Frank de Haas

1916-1994
n tA'K DE II A,\ SdM:d l)c«mbcr 19. 1994,JuSU
f.,.... daysaflcrfm1$1unalh11bool. T1w fmal illness
was suo.tdcn. and hcd,ed "hm= he "-as born. m
Onng,,C11},'°"''"·
Ouringhoswrwngcarttr,from l~l1hrough
199-t,dclbas"lOIClllneboolsalxlUlgw,sandhun.
dmhofan,dcsina"Klcrang,cofpubhcatoons.llc
"T01cmuchoflh"""'',..,,scou1purfromagun-
srnilh1ngpo,n1ofv"""
lxH:>asnt••crrons1dc.-R:dh,mself1prof=KXL1I
gunsrmth.fora111nchcl00k1n10·ori.,h1si.hof,ina
comcrofaplumbcr'sshof,,latc,-mhisbascmcnra1
l>ome.Whctherforhunselforno1,w11haCraftsman
latheanddnllpn,,-s.hercmodcled,rcscocked,
nxhambcn:dandrd!am:lcdallkmdsofguns
F,..thela>lth111yyl'.1Dor.o.dcllaasgunsrrnthcd
forh1srcadm..doing)Oblhccouldv,T11Caboul.lk
"~g<:nlfflWl!l,iobgniinakMnflo1e1oons
anddidso,andJ0n'K:ofihoscae•hoo11ngtoday
lndccd.hcwzcalkd .. Mr S,nglcShol"1nsomccu-
dcs for his abid,ng ,ntCTC51 ,n 1ha1 clusi<.- son of

""""'"'""
F....,dcHaas""UIL1fo\1ffnbc.ToflheNIIJOnal
lt.iflcASSOC131,on.11ifclooaducl,-goerandafami-
ly man. lie is Jlll\l\'ed by h,s ..·,fc, Kauc, bya
d>ughu:randasooandfi,elP""OCh1ldrcn

Jl[ll!~IH
by Frank de Haas

DBI BOOKS, INC.

 Staff
SEN IOR STAFF EDITORS
HaroldA.Murtz About Our Covers
Ray Ordorica This book is about the nuts and bolts ofbol1-a<:1ion riHes. so
wctlloughtourreudcrs"'oold like1osee1hc inner workings of
PRODUCTION MANAGER one of the best-lmown riHu ever made. the Winchester Model
John L. Duoba 70. il"s 001 often we ~t 10 look inside a modem rifle to KC how
EDITORIALJPRODUCTION ASSOCIATE thevariouspans intenctand.failingX-rayvision.thebcstway
HoltyJ.Porter 1odo1hisiswithaeu11waygun.
The cuu ....cay Model 70 XTR Sporter oo our CO\"en sholo.-s the
EOITORIAUPRODUCTION ASS ISTANT wortingrelatiooshipofallma}orpans-infact.1hcbol1s1illcan
Laura M. Mielzynski befullymanipulatcd.1hctriggerputlcd.lloorpla1ereleascdand
ELECTIWNIC PUBLIS HING M ANAGER 1hcmagazineloadcd.Ascanbeseen.thisg11nuscsthcpos1-·64
NancyJ.Mellem utractor. ~hich has now been_ replaced by 1hc prc-64-typc
utrnctor, giving controlled feeding. Shown below 1s an uncut
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING ASSOCIATE ~ersion of the same: gun, so you can see just how much metal and
Larry Levine wood have been removed tO <:TCate the working cul.away. Win-
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY chester's Model 70 has gooe through many chanies since its
JohnHanusin introduction in the l930s.somcgood,somenotsogood. Forthc
fulls1oryofthcevolu1ionofthisacrion.11Cepages47S497ofthis
MANAGING EDITOR edition.
Pamela J. Johnson Today's WincheMer Model 70 is ooe of the besl. mos1 cndur-
PUBLIS HER ing design!i cvc-r - 1ruly thc Mriflcman's riflc...
Sheldon L. Factor PhotobyJohnllanusin

() ]995
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inp and othcr illustr11inns. Paymtnt is 1t oor t\llffllt rales.
CAUTION: Technical data ~ntcd here, particularly 1cdinical data on handlOlding and on firearms adju!;lment
and allcralion. illC\'iUlbly reftectS indi,·idual upnicnce ,,,ith pMticularcquipmcnt and oomponcnu un<kr specific cir-
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Acknowledgements
Aspe,;ial .. thankyou"gocstothefollowingpersonswhohave
hclpedmemorcthantheyknowinpreparingthisbook:Myson,Mark.
whomadcthcbam:lshanl:drawingsandhelpedmcwiththe pholo-
graphic ,,,on;; Ronald Van'1 Hof. who was my man Friday; Gilbert
Blwn and William Johnson. woo loaned me many of the rifles illllS-
tratcd in thisbook.
Jamalsogratcfultothefollowingindividualsandfirmsforthcir
technical and material assistance.and forloansofriflesandoctions·
Elmer Bogh, George Burgers. Bob and Frank Brownell, Bwdenc
!ken;, Jim Carlson, George L Cas,,well. Raymond De Jong, Lloyd
Dolphin, Ellwood Epps. Albert Hnocock. Lambert Hollinga, Harold
Langenhorst, Dean Miller, Ckne Miller. Ario Neumann. Roger
Richardson, Boyd Robeson, Amie Te Stroctc. Gordon Trii,:, Floyd
Van Kley, Tom Willrolh, Sr.• Paul Vander Woude, Pcter Ver Muhn,
Ono Wolhowc, E.C. Bishop & Son~ Inc., Maynard Buehler, lrn: .•
Champlin Arms Co., Rcinhan Fajen, Inc., Firearms lmcmational
Corp .. lntcraons Ltd .. J.L. Galef & Son. loc .. Ranger AnnsCo., Rem-
ington Arms Co., Sa,·age Arms Corp., Smith & Wesson, Inc., Stunn,
Ruger & Co., lnc .. Sioegcr Anns Corp., Tradewinds, Inc., Waffen-
Frankonia, Wcatherby's. lnc .. and Winchestcr-W~an
LudwigE. Olsondeservesaspecialthankyooforwritingthatwon-
derfulboo.:,Mause,80/1Rijles,forwithoutthishookthcMauser
d1ap1ersinmybook "uuldhave~thep:,orer
lnpreparingthethirdandenlargedcdirionofthisboo.:,lalsowam
tothankthefollowingindividualsandfirmsforthcwhole-hcancd
a.ss,sw,ceg,,·""me·
llobA""""" Browning Arms Co.
R.Bickel Colt Industries
Jerry Brink "-A=
DakOlaArms
~~urgers lntcranns
R.C.Fessler hhacaGunCo.
Albert Hancock KimberofAmerica,lnc.
Wm. Hobaugh Klcinguentbcr,lnc
Alben Hostert PrecisionSports.lnc
G. Panerson Sako.Inc.
Mims Rood Smith&Wesson
RogerC. Rule S1eyrAmerica
WarrcnSchclby TaloDistributors
H3f\'eyVancle1"Pol
HaroldVanZandbcrgcn

A very special "thank you" goes 10 my secretary, Janice Wickamp.

 Contents
Introduction . .6

Enfield Rifles . . ...... 9

French Military Turnbolts .18
German Model 88 Commission Rifle ............ . .... • .... • . • • . .... 32
German Model 98/40 .39
Greek Model 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer . .44
Italian Carcano Rifles . . ........ 53
Japanese Arisaka Rifles ... 59
Krag-Jorgensens: U.S., Danish and Norwegian ..... ...... • . • .n
Lee-Enfield Rifles . . .86
Mauser Miscellany ... 97
Mauser Model 98 . .11Xl
Mauser Models 71 & 71/84 .110
Mauser Moclels 92, 93, 94, 95 & 96 . ...... 117
Mauser Smokeless Powder Actions Models 88, 89, 90 & 91 . .129
Mauser-Siamese Mauser .. 136
Russian Mosin-Nagant Rifles . .140
Springfield Models 1903, 1903A3 & 1903A4 . . .147

Anschutz Classic Centerfire Rifle . . ......... 161

Blank Custom Rifle . .166
Blaser Model A84 Takedown Rifle ........ 169
Brno (Czech) Sporting Rifles .174
Browning A-Bolt fl BOSS Rifle . . .... 182
Browning BBR Rifle .. 188
BSA Royal, Majestic, Monarch, Herter's U9 Rifles . .194
Champlin Firearms, Inc .. . .... 207
Colt Sauer Rifle . .212
Cooper Moclel 38 Centerfire Rifle . .220
Dakota Arms Moclel 76 . .225
FN Actions & Rifles ... 230
French Moclel 36 MAS Sporter . . .... 237
Golden Eagle Moclel 7000 .240
Herter's Plinker Rifle . . .. 244
Husqvarna and Smith & Wesson Rifles .246
Husqvarna Moclel 8000 .252
lnterarms Mark X Mauser .256
lnterarms Mini-Mark X ...... 261
Ithaca Moclel LSA-55 . .267
 Contents
Kimber Model 82 Hornet .272
Kimber Model 84 .... 280
Kleinguenther Improved K15 lnsta-Fire ...... 282
Krico Model 300 Hornet . . .287
Mathieu Left-Hand Rifle .292
Mauser Two-Shot Shotgun . .296
Mauser Model 98 $porters .300
Mausers, Miscellaneous Commercial .305
Mossberg Model 800 ........ 312
Newton Original Turnbolt .317
Omega Ill .323
Remington Model 788 . . .... 328
Remington Model Seven Carbine & Model 700 Mountain Rifle .334
Remington Models 30, 30S and 720 . .342
Remington Models 721,722,725,700,600, 660and 40-X . ........ 345
Ruger Original Model 77 .. 358
Ruger Model 77 Mark II . .367
Ruger Model 77/22 Hornet .375
Sako Rifles . . ...... 381
Savage Model 1920 . .396
Savage Model 23B, C & D .402
Savage Models 40 Sporter & 45 Super Sporter . . . ...... 409
Savage Model 11 0 Series .413
Savage-Stevens Model 340 .424
Schultz & Larsen Rifles . .428
Smith & Wesson and Mossberg Model 1500 ..... 434
Sportco Model 44 Target Rifle .440
Steyr-Mannlicher Model SL Rifle . .444
Texas Magnum Rifle .. 450
Tradewinds Series 600 Action .454
Weatherby Mark V Rifle .. .459
Weatherby Vanguard Rifle ...... 465
Winchester Model 43 Rifle . .470
Winchester Model 70 Classic . .475
Winchester Model 70 Post-'64 .............. 480
Winchester Models 54 & 70 .487

Barrel Shank Drawings . . ....... 501

Appendix-Magazine Guard Screw Sizes & Threads .511
Bibliography A-American Rifleman 1933-1995 .512
Bibliography B--Gun Digest 1944-1996 . .521
Index .523
 "Whe1herrij/es<1re,reworobso/e1e,plemifulorrare./o,.,
CO$torexpensfre.allaredifferen1andallareintere,;1ing."

TIIAT W AS FRAN K de Haas talking. Thcn:jUS1 weren't any rifles

hescomed,inconmmtomany,maybemos1,ofhiscon11:mporarics.ln
dccadcsofgun,.Ti1ing,deHaastookthcmaslhcycamcandenjoyed
themall.Andso,therefore,didallhisthousandsandthousandsof

""""
Andthcre,.-erethousandsofreadcrs,evenwilhoutlhosewhoread
themagazir,e,,orbooghtthebooks.Therewasati~longtime--
whcnde Haas was one of the NRA's stabk: ofexJ)CrtS who wrole ro
membersontheirtechnicalproblems.
Tha1 was a preny heavy-duty group. NRA paid-early oo-Sl.25
perlcner,andfumishedcrwelopcsandpostagc.anddernandedacar-
bon.FrankdcHaasdidtha1forycars.sothousanJsofhisn:adcrsrcad
himstraigh1fromthesourcc
Thcrearev.Titerswhoarcengi1>CC1Sandv.Titerswhoareelitists.
Sornegoforscnsation;odlcrsforthcfolksy10ueh:someare"jUS1one
ofthcboys."Fraru<dcllaaswasthegunsmithneighborwhodidn't
mind talking
Ho had a whok: collection of bolt actions-jUS1 the a,;1ions, oot the
riHcs.Vciyscnsibk:.Andbyl971,hisS1udicsbrough1forththefim
cditionofthisbook.Andthinecnyearslatcr,are"iscdcdi1ion.Aod
herc"'eareagain.
AnythingintcrestinginriHcswasgriSltothedeHaasmill.Almost
anyofusmighthavedoneafewhWKlredword!ionaFrenchMAS
sporterifwehapp,:nedonone.OnlyadeHaaswouldha,-etoldusall
lhattheU.S.Krag-Jorgcnscnrni!i1aryriflemightfairlyeasilybcrebar-
reledto444Marlin,pointingoutlhatalotofKragswen:shov.ingup
ascheap,poorlyworkcd~,"Cr.sportingcon,•ersM)IIS-------nlOlyandide-
al444s-to,bc
!tmightha,..,bcenalllhatone,<)11,<)IICCOlltaclwithNRAmcmbers
lhatkeptdeHaasfocuscdonthemcchanical.andonthetinkering.Cer-
tainlyhisbooks-thisbook- reveal hegenerallytriedsomcthing
beforehetalkedaboutitTypically.heootonlydescribedtheactions
andtheirfunctioningingrcaldctail,butalsodescribcswhalitmight
taketoimproveagi,1:11rifle--<,!mostanygi,..,nrine
ltwasgcnerallyprenygoodadvice,whichpaidlittlca11entionro
sl>oolcra11itudcs.lfaslightlycrudetriggerv.~goodcnough.hesaid
so.aswiththeRemington788.lfsomcthingoffendedthccye,hesaid
changeit,aswiththelocknutontheSa,.,.ge110barre1
Soitiswiththisbook- nopn:teusion.nobackingandfilling,no
cuttingoomcn. You readthisone.yougeteverything Frank de Haas
wantedtosayaboutevcryoneofthcriflcs.Thai's prettygood.Sowas
ho
 --·-
EnlieldRifles .................9-17
FrenchMilitaryTurnbolts ....... 18-31
GermanModel68
Commission Rifle ..
GermanModelW40
GreeilModel1903
32-38
......39-43

Mannlicher-Schoe!lauer .... 44-52

ltallanCarcanoRifles . . . . . 53-58
Japanese Arisaka Rifles . • . . . . 59-76
Krag-Jorgensens:U.S.,
DanishandNorwegian. 77-85
Lee-EnlieldRilles ..........86-96
MauserMiscelany ..........97·99
MauserModel98 ..... 100-109
MausetModels71&71/84 .110-116
MauserModels.92,93,94,
95&96 ................. 117-128
MauserSmokelessPowdefAcnoris
Models88,89,90&91 .... 129-135
Mauser----8iameseMauaer .. 136-139
Rus&ianMosn-NagantAilles .. 140-146
Spmgfiek!Models1903,
1903A3& 1903A4 ....... 147-158
Pll'II
18170.S.£111111111
P ROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR,....
w1thsh1velona;bmlfamiliar"1ththeMod-
el1917 Enfield attion. 11 has been u.sed
,.'lddy .,reca,,:yarsiobuildCUSIOIIISfJOl'I·
,ninfks,nbod!Slllldard30-06hcad.-Mud
runlcu and belted magnum cartnd&es- A
targeandn,ggcdact10n"°asissutd,M11isalso1
homdyoni:.fom.inately.howe>i:r,,1is~
IIVC 10 much alient- and moodehng.
When !he Un,rcd Slale'S en1erw WWI ,n
1917,iiwasshonofrifles,andirnmed,atc
planshad10bcmadc10acquiremon,.lnl913
Bnush~devclopcdanewMaus,,-,
1ypetumbol1ac1ionfora276-<:alibcrnmlcss
o;annd&c:.WbmEnglandbccamcinvolvcd1n
111e ..w.dr.1elopmcnt"'Ol'kooth,11cartndgc
wi,s droJlpnl and lhe .,.;tion "-as modified 10
handlclhrumndardmiliiaryround,lhe303
&ush nmmtd~. Rathtr~tqin
pmclucuonoftlusnfle(..,-tud,"-asdest&rWCd
rhc Pa11cm 1914) m 1914. lhe Bnush p,1,
OOMKt510lhre,:firmsinlheUmtcdSwciio
malclhml.
Thc,c finns "-=
Winchester, Rcnunaion
andEddyslone.WhmtheBritishfoundthat
1hcyoouldproduct,enoughoftheoldtrleo-
Enficldrifles,lheycancclcd1hcconlrlClllin
19!6. Thus, at lhe lime the United Stales
cntcml the war there wen: llutt large plant$
tookdurtomakeamiliwyrille.Withthi,in
mmd,-(itisbclic,,-aitha1Rcm,r,acon
,mt,~ 1h11 co,wmion) JOI busy and
rodc:s,p,cdthel'altcm 1914..-tionlOhandJe
1hcl0-06cartnd~.lnl917r,cwconinc,ts
"-=•wardodaolheselhra:firms10makelhe
new nllc, off,c,ally calkd lhe MU.S. Rifle,
Cal . .l0,Modcll9l7.M
--
l'toductlonofthisrifleendodinthr,eplanlll
in No,·cmber, 1918. According lo reliable
sourtcs.Winchcstcrproducro545,511,Rem-
,namnab<.,w545,541andabou11.181.908
wcremade11Eddystonc,all1tanl'·cragt
C0$1 LO tho gonmmenl ofS26 each. Of tho
!Ollll,pc!hipsf0!11C80,000""tft'~
nllesiobeutcdforspRpans.Tho,,;cfia,.es
~thalEddyslonemademorc!hanRcm-
,n,wn and Winthcster,;,omb1ncd, ,,,hoch
-·
kCOlall:lforlheprcdormnanceoflheEddys-
11w: model <ks1gn.ation, manufac1urer'$
nameandSfflalnwnber11o•l.ffstampedonlhe
rcccivcrringlnfourlinesasfollOWl
U.S.
,.... ....,
MOOELOF1917
EODVSTONE(OrWinche$1ero,Rtminglon)
The reccwer ,s tho only pan smal num-
be,Qi. W ~ M1917 Enfield$ ""tft' Sffl•
al nwnbercd from number l on, and ,1 is
---
behc,"Cd1his~ite""3'!1•1sofolkw.·edby
RffllU>Jll.lllandEddyslone.
Fo,amiliwyaction.lhe 1917Enfocldwu
ucq:,tionally"-cllmadeandfinished. Fcw
machinemarkscanbefOWldundcrthcParl:-
trized finish. The bolt is made unusually
1moothandcven,1heresultaslick-opcra1ing
action.
Thcrc«"·erandboltarcmach1ncdfrom
l'lipe=ninidel~lfurp,gs.averysuona
alloysom,larincompositionlothcnickcl
ttttlutcd111manyl903Spnngfoeldac11001.
Most of the rttciverbonomisflat 'The
rcco,11111-localedatlhefromoflhellMbol-
iom, 11 abo,,it 111,~ wide and J/1~ dcq,. The:
utrerncfrontendofthc:rtteivcrisrt)Und
wh,lcthert"Stoflherett1vcrnnai1f111on
thcboltomandroundontop.Onthcnght
sideoftherecc iverringther-eis1111i,edtcc,
tangularponionmstrcngthcnlhcrccci,·cr
overthe1nsidemillcutforlhec,nnc10rThc
•1,~gas-escapevernhole,mthoct'llteroflh,s
111.isedportion,isinhncwiththcun-actor
hooltandeictractorcu1,nlhebarrel.Thc:bar-
rdthreMan:~~-Thc~lbr«ch1S
ooned.W11hpanoflhislimncled~m1lled
outforthc:c.ur-ac1or.Thcfrontofthc:bolt
brccchesnearlyagall'IStlhe~l"·htnlhe
IICtlOnlSClosed.
Thereupanofthcrccc,vcr,nonnally
c1lled1hcbridgc,ismalktohouscandpro-
rect1hcfoldingapcrturen:ars,ght ln!eJnLI
"e8111"or'"wings"projcctupwanlone,thcr
si de lo protect the folding sight compo•
ncnl$. Although without w,ndageadJUSt·
ment,thissigh1wasconsidcn:doneof1hc
best m11i11ry sigh1s designed up to th.at
"=Thc:frontofthcbridgt,haspoovcs.thc:sc
fonmna a gu,dc for loading rhc magazine
v1aSpringfieldfi,'C-$holstnppcrchpt,.Thc
bolthastv,olargefrontlock1nglup'Thc
n&ht(bonom)lugissolid;lhelcft(top)lua
1sd1videdbyananov,•sli1forthcej«IOl'IO
passthrough"·henrhca,c,tionisopcnc<I.
The bolt face ispamallyrccesscd,sur-
rt)Und1ngabout1Wo.1hirdsofihccartndge
n111.Whenlheboltiscl~d.chcopcn,
unrecesscd scgmcn1 is toward 1he left
ex,erlyorpositcthcg.. vent
(Plcll,redabove)U.S.Model11i117Enllekl
rille,calber30-06.Thlsrillellas•2&·i.n.1.
ia46.3'overal,and~atooutll.5
pounds.,..orig,nal)'madll,llwMlll17baf-
.... haclfMl9'00"Nandaleft-handrWllng
lwialol1:11r'.Mar,y1917a-i.terfitl«I
wllhrwo.andfour~i.n•.
 ' • : I I

Thtt,,:,l1h:andlelw1doublc:bcndback-
"'ri"'luchposm0R'lthehollowedgraspina
balllbo!IIJ/,wbeckoflhebaseoflhcbolt.Thc
bohhlndk,ofthc"low"typc,need-..,,.bc
alterediflhelCl>OO iscobc firu:d with a low-
moontcd ..x,pe. When the t,,:,lt is dosed the
heavybaseofthet,,:,l!handlefi1Sin101dccp
no«:hinthem:eiver,actingasasafetylug.
Thcrcaroftheb(>hhandlebascdocsOOI
toocllthem:civer(whichisasitshouldbc).
makina;itasafetylugratherthanathin:llock-
inglug.
Thtupperorlc:ftendofthebolthandlc:
ti.s,:Qliapercd101hcrc:ar. WhcnthcbohQI
opmc,d.llCCIIUC!Slmall:hingsurfattinsidt
thelUICl\'CJbndfl:,pmv,dingposili\~prima.
rya.trac!IOllcammmgJ)O"tt.
The CX!rX!Of is. loog Ma= type
mached101het,,:,1tbodybyacolllrin1 ,.,thll'Wpar1ofthebolt-swp"'luchpmja:IS thelllikerwhenthebohhandleismJtldan:
m;ess in the body. A narrow lip in lhe from thmugh a hole in the rc,cci,-er. A gnspina lip sal"etyfcallftl"'hichPre,:ftlltheactionfiom
oflhea.ll"ICIOfenpgesagrocwecwintothe onthefromofthebolt•swple!:iitbcl""\U\i ftnng1cam-idacunlesstheboltislockcdsuf-
headoftheboh10 fon::ethca.tractor10move OtllforbohmtlO\'ll f,cicntly10holditcloscdTheoockingpicceis
longitudinally with it. The extnictor is Thcsimplc:su-il<ermechanismconsistsofa mgagcdwhenthcbohisopen.andal10posi-
dcsigncd10snapoveracanridgcrimwbethcr bohslceve~adedintotherearoftheboh.a tionsandprcYC11tsrotationofthebohsJe,c,,-e.
i1ischambcrcdvi1themagazineorsingly coil mainspring,• striker(firingpin),anda Therugg,odroouysafety.just!Othcrcarof
loadcd.Someextracronhaveasmallholc:in cockin1pie«.Thecockingpicccisheld10 thebolthandlc.i$buillintothctan1ofthc
thehooltm:c,s11>ma1ehthep.11cscapchole thesnikerbydoubkintmuplcdringsmpjj- rcceiver.Withthcacrionclosedandcockcd..
Thebolt-SIOpl"oUowsM98Mausierdesign ,ng the i....o parts. Ordnance spccifica11ions uppmathesafe1ylc:vcrbecklocbthellriker
and1Spositi,ontdontheleftrc,roflhcrc,;eiv- ~lcdfuraftringpinprotrusionofnotover andbollThestrikeriskx:kcdback.tnd
er.ltisleClll'Clyheklthen:by1saewdvougjl
thercarcndofthebo11'5&0pandlhrooghan
.068".llldnotw'lder.058"=·=·
fmng-pinholenola!llffthan.O&Sw.
=·""'' po.illc:dbeckoffthcsear.bythecndoflhc
afctyl)'Slemengagina;1nou:hcutm10the
,mq:ralstudonthere:iei,-er. Ahea,-ySping. Two~holninthefmntoflhe sideofthec:ockilt@;piett. Thebol!JSlodcd
fllltdkngth,.iseinthebolt-stopandrcarward bol1dirtt1escapingpse5inrotheleftsidc clotcdby1pinpushcdr..,n.-.dbytheafcty
o,-er I ,eparlle rest. keeps the bolHltop lockm&ncn.-ay. inloaholemthebasc-ofthebollhandle..
agaiMthcm;eiver.Fittedinsidethcbolt- Primaryfflikercockingocainonnaising Toelli.-is1comrnondoublc-slagcmi1-
$1<lp.andheklthen:bytheboh-stop~,is thebolthandlc.whcnlheforn'ardcndofthe ,wy,~.Thtlongfirscscageoflhepul1
lheejeCl«.ThecjeCl«ismadewithanint~ cockingpicccengagesashallowcaminthe mo~ the .sear 11,noi;t all the way offlhe
p!Sprin&leaf,whichprovKbthetensionlO rcarofthcbolt.Fullcockingtakesplaceonthe cockingpicce.thefinalshonpullfullyn:lc:u-
moveitsfrontmd!Othcrightwhmthcbohis forn'&l"d traV<:I and closing of the boll after ii i"i it. Anaddedsafetyfearun:. built inlothc
opened.Back"'ardu-av,:lofthcboltishalted hasbmlfullyopell(d The shallow cam and scar.is1pinprojectinglJll"'ardthroughahole
whrnitskfl locking lug comes incontacl theshonini1ialrcao,,'ardmcwcmen1gi,=10 in the n:,,:eiver. Only when \he bolt ii fully

10

TQPviewolMQ(ltj1917Enti"4daction
doecd,.,,'hdlpla,ccs a OOldin111n10thcbody
oflhebohdirectlylWffthepin.cantheaiggcr
bepullcd10releaselhewiker.
ThcactionishcldinlheSIOCkbyrwoguanl
ICl\"Vo-S. ontalcithcrmdoflhelClion,paWrl&
dwwghholcs.,lheaiggerg,.urdplalc. Stock
bushings.lhrough"·hichlheguard~
pan.pny,idepr.,-.spaclngbtt,,=iniggcr
guardandre«ivcr. Thcmagazincboxisa
sepuatc1mitfabrica1cdbyrivctin1twofl.11
lhin pi«es o f ~ srttl. whoch ronn the
sodrs.lOthclhockermds. Theiopofthefiom
cndprojects.upin1t1thernagaz1lle<()JIClling
wdllOberonlcpanoftheloadani~- The
magazine box is JttUrely positioned ~
!hctrigger&uardandre«i,-er,andispanly
roc:csscdin10thc:scpans.Thcmagazine-"-cll
openmg,nthebonomofthcre,:;d,-crismilkd
IOkl!>-clipslorholdingthecannd&einplacc
,nthemagazinc. Thcmillcd.si«lfloorplatc,
dclachablcfi'om!hcaiggcrguanl.ishcldin
placcbypro;«tinglipscngaging-in
thelriggcrguardandisl«"lll"Cdby a small
.spring-loadcdlalehintheguudjust!Othe
rear oflhe ffl3illl""' box open,ng. Depttaing
lhisla!ch"·ilhapoin!C<l1ool.throughaholc
,ntherearoflhefloorpla1c,allowsthela11Cr
IObcmcr,Wbackandreleascd.
The aiggcr•guud bow. cu wpcd. lhc
Of1Ctlinglarac,-1nfront. Thcfaccof the
rorvcdtriggcris groovcd.Thcmillcdmaga-
zincfollo"-erandthefollower$pingarethe
ron,-cntional Mauser1ypc. Thcmapzine
holdsWlcanridgclinastlQCffdcolWM
When thc rnap:a.nc is cmp1y the follo,,,-er n t-
et in fromoflhebol!, when 1he action is
-
opcned.prevcntingthcbohfrombcin11
elo$cd. All K l1011paruaremadeof5t«I ;
th1Mareoo51amp,ngs.
Toremovethebolt,pspthefrontedgeof
!he bolt-Slop w11h the lhumb. swing it OU1·
ward.rauethebol1h:andleandpulllhcboh
OUI.Tomnc,,,-.,thefloorplatc.mscn a pointcd
tool intolhc hole in the rearof1hc plate.
depr,:ssthetoolwhilca1sametimepulli"l1i!
10therear. 1lut releasesthefloorplatc,fol-
kM-erspringandfollo,,,-cr.
Toran0>1:1hebarelandacuonfromthe
MOtk,firstremo,·ctheupperandmiddlcbar-
relbandsandhandguard.!hcnrcmovc 1hc
frontandrear1uardsere....,, Liftthebaml
andre,:;d,-crlrom510Ck.thenpullOU11hetng-
aerguard.Thclwrelislhr-s.d¥CrYlightly
1ntolherccciverandno 11tcmpt~ldbc
made 10rern0\"C it unlcsspl'q)Cfeqwpnmi IS
mlw,d
Disasscmblctheboltbywa,pin&theboh
bodyintherighthandand."-ith a !Ool(such
as asmallscrev.1k;,-cr)inlhcod...-hand,pull
lheoockmgpi«>ebad.AJCal'"illandlheboh
sJtto.-eoounlerdockwlSieaboulonc-halfl\lffl.
Unscrewthebohslee>-cfurtherU11tillhccock-
1ngpicttdropsdov,-n,lhenrcpea1thepnl(C$$
untillhecnan:slril:cr..-nblyisremoved.
To disassemble the suiker mechanism,
plaeelhefirmgpintipon a hardsurfattand
grasplhebohslecve,'Cl}'finnly;pullthebolt
slec,.-cdo"11asfarasi1"·,llgo.1hen1umthe
cockingpi«>e~errumincithcrdit=
tK111andlift11off.
Toremo-,-clhentractc,r.l\lfflllonlhcboh
IOCO'--er 1h c ~ n ms,lhenpush11for-
wardtodiJCTI&l3citlromthentractorrollar
Thcrollarcanlhcnbc~apanand
rernovnlfromlhcbolt.
Tumou1thcboh-500ptcrcwandremove
thebol1-Mopassembly.Pushoutlhcsc,arpm
IOOrcmo,.1:lhcaiggcr/1ear_.,,bly. Wilha
i.mall screwdrivertumou1 the safety-lock
hoklcrtcrcwandrcm;r.-clheholder. S-.ma
lhcsafdyback. then pull lhcsafdyOU1. after
whichlhe safe,ylodcplungcrandspringon
bercmo\lN. Rcassemblcinrev~ortler.l~
rcti!lcmblinalhcsafety. fl!Slmsertlhcsafety
1oc1i:p1ungcr'l)fing.lhmlhclodcplunacr ...,
lhcholemthefttffo-cr. Ussng a SCttWO"l-.
1umlhclockplungcrtoit1Vsurfaccis111hne
wilhthehole.lhenpushlhelockplungerfor-
wardand.111thesamc11me. finnlygrasplhe
fionlcndoflhcpluogcr"11haplicn. While
holding•~ remo-,-c lhc screv.·d ,wcr. iMerl the
safetyandrelca.1clhcpllfft.
ToaS$C11lblethcbolt•s1op,withthcbolt
for,,ardandthehandlcnnsed..laylhcaction
on a bcnchwithlhclcft$idl:up. Posltlonlhc
boh-stopJPfinareSlonlherttti,-cr.lnsenthc
c,cctormthcbolt-srop1hm,nsenlhcbol1-
11

~ ol 1ear pal'1 ol Model 1917 Enfleld
actionshowinghowbol1handletormssafety
lugbyengaginged&epnotchintherecelver
(errow)
w.,psping.~thehookcdmdofdus
sprin&inlothefrontmdoftheboh-s1e1p11111il
11,sle\-elwilhlhelaner.PositionlheJiUCm-
bledbolt-siopinpba,onlhert>OO,-.:r.lllnllJI&
the~1toalig:nlhc:groo..-cforthcbolt-S1op
Sj)ring.Usinga11C.TeWdrivcrhandlcortimilar
IOOl.firmlypresslhc:rearendoflhc:bolt-stop
apwi:thcm:cl\1:r.lhe,,1RSe11andtuminlhe
boh-stopscrtW.
TheonlyreallywWpaninlhisaction11
theejwor.hisaleafspring"''hichusually
bmwoffandlcavestheej«torusclcn.
NOi adi:sign fault. but,athcracoostruction
fault.islhatsomeofthcl917rt>OO,-.:nde>~1-
op hairline cncks. By no means a common
()CCUITC1>Ce. it ,s oommon enough to be of
someconc:crnlOO\O'llcrloftheseaclions.The
cncksusuallyappear10111eplacearoondthe
rccdvcrring.,oflcnswtinga1thefron1~
ofthe~vcrondcxtcndingrearw31'tlinan
crn,tic pancrn. Although Winchcslcr and
Rmungton ~,vcn ha,·c bttn found with
aatb.lheEddysionc-mmcrt>OOven-by
f•themostl'R>qumcofl'cndm..hisbelic..-ed
lhatmanyofthcsc:recc,ivrrs"''Cl"Cgi,·m1
faultyheat--tmcnl, the metal lhcrt'by
bocoming 100 hard and brittle. Not easily
spo1\ed, thecrxksarcmostoftendc!cctcd
"'-hm the action ispolishtdand~ued. They
canoflcnbedolectcdw,ththenakedcy,:.or
bycaKfullycxamining the reoo,-.:rring with
ahandmagnifitr.
Anodiergood1>,'lytodc1cc1cncksi110
dunkthcrecc,i,'cringuolincforamomcn1. lf
acrack(orcracks)ispm,en1,thcga50lincwi11
sccpfromittftcrlhcratofthert>OO,-erhas
12
dried. Cracked receivers are gcner11lly not
rq,airable.sotheyshooldnotbeused.
Whilecncks may well be the result of
impropcrheattrntmmt.they"remostfro-
quently found on recc-ivcn from which the
original barrel has bttn mno,.-ed. Samii
wc-rcfinedeximnclytightinthcsc:Kt10fll,
somc:tightcrlhanothcn.hispo,siblethal
some ofthoe m:dvm cnckcd when the bar-
rels werc originally insia!led. buc I believe
most of the cncb oc:cur whm the origin.al
,-aylightbarffl11mno,.-ed_for~q1
tiglwbam:lpu111locofstrainonthe~,.,,,._
Thecod:-on-<:losinafeaturcisoftmoon•
sidcrcd poor design. but that"s a mancr of
opinion.l"vcfimlmanysholsthroughlhc:se
actions. but I've nc,~r found this fca1urc
objcctionabk.cntainlynottothepooMwhcrc
lwouklspendlimeandmoney10changcit.
Olhcrshavccondcmnedthoelona;strikcr
&llthe,ecmln&IY51<1Wloct.time,bul,pin
1",'thadnooccasion10complainabout1t.The
sarncgocsforlhcOOUble-stagctriggcrpull
which.ifonelcamstouscit.isalmoowithoul
fault.Attnyratc.ifanyoftheseFcatumiare
objectional,lcthtff-accessorie$comrncr•
tiallya>-ailable10~1hern.Se-."tnllinns
mab:~tnpe,-~bthis
riflewililel"''Otirmsmakcspecd-lockand
eock~"&fmngmochanisms.
lfi1isdesired1oincorpor111c1lllhese
thangcs.theninSlllllinglhc:tomplCICDayton-
Tnistcruiggerand$ptCCl-lockrnec:hanisms
KCmStobethoebesisolution.
Round-noscdbulleupo,;c1feafm&prob-
lc:rn,andrnanyairaba,,cbttn1ncd..The
sunplcstmethod11ioinmll,devia:,lhcTru-
F«dKil.madcbyDayton-Tnimr.
Altbooghl'vclircd$Cvcralthousand.shots
withriflesba!C!donthoe l9l7Enf,eldactionl Undersideol~1917En!leldboltthow·
1>e..-crcxpcricnccd1rupturcdcu::he.-lor lng:(A)eirtractor,(B)dual-<lJll)()Mdlocking
primer.whichmigh1ha,'tallowedpowdcr lugs.{C)lWOgu...capeholu.
pSC$10gctinlothe-.iion.HadtlCIIOtllrop-
turcoocumd_lmosthkclywouldhl,·ep subjcc1indttail101"Ujuslslum0>'ft"duspart.
$OIJICOflhi11u1nmyf-.for1hedesig:n The unsightly pal'1 oflhis Ktion is the
docsn"t allow much ps escape: throu&h the rttcivcrbridgcandthoeprooudings,gh1ears.
actionoth<-rthantowardlhc:ll'ar.Drilling• Removingthesecar1androundingthemdge
holcintheleftrtteivcrwall.oppositelhcrtar isgenc-rallythcfirstlhinglhc:amateurgun-
vcmholc:inthebolt.wouldbavchelped smith"'1lntttochangc.Theusualinslructions
Eliminaitlngthen.-ogroo..-esontJ,esuikcr sugge,cgrind1r11thebridgcdowntobclhe
shoulderwould1lsoha..-ehelped11opany Sllll'ICCO!llourasthcrt>OO,'crnng.whichi1
&ISC$J>U$in&backalonglhc111aJrupingto 01<-bullhM still lca,-esa 1oc ofmelll ""'= ii
escapc:pasttheeockingpi«c.andwould is no1 needed. Top soope mounts for the
instead.1cndtodcfl<:ettl-.c:ga.5CSoutof1hc mnodcledl917Enficldareusuallymadcfor
VU1tholcinthebol1a1lhispoint arearbridgctha1"1thc:samcdillfflC1Cruthc:
........... ,,,1&111111 fron1ring.Bcthisasi1may.lmuchpreFcrto
grind the bridJcdown much lower. Ol'to
Besides ,nsulhng the Ibo,~ menuor~ duplicalethebridg,:ontheFNMIU!ICfaction.
ICCC550ries.the 19l7Enf1eldactlon,;ar,be which pemrns 115111& mounts reconuncndcd
-gunsrrulhcd'"nomd. forthallCIIOn.AltheSIUl'ICllme l likcto
Throughlhcycarstheserifles"'Cl"Cl'-ail• l'ffl'IO\'tlllmctaldircctlyo,.'ft"lhebaseofthe
lblc:a~tmanyaniclcswer,:wrinmontheir bohhandJe.u,.•cllurano..-ingmetalocai-
rcrnodclingandconvcrsion.andallofthc picdbythebolt-$1opspringrest,le,avi"&only
major gunsmithing boob ha..-e cm·ercd the tbou1,•1,-mcu.lledgedirccllybehindthc

boli.stop.Therearmdofthebolt-su,plipring
canbehcaledandbmtdowntorideonthis
ledgcaflercuningabitofftheendofthe
spring. All this eliminal<'S considerable
wcigh1andthcemireactionlooksm..chtrim-
mer. ~bridgecanbcfurthertrimrnedto
climinacetheclipguideslols.
lfonedoesn'tlikethe 19l7's"dogleg''
lx,lthandle,itcanbehcatedandstraightened
001and."ithsomcfiling,i1canbemadeto
k:dliketheold720Remingtonbolth:,ndle
Oranewbollhandlecanbclathe-madeand
wcldcdoninplaccofthcorigirnl
Anotheroddfeatureofthisactionislhc
crookedfrontmdofthetriggerguardplare:
unlCS11thisisch:mgedthcriflcwiUhaveadcf-
initebeUy. Usual practice istostraightrn the
guardplatebycuttingofflhcfronttang.weld-
ingitbatkonand o;lrcs.$ingitdownsoit is
siraigh1withlherostoftheguardplalc.After
thisthcmagazinebox iscu1downsolheorig-
inalfrontguards=wcanbeuscdagain.This
rcducesmagazinecapacitylOfive.Sofaras[
know,nofirmhasevermadeareplacement
hingedfloorplate/magazindtriggerguardfor
the 1917 Enfieldrine, bu1 • Mode! 1903
Springfieldguardcanbcinstallcdlfthisis
donethcstockcanbcmadeasslimaroundthc
actionasontheSpringf1tki
Springfieldguardscrcwholespacingisnot
cor=tfortheEnfieldaction,bulcanbellest
5
r.akcncarcofbyfillinglherearguardscrew
hok:with""ldanddrillingancwholesliglu-
lyfarthel'tothe~ar
MosiEnficldrecei,·ershaveadtq}obloni
rtteSSmilledinthetopofthebridgc,rather
W1Sighdylookingonafinishedsporlef.Aftcr
the sight ears ha•'<' b«n ~moved and the
bridge dressed down nearly to thedcsifW
poin1, this m:ess can be filled. A simple
method isiouseglassbeddingcompound
~bluelblack.lflhcinsideoflhcre,cessis
cleanedlhoroughlyandlhcsidesnickedabit.
thccompoundwiUbecomcapermaocntpan
oflhcn:,cei,'Cf.Toadvancelhisidcaabit fur-
ther,apieceofsieelcanbeconcealedinthe
compoundincaseanextrascope mount
scrcwhokisn.ecdedinthisarea.Them:ess
-
oouldalsobefilledwilhsteelweld:prefemhly
thisshouldbedoneb)'partlyfillinglhcm:ess
wilhapicccofstcclandlhenfillinginwilh
ele,ctricweld
The 19l7Enf,cldwasrnadeforthc30-06
cartridge,~tlyitiscquallysuitable
forothcrcartridgesof30-061crigthandhead
diametcr.Thereforenochangesnecdbemade
inlhisactionwl>enrebarrcledtocomrnercial
canrid&essuchasthc25-06.270,280,and35
Whelen. Thisactionisalsomostsuitablefor
cartridgesslightlyshorterlhantheJO--Oti,and
Theauthor's "B&byEnfield"8C:tionandlherille
builtaround~.Ves,lhisactionwasonceaU,-
sized1917En!ield.llisnowjus17.25·1oog
andweighs2po,.rds.Costomizingconsis1ed
ofcuttr,gasectionoutollhel9C9iva<andbolt
!Wldwekinglheseciions!ogtllhl:t<again,mak-
s>gandlitmga.-bolthandle,,llfflOYinglhe
safelyl)llrts&ndlhe$11alterations:lhetang
wh&relhesa!atywaslocated;thereceiver
bridQetoFNMau$11roonlOur;thebolt-stop:
thebolt8198ve:lheboltandoockhgplece90
lhestl'ikercocksonopening,andmakrigand
iostallinganadjuatableeingle-stagetrigger
mechanism,(Al)o,.,g)The"'SabyEnfield"rifle
charnberedlorlhe2191~Zippe,car-
1ridge.The22"bilnalhasa.224•groove
dilimeteranda 1:14' rilling !wist.a muzzle
dillmeterof.700"andweight3bs.,6oz.The
lrimwalnutstockweighsjus130ozand,wilh
thelymanSAscope,thecompleterifletips
andscalesat6pounds. Thisrifle,hq"iyaocv-
rate,hasaccountedlormanyvamwt1$!1inceij
wasmadein1942
wilhoutanychangesitcanhandlc lhc6mm.
257 Roberts, 6.5x57. 7xS7mm, 8d7mm and
9x57mm.
E,-ensuchshonercartridgesasthe243or
308"illusuallyfttdquitewellfrontlhcmag-
arincintotbechamber.Therearand,'orthe
frontofthemagazinc boxoouldbeblockcd
ofTforlheshonercartridgesbutthisisnoc
usually necessa,yunless 100percer,t flawless
f,:,cdingisrcquired.
Aftcrenlarginglhcrecessintheboltface
andshortcninglhcextractorhook,thisaction
is quite ideal for1he family of short belted
magnum cartridges, such as t1,c 264, 7mm,
300,338and458Magnums.lf.inadditionto
thcbohfacealtcration.themagazincis~
longcr.thisactionisalsosuitablcforthe
longcrbe!tedmagnumcartridgcs-lhc)OO
and 375 H&H Magnums and others. It is,
howevcr.alwaysnccessarytofiledownthe
magazine•"'<"!! lips to make the masazine
wellwidcrwhenusedwithbeltedmagnurns.
l",'<'uscdlhcl917Enfieldacrionforawide
varietyofcanridges.fromthe22-250tolhc
450Magnum.butbi:causei1isabigactionl
considcri1bes1forsuchbigborehcavy-
rtt0ilingcartridgcsasthe35Whelen.338
Magnum and 458 Magnum
Althoughithasbeenncarly50ycarssin,;e
the two million-plus 19!7actionsandrifles
weremade.lheyarcsiillvcryc,:;mmon.
13
 -- 1 Aeceiver{IC)ll-.iew)

,! -
" C,Spmg
,2

" ""
14 Triggerpin
-
r-
15 Trigger
H.,.
16 SearP.,

: =.u~
27 Triggerll'Ji'l'd

~ ~~

""

1917 U.S. &llleld

(Uses.30-06cartridges)

---
WelgM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .580.Z.
Receiveflength ..........8.875"
Recelverrlngdla ........... 1.385'

__,,
Bohbodydia . . , ..........695'
Bohl- . - u (partlally
~-- --
::~~Sleello(giogwilhoon-slottedbridge.Stripper~

-~~~lo<wa..:llockinglugs.Bas.eolbollhan<le
::,:_asafetyk,g.Low-prolile.bolthard'l~~k.>w-mountoo

t=ne :::::~-~~;:.==~
Bott~ - , ·.J::
Strtker travel .. , ...........?W' =.:· :-~~~~~S!JhrBOObolt....tien

,;:;r~~".9 ....
Guard11C1'9Wapa,clng .....8.00" sw,.r,grearward

Frontwidltl
3.~
.550"
=c: ·: . ::=~~ug~~a~~~':,.."!:'~
Ejectot . . . . . .Swingingtypeinbdl.$11,)phousing

14
 Enfield Rllles

5~ ~
lfso

--......
44
I'

47 RearSwivelBase5cl'ews

1 0ollStopSpring
2 BohStopScrew
3 Ejector

,, .,....,
__
! "::'
r·
4 Bo11StopSpringRes!
54 ~,d,l.°"91
7 Mainspring : ,~ o d, Upper

"""""""'""
=-=ScrewBushlng
"""'"""'"""'
=~ScrewBushlng
RearSqllSlidll
Rear5i!1'tSlidllSpring
RearSwivelBase
~8""s8'..we1Screw

