Built Another Scout Rifle

I've been wanting another Scout rifle as my current one, based on an FR-8, ahs served me so well over the years. So I bought an old ratty 1916 Mauser in 308 Win and after a year of off and on work, I finally finished it and did a preliminary sight in with the open sights. Here's how she looked before and after:





And of course the most important part, how it shoots, even with an untried load:


Hope to have the scope mounted by this weekend and to do some shooting at 100 yds.

35W

Would you be so kind as to take more photos of your sights and other modifications you made to the rifle with accompanying written information and was the rifle parkerized.

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Tell ya what, rather than do a loong post here, here's a link to a post with some details of the project: 1916 Mauser; Evolution of a Scout Rifle

When I bought the rifle, it was blued. I Parkerized it myself using a home-brew formula that can be found in the Metal Care & Cleaning section of the Surplus Rifle Forum.

35W

Very nice. I will go out to link posted above. Curious about LOP and weight as well as how much money you sunk into it.

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Thank you. LOP is about 13 1/4". I tried to keep it short for my wife, hence the thin recoil pad. Not sure about the weight...7.5 - 8 lbs. I may eventually cut the barrel back another 1 1/2 - 2" which would shave a few ounces off.
Cost wise, the rifle cost $100, the X-System mount a little over $50, the front sight a few bucks, the rear sight $15 -$20. In all I have well under $200 in whole rig not counting time. But, I love doing this sort of thing, so I never count my labor.

I have an M1A that I need to re-park... the previous owner painted it with some kind of gun paint and I don't like it. I've been thinking about doing it myself. How was it do do yourself?

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Parkerizing is really quite easy. In fact if people knew how easy, I think fewer with bother with the spray-on/bake-on finishes. The most difficult parts of the process are that the rifle must be completely disassembled. After that bead blasting is required. I have a cabinet now, but prior to acquiring the cabinet, I just used an el cheapo sandblasting gun from Harbor Freight and stuck the parts in a large opaque trash bag while I was blasting them to catch most of the media.
The most difficult part of the Park'ing formula to find is the manganese dioxide, but I hear it's available at pottery stores. I bought a 5 lb. tub off eBay and it's lasting forever. The rest of the ingredients can be had at any hardware store.
Follow the link I provided above to see the actual procedure. I've turned a couple of pretty rough looking firearms into nice looking pieces by doing nothing more than Park'ing them.

35W

Is that a small ring Mauser action? If so, I might be a bit concerned about any significant use of any hot-ish .308 loads.

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I wondered how long it would take until someone brought this up. Thirteen posts....not bad! I expected it much sooner.
Not only is it a small ring, it's also essentially a Model '93 with "only" two recoil lugs. But as we say here in Texas "...itta be ah-ight".

35W

Oh, and by the way, the rifle IS stamped "308 Win" on the barrel.
35W

How hard is it to line up the XS mount on the sights to make sure they aren't canted?

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I just eyeballed it. If you don't trust your eyes, you can set the receiver on a flat level surface, install the mount and level it with a small level, then you'll be assured it is lined up.
35W

Where did you find that rear sight for $15-$20 dollars? What are you planning on using for optics? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Don't remember exactly where I got the sight as I've bought so many receiver sights over the last few years. What I DO know is that I wouldn't pay over $20 for a used Williams such as this. eBay is a goo dplace to get sights like this cheap. A few years ago I bought an all steel Redfield for my other Scout rifle for somewhere around $25-$30. You just have to watch and be patient.
Just this morning I put on a nearly new Burris Scout scope. AMAZINGLY clear optics.
35W