]

I think you are correct. Hopefully the repair included a reinforcement rod down through the wrist. Is the epoxy patch rebated from the tang? I'm interested to know what's going on underneath the action.

Indeed I did purchase it for about the price of an action of that grade - the barrel is as new - so not concerned - I should receive it in Feb and will have the action out of the stock and a good gander - nice piece of wood - so if properly fixed - or if not fixed - can be properly fixed - would keep the stock !

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Indeed I did purchase it for about the price of an action of that grade - the barrel is as new - so not concerned - I should receive it in Feb and will have the action out of the stock and a good gander - nice piece of wood - so if properly fixed - or if not fixed - can be properly fixed - would keep the stock !

Yep, you could always put the stock on a barreled action of more manageable recoil. Maybe that's why 404 is sitting on it? Beautiful rifle for sure.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

What make is the action?

 

[Odinsraven]

What make is the action?

Looks like and described as Mauser 98 - obv with the upgraded safety as said will not get it until Feb earliest ! Looks like an ex military action at least from the cut out !

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Looks like and described as Mauser 98 - obv with the upgraded safety as said will not get it until Feb earliest ! Looks like an ex military action at least from the cut out !

Presumably a standard action? As I understand it, even some of the early magnum action Mausers came with stripper clip cutout. But I think the hump was machined down at the factory. I bought a steel "commercial 98 Mauser" one-piece base/rail from CCOP USA for my rifle because the donor military action was already tapped for three holes. It wouldn't fit because commercial bases are designed for hump to be machined down with slot still retained (hence only three screws). At that time CCOP only had aluminum military 98 Mauser 3-screw bases available. Those had a cutaway on the belly for stripper clip hump. I used a Dremel tool to reshape the belly of the commercial base so it fit over the hump. Everything needed to be blued anyway. So I guess it's possible your rifle may be a "commercial Mauser?" Seems just having the slot is not a firm indicator it was military. Slot + hump would be more of a sure thing it had military origin.

It will be interesting to see what you've got when it arrives. Not sure what you paid (none of my business) but if it has custom bottom metal, I would have easily given $1500 for that rifle even with the patched up stock ... but only IF the vendor could supply a video of it being cycled. Without that the only reasonably sure things of value are the barrel and stock (but patched stock not so much). But you knew this obviously because you were already a 404J guy.

Magnum rifles with double bridge obviously had the stripper slot zone covered over. Anyone know if it was still there under the rear bridge?

Nothing wrong with 404 on a standard action. I used military surplus Czech 98 Mauser when I built mine and it turned out great. Standard action was all Jefferey had to work with when he designed the cartridge. But you probably already knew that if you're a 404 collector.

 

[318AE]

Cool gun and sounds like you got a great deal. Congratulations.

This is not a magnum Mauser or an Oberndorf action people refer to as a commercial Mauser. The cut out where the stripper clip slot would be is most likely to accommodate the cartridge length, as opposed to making a cut out in the ring and further altering the feed ramp.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Congrats! Looks very nice.

Gotta confess: when I saw the title of the thread I thought it was going to be a different member posting.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Cool gun and sounds like you got a great deal. Congratulations.

This is not a magnum Mauser or an Oberndorf action people refer to as a commercial Mauser. The cut out where the stripper clip slot would be is most likely to accommodate the cartridge length, as opposed to making a cut out in the ring and further altering the feed ramp.

Standard action 98 Mauser does not need anything removed from the ring to handle 404J cartridges. That is one of the beauties of that build. Building 375 or 416 Rigby on standard action does require cutting into the locking ring because they have longer OAL. However lots of other modification are required to feeding rails, ramp, follower, bolt face, and extractor to make 404 work in standard length 98 Mauser. I know because I had to do the work ( = no gunsmiths available). The slot visible on the top of the receiver in his images are for the stripper clip, not for ejecting long cartridges. Mausers eject cartridges out the side not out the top.

 

[pjaln]

Everyone - need some input on this rifle - Beautiful - described as pistol grip stock with patch pocket,

Have never seen this on a Safari Rifle - any thoughts ? I assumed it was a repair on the stock ! Will open the floor to those wiser than myself

looks like some coggies ive seen ,, may have been a big chip behind the tang cuz the wrist itself looks like its intact

 

[Odinsraven]

looks like some coggies ive seen ,, may have been a big chip behind the tang cuz the wrist itself looks like its intact

Did not pay too much so a restock is budgeted in !

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Cool gun and sounds like you got a great deal. Congratulations.

This is not a magnum Mauser or an Oberndorf action people refer to as a commercial Mauser. The cut out where the stripper clip slot would be is most likely to accommodate the cartridge length, as opposed to making a cut out in the ring and further altering the feed ramp.

Okay, OP sent me better photos and I compared them to my rifle. I see what you were talking about. Whoever did the work building this rifle did remove a bit of metal from the bottom back end of the ejection port. Rather than do that I simply ground off a bit of metal from the inside of that portion of the rear ring. That provided the needed clearance to eject thicker (not longer) cartridges. Much more asthetic than chopping a gouge all the way through it. But both methods are a delicate process. Take too much metal and the extractor slips out of its track when the bolt is rotated closed. Then the bolt stays closed ... until extractor can be cut away! If that happens it can be fixed by replacing standard length extractor with magnum length. Problem is finding a magnum length extractor. Very scarce.

It appears the gripping fingers for the stripper clip port were machined off. Purely asthetic. No doubt done when the hump was removed.

 

[Odinsraven]

NS1124 Photos - Google Drive

drive.google.com

here are the photos did not want to load the server with lots of photos !

 

[Odinsraven]

Congrats! Looks very nice.

Gotta confess: when I saw the title of the thread I thought it was going to be a different member posting.

Ahh I was unopposed on the bidding !

 

[AZDAVE]

Looks like either a patch for a chip out from the bolt or tang of the receiver. the second thought is that the stock maker thought it would be cool looking for a extra piece of ebony to match the forend.

@Ontario Hunter is correct and I second that I hope they put a steel rod enforcement in the wrist