15
Pll'tl
Pallll'l114Enllllld
C 11R01'otOGICALLY this~ should
preccdcthol917EnficldbutlinccthoP-14
at'li<Jnandrif1earen'1nearlyasimpoftanll0
,,~
lhca,·cra(!Creadc-r.l'vcgi,-mtb,,ma$CU!nd
Fora clclailcd re~icw oflhe h.i$10f}' and
de',·clopmcmoflhcBm,illP-14,lsuagnc
rcadm gc1 77w L«--&jkld R,fk. by E.G.B.
Reynokk.andlmChaptffll .
Bntny.thcBn1ishbeQmeinltttSled.tiou1
1910inadopungad1ffcrmtm,l11arycartndge
andar,cwshouldcrarmto~lacclhcoldJ03
Bnushcanridgeandthetwo.picccs1ockcd
Lee-Enfiddrilk.
Thccamidgcfa,-on:dlil'a!lof276-calibcr111
1nmlessbonlenockcdcasoe. TheSmalLAmlf
Committtt whic,h had supen·i,icd de\-.:k.,p,
memreoommcndodthcnewriflebebasc:doo
1 Mauser-1ype1Umbol1action.andmadesim-
1lar10thel903Spn11J1f1Cld.Thcuialnflcwas
developed by Royal Small Aons faclOf)' 11
Enfield Loc:k, M>ddlc,cx. England. Aller
,omeleSlu,g.111oompct,t,on111ilhotherriflcs.
lhc Enf,,:ld rillcs showW pronuse. II " ~
&cidcdthal IOOOoflhcse rillcsho made and
lhoroughlytesccdbcforemakinganylinal
de,;isiononthcriflcorcanridge.Th,swuin
1913,andthearm"'IISnamcd"Rillc.Enflcld,
Calibcr.276.Pam:mofl913.~
The 1000 Plum, 13 nllcs lil'ffl: manufac-
tuml at Enfield and distributed io vanous
Bnush1rOOp1furu-,-.:tes,;mg.The276
canridgcdid~pcrl'onn .s c:cpe,:tcd.mctal
fuulmg being the major problem. Some mmor
faultsfoundinthcrifle"'=easilyC01TUtcd.
andaflcrthetrialslheEnficklplantmade"P
mnewrifleswithoulthescfaults.lt"-asoow
1914.Englandhadgotonwh·cd,nWorld
W•l.soallfunh«operimenuandlnllsof
the276""tl'Cdropped.
Howevi:r.1he8nushhadcb~lopcdagood
nf\e,andlhey""tl'tmdcsp:menttdofmany
nfles10annthciruoop:s.The Briti$har$C11111$
wcrcsiiUtoolcdup1oniaketheLcc-Enfield
nllesinquantity,JOit"wdecided1on.1ca,n
!hasarm.andha,~lhenewnfles.chamberal
forthe303Brihshcstndgc.madeel5C"''hctt.
hwaslhU:'llhallhoBrihshawardedcontrxt$
10 the thrtt U.S. firms 10 make the new
Enfield. This "'tim 1914.andthcncwnf\e
thenbecamelcnownas!heModel(or Pancm)
l9l4Enficld.
The lhrce fums "-= Winchesler. Rcnuna•
1onandEddys10M. Dunng191S.1916and
1917Wincheslermadeaboul245,866rifles
forEngland.~madeabolll450.000
and Remmgmn probably made more. In
Marchofl917.shortlybeforcthcBn11shcon•
trac1wascanceled.Remmgtonmadeup10
61.000 p.14 rifles m 1113lOllC' month alone.
16
P,ttem(P·14)11l14EnlieldadionmQlorlhB303am.ric:.,1rldg&. ~ l h t 1 w O ~
inlhll!lidol-ollhtmal)&ztnebo><.~whichproduolrldl)taiMldelhebox, andffflichare
~forlhtrtmmad303Brltishcanrldl)e.
Tllll'IUW'l14(P·14)11c1111
TheP-14Enfield.,;tlor,isesxnua!ly like
1hel917Enf1CldOteflllhalilismacli:10han-
dlethenmmcdl03Bntishcattri<IF.
Hcrcan:the$pCC1fica1ionsofthcP-14
a,:1100 which differ from the 1917 Enfield
-
Bolt ' - - =
Dia. .. .545"
MagazlMboJilenglh . . ..... .3.0$"
RKelWl''ftllopanlflll:
·"'
~Mdlh ..... ...... :: :~:::
Rearwidlh ........610"
::~.gwnc
Thepa,ts1hll-diffcrtm-thel'tal>'Cf.
boJ<. folk,v;er, tJ«lor and
TheP-14ittel\"Ct"differsinhavmgawider
magazinc-wcllopc,ning. millcdtoholdand
guidethc3031lmi5hround.TheP•l4bolt
...
hadalal'gCTdlllnelcrcanridgeheadf\'CCSS.
andaleftlocbn1Jluaw1thamundedfmnt
Theexttac10rhas 1 rianowhoolcandlh11
hoolciswellbe>~kxlsothaltheurnictorwill
easilyshp0>·erthenmofaeanndge1hatis
chambcredaheadoftheextmctor.TheP•l4
tJCCIOrisloogffthantheModell917ejcctor.
andtheP-14=-ivcrhasalongcre_jcctorslot
IO~it.
The biggest d11Tettnce between these
IWO actions 15 in the maguinc boJ< and fol-
lower. The P- 14 magazine bo~ has sides
made of heavy gauge sheet mcu,I into
whichgrocM.'Streprcsscdtofo,mrour.ded
ridgesinthcrcaroftheboxguideandhold
thccanridacsbytheirrims.and,nloeding
the3038ntii.hroundsintothemagazinein
the norm,ol "·aytheirrims slidetothe rear
ofthesendlJes. Thcrearridgesu"-ellu
thercar"'all ofthemagu1ncbox.anglc
slightlytothcrcar.andasmorcthanone
canridgeisprcsscdinto1hemagaw1Ceach
precttdingcanridgefflO\.·esb;ickalinle50
thatthcnmoflhcsuc:cecdmgonewill be
atie.dofthe011C"belowit.Th1sdocs1lol10
help chm,nate 1hc problem of 11'1CO<T«I
o,-.rtappingofthecartridgemmtopm·ent
fccdingjams.Thcrcarridgesalsoholdthe
canridgessecurcly ,nthcmagaz,nesothat
1hcycann01moveforwardwhen1herifle
recoilsandthuspro1ec1ing 1hcpoin1$ofthe
bullcl$. The second ridgn tre near the cen-
ter of the maaaz,ne box and these merely
pos,t,onandholdthecartridga1wayfrom
thesidewallsJOth.atthebullet11nthecar-
tridgcsanpomtedtofccdCOl'ffl:tly.
Thc P-14follo"'-.rhasaribalongirsldl
s;de to Slal!(!Cfthccartridgcs m the 11111gazme,
andlhisribistquarcinback1ohaltthcfor-
wanlmovemcntofthebohwhcnthemap-
zineis emp1y,but11diffenfromtheModel
l917fol10.,,.crmthatitsrightfmn1sroo-·e
Clll'\'dlup.,,.ardtoproperlyguidothclutcar•
llidgc in the ~soitsbu!lct ..,;11 clear
thcloadingrampasitisfed001.
The P-14 action will handle the 30-40
Kragunridseuwellasthc30l Bri1ish.
Since II is • ,·ay $ll'Ong action it would be
idnl forrcb;im:lingtoanywildcatcar-
tridgebascdonthclOJBriushor30-40
Kragcase,suc:huthc22/303.22/4000
Krag.2 S/303,2SKrag.25KrafilmprO>-.d
and35 Krag
WhilcthcP-14bohfaceandcxrnictorare
a:irrttt for the 300 11&.H belted magnum head
8ollheadollhe1917(r,ght}aodlheP-14Enfield(lell).~ee,:tractorhookandleftlockinglug
siic,themagazjneistoo&hon:10handleany
of1hepopularcommercialandwildca1car-
tridgesbascdonlhiscasc. Hov.1,••er,bysub-
stitutingthe 19l7magazinc00~ and follower
i1willhandlcmostof1hesecartridg.-s,and
thusbcidealforlfflUTC!ing10such&honbclt-
edmagnumsasthe264,7mm,300,308Nor-
maandod>er$.Thcmagazinewellandguidc
lips..suallynecdsomcw00:10obtlinpnfec1
feeding.
SincethetimeP.O.Acklcyfirs1popular-
iWtheMirnp,o,.'Cd'"canridgen:chamberings.
ooewhichrespoodcdfawnblylO!hislreat-
mcntwasthe30JBritish.
Afterthestandard303Britishcases=fire
formed (blo"'l>-OUI) by firing them in the
••improved""chambcr.carefulhandloading
canresultinconsiderablyhigher,'<'locity
There=anwnberofriflcscbamberedfor
the303Britishcartridgc.buttheP-l4isthe
onlyboh-acrioorifleforwhichthe3038rilish
lmprovedn:chamberingcanbcn:cornmendcd.
bc,:;atl'leiliustrongactionandcansafelyhan-
dlepressurcshigher1hanthefactoryloaded
303Drilishcanridgero:,nnallydevelops.Thc
"imprm'Cd'"rechamberingisasimplcjob.and
itolf~theh.1ndloodermoreenergyandveloc•
itylhanthefactoryloadcandeli,,.,,..
P-14actionsmfullyasstrongandsafeas
the 1917 Enfield aclions and. as with the
l917s.thosewiththeRcmingtonandWin-
chester names m preferred over the Eddys-
StoegerArmsCorp.oncesold(aboul1939)
adooble-sett,iggermechanismespecielly
ma<.kllorlheP·14En!ield
tooes.Becauselhc303Dritishcartridgehas
longbeenverypopularinCanada.theP·l4s
havealsobccnpopularthcn:;agrcarmanyof
them"..,,..,remodeledandsponerizedforbig
gamehunting.TheP-14riflecanbcsotrt:ated
justlikethel917Enfiekls,andthei1ll1$U11tion
oflheRcmingwnModels30.30Sand720
showwhatcanbcdonewitheitherrifle
ltwasgoodnews"ilcninthecarly1990sa
largcquantityofP-!4rifles"'<'reuneanhed
andmadeavailableagainfromacoupleof
surplusarmsdealers. l obtainedoneforits
action.shortenedi1andmodifiedi1tobcuscd
asasinglcshol.lha,'<"nolas)'Clcho5enacar-
tridgeforitbutl00Sllikelyitwillbcthe219
DonaldsonWasp
17
T HE FIRST IMPORTANT metallic car-
trid&eshouldcrarmadoptedby France"'U
theModcl1874Grassinglcsholrifle-dcvcl-
,:,peclbyGencratBa,ilcGras(l8¼-190l)of
theFmichAnny.ThislllmboltannC'VOlved
fromthebolt-aetionbrccch-~Modcl
l866Clwscpotn«dle•fi~nnc.10calkd
becau$elhefiringpinHs ......00.likelllpcr,-
ttmclhcSC'[f.o:,nsuminapapcror]inrnCllf•
m<1ae. and wikc the primJ"i mixture
positioncdatthebastofthebullct. ThcGras
riOewu chambercdforthc llx59RFrench
Gras centcrlin= cartridge, dc11elopcd and
adoptc,.lwiththeGrasrillcin 1874. Usually
calledthellmmGras.this cartndgcis,'t"T)'
sunilar 10, but 11(1( ~hangc:abk with, such
olhcr4:k:alibtrcartridgesoflhcsamepcriod
u th.o 11mm Mau,er. 11mm Munila and
llmmWtmdl.TheGru nfles (lhcn="·ere
thrceprinc:ipatversi<.insi..vin&b•rds ofdif-
fm:ntlcngths)",m,widelyuscdinoounlries
otherlhllnFrance.
Unlike some other llmmfotti&nmilita,y
anns, Gras rifkl; never"= CQmJTIOftl'lace in
the UnitiedSwes. henbcf<KTthc Model
1r74Grasrifkwasofficialtyadopecd.France
oon,ffledmanyofheroldcrM18660--
~ nttdlc-fin: rifles toth.o Gras sysicm 10
handlc111llrnm.1elf..xinwnalc:anri<l&e.
TheGrasrifkhad 1 11ay 1m19le..:tion.
Thcboh"'Ulockedinthcre«i11erbythc
hcavybaseofthcbol1hlndlcen&,agingin
ftontofthereceivcrbridgc:,Thccxtractorwas
fil\N in thesc-paratc bolt head. The action
cockedbyliftinglhcbolthandle.Therc",m,
1wonotclw:$undcfthecocki111picceand a
ch«kmdthumbpiect,~on10pthat
po,1ooonedthesaiker1t"hlllf-ai,;k.wlthlldno
51fc,y. ThcSll!tl:"111 ofonc-pie,;econstruc•
t,on.Gras rit1cs.of,-alueonly111mil1wyann.
collccton,iRquitcscam:IOday,noriginal
andvcrygoodoondition.
18
,... __
Aflcrthe 1ingkshotGraswasinproduc-
tionfor 1 fewyears,the~was a growing
demand for • repealing riOe. An Austrian
inventor named Alfl'CU Kropat,chck
wort.eel OUI • method to make the Gns rifle
into • rcpcaler, f"Bn«adopledhiJ l )'llClll
1bou1 1878, and it became known u the
Modcll878Gras-Kropatsdd . Thcrcpcat•
ingmechanismoonsistedof a Henry•typc
tubularmaga7.ineinthe forcnd,underthe
bam:1.and a pivotingcanridgecarrierp,»i•
tioncdundcranopcninginthcbottomof
thcm:e111er. Themagazinewasloodedby
pushin&thecanridgesintoitthroughthe
openodac11on.Onclosingthcbolt.thecar•
ricrwould11pdovi11. 1llowingonecanndge
iomovcbackootothccarrierplat(orm. On
opcningthe ac1iontheboh"·ouldt1p1hc
carrierup.plac1na1t.cnoscofthccartridge
in line with the chamber. Onclminglhc
bolt.ihccanridgcwouldbepushcdintothc
chambcr andthccarrierdcpresscdagain to
pickupanothcrround. Gras-Krop;itKhck
riOC$ "'C~ used largdy by the fm1eh
Navy. Like the Gras riOe. the Gnl•
Kropatschcknfles had•one-piece!lock .
Thcy1Rqui1cnn:andarcpnzcdby 1nns
001lec10n.
The original Gras rifle and the Gras•
Krop.at,chekrcpc11erwercsoonobsole1ed
byimprovedriOcandeart~dcs,gns. ln
F - . • commissionwas!Cluptode\-rlop
anewrilleandcanridg,ec. Hcadcdb)'Gcncr·
al Tl'llmond o(IIM: French Anny. Colonel
Nioolaslcbel..,.., oneoftheotherlcading
menonthis boud.ThertSUlloftheirefforts
" ..s theadoplionofanewrifkandcartridgc
inl8S6.
Ac1ually. the new nnc was merely an
improvemcn1oflhcGras-KropatschckriOe
The cartridge, however.was really new; it
wasthefirstn=lati,·d y small-bcftsmokckss
JIO"-dercanridg,:tobcadopleiibyanyworld
JIO""ff. Lcbelis cmiikdwithbcinglarg,ely
responsiblefor<.kYcloptngthiscartridge.and
onthis aocoum,twasnamed afterbim.He
probablyhlldahandmthc:dcsignin,pro,-c,.
mentsoflherifle100(110ffl1:souroesn:fer10
the"Lcbcl S)'S(cm"), buttheriOeborehis
namelargelybecauseoflhecamidge.Atany
rate.thecartridgcis nowuniVCTSallyknown
u the8mmlcbel.andlhcriOcaslheFrench
8mmModcl l886Lrilcl.orvariationslhcfe-
of.
Actually,lhclrilclllC!IOnlSIRIIJOr"beef•
~wjohmtheC...~Thec:hanga:
oonsisted mainly of providing • t,o,,.lilc
ra:ci,-ertoho\15elhcactionpans,ina,rpom.
in8dual-q:,posedlockinglugsmthcbo1t
hcad,andmakingthcm:eiveraccordingly
Thismadelheactionmuchstronge,-tohandlc
themm:powerfut8mmlrilcl~
Thclcbclreceivcrisalongbox•likc
housing.The~l11thrudcdintolhe10p
fron1ofthishousing.Thctcparatefomid
co,nainingthemagaz,netubeis anKhcdto
thclwre1bytwoband$andahool::uthc
~ar of the magazine tube--<"ngaging a
reccssinlhefron1of1hem:eiver.Thcsepa•
ratcbunstockis anachediothercarofthc
recciverbytwotangsc~ws.Oneofthcse
scn=wsconnectsthcscparatelowcrtangto
theupper1.1ng(anintegn,Jpanofthc
receiver) while the 1ttond screw passes
1hroughaplateinlct1edin10thebottornof
=·~·=:=: :::'8'~~
eartri!Sge,has1woi)ll,celllod<andall.bulaf
magazineundef~r:o,,,..iln~f«end.
~ ..
1hc:smckgripand1hread1mtothcupper
Theq,oflhera:ei,-critbomlandmillcd
toattq:,tlhebohasscmblyandprovidconc
opc,,ingforloadtngandlnO!herbelowlhe
boltforthc:carrier.ThebohhanJlcandits
beavy rcc13n&ular bll$e ue imcgral pan., of
lhebolt.positionedaboulmidwlyonthebolt
body.Therttefrerbridg,c:islloocdtoallow
passageoflhebohhandle.
Whmthebolti1lockrd,theluvybolt
hlr,dlelmet.caim.sthetafetylugaheadof.
bulnotoontactin&therighl""allofthcbridge.
At the fmmoftheboh body, 111 lmewilhthe
bohhandlebase,isanothcrheavylfflangular
lug. Theseparatcbollhcadhas•stemwhich
fitsintothefrontoftheboltbody.Aheavy
stud!Cl'CW,threadtdintothisforwanllugand
utendinginloaholeintheSt(fflofthebolt
head. holds !he head 10 the body so it can
mwe ..ilhlhebolt.
Tlw:lockinglugsan:posn,onodonlhefor-
",rd md oflhe boh head. When lhe boh is
locked the locking lup an, homonW-just
u !he Russian Model 11191 Moisin-Nagant.
Thelc:ft(k,..-cr)lodinglugoon1aCUthecar-
ll'idae,;srrier10up11upandhaltthen:.r,,-.,J
n,'doflhebol1,.herilheboh,sopcntd. The
u1111C1orismon1snlintothebohhcad.The
faceoftho:bohheadisre«Medforthecar-
tridgerim,
Thefiringn1cchanism-firingpin,nu11n-
spring.oockingpicceandfiringpinbunon--
isQSCllliallylikcthatintheBcnh1<Ta<:IIOOIO
bedescribedlaltr.
Thefmlin&mdlriggermcehan$mloflhe
Ldlelnllea-enotactached10then:u,,-cr,bul
rllll,a-10theanicrplalle"'hi,;hclosf:slhebol-
10mofthera:eivcr.Thelriggcr&U3rd.oom-
bincdwiththelown1ang,isanachcdtoth11
platcwilh t screw.Thcentin:asscmblyishckl
inthcrccci,-crbyalipatthcftontofthecmicr
platc~intgnxr,cinthercccivcr,and
byonc~lhroughthcmiroftheTCU1vcr.
The sear is pivoted andanad•cd 10 the
up,ghlpn:,,a;iiononthecamcrpblconlhe
P,VOIU.ISofthernagazincctllOfflcver. The
tngserp,,"OISonthesesYiaapm.AV-typc
spru,aoomprcsscdber.>«nthetcarandthe
camcrplatcicnsionsthes.,ar.
Tkcanndgccarncr,salsohcldinplacc
by. and pi\'Olll on, the axi1 of the magazine
cutoffle-.-cr. Tkcamcr1:11crmOnCdtokcepll
either in the upordo"n p011urion by• lc\'t'T
ondaflatspnng.Theftontcndofthisp,vot-
ingl<:vcralsofunclions 1t11 thecanridgestop
a1themagazinctubeopc,,ing.Thccarrieris
1ippcdupwhcnthebolrisopenodbythelow-
erlodinglugoontae:tU1& l lugoolherearof
thecarricr.ltisllppcdOOl'ln"'henthebolris
closcd(andlockcd)bylhebticofthcboh
handlc:dqnssangale-.-crlmkedlOthetanicr.
Tbcchcckcrcdl'l)Undbut1onofthcL-
shapcdmagaz,ncct110ffcxtcndstothcbot-
IOnl rear edge of the receiver housm1.
Swingingthisbunooforwan:ldisrngagesthe
carrier-de-pressmglevnso1h.a1thecarricr
n:mainsinthetippcd-uppositionwhc:nthc:
ac1ionisopencd. ThcriOccanthcnbcoon•
vcnientlyloa<lcdandusnl 11 1singlcshot
,,1hilceamidgcs1nthem11princ=hcldtn
TheM86Lebcl.ction(11:1 "-.:ll1t11therille)
undm,,-.:ntsomcchania10imprw,c11;the
rcsuh"-asdes1gnatedthcModc1188619}---
"
pf'l'Sllmably. thc changn were adopted in
1893. The M86 receiver wu made with I
loogfOfwardntcnsionintowhkhthcban'cl
wulhreadcd Thillextcnsion,called1hebar-
rclrcinfom:.acc:ounlllforthccx1Jalengthof
thisrecciverwhma.,rnpa=IIOthcM86193
recciver.asshowninthcspte1fiallionchlft
Thebohhcadtoboltbodyjw,aiononthc
M86193••assumgthmedbythcldditionof
I .scparale collar and lug bccwttn thc$C r,m
pam.Thclancractionwasllsomadesafer
byhaving1sma.llgasven1holcintheboh
hcad.plusotherminorchanget.Thcsc,'ari-
ow:improvementsmadc:thcMS6193action
oonsidcrablystrongeraDd,non,rcliablcthan
the M86. M86193 riflesare usua.lly nwl<cd 10
inmcatethcl893changc$by Modtk8'193
or M 93 stamped on the lefl sideof thc
Thec.alibcrde,ignationWJiSIIOl51amped
onthcl...ebelriflcs.Theywercscri1lnwn-
bc!M.bo\1o-ever.withthcfullnwnbffusually
lllmpcd on !he boll handle baK, baml
bn:oi;h.rocci,-crandcama-plate-lasltw0
digiuofthismunbcrwen:swnpcdon50ll>C
oftheotherimponantparts.V~inspcc-
1or·,_,,..iandproofmarklarestampedon
1hebreechendof1hcbancl.rcceivcr11J1d
--
bolt Da1eofrnanufaeture(ycar)i1usually
swnpedonthebfecchmdof1hebarrcl...
well.
Tom, were lhrcc principal modd1 of the
Lebel;l)thc1886rillchasa3l.4Nbanel,tl
!IIYO\-enilland,.-eighsaboul9.Jpounds;2)
the1886i'93riflchasthctame5PCCif1C11ions
20
asthc1886.blllhasthcimprovcdtielion;and
3)thc1886t93Rlkaminehas117.rban'cl.
isabout37.65No,-enilland>veighs•bou17.84
pounds.Thcwbineismerely1modifica1ion
ofthcModc:11886/93riflc---shorterbancl,
fOfmdandmapzinelubeholdinJonlythret:
cmtricl&a,.anddiffcmttsighu..ltiloneofthc
shouldcr...,..utedbylhcFra-och..mydur-
ingWWll.indicatingthcrcluctaruofFrantt
iodi,ardoklrifles.
Lebel rifles"'= 1101 Vfl"Y satisfaCIOf}' mil•
itarily; 1he 1ubularrna~ine could not be
loadcdquicklyandi1rouldbedangcrousif
:.ded wi1h spitttr-poinl bullclcd ammuni-
Quiic 10 my 5Ul'))rise-. on !akin& 1part the
Lebelriflc{illusuaicd) l fuundthccncircrillc
>vellmadc:.Thcactionr,artswcre,-ayniccly
finishcd.fitttdandpolishcd.lnfaet.~likc
thcsprlnp,lc-,·en,scarand50ll>Cbollparts
weftflawlcsslypolished.Whilcthede9i&nof
thc1CU011ondnflcanbeaili,;im!,qua]iry
~pi1cvidenl.espcciallyinthe
Alllr\lCFrmchriflcsarcmucllmon,com-
moninthcUnill!dStalesthanarethcl'n:nch
GmandGns-Kropa1SChekritle$.Thel...ebel
riflesareof,non,v,lueandin1CTCS110thcool-
lccl0rthan10anyonc.
, . . . . . 1111111--,.llal
Toremo,..,thcboh.raiscbo11handlcand
pulllhcbol1bac,k1bou1halfa-.y. Tumthe
luge-llcadedtcrewoutofthcfor,,vdbolt
lug. tum the boh head ooe-q\W\Cf tum
clockwixand."h1leholdingthcbohhead..
pullthcbol1from1herecciver.Thebol1head
Qn 1hcn be mno,·cd. Russemble in =·ene
Mio.
To di~mble !he bolt, remove the
cxlractorby raisin& !he hook end with a
acrc·wdriver,thcndrive1hc:e:t1ractor10thc
rear.Toremovethcfiring.....:h:anumfrom
thcbol1.firstT0Wethcrockin&pi«c:coun-
~lodwiscsoilfllls'Pnstthcbohbody.
Tumthcfuinapinbunonsoiuslolllig,U:
"iththcllOIChinthcrcarofthcthwnbpictt
ontherockingpiccc.0..sptheboltand
rockingpi«efinn.Jyand,placingthcfuing
pintiponahardsurfa«,prcssdo"11onthc
bohuntilthefirin11pinbuuonclearsthc
rockingpicceandcanbeslippedoffooonc
side. The firing pin and mainspring Qn now
b e ~ Reasaanbleinrc~eneordcr.
To remove the carrier plate ll$$Cmbly,
rcmovethernr13niacrewand1hecarrier
plai.escrc..•fromthcldliidcoftherccei,..,,.
and.graspingthelriggcrprdbow.pullthc
-,nblyou1 of the reeei,·er. Thcbuctsoock
cannowbel'CIJIO\"Cdbycumingouttheliml
wigacrcw.TakeoffthcformdbyJ"Cm'Mn&
lhc1wobamlblnds,depcssmathcmapnne
folkn-'Cl'"ilhafmaerfrominsidcthcrcceiv-
er.andthenliftingthefrontoftllcforend
•"-ayfromthebam:lumilitisfm:.Reassem-
bleinrcveneorder.
Oisassnnblethclria&crandcanicrmecha-
nisml!folkn-,:l'CfflO\'CthcJCrewfromthc
righl side of the camff plate which aligns
withthebonomleafofthctriggcrSJWingand.
usmgplicrs.pinchthcJPlqto&ethcr.pullil
IOtherighlandrcmovc.RnnoYcthcscrtW
fromthcleftfrontof11lccarrierplateand
l'CfflO\'ClhcmagazineCUIOffsr,,ingandcarri-
 ~~
,' .,._,
"'"''"'
4 ~headconnecting
5 F,m;lpsl
;~
; ~bunon
10 Bolth&adoonriector
11 Tangplate
12Tangplate9Cf9W
13Frontiar,gscrew
14Trigr}erg,..,an:I
15 Aeartangsaew
16 Frontguardserew
17 Canierplatelltf9W

;; ~ ~
20 ~out..,itspmg

:==~-
21 Canierle\lelspmg

... _
.,.,., ,_
24 ~caflier
: ~~~
29 SearspMgrelaiWSCf9W
31 TrigrJerpsl
32 Ejeclo,'screw(1hraaded
lhroughlallreceiverwal)

fr1n:h Lebel M1888111111888/83

(Uses8mm l ebelcartrldges)

...
Magazine . ·- -~~,i:_:_lof&-endloadedttvoug,openedacton.Eqit-

erleverspring:withthcmagazinecutoffbut-
10nsaaightdo,,,.n.liftit001.Thecanridgccar-
riet",scarandcanierlever(canridgcstop)ean
nowbcrernovcdandsepara1ed. Driveoutthe
triggcrpintol't"MO\-ethctriggcrli'omthescar.
Tumoutthecarrierle,.-erspringscrewtosep-
arate i1 from thecarrierlever. Removeche
triggc-rguan:lfront.la'llWanddrivetheguan:I
rearwardtoseparatei11i'omthecarrierplate.
Rcasscmblcinl'C\-erseorder.
Lebelrines.aswellasthelkrthierand
MASrine:sdescribedlater.have1wotypes
= ·:::::: :.~=_'~nwtarypl.t.
=ctl\Off· ~ ~ a ~ , v , t ~ o l ~ -
Bolt«op . Nosep9rateboil:B10p;seetext.
EjeC1or . . SMscrewthraadedlntothelellreceivefwal
ofscn:ws. Themainsc..,,.·slhataremno,·ed
forfidd-suipping{bolthcad,uiggcrguard.
magazinehousingandcanierplatescrews)
an,slottedsothcycanberemo.-edwitha
"'-"'"
TheLebeldcsignwassoonsuperscdedby
another, and similar. turnbolt system. M.
scn,wdriverorsimilar1ool. Practically all Berthier.aFrenchmanandanofficerofthe
otherscr-ewsareunslonedandrequir-espe- Algerian Railv.·ay Company. adapted a
tial two-pronged screwdrivers to remove Mannlicher-typcmagazinctothcLebel8mm
,i.m nne.e1imina1ingtheunsa1isfac1o,yrubular

21
magazine.Themainchangeswcreasfullows
l) the "'hou'iing'" type receiver was made
morelikeacom-entionalreceiver:2)car-
tridgc-<:arrierme<:hanismandtubularmaga-
zinc were replaced by a single-wlumn
mag.uineunderthere,:eiver,makingit!arge-
1yas.eparatepanoftheaction;3)the1wo-
piccestockwasreplacedbyaone-pic.:e
dcsign;4)relocatingthedual-<.>pp<>s,edlock-
inglugsontheboltheadsolhatthcyarever-
tK:lllwhentheboltislocked.andlherecciver
machincdacoonling)y
Acarbincfonnof1hencwdesignwas
adopted in 1890.chamberedfor1he8mm
Lebelcanridgc . !ntimc.variousriflcsand
carbincswcredcvelopedaroundtheBcnhi-
cr ac1ion, these becoming the standard
French shoulder weapon in both World
Wars. By far the mos\ common French mil-
itary rifle, it is one of the few foreign arms
thatappcarcdonthcsurplusmarkctaftcr
both wars. Remingtonmadcseveral1hou-
sand "'Lcbels'" for France during WW I
whichwerenevcrdelivered;thescwcrethe
22
firstonesofferedonthcU.S.marl.ct
TheBcnhierrillcsandcart>incshavcloog
beenknownas""8mmlcbel""rincs.pcrhaps
because they're chambered for the 8mm
Lebelcanridge,butlhecorrcctdesigna1ionis
1he'"Ucrthier.'"lnanycase.theFreochrifle
discUS91.>dhereha.<sasingle-oolumnMannliclt-
er-typemagazinc.
In the 1920s and "30s many of these
riflcswereimponedandsoldatverylow
prices and they became 1hc firs\ French
riflestobesporterized.lnthe 1930s
Stocgeroffcredasporterstockforil.and
other commercial suxkmaking firms fol-
lowcd suit. Ahhough most fireanns expcns
andgunwritcrsdismissthisac1ionasbeing
whollyunsatisfac1ory fora humingrifle,
1he fact is that many of them ha,·e been
remodeled in years put
Them:ciwrismachincdfiomaooc-piece Boil:h&adollhe8ertnert>oftshowJ1g:(A)dual-
steclfoq:ing. Thebarrdissccurelythreadcd oppooodlocl<inglugs.(8)e)ectorslol.{C)
in1othem:ci,·er.TheV-typethreadsarerigh1 extractorand(D)bollguideligatldscrew
 hand.Thebarrelbretthisslightlycooedand
panofitsdrcwnfere111:eisbe,·eledforthe
extractor.Them:ei,·erbridgcisslonedro
allowpassageofthebolthandle. The right
walloftherecei,·erispaniallycmawayfor
loadingandallowsthebolttobenuneddown
tothelockedposition.Racewaysaremi!led
insidetheleftandrightwallsofthere,;:ci,'el"
forpa5&1geofthelockinglugs.Therace,,,,.ys
rndabruptlyinsidethebridge.Themagarine
wellopeningismilledfromthebonomofthe
rc,;:,::i>-ertoallowinsenionofthedipandcar-
tridges.Thecanridgeloadingrampbeginsat
apointaboutmid"-'llYinthisopening,nar-
rowingtowan:Jthefrootandslopingupv,-an:I
toguidethecartridgesimotheclwnber.
Thcreisnorccoillugassuch.butaslotted
lug under the receiver ring is llnedwitha
crosspintocngagethefrontrndofthemaga- tridgesarellrstplacedintheclip.thcntheclip ha.sewhichappearstobeanintcgralpanof
zine,..1111. Twoflatsurfacesatthertartang andcartridgesareinsenedintothemagazine theboltbody.Whentheboltislocked.this
jUnc1iontakeupmostoftherecoil.butOlher throughthetopoftheopenaction. Whenful- he.avyha.seisinfrootoftherccciverbridgc
paruofthem:ci,·erandtriggerguanla!so lyinsmed. theclip latch holdstheclipand and becomes the safety lug.On the front of
absort>somerecoilandprcvcnttheac6on canridgesdownagainst the pressure of the the bol1 body. in line with the bolt handle
frommovingbackinthestock. follower.Afterthelas1carnidgcisfcdfrom lwe.isaheavylugwhichoctsasaboltguide
Themagarineshellisattachedtothetrig-
gerguardbytwoscrews.Thefollowerassem-
bly(followerarm. follower plate. two flat
..,__.,.
theclip.theclipdropsfreefromthebonomof Thislugcxtcndsfor,,-an:loftheboltbodyand
isootcbtdtocngageoverasmalllugonthe
MosiearlyBerthierrifleshadathn:e-shoc boltheadwhenitisinplac<:.lnaddi1ion.there
springsandascrew)ispositionedhyandpiv- magazinecapacity.withtherearbottompan isalarge-headi:dscrewthn:adedthroughthis
ocson,ascn:winthefrontoftheshell.The ofthemagazineopcnfortheemptyclipto lugandintoaholeinthebolthead.Thenoo:h.
frootpartofthetriggerguardprovidesahous- dropfree.Latcr.themagazinewasmodified lugandscrewholdtheboltheadinplace,pn:--
inginwhichthecliplatchandtriggerarefas- toholdaclipoffivccanridges.Thiscxtcndcd vtti1ingitfi"omrowingontheboltbody
tcned-asingleV-springtension'lbothpans. themagazinewcllbelow1hetriggerguard. Theboltbodyisdrilledlromthefrontto
Thetopofthishousingextendsintothebot- The bottom shellorco,·crofthismagazine attq>1thecoilmainspringandtheone-piece
tomofthereceiverandisattacbtdbyascrew has a hingedcoverplate1oblock the dip firing pin. Whentheboltheadisinplacethe
passingthroughthercceivcrandthehousing openingandwainthedipwithin1heaction mainspringiscompressedbetweenashoulder
Them:ei,"erandthemagazine/triggerguard afterthelastcanridgeisfedfromi1.Theoov- onthefiringpinaodacollarintherearofthe
an:held togetherinthestockbythisscrew. erplatecanbeopcned.allowingtheclip10 boltbody
thehookonthefrootofthemagazineshell fall oul. Many Berthiers Wl'n: made for the Theheavycockingpiecefi150,.-ertheback
engaging the rccei,-erand the two guard fivc--shotclip.whilemanythrec-sholrifles rndofthefiringpin.whkhpn:,:ic,:tsfromthe
scn:wswhichconnectthercarofthetrigger werelaterconvertedtothefivc--sholsystcm bolt body. Thefiringpinisanchoredwithin
guardtotherccei,1:T. Theboltasscmbly.rathercomplex. has a thecockingpieccbyadooblchookedbunon
Thetriggerlel-otfistheusualdouble-siage separateheadwithdual-lockinglugsa1thc fi1tedinthcrearofthecockingpieccand
type.TheBerthiertrigger,hkethatofmost front;neitherlugisslottcd.Thesimplehook cngagingootcbesontherndofthefiringpin.
other Fre!lCh military rifles. is practically spring-extractorisdovetailedinroasl<>'cu1 Ontopofthecockingpiecethere is a heavy
straightandextendsintotheguardbowlikea in1othebolthead.Thebohface.recessedfor lugwhichfitsthe sl<>'inthercceiver~.
pcgorSlkk. thecanridgerim.iscutonlyforthecxtrac:tor Belowthislugisacockingcammatchinga
Thcre"-en:sevcralvariatioosintheBerthi• andejector noo:hintheboltbody.Theac1ioniscocked
er magazines-JI required a clip. The car- Thebolthandlchasaheavyrectangular onliftingthebolth:mdle

23
 TheBenhieractionhasnosafe1y,nomag-
a:?inecm-off,ooranysepara1ebol1-stop.The
boltstopswhenlhelockinglugsrontactthc
endsofthe!ugn,cewaysinthebridge. The
-
ejectoris1T1CTelyasmallprojcc1ionon1opof
thehousingonthetriggerguardwhichpro-
trudcs imoagroovc in lheboltbodyand
"""
Toload,raisethebolthandlell11dpullthe
boltback.lnsenafully-orpanially-loadcd
clipimotheopencdaction,pressingthecar-
tridgc-sdownunlillhecliplatchhascngagcd
theclip.Pu:;hingtheboltforwardmovesthe
topcatiridgeoutof1hcclipintothccham-
ber,allowing1hefollowertoraisethenext
catiridgcintllcclipagainstthcbolt. Tum-
ing1hcbolthandlcdownlocksthccanridgc
in the chamber and the action is cocked.
Pullingthetrigg('rrclcascsthcfiringmccha-
nism,dischargingthcc.anridgc.Onraising
thcbolthandk.thcstrikeriscockedandthc
fired case is cammed back when the fmrn of
thebohguidcribmo,·cso,·er1hcinclincd
surfaceofthereceiverring.Pullingtheboh
back draws lhc case from the chamber.
cjectingit upandtotherightWhenthelast
catiridgcisfedfrom1hcclip,thcclipisfrcc
todropofitsownweigh1.eithe-rfallingfrom
the magazine or when 1he hinged cover
plateisope!IW.Tounloadafull-orpanial-
ly-loadcd clip, open 1heboltand slightly
depress the cartridges and clip while prcss-
ing the clip la1ch in the trigger guard
Rckasingthcprcssurcon1hccanridge!i
allowsthecliptoriseMdbepullcdfromthc
ac1ion
Torcmo,·c thebolt,raisethebolthandlc
andpullthcboltabou!halfwayback.Witha
largescrcwdriverrcmovcthc large-headed
scrcwfromthebohguidcriblug.Movcthe
001tun1jltheboltheadcll11betumtdfrcefrom
theOOl1body,thenpullthebolttothemirand
lifloo11hcbol1hcad.Rcassemblcinrevcrse
"""
To disassemble the firing mechanism.
removc1hcbohfrom1hcactionandrolalc
1hecockingpiecccoumercloch,iscsoi1
fallsagainstthcboltbody.Tumthefiring
pinbottonsoitsslotalignswiththenolchin
thelhumbpiccconthecockingpiece.Grasp
theOOltandcockingpicccfirmlyand,plac-
ingthefiringpintiponahardsurface.press
downontheboltuntilthcfiringpinbutton
clearsthecockingpieceandcanbeslipped
off.Thcfiringpina11dmainspringean1hcn
be pulled from the boll. Reassemble in
rcvetS<:order.
To rcmo..-c barrel and action from the
stock,n:move1hcbam:lbandsfrom1he
forcnd.Rcmovethescrcwfromthcrightof
24
therecei,·erbridgeandthescrewfromlhc
rearofthctrigg('rguard,graspthctrigger
guardandpulli111111ofthesrock.Removethe
tangscrcwandlifltheactionandbam:lfiom
theSlock.Allothcrpanscanthenberemovcd
byrumingoutvariousscrewsanddrivingpins
from the receiver and magazine units
Reassembleinreverseorder.Thebarrel
shouldno1beunthrcadedfromtherecei,·er
unlessabsolu1clynccessary,andthenonlyif
thepropertoolureavailable.
ThcFrcnchBenhierriflcs(therearemany
modclsand,'aliations)wereruggedandscr-
vittablcmilitaryweaponsandtheirlonguse
haspmve,;lthis. Theactionisstrongandsafc
enough forthe8mmLebelcanridge. The
rifles.pm,·idcdtheborcisincxccllcntrondi-
tion,aregenerallyquiteaccurate.Fccding,
ignition,cxtractionandcjectionan,positive
andreliable
Allactionpansan,wcllmade,gcnerally,
well-finished and smooth. No doubt good
steclswercusedinthemanufacnu.:andheat·
1n:aled wherenecdod. All in all, Bcrthierriflcs
an,good.
llo"'C''Cl',theBerthieractionhasanumbcr
offauhsandundesirablcfeat\lrQ'.Thewont
featurcistha1aspccialclipmuS1beuscd10
firctherifteasarepeater.RequiringtheOOlt
1obeseparaledbefon=itcanberemovWis
also bad. The laekofa safety may also be
highlyundesirab!e.Thefi,·e-sho!magazine
pmjccting so farbelowthc stock is never
liked.andthebellyofthethrec-sholmagazinc
is often disliked
Usuallytheplaceofmanufacnu.:andthe
modddesigna1ion are Slaml)Cdon the left 5-idc
oftherecei,'Cl'.$UChas;St E1it,nnt Mlt l 892
SincemanyBerlhicrswere''transforntc.:r
toanothermodelatalaterdate,thcoriginal
model designation maynotalwaysbecor-
rect. The serial numberiss1ampedatthc
baseofthebolthandleandbreechcndofthc
barrel. T he date of manufacture (year) is
usuallystampedonthebr«ehendofthc
barrel as well, along with an assonmem of
inspector's,anenalandproofnt11rks.Somc-
timcsthercarctwoda1cs slampedonthe
barrel;theearlies1dateprobablyindicating
whcnthcriflewasmadcoriginallyandthe
later date perhaps showing the year of
"1ransformation." The letters M AC, MAS
or MAT are often Slllmpcdonthebarrel
TheseindicatetheFrencharsenalwhcrethe
riftcorbarrel wasmade.orwhcreit was
rcbuiltorminsformed.lneachcasc,1hele1-
ters M A stand forMManufacturcd'Armes."
andthelastlctter- C,SorT- indieatesthe
arsenallocatcdatOia1ellcrault,S1.E1icnnc
orTulle.
 Fl'9nch Berll1ler Model 1890 (RI later)

--
(Uses 8mm lebel cartridges)

~ ::·:::=!===·==~~
t:=ne·::··
=·······
boll~~==~~td.
E - .... Qoe-i:,;ece_springtypemo<tisedinlobollh8ad.
pul
Ma(jatlne cutotl Noneprowied
~~top-:·:: -·~";:.=~~1e;rto11rigger.

nallyloadcdwitha Full-jacketed flat-nosed theUnitedStalCsandwcrosoldonthecom-

Tilt S. LINlcartrlllll
Thiscartridgewasthefirstrcla1i,-elysmall-
bore smokdCMpowdcrrinecanridgembe
adopted by a world power. In doing so,
Francckdodleroounlriesbyabouttwoyears.
The 8mm Lebel cartridge is based on a
rimmed, bottlenecked case, with the case
bodyhavingadoublelaj)Cr.Ahhoughorigi-
bullct.forusieinthctubularmagazinelebcl
rifle,inl898itbccamethefir.tmilitarycar-
~gcloodcdw1thaspit=-pointboa11ailbul-
During WW I, Remington contracted with
France to make OO!h rifles and ammunition
Asaresullofcomractcancellationsaflerthe
war.agreatmanyofthcscriflesremaincdin
mercial rn.arlcet. Remington then loaded
sponingammunition for these rifles until
about 1964.RemingtonloadedSmm Lebel
sporting ammo with a 170-grainsoftpoinl
bollcttoam..v:lcvclocityof2640fps.At
200yardsthe,·elocityis1960fps,remaining
energy l450foo!J)Ollnds,whilcmidrange
1rajcctol)'m'Crlhisrangeis3.4N.Thisrom-

25
 parcsfavorablywithsuchmorepopularcar-
tridgesas30-40, 303 Bri1ish.300Savage
and8mrnMauser.Regardlessofwhat l said
abou11heFrtnchrineschambertdfor1he
8mrnlebelcanridge(1omyknowledgeno
otherrincs ...·ercsochambered),itisagood
'""'
The number of models. variations and
transfonnationsofrinesandcarbinesbased
on!helknhieractionarctoomanymlist
here.StaningwiththeveryoldGrasac1ioo,
wehaveseenhowFranceusedthisba.vctum-
boltsySlemwithvarioustypesofmagazines
ofKropatschek.LebclandBerthierdesigns.
Thisbringsk!S10thelasivcrsion.a1umboh
ac1ionfi1tedwithaMauscr-1ypestaggertd-
oolumn maga:einc. Thc-se rifles (there art
aboul~diffcrentvarialions)arcknownas
theFrenchModel1934
Thl ..... 1834f!'WIIRIIII
lhavctobad.1rackabi1hert.ln1929.
Francedcvclopedamodemrimlessmilitary
canridgeforligh1machincgunuse-i1was
difficul110makeoradap1anymachincgun
mhandletherimmed8mrnlebelcanridge
Thenewcanridge,11rimless,bo11knccked
cascloadedwilha7.5mrnbu11et,isknown
as the 7.5mm French Ml929C, 7.5x54mm
French MAS or u the 7.5mm MAS. h was
almos1impossiblcmusctheold8mrnLebe!
canridgeinanythingbu1atubularorsingle-
columnmagv.incand.sincethcprospects
forconlinucdpeacelookedpoor,theFrtnch
officialsde<:idcdlOadapltheModcll907/ 15
rinc(aBcrthiervariation)mthisncwcar-
,;""
Thii;wudoncbyfiningtheoldreceiver
withaboxmagazinewideenoughtoholda
staggered-<.)Qlumnoffive7.5mmcartridges
The bouom of the magazine box has a
detachablen00<plarewhichfitsinpl=and
26
isheldclo,;edbyaspring-loodedplunger-
like the M9&Mauscr. The magazine well
opcningintherecciverwasmilledsointe-
gralcartridgeguidclipsrcmain-lsolikc
the Mauser system. A follower, with a rib on
onesideandseronaW-shapedfollower
spring, completed !he magazine. Notches
wercthenmilledinthefi-ontofthereceiver
bridge slot to accept a stripper dip-so the
magazine could be loaded quickly. 01her
ne.:cssarythingsweredonewiththeac1ion
tohandlethe7 .5mmcanrid8e, Thebam:I
andac1ion..,·ereserimoa01>e-pieccs1ock,
andtheresultwastheModcll934-theyear
inwhichitwasadopted
TheoursideappearanoeoflhcM34isnot
toounlikethethree--sho1Benhier.cxcq:,1tha1
itdocsnotha,-cquireum..chbelly.Atbesl.
thencwriflewasonlyamakeshiftsiop--gap
affair,practicallyobsoletebeforeit..,-asmade
Probably not too many M34s were made-
lhey are rare in the U.S .. hcnce of consider-
abkintcresttotheoollector.
TlllMUMlllll1838
Ayearorsoafterlhe7.5mmFrenchcar•
lrid8C was imroduced, French ordnance
begantodevclopanewshoulderannforit
Discarding all previous tumbolt rifle
designs.theydevisedanentirelyncwac1ion
system in 1932.and1ha1rineistheMAS
M-1932. A limited numberofM32s were
madefortesting,andaftcrfouryears(with
anumberofmodifica1ions)thefinalversion
was approved and adopted as lhe MAS
Model 1936. The dcvelopmcm work was
done in France's largest arms making city,
St.Eticnne.bytheManufaclurtd'Annes
S1.Etienne.ofwhich"MAS"isanabbrevi-
a1ion.hwasthc!atestand1hebcs1miljtary
bolt-action rifle adopted and made hy
France.

