451 Detonics
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WARNING!!!!
If you are a purist leave now, the following images may cause discomfort, nausea, vomiting, anal leakage, impotence, or bleeding from the eyes.
If you are a purist leave now, the following images may cause discomfort, nausea, vomiting, anal leakage, impotence, or bleeding from the eyes.
However if you are like many rifle shooters worldwide who see a sporting arm struggling to escape the confines of it's military history when you pick up a rifle then read on...and please feel free to post your own Sporters.
Disclaimer
I do not advocate cutting up rare or historical firearms but given the plethora of common surplus rifles available today I see nothing wrong with modifying an ordinary run of the mill military surplus rifle.
I have owned a number of sporters in the past ... Mausers, 1903s, and Krags to name a few. They have run the gamut from chopped military barrels and stocks to full blown customs. Today I own just one, a 98 Mauser. I bought this one after someone had already ruined any collectors value by cutting off the front sight (badly) and it was wearing a flimsy plastic stock. The bore was bright and shiny however and I saw potential. Here are the mods I made to it...
Had the barrel cut to 22 inches and recrowned correctly.
Had the action drilled and tapped for scope mounts.
I then added a Timney Trigger
Added a Buehler style low swing safety
Changed to a Speedlock firing pin
Bedded the action in a Boyd's Thumbhole stock
Exchanged the floorplate for a Gibbs detachable magazine
Modded a 20 round trench mag so it worked correctly and have it for fun.
Currently the rifle is wearing a Simmons Presidential 3X9 scope and Harris bipod.
This rifle shoots 1 1/2 groups with cheap 8mm ammo, haven't worked up handloads yet. The Boyds stock is very comfortable and felt recoil is mild...at least to me it is. The Gibbs magazine worked perfectly from the start and once I replaced the spring and follower in the trench magazine with modded components from a MG 13 mag it too works flawlessly. With the proper loads I would use this on any North American game and I suspect with handloads I can make it accurate enough for casual target shooting. Total cost without the scope (which had been sitting in a drawer for 5 years) was under $600 including the rifle, gunsmithing, and accessories.
So how about it folks...got a bubbarized rifle in your safe? Show it off here. Please list the mods you have made along with pics.