The MAS MJ6riflc weighsabout8.25
pounds,hasa22.6Nround,s1cppedharrcl
andis 49. l3 ' overall.Thebutts1ock,heldin
placcbyasinglcscrew,is,·eryshor1.The
dislllnce frombunpla1c1otriggcrisonly
l2.6Y. A separate forend (e~tending 10
wjthinS' ofthemuzzle)andthefull-lcngth
woodenhandguarda1l'hdd101hcbam:lby
two bands. A metal hook,anached mthe
rearoftheforcnd,engagesinarccessatthe
frontoftherecei\'erandholdslhe forend
fl'ench MAS Model 1938
(Uses Freneh7.5mmcartrldges)
asscmblyagainstlhere<:ei,·er.TheM36is
fiue<I with a skewer-type bayonet carried
reversedjna1ubcwithintheforendundcr
the bam:I. Th<: leather carrying i;ling is
attachcdtotheleftsideof1hcrif1eonaba,-
on1hcbut1s10Ckandonalooponthemiddle
barrclbar.d.Theaperturerearsight,mountod
onthercui,-.:rbrid~.isadjustablefore!e-
,·atiooonly-from200101200meters.
Theonlyvariationofthisrifleisthc
paratroop model, designated the MAS
Model 1936CR39rifle. This model has a
folding aluminum siock, hinged just for.
ward orthc 1rigger. When unlatched. it can
be swung under and 10 the left of !he
forend. It weighs about 8 pounds. Both
riflesarechamberedforlhe7.5mmFrench
canridge.
27

TlltM1BActlll
Thcrcccivcrof1hc F"'nch Model 1936
riflc ii;abox-likeaffair,orhousing,withlhe
cmircmagazineboxmadeasaninicgra!p,art
of1hcsccdforging.Themagazinchooi;ing
cxtcndstothcfrontoflhertteiverandis hol·
lowforwanlofthcfrontmaga,.inewall.There
ii;noreccivcrringassuch:lherecciverhous-
ingisborodandthrcadedtortteivclhebam:l
shank instead. The"' isa comple1e ring of
sieelinthcr«cl,·eragainstwhichlhebreech
mdoflhebamclbuns,andwhichSWT\lUIXls
thchcadofthcboltwhcniiisclosed. The ring
is about •/," wide and the boh is mclosed ro
thisdepth
Theloadingl~ponbcginsa1therear
ofthisringandcxtrndstolhercceivcr
bridge-an opening 2.92S" long. When lhc
boltisopcnthebn:cchendofthebam:land
thechamberarcc!carlyvisiblc.Therightside
oflhee_jcctionponisCU1dov.11tothelcvclof
the cartridge guide lip of the magazine well,
whilctheleftsideiscu1sligh1lybclowthc
level ofthetopofthcboh, leaving a wall
about 11i" high.Athwnbno1chis cu1intothe
rearofthi,lcftwalltoaidinstrippingcar•
lridgcsfromaclip when loading the rifle
Beeauselhebohdiamctcrisquiielarge,thc
loodinglcjectionponisalso.butthisisno1a1
allobj«tiooablc
Thcrcceiverbridge.about2.60"1ong, is
unsloncd.Anintegralraiscdsuipismilledon
mpofthebridgcmformahousingforlherear
sighlcomponenlS.Althefrontofthertteivtr
bndgcistheclipchargerguide
Thconc-picccbolt,,·c,yn.igged.isalso
28
qui1elargeindiameu:r;.800"ascompam:lto
1hcMauscrandSpringlicld .700".andthc
MarkVWeathcrby.840".Thefronlofthe
boltisrcccsscdforthecanridgchcad.The
onlybreakinthel'OCC5Sisthe11a1TOWcj«1or
slotandlhecutforthccxtractor,about.320"'
1<'idc.Thcextrac1or,madeofspringsteel,and
aboo12.SO-long,ismortiscdanddo,.·e,ailed
intothcboltbody. hhasaslUrdybevcled
hookwhicheasilyslipSrn·crandengagesthc
extraemr groo,·c in the cartridge head. A
smallroondSludundcrthefrontoftheextrac-
torlitSintoamak:hinghole in the bolt; lhis
prcw.'lltS1ongitudinalmo,'Cltlef1tofthecxtrac-
torinthebolt
Thesolid.du.a!-opposcdlockinglugs.
about l .7S"fromtherearoftheboltbody.
engageindualracewaysandshouldersmillcd
insidetheheavyrcceiverbridge.Thcrace-
waysan=inclincdootheshoulderapproochcs
and provides camming action m draw the bolt
forwartlasthcbohisclosedandthchandleis
'"""'""'"'·
Thebolthandlcis anintcgralpanofacol-
larattherearoflheboll- thcco!larisalso
pan of the bolt. The bolt handle stem is
roundandtapenlothcround.hollowgrasp-
ing ball- the stem is bent forward and
down. When the bolt is dosed, the collar
closcsallopcningsattherearoftherecci,·cr.
Araiscdportiononthecollarisbevcledto
matchasimilarsurfaceon1helcftrearoflhc
recei,·er.andprovidestheinitialcxtraction
power on raising the bolt handle. On moving
theboltforwardtodoscthcaction.1hese
surfacesimpartjnitialtumingmotiootothe
bolt.
Theboltisdrilledfromthcreartoacccp1
theoroe-pitcchollowliringpin.Thccollarat
therearoflheboltismilled10accep1thebol1
closurebunon.Thisbuttonhastwolugs.and
theinsideofthecollarii;milled!eaving shoul-
dersandrecesscssothcbuttonislockedin
placcwhenitisrotatedaflcrinscnion.There
isarodprojcdingforwartloutofthebohbut-
tonandlhc small coil mainspring is com-
pressedoverthisrodai;itextends imothe
hollowfiringpin.
Therearundersideofthebol1body.jusc
forwardofthebohcollar,ismilled1oforma
cocking cam surface. The cocking cam on
therearofthefiringpinlitsimothisnotch
The cocking cam extends below the bolt
bodyin1oagroovccutintothereceiver,and
hasanolchtoengagethescar.Onraisingthc
bolthandle,theliringpinisforcedbackuntil
thecockingcamslipson1oafta1spoconthc
end of the camming surface. On closing 1he
boh. thesearc-ngagcsthecockingcam and
holdsthefiringpinbackastheboltisfully
closedand!ocked
Thescarispositionedinagroovcbelow
thertteivcrbridgcandisheldinpbccby.and
pivotsonapin.Tmsionisprovidcdbyastiff
coilspring.Aprojcctionontherearofthe
scarprotn,desthroughaholcinthertteivcr
toengagethecockingcamoftheliringpin.
Thclriggcrispivotcdonapininthescar
Thecombinationboh-S1oplcjectorli1Spar•
tiallyinsidethescar,partiallyO">-erthelrigger,
andpivotsonthcpinwiththctrigger. The
frontofthebolt-s«¥cjectorprojcctsupward
throughaholcintherecci,-erandisprovidcd
upward tension by asmallcoilspringbe-
 UnclMldtdM1DMA8Dalln'.!Wlng:(A)Mlngas..m
holNkllllllbollklP~, (B) ~gaa--hole,(C)
MklppoNdloclm'lgluglltld{D)~cam
tween it and the sear. A narrow inclined
groovc iscu1intothcbottomofthcbolt.
utendingintotheboltfaccreccssforthenar•
row ejcctor.Awidergroovciscu1bcsideit
fortheboh-stop.but!hisgroovccndsabrupl-
lyabout l/•NfromthcheadofthcboltThc
boh-stopisrel~(toremovethcbolt)by
pullingthctrigg,:,rbackasfarasitwi!!go.
Thcbolt-s1op/cjcctor,ridinginthegrooves,
alsoactsasabol1gwdewbcntheboltiso,,er-
au:dandprcvcntsthebol1fromn,mingasitis
drawnback.
Twogas,=1bolesinthefrontoflhebolt•
stopgroove effectivelytlkecareofanygases
tha!enterlheftringpinbolebyventinglhem
rearwan:lthroughlhcthumbnoo:hinthclefl
recciverwalLlfthis isnolmough.thcreis
aoolherhole,inabouttheccnterofthebol~to
ventanygasesgmingbackthisfarintothe
magazine.Thcfuingpin.bollandboltbunon
~consnuctcdtomakcgascscapeimpoMi-
ble throughthcrearofthcbolt,Thereisn,o
dangerofthefiringpinorbuuoneverbcing
blo,,.11ou1oflhcbolt
Thctriggerguanlbowis a scparatepM
andahool<atthefrontengagesagroovcin
therearwallofthcmagazinebox.Thcbun-
stockisclampedbc!w«nthctriggcrguard
bowandreceiverbytheguazdscn:wthrcad-
ingintothcrcccivertang. Thcrearofthe
magazinehousingishollowedoutslightly,
andthctenononthefrontofthebu1tstockfits
intothisbollowtohelpsccurethestocktothc
~verandprcvemitfromsplining.
Asmentioncdbcf=.thcfourwallsofthc
magazine box are an integral pan of the
receiver housing. Thewallsarequicclhick
(about .090'") and reinforced in spo1s. A
machincd,hollowflOOIJ)larcfitsinthebol-
tomofthemagazinebox . ltisheldinplacc
byalipatthcrcaroftheplateengagingina
groove inthcmagazincboxandbyapush-
but!on latch on the front engaging in a
groovcatthefrontof1herigh1magazinc
wall. A conventional steel follower and W-
-
shaped followerspringare uscd. Thc ends of
thespringaremortisedintothcfollowerand
floorplate
TheMASM36rifle operateslikcmos!
odicrstaggcred-columnboxmagazinebolt-
actionrifles.Thcbolthandleismisedand
drav.11backtoopentheac1ion.Withthebo!t
open, !he magazine is loaded by pressing
singlecartridgesdir«tlyintothemagazine,
orplacingaloadedstripperclipintheclip-
chargcrandpmsingthecanridgesintothe
magazine. The bolt is then pushed fOfWard.
feedingthctopmostcanridgcfromthcmag•
azincintothechamber.Tumingthcbolthan-
dledov.11locksthecanridgein1hechamber.
Thcactionislcflcockedwhenthcbolthan-
dleisturneddown,andpulling1hetriggcr
will releaserhcfiringpintodischargethe
canridge.Thcriflecannocbcfircdunlessthc
bolthandleisncarlyallthewaydownand
thebohlocked.Onopeningtheboltthcfircd
casewillbeextractc,;landeje<:!edfromthe
ac1ion-thecyclecanlhcnberepea1ed. Thc
rearofthefollowerisbevcledanddoesnol
preventthcboltfromclosinswhenthemag•
azine isemp1y. Themagazi,.. can be un
loadedbyremovingthefloo,platc.llv:reis
nosafety.butthcbolthandlefullyraised
makesaneffectivesafe!y
Make surethcchamberandmagazincan:
empty. Remove the bultstock by l\lfflin& ow
thctriggcrguardscn:w.Pulllhctriggerguard
fromthcstockandawayfromthcn:ceiver,
and pull the stock back and down fromthc
rccciver. Rcmovcthefomidandhandguard
bylwningthccr0$$screwoutoflhcfrontbar-
relbandandpullingthcbandf,:lfward.Tum
outthcscrewfromthemiddlcbwTelbandand
removeit.thcnlifloffthcfomidandhand·
guardR.casscmbleinrevcrscorder.
Rcmovethcboltbyraisingthebo!thandlc
anddrawingthcbohtotherearasfarasitwill
go;pullthctriggerbackallthcwayandtbcn
remove the bolt. To disassemble the boh,
graspitinthclefthandand,withtheright
thumb.depress !he bolt bunon and tum it
clockwise 'l,-1umoruntili1snapsou1. The
boltbtinon,mainspringandfiringpincan
tbcnberemo•,cdfromthebolt.Rcasscmblcas
follows:inserttheftringpininthcboltwith
thccockingcamlugrestingonthcflatspotof
thecockingcam. lnsertthcmainspringand
boltbuuon,aligningthclcflindc~marl<on
theboltbunonwiththcindex mart.on the
bolLl'ressthcbum.mallthcwayintothebolt
oruntilitcanbcroca1edcounterclockwise 1/•-
Tllecxtractorcanbcremovedusinga
screwdrivcrandliflingitsfron!rndup,away
fromthcboh,untilthcextractorcanbcpulled
forwardandourof!hebolt.Reassemblein
m"CTSCorder.
29
 Dept-s&lhebutlonoolherighlfront11rthe
lloorpla1eandpull11.aloogwithlhespnng
and follower, from lhc magazine oo:<. The
folk:M'CTandfloorpla1ecanthenbepullcdolf
the fflC!s of the follo"'CT spring. In mwcm-
bhng, lhe rwrow end oflhc follOWff spring
goesintolhcfollov.'CT. Tomnovclhelk>llr-
pla1cla1chand spri11J1,dri,·ethcsmall la1ch
rcca,nerpinfromlhcfloorplale
R,:m11••clhctriggcrassemblybydrivi1111
outlheJeatpm.thcnpulldov.11oolhcrcarof
th,::,....until1ti:sln:cm'the=i-."".Thc:1ng-
l"l'Jll'ICMlhenbedrwenouttoSleplr81elfi&·
gcr,boh-Mp<'tj«lorandboll-stoplejector
lhcn:11nochancctllattheKsupponing
shouklmwillfail.Thoughlhcleftsidcwlll
of1hem:c1vcrh.as1thumbno«:h.1hcrci1
amplemctalconnectingtherttci>"CrbridgclO
lhcrin1,Thc=ivcrisscn:ngthcnedfurther
bytheridgeofmetalalongeachsidcandby
lhchcavy"1llk:din1egrnlmagazine.Therci1
h11lcchanccofthercttivcrpar1ingin1hc
middlccvcnthoughthelockinglugsarca1
the rcarof1hc 0011. 1 cannot see how the
rttel\'CTOOOld'"strctch."andlhe,-cryhcavy
bolt iscma111ly !IOI going toc:ompress when
linnathenllc.Formanyyeais.theptt,,11il-
1111opmionhasbctntlwooty1bohaction
cxttxtor of this action. It is simple and
$U'Oll&------moocmdcsigncnofrwnboltactKII\I
mig:htdowclltocopyit. Tcc,uinlywould
considcrirbem:rthensomci,unyfflC!d=rillc
extnctorslikctho$coftheRcmingtooM700
andWcathcroyactions.
Asforlhcmap:,:inebllxbeingmadcu
p.artofthcreceivcr.lhavcnotdecidcd
whcthcrl!ikcthisorllOI. The same goes for
lhr:1wo-pi«cslOf.:kdesignimpoSedbylhc
Mhousing~ type rc«ivcr. Ho,,•e-,•cr. l have
1!..... ys1dn11rcdthcModcl99Savagcrillc
,.'lth,tscxpo$Cdm:ci,..,,..andldon01bcbe-.1:
l'dmindlhc:cxpo$CdMASM36rettiYCrortl

.....
spnnafromlhe..ar.Reassemble111m.'CTX

The 1-=l is lhradcd (nghl--hand lhmlds.)

w11h1tlusl1>1·oforwardlo<:k111alu1111
-..orthconsidmng. lf-..-coonsiderthcsucccs,.
ofthcfi.,.Schul1:1:&urscnactx,n,lheRcm•
$p(ll11111 rifle. To my -..-ay of thmking th,1
rttel\1:1' has l'llher nia, lines. IIICludin& 1haK
whcrcthcbut1$10Ck,;ontactsthcrecei,"Cr.l

-
hgluty11110lhertte1vtTanditshouldllOlbe
rcmo•'Cdunlnsnc<:essary.andthenonlyif
youha"'lhepr0!1Crtools.
Thcl'rcm:hMASModci 1936rillcsarc
boldly marked with 1he designation MAS
M 1" 1936 1tampcdon 1heleftsideof1he
=•vcr.Thetenalnumbcrisswnpcdbelow
lhcdcsigna11onmarking.as"-cllasonlhc
lloorplatcandoolhestrmoflhebol1handlc.
,ngu,n Model 788. the Stcyr-Mannlicher SL likcthemag:az,nefk,,;,rplatcandlhcwayil lS
.,.;I Olhcn 1111th locking lug:ur the mvoftbe
bolt. then l can ttt OOUling "ttlflll wnh the
MASdcsign .Thc MASdesignalsorcsultsin
1shortcrOOh1n1,·cl(lhcn:adcrmay"11111t0
compare !he ac1ion spccilica1ions in 1hi1
b,;,ok),andthismayaidinspeedofoperatioo.
An1mportantrcsultofthisdcsignistha1thc
canridgct:dollOlspananygapbctwecnthe
mag:az,ncandchamber.thcrcsultantfeeding
t,,:ing:morcpo1il1>-candrcliablc

-
VIOOUlfrrnc:hproofmarband1nsp«tor"1
markl1rC$Wllpcdoolherecei,"Crringand
lhebrctthmdofthebarrel.
INl,-cpw:10,omc,lengthdcscrib1nglhe
MAS Model l936nflcand1Ctioobecausel
think this .,.;tioo is most intm:sting and
unusual.Tobewrc.thisaction hassome
fault&.bulilal50haJsomc,c,.:,xllcnlfcaturcs
wonhyofcorruncmand~tioo.
har,r,eantobca,-crystrongaction.Thc
1WOlor;kinglugs1resolidand""™'i"'.Therc
is1lolofme1al,nthe=i>"Crbridgetosup-
ponlhclugswhenlheboltislo<:kedand
I bel,c,,'1:the MAS Ml6 isllso1,-cryafc
actionbe<;ausetbefrootoflheboltisS\lf-
roundedby1solrdnng11fSledwhcnlhcboh
rslockod,lhc:bohl',ittncartycouactsthcbar-
n,landthenmofthocaroidgcisalmostfulty
cncloecd;lhcrc:arofthebohiscntirctycloKd
sothatpscscan"1C!lClpC.
Thc:boltofthcMASisrclati\'Clylihonand
thclongrcccivtTbridgcgivcsconsidcrablc
Sllf!POl'lTCSUllmgin!inle·'play'"orlOOSCflCSI
ofthcbohwhcnlhcac1ionisopen.On1hc
fcwrillcslha,-ccwnincdandhandlcd.bol1
,:,pentionwaseasyandsmoolh.lnoticcdtoo. Boll hHd ot the M1936 MAS showing: (A)
!hallhcK11ons ...·ercgencrallyvcrywcll ••trllC!Ot', (BJ cartridge head recess, (C)
madcandfin1shed.lespeciallylikclhc ejeclol'.io.and(O)bolt&topnoleh.

30

released.althoughJ'dr.ithcrha,·cthefloor•
pl,lefmcdsoil'M!UklbcH..sh"ilhthebot-
lDmofthemagazinebox.
lroundtheboxm.ga,:mc10bc1nw,.·el
thcwayil,.illaa:q,1andf«d1widcvari(!y
ofcartridges.. h "·illonlyhandlccanridgcs
.t,ou1J.O"inovcn.1llcng1h.bu1manyw--
~ fall within these limits. For example. i1
wlllf«dperfectlysuchcaroidgesasthe22-
250. 25-3000. 243. 6mm. 257 Robert:$, 7mm.
284.308, 35 Reminglonand35ll. All of these
canridgesha,1:1smallerrimdwncterlhan
the7.5mmfrcnch,;anridgaandlhis'M!Ukl
req.i,rcthalthcrimm:essintheboltrnight
hl'-1'10bc~in-mamc:r.andthe
clawofthccx1r1e10rrn:aclelon&n".
ThcMASM36is1nUIORishitqilysimplc
actionwithaminimmnofparl!-ff:"''efthan
anyolherltigh-powcn:dtumbol!rcp:aterof
whith I am awan:. for cxamplc. lhil action
has 1=1>1: fewer component pans lhan the
M98 Mawer. whi<;h has fewer pan 1han the
03 Sprincfi,ekl. The ffllin, M36boll aSKfflbly
oonmuofjuSlfi•1'pilftS;bolt.cxtrac:10r.fir-
inapin,mainspingandbohbuuon.Nlxtion
thalhasfcwpattsisnotslwaytlnindicacion
i11.1i')Od.bullikeanypicceofmachincry.
rc.,.'el"parulcssenthcchanoeforbrcal.down.
Thisacti,onhasno&1fetyandlha1maybca
$Uikcagainslit-dq)cndinaononc"svicw-
point.lcan'1sechowasafetycouldbcinoor-
pcnltdinthcboltlO!«kboththcboltand
firin&pin.bulasimplcafetyoouldbcbuih
iPlothclriggagu.d101oci<thctri&gcr.
Thcn,1sonethingldonotlikcaboo.Mlhis
~ boll handle. To keep the ICtion
andthcrifleascompactaspoaiblc,thcaig-
gerandlriggerguanlW<:ttposilioncdwell
undcrthen:«i,'efbridgc. Since the base of
thcbo11handlemustbconthercarcndofthc
bolto:b:10lhcbol1dcsign,inorder10keepthc
gmpingballfmmbruisingtheshooter'slln-
1eri1 had tobcarehcd forward. l hlvcn'1
foundlhisbol1handlep1accrncnttobcawk-
ward or inco1wcnicm when opc1111ina: !his
action,butldon'11ikethcloobofit.Sofar.
l'mstillnotusedtothcloobofthcforward,
bcntbohhandlclonthc600Rcmin&l(Jnand
800Mo$Sbci-arifles.bullikethcMASM36.
oneshouldnotmindthcloobofd,chMdlc1f
thcbohlSODrl\ffllfflllO~andisOUlof
11,c.,...yofthcaiggcrfmger.
1.a.ua1111-----..
As pn,viously mentioned. !he 7.5mm
French MAS (7.5x54mm) canridgc wu
introduced in 1929. lt isarimlessbottle-
ncckcdcartridaenearlyidcnticaliniippcar•
anceandbaUiSUQ10thcJ08Winchcskror
7.62mmNATOcarvidges. TheUindolc:s
thccalibcrnlbort"diamcli:r,"1tdiis.2'W.
andS4md>catC$1caselcngthof2.12 •. Thc
....=ttllcnglhofthccarlridgcisaboulHlO".
Thc5Canllardnulimrybal11oadingdri"t'Sthc
139-gminja.cketcd pointed bullet of JOr
diamc1Cra1amu.ule,1'k>cityof2674f'ps.
Thcllbovcfigun,s forlhcbonlandbullct
diamctcrshowthalthc~isveryclosc
10bcing•JO.calibcrlikeour30Sand30-06
-..·hichhlve1normalbort"SU!OofJOO".and
normallyU$CJ08'"bullm..Thc~diam-
Clcr ofthc 7.5mm MAS bam:I runs abow
.3()75•10.3085 •. andhasarifling!Wistofone
tumm10". lnhandloading1his.:anridg,,,rcg-
ubr.308""jackctalbullctscanbcuscd.
The 7.5mm MAS canridge was loaded
onlyformilitaryuscandwasBcnlanprimed
Thcproblemprcscntedtolhchandloadcril
tha1 the 7.5mm C1.1C is an odd SUIO,•hl•'Ulll •
hoaddianlCltfofaboul.481•oomparcd10thc
.470"" for !ho 30-06 case. The 7.5 MAS
ammun,110.. hasat ...-aysbcen,"Cl")'hardlO
ot,u,m. I ha•'C heard that the best cartridalc
case1011Kinhandloadingthcammunitionis
the 6.5d5mm. However, I ,;anno1 V<.IUCh for
lhis becau$C I ha,1: never aicd ii
-
Sin« thc end of WW II , miliwy surplus
anruidealcrshaveimportedandofT=dfor
alcmanydifTcrcn1bolt-a.c1io<iriflcs.Mos1
ahundantofthc$Chavcbecnthemanymodel:s
ofthcM.ausm..Lcc-Enfick!,andCan:ancia.
MAS M36 nfles Sttrll 10 ha,·c been more
K31ttforlha,1'not_,,chcm.t..fflisedfor
&1lcfwmanyyQn.TIICn,are,hov,-e-,·cr,a
sprinklcofthcmllwwgboutlhccounay,and]
suspcatllllmos1ofchcm"''tre1CTI1homcby
Gls who libm.tedthcm from 1hc German
Oxupation Forces in Franoe.
Though l have!IC''efn:modelcdlhisriflc.
andprobablyncverwill.if l hadoncinthc
days"·hcnldidmuchmnodclingandriflc
buiJdin&.lprobablywouldha,·cll)pl"Ol,Chtd
thcj,ob"ilhgteatcnthusllSffl.Thisis"hatl
"wldha,1'done:l'dn:placcWbarrdwrth
onelrofsp,ncr.,.1:1ghlchambcmlfor257
Robcnsor7mmMliuscr;fi1113pCledfOfcrld
of the Model 99 Sa,¥ nfle panem: """"'"'
lhemil;wyn,ar1igh1 and base from the
~eivcrandiru;tall1 LymanorRNllkld
~civer 1ightand1rampfron11ightonthe
bam:~ormoum a,oopconthcn:ttivtrusina
aBuehlcrblankbaK. l"d~kl•Jlf3PIOdic
fi'ontofthetriggcrguard10movcilaboull•
fanhcr10then:arandmake11imilar1ang
niensionontherccct•-erfordicguard!Cn:'A";
theniggcrw...,kl bc1hmd. positioning ii 10
the rear in 1hc relocatw trigger guard. A
crossboltS11fetyinthcrearofthcaiggcrguanl
wooldlocklhctriggcrandancwbuttstock
wilh a capped piSIOI l¢p and panels fo,wani
ofthcgriplikctheModcJ99Sa,.igestock.
Wilhthclrigga".ai&Fguardandgriplocat-
alfanhcrbackontheaction,l"-oukltheo
bendthcbolthandlc"""n,andshoncn,is
stem10placcthc&fUp1ngballwithineasy
,_
reach.Finally,l"dpolishandblucthcrrlCUII
pans..ic--1:lthcbol1ando;ha:kcrthegripand
In my sca~h forinfonna1ion about the
MAS M36. l carne11CTOSSanitemwrittcnbya
=!1-m::Mngunauthori1yswingthatManu-
f!IC1llttd"Amieshadmadc1sponingrifleon
thcMJ6action.According10himlhcsc"=
made in 7x57mm, 8160mm Magnum and
10.75x68mm.Thclasttwocanridges-
longcrthanthcmapz,Mopcningof1hcmili-
tarylctlon.1hcrefon:,thcsportcractionmust
1i1,..,had1longc:rbox.Asafe,y.,.,..a1sopro-
vide<linthcuil!IC'guard.
31
T HE GERMAN MODEL88ritle.adoJ,lcd in
1888and<:Ofl'llCllyknov.nastheGermanCooi·
~Model88,,.-astheofficia1Germanmil-
ituyrifleuntilsu=ededbylhefamousModel
98Maus,,rinl898.TheM71Maus,,rsinglc
SOOandtheM71/84Mauserrq:,cattr,borhin
llmmcaliber,pn,a:dedlheM88aslheofficial
Germanmililaryshoulderarms.
Thc88rifle,..i,i;developedbyagroupof
men,headqua11eringinSpandau,Gmnany,
who formed the Gennan Military Rifle Test•
ing Commission, 1hus its unusual name
Al!hooghithassomefeaturestakenfromear-
lierMaus,,randM311nlicherrifles.i1isneilher
a "1'fauscr"' nor a "Mannlicher." A well-
plannedand!hoogh1outriflc.themainfea-
turesofthercct"iverandboltWC'l't"usodlong
afterward on the Mannhcher-Schoena..er
sportingrifles.
Developed with the MSS rifle was Ger-
many's first small-<:aliber smokeless military
canridgc.ltwasabonle-ncekcd.rimlesscar-
tridgcof&nmcaliber.andtheformmnerof
thewortdfamous8x57Mausercartridge.
Vast quantities ofM88 Commission rifles
and C3Jbincs were made in ,·arious Gennan
govemmemanenals. Theserifleswcrcusually
rnarked"GEW.88".wnpcdonthelcftsideof
lhen:oei,-cr."GEW"'isanabbreviationofthe
Grnnan word Ge..-ehr. meaning rifle. The
rifles had a 29.r barrel, the ca,bines with a
17.62" barrel: the rcct"ivers were usually
mari:cd "KAR.SB." "KAR." is an abbrniaoon
forKarabilll!r,meaningcamine.Oodilheriflc
andcarbine,.-n-tmade"'ilhabam:ljacke1,a
thin-walledstceltubcoowringlhecnrirelcnl¢>
ofthebarrel.Thejacketislargeenoughto
leaveanair spoc,ebetwocnthejacke1andbar-
rel. Theca,bine hasa1umed.<Jown spoc,n•
shapedbolthandle,whiletheriflehasas:uaight
bolthandlcwilharoundgraspingball.Agrcat
manyofthescarmsWC'l't"alsomadeinplantsin
Austria.iro::ludinglhegm,tSteyrwork:s.
Astheseriflesbceamcobsole1e,manyof
thcmtumcdupintheUnitedStates.Dwing
32
the 1920sand ')Os, the M88Carbine was
especial\yrommon.manyof1bem used "as
issued"forhwttingbiggamc
Thcrcct"i,1:rismillcdfromaonc-riett
Sleelforging.Thercceiverringisroundexcept
fora,-e,ysmallprojectionuodcrneathwhich
forms Ike recoil lug. The small recoil lug
requiredthatasq..aro-Slemmcdcross-boltbe
uscdinthestock-therccoillugengaginga
groovemilledin10 1hccross-bolt. A longer
projec1iona1theboctomrcarof1hereceiver
ringformsthecanridgcguide.Thefron1of1hc
rcceiveristhreadedonlheou1Sideforthebar-
rcljacke1oollarandontheiMideforthebarrel
shank. Thebrttchendofthebarrelabuts
against r..·o semi-<:ircular shoulders milled
iMidethereceiverring;thescshouldcrspar-
tiallyringthcbol1head.Totbercarofthe$e
shoulders.theinsideoftheretti•-crismilled
outton::ceivetbelockinglugsoftheboh.
Thcrcarpanof!hcreceh-c:r.common\y
callcdthebridge,issloncdontopsothatthe
bolt!.andlecanpasslhroughitwhcnopcning
andclosing1heoction.Asimpleboltsiopis
posi1ionedonthclcflsidcofthercceiver
bridgeandhinged1kercbyapinthrougha
srudonthercceiver.Tcnsionisprovidedto
theboltStopbyasmal!coilspring.
Theboltassemblyiscomprisedoftheboh
body with ilS integral handle, bolt head
assembly and firing mechanism. The bolt
bodyisacylindrical,hollowtubcdrilledfrom
fron!ton:ar.Thcopposedduallockinglugs
areontheextrcmeforwardendofthebolt
body and engage matching recesses in the
recei,·erwhentheboltiscloscd
Thcleft(ortop)locking!ughasananow
slolcu11hmoghit.Thisallowsthebolttopass
o,.·erafingeron1heendofthcboltscop-this
fingeractivatesthecjectorwhentheboltis
opened. Therigh1(orbonom)lockinglugis
solid with its top front comer beveled 10
matchasimilarbevelmachinedon1ketop
shoulderinsidethercceiverring.Thispro-
videstheini1ialexlraetioncammingp::iweron
openingthebolt
Thcseparatebolthead1smadc1ofitdose-
lyonandinsidethefrontendofthcbel1body
Asmalllugonthestemofthebohheadfilsin
amatchingdrcularrccesscutinsidelhebolt
bodytoholdthetwopans1oge1her.excep1
whenthebohheadis rocaledtoaccnainposi•
!ion. Thcsmallspringexuaetoris mortised
intoagroo,1:inthcrigh100Cofthebolthead
Theextractoreasilysn:,psoverthecartridge
rimwhen1hc boltis dosedonacamidge
singlyloadedintothechamber,oronacar•
1ridge that is chambered from the magazine
aheadoftheextractor.Alugontheleftofthe
beltbeadma1ehesthe leftlockinglugonthc
boltandoor,1ainstheve-rysmal!cjector. On
somebohheads,theejectorisheldinplluby
asmallscrew,whileonothcrsfrictionalone
holdsitinplacewhenthebohheadisdisas-
sembledlromtheboltbody.Thcendofthe
ejectorprooudeslhmoghaholeinthefaccof
thebohhcadrccess.Thcfaccofthebolthead
isrccesscdforthecartridgekead.Onsomc
boltheads.thcrimoflherccessoo,-ersabout
75percen1ofthecircumfcrcnceof1hecar-
tridgehead.On~therimisno1cu1away
a1al~xcepforlheextractorcut.Thebolt
headdoesnotro1a1ewiththcbolt ltispre-
ver,tedfromdoingsoby1heflanenedendof
1hefiringpinfi11edintoi1Sslonedstcm
Thcrearendofthebolthasaholethatis
smallerlhan the main holclhrough the bolt
body.Themainspringiscompm:sedbetween
theshoulderformedbythesmal!erholeand
theshoulderonthefrontofthefiringpin
Thelhrcadedrcarendofthefiringpin
e~tends through Ike center of the cocking
picceandisretainedthcrcby1kefiringpin
nut.Aflatspo1onthercarofthcunthreaded
pan of the finng pin nwches a Ila! wrface
IJl50dethecockingp;cttandpm'ffl1Jlhcfir-
Ulill'nfrornruming.AIIQCCh1111hcfron1of
lhcfirmgp11111U1mpgesthcrcarmdofthe
safccy,.htn11isrumcdlighl--10pre-.-m:lhc
11111frornoommgloose.Therear.llafflipan
of the finng pm nut ha.s1 nam,w flange
cxtcndingmtothecockingcamracc""IYOf
thercccl,uanda"·idcflangc.lhcsi~oflhc
locklngluaraccway.cxtendin&1othelcft.
Theirpurposc1S10dcfltttpowdcrgaacs..,.-.y
frornlhcshoot,r"5~1hee\'fflloflnap-
rumlpnmerorcas,ehead.
Thcrearmdofthebohbodyhasadeep
camnD1Chtoffl413&Clhccamonlhctron.of
thccock1ngpic<:c. When thebol1 handle is
lifted. the cockmg piece is cammed ba:k
1bou1.370"---lhcremainingcockingmo1>00
isdoneonclosing1hcbol1. Eucntially.1hc
M88isaMcock--opening""aaion . .sincethe
ivcatc11arnoumofcockingisdone"t.mlhc
bol1ilopcncd.Thisactioocanbcuncoc:kcd
withoul$napplngbyclos!Jl&lhcbollwh1le
hoklingthelngg,:rt.k. 11tissltouldo,,lybtt
~Ofta/lnnpl)' dit»nbt:r.
The"'lfli safccy lirsintoaholcbon:d lon-
gm,idinally 111 the top pan of the cockm&
p,ctt.ltishcklmpbocbythefiri113pm11111
Asmaltcoilspringaroundthcsafciystcms
holdsthcsafctyt>.ckagainstthcfiringpinnUI
10pn:vcn1thcn111frorn1uming.yt1allowsthc
safccy10bcpushcdforwanlsolhenU1canbc
11115CffWcd. h alsoprovides tens.lOll lOlhc
safe1yso,1willmna.ininthepoamon10
"hldinrs!OUICd.
Rowma lhc safccy to lhc ""Up"" or ""nJh1~
po,111ion,1rsforwardcndmgl&<'S&~CUI
into the !'Cir of the bolt body. camming the
rocking~backslightlysoi1isfrceofthe
main sear and. al the same time. locking the
bol1soi1canno1bcopencd.Sincethesafccy,
safe!)'sping.rockina~-firingpinnu1and
finnap,nnassanbledasaooit.lhey.ilrno,,,:
••unlt "-toenlhcac:aonisrockedllldfimi
Theui.,-assemblyisa1J1111)1conc.aim-
po,cd of• mucr. !iCal" housmg. KIi" nigg,:r
spnng. inuerpm,Jcarp111 andJcar housmg
pm.The1CWhoo.tsingpinholdslhcuscn,bly
to the receiver. Thelriggerislhedoublc-scagc
typc.Thcfirstpanofthctriggerpull.quilc
longandhJhl.nc:aflydiscngagcsthexar
frornlhccoc~p,ece.Ashoncr.bUlhcav-
,cr,fmalpulld,s,mpacsthcstarfromthc
ood::ingpie,ce.
The u,uer auard,'mapz,nc: is m1clnncd
andformcdasas111&1eun11.A long screw.
throughaholcmlhcl9rofthetngg,erguard.
lhrcadsintolhctanjoflhc=river.Ashoncr
JCTCW.lhroughaholeinthcfrooloftheguard.
1hreadsintoaroundSlud.silvcrsolderedto
lhcba:rcljackel.Bodlholdthcactionandbar-
rclinlhestock.
Thelrigger&u.rtlbowaperungisJonc-
1hebow1txlfisvcrydidandwidc. The
magarine:bo~,m(ftorleM1,,,a!ledshell.
atendsbclowlheSIOCkbnc.forwardoflhc
guard bow. housing the various magazine:
panswhichholdllldguidclhccanridg,cclip.
llisesscntialthal Hlipbcusedinthisactioo.
sinoeitistheclip!lwholdslhccamidpin
positioninlhcmagutne.[,.illgointomon:
dctaill.al<.T.
ACitldl."'luthpiYIJtllonl-"""""andisg,,·-
cnlerlS>Onbyasmallooilspring.ispo,sitioncd
mlhcrcaroflhcrnipu,i:.llusc:a&chlm1
hookonnsupp:rendlOcnpgcandholdlhc
kadcdcLipdown.AbUIIOnonlhelowa-cnd
oflhccaichprotn,dcsinmlethcguardbow
andtanbc~iorcleasethcloadcd
clip.Thefollowerann.po,oitiorocdinlhefron1
oflhc~ncon•-"""""·isgivcn!CnSion
byahoa,yoodspnng ■ndplwiger.k:,catroin
aholcinthchoavyfron1panoflhcmapzin,,.
ThercarinimodeoflhcmagazincisopcnlO
allowlhccrnpydip10fall!llLThemnaiodl:r
of the mapzme opct!lll& ,s closed by a flat
picceofsic,el.hcldmplxebya,ia,:w.
Theclipi11U-slw,pcdpicaofspnngstttl
"tiichholdsti~cartridgcs.Thetopandbol-
1ornofthecliparcidcn11cal.Thecdgcsoflhc
sidcarccurvcdin"'8Rltoholdthecartndgcs
andtoformguidcorrctaincrhpswhcnlhc
kadcdclipis111thc1t1>on.Ridgtsinsidelhc
rcaroflhetlipmalehlhenb"ICIOl~in
thecamidgchead.Whenloadinglhear-
lridg,::sinlolloechplhcymuslbcinsertedwilh
lloeirhcadscnpplhdnndlhesendges.The
ndgcsthusholdlloecattridges=lyinlloe
clip.andthenlk'1rcooilcanno1dislodgclhc
cartridgcsforwanl from1lledip. This clip
33
 Military Rifles & Actmns

Twotypeso1 bolt heads used ~M88Commis.sionr\fles.

TOl):8ol1headwilhthewldeu1r11C1orhookandunde•·
c:u1-.ml.Whvnf&edingfn)m1h8magaZSl8intolhe
et,.ambe,, the Urlridgt hNd - · upward with the
••~or hook engaging 1h41 e~u1ridgt. If the boh is
dof,ldbull'l(ll nllaladandloc:ktd, 1hecaartriclge ... be
a>Ctraclldande,ectedonOJl"l'lingllebolt.Sono,n:This
i..perhapll, lhlleanierlyp,lolbohhNdwithlhenam:,w
a1<1recl0o'anda~receurtm . Thteartridgeispushed
intothechambefaheadollheallrac10<, butlhe11xlr8c-
lorhookcannoc8!>gagelhecar1ridgtheadunle5$1h8
boltlstullyclo&edandlocked.Wilhlhisbohhead,~11
poMlblato · ctouble load"therlfla.Unlessthebol1l1
rotatadandlockad, lhecartridg9wiUnotbeextraC1ed

formisofsonw:a(h-an~-..·hcnsoftpoint slonNn:a:1\-'erbndge,there is linlesloppi- Noprovision is madie10allow....,...mps-

ammunitoonisused.asit ...,tlkccpthebullel
pointfrombeingba11CTN-bystrikingthc
fiontofthemagazincfromm:oil.
ThcloadcdclipisinSCl'ledintothctopof
lhc:opcncdactionandpushc:ddown•gains1
thetrnsionofthcfolJcw,'CflffilWltilcngagcd
bylhcdipcaleh.Sincetheiopandbotloolof
lhccllp.eidentical,itisn'tpoaible10inscn
thcc~pmoorrcctly. Ascachc.uidtc is fcd
outofthcdip,lhc followcrannn,ses the
mna,ning canridgcs in the chp-thc clip
mnaming stationary. A fully or pani.illy
ncssoflhcboltinlherccei,n.e,.'ffl"'-hmthe
bolt,s open.Ftwi113ofthecanridgcsfrom
themagarineissmoothandn:liable,andtherc
isamplecxlnletion c.nuningpowcr. "The boh
stopis quiteruaacd:thesafety positive.
Althoughthebolthcadis a scpamepanoflhe
bolt.andthefiomcndoftheboltishoUo-A-.:d
........
OUIIOaa:cplll.thercseemslObcamplemct-
aJatthefrontlOadcqualClysupp;,rlthewaJ
cs10cscapehannlesslylromtheactioninlhe
tVffltofapien:edprimerorrupturwcase
head. Then:an:oogaaescapc,fflt:Sinlheboh
orrecei,-.:rring.
Minordcsignfaull1includetheforward
posi1iooofthebol1handlc.inconveniently
placcdforrapidboltopen.1ion. Thesplit

~clipcanberelea.$edfromthc10pofthc
opcncdactionbydcprcssin11thcclipcatch
Whcnallthecartridgesha,-c:bcrnfcdfrom
thcchp.itwilldropfromthcma~~ofits
ownwdght.
MihtayM88sar,,IWllly~numbcmi
Thcfullnurnbtris~onthcrKei,·cr,
t.ret.i.td,ad<d.-.dboh.Oll,erpinsoflhc
a.tionmay alsobeSlampcd"·•thlhesamc
IUl'fflor,.,lhpanoflhatnwnber. lfalJlhe
numbenmaldl.thisindicatcslhatallthepans
areoriginal.Theda1e{ycar)oftheriflc'sman-
ufactun: is usually s1ampcd on thercceiver
rina, Commercialsportingriflcsbasalonthis
adion usually follow the serial nwnbering
patticcinodonmiLitayarms.lhou&l>lhcyan:
11011 a1 ..-.y1 flllmpCd "'ilhthedaleofmanufac..
IUR. M,lillry rifles seldom ha,-.: the caliber
des.pauonaampedon them. On sporting
nflcs.thecaliberisusuallyscampcdonthe
barrel. but it maybe underneath the barrel.
n:quiri11j1thelffll0\-alofthesio,;k10seei•
. . . . . . . . Na
TheOmnanMSSactionsan:wcllmadc,
• lltheparuan:ofsteel,macluncdandfin-
,s!IN IOda,e IOlerance$and proptl'ly heat-
lJellcd, The outside oflht- bolt body. lhe
11151deoftherccei,'ttandallthcainncting
surf11CCSofthefuiJl&mcchan1S1TIW11lunlhe
boltandrcccivttcarry a vny finefini~
rcsullin&inexceptionallysrnoolhandcasy
D(lC'llinganddosingofthebolt.Oespi1ethe
This ac1ion.however,hasn.Rwcakand
unde'lirabk:featun:sthanstrongones. "The
"-.:akcstpanisthe,-ery.smallexlnlCIOr. NOI
onlyisi1wnlo:anddclicatc,butitcanbelOSI
easilywhcnthebol1istakenapart.Thetje,:1or
is smallanddclicatealso.
The,cpanucbol1hcadcanbercadilydisu-
scmbled and can be easily lost-..olhcr
WKbinble fniurc. Thebolicanbeassan-
blcdinthc,ccomrrunuslhebokhcad.and,tis
possibleoof~ • ~intherifle,.,tltthe
bolthcadm,ss,nawnh~--
"""""
Theworstf<:acw.,isthenccdfor a special
clip1oholJthecattridgesinthemaaazinc.
When the M88 rifle was used as a military
,.apon.,.;lhlhelmmllnioon"'ff'licdinclips.
lhescdips"-.:rethencxpendable. Ho,o~-.:r.
,.+.:r,it....nfb,.-.:n,\rseda,sspomt1&arms,
thesportqarrmuruoon ..2S11011funushi:d.,
dips.nitheircasyloss~aproblem.A
smalld,e•,i<;ekll0\fl11asa-chp-sa,'ef"-
dcvclopcd101'ff'-"en1theclipsfromdmpping
from the magazine. h was a small, 1hd,ng
sprinaa:»-.:rslippcdO\'Cftheroundicdedjicsof
lhebooomofthemagazinc:.Cm-..ingthehok:
inlhemaaa,.inehddtheempydipinlhema,i-
~.Commacialsp:,rtingriflcsmacleonthis
actoonoftenhadahingedmagazinc:holecx,,'ff
···••inglhe-purpole.
AllClChcr undicsoablc leawre is the.._ of
mecal11tachcdtothestrikcr.resuh1113in
131herslowlockt~. Thismassincludcsthe
heavystrikcr,massiveoo,;kingpitte.slrikcr
nU1.safe1y,andsafctyspring
bndgedcsig:npra=tsinsu,lhng1conven-
tionaln:tti,-.:rsighlanclaltopbccs.,,....fun.
nationsonthedooi<;eof11COptfflOISlU"'hich
can be used The mapi:,ne ho~ extending
bclowthestocktineisal,o,nuisanceincar-
ryingtheriflc.Allhoughnotanadionfault.
thebarrcljacke1isnotades,rablefeatwc.
Opentheboltand, ,.hilcdcprcssingthe
bollstop.withdnwtheboltlromtherc,;,eiv-
tt. Disasscrnbletheboltulollows:Pffsslhe
safdyfor,,'afdandlllliCrewthetoikernut
Remm-.:theco,;klngp;«e fromthefinng
pu1.Holdinglheboltinlhelefthand.firmly
grasp the bolt head wi1h the fingcnofthe
righ1 hand and tum the boll head l/2-tum
clockwise, Bolt head, firingpinandmain-
spring.:anoowbepulledoutofthebolt.The
utrar:torisrcmoviedfromthc:boltheadby
raisingthehooi<cdmdlndslidingilforward.
Theejcctorcanbercmovcdbypushingit
badtwithadriftpunch.Reaueml>lethebolt
pansinm.=corder,aslollows: Leythebok
onatablewiththel1115101herightandlhe
bolt handle IOWard )'OU. Place lhe bolt head
onthefiringpinwithlheejectorlug,Jigned
withthella!sp01onthen:arofthefiringpin.
Slipthemainsprinaoverthefiringpin.No,o•,
paspthebohwilhthek:flhandand.withthe
bolthandlcpointin&tov,"&Rlyou.inscrtmain-
spring,firingpinlndbohhcadinlolhefront
of the bolt. With the tj«:lor lug pointing
a,,,'&)'fromyou.aroppa,,tcthcbolthandle.
plishthebohhcadinlolhebohufarasitwill
go;tlt,entumthebolthcad¼-rumcounter-
clockwi ... sothee~torlugisalignedwilh
theleftlockinglug.Pla«theco,;kingpicce

34
 :: I

Top view ol lhe M88 Gemwi Commssi0n action

ovcrthc-endofthcfiringpin.withthc
Afel)'lua;111line,.11hthcbolthandlc. lnscn
thcsafetyandspringintoplattwilhthcAfo•
lyWU\Jltotheleftand.whileclet>r'=ingthe
AfC1y.1Umon1hestrikernulun1il1herear
cndofthcfiringpinisflushwith1heendof
thcnut
Rm,o,.·elhc ban'd.ac1ionandmagazinc
1Wembly from the5lllek by removing the
fronlandrcarguardscrewsfromthcbo!lom
of1hemapzu,,:Jguard.RcmovctheboltS10p
-
relfromtherccciverunk:ssyouha,-.,thc
propcriools1>-..ilable.

bylklvn"COUltheboltSIOppinfromthcbot·
tom. R.....,.,-.,the1ngg,erassemblybylklm'&
OUlthetngersearput.Depressthelolic,..-er
111m and insert• wire or bnd ,mo the hole
cxp0Sed11theendofthefollowerplunger.
Thrnmno•·cthcfollowerscn,wioremc""e
11N:follo"..,,.·Remo,·cthemap,:incplacc
screw and slide oul !he magazine plau:.
RCffiO\"cthedipcatchscrewandrenwwcthc
catch and spring. Pulloutthcwireorbrad
from the follower plunger co move the
plun1erandspring.Rcasscmbleinrevcrv
onlcr.Donotuns,;-rewthebaneljackccorbar•
AssoonasthcM88riflehadbccn~ed.
GcnnanandotherEuropcangunmakcrsbcgan
making$JIOl1ingriflcsonthisactioo.Thcpn1<:•
ncecontinucdlonl!•ftertheM88wasdroppcd
infavurofthcfarbcucrM98Mauscr.
Atfu-st.thcscsponingrifles....,,..,gencrally
charnbcredforthc&nrncartridgeorig,naUy
dtsigncdl"orthisaction.Thisro..id-,,-a,orig-
mallykno-A-11aslhc7.9mm.and~onll5the
7.9:d7mmor8.u7mmMauser. ltsammer-
rialdcs1g,wion"-asb57J. thcMrrranmg
lnfamcne.•Thrsearv>dg,, " 'Zloadcd"11ha
bullctof.Jlr"diamclerlOmatchlhenormal
bon:(.311")andgroo.,,(.320")diamctersof
the military bam:I. Therefore. the com.:,
ammuniuoniouseinthcmihtaryM88riflc,
andcarbinesisthe8x57J.Thc:spor1ingriflcs
were also chambered for the 6.5x57mm,
7x57nvn. ll.d6mm. 9x57mm and other car-
tndgc:s, all ofthcm origina!ly factory io.dett
tobre«hpresswesoflessthan45.000psi.
That..,..., ansidercd maximum safe "vrt:ina
pressureforlhisaction.
Thc:chpoftheM88willacoi:pand"-lle
anyrimlesscartridgehavingthcstandard)O.
06hcOOsizeandlho<leihll1an:nomorclhan
1bou1 3.250" long. Cartridges feed in I
Slraiihtlincin101hcclwnbtt.llldc;1rnthosc
u short q the 35 Remington will funcuon
•"')'nK:dy.lnpag)"lll'S.lha,-.,fffll!IC\'fflf
M8icarbincsrebarrelcdto35 RemillJIOn.
andlhciro,o11ct'Slikedthcm•-nymuchfor
hunnngdeer. lha,-cal:sofffl\somcretwrded
,.,lhanM98Mausier8mmbanelJOlhllffl'll-
mercially io.dcd U.S. 8mm ~user hunung
11mRU111ionoouldb<:safdyuscd.U.S.-io.ded
8nvnMauK:1"camidgesshow1bre«hpres-
1AROflessthan40.000psiand.lherefon,.are
quiteAfefortheseoldactionsifthcncwbar-
relfitttdhasagroo,-cd~crmatchi113thc

35
 Glirlnll1 Modal 88 Comlsalon 111118
32Ydiamcterbullduscdinthcsccartrid&et.
lnfinin1thcM98bam:ltothisa.ction,i1is
nettSSal)'10tumandtlu-eadanewshanl:.
When the German gunmalen used the
M88E1ionfor1sponingrillc.lheyseldom
us«lthebllrmjacket.ThefrontguardJCmo'
,.._ lhraded11110 a iuinlcacdinlothobam:l
~inthef'om>d.Whcnuslngthemili-
wyaroon..,lhowlho:~jadet.d'll:colbr
36
oothejeckc:1canbcuscd10rov,,rthcthreadi
onthefrontofthe=iver.Forlooklonly,
thenewbam:lshouldha,,:ashoulderlikeany
$pJrtlnariflcbam,l,asshcMt1inthednwing
oflhcbaml shankspccificacions.Gcrman
gunsnulhs ,ruallcd IOmC double-SCI aigcr
mechani$mllinthc,Jcaction,,..,,;llsn,no
grHlprobk:min•·oh·edininswhngthole
madefurtheM98Mauscrin1heM88action.
ThcGermangunrnakcnalsouscdthebuic
M88.ction, butminusthemaguinc, for
makin1upmanyfinc,ligh"'"igh1sholw--
act/hunti11&rifks.lon,;,eowncdanduscda
rifleofllus1ypechamba'edlorlht5.W2R
(22 S.vap Hi-Po...w) cartridp,. The rr;.
m,-ofdlalerifksha,..,asolidbonom.llld
lhe1ct10n11almostalwaysfmcdwnhafinc
doublo-,etaiggcr, Thc~ban=usuallypar-
 :: I

G
23

,..,,., ...
26Upper 8andScr9W
V LowerBandSp,tog

1-~
,.'"""
,_....,
30Trigg9r°"'9nl

,, ,_.,...
40 ~Sp,log61.im
41 Cliplalc:hSaww
42 Maga,intFQlower

..
,,,, .,._
....,
~=Jad(el
23 F10111Sig'II
43 M;igan8oaom,F10111
"Aear GuardScr9W
45 Clipl..alch
46 Clipl..atchSp,log
47Burlplate

:; ~ ~
~
u ....

o.allyocca8(11'111,fullyoctagonalornbbed,and ,, panly Mannhcher design. panly Paul weU. l.lleron,lhc~Sleyrarms:fxioryin

filled,.1lhsponingsighu. Whcnth,:2l9Zip-
pcrcanrid&e was inlroduccd in l937. I madc
up• ~shol ,vnunt rifle on th,: mili..-y
M88acoon.lleftoffall1hcmapzincpans.
filled the magazine: well opening in the
rw:ivcr wilh an aluminum block and used a
Krqlriggcrguanl.Theooltface...i,seasily
opene:<lto"'=l)lthc:rimmed219case.ltwas
Mauser"s.,.,thsomeideaslhrouo11inbythc
OamanTCSU"&Comrnu.sion---1••hosc:j<Jb1t
wastofind.de>·elopifnecessary,andteSlthc:
newac:1ionwltich w11,1obc l<loptcd. The
~neWPellMly!heinvcntionofF<:rdi•
run!RincrvonMannlichcr.anAustrianarm1
invcn1or. l1s«mslikelythatMannlichcrmay
havchad,handinde:signingthereoi:ivcrand
Au.wia,thefmnthatmanufacturedmostof
thernanyrillcsvonf.bnnlid>erin\'tllleld,pro,
mad olhor military and sponing rifles hued
es,entlallyonthc:samea.ction.Thcseineludal
the M92 and M93 Rumanian rifles in 6.Smm
caliber and the M9S Dutch Infantry rifle.
Usina• rowy spool magazine invcnu,d by
OuoSchoenaucr,one-timeheadofthc:Sleyr

-
oneofmyliMIIUCCt'SSfulvarmimriflca.andit
m:,ppcdmanyacrowinlhelowafarmooun.
try"·timllivcd
Thusflrlha,~refffledlOthc:IIC!lonundtr
~-thcGermanMooel88C!mrrus-
soonllC!lonlUnit"llSlhefirsloflhistype
anddesigniobcldopled.Acwally.lhellC!lon
boll,althoughthc!wo-piiecedesignofthc
oolt,thcfiri"&rnechanisrn.safcty.lriili"'and
the: i.loncd A!Ceiver were all Malserpalalls.
Thefurnrdikaal-opposcdloc:kin&hiJil)1&ml
hadbcenusedprcviouslyonsorr,cother
riflca.1desig,,fururethat15neilherMann-
lichcrnorMauser. Cratilmus1bciivcntolhr:
iestmgc:ommissionf:orlmV1gingallofthe,e
fcarurcs1111su,glelCUOfllhalrum.dOU110
factory.theyalsomanufacturtd6.5mmmili•
wyrillcsforOreea:
The bolt and re«iveroflhis rine.wilh
rrunorctianaesandirnprovaner,Q.was-,.
hally the same as lhe M88 Commmaon nfle.
TheMl903Gfttklctionl.aterb«amc:thc
basit for th,: world ra,owna;I Mannlicher•
Schofflau«sportingrille.
Wh1letheM88Ccmrrus:s,on1CbonisllOI

37

gcnenillyn,f<'fl'rolOasa .. Mannhc~
ac11on,othcrs1m,larac:honsarc, mclud111&
lhoK w,th the: Sd1omaUC1" maga;.tinc. Sorne
1uthonuesha,·efladyscuedthattheMann-
lichcr-SchomaUC1"1ctionhasarttciverand
boltinvcntedby,·onMannlicherandamaga-
zinc invented by Schomaocr-but can 1hc
n:ceivcrbohbe:Mannlichcrwhmthebohand
rc<:Cl\'Crofitsparcntaction,theM88.was
adm111cdlyba5cdlargelyonMa,,._fcatura
andlhoKoftheCommission11nc:idmtally,
the l lunpnanG9&40 (aboknov.11asthe
38
Modo:19&40Mauscr)hasaboltandrttt1,..,.
btiedonthesarne<b111J1-bulfined ...,ththe
Ma,,,.,.~umnbo»:maga.,.inc.
M88nflc:sandcarbtne$an:gctting$Ca!CC'r
asrochycarpassc,.Bcginningmilitaryanns
collcc1=will findthatobtainingeithcror
bothoFthcscannsinoriginal,vcrygoodron-
diuonillnotaso:asyasitW3llycarsago.Ama-
1Curg11nsm11hs.howcv.,,-.wil1 findi1 much
-icrtoobtainlhm>,sinco:thcrcan:stillalot
of1hem around 1111 condition "''table for
gunsmith111g ~ in less than
good condition, ha,·ingbttnpm'iollsly re-
...twtedormissingsomcpans. Spcakmaof
parts.part,houseshavelongbttnoutofbolt
hndlandexttat1onfur1heM88.So,unless
youcanmakethcsepa,1S.becertaJntheyare
notm,ssingfromthegunyouplantobuy.
lngathcringinfo!mationontheM88,Jdis-
rov.,,-edtwo1,11msuali1cms. l four.dthefirst
one in the l902Sears.Rocbuck&Co.cata-
los,whichlistedaridillustnlled1sporttnjj--
sioooftlusrifleat$24. lt";l!ldescribed111 1
Mannlichcr six-shol. high-pov.-.,,- sporting
nfle ,n 8mmcaliberasm:adebyC.G. Haencl
1nSuhl,Gmnany.lthldasportin&stodwith
1pwolgnpandshonforad.andthe2S"bar-
rcl appears to be rovimd by a jackel. In
describrngthe&mm,;anridgc.thc:Scan~
logsho,,-s1maximurnrar,geof4S00yards.a
killing~ofJOOOyard:s.andapomt-bbnk
ran11eofJOOyards! The other i1em wa,a
GoldmSta1cArmsadvt11iscmentin11958
issueofA111<'rironRiflmranwhichstillli~
surplusM88rinesatS9.95each.Thcsetwo
i1cm11ive11ssomeiokaofthetime5P"'ad
lhllltheschavcbeenontheAmericanmari«:t,
indica1cthatalolofthemm11S1havcbeen
madt.andtha1thcrcmustsiillbe11otofthem
111thtscountry.
IN THE CHAPTER on the Gennan Model
88 Commissi011 action, I mentioned that the
recei,·erandboltoftheverypopularMann-
licher-Schoenauer&eti011evolvedfromthe
Gennan Commission-designed Model 88
action,andthatsen,ml o\he1'rines,includ-
ing theModcl98/40,havcasimilarreceiv-
erandbolt. ln theM88Commissionrinc,
"·e sec how the Gennan Testing Commi,;-
sion copied some Fea1uresfrom1he71/84
Mauserrine.usedsomeof theirown,and
inco,poratedaMannlichcr-designedsingle-
column magazinetocorne upwithadis-
tinctiveandsmoothworkinsaction. This
wasfollowedbytheHungarianModel1935.
alsowithaMannlichersingle-co!urnnmag-
azine.Frornthisrine.lhe HungarianMod-
e198/40andtheGennanG98/40action
evolvcd--<,hangingtheMannlichcrmaga-
zineforthe Mauserstaggered-i;olumnnush
magazine
The Gennan 98/40 (the G is usually
droppedfromthedcsignatioo).aswellasthc
Hungarian98/40(thisrineismorecorre.:tly
designated as the Hungarian Mode! 4J.--
'"4J'"becauscHungaryadoptcditin 194l),
were created because ofGennany's dire
nttdformilitaryshoulderannsatthcbegin-
ning of WW II. 'The Hungarian government
arsenal inBudapcstwastooleduptomake
the Mannlichcr-magazinedModell9l5rifle,
which. excep1 for the magazine drawbacks,
wasagoodrifkThcnbyadaptingthestag-
gercd-<.:olumnMausermagazinetoit.and
chambering it for the 8mm (h57mm or
7.9~57mm) Mauser canridgc. the 98/40 was
bom. hissodcsignatcdbecause it has the
bask M98 Mauser magazine and was adopl-
ed in 1940.
TllllllraaMNll88/40111111
ThcGcnnan98/40riflehasa23.6"twrel,
is 43.62" overall, and wdghs about 8.9
pounds. lthasatwo-pieccstocksimilarto
thcBri1ishLee-Enlleldrine,withtheforend
altachedtothebarrelbythefrontguard
scrcwandtwobarrelbands.Thcmuzzlebar-
rclbandrontainsabayonetsrudsotheregu-
larM98 Mauscrbayonc1 can be affixed.
Unlikethe98KMauserbam:l.theG98/40
-
{GstandsforGe.,..ehr,Gcnnanforrifle) bar-
rc!hasnoStepS.buthasastraighttaperfrom
the breech shoulder forward. The magazine
holdsSrounds
The model designation of G 98/40 is
stampedontheleftrc,:civerwall. The date
(year)ofmanufa,:Ture, such as 4 1, which
meansl941,isstampedon1he1oprearofthe
recei,,,,.ring.Thefa,:torycodeleners jhv are
st.ampedonthe1opfrontofthercceiverring
Thcletters jh varcthccodcle11crsforlhe
Mctallwaren Waffcn u Maschincnfabrik
arsenal in Budapest, Hungary. The caliber
(borediame1er).e.g., 7.9 l .isstampedonthe
barrelshouldernexlto lherccciver.'Theser-
ial numbert!lstampedon thebrcechendoF
thcbarrel.leftsideofthereccin,·ring,trig-
gerguard.floorplate,bunstocksocketand
boh.andwi1hthclasttwodigitsoflhisnum-
..,,.
ber stamped on most of the 01her major
Tllt88/40klllll
AlthoughtheModel98/40actionclosely
followsthedcsignfeaturesofthcGennan
88 Commission action and some of1he
Mannlicherac1ionsrncmionedearlier.ithas
enoughindividualfeaturestorcquircascpa-
ratedcscription.Therecei,·erringisabout
l.735"!ong. Theloadingponisabout3.2"
longwiththehigherleftrc,:dverwallmadc
with a dup thumb no1ch ljke that in 1hc
M98Mauserac1ion.'Thereceiverbridgeis
,·erylong{about2.25")andsplit:that is.
thercisasl01mi11edthroughthetoptoallow
passageofthebolthandleandguidcrib
ThefrontcorncnoFthisslotaregro,wedto
ac<:ep1thcM98Mauserstripperdipssothe
magazinccanbequicklyloaded. Thebot-
tomoftherecei,·erisflat'Therccoillug,on
theFron1ofthisfla1,isaboutl.60"wideand
2.25"decp.Themagaiinewellismilledout
ofthisflat,leavinganopening3.30"'1ong
and eanridge-guidc lips to hold 1he car-
tridgcsinthemagaiincand1oguide them
into the chamber.
Themagazineboxissolidlyconmucted
ofshtttmctalwithrcinfon:edends.andthe
bonornoflhereceiverismilledtoholdit
securely in place. Therearwallofthemaga-
zineboxaisoactsasarecoillugandmakes
up for the small areaofthemainrecoil lug
onthefrontoftherccciver. Recoil is mainly
absorbedbythebuustockagainstthehun
socket, whilethercarofthcmagazinebox
andlherecoillugpreventtheforendfrom
moving forward.
Inside the receiver ring, there arc 1wo
shouldcrswhich thebreechendofthebam:l
contacts.Theyaredividcdbycutsrnadeto
allowentranceoftheexuac1orandejector.
Thebarrelisthrcadedtightly(right-hand
1hread)intothercceiverwilhthebarrelmade
withanarrowshouldertoabutaga;ns!the
frontoftherc,:eiver. Ashallowgroo,·ecu1
acrossthefaceofthebarrel providesroom
fortheex!ractorandejectortoengageth(,
umidgerim.Thisbrttchingsystemisthe
same as used in the Greek Mannlicher-
Schoenaueraction
Thcinsideofthcrcccivcrismilledou1to
accepttheboltassembly.Lockinglugmce-
ways arc milled nearly the length of the
actionandinsidctherecei,·erringtofonn
(Pic!IJ'9dabove)Germal!ModelG96140rille
39
lockillj$hQuldrrsforlh<twolockinglup
onlhcbolt.Shghtinchnesonlhcapproachcs
ofthe1C$hQuldencam the bolt forward as
lhebolthandle11lo,,·md.
Thcbolt1SofNo-pieccdesign"-ithascp-
ameboltbcad"'iuc.-hfots11110ihcfroruoftbc
boltbody.ThcheavyhookextraC1orismor-
11sed11110lherighl1idl:oflhchead.hckl1n
pl¥c and lnlSiontd bya Oat spring mon,sed
,nplacc:betund11.
ThculnlCIOfhasa,-crywidl:hookandis
madesoitcannotbe pulled out from the
front. hhasampkmow:mentsothehook
canen1lyslipo.-crtherimofacanridge
placed in1hechambcrahcadofthcbol1. I
behev,:thisi1evenabencrextractorthanin
the commercial Mannlicher-Schoenaucr
1c11on.Thctjcc10r,almostancxact,;opyof
th<Mannhchcf-Schocnauerej«wr.ishekl
mplaccbyasmallscrcw.Thcbonomo;omer
ofthcextrac10randeJ'C"IDfan:roundedoff
sothat,,.henlhc:bohpushcsacartridge
fi-omthcrnapz,ne10lhcchambr:r,lhcnmof
lhccartt,dgc1,hpsundcrlhc:e,nn1c1or.Th11
pn,;,m1Sdoublek-.lu,g1fthebolti1n01ful-
tylockedbefore1tisdni""'t,,,;kapin.Thi1
is a good feature. Thcc~traClorisalsomade
sotha11tholdsthebolthcadinplxcinlhc
.....
bolt,andonremovinglhcboltftomtherifle,
lhcbolthcadcanno1acciden1allyfalloutand
Thcbol1bodyhasan1n1cgralguiderib
1longmos1of11Slmgth.Thebcn1bolthan-
dleisan,n1cgralp,anofthi,rib.Thi1rib
f'unc:IIOIISIOJW<kandptt,·mtlhcboltfrom
b1nd1nguit1Sopcra!Cd.ltalsoSCl'\'esasthc
safctylock1n&lug11nce11engagesfor,,...-d
of the righs rccciv,:r bridge wall when lhe
boltiscloscd.l1Sft'on1endmo>·eso,,,eran
,nchncdsurfacconlhemuoflhcrccc1v,:r
40
ring and provides tho initial e~tractorcam,
min1powerwhen1hcboltisopencd. The
iJtiPm1ballonlhebohhandlei1flauencd
...,.
undcmeath.andthisf\atsurfaceischeck-
Theboltbody1s~lkdfromlhcfront10
acccp11hcooilfflllnspingandlhconc-p1C"tt
linngp,n.Clncs,dc,oftheRarmdofthclir-
"'IPinisfla~tornat<:hasimilarholein
thccockmgp,Kethrough"tiichtheRarmd
ofthc:finn1p1ncxtends.ThispttHn1Sthe
pmfromtuming.Theliringpinnu1thread$
oniolhcre¥oflhcfiringpinandholdslhc
assemblytoscthcr.Theheavycockingpiccc:
hu I he~vy rib which moves in• slot in the
rc.:eiverbridgeprevcmingi1fromtuming
when the boll handle is raised and lowmd.
Thcn:111smallcamonlhccockin1pic«
whic:hli1Sarna1<:h1ngsba!lowcamandnotch
inthe~ofthc:boltbody.Allthiscamand
notchdoishokllhccockingpiettandliring
pmb,,;kunlcsslhcbol1handlcisfullydown
andthcacuonlockcd.thiuprc-,-c:nun,l«'i-
dcnlallinngunlcsslhcactionisfullylockcd.
Whenlhcbohisopen.thccockmgc:am~•
ina;mthc:sballownotchprcv,:n1Sthccock•
u,gp1,:,;efrom1umina;.
ThcSlemofthcwingsafetylitsinahole
dnllcdlcngthwi,cinthccockingpiccc:rib.A
coil spring over the stem holds the safety
backagainsta001ChintMliringpinnutand
prevents tho nut from tuming. When the
actioniscloscdandcockcd.swinging1he
safetytothoriglnrowesthof\anenedendof
thcsafctyS10nintoanotchinlhcbol1.Thit
locbboththcbol1andcockingpiccc:.The
safctycanal,obes...""ltolhcright"'·hen
thccockma;p1COCisf,,,....,.-d;thisdrawsthc
liringpsn11p"''1thinlhcfxeoflheboltand
locks11b,,;k, .. ,..e11 .. lockinglhcbolt.
Thcn,isa thumb-pic,;eonthc firing pin
nut by which theacuoocanbemanually
cockcdw1ththothumb,orlhcaclioncanbe
uncocked (!he firing pin lowered) by
revcn111gtheproced11re.Th1sprov1des1
mcanttorecocktheactionincaseofamit-
fire. I do not know why tho safety "'111
madctolock1hecockingpiece1ndbolt
""hcnthcachonisuncockcd.Th11feuun:1J
ofdoubtfulvaluc.
Thc98/40bolt..stopisnearlyl0Clltocal10
•he one: on th,c Grttk Mannlicher-Sc~
naucrac1,on.l1islincdonastudonthokft
si,,lcofthcm:civcrbridge.andispivotcdon
apinand1Cnllioncdbyacoilspring.ltpro-
jc(,1Sthroogh1holeintolhclcftlock1n&lug
racewayandStopSlhcboltoncontactin&lhc
ejcaor...·hichli1So,·ertholockm1l111-Like
lhcM-Saction,lhcrcisandgc-and-groove
~onlhcbolt-stopandleftlockma
l11g.10thatunlessthcejcctoran,.iorbolt
hcadarenotassembledonlhcbol1,lhebol1
canno1be1nsencdm1nlhcrccci•·erunlcss
the bolt-Jlnp is dcprc,sed, but with the bolt
headandeJ«1ormplace.lh<boltcanbe
mserlcd wnhoul dcpro,ssingthe bolt-stop.
S111cethosrillecouklactuallybeliredw1th•
outthobohhcad,which"'OUldhcverydan•
gcrous.1hefactth.atthcbol1cannotbe
inscncd in10 the rc.:eiHr without first
lkpressinglhcboll-slopisasafctyfealure
whichremindsthcshoo!crthatthc:boltisno1
fullyassembkd
Thctriggerandsearmechanismissimilar
loth.atmthcM•Sriflc.Thc11C1Fispivoted
on the bonom of the rcttiver on a pin. The
ttiggerispl\'Oledonlhciurmdoftbc-
onapinandhastwohumps"iuc.-hproo.idc
the double-sl.lg(:pull. A J)l'OjCCIICln ,nth<
inroflhcsarutcndsthroughaholcinlhc
cockingpittcraccwayintherecciveriangm
contac1thesearontheoockingpiece,and
holdsitbackwhentheac!iooisclosed This
actioniscockedontheforwardordosing
mo1ionoflheboh.
Thcsearandtriggcraretensioncdbya
coil spring, A headpin inside this spring,
withitsheadl'CSlingonthefromoflhesear,
projectsintoaholeinlherecciver.Thcreisa
holcdrilledintotherearedgeofthebolt
body.andwhenlhebohisful!yclosedand
locked.thisholcisalign,edll\lertheendof
thesearsafetypinsoth.at,unlesslheboltis
fullylockcd.theriflccanootbcfired.This
arrangemem issimilartothatused in the
M93 Mauser,JapaneseArisakaand 1917
Enfield.Thise~tnisafetydeviccisofoonl-
ucsincetheoockingpiccewill!\Ollctthefir-
ingpinprolrudefromthefaceofthebolt
head unless the bolt har.dleistumcddo"11
completcly.Thereisalsoanarrowgroovcin
the bonom of lhe bolt which a!i~ with the
searsafetypinwhenthebohisforwan:1.but
withthebolthar.dleraised. This allows the
triggertobcpulledtorl:leasethesearftom
thecockingpieceso1hatitcanfollowthe
bolt forwa.d. However, to lower the bolt
har.dleaftcrward.theoockingpiecehastobc
pulledbackslighdy.
Wcllconslructedofshect=tal.themag-
a,:ineboxisheldinplaccUOOOrthereceiver
by the trigger guard pla1e, with the plate
attached 10 the ac1ion by a guard screw
througheachendand1hreadingintothc
receiver. A latchinthefron1ofthelarger
triggerguardbowholdsthemagazinefloor-
plateinplace.Depressingthislatchallows
Model98/40 boll head 5howir,g: (A) dual
....
lockinglugs,(B)extractor,(C)oolthead,(D)
ejectorand{E)gasventholeln\t,ebolt
lhefloorplatetobcremoved.Oneendofthe
W-shapcdfollowerspringinmortisedinto
lhefloorpla1e,whilei1sothernarrowercnd
fitsintothebonomofthcmilledsteelfol-
lower.Thcrearendofthefollowcrissquare.
andwhenthemagazineisemp1y,i1prevents
theOO!tftombcingcloscd.indica1ingtothe
shoolerthatthemagazineisen,piy.Thispre-
vcmsblindloading. Thcmagazinebo~.trig-
gcrguardplate and lat<;h arc!\Oltoo unlike
thoseoftheJapanese38Arisakaaction
Thcmcthodusedtostockthisrifleisquite
different from any other stocking method
used on militaryriflesknowntome. lt is
mos1like1hatusedonthcBritishlce-
Enfieldrifles;th.atis,withatwo-piecestock:
ascparatcbunstockandfomxl,.•ithlhebutt-
s1ockauachedtotl>eac1ionbyathrough
bolt. Fromthispoimon,howc,"er,lheLee-
EnfieldandtheG98/40stockingme!l>ods
differ.
Ontl>elee- Enficld,tl>epar1oftheaction
towhichthebultstockisattachedisanint.,.
gralpar1ofthereccivcrandcalledthebu11
socket.Onthe98/40action.tl>epartwhichl
willalsocal11hebuttsocketisaseparate
partfinedbctwcenlherearendofthetrigger
guardandlhereceivertang.Therearguard
screwpassesthroughthisparttoholditin
place. lnaddition,lhetopandboltomofthis
bunsocketarcmilledou1tofi1doselyo,·er
theiangendoflhelriggerguardtoprcventit
ftompiv01ing.Hooksa1the1opandbottom
ofthispartalsoengageingroovesintl>e
iangandtriggcrguard.andsccureittothe
ac1ion.lnfact, i1 issowellanachedto 1he
ac1iontha1i1isalmostanintcgralpar1.Two
long oblong holes are milled through the
insideofthebuusockc1sotha11enonscan
bemadeontheforendandbuttstockwhere
they fit against it.
Aheavybohlhrl:adedintoatenononthe
bu11socketisusedtofastcnthebuns1ock
securely to the action. The forcnd, with
tcnonswhichextendhalfwayimothcbutt
socket,isalsoheldsccurclyinplaceonthe
actionbythetriggerguardplate.magazine
box,recoillugandthefron11riggerguard
screw.Evenwithoutthetwobarrelhands,
theforendissccure
Whilc1hebut1S1ockattachmentisoobet-
1er than on thc lce-Enfield. the forend
attachmem method on the98/40 is much
superiortoth.atofthelee-Enfoeld.Aslmen-
tionedinthechapteronthelee-Enfields,the
Bri1ishhadaproblcmwiththc forendsof
theirrifles,andlbc1ie,·cal111ofthiscould
havebeeneliminatedandlhebeddingprob-
lemseasilycom.,cte,dhadtherearendoftl>e
forendbeentcnoncdintothebunsocket.Thc
designersofthe 1935Hungarianrifle,from
whichthe98/40wasdc,·eloped,probably
knewaboutlheforendproblemsofthelee-
Enfieldanddesignedtheirforendandthc
actionsoth.ati1wouldbcassccureasifthe
forcnd were part of the buttstock. It is
bclicved1hatthedesignerswen11othetwo-
pieces1ockdesignforreasonsofeconomy
andtoachieveas1fnn8erbu1tstock.lndoing
-
this, iheydevelopedperhapsthcYerybelil
method and arrangement for fitting two-
piecestocb
All-in-all. 1he Gcnnan Model 98/40 is a
goodac1ion.hhasi1sshareofundesirablc
fca1ures,butitalsohassomestrongpoints.
Manufactured from 1940 to 1945, those
madccarlyinthisperiodshowmuchbctter
workmanship and finish than the ones
towardthecnd. lncarlysamples,thebolt
movesintherccei,·crassmoothlyaslhebest
Mannlicher-Schoenauer action. Although
some experts dislike the separateOOlthead
feature,ldon'tthinki1isthatbad.Thc
e~tractorisprobablymore rugged than the
exiractor in the commercial Mannlicher-
Schoenaueraction. The forward placement
ofthe00lthandlcisnotliked.buti1isoo:es-
saryinthistypeofaction
Therl:isnoncedforthethumb-pieccon
thefiringpinnut.Thcoock-on-do:singfca-
tureisnotgenerallyliked,andwithoutany
utratroublcthisactioncouldjustaswell
havebeenmadetocockontheuplifloflhe
bolthar.dle.Thcmaga,:inefloorplaterel.._
latchisneat,andalthough1hefloorpla1eis
oothingedtothetriggerguard.itisronve-
nicntforunloadingsinceitcanbequickly
TCnlOYed
Evcrypartofthe98/4()acrionismadeof
s1cel- 1herearenos1ampings0falloyparts
Thcreislinlequestionth.a11hefones1steels
"·ereusedinthemanufactureofthem.ajor
partsofthisoction.withtherea=i,"erandboh
pansproperlyhcal-\reated.lbclievethis
ac1ionentirelysuitable f0faimo:stanymod-
emcartridgeth.a1isnottoolongf0flhemag-
azinc box: for if it wassafefortl>e 8mm
-
Germanmilitaryload.i1shouldalsobesafe
for111hercanridgcsdevelopingb=hpres-
suresinthe50.000psirange.
Thc98/40rifleandac:1ionofferanumber
ofremodeling,sporterizingandr<:barrding
possibihtiu.First.the8mmMausercar-
tridgc forwhichthisrifleischarnberedis
cn1irelysatisfac1oryforb;ggamchun1ing,
andif1herifleyouhavehasancxccllent
bore,itwouldbcbcsttoleaveitinitspre-
sentcalibcr. The98/40barrel hasavery
plcasingcontourandtaper,quitcidcalfora
sponer.Tomakeasimplcsponer.theorig-
inalmilitarysightscanbcremovedandoth-
er sigh ts installed. Afler removing the
militaryrearsight,thesmallsq=stepon
the barrel can be filed down msmoo1hout
41
 ' • : ! I

r·r---
,,_
.,,_

16 Flringpnnul
17 5afefy

~~
27 Folowerspring
28 Triggerg.;ard
: =:~
31 Floorpla1eca1Chpin
32 Floorplatecatchspring
33 Rearguard$Cf8W
34 Fron!guard$Cf8W

~
6ernll1 Model 98/40

- --
~~steelloraging.Slottedbndg9withst,we<-dip
........ir= bolthead.Dualopposedloddng
itslnlegralbolthardeactsas

the shoulder contour. Good replacemen1

sightsforahuntingrincmadcon1he98/40
would be the Williams Guide rear sight
mountedonthcWilliamsrampbase. The
bam:lisnot1oolong,butitcanbeshort-
enedifdcsircd
Theissucstockandforendcanberemod- altbooghitispossiblctoinstatladoublc-sei 1heaction.Byrebaneling.!hisactionwould
eledifyouwanttokeepcxpmses toamini- 1riggermadeforthe M98Mauseractionin besuitableforsuchcanridgesasthe257
mum. The main 1hing is to shonen the !h<=98/40. Robertf., 7mmMauser.308and358
forend.ltneedn<>1beanylongcrlhanabou1 TI!<,n,arenortthamberingpossibilities lsecnopractica!waytochangetheactioo
14inthes forthisrine.Whilcnoooemakesathreaded soitcocksonopcning,oraneasywayto
Tbcrearenocommereialreceiversights. andchamberedbam:lavailableforthisrinc. lengthen!h<=magazinetoacceptlongcrcar-
triggersorsafetiesavailableforthisrinc. adifferentcaliberedbam:lcanbefined10 Uidges
42
 11' ·: q

,, ,_,.
11
12
13
14
15
11
ExlractJrSpmg
Bo1Assambtyo
Bol..-:,PPin
Bol«:ip
Bol-110p$pring
ReoliYeo"

" "'"'
16 Fron!~
19T!lgger
,. _
21 Seilr~ Pin
22TriggerPin
~ ~SaletyPin
25 ~ b
26fron1Guilld~
~Tngge,Guard

29 Magamt~
30 Real'Guan:!Scrilw

1--. .........
Male sun, the rifle ,s unloaded. To
rerno,·clhc:bol1.n,sclhc:bol1handlcand
pulllhc:boltbad,111hilcdcpn=u1ngthcbolt-
1io,,.O.sas.scmblcthcboltbylirstn:mo,·ing
thcbo!thead.Th1s1sdoocbymmingthc
bolthcadsothcejc,;1orisinlinewi1hthe
boltrib.Using1cartridge.pl~i1Srim
undtrlhc:cxtnctorhook,hflorriplhc:hook
°""'-ard.andpullthcbol1headfrornlhc:bolt
Tumouc thceJcctOrtcrtwtoremo,·clhc:
c}tCIOf. RetnO\·clhc:cun1c10rbypllShing
clo,a..., on the atnctor lf)fUli ,.~th• toOI so
lhc:cxlfllC!Oranbemovedl:-.ckandlif\ed
out.Lifloutthecx1rae1orspring.lnn:asscm-
bhngthecx1ractor,firstinscr11hecxtract0r
'"'"
spnng1n,11slotwnhi1Sroundmdto1he
rear,thenp11shlhc:extrxtordo,o.·numil11
shps,nplac,,.
Rcmo,·clhc:finngmechan,~bypn:U-
,ngthesafctyf°"",mlandUJIS(:rt:,.·inglhc:
firing pm nut from the firing pin, aflcr
which all 1hc parts can be rcmo~cd.
Reassemble in rc.,crseordcr, 1um1ngthe
firingp,nnu1onufarasitw1llgo1ndthen
batkingi1offuntilthe,;afctyengagcs1n11S
nolch,nlhc:nut
Remo.,:lhc:bultslodbyfirstrffllO>in&lhc:
bunplalc;lhc:nusing1long,cm,.ffl,,:r,tum
OUllhc:AXkbolt.Depresslhc:floorpbtclalch
and n:movc the lloorpl11e, follower and
spnng.Thcfollo»-crandf\oorplalecallthcn
bcshppcdoffofthespring. Rcmcwcbam:I
bandsandlnJIIICfguanl,cm,."l.Nal,mno,,:
lhc:lriggcrpudfrornlhoformdandlho
fomldfrornlhc:burd.ThtbuttstockJIOCUt
andthcmagazu.,boxan:alsomcascd11dus
rime. Dri.-cout the lloorplaie latch ptn to
rerno,,:1hcla1ch1ndspnng.Dri,·cou11ho
searpinrorcmo.-cthcscarandlriggermcch-
Pushthcboll-stopp,nout!O\<-ardlhobol-
10m and n:movcthc boh-.ropandspnng.
Rcasscmblc1nn:vcrscordcr.Thtnarrow
~~the folfo,.-cr SJlfln& f,u 111!0 the fol-
Thtbam-l is1hmidcd•·nynghdyinlothc:
rccc,-·crandcannocbecas,lyrcmo,,cd,nor
shoulditbcl'Cfl'IO\'Cdunlcss~,and
!henonlyifthcpror,crtools1n:availablc.

43
TOMOST RIFLEMEN. !he namo Manr,.
hdw:r-SchornaltrbringslOmindasled< lillle
sp;,rungrillc: hl,,..aslim fi'lRnd thalu1Cnd5
tolhemuzzleofitsshonbam:l. ltisinlhe
Mdi1eMdassofbol1..aioo~riflcs.and
rt's ga,ncd"'Ol'ldwidcreoogniOO!landfamc.
115 populari1y do<:1 no1 sr:em to dm'case
dcspiielhcgreacmanyotherbolt-actionrif\es
ithashadtocompe1eagainstsinceitwasfirst
inuoduoodmanyyea,iago.J1allswtcdwith
lhcOlffl:Model l90JM-Smilitaryrillc:.for
lhcM•SSJ10ninanllc:11basicallyasponerized
vmionofllw:mibtaryrillc:.
ThcM•SICOOll,.'IS<k\-elopcdinlheA115-
tnanArmsfac1CWyalS!eyrinl900.the-
dmnr'& Imm dlO$C offcntinand Riner von
Mannlochct and Ciao Schoenauer. Mambch-
cr.bom m Mlm,,.Gcrmany. in l848, becamc
one of the world's lading miliwy arms
dQlgncri.llcwcdmAI.IS!ri.ainl904.He,s
mosl~forhisdevelopmcrnoflheclip,--
lolldingfnl&Wr.cs~Mstraighl•pull""rifle
adior,s.andautoma1icriflesandpistol$,for
whichhcob!ail!Cdmany U.S. and fon:ign
palen1S.M0$1miliwyarmsproducc:dbythe
grutAustnanAnnsfactory.oftencalledlhe
Orea1SteyrWorb,fromthemid-l880s011.
"'=ofMannlocherdcsi11JLOnoSchomaucr.
1na11,-eAl>Slri,n,"'1SlhcdircctoroftheAus..
tnanArmsfaclCWyforanumbcrofyan.His
rmin d1irr1 10 fan,,:, is the n:,wy-cype map-
zme usecl m lhc M-S rillc:.
Aldn,a;hhc-..-.lhefinl:irn-cNoroflhe
rocuy-spool~system.QQOSchoe--
nauerbepnwort.,ngwithth:11ideabcforc
1885:i1wasfinl:,;ombinedwilhaturnboh 43-
calibcrnfleofMannlichcrdesignin1887.A
year la1cr it ..-u adap1cd 10 a Mannlid1.cr
sttaighl-pullrillc:.lnlheUnitcdSIStcs,Arlhur
Savagewuworkingonhislcvcr•acrionrifle
fittcdwitharotary-spoolmagazinc.whichhc
pcrf~by1893andonwhichhcotuined
i-imts.Hcbtt:amefamousforhiscfforts
·••hdiraulledinlhcModel99Sa,.rifle.
"iuchwasmadcformanyyurs.
ThcSchocnaucrspoolmaga,;inr.holo'CYCI".
"-.snotfullyperf«tedun1ilabou11900•
whm M"'IS fini 111CCCSSfully ,;omt,incd with
tsmalkalibcrnltl'bohrillc:.hisbclie-.,.cdthat
44
Portuplotu1ncd1fe-woftheModcl 1900
M-S mih,ary rilks. This rifle. " "ith minor
mod1f..:a11011s,"-.sadoplcdbyGrce-ccin
1903. and designated the Gtttk Model 1903
Mannlichcr,Sclo;,cnaucrriflc.lt"'3Sprodu,;,od
m large numbcn by the faclory ofwh.ich
SchoenauerW11Slhcdi=tor.Mannlichcrsup-
plicdmos1ofthcactiondcsigns.
Atthispoint,lmustbal.:klnlCkabit.lnan
earlicrchaptcrldescribedlheGermanModc:1
88Commissionattion.dcsigncdbyagroup
ofmm,.-hobormwcdsomcfcarurcsfroman
earlicrMauscrllCtionanduscdlhcMannlicll-
crpaicnrcd clip-loadingsmglc-o,lurnn map-
zme S)'Slffll. Adoptcd by Germany in ISSS.
theonlythina.t>ou1lhisadionwhichwas
MMannhcher''waslhemapzine.
Th:AusmanAnnsFactoryinSteyr"'II
oncofthefinns,.iuchcomnacdtomakc:the
M88rif\esforGermany.Bccauscofthemaa·
aw,c,andbecauscMannlicherwasalsoasso-
c,atcdwilhthelinn.andperllapsbecauscthcy
made some $J>Offing rifles basn1 on 1hi1
adion.thc88riflcsw=oflenreferrcdtoas
.. Mannlkhcr'"riflcs.
WhmlhcSle),Tfaaoryib-elopedlhcM-S
nfleinl900.thcy&ttlytxrrw,,.cdandoopicd
!hcbwcm:ei,·crandboltfearure,oflhe88
11Ct1011.li11,naitwithlheSchoenauer..-y-
sp:x,l~This- .. cxpcdim~10
do,...-.c,:ei1""111smoochar.l,-ayreliablc-
boll~andthcywcn:alrcadyrmtin&lhc
l8 nlk. Nodoubl Mamlichcr had a hand 1n
modifyingaidlldapinglhc88=ei,,:rlorlhe
Schoenauermap,:u,,:,buldcsigningitJ01I
could be readily dtlachcd Imm the rifle for
clcanin&-tlc ...1111ho=P"f"liblcforlhcsev,:r,.
al chantp,:s and in-.,m\'CfflCnlS 00 lhe bolt. The
basicaction.nontlhclcss.w..s001hism:ation.
Re-gardlessoflheminormlclhatMann•
lichcrhldinlheib-elopmcntof!hc:Modc:I
190JOm:krifle.thatriflc.as"-ellasallfurure
riflesbascdonthisadion.w=andan:st,11
kno,,,-11• ..Mannlochcr•Sct.aiauer"ICOOIII
(ft,ooeacq,ledlhcM-Srilkilll90J.andN
"'ISIOrttnamthnrprinciple-militayshouldcr
.-m...ulaflc:rWWII.C~IOmanyocll-
ermilaryboh«bOllriflcs.thieMl90Jaidthie
laterl90l/l4GtttknllesdidOOlpmlll)'
JpeCtaCularrecotplitKX,NmiliwylffllSOUl-
sidcof0rttcc."Jh:M-Sxtion..ho\o'C'\-cr,
g,uncd worldw;d,c acclaim and popullnty
"-hmusicdinthc:Steyr--builtsportingrilles.
f'irst made and intm<b:cd 10 &ropean hunt<:n
in1903orl9CM.,ismo61disrinctivefearure
"'1Sa,-ayshonb0m:landavcryslimforrnd
thate,clendcdrolhcmuzzlc.ltisthisfearure
morclhananythinge-lsethatthename
'"Mannhct,cr'"hasbcenassociaioowith,andto
suchancxtentthate-.-enlOdayanynflesimilar-
ly sio,;ked is~• Mamlicher--slOCked rifle.
Then: "'= ev,-o model desipU011$ and a
tablneandrillc:vmionofcachdesignacionof
!hcG,m: M-S mi~iary..,.. The 1903Gtttk
nlk(martcdSTE\ 'lt l'.IOlonthem:ei,-a-)is
4)Yo,-cnll,hasa28Yt>.m!andwcighs
aboull.3pounds. Thel903GrmcamuiclS
J9.4~o,-en.ll,hasa l9.rbam:1andwe,&hs
aboul7.Jpomds.Bodiha,-eawoodenhafld.
guanlwhiche,ctmdsfromlhcn:oi:,,·crJOlhc
middk~ll:and.ThcMode1190l/14~
riflcandcarbinc(martcdSTEYR 190.J/U on
therc,,:eh'Cf)~cdinl914arcalmos11he-
sameaslhcl90Jscxcq,ttha1thchandgwn.l
e,nendcd from the rtteh-cr to the upper baml
band.Allan:ch:ambcralforlhe6.5M-Scar•
tridgeandmadcso1blyonctcanbeattached
iothe1Tll¢dc.
The l903andl90l/l4Grm:mil11aryriflet
"~rathcrlate-<XlfflCf'SonthcU.S.surpl,...
.-,nsmarl,:et,notgmnallyoffercdforale
until abouc 1961. Carbines were f11$1 priced
aboulS35cach.lherillesa1aboulS30;M98
mihwyMausers,.·=thensdlin&foraboul
lhcsamcpria:,,.lthoughltheGrtd:M-Srillc5
1good,-aJucwhencomparcd"ithanyolhcr
m,li,arysurp!usbolHtctionriflclhenbcini
offcrcd,e,cccp11hattheirbon:s"=ncgloc1cd
and usually dark. Ho"-evcr,theyllppafflllly
sold well, for after •Y= orso they wnc no
longcrkh-cniscd.Evidently.hovo-e-Vff.many
oflhc,nmusihlvchadbon:sand/orSIOCbm
i1,1,;hpoorWJICthat,shoftlyaftcrthcnfle-l
"-ere tint offcrcd, separacc IC!ions ""'= alto
(f>lcllnd---)GNekModll190:Y1'Mam-
l l c h 9 r ~ ~ rile.
madeavailable.MOOC111telypril'Cd{$10 to
S15)theacb0n$alsoapparendysoklwell.for
thcytoo"ui,soc,noffthemarket.Atanyrate.
furashofttimethcama1eurgun5111ithhadthe
(W')rtunitytopwclweagenuineMannlicJ,.
er-Schoenauerrifleoractioo.anopponunity
whichmayncvcragainbcpre,iemed
Tllthlt:M..icllll'-~Acllll
Therecci,1:risaheavyonc-piecesteel
forgingmachincdtoacceptthebam:l,bolt.
magazineandothcrpans.Thefrontendofthe
rcceiverisbon:dandthreadcdtoacccptthe
barrelshank.!nsidethc..ai=ring.thcreis
aoollaragainstwhichthebarre!abuti.This
oollarsurroundstheboltheadexceptforaslol
ootheleftsidefurtheejcctor.Undemealhthe
rowidr'COOverringisasmallscudprajectioo.
whichistappedforthefrontrcrei=screw.
hisno1la,geeooughtotransferadcquately
thenxoi!tothescock,botonmilitaryrifles,a
separaten:coilplatcisinlenedintotheSIOCk.
justtotherearoftheSlud
Thetopandrightcenteroftherccci,-crare
cutouttogainacccsstothemagazineopcn-
ing.Muchmctalisleftunderthccenterofthc
=ivcr.enougbmetalforfrontandreatwalls,
andlhis is milled toaccepl the variousmap-
:cinc pans. The magazinc "1:ll opening in the
recciverismilledoutontheleftsideofthe
~ei,-crbonom1oal!owpassagcofthecar-
tridgesfromthemagazinein10thechambcr.
Theimideoflhe=i•'trpn:,perisprecisely
borcdandmilledoutftttheboltanditslocking
lug,..Rooesseswilhanglcdapproaches.C1.11imo
therearoftherecei,·erri"8,lea""locking
5houlderstoengagclockinglugs.The~
slopeonthcforwardcomerofeach$houlder
drawstheboltforwardasthcboltisrotated
closedThe=iverbridgcisslooedtoallow
passagcofthcbolt1-dle,andthefmnlof1his
slo!Uigm1m:d10accep1amagazine-charger
leH·sidelliewollheOp&MdmilitaryMannlicher-Schoenaueraction
clip. Thercaroflherccci,-crmdsinaianginto
"hichtherearrecirn-crscrewlhrcads.
Thesmal!one-picoebolt-stopisanachcdto
theleftsideoftherecei,-crbridgeandpi,w
onastudmadeintegralwiththereeei,'tr.A
pinholdsthebolt-stopoothesrud,andacoil
springintherearofthebolt-scopprovidcslhe
tensioo.Anextcnsionoothefrontofthebolt-
Slop,pn;,jcclingthroughaholcinthcn:ceivcr
wallintothelockinglugraceway,haluthc
boltinitsrearwardmotionasircontaetSthc
eje,:,orandbolrlockmglug.
Thebolthasaseparatenon-mt.atingbolt
head.Moctiscdintothcrigh1sideofthcbolt
headandilistemisaone-pieccspringextra.-
tor----nostrongerorweakerthantha1ofthe88
Commission ac1ion. Loosely moniscd into the
leftsideofthebolthead.ootha1i11ta.ssomc:
longitudinalmo..-cml?n1.isthecjtttor.llis
heldinplaccbyasmallscrew.Thccjector
exteOOsbackandovcrlapsthelockinglug
when the bolt handle is raisedsotha1. on
pullingthebol!OOC:k,thcboh-stoppushesthe
ejectorforwardtotjectthecartridgcorfin:d
casebcforethebol1ish:,hcd.whentheejcctor
contae!s1helockinglug.Thisarrangement,
andtheejectoritself.ismuchbetterthanthe
ejectorsysteminlhe88action.Theoul5ide
fron1cdgcoftheejcctorisbc\1:lcdtomovc
thebolt,stopoutofthcwaywhe,,theasscm-
bledbohisinsertrointotherccciver.
Thcbolt-headfaccisno1=cs.scdforthe
eartridgchead.lmtead.lhcbrc«hingsysttmis
somadethat,whe,,thcboltislockedcloscd.
lheflalfaccofthebol!hcadcontaC!Sthebt'etth
endoftheoon1'1.The<.:hambcrisdi:cpenougj,.
101ellhecanridgeheadlieflushwithlhcendof
lhcbarrel.Shallowgn)O'-esC1.11acrossthcfacc
ofthebarrelaltowroomfortheejectorand
cxtrac-tor.Agoodarrangement,butitmakcs
barrelfiningabitmon:difficultlhanitiswilh
messacoon.whichhasanioessedbolthead.
Theboltbodyisdrillcdfromthcfron!to
accept 1he firing pin. mainspring and bolt
head.Asmalllugontbcsternofthehohhead.
andama1chinglongitudinalandcircular
groovcinsidethefrontofthcbolt.holdlhese
rwopartStogether.allo,,ingthcbolthead\Obc
removedandreplaccdwhcnitisrumedtoa
ccrtainposition.Thedual-opl)OSedlocking
lugsareonthecxtmnefron1endofthebolt
body.bo!hsolidandquitelargc.Thetopfront
comeroftheright(orbottom)lockinglugis
bc,1:led10matchasimilarbcveledsurfaceleft
45
 ' ' : I I

tn$odethelockm,:-lu,:recessindx:m:e1>-er
mg. This pnMdes !he 1111ual exuactxJn am-
mm,: pov,U' "'hcn the boh handlc is raisai
Th:m:,r,loftheloftlodangtughasacirtul.-
gioo,.-eeu1acrossirsfate.ThemrofthcJI">
jc,ction on the boh-swp. wluch projects intolhe
locki0jjlu,:rac:eway.hasaridgetom111chthe
groovcinthcloftlockinglug.Unlessthccjcctor
isinplace.orlhebohhcadandtjcctorarcnoc
151C1llblcdontheboh.thcboltcamo1beinser1-
c,;1lfll()lhcrtai-unkstheboh-sic,pispur-
posclydqnssroinooingso.11-ls.lhegro;,1,:
..ihook......-onlhelocmglugQ
boh-tlCJJllltfYCIMIWlfflinglhat.unlcsslhl:
bolt can be imened 11110 the rtai,tt ,."'-
mnally~theboll.-:,p.,mxdwigis
""""- Tlusco.iklpre-,'trllanextmndydalgtt-
wsSIIUlbonfromning.~ilispos51"ble10
l\r\,lhenlle.,,nhthebohbeadmissing.
Thellralpboltlwldle, ..'ilhi1Slag,:hol-
lowpa!ll)"'1bl.ll.isanurtc-gralpartoflheboll
body.Alsomadctmcgn,lwiththebollisthe
guide rib, whw;h cxicnds forward of. and
bcoomcspw1of.thebascorroo1ofthebol1
handlc.Thisribaffordsldd:i1ionalanchl.nge
forthcbolthandk.butalsogwdeslhcbohand
pre-,-a11:111tsbmding.The~oflherib.orthc
i-oflhebolthandlc.isnochighenoughlO
con1aetthe&on1ofthe=ci,'Cl"bridge. to
apparcntlynoeffM"..SmadclOpro,'idcl
pos111,-esafd)llu,:arnngement. lnthe,:,,-cru
lhelimllockJn&ru&Sorrecri-,U"rin,:should holc1nthecock1ngp1e<:c,andthen.11cncd lheupptt"partoflhcoocl<ingpicu-anddO_,
fiil.hovo'C"o'tf.lheboh.._.,itsdfwooldP""" fivnteridofthef111ngpin.cngag,ng1 exlffl$Klnoflheoockingpicu-"-t.chexlcnd$
,-a11thc:bol1frombe,ngdri,·eriou1oflho matchtdslolmthebohhead,prcvcntlhcsc ro1wardm10thcslolinthcrecci,ttbndge.l1is
=i,tt.Thco:n&troflheguideribismilkd putSfromrumingonthc:firingpin. iensionedbyashonooilspringwhichfitso-.'tf
011.10keq,we1ghtto1mirumum Acampro;c,ctiononlhccockingpic«. thestcmofthesafd)I. This keeps ii pushed
Thcfinngpmandmainspringan:insatoo ma1ehinganoti:hinlhcrcarofthcboltbody, bt,ck ag;,111M the firing pin nut. which holds the
throoghthc: fn.,n1ofthebol1. the mainspring oockslhcfuingmcchanismwhcnlhebolthan- $afe1ymplacc,and"hichinrumP1"''CfllSthc
bc,ngcomprcssedovcrthe firingpinslcm dleislilwd. Thisoocl<ingoctioniseasybecausc firing pin nut from being turned unless the
bctwccn•shoulderonthefrontofthefiring oflhcsmootlvlcssofthcoomactingmc.,alwr- safeiy ,s pushed forward. When the aaion is
pinand•shoulderinlhciuroftheboltbody. fa<:a.Sir,cctheflringpinnut.oockiJll!picce. roc:kcd.sw,ngingthcsafd)lupandtothenghc
Thchtavyooo.:tingpi<:ccfitso-.fftherearerid ,afd)I and safd)I !piing an: part of the firin,: lochbothbohandroc:kingpicce.Thitis
oflhc finng pin. held there bylhe fmna pin mcdwlism. and art" lllachcd IO the finn& pm. a,xomplishcdbytheeridofthesafd)lstcm
nut,who;his,e,;=<!101hefllingpin"ithan lodttirn,,111b11sli,aa:ish.tuigrulion111"J11t- cneag,na:m1n01chinlhecndoflhebolt.Wid,
IIIICm4'JlledN&:anangc:mm1.Flalufaccson tr,,:bec:aecofthcwcipoflhescJW11 thcac110nunood.cd{Slrimfoot,-..:l).lhcsafo-
therarofthef11111CP"'•~ngama1ehing Thcwmasafcty11posilioncdin1hole1n tycanbcdcprcs$cdandswung0\"ff10the

Topviewol1he Greek military

M,rri,;htr·Sdloenauer-=tion.

46

rightcolockthebolt.bmthis istoallowthe
bolttobedisas.semblcdeasily,ratherthanto
lockthelx,ltintheaction.
Oneverysmallga.,escapeholeinthebolt
istheonlyoutktshouldga.,entcrthefiring
pinhole.Thishole.jUS1forwardofthemain-
springshouldcronthefiringpin,iscxpo5ed
inthefrontoftherecei,..,,.openingwhenthe
bohis closedandlocked
Thetriggcrassernb!yoonsistsoftrigger,
lriggerpin.sear.searpin.searle,.'t'r.sear!cver
pinandscarlc,'Cl"spring,moontcdunderthe
rccei,-eronthesearlevcrpin.Thetriggcrhas
the usual twohumpsthatpnmdethestandard
doub\e.stagcmilitarypull.
Thetriggcrguanlbow,largeandhcavy,is
heldinplaceinthestcid.,aloogwiththerear
partoftherettiver.byatonga,c-and-groovc
arrangcmcncwiththerccciveratthefront,
andbytherearrtttivcrscrcw.whichpasses
throughtherearoftheguanlandstock,and
threadsintothereceiver1a11g.Thefromofthe
retti,·eris heldinthestockbyascrcwthat
1Uf1Slhroughanes.:u1chconinthebooornof
thes1ock.
The most inte-res1ing feature of the
Mannlicher-Schoenaucr action is the box
magazine, whose spri11$-tell$ioncd
spoolfee<bcartridgcsintothepathoftheOOlt
Thcheanofthemagazineisthespool.held
iouprigh1standardsov.,rabox-liketrough,
Greel, Mo
Issue military M-S trigger (rlgh1) can be mod-
ified and Improved, as shown at Jell, by
Installing an adjus11nentscrewon11s upper
~~usbendingandstra~htenlog1helow-
muchlikeanold-fashionedchkkcnfecder.
Thcsp<X>lhas5sh:illowgroovestha1conform
tothediametcrandshapcofthe6.SM-Scar-
lridges. The canridges arc not separated
cxceptfo,-thefirstandlast.whicharedivided
byawingthatis actuallythcfollower.Aooil
Springinsidcthespoolprovidestherotary
powertofcedthecartridg..sintotheaction
Bearing:sacthespringmdsprovidethemeans
1oaochorlhe spool101t,.,s1a11dardsand10
keepthespool"vund
Thefloorplateis attachcdtolhcboctomof
theboxviaastudandspringclip,allowing
theplatetorotalC. ThefOR:andaflmagazioc
pruj<.x:ting,.·allsundertherccei,..,,.arcmilled
omtoaccq,i1hcmagazinebox. Their inner
mds arc grooved fo,-themdsofthe floorplate
sothemagazineis lockcdinplacewhenthe
f1oorpla1c is lengthwise with the action. A
springclipinlhcbonomofthemagazinebox,
engaginga=inthcfloorpla!C.locksthe
Hooq,lateinitslengthwisepositionan<lwhen
depressed.allows ittoberotated
Thcmagazinc,...,Uopening.iotheleftside
oftherw:iver,slantsslightlyinthatdirection
sothatastheeanri<lgesarefedintoandoutof
themagazine,theyareguidedaroundthe,p.X>I
andmagazinebox . Circularcartridgeguide-
"11ysabou1 •t,wwide, built intotl,.,lrontand
rotary rearofthemaga.tineopeningintherecei,..,,..
andinthemagazinebox,holdtheeanri<lgesin
acircleagains1thespool.allowingthecar-
lridgestomov<!aroundwilhoutmoch!liction.
'I
Toallowinsenionofcartridgesintothc
maga;iiocandtopreventthemfromcoming
outagain.acartridge-Slop"·asfinedintoa
milledcutiotheundcnideoftheriglnm:eiv-
erwall ltisheldinp!ac<:,andpivotson,a
screwthroughthefronrofthereceiverwall.lt
is rensioncdbyasmallooi!spring.Thcrear
panofthecartridge-stopproje,;ll;througha
holeocartherearoftherightsideofthemag-
ai:ioc ""llopening. andachcckcrcdprojec-
tionprolrudesthroughanotheropeninginthe
topofthewall
Onloadingacartridgeintothemagazine
andpressingi1downwithlhcthumb,thecar-
lridge-stop is depre$$d as the canridge
moves o,·cr it; when thumb pressure is
removedthecanridge,forcc,;lupbytheten-
sionofthemagazinespool. is haltedbythe
bolt-stopsothatonlypanofthecamidgcpro-
je,:lsinthepathofthebolt. Thcmagazinecan
befullyloadedbyinscningonecanridgeaca
time.orloadedbysuippingcartridgesfroma
charger clip. Theloadedmagazinecanb<!
quicklyempliedbymerelypres1>in3do»non
thech«keredprojectiononthebolt-srop.
The Schocnauermagazine system isreli-
ableine>"')'way.ltholdsfo,e cartridgesina
spac,:onlyslightlyl31l"rthannecdcdfo,-a
staggered.rolumnmagazine. Feedingisposi-
ri,,eandsmooth,andlhereisonlyonepathfor
thecanridgesto1akea.1theyarefcdin10the
chamber. Thespoolpm'Clltscanridgc:sfrom
movingforwardastheriflereooils.Thispre-
vmts bullet point mu1ilation. Finally, the
magazine box and spool can b<!easily re-
r110\'edforclcaning.
TheSchoenauermagazinehasdisadvan-
tages.ltismuchmorecostlytomakcthana
staggered.wlumn1ypcbecauseeverypanof
thesystemhastobemadeforlhcspccif1ccar-
lridgefo,-whichtherifleischambered.Oncc
so made. it is 001 readilyadaptab!etocar-
lridgc:swithdiffercntdimensions
T..._.IMAIIMMY
Makesurechamberandmagazineareemp-
ty. Toremovethebolt,raisethebolthandlc
and pull itbackandoo1whilcdeprcssin3the
boh-stop.Todisass,:mblcthebolt,graspthc
bolt body in one handand.withtheothcr,
rotatethecocking~ lf,.rumcoonterclock•
wiscsoitis againscthebol(;deprcssthesafety
andswingittotheriglu.Tumthefiringpinnut
1/,-tum coumerclockwisc and pull it free:
swingthesafetytotheleft""""'"itfromthe
cockingpicceoffthefiringpin;oowgraspbolr
headfirmly (rcmemberitiswdertensionof
themainspring),tumitcoontcrdoclcwiseuntil
theejectorisinlinewiththeguideribandcasc
i1fofward.Thiswillrele.ll1Cthefiringpinand
m:ainspringsotheycanbepullcdforwardoor
oftheboltRemm"etheejectorbytumingoot
itsscrewandslidingitfurward. Rcmovcthe
extracto,-byliflingitsfronr(!l,dupwitha
47
 : I I

Mlnllela'-Sdlolnulr . . . . .
__ .............. 111111111111c.-..

DOUBLE TRIGGER MECHANISM

Thisislhenewslylesingletrigger
meehllnlsm(illustratedmoreh.illy
below) which can be used 10
replecethedoubletriggerunitit
desired. Thisnew-$lylelriggeri$
~~~~~~~..:!. cunen!

OLD SINGLE TRIGGER MECHANISM

NEW SINGLE TRIGGER MECHANISM

Apagetromthe1939Stoege(scatalogshowing!he,:ljflerenttrigge<mechanisms
k>r the commercial M-S sporter at that lime. (Courtesy Stoeger Industries)
48

~,-er,thenpullilKll'Wani To,voidany
dlanteofbreakingthce,ctraclOl',ilshouldOOI
ber-en10YcdunlcssnectiWY. Reasscmbkin
~--oroer.
UsinJabulklpoinlco-tomCOlhcrpoinltd
IOOt.dl,pmsthclloorplaleblcti~tt.ouah
lhi:&cn.11o1emn~ Tumilaboul'I~
turnlllllpulloutthernapnne.Rcmo•,clhe
.....-spoolbydeprtsslrlclher.-spool
beannji;andliftingupthertarofthcspx,I.
Rcrno-,elhebcaringllandmapl'll1Csp-ingfiom
thcspoolbyrotllingthcfi(lffboaringooumer•
clockwiseaboutl/a-1Umuntilitpop5ootand
unwinds;lhcbearingsand~assemblycan
nowbepulled<U.ltisbeslnolllln:rrKM:thc
~b=ings.~11,q;anbcdoncby
lift.II the hookedfflds ofthc1pnn11nm CE!
~Thespoolspnng.w,lhbcarings
111111:hed,is~by~il-thc
,poolnlrotllingillftillhesmallbearingpro-
p:1$1Mlt.!gj,llr!pl'Jl;nowdq,,asthclarge
bcaringandnmilaboulOllC'fulltumooun1er-
clockwi,cl>'llili1fal!sinloplaceandislockcd
inlolhespool.Theasscmbledspoolislitledin
placcbyinsCftinathclargebcaringinloils~
111thcmagazineboxandlhen~1hc:
RW~lnililslif-llllOplac:e.
Th:lloorpla!egribemno-,~by,ii,·ing
thcspqdipoffofthclloorplalcstud, ..tiich
will release the floorpl,rc and the spring
catch. Reassemble in re,·mc: order. The
.-mbledmaga:w,ceanlhenbelllSCfledinlO
thcactionandlockedinplacebylwninglhe
floo!J>latelcngthwii;ewithdicaction.
To remove the boun:I and action from the
stock,removethcmagazineandboun:lbands;
11,unou1therearrocei\·crscrcw,liftthc:rnr
oftheuigaer&uardou1oflhcSl()Ck,sli«i1
backandrcmovcit;tumou1thefton1roceiv-
er-=wandtheba=lcdactionanbclifled
outoftheaock. Driveout(dov.,w,'al'd)the
boli-t10pp,nioremo,..,thebolt•stop...,;I
Sf!l'1na. Tumou1the~SIOJIJC~
fi-omtheri&htsideofthe~•-erand,.'Ofk
ou1thecartndge-stopandsprina;.Dri,1:ou1
1hesear • inc.-crydctail. Undoubtedly the vcrybesl
·-
as.scmbly.
---
r,-ealrcadypomtcdoutsomelimiwoonsof
theM-Sactionandmagarine,butthercan,
more.Thereisjustoowayin"tuchlhisaction,
n1lldcforlhc6.5M-Scaltl"idgc.canbealle!ro
iohandll:1canridgcwhoscovm,lllen&lhis
moredllllllbotlJ.10",noranypraC1iclblcor
e1SY"11YHQl!ben1lldciohandlcany ,;ar•
tridpmuchshonc:rlhanaboo\2.875"". The
n e w ~, ,.·hlthmustabobe1nmlcss
tyJX, prac1ically climinms all modem car-
lridg,:s u«p. thc 2S7 Robens. 244 {or 6mm
Reminglon)andlhc7nvnMauser. Whill:~
three fall within the nolOO lcnglh limitation&,
'I
theysrillposean,I\SUmll,Jllnlllprnblemin
thcalteringofthcmagazinelOhandlcthem
becausethcbodies1fthc$ccanridgesarcof
largerdiame1erlhanthc6.5M-Scanridge.l
fcdthattheonlyprXticable~lingofthc:
Ottl:M-Swouldbe10111onginalc:aliber.
Tobegu,•ith.alloflhtc..ttl:M-Smili-
taf)'actionsl"v-ellffllandhandled,whelher
Steyr-orBerffll.m,dc,"-.:re•-.:,ywcllmadc
Steelswereuscdiomakcthcvariouspans,
andlheseparupropc-rlyhardenedand1em-
pered (or heai.tra.1,:d) a<;Wrding to the task
theyllad10pcrfonn. Allpansan:wellfiued,
finish<dand$ITIOOlh.Somci-tssn=polishcd
,·erysmoodl.includma;thculerioroflht
bolt.map,.ine,poolandthcconrn,;ringsw-
faoesoflhtvariousfflOVU!&pans.Alloftlus
mal:n for a light liltm& )'Cl srnoolh ...-on:mg
ac1ion.ltssmoodmcslofopmtionri..-alsthat
of our Krag. In f,w;1,mo11oflhesemiliwy
ac1ions l' , -ehalldlcdoperaledas=ilyandu
srnoolhlyasthcactionofanycommcn:ialM-
S sponina; rifle n1lldc. It IS this smoothness.
plusthl:loobandfcdofthcsportingcarbinc.
lh:at11D11;...,._lhtSpOMSman ..-hohln-
dles1hisrifleforthclmtime.
l likcthc~f)'SlCrnoflhisacrion,
"''hich is not 100 unlike the M98 Mauser
brccdting,andtheboh•$10pandcjcdorsys-
tem.plusthefactthalbothlocking!ugsarc
solid. l alsolikcthecanridac-stoparnngc-
49
 Greell 1908 Mlnlleh8r-lldlolllur

---
{11111 8.fi lf-lCll'lltlllll

Weight .. . ............... .480.t.

o-.ll .. . ... . ...........8.7SO"'

=~~-· .:::::::::::!:
==-~~~-~!.;=~
Slrtktrlnlvel ... . . . . .. .. ... .. 605"

mm~ which allows caiy and oonvenim1

mncwalofcaruidgcsftomlhe~
Therea-emanythangsldon'llikellb(uthe
M-Saction.....,ofwhlchlcon$iderin,rfy
dcslgn,:dldon'tlikelheslocro.lbridForthe
f01wardplaccmen1oflhebol1handlc,nordol extrac:10rthcpannl0Sloftenbroken.llc:caU$e Despi1cthcsecri1imm1.,li;1ill!ikcthis
like Lhc firing mechanism, with tho heavy oflhcsq,atlltcboltheaddesign.thertteivcr action,·erymuch.J11$1asmanyshoo!cncom-
plainedwhcnthcModel70Win,;htstera<:tion

oocl<ingpic,ceandsaFttyhunal;onlhcflringpin.
Afteralmost70ycar,ofnearlyooruinuous
manu~. 11w: modem M-S ..:tlon had
almoscthesamefmngmechan,sm.andl
shouldlhinlclhatitcouldhr.-.,bocrillTlJlffl""Cd.
ldonolparti<,11larlyd1slikclhcscpan,1<:
bohhcad.bwlheexirac10r11 flr(i'ombring
thcbest.Ofallitsactioniwts,lheOOllhead
•ndc~1rac1orarcmos1otkn los1.and lhc
ringandbol11n,·clareproportiooallylongcr.
Bc:causeofthckll,a:cockingpicce,lhema:i,.
erbndge is alsoquitclon&-Thcrolar)'spool
mapzine $)'Siem miuffl longer 5119"" lhan
would a staggered-column box maprine
holding 1 canndgeofthesamelenglh.Con-
5i<lerin&,hovi'C\-cr,theSLZll:andlcngthofthe
6.5 M-Scaruidgc, the M-S actionKCms
unduly long and heavy.
-
,,,aschangedinl964, l iffla&inethatasimilar
ruction o=imd when the Mannlic~-
Schoenaueraction "'alchang,ed.
V.'hfflsurplusG=kM-Snflesandacoons
w=availablcintheearly 1960s,amau:ur
guni;miths all over 1hc U.S. and Canada

50
 Gl'eel< Model 1903 Mannl<cher-Schoenauer

. ,~,
~ · •
.
C,

.
~~ .
. '

®·
"
"""
"'"
""
""
""
""
",."'
"~
36 forendC...,Screw

1--
~~~Screw
39 FrontReceiverScrew

--1 EieclorScrew

ii=
5 Forhg Pin
~ ~PinSpmg
8 Sal91yCa1ChSpmg

cxpn:ssedagreatdealofimcrcstinthem. l books. What I learned should intercs1those dard-typcsportcrcanbemadefromitbydi5-

know1ha1manywcrcralherdisappointedin
thisactionbecauseofitslimitations,while
othersboughlariflcoranactionoriwoor
moreiolayawayforlhcdaylhcycooldbuild
thal "Mannlicher" rifle-tha1 sleek little
sportertheyha,·csccnintheStoeger"scata·
logformanyyearsbutcooldncvcrafford
Whet,theGrttkM-Smilita,yriflesand
actionsW<.Tefustavailableassurplusanns.l
oblaincdseveraloflheactions.ldidconsider-
ablecxperimentalwort<withthem,sincclinlc
hasbeenwri11cnabou11hcmingunsmithing
wanting1okoowthcpmcti<:aluseofthisriflc
: , ~ w benremodelingorbuildingarifle
lfyoohavc acomplcteandoriginalGreet.
M-Sriflcorcarbincincxcellcn1condi1ion
insideandout,youmightoonsiderthcfact
lhattheyhave some,·alucasacolle<:tor's
ilmlbccausethcy"rcnoivery-=.
TheM-Srifle orcarbinccanbereadily
remodeledin10a,·e,yfincspo,1er.forithas
oneoflhcbestshapedanddesignedsrocksof
anymiliwyriflc.lf)IOUhavclherifle,astan•
carding the handguard. removing 1he rear
sigh1,cuningoffthefortndjusttothe=rof
1hemiddlebarrel band.andshoncninglhe
barrelto24"or22".0r,ifyouwamwmake a
typicalMannhchercarbjnefromeitherlhe
rifleorcarbinc.shonenthebarre!ml8",fita
steel Mannlicher-iype fomld cap on the end
ofthefort:ndandthenlrimtheemireforend
down. Install an open rearsightandafront
sightof)'OW'choioeonthebarrel.l.astly,cut
off the bolt handle and weld on a f1al
Mannlicher-iype handle. I have made flat

51
handle, from !he wnk of1 small opm-aid off the bow. or loop pan. from the auard. canridp.butsinccGrcoi:e,,..-.:b1small
WTt11Chor1flatspokefrom1noldfarm installcdthetriggrrmcchanismintheplau: COIB'ltry,thc6.SM.Scartridacneverbccame
implemcntwheel. 1hat,.~lcll.mdthcnfinedadoub~batrcl a noceworthy military~- It did, how·

lfyourriflc:orcarbinchuan.iincdborcand
youwamrousei1.mysugacstionwouldbcto
ha,·eancwbam:lfinedinitsoriginal\'.l.libcr.
11,;anthenbcremodelcduoutlincdabove.
There is nom:eivcrsight made for this
riflc:,andilislll05ldiff',wl!toilld:apllflyoth-
rrm:ei>'ffSighttofit it. l'vesuc:«ssfully
mounlro a .,;ope on this ac:uon 11$111& thc
one-piea, Wea.-er 60bue.11t1ehing ii to the
m:ci,·errin&withtwo8x40-•.This
1lsorcquircdthciruta!la1ionof1newboh
handlc1oclearthcscopc
lnanachinganewbolthandletoachievea
vaylowprofilc.and110i1willdcarlhccyc-
pii:ccof1low-mounled,cope.it11111ybcnec-
asatylO"l'ldilditffllytolhcboh&Ui<knb.
Tlus"illthen~llllldunalhesideoflhe
stockandcultingdoY,11theri&htsidcofthe
•~cchu boogie. In any ca,c. the d,p--charga-
hwnps lhouldbc lilcd 00\1111.
Tomyknowled~,thmeisnocornmer-
cialufcryortriggcrmadcforthi1ac1ion.l
solv<:<.lthcsafctyproblcmwhcnas,;opcis
moun1cd low by cu1tin1 off most of the
wingfromtheori&inaluf,:tyandsilversol-
clerinaon111L-shapcdpicccofllltstttl,u
w .. 11intheillustration.Theoriginillri&-
~c•nbcimpro-·edbyfin,nai1wi1h111
Mlj~nt KfCW. IS lhown. I have also
rcpl11eedthcori1in1l1ngrrwi1h 1l90l
Sprin&l'icld trigger. modifyin& it as rc-
quircd.TheoriginalM•Striurrauardbow
isunusuallylargcandhcavy.andononc
riflc,lrcplaceditwi1h11903 Springfield
guard.Thisn<>1onlyimprove1thclooks,
but in combination with 1he Sprin&ficld
triurr, the trigger and bow ..-e placed far.
thcrtotherearandcloscrtothcgip.mak•
on1forbcnerhaodlin1andfttl.
A doublc-5Ct trigger ~ made for
theM98Mausicr,;anbcinstallcdintheG.m
M•SICOOII.Ononcrifklrcmodclcd,lsawed
--
shotgunauardtotheplateand&Jip,nc,arly
duplicatillithcoriginaldoublctriggcrsct•up
oftherommrn:ialM-Srifle
ldon"tknowhowmanyOrm<M-Smili•
wy rifle$ and cait,ines wm, ~ . but !he
figun:mUSl~ly~inlhesc:ornorhun-
drcds of lhou$ands. Of all the military and
cornmm:illccntrrfircnunbohactiomdit-
tussedinthisbook.rbcl;.,,.""more$Cpaffl!C
manufacturing operations arc required io
makethcMlnnlichcr-Schomaueractionthan
anyofthcnlhm.
The 1903 and the 190)/140rttk M•S
riflcsarcSCl"lllnwnbcrcd.Thco;:,q,letelm•
al numbcrisusually-.npcdonthc ra:owcr
rin&,onlhebohauideribandonthebrtoech
mdortheblinrl.and"ilhtwoormorcdigits
oflhisnumbcrswnpcdonsucholhcrpm,su
thebohhcad.cod:.ingpie,cc.firingpin.lirina
pinnu1andsaf,:ty. lfallthcnurn~niatch,
lhisindicalc!lal!ofthcnumbcrcdparuarc
original.Thcpi-anddate{yar)ofmanu•
facturcarcusuallystampcdonthelcllm:civ-
er wall, as for oamplc: ST[l'R 191 4 or
BE RElTAlllddale. Themodcldcsapation
of"theriflc:ilu:suallystampedonlhcroco:i\"ff
ring, uforeumplc: l': 1903/14.Acrown
O\'fflCrosJWllhllllshicldisal50usually
foundstampcdonthcm:ciYerring.
Tlll l .6M-lc.b'MII
The6.SM-Scartridgewas~lopedand
introduced with the M-S military rifle in
l900.and~byC,a,,;,;ein1903.lcis1
rimlcss,boctlcncckedc:artridge.loldt(lw,th1
long~bullcl.Thc6.SM-Saxis
slighllysmallcr11thehead(.453')1hanthe
30-06 cue (.473" head dia.). As a military
canridgc, it wi,sc:rrt,.inlyasgoodasthe
6.5mmJapancscand6.5mmhalian.Carcano
cvrr.bccomca worldwide favorite sporting
cartridgeinlhcfamousM-SSf)Or1micarbine,
andilha$bec,,$1JOCCSSfullyusedfortlkingall
spccicsofbiggamc.indlldiftaelcphant.
The6.SM-Sisal,ob,o,,.n1111he6.5x54or
6.5U3M-S.The"6.5~indicalcsthcWibcrin
mi!limttcnof.256"-thcllpll"OXinweb<R
W.C:ofthcbarrcl.Thc~n~or-si~(thclattcr
figun:ismostgcnrra!lyuscdrocby)isthc
ax length in millimctCf11. Bullets arc usually
of.264"diametertomatchlhcgroo,.1'diame-
trrofbilrrclsmadeforlhiscanridgc,which
normallyrangc,from.266"to.268".M-Sriflc
~lsusuanyi,.ve avayfut riflingtwist,
oncrwnin7.8T.
The 6.5 M.S G.m military -1ridgc ,...,
normallyk,-bl,.id,1159-pnfull-jlcffl-
edround--nosedbullct.muzzlc,'dociryaooul
2225fpg.Sponing1-b,"tu.;hwcrcmadl:in
suchcounlricsasAustria.Gcrmany.Grcat
Britain,CanadaandlhcU.S .. ..·crcusually
loadcdwithl50-to16Q.pinround·noscd
cxpanding•typebullcts
lfyou..,.,.11ariflc:in1hisailibcrandwamto
shootit.)'O',lsurcly,;anfindanammunition
,ourccbyrorua,;linglbkrswhoscllimpon.
edlrMIUl'lition.Chcckthe"Di=loryofthc
ArmsT,.ie~;.,o.,,.l)usrforlhcnancsand
ldckesscsofimponcrlandmanufaccurcrsof
ammunition. And when you shooc your rifle.
savethccmptyCUC$bccauscthcycanbc
rcloaded.lnthcdircc10ry.youshooldal110bc
abletofindacommcn:ia!stockmakrrwho
canfumishscmi-shaprolinlcucdstocksfor
lhcMannlichcr-Schocnam:r.
Thch:mdl..icrwilJ"-.nllOUSCNorma<;1t-
esbecauscthcyaccq,t8amprimm.8ecaae
thc6.5M.Schambc:rhasavayckcprt.umb
thelong-bullctcdflClor)'ic.l,andtheM.S
actionandmapzini:an:madl:lpecificaltyb
adlaload,thchandk,.,der"illha,""lhebeSI.
results"i!hlongandhcavy6.5mmbullcts.

Beglnningln1903.lheMannlichel·~lactorybeganproducnglneeport•
lng~onltl!IM-Sadlon. Thne~and8l>Orlbaneledrilles""11>•
fuli.r,g!hlorm~pop,MrlheworldO'l9f.Pio;tur9d~-lhe1905Mod91.
Othet-modellllollowedlnc:u;tlnglhe1908and1910.ThelTIOflpop,Aircaliberwas
the 6.5x5'mm but 1hey Wflf9 ■ llo made In 8xS6mm. 9xS6mm and 9.5x57mm.
(PholotromlheBullaloBillHl11orlca1Cen1e<.Wwlches11rMuseum.)

52
T HE CARCANO BOLT-ACTION rifle
v,as ldopttd by Italy 111 1891 as hcr offlNI
m1hwy lhouklcr ann. Adopled with 11 ,.,as
lhe6.SmmCarcano~.oncoflhefin1
-tlcalibcrsmokelessmil,wycanridgi:Sio
bei.scdby•rnajormililaryl)O"-cr.ThcMod-
cll891Carcanonflcandiis,-arious~.
and 1he 6.5mm canridgc. wm, in rominual
prod..ctKlnanduscumil ltaly'sdcfeatinWW
11.No~sc..-cralmillioooftheseCan:aooil
"ffemldc:inthi11ongpcriod(•bootS4
yean). RctW111na; Ameriun scrviccrncn
brougl11rnanyhomcassou,·mirs,bu1th,s
number,.,as1mcn:dropofwucrin•tub
oompatd IOlhecountless thousands,unpecl
onlheUS.mibtayaaplusarmsrnarl<o:1smcc
lhelllcl!MOs.
n..:c~xuon---asde>"dopcdpmty
byLt.Col.s.t,.'lllCftCarranoandCol.G.Pw-
nivicino,bothemployroinlheTonoo(Tunn)
An'MfacsoryinTurin.ltaly.Perhapsmostof
theseriflcsandcarbineswm:madeinTcrru,
bwthtywere-1somadeinTUIUl,~and
Gllflloncin go,,·emmem orpriva1elyownc:d
ar$<Nls. Thc.c1ion,,tW11boltrq:,eatcrwith
ckialfrontlockJn&lugsoothcbolt.wascopied
fromlheModcl89Mauscr,butmadewith1
s,na;lecolwnnboxmagazineofMannhchcr
dcsi&n,Al•l't:Sllltoflhe,-anousnamesand
placesCOMa:led ..-nhthesearms,theyhavi:
---
been called the Parm-.::iao Can:ano. bw
lhoy'n:nowgmcraltycalkdlheMamlii:hcr-
Cmano. ltal.anC-.0.orTemi.
Mukinpan:rnanyandvaried,and5PCCif-
ic:modelsarenocalwaysmarkedalikc.Thc
modeldcsignationisnevcrSlampedonthe
nflc.noran:thewords"Carcano"or"'ltaly.""
Sorne!ttt'ivcnan:mtin:lyunmarked
Thcscrialnwnbcr,=ltybcginnin&"'ith
oncortwokttcrs.maybestampedonlhe
brffl:hcndoflheba!Tel.onlhen:cci,-cr.oron
bolh.Thcsmalnumbcr.oranypartof,1,,1
KldomJllmpcdonanyodapanoflhenlle.
Thcrcu:usuallyanassortmmtofU15P"-
IOf"1andorproofmarbSlam!)edonlhebar-
n:lbrffl:h.m:c1,-cr,andt.>1t.Oflmunclcar,
lhey'n:nocn:allyimportant.
Thcn1meoflhemanufa<:tun:r,and 'o rthe
tlty "him lhe nflc ,.-as made, 11 Uill,ally
sumpcdonlhen:ai•-crringoronlhebrffl:h
md oflhe barrc:I. The markmg T E:RNI 1ndi-
,;a,1cs rnanuf1C1Ure mm, t,y the Italian Anny
small annurtcnal. The man<U13 RE: TI:Rl\"I
standsforRegio&erciroTemi.whi<:hmeans
AH., I\', T E:RNI. Thcmarking"'f.N.A. Brcs-
da" 11111ds for Fabbrica NaziionaleJ 'Armi
(Na1ionalAnns f ac1<>ry)inthcci1yofBrft-
ci1. The mukmg BER E1TA G ARDON £
moat11manuf1C1Ureby P.Ben:rt..Annsfa,c..
101y111Gardone,V.T.,ltaly.
ThcycarofmanufactureofrnanyCarcanos
11oftmswnpcdonlhen:ccivcrring.Onodl-
mlhedaleofmaoofactun:1111ybesumpcd
onthcbam:lbrctth,suchu01 forl901.
MOSI nfles produced dunng thc fascist
regime ......, also muked with a Roman
nwnnal. IUCh u XVI. indicaung rnanufa,c..
tun:inlhc l6thyearoflhcn:gime.
Mony ltahanrincswcn:re-marked;for
examplc,somean:foundmarkedS f'EC IAL-
GUA RD-BA VA RIA; otherscanythe kum
SA "1thin1n:ctangle.whichmeans"Suomm
Armc:ija"" or "'FiMish Army."" The fiMs
ob11mcdtheKnflesfiomltalydwlngWW II
fordcfen,,:,pinsl:Russia.Nodoootlhm-an:
Cart:an0nflesandcarbineswithothcrrnan..
inasunkno,,,11tomt.
V1nOU1Can:anonflcandcarbux:moddt:
,.....,prowccd.Smoethey'n:allbasedonlhe
-ICl>(lR. l"H<bcnl,clheprindpalrno<kb
bncOy.
Thefirstrno<klwaslhel891Can:anoriflc,
its30.ll"bamladapledforaknifcba)'OM'I.
Nc:ittcametheMl891Can:anocarbincwilha
foldin1b&)'Onelpcrmanmllyanachedtoilll
17Ybaml.andthcM189l TS c8Jbincwith
a 17.5~-pl..sba!Telanddetachableknifebayo-
n,:1. Then: wa1alsothc Modcl 4 ! ri0cwitha
21•bam:1. All of1hcsc ...·m: made only in
6.Smm,;;aiibcr.
lnl9381talyadopledaneweu1ndgeof
W)lffcalibcr-lhe 7.35mm urcano. It WU
basedonlhe-caseasthe6.Srm1urcano
~but,.-.ththenecltcxpanded10hold
thclarwcr7.J5mmbullct.Theriflcscham-
beredforthis~ge"ffethcM38short
nflc"1th12l.l.ba!Telanddnachabkbayo-
net,andthcM3$carbinc"·ilh1l7.S•-p1us
bam:l.ltaly.hov,-e-.-cr,soonbecamcin,'Ol,-ed
1n WW ll and ,;oold noc malte I complete
d1angt"-O•·cr 10 the new caliber, ao 1t "-.:I
droppedinfavoroftheoldcr6.5mm. Asa
rcsult.rnany M38riflc:sandcarbincsmadcfor
thc:7.JSmmcartridge"ffen:barn:lcdforthc
6.Smmload
W.11.B. Smith, in his TltrlJ<JOko/Rifla
says tha1 10mC M38 rincs ,..m, made ,n
7,92rnmcalibcr(8x57mmMauscr)foruseby
GerrnanyduringWWll
The 6.5mm Can:ano rifle barrels ,.-..,.e
madew,thprugm.si,~orpintwistnOing;
thatis.lherlkof1"wgradualtyll>Cn:a$Llli
fiombn:,cchtomu:ale.Allhebrffl:hlhelWUI
"-asaboiilonctumin l9".~toaboiil
onetumin8'"a11hemuzzle.
The7.3SmmCan:anobarrels"-...:made
w1th1un1formrateof1"ist,onc1U1TI111IO".
Thc:Can:anois a n:lativclysimplc tW11bol~
6-~n:pea1ingac1ionhaving!iOmCMauscr
and Mannlichcr feauucs, plus olhcri found
onlymthisllCtion.Despitcwidccriticismkv-
cl«lapmstit.lheC..-canoisawc,Udcsigned
andruaged11Ctionformilitaryusc11nce.~
sumably,lhe ltaliansdidnocha•~-,ymajor
lrollbkw1th11ortheywooldha,~changed
'""""'
ThcCan::aoom:c,,.,,.appears111t.,-e-,.
odas,forgingwhichwasthcnmilkdand
1111Chined10finaldimcns,ons.Thcrow,d
ltt('IV<'f rina is quite large in dian'IClcr
(1.3W).withonlyasmallpn:,jcctionundcr-
r.eachtoformthen:roilshouldcr.Thcin.1ide
ofthem:eivcrri ng,lhrcadedtom:eiV(:thc
barn:lshank,hasathin rollarkftiniucmtcr
apin!llwhic:h thebrctthmdof thcbarttl
.t,,.IIS,Thebandbn:,cchisllate:<cep.forathin
nng ..1lichfits;ru;dethem:c1,·crcollarlnd
aroundthcheadof thcbolt.Thcn:aroflhe
m:c,,-crrmgismi!lcdlOfonnloclnna~
(Pictul9d~)Mo,;lel36~C.-
Shorl Aillll,calibet"7.35mm.
53
 ' • : I
for 1he bolt lugs. Tot-re i1 mon: 1han ample
mcLa1111hispoim10sccun:lysupponboth
lockinslugs.lnthclowcrldlsidc:,inthclock-
inslusrcccss,ashclfofmcta!isn:taincd
,.:hichhasa fo1wanlslop1113surfacc. The
atqpcoflhissurfacernaiches1bc-.-cltdoomc1
ontheleft(~)lockqh.lg;onopcrunglhe
boh th.ii anangcmem prm·odel lhe initial
onc:ooncarmmgpov,u;ondos""f;1heboll
rap;dlyithdpsl0stanlhcclo$m&rowionof
theboh.Thcrec:rivcr...,'allsbdundlhcra:civ-
Cfring.rcsm:,Jlerindiarnelcrthanthering;on
1hclcftsideoftheretth-crthercisadefini1e
stq,,asinthelargerins98Mauscrac1ion.
Thclc:ftra:ci,...... ....-allismuchh1gher1Mn
thenght.andthehiplc:ftwalllac:ksalhumb
notdt.Alon&opcrungismilltdm1hebonom
oflhcrecci,,.crli:Jrthernapane.Thcrearhalf
oflhisopmingiswidccnoua;hio11tttptthe
~ clip. while the front half is only
dightlywidcrthanlhcbodyofthecartridgc.
Thcfrolllmdoflhisopcninsis11opodwwanl
thcdwnberwform11oadinsramp10raisc
ar.dguidethecartridgcfromtheniaga,:inclO
thetharnber.Catridgcf«dinainwthecham-
bcr,sposiri,-candn:l~.
Thcretti,-crbridgcissplitor$1oned11the
l(lplOallowpassaa,:ofthebollhandlc.Thc
rett1•"Crcndsin 1 10prangllbotit2Ylong.
Thctriggcrma:harusm11mounttdbclow,•
therettl\'Cfbridgeandtang.ThclCUanxhcs
t0therecci,-cr.pivo11nson1p,ncrosswisc
throughaholcinthcbonolnofthcbridsc-A
projcction(rnadcsq,anucly,butfflOl'Corlcss
pc!l'IWICnllypinncdinplace)onthcrcarofthc
scarpmjcctsupwardthroughaholc:inlhclang
intOlgr'OO\'C""hidlillmilltdootlor1he--
notch10mgagclheoockina:po«c,.tifflthc
bolt11closed.Thescar11lmSlonedby1coil
springpositioncdt,m,"Unm:e$Sedholcsm
lhefrollloflhcx:arandreccl\-cr. Thctrigger.
allaehedltlthc"'31',J)IVl.ll$OlllJ)IJldvoughlhc
.'lCll'.Thcupperpar1ofthctnl!l!Cf,"1lichbears
1sai11511hcbonomofthcm:ci=.has1win
humpswtuchpromalhetwostagepull
Thee~torisa collaml p,n positioned
O\"Crandmsjdelhcscwspri"landu~g
'4)Wlrdthroughaholc:,nlherta'l•'t'f. Aloog
taperingpoo,-..:iseu111110lhefmn1halfofthe
54
I
llalianModelilMannlicher-Carcanoactlon(ahownwilhloadeddiplni:oi-).
bol1 body101llowlhetj«1ortonK.aslhc
bollisopcn,cd.10,;,,,n1actlheheadofthecar-
-·
tridgeorcaKandt'Jtditfi'omlhcacuon.This
appeanlObcavcryeffociffl~ though i,u,,ple,
Thebolt-stopisequa.llyas effic,cm 111d
sirnplc.s1lw:ejector. ltisabarcxtend,ng
upwanllhroughahokintheboltomrig.hlsidc
oflhcm:c"crwhichpro~tsm10lhcnsht
lockinslugraccwayintherttel\·crbridge.
lbcboh-stop111anxhcd10111armontheui&•
ger. Pullmalhctnsg,erbad:ITIO\-cstheboll-
Slqldo\<'!1-,thebollo;anbcmrlO\'Qi.
Thebol1 andbolthandlc:appcar1oha•-c
bttnmach1ncdfromaonc-pim:forging.
allhooghthelancrmayha,..,becnpcrmanem-
lya11achcdtothebohbyo1hcrrncans. Thc
bohhaiidleisncarthecenterofthebohand.
"·hcntheactionisclosedandlocked.the
hno.vyrc«angularbascoflhebolthandkis
fon.-vdofthere«i•-erbridge.actingu a
safelylugshouldlhefon.-vdlockmglup
fail.Thclhankoflhcboi.handle.roundand
quite llun. endll in • mund pspmg ball On
lheCan::aoonfksthebolthandleM,ckl
ilnlightou1.butisbenl"°""""the<:Pbinc•
Thedual.opposcdfromlockinglugsar'C
quitelal'gtandsolid;neitherhasanyslotsor
holes. Thcbohfaccisrcccsscdforthecar-
lridgc rim. but the rim of the m:ns is cut
awayonc-foorthof1tsdiamelcrforthe""1rae-
10rhook..Ancllhcrquaneriseu1a"-aybcyond
thebonomoftheutnoc1orhool:10allow1he
caru,dgchcad101hpunderlhcextrae10rhool:
""hen fed mlO the chamber fn:om the map-
:r;,n,:. Thispm'Clllldoublc:loadang.
Thcone-piect,spnna;Sl«lutn1Ctor,aboul
r1ong. ismon1sed1111othe &om of the boh.
Aprojectionundcrthcfmn1mdofthe(')l11'1C-
1or fitsinaslot in1hebol1,pn:venting1he
utn1Ctorfi'ompullingou1.Cartridsesoonnal-
ly1lipundcr1hecxtrac1orhool:whmbcing
chambered fn:om the mapzme. Closins 1hc
bohonacartrodgethal 11chambcn:dahcadof
the Clltnoclor(as in Single kwline !he rifle by
dmppmg1canndae11110lhcchambtt)isdif-
ficuhbcc:auKlhculnlCla'hool:isno11111de
10sl1pea.ily0\'Cflhccanndgerim
Themajorpartsoflhcfiringmcchanismarc
thefiringpin.coilmai115pr111g.firingpinnrn,
rockinspicceandbolt slec,·c.lnaddition.
thcn:isaspringandplungcrintherocking
po«c.thepurposcof,.•hochistopmffllthc
ftringpinnullium1llmmg.Thcmainspringis
~bCIWffflashouklerontheonc-
poecefaingpmandlhcboltslcc-.-c"flichis
1-:kcdbylhecnckmcpocc,e.AllarcrClalllcd
onlhcfiringpmbylhcfinngp,nnut....,floch
lhrcad!;onthemirofthefinngpin.Aflatspot
m the firing pm ma1chmg a s.irnilar spot in the
rockingpi~prc•'Clltscithcrpanfromrum-
,ngonthcodlcr.Ashouldet atthereatcndof
thefuingpinpmffl1.'llongirudinalmovemm1
oflhefll'ingpmmlhcrockingpoccc,""hrnthe
finngpinnu1tsfullytO&f',tmed.
lbcboll~'Cis"5Ulllydcfincdasthat
panoflhcaction.,.-hochholdslhcfinngmccb-
an,..,.inlhebolLlnlhcCan:anoactionthe
boltsk,c,...,docslh,s.bul1talsoperfonnslhe
fwiclionof asafc:l)'.A5'nalllugonthefrom
par1ofthebohsk,c,...:slidesin10agrn:;,vcand
no1ehcucin10thcreatoftheboltbody.Whcl1
theactionisa.,cl<cd.theboltslc:c""tsheldfor-
wardt,ylhclugcngag,ngthenoldl.andhea•,y
mainspringJIA:5Slll'Cholds11mthisno1ehso
thatitn:,m,:s"ilhlhcbolt. Whmlheboll is
closcdandtheboltla!dlcdo\<T1(itrnUS1bein
ihlsposition«1henflcCMWi1bcfim:l)par1of
lhcflangemlhcrcarofthcbol1slcc-\-cisalso
engagcdinan01cheu1Ln10thera:ci,-ertan,g.
Thiskecpsthebohsl«veinplace,andthcn:is

l1ttlcchanceofitbcin&blo,,.nOU1affl.,llr
affllof•IIC''OCl'Cprimtt~.
Adeepcockma:nocchiscutimolhe~or
lhebohbody,whichllroockingammlhe
cocking piece engages. The cocking cam,
quiteloni,U!cndsintothelcftlockinglug
raceway in 1he rc«h·crbridge. When 1he
strikcri1do,,,'Jl.raisingthcbolthandle,;o,;Q
lhellClion.
Topn-parethc11e1ionforfiring.thceh«k-
~ .. fe!)'wmgon1beboltsleevei1posi-
tionedforwan.landtolherighl.Toplia:the
bohslttvc:(orAfd)'-----Abaie-....-youwarnto
call it)"' the: '"safeM position. ii is pushed
st,ahdy bward ..i 1tancd up. Whm 1hu: IS
donctheboh~ispartlyrdeasedlOITIO\-'e
back1pj,$the,;o,;kingpiea:,reW:ingthe
rmna mcdwusm"' !he boh. ln 1hu: posioon
thetirin1pinishddback,its1ipheld1•1cll
withmthebol!.soablowontheoockingp,cce
,;anno1tirelherille.lnlhisposi1ionthebohis
alsolockcd.andtanno1beopencd
To mgagc 1hc safety it is n«cssary 10
arupthebolthandle,while<l,,pr'=ingand
tumingtheAfely(boltslc,e,.-c),topm't"lltthe
bohfromopcning.Theboltsl<:e\-ciswido:r
full mainspring 1ension and it is no1 easily
opcrated.Movingthcboltske\-conlO'"s:afeM
callsforawonadunb.bulUD.igNlplJIIO
thcMfm:MpoiilionisquitehardlOdo.
ThellCl>Onis-...dyhddinlheAod[by
twog,..-dlem'"S,lhesepassingthrooghholcs
,n each end of the trigger guardlmaga,:ine,
"1dtluaodNlintothe1angandn:cci,-errina:.
Stockbusliings(or~)areused"·ith
ea.ch guard screw. The very small recoil
sl>oulderontherc«i\'Crwouldbccntirely
inad«tuatetoabsorblhere.:oilifin!e11c<I
directlyintothestock.lnlheCarcanoactim
rccoilisUlkcnupb)'acle\-erT-shapcdstock
bushingandspacerthrough"·hichthefroni
&U3nlxrewpasn.Thetopofthe"T'i1 1
hniryn1CWbar1boutl.2<1'1ongand.40"
deep,itsq,IP""''CdlOfillhe5malJJu&onthc
n:cci,...-. WilhlhisT-bwtingsnuglybeddcd
irllOlheMOCl,;.andanchort>dber,,,'CCllthemg-
aersuardwiaandlhem:ei,.... 1,ylhepard
scrn,,Kbonsct-t>.clrintheSIOCkishard!y
possiblc. lnrestockingthisril1elS!ffln&ly
Ria&e$11hu:T,t,ust,ingbei-.l
The 1nggn guard/magazine is ma&: of a
Jina)c:J)ic«ofsrttl.Thelri~guan.lbowis
wideandheary,thebowopeninglargcrthan
nc,cdcd,The1hin-wallc<lmagazineboxisan
clongD1ion of the guard bow bottom, thw
cxtcnJs,.·cllbclow1hestoekline.Thesinalc
followcrarmpivotsonapinthrooghthelow-
crrron1ofthefolk,,..·crhousing.ltisainn
won1upwan.ltmsionbyallatspringmor-
11sedinlhefolk,,.,erhousing.Thefollowcr
houJingclosc5thebooomfronthaJrofthe
mapz,nehw<andis111u.npanlymortiscd1n
themagaz,nehw<andheldinplaceby1
xrew. A$pe<"ialarmdgcdip,hoklin&upl0
6Clftridges.mustbcusiedwiththcCarcano
actionifthcnllc1s10besholasarepcatcr.
Thefullyorpan,allyloadeddipismsencd
throoW,the10pofthcopenaction,dcpras>ng
thefollo>-'t'rbythebottomcanridge.Thercis
no10porboltomtothedip;i1canbcinsenc<J
eithercndfirst.Whcntheclipisprcsseddown
fullythespring-loadcdmagazincca1ch.locat-
cdinlherearofthemagazinebox.cngagesi1
andhokbi100"-n. Theborl0mponionofthe
ma~ine box below 1he clip is open and
whmallthccarmdgesart:fcdoutofthed,p.
11dn.,ps,..,1.ToefuUyorpanlyloadtdthp
canbcreleased1opor,upou1oftheopen
actionb)'~theclipslightlyandthen
dtprcssmglhemagazinecatchbunon111the
fi\lnloflhelriggcrguani
'Then:an,nop-escapct.,ic,,inlhe=i,·•
cr,andmlyor,csmalloolcisprovidodinthc
bol1ncarlhemJll\cnd.Whenthcboltiscloscd
thisoolcopcnsintotherighllockinglug,-
' 'I• '
way111therttci,-erring.A,ryp$Cj;cscap11111
dwou&hdu,r;oolcwouldbcdircclcdbadcwanl
alonpd,:lheboh.Thispm,-isimt1-1Ufl'ICICDI
unlcssthcnflei,,fnatfromlhelcftshowder.
Tomakelheactioosaferthercshouklbc a oolc
inthelcftsidcoflhen:cei,'t'rring10roincide
w11hthewidcr-aitinthebohfao:-.Wilb-
001thisholcanygases1halgocintothelcft!ug
racewaywouldsun:lybcfehbythe~er.
Ow:d<10makesuretherifle,sunloackd.To
n:mo,.,:thebohraisethebohlmldll:,holdthc
1ngerbacksndpulllhebohfromthcru:e,,-er.
Todisas8omblelheholt.fir.;:l-lhecocl;-
'"lp,c,;cono-quar11Crlllmclodc-,,,-,s,e;"'-.lhlhe
thumbna.,J depress the finng ptn 11111 plunger
and\ll'IICft"'lo· firingpinl'IUl;theoockinap,c,;c
can now be pulled off the finng pm. Ncx~
dqn:Mboltsl=-.,(safeiy)sligltdysndnJ131Cit
abitdoclcwisc,alkMingiltororneback.Oo
lh1sagainandbol1sl=-c.firingpin.ardm:iin-
springcanbcmnovcdfi"orrfthcbol1. Rcmo,,-.,
thefiringpinnu1plwigcrhydrivingou1the
croapin.RCIIIO\-cthecxtractormlyif,_.
Ary. hismno,-..Jbyraisingthehookcdcnd
"ith • 1Cm>U"l,'t'runtilitcanbcrno,.'Cdfor-
"'wd.Smcclhe51Cmofthccx-illll5Ually
,.~,uyti.ghtlyinlothedo,,~la,oo,-c1n
thctdl.ilmaybcne,;c:ss:.y10dri\1:thecxlfal>.
IOrbv."ad,."llhap<mudioolwhilclhehooli:
md11hddup.Rc:assembleinl't''tf'!lll"on.ler.
Tolakethcbarrelandactionfromthcsto,;t
remcn-,:barrelbandsandthetwoguardlttt\0-s.
WithblndandacoonraJXl'l'Cd.llr,ea,-,,car
spnna.c~10r.bolt-stop.and1nggercanbc
""'"°''Cdbydrfru~outthcsearandln3&"'"pin.
Pulltriggcrguru'd/mag.azjnefromtheSIOCk.
Tum 001 the dip latch screw, remove the clip
la1ehandspring.Tumou11hefollowerhous-
illj scn:w, dri,-c the housing fonvan.l to
remove it. Dq:,rcssthe followcrann fully.
ill$crlaSCn:wdrivcrbladeintlw:slotslflthe
1idesofthehousing1oholdthefollo"'·er
lflnn&down,andlt"DIO\-cthc:fotlowcrpmand
folk:M't'r. P\llllhesar.,.·drwerOU1andthcfot.
---
k:M-crllJlrullcanbcl'ClllO\"Cd.. Reassemble"'
l'e"\'tneorder. DollOlattempllOl'ClllO\-Clhe
t.n:lunlessproperlOOlsart: a•oail,ble.
M.u,yCarcanoriflesmayl'IOlbc"'Clltin-
,shcdromparcd10M91Mauscn.bu11hcy'rt
55

................ c.c..
, . . ca,-.a:
~iengiti ·::::::~-~:.1.~~
= ~ ·· · ·· · ·· · ··,4-37$.
~ i::.- .._._. :-.~:i.~
56
11111111 Ca'CIIIO Model 81
cenainly bem:rthan mos! of the many Japan- mwn brttch Pf\'SSWC ofleM than 38.000 ps,.
escModc199riflcst'vesccn.andfarbeltcr lbelicvcCan:anoactionsaresirongandsafc
1han most WWll M98 Mauscn. Carcano enough to handle hea,·ier loads. The 6.S
rc«ivC11arenotalwayssmoothlypolishcd, Mannlichc.T-Schocnauercanridge1$gcnm,lly
and10meroncealcdpansshow1K1polithatio.dt,,lio,!0,000-45.000psiand.inlhoK6.5
alLbutthebolis...,ae,,er;,llywcll.rm<;hined CaR:allOnflesrechamberedfordus~.
andsmoodl. Thertta,-crandboltappear theactJ01111sccmtolakethe,cbighcrprt>
madeofaoodsic,elsand10bcpropatyhcl1
tn:ated.Althoughthe6.5and7.3SCarcano
sureinllride.Ho,o~-er.inhandk.iin&C.-
canocanndgcs I adv~ kecpmg io.ts
mil11af)'cartndgesan:onlyloldedto 1 maxi• modcnlt".notel<Ceeding40.000ps,.
 ' '1' •

~ , ,- - - - ---. 12~

2 • ..,...,.: .... ----..,. 3 11 • c(,V"

<_,,,,-;--;--<;._- ~
. ''
. '
15
'
:''
i ,....//1
• .. Jf'I
~ . (1,1
20
,.

24 HcioA,ngRetainer Screw
" 25 c.rtridge F,._,.
,."" 26Folowe<HngePin
27 Folowe<Houssig

"ll 28Folowe<Spring
:KIFrontGuardScrew
30 RNrGuan:IScrew

"'-'-
A$n01cdbcfon:,lspecllllchp-bc
llKtl irlhe Carcaoosan, 10 function as
rq,eaic,s. Thoscc1Lps.madeofS1ttlorbrass.
hold6rounds.Twocrirnpcd-in~insl<le
lhcblckpar1ofthtclip,mpgcinlhcl'lltrac-
10r~vcoflhcanridgestoholdthcrounds
againstlhcchp~ar
Thcltt<'ivcrandthcmaga:tir.eboxan:
milledOU1ioaa:q,11hcloadeddip, " ilhshow-
dcnlcf\10i1C11M01mo,,,:forwan:1.Thi'lal50
holdslhccartndges-=dyinlhcrnaga,;inclO
theyC11M01mo,,,:ror,,.,in1frommx,il.The
ndgcsmthcdipurmdnearlyioeachcnd,
lllo,,qJUSlanchroombcaRrldgcslObc.
msencd...irenlO\u.l(orfcdOUl,ialhoboll)
..timlhthcldoflhtCIRq,tisp-,-dagana
lhcN'>u.lhpsoflhcchp. llusJS1good
...........,lhtdipiscny10kat1hefulty
_. _
klldedorp•dyloadedchpiseasdy insencd
im,;,d,c&'lioll{&omd!Cq,wilhlhcbollopm);
n11easilymnc:,,-.d;feedingis1111scra,gt,line
...imiablc.Thelft"'bKb-11,ose:"tim11ie
chp11emp1icd111kopsoutandiseasilylosl;
withOUllhcdiplhcrifk(:allonlybcusod•a
sm,glcsoot.O,psan,Slillftll<lily•vailabiflat
1h11 wrinng. and boll, Italian 6.5mm and
7.35nunartridg,::susclhesamedip.
C-=iorillcs...,amonglhcleasldcsirablc:
of11lmodcmmil1t:vybolt actionstorcmodel
lll'lp'lf1Cl'1ZC,nlll'!SlhcC.arcanoactioo a ,'Cf)'
goodd•oi<;eonwhichtobuildarillc.
alrcad)'mffllOleda~ofpoorandundo,
sarablcfcaruraoflhcCan::ano:lhc,'Cf)'a,,'k-
",inlandhard-10-QJICfllefafety.andtho
n«as1ly of us.mg a dip. ~ ..., ,,_y
rn(ft.Thesloncdra:iel\i:r~prt>'fflUthc
msu,lbt,on of • rtgUW rcceiffl" siatu. No
commercllllqllattmmtsafetyismadefor
th,s.,;tion,and~isoopncuc:al "'"a)'lhc
milrtarysafety(:allbc~ioimpov,:11.No
lqllal;ement triggerismadeforthc.,;1,on
ahhougjlthcmilit:vytriggcr(:allbcimproved.
Thcboxmagazine""tendsbcelowthcstock
and11isn'1feasible to makei1flushwilhlhc
scock.Thcclipis 1oona1TOWtoaccep1$W>-
dardJ0-06hcadsize cartridgcs.socanridge
chokefor""-'hamberingorn:bam:lingisvery
hm11cd
Nooooflheseobj«rionshu~allybo!h-
,:ru,!orSIOppcdthcenierprisin&amateur(lUl'I-
I",.., sm,thfromtatklingthcmand,,,minatho
nl\c:11'1..,..inlolsponer.
Rd>arTeling10anod>eraliber,if1henfle11
10mna.n1rq,e:u,:r,isabol1m11ed.
Evcnnasingleshoc.canndgc,hotcc,s
hm11(dbc,;auscthcbohheadand,:~tnnor

57
an:n011casilyahmd.
Thconlysa11sractoryrcmodchngof1hc
Carranocart.u.:oonsistsofstartmgwithone
tu,,•mg1goodborc,thmhmi11hcwork10
punin&onnews1ghts.n:finishinglhcrnc1al.
remodchnglhc1ssucstockorinstallinganew
onc.All(lO(lrcars1gh1cho~isthcWilliamll
Guidc:,adjUS111blefor"indageandclcva1100.
Thisshouldbcpairedwithanewfrontbladc
orbcadsightmountcdonlhcWilharnsShorty
ramp b.sc:. Mounung • scope: on C=anos ts
JUSlnotpractocablc.
U17.J5C.C..~
The 6.5 military rour>d was normally
loadtd"1th1162-gr,ainround-noscd.fuU-
JaCkctcd bulk!, muuk ,..,locirylboul 2300
f'ps. h"1111iOO<lmd1wycarv-idg!,.oompar•
ma fl\'Oflt>lywithother 6.S military loeds.
The comnw=n:,al Nonna 6.5 Carcano is
loaded wi1ha IS6--grain soft-poin1. round-
nosed bulle1. 2000 fps muzzle ,·clociry
Allhoughthiss«msavcrymildloadi1has
amplcpowcr10takcdccMiudgamc10abou1
200yanls.l1cooldbchandloadcdsafdyto
higher v.:lodrict with the same weight or
l1ghtcrbullcts.B«auseoflhcdeq,1hmatin
lhc:Carcanobarrel.bcSlrnuJISwillbchad
" ·,thbullclsoflllcas.l30grains.Pooraa:u.
,a,;yrnayrauh,.·,thlighr,:rbullets.
Thcusual7.35Can::anomihwycanndg,:
arncda 123,gr,au, lfflli-poinlcd. full-p,;kcl:-
cd bullct, 111 vdoc1tyaboul 2482 fps; normal
bullcldiamcteris.298'"-.300".
This mlc--che name: 11 commonly goes by
58
inEnghsh-speakingCOW1trics-describcs
oncof1hemostunllS!lalmilitarylffll5oflhc
WWllpcriod.Mowoliniandlhe FascislPar-
ty~nglheNazis..-,o'3111rolO!larl
IIILnU1&l1.i1h,1nboy$111ancarlyag,c:(probably
11aboo.116)and1spttialsmall-sizcdarmwas
de-,-.,lopcdmdrnanufacturalforlhilpurpo,c
alonc.ThcYouthCarbineisanalmoaidem1-
albu111e11cd..im.n,·ersionoflhcn:gular
Model9lCarbmcwithfoldingbayooet.
hi s bclic'"Wtha1abou130,000ofthesc
sma11Can:anocarbincswercmadcbcn<'«!I
1930 ind 1940. American scrvi= ;n
lta!yduring1he war1ooka nurnbcrofthcsc
carbillCS home, but they're quite scarce
today.
The 1vc. arc marked ~-.N.A. BRESC IA
onlhcm:ei,·crforFabl,ric,,Na:ioMlt d'Ar-
,,,;_Thmsmalnumbcrusuallybegins"ith1
ICl\cr. Thcyardareofrnanufactun: i'sai,o
sumpcdonlherc«i,...-as"-.,llmlloe Roman
numnal(1)irdicaunglloe Fascisr~yar.
Onlhec,arbincill~affflangular-.
,n,.atopthem::,e,,-erring.st.,..,s.,,nsijpUII
Ofo;Te$1"1ththeltomanfasc:es.
The olfici&l ]1.1]ian designation for the
Youth Carbine i1 MoscMno Regok>me,,tort
&,/1,/a Modelo 1891 Ridutto. Translak'd. this
z2
(Top)Model91~Can:anocatbine,aliber6.5nvn. ni.t.an.1ol1hiscarbinehasbNn
incrMNd 10 18.50" by.._ soldeflng I 11NI ....... IO lhfl muule. (Above) ltu.n Youth
Cllmin.(_..,.1hefoldn;ibltyonel)
meant "Uallila Regulation Ml!Sl<cc Model
1891 RWuced."~Ballilo"wasthenameof
lheltalian FascistYouthl'any.
Thc lYC"-asuscdfttdrilltraininaonly.
tinttonlyblankammunition"-asmadtlor
them.lndtheupoflhebayonctwlled.Some
an:smoothboml.ochasha,l:arifkdboreof
6.Smmaliber.Thcblankcanridgc:il1bo1,11
the siu of the 222 Remington. bur tw a
longcrneckendinginafoldedcrimp. The
chambc-rs :Ill: uamed minus any neck or
throa1;1hcneckoflhcblank cartridgc ismadc
smallenough10mtcr dim:tlyin10theborc.
"hc1hcrri fkd orno1. l1 isthough1tha1pcrhaps
IYCswithrifledbarrels"-ercmadefromdis--
cardcdModcl91Cacamobarrels.
The action of the IYCisaregularlmlc
gcrn.andj~o,..crhalfthe"-.,ighloflherea-
ularM91andM38Caianoa,ctions. lne>-uy
ddaili111s,milar10thelaiECfacuon. l don"1
bclie\-.,itilmadeofgoodmoughstttltobc
1,15(,;1 with & modem
bullcled ~ - ,,.,,.,._
,.,KlhisnuruarureacrionwouldbcJustlhe
ni,hltull:fttthe222 Reminglon.
Theblankcmridga made forthesccar-
bmes are extn:mely sc:anx. much more JO
than the carbines. and au prized collec10r
items.
•

P RIOR TO WWII ~ "'-ere very f~
Japane$emihiaryrillc$intheUniledStaics.
..,.nfromasmallnumbcroftheoldcrllmm
Japanc,c:Muraiarillesinvariousprivateand
museum collectoons. lkginning with the
bornb1113ofPcarl Harbor on Di:ccmber7,
1941,andcndingwilhsigningoflhcpcace
1rcatyonboardtheba11leshipMiuourlin
Tokyo Bayon Scp1cmber2. 1945.ourlC'r•
•icemen "''tlU throojh un10kl hardships in the:
Pacificareaco"'1nthatpeacc.Ptthap$be,.
caus,eoflhcsclwdsl11ps.regulalionsrq,ard-
... ..:ndangor~nghome(';aplllr<driflcs for
SIOU\'tl'br1•ffl:ktp11cnicnl,andlargelyoYff-
-·-
lookcdbyourmiliwyoffim's,solhalb)'the
ffldofthe"'..-Japar,QCnflcshadbecome
lk~ondduringthc:f~panofthc:war
no1much"'"Uicnos>nabou!Japancsernil,wy
riflcsandcanridge:s.A1thatrimegun"'TI1Cr$
jfflffllllyscoffcdatbodltheriflcsandlhecar-
trid11es.berllung1heriflesgenerallyasjunk
andthe6.Smmcanridgcasvasdyinfcrior10
oor30-06.This"''aSunfonunatc.sincernany
SttVicttncnrcadinglhcscreponsbeforclhcy
"''m'mducledfordulyinthcl'acificarc:a.did-
n"thm:thcrcspccttheyshouldha,-.:hadfor
the,ropponcnts""'-.:apons.lcouldcile1cou-
pleof.-oflhli;fromamongmy°"'n
ac:qua,nllnCff,bulsu!T't«it10saytheytoon
lcamtdbcuer,.-dilwasnotlongbefon:the
""punyM6_jmm.Japanesccanridgc.andlatcr
the7.7mmcartnd~."'ffl:11tlcdamongthc:
world'sbc$1nul,iarycanridges.
l1ioolc 1omewhatlongcr,ho-;,..,-.-.:r.1<1cstal>,
hshthcfac1thatlhehpancseriflcsfiringthc:se
canndgcs w= also good. The Japanese knew
lh15,ofCJ01.U"1Je,buliltooksornccorwinci11&10
changelhem,ndsof,omcofourgunc~pens
lhattheJapanc:scArisakarifleswcn:good.
Thefactis,wcdisco,·cn:dthatthc:TypcJ8
- -·
and 99 Ansaka •.·uons "-'tl'e perllaps the
world"5 S1nJ11gCS1 .-id-~ bolt IICOOn!l., and
that,111abnoltimp::,1Sibk10blc:M·dlemup
Japan"sfostirnponan1br=:h-io.dinamd-
,wyshouklerarmwasthc:Typc 13(1880)
MU1111achamberedforthe llmmMumacar-
tndge.As1ngksholbolt-actim riflc, 1t "'-a!1
la1er modified and made as• repealer by
instalhngafttdmechanismandatubular
magazincinthc:fon:nd.Then.in 1&87.Japan
adop1cd an 8mm car1ridse (8mm Japal\l'K
Munua) and u;;ed it in a further modification
of!heMuratariflc.againwitha1ubularmag-
uinc.
lnJapan.. u ..."1Sdonc:UlmanyolherCOU11-
lria,1cornmissionwasappointcd10study,
de>-.:lop.1eS1andadoplncwmiliwyanns,ln
thelatel890sthcsupcrincmdcraofthcTokyo
A1$mal, Col. Nariaki Arisab, headed such 1
romm,ssion.""111chonl897~mcndcd
!helOOpl]Ollof16.5mmcartridg,cand1new
nfktohandlc1t.Therifkadoplcd,.,11sthe
Typ,:.30{1897).thc:canridgc1St1T1i-rirnrned.
botdct...:kcd. smokcless-po,,.·der one now
commonly known as the 6.5mm Jap;u,ex.
Allhoug.h Col. Amab probably had linlc to
dow,lhthcdcsigningoftitherthecartridgcor
theriflc.hisnameisusuallygivcn10lhcm.u
"'-.:llutolatcr,'Cl'Sioos.TheTyp,:J0wasa
funhcr,;te,;elopmen1oftheoldMuniadesign.
bul w,lh a 5llggtl'ed-rolumn ~ magazine. a
llC(Wllleboltl-'andafinger-hooksafcty.
Firs1madca1.t:alll889.asiillfunherdc>'el-
opnent,;amearoundlll02withthelOOpllOII
oftheTypc35{1902)Arisabnflc.of,.1uch
only I lirmtcd number "'-ere made
Tllllr,118.,....
Hav,ngb)'thistimepc,fcctcdthe6.5mm
tanndg,:,!hecommiS1Sion, still under Col
Ansaka.conlmucdlookingforabc-llcraction.
Byl905thcyhadfoundit.ThcreS1of1his
thaptcri1aboutthc:TypeJ8a,c;tion.itsmodi•
f,ca1ionsandtheriflesbuiltonit.
Bc:forej<)U1llin10detailsofthea,c;1ion,l'II
briellydescribetherillesandcarbincsba,od
onlhi,actJOntheJapanescadopledin1906.
allofthcmthamberedforthc6.5mmar•
I.Typel8 {1905)Ritlc.Abou19.5pounds.
J1.2s·barm. 50.2s·o,"Cfllll. The standard
.lapan$111fanuyshouldor1rmfioml906io
'""'·
--·
2.Typ,:3i(l905)ShonRifk.About8.S
pounds, 25.25• barrel. 44.25• 1Wt111II. NOi
3. Type l8{1905)Carbin<.About 7.75
pounds. 19"bam:l.38"ovtl'llll.Thestandanl
carbine.
4. Type 97 (1937) Sniper Rifle. Same as
thcType38riflebutfincdwilh1short2.5x
-
,copcattached10thelcftsideoftherecci,·cr.
thc:detachablemoun1holdsthe,copcofT-,e1
to!helcft101llowloading!hemapzincwith
I stripper dip. Thisrnodclhas abem.00\\Tl
....
Thcaboveriflc:shav~two-pic,:c:.pis&olsfip
ROds. ThebonompicceofthebunSlock.1
scpara1epicttof,..'00d,isglllcdtothc10p
pa11.Allha,-.:1one-pieccclcanmirodmtho
forcndand.-emadelOattqltlhlyonct.All
have sliding brecchcoVCTS, and 111 bUI the:
sn,pcrriflehavcstraightbolthandlcs.
5. Type44(19ll)Cu-alryCarbinc.About
8.75pounds.19"ba~l.38.25•overall.
--
Straighlbolthandlc,slidingbrcechcover and
aoon-dctachablefoldinsba)'OOCI
The6.Smmrillesandcarbincsofla1eman-
uf1CtW"1:usuallyhavethc:~and bolt face
D1Tr,118ktllll
A modified Mauser design. the Typo: 38
act,onhasK'\"Cflllfcaturesdistinctlyof
M•~design.butaoouplcof'Olhmwhoch
"'-erenewandentittlyJapanesedcsigllro.
Thcsencwfcaturcsmakelhisactiondiffen:nt
from any othcT military boll action made
befottorsince.lnsome"-aysiti11crude
action.nolbeilljVtl)leas)IIOopttl!e.bulitis
simpleandc~tmnc:lystrong
Therecci,-crisaroundstcclforgingofthe
samediamclcrforitsen1irclenath.Thefiuu
i1bomloutandllircadedto ■cceptthe~I
llwik.Thercisnocollarinsidethereaiver
nna II in !he Model 98 Mau,er ■ction;
instead.acollarformspanofthcbn:uhcnd
(Piclu,redabove)6.5mmJapanneArllaka
Type38{1II05)cartw19
59
oflhcbarrel.thisba:arungasl.....:lforlhe
fron1 end of the boll Mon:onthis latCf.
~loci<ffl&.shouldersan:lcftinthe
raroflhc:ttee1,ttring.in"'"hichlhc:loci<mg
luponlhcbohenpge.Thefornrdcomer$
oftheselhooldman:be\'Cledofftoform
lllChllCS. so !hat the final clming lhws the
bohbciblyforv,wd.
Thciop.-drightsideofthtn=i=cm•
ter1N:m1lled1v.-.ytoformanopming.lcav•
inglhclcflrccci=wallquiteltigh.Tothe
!'W'Ofthi1opmingislhcre.:eivCfbridge.of
thesamediamc!Cfasthen=ivcrring.Slrip-
per-clipslollan:millcdintolhefrontofthe
solid bridge. Raceways milled in the kft
rcccivCfwllllandinlheriglnoftherccci,·Cf
ringandbridgcallowpassagcofthclocki"l!
lu(i$lndtx11-acror.Thc n:arpanof1hc
bridgchasanl.-sltapcdslolmillcdfi-omthc
topl'W'tothcnghtfromforpa5Sagcofthc
bohhandlc.Thcfo.-wardsidcofthisslot.
bf:giMin& at the comer. is angle<! slightly
l"or,;ard:th11prov,dcsthcinitialcamnnna
pov,·Cl' for c11nmon v.·hcn the bolt is
opcned,andhclpslOl'Olalethcboltwhcnitis
cbcdlffWlly.
Thcboltandbolthandlcan:ofonc--pi«e
oonstl\lC11011.Thestraightbolthandk,atthe
rcarofthebolt,has1Lar-gem"lLl-shapcdp1$p-
i113knob.Thcbaseorrootofthcbolthandlc
issquarcd.Thelatgcdual-opposcdfrontlock-
60
ing lugs lie ahead oflhc re.:eh-cr locking
lhookli:Tsv.hcnthcbohisdo.cd,holdin&thc
cartricl&eJ«lll"tlyinlhechamber.Thcripl
(bottom)~is,olid,lhelcft(ll,lJl)lugispan•
ly.iotll>iin&onl10aliowpus&Foflhee:,ec-
101-.thisslotulaldingpantyiruolheboh-r.-
Thcfe1Jalsoanawtiliarylug(not11oci<1113
lua)jus1mthcl'W'ofthclcft(10p)loc:k,na
lug.Tlusactsasana,c1i,1uorforlhecj«lor.
.-<laslhc:bolt•Stoplugwhcnitcngagcswith
Ille boll-stop when the bolt is opened. An
inclincd slolinthcrearofthislugpn:,-cntsthe
bohhan&inguponthcejector,andtripslhe
tj«torwhcnlhebohisfullyopcncd
Theboltfaccisrcccsscd1oaboutthcdcpth
oflhccanridgcrim. Pan oftltisrim=is
widcmi1toallowlhccanridgchcad 10rnove
upandundtrlhce:<tr-a<:1orhoolcwhcnlhccar-
tridge is fed fl-om the magazine. as in lhc
Mauser 98 and Model 1903 Springfield
a,ction,. Tlnsprncntsdoublcloading.sincc:
tll'jcanndg,ebolt-fcdintolhc:chamberfrorn
the mapz,ne will be CXlnelcd and cj«tCd
uponopcrungthcbolle"o-cnlhoughlhcbolt
"-unotlullylockcddwingthisproccdurc.
Thclowerk:ftcdgcoflhcrimm::essisslighl:-
lyhigherthanthercs10flhcrimandisslight-
lyink:ma..Thisaffordsutn1bearing.surfacc
forthecanridgerim,frornlhcsliglttsidcprcs-
surcofthee~trac!or, sotha1onopminy1he
boltlhc~or~cascwillmnain
inpbcl,unlilforccdoutbylhccjeclor.
Thce11n1e10r.ofMauserdcsign.isalong
onc-picc,e,prinaalwrbcldonlhcbokbody
byacollararoundthcboltl.ongitudinal
rnovemen1oflhc:c:xtn1e10rislffValledby1
lipundcrthelronlpanofthccxtn1e10renpg-
'n&inapoo,·ein thefron1cndoflhcbolt.
ThetxtnctorisDOO-roWing;thalis. ..·hik:,t
docsrotatcontheboh.itdocsnotrotatcinthc
re.:e,vcroronlhccanridgc
ThcTypcJ8a,c1ionhastltc1implcstsafe1y
andfiringmech.mismofany,;,cntcrfircbol1
a,c1ion knov.11 to me. Not cow,ting the lriucr.
Kat"paRs.l"CCC'i=orbol~thefiringandsafo-
!y rnechanismconsistsofonlythrccparu
Thisdc:signhasits,i1t1.1CSanddrawbacks.as
v.'Cshallsce,bmi1isa"ff)'rtliabk:andcff«.
tivc amngcmcnt for a miliwyrifle.
Thcboltbodyisdrilledfl'Qffllhcrcarto
accq,cthconc--pi«ehollowstrim(call1tthe
finngpinifyoulikc)v.ithitsinreplflffll&-
pintipinfimtanditscockingam(,m)on
lhercm-.Theooilmainspringf11S1N01hl:hol·
lowpanoflhestrikCf.Thctlmdpanoftht
rnechanignislhesafcty.ahhoughitha,,cv.
cnlottcrfunctions.
Thesafctyis1larg,eonc--pi«elffairoorn-
pri$cd ofa cap to which ,s permanently
a1w:hcd astcmprojce1ingf°""-ardfi-omits
hollowoemCf.Thisstemcx1rndsintothehol•

7.7mrnJapaneseArisakaType99(1939)1ongrille.Thisversionolthelype991srelatiV91yscarce
lo"·strikertocompm,sthcmainspring. The
safetyisheldontherearofthebollbyalug
insidcofthccapmgagingcweraridgeonthe
ootsiderearoftheboltbody.ThcS11fety\.lll
bcquicklyandeasily=>0vcdfiomthebolt
byprnsingitforwanlandrotatingitclock-
wiseabowone-quanerrum.Thesafctyis
linkedtothestrikerbyasmallstudonthe
saferys1emengaginginamatcbinggroove
milledinsidcthcstriker.Thcsafetyislinked
withtherc,;eiverwhcn it is engaged by a
small stud on the outside ofthe safety cap
cngaginginanL-shapedgrooveinthebonom
rearoflhe=ci,-er.lnall.thereisacompli-
cated hook-up between safety. striker and
b<)l~andaliiowiththc~verwhenthcsafe-
1yisengaged,ccnainly1hcresultofsome-
one'singenuity.Thclugontheoutsideofthe
safetycap,engagedinthegroovcinthc
m;ei,-cr,l)l'l'ventsthesafetyfromro!ating
whenthebolthandleisrais.edorlowmd.Thc
rearsurfaceofthecap-likesafetyisknurled
inacircularpanemtoprc,·emit twisting
under thumb or palm pn:swre when it is
engagedby~ingitforwan:landrotatingi1
one~ighllirumclockwisc,ordisengagedby
againpressingiiforwardandrowingitinthc
oppositedi=tioo.Thcsafetycanonlybe
engagedwhenlhcsuikeriscocked,andwhen
cng.ageditlod<sbolhthestrikerandlhcbolt
TheOU!Sideedgeofthesafctycapisusually
__. g
Japanese Type 38 6 5mm TralNng rifle this spec,men with recer,er and some o! Ila action parts made ot cast Iron
serrated and made with a small hump so
m-
located that it is up when the safety is
Thc trigger system follows the Mauser
M9l-96design(latcrcopiedinthePatteml4
andl917Enfieklactions).llconsiSt<lohsear
pivoted on a pin lhroughasmall lug on the
bottomofthe~eivcr.Thesearprojeclionoo
therearofthesearprotndcslhroughaholein
therecciverandengagesthecockingcamon
thestrikerwbentheboltiscloscd.Thcstriker
isthuscockcdontheforwardorclosing
motiooofthebolLApinrivetedonthefront
ofthesca,-projcctsupwardthroughanodler
hokintherecciver,whichprcventstheuig-
gerbeingpullcdtorcleascthestriker.CJ<cepl
whenthebolthandlei,sm,ightup.theboh
thenen1irclyW1locked,orwhenthebolthan-
dleisfullylowen:dandfullylocked.lnthesc
positionstv.-onarrowgroovesintheboltbody
align with the pin. Thcsca,-springiscom-
prcssedoyerthispinbetwefflthescarand
receiver.Thcnigger,wbichpi,lll'linthescar
ooarivet.hastwohwnpswhercitcontacts
thebonomofthe rcceiverandtheschwnps
providetheusualiwo-stagemilitarytrigger
"""Thcstrikercanbelowercdondosingthe
boltasfollows:pushtheboltforwarduntilthe
strikerconlaCUlhescar;pullthetriggerto
allowbo!tandstrikertobemovedforward
• L
Japanese Ar1sa1,a Rifles
W1til thebaseofthebolthandlecontactsthe
~ei,·er;rcleasethetrigger:lowerthebolt
handkbystrikingitsmanlywiththepalmof
thehand.Thisshouldonlybedoneonan
emptychamber
Theboh-stopandejectorasscmblyisbuilt
into a long narrow integral housing which
projcctsfromtheleftoflhcreceiverbridge.
Theboh-stop.ofMauserdesign,ishddinthis
housingandpivotsonascrcwthroughthe
undersideofthercarendofthehousing.ltis
tmsioncdbyaflatspringlockedtothefront
endofthebolt-stop.Theejeetor.positionedin
aslotinthecenterofthehousing.pivotsona
sepanlle screw. also turned in through the
undersideofthehousing.Thcreisnoejeetor
spring.Theejcctorisactivaledbyac1ionof
theauxiliarybolt.stoplugontbeboltwhich,
onopmingtheboltpi,lll'lthefrontendofthe
tjectortotheright.inthegrooveprovidedfor
itintheboltllcad
Anopeningismilledintothebottomofthe
receiverforthemagazineopcning.lntegral
Hpsorcartridge-guiderih$atthe topofthe
openingholdthecartridgcsinthemagazinc
andguidethemintothechamber.Themaga·
rinc,athinpicccofsheetmetalfoldedtoform
abox.i1rcinforcedateachendwithahcavier
picccofmetalw.:ldedinpla,ce
Themillcdsteeltriggerguardiscombincd
withamagazincplatewbicbhasanopening
61
 M1lltary R1tles & Actmns

tosurmundth:bottornoftheseparatemaga
zincbox..Amillcdsteelfloorplatecovmthis
opening.Aliponthefror11ofthcfloorpla1e.
engagingagrooveinthetriggerplatcanda
latch:urangementbuiltintothcfrontpanof
thctriggcrguardbow.hoklsthelloo,pla1ein
placc.Do:pressingthelatchintheguardbow
rcl=thefloorplatc.
ThccnJsoflhcW-shapcdmagazinefol-
lower-springfi1imomortiscseu1imoth:bol-
tomofthest«l followeraodfloorplatc. The
top surface of the followCfhasamunded
ridgconitslcfisidewhichfon:csthecar-
tridges10assumeas1aggcredpositioowben
theyareinscrtcdintothemagazine.Thcrear
edgcofthcfollowerissquareand,whenlhe
magazineisemply.thefo!lowerriscshigh
enough10halttheforwardmo1ionofthebol!.
indicating10theshootcrtha1themagazineis
empty.
Thcacriooisheldinthesiockbythetwo
guard screws through the ends oflhc lriggff
guardandthreadingin\Qthercceiver.Thc
fron1guardscrewpasscsthroughanintegral
studonthefloorplateandthreadsintoasimi-
larstudon theOOttom of1hc receiver. Thc
m:civcrha,;norccoilsholllder.Thcrecoilis
transfmcd101hes1ockbyarecoilblock
which fosover1hc Sludsandbctw~the
m:civerandthefloo,plate.Thisrocoilblock
ha!;onefla1side(inlettcdintothestocki;othe
flatsidcistothercar)whichhasenoughare3
1oabsorbtherecoi!andpn:,·cntse1-backof
theactioninthestock.
TheType38Japancseactionwasdcsigncd
toelimina1corn:ofthc major weak points
found in most modem mi!itarybolt-action
rifles-thewristorgripofthestock. lnthc
~ - -- - - - - - - - - - --
Type38actionstrengtheningthcgriparea
"'-asdonewithtangsconnocted10thcrecciver
andtriggerguard. Theuppertang.madeasa
separatcpart,wasmilledandjoinedto thc
m:civcrtoa<:tasasolidcxlcnsiontothe
rccciverwhentheactiooisinthcstock.The
scpara!Clowertangwasalsoma1edtotherear
of the trigger guard. Then:arguardscn:w
passcsfustthroughlowcrtang,thcnthrough
thctriggerguardandthrcadsintoasquan:
studintherccci,·er.Thecndsofthetangsarc
connectedbyalongscn:wthroughthctop
tangandstockwhichlhreadsin1othclower
tang.Thetangscxtendwellpastthcsmallest
par1oflhegrip,grcatlystrengthening 1hc
weakeslamtoflhestock.
Allboh-;1C1ionriflcsaremorcorlcssopen
tothcelclTIC'lllS. Dust,mud.sand,watcrand
sleetcangetin10theoctionthroughthctop
rccciveropeningsandcancauseproblems
Japanescdcsi_gr-,m.cvidcndyfamiliarwith
this shoncoming. decided tha1 the action
--
shouldbccovcn:dasmuchaspracticablc
Thcresultwasavcrysimplearrangcment
Twolongiludinalnarrowgrooveswen:cut
intotherccciver,onehighonthelcfl=ivcr
wall,thcotheronthelowrightrecci,..,,.wall.
Acurvedstripofspring,1,::mprn:dshectmct·
al.itsedgesfokledin,wasmadetofitO\"Ct"the
n:,:civcrandslideinthegrooves.Theboh
handleprojectedthroughaholcinthcn:arof
this cover allowing the bolt handle to be
raisedandlowercdTheboltpullstheC0\1'!"
backwan:landforv.-ardwithitasthcactionis
opcnedandclosedThiscovcrdidefTcctively
closethemainrecciveropening,butitstilllcft
abigopeningaroundthebaseofthcbolthan-
dlcwhen:dincouldgetin. Theaction"''U
more difficult to operate with the cover in
place than with the cover n:mo,·ed. Since
manycaptun:drifleswereminusthcirbrcech
co,·ers,itseeimlhatsomeJapancsesoldicrs
discardedthem.
AmpleprovisionwasmadeintheTypc38

Type38Japanese6.5mm action,opeo.

62
 Leflsid&ollhelype38Aris!lkaaction
Arisaka a<:tion to allow powder gases 10
escapeharmlesslyintheeventofaruprurcd
caseheadorpiercedprimer.T"-t>smallholes
inthe!opofthert:<:ci•·crringprovidcvents
foranygasescapingimotbelocking-lug
reccsses.Asinglcla,gcoblongholeinthe
bo11omofthebolt.justbehindthelocking
lugs.allowsgastoescapeimo theleftlocking
lugracewayandthence!otheauxihary lug
openinginthetopofthi,;raceway.justtothe
rearofthett:<:eiverring.Shouldanygasbe
ditt:<:tedrearwardinthisraceway,itwouldbe
dcfledoobythebolt510plug.andifanygot
beyondthispointthesafetywoulddeflcctit
fromtheshooler"sfacc.Shouldalargc,·ol-
umeofgasgc1insidethcbol1throoghthefir-
ingpinhole,allofitcouldnocescapelhrough
thclargeventinthcboltltwouldexpandinto
theinsldcofthehollowi!riker.bmitwould
notreachtheshoo1erbecauseofthesolid
safetycap
In the late 1930sJapanwaspreparingfor
war.Typel&Arisakariflcsweregood,andso
"-asthe6.5mmcartridge.butmeasureshadto
betakentospeedupproductionofthcrifles
andforse,·eralreasonsalargercaliberwas
also desimble. Thus, in about !938. steps
were takoo to modify the Type 38 (1905)
actionforcasier,faster.lessoostlymanufac-
run,,TheType99(1939)Arisakaaction"-as
theresult.Atthcsamcfomtheyadopleda
newcanridge,commonlyknownasthe7.7
Japaoesc«31-<ca!iberJapanesc
Hcreisabriefdcscriptionofthe7.7mm-
caliberriflesandcarbimsba5C<lonthe99
ac1ion,«onfurthermodificationsofi1
1. Type99(19)9)Long Rifle. About9
pounds.3l.4"00ITTl,50"overall
2. Type99(1939)Shon Rifle.About&.5
pounds,25.75"barrcl,44.25"o,·erall.The
sw,dan:!Japaneseinfantryrifleusedduring
wwn.
3.Type99(1939)SniperRifle.samcas
number 2 aboveex~p! fitted with a 2.5x
scopcwithadetachablcoff-sctmount. Bent
do"nbolthandle
4.Type99(1ateversion)ShonRifle.same
asnumber2alxwebutmorecheaplyrnade.
Identifying features are: woodcnbuttplate.
fixedaperarun:rearsight.oomodelrnark.ings.
See1ex1forspccificdctailsofthisandthc
paratroopriflcs
--·
5. TypeO Paratroop Rifle. About 8.75
pounds.25.75wbarrcl.44.25"o,·crall. Very
6.Type2(l942)ParatroopRiflc.About9
pounds,25.9"barrel.44.25"o,·erall.
Themainidemifyingfeaturesofallrifles
bascdontheType99a.ctionan:thestampcd
trigger guard. hinged magazine floorplate.
and lowcrtangcxtendingbelowthepistol
grip.Type99Long,ShonandType2Sniper
riflcsusuallyhadchrome-platedboresand
boltfaccs,andallexceptthesnipermodelhad
sin.ightbohhandles.Slidingbretthco,-crs
werealsostandard
TIIIT1'1 89 Actill
JUSlasthel903AJSpringfieldactionwasa TopVH!Wof1h8Type38Arisakaaction.Nole
modified version of!he !903 Springfield twingas-escapeholesinlhereceiverring,
action10makei1casiermmanufacture.the theJapaneselmperislsealaod01herJapan-
Japanese99 ac!ionborethesamerelationship esema11dngs 00 1he receive, ring. the ciip-
cl\a1gerslo1lnthereceiverbridge.the
tothccarlierType38a.ction lnncithercase L-shapedslo11orthebolthaodle.aodthe
didthisresultinthcactionbeoomingles.sreli- ovslgraSl)'ngb.illonlhestraight bollhandle.
ablenorwcaker.Althoughthequalityofthc
finish suffered.the modified Springfield and
Arisakaaction.swereunaffec1edasfarasmil- re,;eiver was replaced by a copy of the
itaryusewasconcerned Mauscrbolt-Slopandej«tor.Thebol1-stop.
Thefollowingan:themostnotableou!- attachedtoalugonthere,;ei,·er,ishcldin
ward changes and modifications made in placebyapointedscrewtumedinfromthc
effcctin8thechangeo,-crfromtheType38 top.with thecjectorpivOlingonthissamc
(l905)65mmactiontotheType99(1939) screw.Theejectoristcnsionedbyasepante
7.7mmaction smallspringwedgedwldcrtheheavierbolt,
I. The""'l"1"'terecoilblockwaselimina1- Slopspringmonisedintheboh-~.
ed;the99receiver"-asrnadewith.,,integral 4.Thcaw.iliarylugandthelcft{top)lock-
recoil lugofamplesizc,whichwasanim- ing lugaremilledentirely1hrough for!he
provcmcnt ej«tor.
2.lnsteadofmillinganl.-slolinthcreceiv- 5. Sheet metal stampings were used for
erbridgeforthebol1handle,mosiofthcrnt"!- scveralpartsonthe99action.Thescinclude
albclowthissl01wascutawayonthc99 theuppertang.lowertangandtriggcrguard
re,;eiver. This s1ill left enough metal for a bow,rnagazinelloorplateandlloorplawlateh.
safetylugfor1hcbolthandleintheevcntthe 6.Thernagazinelloorplateishingedtothe
frontlockinglugsshouldfail. frontofthernagazincplate.
l. Thein1egml bo!t-stophousin8on the 7.The99tangsweremadelon8crtofur-
63
lherllml&thcnlhegriparQofthcstock.The
non-d,:uchable lowffiangn!mds OVffthe
endofthepiSIOlgrip.
8. Genenlly, 1he ufety cap of Ille 99
ldionhadalhallowgroovecutintoitsout-
sidcedgcinst,:,a,dofhavinga hump.Theou1-
side edae was usually unsemucd and
somc1imcsthcrcarsurfacc"11Snolknurled
orche<.:kC'l'Cd
'il.Only1singlegasponwasmadeinthc
99~-ring.
......
10.Thet.rclshankthreads"-m:changed;
xe the barrel shinl:: dr:awinp elsewhere: in
11 .~minorchanga"-m:madeinthc
991dl01110adapl1ttothc7.7mmcartndgc
andiofaciliimmanufaelure. The magazine
tmandwdl"'ffl:madeslightlylongcrand
thcrnagaz,ne..-dlmadeslighdywider.The
eu1forthcc~1111C1oritlSMJethc~i-ring
wasgeni:nr,llymilledcntirclylhroughtolhc:
fron1ed,eofthcrcccivcrandthroughthe
1hrcads for the barrel shank. Some milling
cutsinlhc:striker..-eremadefromthcoutsidc
andcn1irclylhmughlhc:stril:erwall,instcad
-·
ofrnakin&lhc:cwoolyinlheinsidc.Theout-
sideoflhc:exllllCIOr"11Smadeflalinsleadof
Nochangaweremrdcinthcbrttching
melhod.Thcbohmnainodin:hangedacq,t
asnotcdlllo\~andlhesameaigg,efandsafc..
tysyat,:ms"'ffl:usod.AsQllbee<pcctcd,99
1CtMX'll"''m:notfinishedas"-ellasl8
ldions,withlhc:qualityoftheoutsidefinish
1ffi"'i..-oneeach5UC:Cffilingyur.Byl944.
shortlybcfon:the99Arisakaweruintopro-
duclion.noa11emp1wasmadetosmoodifin-
64
ishsuchpansasthelriggffguard.flocwplalC,
OnclOranduppcrtang.
1'11 1146.ldila
By 1944 Japanwassorelypre,.sedin~
cfforuiomanufactureenoughsmallannsfor
thccxpc,c1Cdhomclmlddcfcnsivcopcr111ions.
Her"l151ditch"rifle"11SthcTypc99 ( 1944
orl!M5)vm:ion.lt"-asmadcasquicklyand
asd1caply aspo5$ibk:andstillbcusablcfor
tieriouswatfarc.Outwardly,thishastilymadc
rillcwasthesamc:asthercgular99(1939)
,'ffSione,,;cq,tforitsfinish.buttplaleandrcar
sight.ltsrears,ghlwasmtrdyaslw:ecmetal
apcnun:1ffuediothebam:l.thcbuttpwc1
thmpicceofwoodfJISlairoiotheSIOCk'Nltha
fo:wbrwls.As lorthcrille'sfinWi,thcword
"'rou&hMbcstde,cribe5il,_()r,k','ffa)Qfthe5e
nflc:s l'YCQ11,Mdandexamined,.thcre,;,:i,-c,s
,.,-m,notioobad,butlheboltsappcan:dlObc
rough undersi7,Cd forging, with only enough
machinU\jldooelOmakclhemworlr..Safcties
"'ff'Cllllfinishro,withlhcslernfOUl,\hly"~ld-
edtothccap;thissamc:typcorufciy,.,-.s
ahomedonthcregular99(1939)VffSIOOlof
llu:manufacture.Ahhoughlhc:senflc:s"-m=
fullysu"3bkforservitt.lhey"-m=,;,:,,de.No
-·
effon,.-.smadc10markthcra:ei=fortypc.
butlhelmpcrialsealwasusually5tlmptdon
--·
fimmakesurethcchambcrmidmagazine
Typc38:Raixthcbo11handle.pull 11 beck
11farasitwillgo.lhcnswingthcboh-.top10
lheleftlllllillhi::boltcanbcfully••mhdr8n.
Theboltcanbereplaccdbypusluna1tfor-
ward111thcre,;,:ivcr.lnrq>la,.inaabolt"itha
shdi11&brttchoo..w,thcoo..·erm1151bc
al,j:llC'dwilhlhegroo',-eintherecetva-allhi::
-~thcboltisinsertcd.
Tofl'lllO\~thefiringmedwnsm.gmpthc
bohwithonchandand.10ithlhepalmofthc
otherhand,depresslhi::safciyasfaruitwitl
go,theri1umi1clod:wiscaboutonc-quarter
tumoruntilitisn:lca9ed.Safctyandstriker ,------------------~
canthenben:movedfromtheboltandthe
mainspring n:moved from the striker.
Rcassemblebyinseningmainspringin the
suiker,inscningthcwikerinthcbolt"iththc
cockingcampositionedintheshallowcam
notch.theninsenthesafctybystaningitwith
thchumppositioncdslightlyclockwiseofthc
bolthandle.Pushthcsafctyfocwardasfaras
itwillgoandthcntumitcoumen:lockwiseas
fitrasitwillgo.Whcnassemblcd.thclugon
thcbottomofthesafctymu.$1alignwiththe
cocking cam, otherwise the bolt canno1 be
imertcdintothercceivo-.
Removcthccxtractorbytumingitonthe
boh!lOit<.m'CnihegasVCll(!IOOthcnpt.\lhit fol"-
..w.Replaceinreverseorder. Don(lln:move
cxrractorcollarunlessabsoiu1e:lyncces.wy.

(AboYeligl1)Bolt!romlheType38Arisaka.
(Below~)BollfromlhelB1eType99(1945)
Arisaka. Note smalle<. cytindrica~shaped
~balonthisbotl.oomparedtolhe~
eroval-shapedbalonlh8Type38boh

(B&low)T0pviewotlh8Japanes1:1Type99
action.ThflactionMK>Wnwilhb<&OOhoova,
andbohopen.

Receiver rinlJ markings on the Type 38 ,-------,,=----

Japa.neseaction(right).andonlheType99
{far right). When the Japa""" Imperial seal
is entirely in1act (oot partially or en~ raly
groundaway)itmeanslhat lhartfleswa ra
eap1u,ed.SurrenderedJapaneseriflesgen-
erallyhavelhesealgroundoff.

Rcmovclhemagazinefloorpla1e,followcr
andfollowcrspringbydcpn:ssingthefloor-
pLa1eLa1ehinthetriggerguardbow.
Ton:movcbarrclandn:ccivcrfromthc
stock.firstn:movcthebarrelbandsandtum
outthetwoguardscrewsandthetangscrew
Thcbatn:l,reccivaanduppcrtanj!canthcn
beliftedfromthctopof1hcstockandthc
Jowcrtang.triggcrguardandmaga.rincbox
can be removed from the bottom of the
stock.Remo•,cthem:iga,:irN:la1chbydriving
outitspin.thcnn:movelhelatchplungc-rand
Spring.

65
 I • : I I

Remo,.,thctriggerandsearbydrivingoul
thcsearpin.Thetriggerpinisrivetcdin.botcan
bcdrivenou1withadriftpunchifneccs.sary.
Rcmcwethcbolt-stopbytumingitout,and
pullingouttherearscn.:wunderthebolt-siop
housing. TumOU1thcej«1orscrewtoremove
theejector.Rcmovcthebolt-stopspringby
i;wingingi1Srearend<lown011N1uanerrum
andliftingi10UI.
Reassembleallabo,·euniisinreverse
order. In reassembling 1hc boll-stop. first
replaccthctjectorandbolt-stop.thenreplace
thespringbyswingingitinplace
Type, 99 takedown: follow same proce-

dures as described for thc Typc, 38 rifle and
actioncxccptforthefollowing: to remove
magazincfloorpla1e.dri,·ethehingepinou1;
toremovcthefloorpla1elatch,1umthelatch
tcrewOUl;lffllO',.. thebol1-siopbyremoving
i1Sscrew;thecjectorcanthcnbcpullcdfor-
wardou1of!hebolt,s1ophousing;theboh-
stopspringis removodbydrivingilforward
outofthehousingandtheejectorspringis
rcmovcdalongwithitToaidindri,·ing!he
bolt-stopspringforward.asrnallscrewdriver
shouldbcinsertodunderthcrearofthespring
soitcanbcheldupwhik:drivingi1fo,ward
untilfreedfromthebolt-stop
Jnmissemblingthebol1-stopspring.firs1
placetheejectorspringunderit,thendrive
bothforwarduntilcaughtlllcninsena
scre"1lriverunder1herearendof1hebolt-
stopspringtoholditupsothespringcanbc
driven fully in place
Thcbarrelsof1hescriflcsare1hreaded
tightlyin10ther<=iver(right-handthreads)
Doootattempttoremovethebarrelunless
)'0Uha,,:thepropertools10doso.
--
Almosteverygunbuffinteresicdinmili-
tarybolt-a,;tionriflcs,orinjusttheactions.
knowsthatthel8and99JapanescArisaka
actionsarestrong.Many anicksha,·cbccn
writtenaboutthcsm.,r,gthandsafe,yofthesc
actions,andmanyblow-uptcstsha,·cbcen
conduc11:dsince!hela1e~whensorneone
disoovcredthatallJapanescriflcswcrenot
junk.P.0.Ackley.inhisbookHandbootFor
Shoo/en & RelooderJ Volume 11. describes
teStshcconductedonvariousmilitaryboll
actions,andthefap3neseactionsweres1ill
goingstrongaftermostofthcothcrshad
failed.Thisbookisn:comrneooedreadingfor
anyoncintcrestcdinactionblow-uptcsU.
Of all !he rna1erial l" ve read about the
SU'rngthofArisakaac1ioos,thcmostastooish-
ing repon of the toughness of a Type 38
JapanescacliooandrifleappearedonpagcS2
inthcMay,1959issucof71re-A...e,-iru,,Rifle-
man. This describes a Type38 6.5mm Arisa-
ka which was rechambcred 10 =pt the
30-06 cartridge. The 6.5mm barrel was NOT
rebored,onlythcchamberwasenlarged.The
fellow who did the rechambcring a,crom-
plishcditbygrindingdownthepilorofa30-
06reamcrsoitwouldenterlhebore.Aftcr
rcchamberinghetes1firedit.Nothingmu,;h
happencd.sohcuscdtheriflconahunting
tripandkilledadeerwithit.Becausc:thcrifle
kickodsohardhetookittoarcputablegun•
smithwhodiscovewiwhat!heownerhad
doncwithi1andwhathewasshoOlinginit
Bc.:ausc:theriflcwasstillintactafterfiringa
numbcrof30-06cartridges.thcgunsmithsen1
thcrifletothcNRA. ThcNRAstaffthenfired
somcmore30-06roundsthroughit.andit
sccmsincrediblcthatneithcrthebam:loorthc
aaionburst.forjustimaginefirins.30libul-
letsthrougha.264~groovediarncterbam:l' If

66

one wen: IO ddibenitdy plan a torture 1est or
blow-uptcSlonthc6.5mmJapancscrifleonc
C011ldha,rdlythinkofabcllcr1;Chcmc,cvcn
thouJhi1151lmlccnzy.Tha!thispanocular
rifle did ooc bum. or e,·en appear 10 be
sm.~bythis1buse.cenainlyprm·cslha1
thebolt.m:ei.,,,.andbam:l"'Cttmadeoflhe
~hea-llffltdstttls.ltaboshovi--sthallhe
~ancllodung!1)'$1eft11!excdlmc.
Aboull0ycarsbcforclheabo-,-emc:idcn1
,.-.,q,onc,d.a&icndandlp,a-..lherJapan-
esenflelhrough110ffiR1eS1,.,thlhetolc
mtcm>onoff\nnailuntilitblcwi.,orcoold
nolonga-bcf1miforthistcs1w.:uscdlhe
worstspecuncnofthis nfle"ia,chwascV<.'I'
cancdhorncby1mumingGl.aType99nfle
m7.7mmcaliber. Thispani<:ularrinc ..11s
such a crude specimen 11\lu initially "'C
lhoua)lti11obc1Japancsetrainingnfle.l
rcchambcred,tforthc30-06canridgc,and
purpo$tly""thechamberfully.OIO'"doepcr
""'""""'·
Japar-.MaakaType2(1942)7.71T"fTltakedownperatrooprlllellCtion.lheboltpa,•
lialyopen.L.ooeeninglheringed!akt-downnu1onlherlghtlideoflhereceive<rlng
lllowslhebemtlandlorendtobe~outoflhellCtion
Forlhc:tcst. I loodcdaoouplcofcanriJacs
of"""'hoflhefollowingloodsinmilitary30-
06cascs:
No. l .C-fullof303lpowdcrwith1180-
IIJ'llll~bullct.(44grainsofthispowder
,.,thtlnsbullclisnonnallyamaximumlolld).
No.2. C-fullof4198powdi:nmh al80-
gmnjlld,;Cledbulltt.(l8grainsof1haspo,o.ier
Wllhlhtllbullelis~m;uirnoot).
No. J. Case full of2400 P""-der,mh !he
180-gram.,acl:cle'dbulkt(Thispo:,o,lkr,sne--
crm:,,,mmmd,:dforlhe.30-06withthisbul-
lc!.bulachargcof25painswouldbenearor
lllxm:mu.irnurn)
h"uduskwhcn"-cmadcthc:ICSIS.Thc
nllcwasuedioanau!OmObiktiri:andwhcel.
pomtcdtowardadinbankandfircdwitha
longrordtial1olhc:1rigger.
Wedidnotcxpec1much1<1happenonfir•
mg both No. I cartridgcscxcqit nancned
prirnc,s,andthatisalxlutallthatllappcncd.
Th,l ..'&IJUSllgood'),roorload.Wcdod.
Japanese Ar1salta Rifles
howc·ocr,cxpcctsomc-thingtoharr,rnlOlhc:
rinewhentheNo. 21oadswcrefircd.bu1
asidcfromlhcriflebuckinginitshitch.lhc:
primerpocketSexpanding.lhcwcbsphmna,
andlhccasc:hcadsspreadingtoasnugfitin
1hebohfaccrcccss.nothing11n11sualh.ap-
pc-ncd.Wccoulds«al111lespurtoffl-
com,ngout of the ,·mt hole. bul that wu
aboutall.
When "'C fin:d one ,;artndgc of lhe No. 3
io.d.llnngshappcnod!WcnDl>CedSDmtof
llamcrom1ngoutall.-oondthcac1ion,most
ofnconcemratcdzroundthetopandnght
sidcofthcrtteivc-rringandfromthcbollom
oflheac1ion,astherillcbuckcdandbellowcd
fromtheshock.
Whcnthc:dustsenled.wcrushedto,ccthc:
darllagi)andwcresurpriscdlofindthc:barrcl.
rcceivcrandboltintact.Theumciorwas
gonc.thc:boh-s10p,.usprung.thefollowcr.
followcrSJIMiandfloorplatc"'Cl"Cgorw:,but
theboltandthefiringmccharusm~,11ll
67

AnactiontromonaofthaseveraldiffarentType38mili!arytrainingri!l8$. Thisone,with
breec:hcover,isanaxamplaoloneot thebettar-madeactioos,ha,,;r,garagularboltwithlull-
aizedlorwardlockinglugsandragula1axtrac!Or.Howava, ,nhasaeas1iron rf.)()8Mlr,1riggar
partsandtriggarguard.AdistincUvafaatureofthesaactionsisthatthatangsaramadainta·
gralwith1hareceiv8'arKl1flggarguar<I
mplace.Thebol!rouldnotbeopenedby
hand,andontryingtoopenitwithastickof
woodlhebohhandlebrokeoff.Onn:ruming
to my shop for closer examination.it "'as
fOW>dthatlheriglnsideoflhem:ei,..,,.over
the full length exlfactor cut was slightly
bulgedandthatthebam:lappcan:dtohave
moved forward out of the receiw:rabom one
lhread.Sincetheboltcouldnotbeopcncd"·e
~ the barrel from the m;e;,..,,., after
whichtheboltwasea.silyrcmovcd.Thehcad
ofthecasescemedtohav,: mehcdo,·erthe
bolt face, for it was practically welded in
placc.Afterkoockingoffthecascandrum-
ingthebarrclbackintothc1tteiver.theriflc
wasstillinaconditiontobefired'lnfac1.la1-
eronanolhcrshoolerfittedthissamebam:I
toagood99actionandfoundthatthecham-
bcrhadnotcxpandedatal!.Thisexpcriencc
thoroughlyconvincedusthatthcJapancse
Arisaka actions are ex~ly strong. A large
ringMode198Mauscrac1ionmigh1ha,·esur-
vivedthistestaswellorbetter.bu1[suspcc1
1ha1 mos1 oftheothermilitaryboh-action
rifles.aswellassomeoftheoommcreialbolt-
Anotherexampl(lo!thecastironAriaakaactionmade1oratrainingrille. This one has only
tokanboltlockinglugs,a~extrac10<mo<tisadlnto1habolthead,androc&iverand!rigge,
guardarehekfinthestoc:kwithoommonwoodscrews
68
octioncenterfirerifles.,.·ouldnothavestood
up as well
OfthcType38and99actions,the38is
perhapsthestrongerforthe followingrea-
sons:l)i1Slcft(top)lockinglugisonlypartly
slonedfortheej,ctor,leavingitwithasolid
rearface10contactlhclockingshouldcrinthe
...,,,;,..,,._Thr:lugisnotonlystrongerbulthcn=
islesschanc<=ofithattcringadepressionin
thelockingshouldcrasoftcnhappcminriflcs
havingafullyslonedleftlug;2)thcmillcut
forthccxlractorinthereceiverringisno
longerthanneoded.lnthelast1CS1dcscribed
above.itistobcnotedtha1lhereceiw:rring
bulgedalongthiscut,whichinlheType99
receiVffexteridsallthcwaythroughthering;
3)thcbarrclshankthreadsarecoarserand.in
myopinioo.affordastrongcrjointbetwttn
thebandandreceiverthanachic,·cdbythe
useoffmerthreads.l1isali;opossiblethata
betters1cdandhcat•treatmentwasuscdin
making Type 38 actions. but ['mnot sure
aboutthis.lttiusuallyassumcdthatanyrifle
made during desperate wanime conditiom;
migh1 have inferiorstcel and/or improper
hcat-treatmcntoompared10riflesmadeWlder
idca!conditions.butnothingofthisnature
sc,c-mstoha,-eaff«tedthclatcType99,..,,..
sionwe!CS1cd
Asforthcbreechingsystemuscdinthese
rifles.lamnotsureithasm..chcffectonthe
overall stmlgth and safely of the action. This
··system"isonc in which the bolt head fits
closr:-lywithinarecessinthebr'Ccchendofthc
barrel. Thisbrecchingsystempnxl..cesthe
sarncresul1SasachicvcdinthcM98Mauser,
inwhicharingofstttltiplacodaroundmosc
ofthcbolthcad.
ll,c:weakpoin1Sinbothsystemsarcthe
wideextractorc11tinthi1ringofstccl.and
the undercut in the bolt focem:ess. As far
asstn:ngthandsafetyarcconcemed,ldon't
bclicvethisbrecchingmcthodism..chsupe,-
riortothc03 Springfield bree<:hsystcm.
Thereisnoquestionthatthe98Mauserand
Arisakabretthingwouldbefarstrongerand
saferiftherewasnoundercutinthebolt
face m:css, and if a flush•type narrow
extractorwereusedsothcwidccxtractor
slot could be eliminated. When an action
blowsupitisusuallytherttultofafaulty
ca11ridge-whcnthcheadoftheca11ridgc
spli!sopentoletlargcamountsofpov,der
gasesc,capetotherear. ln1hiscven1,[Fail
to sec where the 98 Mauser or Arisaka
bre~hingsareanybettcrthanthe !903
Springfieldbn:c<;hing.lnthet"·opreviously
mcntionedArisakatonure1ests,noneofthe
cartridgecasesusedwercfauhy. (wonder
wha1 would have h a ~ with the6.Smm
Arisakariflechambered forlhe 30-06car-
tridge if1he head ofoneoftheca11ridgcs
hadcrackcdorsplitopenwhcnfired,rather
thanexpandingcvenly.Jthinklherttults
would have been different. A good 03
Springfieldactionwithitsfunnelbrecching
will withstand considerable abuse from
overloadshcavyenoughtocausehcad
cxpansion,butifthehcadofthccasesplits
wi1hsacha!oadthcnthesituationisdiffer-
-
en1.Sothatlamnotentirelymisundentood,
I do prefer the Mauser M98 breeching
methodoverthatoftheArisalui.andlprcfcr
eitheroverthcSpringficld.
Type 38, 6.5mm caliber: During WWII
m..cherroneoosinfonnationcirculatedabout
0
'thatsmallcaliberJaprifle.'"Manybelicvcd
thatthey,.-ereof''25caliber."'
BcforcNonnamadethe6.SmmJapanese
caruidge-=iallyas1lilable.i1wascom-
mon practice to rechamber the 6.5mm Arisa-
ka riflc or carbinc to the 257 RoberlS case
neckeduptoholda6.5mmbuUet.
AslongasNonna-=ial6.5lapan-
eseammunitionandcasesarea,.iilable,thcre
isoolongeranypracticalreai;on10havethe
Arisaka6.5mmriflcrechambered.ll,c:Nor-

Undtrtld9'MwoftheJapaneseTypa38
bolt l\ffd (45.5mm) lhowing: (A) gas vent
holt,(B)~.(C)boltl--with
unoa.cut,{D)~lllol,(E)loc:kinglugt
...
and(F)bcllt-ttopt.,g.TheType99bcllt.lhe
sarr.ucap11hatlhe1xtrad0fllcll•milllld
ent,retylhroughlhebolt-stopendloc:king
111116.Shpannf:caseisjustasrcloadabkas
.-,yocher.lfyooha,..,oneofthcscJapanesc
riflnand1fyouarcnotmrcifithasbttn
rechambcrcd,be1tcrhavei1checkedbya
rompc1rntgunsmithbeforeauentp1ing1ofirc
Nonnaammunitioninit.
Type 99, 7.7ntmcaliber. htrca11ain we
i..,..,thesamcsiruation.ltnolongermakn
SC115CIOrechamberthe7.7mmArisakanfle
bccauscNonnaalsolo.lsthis~gc.
BefoteNonnakiadedlluscanndgc.11..-as
commonprxtJCCIOrtthamber7.7mmArisa-
ka10l0-06,;aliber.OfC<.111nC.my,mwn.
bmnJtshanllypracticalsincethe
ll'ltmb:oonofNorma7.7mm.Japano:,elo.b.
Agama•••armng-ifyooan:notsureofthe
cllamberinyour7.7riflethenha,..,itchcckcd
by1oom~m1gunsrruth.
During 1he Korean ..-ar many Type 99s
"'ererechambercd for the 30-06canridge
and in 11ed to troops of the Republic of
Kon,1.TherechambenngwasdonebyU.S.
Ordnanceun1tssL11tionednearTokyo,Japan,
ldon'tknowhowthcscrifles"-m:recharn-
bercd-whetherthebarrelwassetbackor
not,orhowthemagazinc"''askngthencd,
beauselha,..,bttnunable10curruncone.
Thaenfles,;.-,beidtnliftcdbythemarlrn1g
CaL .30U.S. ~ootheleftsideof1he
recew«nng.
~b1li'wlgrillebe,,..11n11fflJ01hbofed,
and oft8n o f ~ oon.tructlon, l.a .. with
lhesmoolhboretubftthrea<ledO'IIOlhelal'QI'•
rainloroedchambersection .. tliownhere.
a.u----~
Jai-,,ldoplcdthiscartridgem 1897.lliS
• K'ml-nmmcd boctlmcckcd case pnmcd
,.,th1Bcrdanpnrncrof1,izcnevermack
.-·ailable to rdoadcrs. The '"6.5mm~ rqwe-
5eDU bore me, or the - as 256-<;aliber.
The standan:I Japan= military ball loading
wu a IJ9-~1n spit,:C'I' bullet, its m=k
vdoc1t)'about2500fps.Sponingammun1-
tion1nthi•c1liberi•still manufa<;turcdby
Normaandisavai1ablcthroughmanyNor-
madcalers.NormaofTerstwo6.51oadt -
ooewithal39-grai11semi-pointcd. softpoim,
boa11.11il bullet: the othe1' using a 156-grain
s.oftpo111tspitzerbullet. Muzzle,-ekxitie:sfor
t~loadsarc2360and2070fj)s.l't'spCC-
t"·ely.
Adopted by Japan 1111939, the 7.7mm
,;artndgc has a rimless bonlmcckcd CIIC,
Thei1andanlmih1aryballloadhas1183-
pa111poomcdbulletwith1muzzle,..,kx1ty
ofabout2300fps.Normalwooeloadfor
th1scartrid~ ISO-grainsoftpoinll!ffl'li-
po1ntcdboa11ailbullct.Thcl80-~i11load,
w11h1muzzlevelocityof2500fps.huat
200yardsa n,mainingenergyof 1770fOOI
""""·
forn,modelmg111toaspor1i111nfle,or
w;1n11~a,;tiontobuildarillc,Ariiakarifles
anefudovo11onthepopulantyhS1ofnfles.
U11ul Nonna ammwu\Klll becamo: a.-.,lablc
1n1heJapanc,cealibers.theAnsahnfles
"en:nottoeriouslyoonsidettdfor1un-
snn1h1n1 beause of the ammunition prob-
lem .Somcoftheirunpopularityisundoubt-
cdlyduc 1otheearlyunfavorablcpubhcny
l"'enthemdunngandshmly111ffWW1l.
lt0"·e,·C1', lbtlie,·ethemai11ruson"hY
·-·
theyha,·eno1beenuscdmon:frequentlyb
mnoclchnaisbcausethellttionisno1cuy
lhavcnotmnodelcdmanyAnsabnflcl.
lndlcanthmkofonly two ~ , . t , m l
builtacompletcrifleoothisaction. l ha~.
1iov,..,.,..,,,rechambcm:Lmanyofthe6.Ss10the
6.51257 Robnts.Sorneoftheseriflesan:llill
bein1uscdbytheirowncrsforhunting,:lecr.
Thcamateurgunsmithiscau1ioned 1obeoo
hisJuardagainstfapanesctn1inin1riflcs,
whichat'Cunsuitablcforanygunsmithin1.
Thesc~rifle,=di~mthecnd
ofth,schapler.
Thiscl-..prawouldnotbeoc,n,pkte"1th-
OU1 illusnoonsand~ oflhRoeoth-
C'l'typcs of Japane:sc military "''CapON UICd
beforcandcbtn& wwtl:the~npara-
ll'OOp models. lhcType ~rnfleandthe,'lfl-
OUSll'lllllllgrifles.
Thefintofthelllkcdo\,,npan11T00prifles 1t
senerallydcslgnatcdastheType0J>anitroop
ntle.Thisparticularmodelisquiterarc.andl
ha~ncverexaminedoneclosely. Probably
dc~elopcd around 1940, it is based oo 1he
Type99ArisalaaC'lion. Chambered for the
7.7mmJapancsecartridge.itwasmadc10thc
blrmandlon:ndassemblycooldbesqwau,d
fromthebuttslod:andactionuscmbly, ..,th
thelakcdovi11effectedbyanm1mup!Cd-
threadJ01nl betwcen~landre«"'C1'-h
fcaturcd1detathablebolthandlc.lthasa
2s.1s·bln-el,.-e,ghsaooJ18.75poundsand
69
 is44.25'overall.lnoriginaland,·erygood
lype38Artsaka cood,tim they're a desirable ,tern for any mit-
1wy wns wllection.
The!C<:Mdtakedo-,.npamroopnfkislhe
Type 2, (k-v(:lopcd in 1942 torcplatt thc
T)l)CO. Typc,2nflesalsouscdthc7.7mrn
cartndgc-,,,.-c,g:t,9pouods.andlhe1r2S.90"
baml mate 0>wall lmgdl 44.25'. lt has 1
cleano,arodinicrthc:~l..i11 ..illaa:q,1
lhe~J~l,,.)'O"Ct.
The1CU011oflheT)l,e2isal101mod,fica-
t,onofthebasic99action.hasinglhesamc
boltandmagazmeparts.
The Type 2 takedown system uses •
we<Jgc.throughthemassivcfrontparlof
lhcrcceivcr,tol>oldtheslip•filbarrclin
place.Tl>c:bam,lshankisroundand
smoolh c~ccpt for the solid lug undc:mcath
11.Thcfrontof1herccciverisborw1nd
millcd101cccpcthcluggedbamlsrulnk
Under the from pan of the rcccl\·cr,and
made in1cgralwith it,is1he1vym1!-Sof
s1«lthrouah"'hoch1sm1llcd1m:w,gular
holeforlhelakcdo-,,n~. lt i1sopo11-
1ioncd1hatthe"·ed~cngagc:sfon,.,ordof

70
71
 tary Rifles & Actmns

--....
:~lq
I AecelYw(x,pWIW)

4 Bolc,paprw,g
5 801-siopacrw,

~=sp,w,g
,
9Sear pin
105',ar spring
11Trigger

,.:~ ~pin
,_,.
15Exncb'ailll'

~ -~
gFloorplata~ pkl
24 Floo!platelalehll)!lng
2S Floorplatelalc:hretaiwr

i ~~
:HIFrortlrw,,,IIU'R:1-

» --
""
ll

lhcba11dlug.Aringcdscrcwonthcwcdge
1httadsin1othcsidcofthcr«eivcrand,
wilh the barrel and wedge in place. 1his
,crcwi1turned1<1dn.wthe"'~mdbarrel
bJhily IIIIO the ~ v n. Whom turned in the
oppoo1Cdim:tion,,tallow11he ..·tdgeand
barreltohercmond. II 11• .. mplcand
cffccuvc takcdo"''tl system fora m,htary
bolt-etlKlllnfle.
Thereisalsoamatch,ngwpedblotk of
mclalattachedlOthclifffl:hendofthe~l
tobu!lagains.therccei,-crwhcnlhcriflcisas-
tcmbled. Thefroottangofthclriggergwrdis
fmcdinloamilledrccessinthebonomofthe
m::eivcrlndheldinplaccwidi1-.Theex-
cr.rnttalinthcn:ai,wandoo1hebarrcladcls
O.fflhalf-pom,d101he ..-c1Jhtofllusrifle
c,ompamliolhereglllwTypc99ShonRifk.
Toetakm,.11sys1anoftt.:T)Pe2awears
rv.agc,d cnough and, "'lth !he v,cdgc dn"11
h~it,sprobablyanchon:das~lyinlhc
recc"·crasislheboltinthcn:ccivcr.
lypell9Artsalca
BecauseTypc2riflesan:noc,-eryoommon
thcywouldbe1,,onhmuchmorcq1a:,llcc•
IQr'sllfflliflcft"asissue<;I"
, ,.,. , . . . . . NIia
One of the unusual Japanese military
shookletarmsislheTypelrifle.Verylillleis
kno,.'1l1bootnsh1SIOl')'Hcq,cllwiti11
hybrid.madcinltalyfurhJmt.llhasfcatun:s
oftheltalianM91CarcanonBeandlheTypc
l8Arisab.Omnbcralfurthc6.Smmhpm-
esecanridgc.thcy"'-m:madcbythef'mro
Be.-euaftnninGudoni:.Jtaly,perhapsc,-cn
byOlhcr llalianfirms, 1 don'tknowwhenor
howmany"''m:madc.
TheTypc lri flcha9•30.S"bam:l,weighs
about9poond:sandis49.7S"=ll.Thebar-
ff'landsightsan:similarl0thoisconlhe,qp;-
lar )8 Arisib rifle, A half-kngth woodm
handguatdooven pU1 of the tlai'l't'l. ft has•
cleaningrodinthofo,a,dundorlhebandmd
theriflc-=P(Slhcff'glllarArisabbaymrt.
Theba=lbands,lndthomcthodbywhich
thcyan:~ldinplaccwithspringdips..lhc
grasr,inggro:wesinthcfomidandthe1ling

72

swi~ls.arepat1emedaftertheType38rifk:
itOCLNorangsarecmployoi
Therecei,·n.bol1andtriggermecharusrn
i,rcnear,;,op1aorme11a1ian M91 C -
acoon.andtheM_,..iypesu,gtffd.ooi-
umnmagazir.c rs1closecopyorthatorme
Type 38 IClion. Th,: trigger guanl bow is
lar-gclikcthatontheCan:aooaction.Thebolt.
firingrnc<:hanism,lriggcrrnechanism,safe,y,
,:xllaCIOr.boll.stopandejectoran:p,actically
idmticalto!MAltlt"partsin(heM9lClr-
anolCUOl'l,UIOl'lhlheyi,rcD01~
able.The~,l.'l"diffi.onfromtheCaianoin
that i t s ~ ••1~11 is wider, w i l h ~
guidclipsmillcdintohandlecartridgafrom
thc~lunmmagazir.c.Thefroo1of
theskoal~ispoovcdtoaa:ep ■ stnpp:r
dip.Thetn&(lff(Plll'd.magazincbox.floor-
plale. noc.plale lalch, follower and follower
springan:oearlyidmcicaliolhetepau111thc
w..,.,
Typc381C1ion.Typclaccionspc,csfollow:
=-~··· . . - - ~:~
Magazlntwell.,.,..,lng:
Widlh,-· ··············5'1()"
Ra:ci\-a-~ra:,:,,.,,,.ringdiarneltr,balt
~.balt1m"dllldstrimlm'dsellboof:
lhesane111nlheM91Cat:ailo11CU011.Seclhe
,;haplcronlhe~t91C~formoredetub.
or the thousand,ofmiliwy tines r,·c
scen.onlytwowm:Typclrifles.so l doublif
ma,iyarearoundAlanyrale.ifanyonewants
ioranodelor01)11Vffllhisriflethat•1hi1bus.i-
ness.bulllhmkt1"'wklbebcni:rio11ellor
ndoitio ■ m,hwyannsrolleaorandusean
M98Maiscr,..,·hidlisplcntiful.
TheType38TrainingRifleisoncofr•er-
al variationsof1n1iningordrill riflcsthe
Topv'llwollheJ•P'!nese HookSateryr.ctkln.(Boll
hendleisnotorigi,,.1).Notethetwogesventholesin
th8rOQ9iverrlngendth8oneinthebOlt.
Japanese made. 01nwardly. none of them
appeartobemu,;hdiffcrerufromthercgular
Type38.l:uout,,-ardappeanncffan:dcceiv-
ing. No di,,;ussion of Japanc,t" mi hwy nflcs
.....-...Jdbeeampln,: ..ilhoulmenoonoflhml.
Thercadershollklbe"''amC'd,t,o..,"C\-fl.that
thcseriflesare,-iri,.,./yd<Jngnv,tfiffirtd
,.-;rhli•'l'amm,mition
Although l",•c only~ abk 10 Cl<aminc
fouroflhesenflcsinthcpas1..all"''=e$$el>-
tiallyalikcinappearwa-c~forbol1and
recffi"ft"detail$. Thercpmbablyan:achi:nlhat
are different from theora I ha~xm. but I
belicvclheycanallbec1=lcdmlhcamc<;$-
cgory.O..twardly.thesc tra,nin1nflcsare
identical,orncariyso.tothcregularTypc38
infantry nnc. They are approxima1ely the
samc:"'"cighl.lcngthandsizc.andan:stockcd
inthcsamc:manncrandU$Lll.llyha""1,1ghts
5UtlilartolMTypel8. A ba)'OM!can be
an.chcd10thcrn,andoflcnlh1:y'~complctc
with1cleaninJ;rodundertbcbartel.Allha,·c
smoolhborrobartelsandarechambcmtfor
the6.5mmJapa.ncscblankortramin1car-
tridgc. The barrel maybeawom0Ulonesal-
,..gc<1 from I rq11W Typc 38 nllcand then
boredoutsmoodL.ormerelyap,«eoflllhmg
scrcwodinlOtbcheaV\tf(reinforml)brccch
endoftheband.
M05[ 6.5mm lnllrung rifles ha,·c • caSI
fOfllC(lironm:civcr.theuppc:r1angin1egral
with it. Oflcn lhc: outside finish ofthete
reo:iversisvcryruugh.Somcha,~1rea:i,·cr
madcofsteeltubulgwithdlcrcarlllll8"'~1ded
on.Praro,;allyallha~lhcrccftvcrJIOO,,ul
forlheslidina;boud!CO\ff.anda~leof
them l ~hadll,escar.'e.$.Allha,~•
roughcasttriggerguardwilhan1nrq,a]low-
er1ang. lns1eadofarcarguard1CR:w,thcsc
actionsusuallycmployeda~g...,n:w,;on.
nccting the IWO iangs. On one rifle I exam-
incd.onlythebarrelbandshcldlhebarreland
actioninthestockandtwo"'OOO...,n:wshcld
thctriuc,-a,wdandmapz,ne111plaa:.
l ha~1Ccnthm:difTcm>11ypcsofbolts
aodrccft,ffllm~11"311Un&nfles.O,.had
1SUlndanipat1Cmboltwithvual-opposed
lockin1lupwhichcngaged,nlhem:ci,·cr
ring.andwasfiucdwiththcslandardlong.
non•ru1111ingcxtrac1or. An(lUlcrhada bolt
withlhmdual-oppos,edlocki111lug1"·hich
cng;agcdinlhcreo:iva-rin&,bulwilhalhin
5pV1&e.ttnc10rmonised111thebollbodyand
ulcndmgthroughaslotthrough!Mright
krlinglug. ThcJz,ionchadnoforwanllodt-
inllluas.thccxlractorfmedin(hebol!hcld.
andaribon(hebohwhicheogagedfo""-ard
oft!IC n:cci,·crbridgctohold!heaction
....
closed.Allofthcscboltsappe=c!IObecast·
Thcsc1Ja1111ngriflcscanU$Lll.llybeidcnti-
fifflbytheir.smoodi~butthe-=
methodi110remove(hebfflcland1C1ion
fromthcSIOCk,andifthew,gisintegralwilh
the receiver. or welded in plaa-. thc,n you
know forC<"TUin Iha.I it isa r,-ining rifle
.
Rcgardlewoflhc:typeofboll ii has.these
-
rifles should never be ftm:1 w,lh bu.Uetcd
,
ammmuuonorthellCUOl'llmclforbuildmga
or
RcgulariswcJapancsemiliwybolt•action
rifles incahbcn 6,S and 7.7mm ha,~ the
Japancscunpcrial,ealswnpcdonthe10pfor-
wardpanofthereo:ivcr.Th11aealilround.
uptoliOO.Ol7/16~indwneler.lnd~
asunno..nordaisyblossomwtthSl!ltecn
petals.J1isoftenrrlcned10uthc"nsingsun~
or "chrysanthemum" marli:i"i. On many
Japancscriflcs lhissealhasb«npanlyor
cntirdygrounda..,-ay.indicatrn&thcscpartic-
73
 M1l1tary Rifles & Actions

TheJapaneuHoolcSafetyaetionNole:Thebollhenchontt.
actlonisnoloriginal. Theoriginalbollhandlehas•ttraighlshank.
oval-ahaped gral9ing knob and ~ profects straighl out to the right
whentheaetionisclosed,atra,ght upwtienlheaetionltopen.

--
Japnsa Hool( Sal8ty Action

=. :·
= :
Extnoctor ••••
8olt..top ..
Ejector . .
lllarrifle:s ..-m=Sllfm'IOCffll.Rillcswiththe
5callllllllUt:bcdwm:genen.lly,;apa=.larms
Bclowlhc imperial Kil are ilan1j)Cdthe
Japancsccharactcrsinditatingtlletypeand ccdumfollov,•cdmJapan,sothe lmalnum.- lhavcneversccnorcllalt1inodaJaparocsc

ycardcsignationoftherifle.~markilljlS
art-illUMfltedr.carlty.Theimpmalsealisno1
foundon Japaneselnliningnllc$,buta few
areman:Nwlthhpancsechanclns10md1-
cau:1bcyareforuscw1thblankcanridges
onty.Somclirncstbcrcisanothermarkingon
-
berinitsclfmeanslinle.TheTypc38action
picturM in this chapler has a !er.al number
wcllover5,000,000,wh~h11111ybcsomc
indication u io tbc number of these nfles
Oneorrnorevarioussmallmarl,;ingsoftrn
mihtaty rifle which. MCIU!e ofiu hoolt,like
$afcty, isusua.lly~ledthe HookS.fcty
J ~ r i f l e. lhaveKldotnreadanythi1141
abo,11ile11hcr.Thereforc l canwritc:only
abouttheloClion.ana,ctionwhichloblaincd
onloenfromakindruder.anac1ionwhich

-
then:«ivc-rringofthesetrainingriflcs,prob-
ablythemarkoftheancnaJ11,·hichmade
lhem.TheTypc99(1a!evaso,)riflecarrics
theimpmalacal,buthasnotypeorycar
O nall6.5and7.7 JapancKboh-action
riflcsl',..,5Cffl.thescrialnwnberisstampc,;I
on the lcftsidcofthcm:civCT, below the
groo>-efortheslidingbreechco,·cr.lhavc
noinformatJononthcscrialnumberingpro-
prccedcorfollowlhe5Crialnwnbermarking.
These mark$ may bcuxnal id,i:nuf~ation
marband/or M'KNII proofma.b. On Type
3811Crionspa1ofthelerialnumbcr it: usually
awnpedonthcunderskkoftheboh handle
base.andon,omeoftheo!hcrpans u wcll.
suchasthelrigger..,Jlriggerguard
lwillmdthischapltrwith1descnpt10nof
pahapsdx:,-,ilndffll.lSlunUSIW.lapmesc
rnilrtaryrifleactionofall.
originallyhadthobol1handlereplacedThc
ffll.lSllhaver.'Cl'radaboulitisinlhobook
SltouFil"ffl/1tA"1"'mwhichllw:author,
Brad(ord Anigcr. dcscriMS this rifle he
obta,nodwhileintholerViceintheSoulh
P11eif1cduringWWll.Hcidm1ificsituthe
''ThinyYcar" Japancsc Cllmine.l1evidently
wasaforcrunnerofth.T~38.
Thclttci,'Cl'ofth.JapaneseHookSafe!y
acuon u ofone-p,ca:oomtrucrionprowbly

74
bc1na machined fmm • l'orJini. 11 is btiicalty
round~lor11la111m1aroundthemaga-
zincboxandonbolhsidcsofthefromguard
,cm,,!IIW.Thm:1snorccoill11J1worthmcn-
11011ing.althoughthesto,;k1n11yha,~beenfil-
tedwithascpara1csteellu&intowhich1hc
au,.rdscrewstudfiucd.Then:ttl\-crtangis
$e\"fflllincheslong.theloadU1j1pc.,opcning
1bou12•11•_,.iththe=a,-crpropcrminus
iaia;8indw:$long.The10poftheblidgeis
rucelytontOUfflland,u'°"""lrdedgehasa
~dipslotsunilariolluloftheModcl
98MaUiC"rmililaryac:,ion.Abolt-SIOpSumlar
tothatUKdontheGcnnanModcl88Com-
m1ssionrifkandonthcMannlichcr/Scl,oe..
na...... actionisfi11edin1hercarltflsidcofthe
blidge,andtheright,idcwallnotchcddecply
lortheroo.ofthebolthandle. ThisOOIChis
sunilarroltwl"oundonthe.bpano,eModels
99or38Ansabacoons.Thercarendofthe
uingis!qllll'Cdoff.
Theinsideofthen:tt1,wt$machtnedoo
IICC("J)( the t"·o-p1«c boll Wllh its dual-
oppofCd forward lockms luss. and this
mtansthalraccwaysarcc111ioallowpassage
ofthclocking\ugsallllshouldcnmachincd
1nsidclhercceivcrringforthclu115toengage
w1th.Bothlockinglugsarcwlid.AJCPM3te
quick-detachableboltheadw1th1fla1faoeis
fitttd1n10thelrontofthebohbodyandhcld
1nplxeby1smalllu1onthcbol1hcad
flll&l&ITTiin1m,11chU1Jslot1nsioktheboli
body.Thisbol1hcaddoesno1rotatcw,ththe
boltbody.Fitttdinagrt)O'~inthenghtsi<k
ofthebollhead.andbctwccn,1and1hcboh
body, is the simplconc-p1«esprings1cel
HlrlCtor...·h,lcthcshdmgc.,«torisfincd
onthcleflsl(lcin1dovcuiil.Thcunngc,-
mcn1 of the boh head. e~uactor and c.,«tor
isalmos1idcntic1l1olhesystcmu,edin1hc
Getman M-88Con,m1ss1on and early Mann-
lichcr/Schocna..cr actions. And as on 1hcse
rifl01i,thebree,;hofthcbam,l1sn:«S$Cdand
sJoucdon~hsidcstoaccq,tthcfrootmd
oflhcbohhcad.utnctorandcJ«IOrThcn:
arcnoaas,·en1holesm1hcboltbodyor
hcad.butthcffarctwosmallanglcd , ...,,
holes1nthe10poftherccel\-anna;1njlll'IC-
IIDrl"''ththebree,;hofthebam,I,
The bohh.alllllc(N111e: thcon&in.rol boh
handleonth111ciionhasbcalrcploccdwid!a
rno<k:rn-s1ylcdoneJisanintegmlpanofthc
boltalld,1sroo1se.-.·esasthc!ialfc-tylod111g
lug,.hichfitsinto1deepnolehmach1ncdin
then&Mrccc,,a-bndgc:"-all.Aflangccnc,r-
tlesthcrcarmlofthcboltandllf:l'\UIOseal
offthelock1na:l11grxc,,,-ays.JUS11hcadof
thos ~ 1he bolt IS machined IO provKlc.
prchrnma,ycocklnacamforthefinnamech-
Wlultthefron1cndof1hcboltw1th1tsscp-
arateboltheadammgementisafarmharonc.
no1sothearrangcmcntofthcpartsonthcrcar
oflhcboh. TosaythelcaSl.it 111,·Cl)'odd
arrangcmcntofpartsthalrn.,leupthc.saf1'1y.
cocl:ina~andolherpartstocock1hc
stnl:crl,.-aspuulcdbyitandlhadthebolt
onmydc$kfor1endaysandM1llrouldnot
di5ro\-crhowlO~IIIOfilldOIIIJUSI
how11wor1u,<J.h,.-asnolunti!lrcadabotrt
thisaction1n8ndfordAniger'1bookdtdlget
1hcstnkcrmc,ch.anismdisasscmbletl. I won-
dcfNjUM"'halthcdtsJ&ncrof11hadinnund
~-1t,.-asWN,lyonc:ma.sterp1«eof
'""""""""·
Theboltisdnllcdandbomloutfromthe
froo1 towithmaboul I.~• fromthemirend.
lca,•ingacollara1 that point through"·hich
thcrearendofthestrikc.-rpr'(IJ«ts.Theonc-
plC'ttstrilcralsohasawllarneariistipand
the coil ma,nspnng ,s compressed bcr,,,ttn
thesctsovcollars.
Th115farnisJimplcenough.but,.-a11.,t
pcomphc:a1cdThcrcarendofthcboltis
1lsomaclunedowforthecollarand1safc-
ty'half-cocking cam opcmng made into it
"hilcMilllea,·ingaeollar.
Whatfollowsisf'l.\lWC11lblyofaoomplC1C-
lystrippcdbol1,1npropcrordrr.Takingthe
striker "ith mamspnngslippcdov,:rit_ po,si-
1>00itinlolhcbolt. Nc,:.1QJmCSihepaMwtuch
lwiUcallihesuikcrJc11".1smallpan""hich
has1triangularJea1"projoctingfromi1and
which has a bole throuJh 11Scerllcrpartly
thm,,dcd.Th,1"'1kcr_,-islhenpositioncd
IRSidothercarmdofthcbohsothatthen::ar
endoflhestrikcrcanpll.'5through11.
Ne:<tcomcsthehooksafety.apanthatcan
alsobecallcdacockmgp1«cb«auscthc
strikercanbecockcdwithit.anditisshpped
1n10themiroftheboh."''ththchookoppo-
sitclhcbolthandle.Tluspu1hasra.inproJ«-
IIORS on IIS forv.wd ml thal mpg,: in
rnalehmgD01Chesmthercarlhrt:adedendof
~tcr~kcrK:111",lhcpurpo,sctobecxplaincd
Nci<tcomcs1hcstnlcrhcad. ltis1spl11
ra.o-piecepanthrt-adcdatitslronttoshpimo
75
 ' • ! I I

thcsafetyandlhfUdrointothclbi«rKal",
Thc:n:arcndofthostrikcrhaJr,,1!a,oo--c1
turnedllllOit,andthcinsidcofthcr,,-o-pitte
suikcr head 1w two rnalelu"i collars so thai
theparttdhalvcscanfitovertherearofthe
striker and en&-3ge with it with the 1wo
hal,-c1held10&ctherbythesafc1yandthe
threadedCfld. Now, 10-.,cmt,lc 11, thesttik·
ermusthepushedbackinlothebolttocom•
prcssthema1nspringfully.Thc:1wohalvcsof
thesuikcrhcadues!ippedon1othccndof
1heprotrudingstrikcr.and1hestrikeri1
al1011,~toSofon,,'ffl:laga1n,dn;wingthe
saiker head panly into the safcty. To fmish
thcjob,thcstrikcrheadis lhenrumedclod<•
wiscunnl,t,sfullythreaded,ntothesuikcr
scar,whichwil!~uin:lboutfourrums
Thcreistsmal!plungeTinthcknwicdcnd
inooeofthcsttikcrheadhalvn,anditmu.si
he~onthclasttwoturnsinordcr10
slippas1thcsafety.Todisuscmblcthisrn:-
ation,mnovcthcboltheadfi1$t,andwith1
mmlrod,.•hichwillslipintotheboltbody
heldinavisc(NOlc:theclcaningrodinthis
carbmelw1hcadsp«if,callymadctoscr.·c
asthistool).and,.iththcbolttnooehand
andthcsttikeruponthccndofthcrod.presa
do1t•nonthcbol110pushthcatrikerinasfar
asi1cango.Thc:n:arendofthcatrikerwill
th<=nprojcctfarcnoughoutofthcboltand
safetyto allowthetwohalvuoftheatrikcr
headtobeshppedinplacc:thatis. ifyour
fing,ersofthc~handuell<kptathan-
dli"i r,,·o pans. When ,n platt, relu the
prcssureonthcboltandthestrikcrhead"ill
movein1othcsafctyandthe1hreadedcnd
willron1&c:tthestrikerscar.Now1um1hc
striker head doctwise 1D1til uii,t. The striker
head IS filt<'d w,th I small spnng-backcd
plunger.andnlwtobc:depn:sscdtoslip
undcrthesafetyonthelasttwotwns.Con-
vmcly,th1s plungeThastobc:depresscdon
disa=mbly. Thc:proccdurcforccq,leledis.
asscmblyisiotumthcstrikcrhcadcountcr-
cloctwise until the threads ue out of
engagcmcn1.andus.ingarodumentioncd
bc:forc,pushthcwikcrmtothcbol1asfar as
itwillgo,rcmovcthcsplitsrrikerhead,and
ricr.,,l:llbcfon:thcricrC.,(finnapmC.,)
pm(Ndcsfrmtthei..lll'aoc.W>ththcsafetyin
thispositionthchookobscurcsthct,ghllinc
andlocksthcboltcloled Tofirethcnlle, the
suikcrmustbc:cockcdagainandtodothisit
lwtobc:pullcdbackviathcsafetyandthe
safetyswu11g10thelcfl
lun3jpnelhistSlhercasoowhylhasriflcis
callcdthcHookSa(etyriflc.Any,,11y.bc:fore
thcsafetyhcdc;an bcswunglOthc left, it is
bc:inghcldbackfarcnoughsothat" hcni1is
swungallthcw•ythc1Clionis<XKkcdand
llladytofire.Cloimathcaction.putt,ngiton
safe andoodma •lplll~ bc:qud:lyor
con,·enimtlydone. Onereasonthcsafetyis
1111too1wcnicnclyopnatcdisductothcpuny
fingcrhook
Disasscmblyinthcf1tldoflhcfiriiij1mcch-
...umsurclypoecd1~thrc.itoflosing
pan:s11bothcndsofthebolt.
This bolt has OOI • single ~
fcarun,,or1tlcasllha,1:001found1t.
TIIC1riggcrmcchanism isa simple. but
nothcrcrudc one comprised ofthc crigger.
sear,Kal"sprin&andl'<l-opinsonwhxhthtsie
rwomainpan:sp1>"<lland-hcldtnpla<;c. On
thc fromrndofthcsur.andutenchng
Ufl"llrdlhrough a holcmthtre,;:c-,,w,thcn:is Adole-updelailolthehook&afetv
I pin. There IS I ma1ching gnx,,,e c:u1 tnto thc
boltbodysothatunlcssthcbolt isfi.tllycloscd rockonth,cup,swingofthcboltllandlc.bul
thccriggcrcanno1bcpullcd10firethcrinc. mstcaditwasmadciorockonlhccloistngof
Thissamcarrangcmcntis used on the later lhcbolt. ThisisOOlallO(ICthcr"-1.bul l tee
Ari$1kariflcs•""'ll • mthcP-14andM.17 nort,ymc:orn:asonmlhcdesignofthchook
Enfocldaction1. safety. Tobcg,n.lhchook11100srn:all.Rather
Thc:triggcrguardandmagiwncplatcisa thanbc:mgdcsigncdasasafety.itappcarslO
onc-piccemachincdsiccluni1withah,olea1 mctha1thchookwasputthcn:inordcrforthe
each end toacc(lll the two guard screws JOlmcrtorccocklhcstrikcrincas.eofami1-
which thttad intothc m:c-ivcrtoholdthc ~.butwithlhchookil100small10dothis
.cbOnintheJICd..Thernagmnelloorplltcis wnham.Andasb1 ,afay.llflcrthc11:00n1S
dctac~lcandlw:ld1nplaccby1spring- ood.ed,thishookc;anonlybc:1"''111lgdoY,11n,.
loadcdcatchpos11,oncd inthefnxnorthe qwnna that 11 be pulled bed a slight amoum
guardbow.Fittcdbc:tw«nthccriggcrguard firsc.Whcnswungdown,thescrikcristhcn
and m:ci~cr isa shed metal rnaaazmc box. put on SAFE. IIO'lll:'•er. thcn: is no positi,l:
Thc:magazinefollovi-crisalsoashcctmctal hlltmgpointtostopthcswongofthchook
.swnpmgandH1SprovidedlmSionby1,;ig- Ullll]itscndtooc:hesthcstockandlhcnllis
Di'"in:spnngfittedtobolhthclloorpla,c
andthcfollowcr. Thi,isth,cfirschiJl,-pow-
cn:dactionlhavce>'crsoenusingsprilijl"in:
.......
OOlc&SllyS...""l!bedapin.hisaudcl0$1y

presto,e>'ttythingeomcsapart.
How docs the bolt and llrikc:r ~
linctionandhowisit~To,q,laocthc
i..llinthcrecc,,'ff,the51fety(thcsafcty.Jc,,w
isthclargcrhcd)mustbc:IOthclcft---q:,po-
s1tcthebolthandlc.Cockin&occunonclosing
thcbolt,andonrumingthcbolthandledown
thcactJ011islockcdandcockcd.Pullingthc
rriggcr.,,iUn:lea$cthcllrikc:rQf~thcriflc,
lfthcnlleisllllttobc:firedandputonsafc
instead.then pullbadonthcSlfetyhook,
swingthchookur,rightandcasci1forwardor
rcleascitmfallforward.Eithcrwaythcrille
won·1firebc:causcthctwinpro:ie,:tionsonthc
rndofthc: safety no lonacr•ll&" with the
1111tchesofthcstrikcrxar.thushahingthc
forafollowcrspnna.
Allinall,this1ctionis"dlmadcbulpoor-
lyOCS1gncd.lnpanoculu.bolhendsofthc
bolt.Forcxamplc,takethebolti.c.i.F"1tkl-
stnppingthisbol1"·hileonanyth1ng01her
than1ban:floororban:ground.thcbol1head
asscmblyrouldcasilybclosc.andifOOlthc
entire uni1. the exuaclOr and/or thccJector
c:ouldbc:mon:casilylost.Jha,l:eotnCICTOSS
cp.n1e1fcwGcrmanM88Comrruss,onriflcs
w1ththcboltheadmissingotthcc~tractor
gonc,probablyduc10havingbccnlosl.This
surelyisadcplorablcanangcmcn1foramili-
taryrille.
Thc:..,..cndofthcboltisjustaboo.l: • "-l
Th1s1Ctioncouldha,·ebc:cnmadc10fully
Andcrudcrsti!listhccn1,n:cockingmcch-
anism. NDI having any msD\ICUonS OIi how to
diSISSll.'rllblctheboltandfinngmecharusm,1
IOOk-hourslOfi&l"H.Uout.Any,oll)'n
"111oowondcrwhyth1sHook SafetyriOe
" ·nh ns n,thcr compheated 1ction was
n:plai;e,;lbythcT~J8rint
Ap'eatrnany.lapanesc111lcs,...,,..,brou&hl
llllOthcUmtedStatcsbyG.baftnWWll,
andmanymon: ..·m:11nponcdand10ldby
dcal<:1$inmilitarysurplusanns,sothcto!al
numbcrm1heU.S.muS1bcgrca1. Manyof
thtmwillremain10U,'Cllirsandmanyofthc
bcucr,pmmensandthcnon:ronesiw111~
lccoonlorwillbc:obwncdfurthisplll>OIC.

76
T 11E CALIBER 45-70 single shot ,rap-
door" Spnngficld nnes and carb,nes had
ser-.'cdtheUni!NI StatesAnnyquitc,.-cll
sincelll73,whenthemodelwasadopledBy
thelatel880s,ho"'cver.militarymcnwere
di,contm!Cd With it. and ii .... felt Wu I
smokeleu-p010,'dcrcanndg,,and1repeauna
nflc TO handle" "-ere nttdro. Some oflhe
olherlOuldpol''eJ'$had~aoopcdlh,:x
changes. includi111 Francc(8mm in 1886).
Gcrmany(8mmin 1888).England(JOJin
1888) and Belgium (7.65 mm in 1889). To
wori,:10wan.lthi t change.boardsofinquiry
-..1ffappoin!ed10loolr;imod,eRlectionof1
suitablencwnflcandl:8l"lridflc,10dclefnune
by10St1hcbt$1nlle10adopcandrmnu6,,;t,,n.
lnl890.--.eSlnfleswm:subnilled(--.e
wereneariyf.likcorminor,-ari.orionsofthe
sameacrion)forthe!cSls.
Among the rifles submittod were the Lee
Mapzinl:S)'$lcn'l,Mauscr(BelgianM1889).
s ..issRubin.FrmchBerthier.GcrmanCom-
miwon Ml888. Mannlkher. !NV11gc and
Kng-.kirgcmmlncxlmlally.thc!N. . . -..-.
anearly,-er,ionoftheM99.ale-.'t'factioo
withrowy-spool magazine.~ • n:sullof
thcsclrials.thcKrag-Jorgcnscn(withsomc
modificationtLObcnuwk)wasadoptcdin
1892.willtal'O)'lltylOtheinvcntors.
Tlmrifk-•jojr,linvomonoftwoNor-
...-cgians:Capc. Olo Hamann.lohaine$KJai
andErikJOfiCMC!1. Dmma1';had1ln:ady
adopted theirdesii" in 1889, but Norway
wai!Nl10dotoun1ill894.
Adopcodwillrthcncwriflc""ll5 1 newJ0.
caliber c.vtridjc. Using a rimmed. bonlc-
lltdtdcase. it wulhe fil'Sl U.S. mihtary
artridgcloldodwuh51DOkclesspo,,·dcr--
officia.llylhe-JOAnny"or-30Go>"ffllfflffll"
or.morepop,1arty.the~30-40iu.a,.-Morc
onlltccanridgclater.
A11houghofflcial!yadopcodin1892.,1was
!IOIun1il 1894 UQ11 Springfield Annory
(Springf1tld.Mau.)"-assuffK:icntlytoolod
..,10bcginmakinJlheKng.Mcanwhile.lnd
for~yu,naftcrl892.lheold4S-70
Spnngficldcoollnuod111$Cl"via:usc..Lnr.ct.
notenoughKr,gshadbcenmadebyl898TO
ann all of our sold,cn who fou&J,1 ,n Cuba
duringthcSpanish-AmeritanWar,andmany
ofthcold731were,,sodinthalshor1bu1ros1-
lyconflict.
n.1ra1---c.....
All U.S. Krag rifles and cafb1lll'I lll"C
martodonlhc:leflsidcoftherccei=rough-
lyasfollows
U.S.
MOOEL (year) SPRINGFIELD
ARMORY (serial number)
Onlynnesweremadcar fi111, these the
Ml892.0nthis riflc.thcwonl l'tlOOE L was
omincdfromthcrcceivermart.ingandthey
""lffstampod l 894,indicalingonlylhcyear
lltcywcn:madc.•ThcM1892(markod l89-&)
hasalO"ban-el wnha flatmuzzle,anmrod
undcrlltct.Tcl.•~SIOd.andno
lnlpdoorm1hc:bunplate.Thcfirs1ddivmcl
wcn:madcinthefallofl894.
AvcryfewtestMl892cafbincswerealso
made. These had a 22~ bam:1, were .stockc:d
nearly10themuzzlcandhadamnrod.All
militaryU.S. Knpwcn:madc-..,lhoolapis-
lOlgrip.
Somechanges-..·eremade,and1Model
1896riflcandcaminewm:broughlout-..d
s,om&rted- inll1111y,:ar.Thcmuulcwas
crowncd.ther11mrodwasclimina1od.andaJ.
l)fflscctionalclcaningrod,10be110ffliin1
bolcinthcbunsloci<WOOib • lnlf!inlltcSICCI
bunplalc."-asfumishcd.Thcbunpb!CTOC
-..-.IUUlldedalto.
ThcMl892KragriflesalrndymUJCm
thc&klwm:n:twncd10theannoryandcor,.
Vffled10thcM1896pattemToidcntifythcsc
convcncdmodcls.lookforMl896featwes
onlhoscp,ccabearingthcl894d:itc.
Thcfirs1rcalcarbineproducl1011bepnm
l896.ThcMl896carbinchadahalf-lniith
fon:nd,.1thablrrt'lt.nd10holdfortnd.hand
guardandbam:liogcchcr.Thcbarmbancllics
againstthcfrontendof!hcrearsightThese
•n.e....,..._tru.s.~--•m
.... l,,;lod,, .. ..... - ........ -
carbines had no ramrod or shna S"Awds. bul
were fitted ,.,th
a 90-Qlllod saddle ring on Thc
lcflsideofthcJIOCk.
ThcbiggcsichangestobothKrapcame
withtheMl898riflesandcart,,nc,.Thcrwo
mostnoticeablechangcs"l.'felhcn:,-crsalof
lhemaau,nctutoffsothal1t"'llS llllhcON
pos1tionwhenswunadown.bychanp,gns
.spring,Qclirninalinglhclipunderlhcboh-
handlcnotch. FarmoreMl898nfles"-cre
madcthananyothcn.nearly26J.000of
them. Only .S000 M!898 camilll'!I were pro,
'"""·
The Ml899 Krag cafbinc had a formd
abou12"k:ir,.-rlhanlhcM1896typeandused
1hc$1mClengthhandguard as 1hc:riflc. This
placedthcbam:lbanclabout2"1headof1hc
rear1igh1. Thcsaddlcring"-as om1tted,and
somc"l.'femadcwillt a knurled,butunflar"'1.
rocking piccc-tommonly called a ~hcad-
1css·· iypc.
A number of very m,norchanges wen:
madc1n1hc:KJaifroml894oo,bullltcyan:
notuni-,icnough10bernenooncdbeR..
Vanousrearsigj,tll"l.'feabollJCld.and~
aswcll as otherchanges.an:cm·cra!thor-
ooghlyinOlherbooks.
Someunusualandnowrarcvcnionsofthe
Kn.gweremadc. ThcCadclrifk"'ll!lsimilar
1othcn:gularMl8'il6,but11lackodsling
S"A1>-clsandhadanunrod.
A few 22 nmfin: Gallery Pract,cc nfles
,.·cn,madc11Spnngf1tldArmory1nl906.
Theywcn: t lfl&lcshotnflesbtieclonlltcM98
ac1ion,thebam:lsoffsc1a1thcbrec(:hand
made wi1h an a..xiliary c~tractor. ~ 22
bam:b:wcrcmadcundcrlhcwuchfulcycof
famed bam:lmaker Harry Pope. Some. at
lcasl,carryhisnamcswnp.
Alla"lhel903Springficldnllcswm,inpro,
ducuon.mostoftheKragnllcsandarbincs
"l.'fe sold 10 NRA mcmbm through the DCM
(~)U.S. ~ M o d l l 1 8 9 8 " " '.
n
Munbdic\'lblylowpriocs.•Thecarl>illa;"m,
farRKndosirahlclMnthe ri fles,.somanyof
theM98Kragriflcswerccoo,'cmdtothecar-
-
bme~lcatWBeniciaAno:rw.Thesewere
likctheregularM99carbine.butcamewith
s1,,.sv,,,"cls..:IOJ~l'rontsights.
"' ....
Asalrcadyrneoooned.dlOICchansesmadc
in the K111g action "-m: minor, rdari,'dy
un,mponam. Because the M98 Knig was
madcinthclargcslnwnbmandi1thcmodcl
mos1likcly1obc-,i, l'lldcscribci1,
ThcKraghasa,-ery.vnoolh-"'Ol'king1WT1-
bohllC1ionwithauniqllcnon«laehablc.but
qu,ek-loadablc.horizontalrnap:zine. l1is
probablyoncofthcsmoochcstboltattions
c..-nmadointhcUru1cdStatc$.but11docs
ha•~111fauhs.as"''Cshal1fft'.
Then:oei,-n,.25prcc11elymaclunodfmm
•-p,c«stttlforging.Thebarrelllltlvead·
cd(~1ypethmld:s)imothc&on1ofthc
recciver.Thebarrel.madcw1thoutashoulder,
hasaflatbrttchendwhichbunaagainS1arol-
larmachinedinsidethcrecci,·erring.Thc
roundm:eiHTnnghasno=oilshouldcT.
Thelcft"-allofthen:oeivcrcon\JnuesSU1Jghl
backfmmthering.and11U1Cell1Snotmillcd
outloralocl<inglugraccway,it11"Cf)'lhick.
The m:iei..erbridgc isslonN for the c,nraaor
lndtoppanofthcboltmc"\'C.bulnatinlly
1w nocw forasmpptTchp. since thcmag:a-
1.1ne can only bc loadcd from thc ,idc. Thc
m:eiverendsinatang,roundcdoo lop
--.-.. _~_...,.,.
· - • ........19llll.1--•--..r
_,,.. __ __
. : . . . - - -.. b : 1 . - ( _ ) _
::i=.==..i~=.l~~-=~
. . -.OJ-.. .
--_olf_l_,._. . n.i-a-
pM,1., . . Jl,j(I . . U-bomlocl.-111111--
1--ol-.i:.,.-,
lhoy_ ..- - -
78
The-p,c«smoolhlymachincdandpol-
imcd bolt 1w • single forward locking lu&
whichcngagesamatchingmorti~millcdin
the bottom fron1ofthcrecciver,jus11othc
rearoftheinternaloollaragainslwhichthe
brmdabuu.Then:arsurfiw:eofthismortueis
panlyinclmcd10thatthck:dungluganpan
apurcN1Kon11"henclo6ingthcboh,10
loroeitlon.wdtheml.lSf.1'ag&lRSlthcien.
sionofthemainspmgsd'oca~
canridge:.V.'hentheboltislo,,:kcd,thelockmg
lugisattheboltom,butonthc: 1/•-tumrcqun~
to open the bol~thclugistothcrighl
0nlhcCfflteroftheboltbody,90"tbovc
thelock111J1lug,thercisaguideribabou1
2.7C'f'Joni.Asthebohis<.>pencdandcloted.
th,s guodc rib. and attached long extractor.
slidelthrougblhe$1otinthercccivcrbndgc,
hclp,ng10prc,·cntanyb1ndingofthcboh
mo·ocnw:nt.Morcimportantly,howC"''tr,thc
guidcnbpnwidesanawtiliary$afccylock,ng
lugfor1hcbolt;i1cngagcsforwardof-bu1
doc,no1contactbyafcwthousandthsofan
inclt-lhc&on1cdgeofthcbridgc.
Thcbolthandlc,intcgntl withthebol~ison
lheutremen:arofthcboltbody.Etsbitse,s
"'l""tt;1tsshankissnight.mund,beavylnd
tllpertd;lnd1t(n(is1naroondgrasp,ngball.lt
,spos,nonecl11a,-eylowanglc"+.mdx:bolt
isckiecdandis5llllsuff1ciendylow"+.mful-
lyr.wicdtoclcartheeyq,iea:ofalowm011111.
cd5COJM'.Thera:eivcrwigisdcq)lync,11,,hcd
10roccivcthe1quarcbascofthebohhand!c.
andallhou&hthercisnoona!!yconsideniblc
spacebcr,,·«ntherearofthchandkbascand
thenotch,thlllprov;desanoihersafel)'luglO
holdtheboltlfltherccci,'trshouldlhcsonglc
forwardlock1nglua;andtheguodcribf1il.
MorcontheKngloctingsys1ttnlllcron.
lllcrightrcaroftherecc"-nbndge,s
slightly angled. Pnnwy cxuacuon Pll"'ff is
achic,'tdonra1singlhcbolthandlc"·hcnits
basc$lidcstlongth,ssurfa,,:c
Thefa,,:cofthcboltisrccessedthcdcpthof
the3040canridge:nin.Thcrimaroundthi1
m:cssisquitethin.butwhcnthcbohisclosed,
the head of the boll fits snugly within the
m:eiverringoollar.Thusthecanndgchrad
andrimarcfullymcloscdandst.lJll)Ol1Cd
Thefirinemcdmusmishcldinthebol1by
aprojoctiononthcboltsl«\'C"1uchismillcd
10ro.mahootcnpg,ngll'ffaraiscdsem1•
c,milaroollarontherearendofthcbolt.llus
pro;e,ctionhousesthcrotarywingsafcty,and
inaslotiniu&ontpan.thelongcx\J"OCIOl' is
held,.·itharivctdriveninfromtheundmidc.
Thestrikerrod.w,thitspm,cd-oncocking
piett,cxlt'nd.\throughtheboltsl«\'C;thecoil
mainsprinais~overthcstrikcrrod
agau,stthcfiomofthcboltslccvcandthellOl)-
... ic firingput. lllc finngpm fitso,·era
a,oo-1:onthefrontofthettrikerrod.Whcn
thcstrikcr1sforward,1cock,ngcamonthc
bonomofthecockingpiettcxlt'nd.\forward
intoadeepnou:hcut,mothcrearofthc:bolt;
onraisingthebolthalwJk,lhccoo;kingpi«e
isforttdback.cockina:thcac1ion
Thesafe1ycons1fflof1"1na•typek:>1:r,10
"tiocharoundstcmispcrmancndyprCS'lcdin
placc,andasmallJPfUliandplungcrllSSml-
blcdinthc,.ingbcfoo1:thcllmland,.ing-
joined TheS1rmofthc11fccycxtcndschroogh
ahokmthcuppcrpanofthcboltsl«\1:"ilh
1heplungcrcngag1naashallowgroo,·ccu1
1n1othcbol1slcc,'C.Swungtothefarlcft,1he
safety is in the: 01'1' or FIRE position. When
!he striker is cocked, 1iW1nging the safety
uprightortolhcfarnghtpo5itionlocksboth
strikermidbolt.Thcrei!lawodcnotchrotinto
the10pofthccockJJ1&p,ttt10allowthesafc-
1y1<1bcmpgcd(JW1111gupor10thcright)
"·henthcstrikcrlllforward.lockrngthcbolt
closcd.Whcchera,ckedocun,;,ocl<cd,thcbol1
11lockcddoscd"hcnthesafe1yisup.or10
1heright,bythcflattcncdmdofthesafety
stnnmgaginganocch,nthercarofthcbolt

The extrac1or sen-cs scYeral functions
b<:sidesitsprimaryjobofextractingfirodca.s-
esorcanridges.Theexttat1or,about5"1ong,
ismadeof arectangularbarofspring-tem-
peredstedandisanachedtotheboltslc,eve
byarivet.A=whookonthefrontofthe
extractorextrndso,·enhcforwardendofthe
0011 and through a matching notch in the
rttciverringcollarwhentheboltiscloscd
Thebrei:chendofthebarrclalsohasashal-
lowinclined nolch for the entrance of the
extractorhook,sothatitcanengagethecase
rimw!leflthel:oltisclosedAltboughthelong
extractoritselfisspring-temperedandmadc
toliewith!('IISionagainsttheboh,anaddi-
tionalsmallexu-act0r$pringisfinedintothe
undcrsidcleft-fro111endof1hcextractor.lt
slidesunderasrnallshelfintherec,:iverand
provides exrra downward tension to the
e:.tractorforpositiveiniti.alextraction
Theextractoralsofwlctiomasameansof
holdingtheboltintherctti•'Cl"andinremov-
ingtheboltfromthen=i,-er. When the boll
isfullyopcncdiccanberemo,·edfromthe
receivcrbymcrelyraisinguptheextractor
hook sotheboh handlecanbetumedopen
funher,andthentheOOltcanbepullodootof
thereceiver.Thelongstcmoftheextracoor,
whichfitssnuglyintherttcivtfbridgeslot,
alsopreventsthebollbindinginthereceiver
,.-hcntheactionisoperatedandaddstothe
srnoolhne:ssofoperarion.Thrn:isalsoasmall
pinpro;«lingfromtheooprighl-froo1ofthe
exttllelor,andwhentheboltisfullyopened.it
msages a shallow nolch in 1he receiver
bridJ!C.Thissmallpinhasenoughtensionto
hokltheboltopcnwhenthemuzzleispointed
down.Thisishelpfuliothe$hoolcrusingthe
rifleasasinglcshol.ashecandropacartridJ!C
dircc1lyintothechamber.Thisfeaturc,
re1ainedinthe1903Springficldbydiffmnt
mcans,wasc:alledthe~boh-swp"
Actually,lhen:isnosepara1ebolt-stopinthe
K1118action.lha1is.apartorpanstohaltthe
rearwardtra,·eloftheboh.TheKragboltis
scoppedinitsrearwardlr.lvclbythelockinglug
<,:()llta,;:tingthertttivcrbridgc.Thisisavcry
simple and posi1ivc anangemern. but few
actionsodlcr1hantheKragcanu.ielhisfcat=
Theejector,asmalllevcrpositionedina
grooveintherearbonomofthcrecei,1:r,pivots
onasmallpin.Oneerdoftheejectorisalways
abovetheinsidebotlornline.andlhen:isak:,ng
L-shapedgroovecucintothebotlornofthebol1
10allowpas.sageovcrthepn;,oudingn:arpart
oftheejector.Thck:,nggrooveintheboltends
jUSTshonofthefroruerdoftheboh.and"tlen
theboltisfullyopened.thcw1groo•,ederdof
theboltcausestheejoctorio1ipup.This,in
1wn.causesthecanridgeca,ieiotipupandbe
llippcdupward001oftheac1ion.
TheTriggerassemblyiscompose,;lofthe
Trigger.sear.searspringandlriggerpin.The
sear.withacyliooricalpivocsurfaceonits
front end, fits into a matching hole in the
recci,'CI'. A projection on the reaTofthesear
passcslhroughaholcimothereceiverand
engages1he sear proj«iion on the cocking
pi=camwhentheactionisopcrated.
ThelrigJ!erislhestandarddoub!e-stage
militarypullType.Thefirststagedisengages
thescarabou1halfwayoffthecockingpi=:
thehc:l\'iersccond-s1agepu!lmo,'CSitcntire-
lyoff10releasethestriker.Onbeingpulled,
thctriggernotonlymovesback.butalso
swingsdownward.noitoounliketheuigger
onthemi litaryMannlicher-Schocnaucrac,ion
Thisiswhythccurwdpanofthetrigger~
pcarssoshort:bytherimethetriggerispulled
backfarenoughtoreleasethesuiker.thebol-
tomendr.earlytoochestheguardbow
Thetriggerguardbowisaseparatcpart
milledfromasteelforging. Twoguardscrews,
passingthroughholesinthecndsofthcguard.
threadintothebottomofthertttiver at the
n,arofthe magazine and tang. These two
I,
screwsaremorethanampletoholdthereaT
pwtoftheactioninthcsud.butsomeaddi-
tional fastening is noedcd (a baml band is
"'-
ernployfflonthemiliwyKng,,)1oholdthe
barrclandlron\oftheactionintheSIOCk.
The Kragmagazineisnovel,deverand
somcwlla1eomplicatcd. Them:civerforging
wasmadedeepenoughsoaholerouldbc
milledthroughitiofonnahorizontalmaga-
iine svcll. The milling is complicated. the
fromandrearendsofthewel!slantingfor-
ward from righ1 IO kft IOoompensate for
over-lappingofthecanridgerims.Another
longopmingismilledintothelcftrecci,'CI'
wali10pn:,videanopcning1oallowcartridges
1ocntertherccei,'CI'.
Aroncavedoover.mortisedandscre""edin
pl=.ispositioned<werlheopeningsonthe
leftsideoftherecei,·cr.thisfonnsarounded
cwveforpas.$ageofthecanridgesfromthe
magarinewcllpropcrintothereceiver-well
opcning.Then:arpanofthisopeningisonly
wideenoughlOallowpartofthecanridgerim
toprojoctfromitsoitcanbepickedupbythe
bolt. Aboul halfway forward, the opening
widenssotherimcanslipoutinlOtherecciver
whilebeingpushedintothechamber
Thcrcstofthemagazineisfilllyasoompli-
catcd. The follo"1:rannconsistsofthearm
itsclf.plusalOO\.!hlefollowcrplatcpivotedon
apinattherearofthearm.Thefrootmdof
thefolkw.'tfannhasaroundintegralhingepin
whichfitsintoam.nchingholemillediniothe
righlfrootsideofthereceiver.ThcfollcM'Cfis
powen:dbyaflatspring"-hicbliesinagroo,.1:
inthebonomedgeofthemaga:tine""Cll.with
itsfrootend<,:()lltactingasmalllugonthefol-
kw.'CfarmhinJ!Cpin.Firally,10a.,,,,:rtherigh1
opcning.andtoallowloadingthemagarine
throughit,abox,likegatcishingedlonginJdi.
nally10thebonomcdgeofthe~"1:J1
79
on1lonahffl&t,pm.Thega11eispc,,.--eredby
lhcfol~IJlring.pnmdingall!CoflmOOR
1Dlhcp1C1Dkeepiteillm-closedoropcn.A
sturdyhcd:inlhcID-ardboaonle<.lgcoflhe
pie cnaaFS I ma1ehing CUI in lhe follower
annsolhat.whmthcgatcisswungopcn.the
hook eng,lies the followcrannandpulls i,
withinlhehollowgatc.socartridgcscanbe
dm!,pcdintothcopenm11g,u:ine
Wilhcartridgcsinthemagazineandthe
gatcclcieod,thefollQ..,-erarm.isreleasodand
thecattridgaan:pushlldtothelcftandup
...,,,u,dlh,:o;urvci:ntolhcm;iga:tine,roc:ei•-er•
~UOJlffllll&.An..,rightprojcajonon10pof
thepiesm'e!IMldunb--pieoeSOthemap-
zinecanbec,,K:kJyondetiilyopencd. The
magazinecanbemled..withthebohopenor
clofal,and,;anndgescanbeadded1D1par-
tllllyfilkdmagaz,ne.NolkiUorin,;::autions
nccdbeu=ised1•1henio.ding;aslongas
thebulle111pointcdforwanlthccanridges
canbejusrdroppcdintothcopenmag,u:ine
Themagarin,:C\l\Offisalc,.-eronthcmu
lcftofthcrcccivcr.Toeroundstcmofthccut·
offfitsin10aholedri lk:dlenglhwisointothc
sidcofthcroccivcr.Thecndoftheholecxitsin
the10poflho:rnaga,.ine-•,,cllq,cning. Thecnd
ofthis11e111ilflallenedononeside.nl"''hen
thc~ismtheupngborONposition.the
f1altffledcndofthesicmts~ ...idtthe .....
ltl\llldinametalnldoesnocinltrfcn:.,,ilhca--
lndses~wou«hlhe~Wh<n
""""I "°"'11,"°"''C\"Cf, in the OFF po5tli,on.
theroundcndofthcallOlfSlerrlprojecuimo
lho:rnap=i:wel~prc>"Cnling~rnove-
mentinthcmapzineandholdingthc1Dpm051
'31lidge tad within the magazine well so thc
boltcannotpkkitupwhenitiscloscd.The
rillccanlhmbeusedandloodcdas1sin&Je
molwhilckccpinaarescrvcofcanridge!linthc
mapzine. Thecutoffistensionedtokecpilin
T-------
placcinc:ilhcrtheupordo-.>npositions
Fi111rnakc-thcrifleisunloadcd.To
mno,,:lhebolt,opcn1tfullyand. ...bilelift,ng
uplhelron.cndofthc-.tumorrai9e
thebol1handlefunheruntiltheCJ1.tr1C10r
w.,np10thcright.lhenpulllheboltout. To
80
rcmm-cthefinn&ma:hanism.pasp!hl:bolt
twdcwithonehnland.withlhcothcrhnl.
pullba,;lr.onlhecodingpicccandruwci1
oowlffl:kdwisountilitisreleasedfi'omthe
bolt.Wilh11irmgmponthcrearofthcflnn3
rnedwu$m.lm"'ilhthcothcrhandami,ina
theliri1Jipin.ciltthcf~pinupord.:Mn.The
flnn3 pin. main5pringandsaikcrrodcanthm
bercmo\/Nfromtheboh sleeve. Place the
safctyintheupightposilionand,wilhthe~
oftheboltslecverestinsonancdgeofthe
wori<-ben;h.give a sl,arp13p1Dthesafety"'ilh
ahanwnc:rhlndleanditwillsnapout. Thesafe.
lyplunacrandspins~bel'CfflO\"Cd
Rernovetheall"ICl0rbydivm(louthehold-
qm'tlfrom10p1Dboaom"'ithadiftpn:h.
Theawharyandor,IJlringcanbelffl'Cll,u
1Dlheleft.nlthebolt-s1oppincanbeO'lven
out '!lac two~ ho-,,'C'o'el", should~
,nplaceunlcYitisabsohm:lynecessaryto
~-clhcm. Reas:scmblcinl"C\-cnconicr
Torcm(wcthcbmrclandactionfromthe
SIOCk.firscmnovethcbarrelband(oroonds),
thenreniovethctwoaigge-r-gu:ardscrcws; lift
barrel.acrionandaiggcrgu:ardfi'omtheSIOClr..
Torcmo·oethcaigge-rand,earasscmbly,
pullthcrtarofthescard.:Mnasf1rasi1.,,;11
So,thcntaptheassemblytothckft.Dri\.\\0\1\
thetnaa,:rpu,fromkfttorighltomnovelhe
lnlllffl'romlhelell".
Themap,.inecutoffisr=IOYCdbyinscrt-
lll81smallscm,"Q"lvcrbladcunderthecutoff
plun&ff.~in&thcplungcr1Sfarat:n
w,llgoandthenpullingO\lltheCIIIOff.Thc
CU10ffpl1111gerispecncdinplace. ltandthe
sprulishouklnocbe=-edlromthecutoff
unlessnecesAry;1Si1wouldbeifthi,par1i,
10beblucd in hot-dipbluing.salts.lfitis11CQ-
essary.thcplungcrcanbepullcdandlwisted
outbygrippingitwith a pairofpliers.
Ton:movethcmagazincga1e.hoklthcrcar
par1ofthep1eandreccivcrinapaddedvise
orby"3111C:othcrmeans,theliponthehi,,ae
p,n pi,·oted up; the pin is Ihm dri','CII, or
pullcdID-ard.allthewayout.Onrcmm'II
fromthe,11e,thepsecanbeliftedoffnlthe
followa-,.,....1iftal.out.S"''in&lhelollowa-
10then&hl,anditcanbcpusheddownwud
andremm-cd.Oonotl'CfflO\"Cthcfollowcr-
annpblcunbs~.andlhenonlyby
driving out its pin. RffilO\"C thc sidcpllle
.s=w,liftupthen:arofthcpla&cnlrcmm-c
it.Pullouttheejeclorpinwiththefin&tn.,and
thccjcc10rcanbercmovcd.Reasscmblein
rn·cneordcr.lnassemblingthcfollowcr
spring,thcl'OIIOOCdcndmllS!cootactthelug
onthcfol~.Thcbarrelhasari&ht-hand
thrcad.bu1dono1anemp1toremove ii from
thereccivcrunlcssyooha,-cthcprope-rtools.
Krlllllll•lal:·T- - -
According ID HillCN!r"s ~ Kna
t.TcbwcrcmadcofC>nbillcebarrclSltd,the
am::lll:dl-.l'Jmatel903$pringf,cld1-•
relt. Thereom-er,.amadcfmm!ipm&6cld
AnnoryClassCstecl(lalcrknovinasW.O.
132S).the$1mOSRCIIL$Cdinlhc,o.c,allcdlow-
numbcrcd 1903 Springficlds. Alloyed with
a,t,on,~siliaJn.allplu-andpho&-
phorus.it"''llSgi•-enalengthyheat-trealmffll
whK:hri:sultcdinthereecivcrbmJmin&vuy
hardthroughout.buthavingahardcroutside
1urfac:c.Thebolt wasmost likclymadeofa
stccldiffcrcntfi'omthatuscdinthcreccivcr.
buli1,1DO,wasthoroughfycase-hardcncdto1
0Dn$ilmblcdepdl.Afttrpm;isdymachining
andpohshingthereceiffl-andbolt,as,.dl111
thoecp,utswhichrubbedrog,cther,thercsult
-••,:ry....ud>-working.aion.
Onlythesinglcfrontlodcingtugholdsthe
boltclo$cdapinsl;thclhrusloffuins-The
p11cleribdearsthc bridge byafcwlhoo-
Andthsof1nmch.andthcbaseoftheboh
handk ....·hichhasstillmorec~.ICISM
auxiliarysafetylugonly.TheDanlMIKna
(chambcrcdforlhf:b58R Danishefflridge)
andtheNOf"'-cgianKrag(chambmdforthe
veryfine6.5x55mmcanridge).whilc:esKn-
1iallythcsamcasthcU.S. Krag."''CfCproba-
blymadeofbettcrstcelsandgivenabene-r
heal-1JCatment They"'-crealsomadewnhthe
guidc:ribbcaringonlhercccivcrhridae.to
lhatthcscboltshl•-ctwolockinglugsinslead
ofone.ThisforcignKJa&lockillJunnp
mentgreadySffl:ngdlcncdthcJoctinasyACm.
A11resuh,thcycouldhlndle!hl:powcrful
tarV1dJc:s
for whieb they"'""'dlambcml
Bo!haremorepov,"fffullhanthe30-40.
 ,.
Pcrtlapsbccauseofover-hardeningthebolt, ,----=~--
ocbc,,;auseofimproperheat-lJ'Calment,andby
thefael!hatonlythcfiomluglx,n,againslthe
recciver.manyU.S.Kragboltscrackcdjust
bchindthe!ug.Thiswas,-eryseriousbccause
theguidcribimrnediatelytookcwerthejobof
locking the bolt. Howe,·er. cracked bolts
shouldbert'placed[ha,·cnev,:rseena
crackcdKragreceiver.but!hrn,see,,aoou-
plcofcrackedbolts.lnbothcases.,lblamcd
thefailureonthcshooler.lnoneinstancc,l
belie,~thcshoolcrwasusingiooheavyhand-
loads;intheO!her,thcactioowasrebarrcledlO
acartridgemuch100p::,wcrfulforthcaction
Atanyrate,theU.S.Kragactionwouldhave
bttncoosiderablystrongcrhaditbttnmade
withthegwdcribbcaringaga.instthereccivcr
!tcanbemadestrongeriflhl:boltislappedso
theguidcribbearsagainslthereceivercqually
with the front locking lug. Used only with

:'1.=!~/~~wi~-h~
sureswe11under40.000psi.orifu5edwith
handloadswhichdevclopnornorcprcssure
th:inthis.thenthe"asissucd"'Kragaccionis
sufficientlystrongandsafo.
At this point, it might be imen:sting to
relatewtwonewcll-knowngunsmithlhooght
oftheKragaction.
Thismanwasthelate R.F. Sedgleyof
Philadelphia, be,;;t known for his custom
1903SpringfieldandWinchC'sterHighWall
sporiers.Sincchcwasinbusinmwhenthe
DCM was releasing Krags. he narunlly was
calledup01110worl<.onthcm.lfmymemory
sen·esmcrighl, 1 recall reading that it was
common practice. when a Krag rifle came
intohisshop.to~fircitfirstbyscrewinga
30-06barrclimotheaction.andthenfiring
sevenilheavy30-061oadsthroughit.lthink
hehadahighR:gardfofthcKragactionand
tha1FewoF1hemfailedtopas.slhistesi.Hedid
not.ofOOI.USe.advQcaieusingthisactionfor
more powerful canridges than the 30-40.
sincethisaction"illhardlyhandkanyolhcr
canridg,ethroughthcmagazinc.Hedid.how-
e,..,,..manageinonewayoranodicrtoalter
thcmagazineofthcKragtohandlethc25-lS
cartridge. One such. a fine Sedgley Krag
S(Uler,wasonccdescribedinTlreAmerlct>n
Rijlemon. I have no idea of how Sedgley
altcrl:d the maga;tine system to handle this
camidge.lattemp!Cdasimilarconvcrsionon
s,evenloceasions,butlcouldnevermakcit
won:. While Scdgleyandothergunsmiths
may have thought well of the Krag, many
prcsent4aygunsmilhsha,·eaveiylowopin-
ionofthcm---andsomean:no1hcsiwu10say
like Modem Gu11Smi1/ti,rg and Tire Modem
GunsmiJhcontainconsidcmbleinformationoo
1hesubjoct.AJso.practicallye,.-eryissueoF7he
AmericanRijlemanftomthcmid-1?20:stolhe
la1cl940srarricdsomethingoothisrif\c.
Asfor1heavailabilityofKragsforgun-
smithing (mnodeling. sponerizing, rcbarrc!-
ing. etc.). consider the following; All lold.
there were about 442.883 Krag rifle-sand
about 63.116 Krag carbines made between
1894and 1904:practicallyalloFlhemwerc
disposedofbythcmilita,yyeanago.rnostof
them going to NRA members who bought
themthroughtheDCM.bulagmttnumberof
them went to American !cgioo posts for
paradeuse.Kragriflcsandcarbinesinvery
goodorexccl\c!l\condition.andinoriginal.
MasissLICd'"sme.ha,-ebccomecollcctor"s
items. so some thought should be given
beforesuchagunisaltcred.lwouldeslimate.
however.thatatlcasthalfofthcKragswhich
wercsoldthroughthcOCMinthel920sha,-e
sincebeenaltcred,remodctcdorconvcrtedin handguards and barrels, however. all: e~-
oncwayoranother.andsuchgunsran:lyhave tremelyhartltocorneby
anyvaluctoacollcctor.SuchaltcredKrags As long as the:re arc non-original Krag
an:continuallybeingpu1upForsale.andl'd rifle-saround.youwillbeablctooblainsuch
imaginethatmoslofthemonlyW>derwent aa:cssoriesasalow-soopcsafety.single-stag,e
minorremodelin8!0Startwi1h.Theseguns adjustabletriggcr.rcarretti,·ersight.scmi-
an:stillentirelysuitablcforrc-gunsmithing. inlettedlshapedS10Cks,ramprearsigh1S.and
Sepa,a1eKragactionsprobablyan:impossi- fromsightbasesandsights.BccausethcKrag
bletofindtoday.butanordinaryuscdand ejcctsthefiredcasesncarlystraightup,
remodclcdcompleteKragriflewillprobably mountingahuntingscopelowandcentrally
costnomorcthanaseparatcaction. if one o-.1:Ttheactionisno1entiR:lysatisfactory.r,1:
couldbefoond. rcliamledanumberofKragswithSpringfield
Because so many Krag rifles havebe<:n bam,1$,andtheyarcentirelysatisfactoryfor

--""
Much has bcm "'1'incn on gurumithing thc
Krag,so l "iUno1goveiydcq)lyimolhissub--
p:t.Forcxamplc.lheoldergunsmithingboob
remodcledinpasty=,collectonofmilitary
longarmsha,-estartcdanochertrend.Begin•
ningoollectorsoflenbuyaremodcledKrag
andthena1temptl0restoreit1oitsoriginal
militaryconfigurationbypun:hasinganil-SI.I"
stockand01herpans. lssueKrags1ocks.
thepurposc.lknowoncshoolcrwhohadthc
pinedbandofhisKragrebon:dandrccham-
beredforawildca13S-alibercartridgebased
onthc30-40casewithgoodrcsults.
Otherthantheabc"-ementionedl5wild-
car.andiftherifleistoremainarq:,caier,lhen

81
theonlyothcrcanridgcchoiceisthe)0-40.
r.srvcsaidbcforc,lknowofnomcthodby
which tho Kng magaziM tan be altc-ml 10
lwidkanycartndge,.·11hdirncnsion$much
diff(fffltli,;,mlhc,.)0-40case.
lrnmrioncdlhaltheoolytwortadilya>'lil•
ablccanridgeswhithwill"'fflthrou&hthe
magarineoftheU.S.Krag-Jorgcnsmac:tion
an=the30-40andtheJl)JBritish.Whilcthis
is$Ulltrue. lnowcanaddanolhttcartridgcto
this short list. Bob.lohnson and my ton,
Mark."'-=checbn&a-.~1Kngnflel01tt
"11atlheycoulddowilhit""hertlhey111Xidcn-
11Hydisoovmdffialtheoldactionamc"11h-
in1hair" slnalltoffccdingthe 444Mar1in
cartridge. Using a Dn,mel tool. files and
cmerypaper.andWOlkinginlhcffl,ll11ofthe
mapzine~runa;inlheretti,·er.thcyJOOO
hadtheactionallerrotofcrdlhc444.
Years ago. ,.-her, Kng rifles"-= cheap
andplcntiful.agmitrnanyoflhcm"-crc
remoc.kkdando;onvertcdiniosp;,ne,$.Many
oflhese mnodclmgjobs "'ere poorly done.
Onebyonc.lhcseoldriflesarcbcinggivcn
T0pviewotlhtNorw&gianKr&g..Jo,gensanaction.
1way, ndedor1101d So,ifyouhaYell{raa
thatisnotOfi&inal,andifyouwantanopm- surplusmagazin,emetalaswaspossibleand areatocvcnlydiwihu\etlw:thruslofthe
sighrcdbigborcn.rmboltriflcforhllnting inlct1hc:aimmcdandligl,lmodac:oon1n101 =o1I.Thisshouldpm'alltheS1oekfrom
deer,bcarandbolirinduc:kco,.w.lhencon- ne-,,,•SIOCk.101heJanofmnc,o,malhemccal spl~atlluspomc.
sidc-rrd>amhng the old action rothe 444 andn:rniining~weuoperunp,.-ouJd
Marlincaliber.Get1oouplcof444canridg<:5 be=l<d
andchecklhemoutintheactiontosc,e"'l\al lnrcbam:lingtheK111g,lcenain!yruon,- Originallykno,.11asthr:"U.S.Cahber.30
al1C111tionismiuircd1ofoc:,;lthem.Talkit,wer mendenoughhoningandlappinginthefrom ~ " orM .30 U.S. Anny'" canridge. it
withyoorgunsmith.lwouldsugges111Mna;a lockinglug,othattheguidcribwillrontact "'1'Sinm:,,i,,.:,:dwilhthe""'3inl892.Tod:,y,
bam-lwithariningtwistofl:16.orl:20"'. the =ciVO" equally with the 1o<;king h.ig and for years pa51. it "'-as m05I C0IMIOnly
andC>J)CCWly1101fyou ..-anr1011Sebullccsof Doingduswillclefi111ielymaletheoldKng calledlhc30-40Kng.orsimplylhc:JO..IO.
UiOgrainsorheaVICI". actionabitsuongcrandmaypol6iblyPf'C\"Oll The.)0-40~gnaooo"'lllgt>'ffll0Hffilny
The)(ngaction.howevcr.issu1tat,lefor thr:bohfromcnckmgatthefrontlugm&.l )'Ull'Sago.probably10011a~Winchcsltrand
rebam-lingtoothcrcartridges.ifthcriflcis bclievei1wasG&trspractic,:1odoth1ilap- <Jltcarmsmalmbegandiambering,omeof
us«lasa,inglcshot. ln yearspas1.agn,a1 injobonlheKragstheyrcb:un,lcd. !Ju1even theirsportin11nflesforit.Forexample.1hc
many22Hometriflcswcr,,buihonthr:l{raa wilhthr:iwolockinglugsystcm.l lli lldonot Model95Winchcsatrk-."Cf«tionrq,carerand
ac:tion.Whcnthc219Zippercartridgewas coosiclerthisactionsuitableforrtbar!'clingto theMode11885Winc:~singJe$1101rifk
firstintrodu<;,cd,lbu.iltse-,-cnlsi"ilc . . acanridgeauchaslhclliWinchesl,:r. ,.._charnbffedlorlhe30-40•early•l896.
Kragsinduscaliber.Odiergwwmths..-ould lnfiningthcKngwilh1sponn110ek.an &giminabad<111theblackpo,otlercanridgc
rtgUl.viyrd:>atrclll-=ac:tioniito1hc:22lbby insickbam-lt-nd$houldbcuscd,pllcingit e,a. 11 "'3loommonpracoc,: ronamemccallic
Niedner(J2-20case).22R-21.cwell(25-20 aboutlhree-q.,.ar1mofthe-..-ayuptheforend rillecartndga:bylWOSCfSofdigits.Th:fust
S.S.casc)and22NironcrMagnum.Sincethe 10holditagainstthebam,l. l alsoadviseroul- rn<>fig=srouahly~thr:caliber."'tiile
riflehadtobcuscd1Sasinglcshot.thccom- ingoo1groo,:e,in1hcstock.inlct1ing10the the 11$1.1WOindicattdtheamoum(inpins)of
mon practice was 10 mnovc as much of the rearofthemaguiMandglaM-bcddingthi~ blackpowcleruscd.Althoughthel0-40Knig

82
camidge"<a>;de,-elopedinthesmokclcss-po,,.·-
dercra.the«40'"in1hedesignationmercly
indicaledthatitscasehadapowdercapacity
appoximatclyl0grainsmorelhanthe30-30
cartridge,andthcreforew3.'lcomparatively
morepowerfullhanlhclattcr.
The30-40cartridgewouldprobablyhave
been a verypopularonee,·en withom the
Krag rifle because, long before Krag rifles
andcarbineswererelcascdforsale,the30-40
hadproved1obequiteadcquateforhunring
moscspc,:icsofNorthAmeritanbiggame.
Formilitaryusc,itw3.'inormallyloadcd
wi1hafull-jacke1ed.round-nosed2{l().grain
bullet. the m=le velocity 200 fps. At various
timcsinitslonghisroiy,itwascommcrcially
loadcdwithfull-jocketcdand50ftpointbulle1S
of,'3riousweights.butmos11ywith220-and
!80-grain50flpoinrsor50rneothertypcof
expar,dingbullet.
"'-""
Norway adopted the Krag rifle in 1894.
Theactionofthisrifleisno1muchdifferen1
fromtheU.S.Krag,andacloscsllldyofthc
ph01ogruphswillrevealmostof1hcdiffer
ences. ThefirsrNor,,.-egianKrags(20.000of
1hem) were produCW for Norway by the
grearAustrianarm,;rnakersinStcyr.andthey
can be identified by the word STEYR
stampedontherecei,-er.Theresiof themany
Nor,,.-egian Krags were made in Nor,,.'lly by
the Kongsbcrg Vapenfabrik, a government·
owned arsenal in the 10wn of 1ha1 name
ThescriHcscanbeidet,tifoedbyanomatelet·
tcr K beneath a crown, stamped on the
recei,·crring.Thedatc(year)ofmanufocrure
is nonnallystampedonlhcn:.:ei,-erring,and
they probably wen: made as late as 1930
According to the The Book Of Rifles by
e
W.H.B.Smith.afewwcrealsornadeinthe
latel940sfortargetshooling.Variousmodcls
ofthemilitaryriflesandcarbines"-eremadc,
aswellasasportingmodcl.UnliketheU.S
Krags.allwercmadcwithapis10lgripstock
andforthe6.5x55mmcanridge.whichhasa
rimlesscase.
Ascanbes«ninthephotographsofthc
U.S.andNor,,.-egianKragaclions.thcrearc
nurnerousminorou\"'arddiffe~es.For
example. the safety is different. and ii is
retainedinlhcboltslce,·ewithacrossscrew;
thecxtractorisretain,,,.Jwithascrewandhasa
near-centerauxiliaryspring;variousparts
ha,·e differen1contours,suc;hasthcmagazine
gateandrecei,-er,"·hichhasahollowgroove
milledin1hcrccciverwall TIie Norwegian
actionisse,-eral~!ighterinweightlhan
theU.S.Ktagaction.ManyoftheNorwegian
Kragshaveflattcncdbol1handle knobs.thc
Top lliewollheDanish Krag showlng
lhemagazineCOVflrSWl.lllllopen
 --
:r;arbox~
23 Magazi'ie(ll)Y8rbox

28F(ll()wtrannplale
27Foeo-,am,pknapsl
28 Folowerarm'P'Wlg
29T,lgg,lrl1JMI
MIFIOl'll~!Jadsaew
3 l ~lr\ggllri,Jllll:l9tt9W

llancned surr-c11«kcn:d Tom, we 11!o

sie>'el"lldiffn-enceinsidetbeaction;for
aample, IN: ba=I thmwl is entittly diffcr-
mt- it is onc ofthe fcw riflc actions with 1
left-llandthread.lnfact,~an:prob;iblyno
pans of these tWQ actions that arc imer-
changable
Aspointcdou1carlyinthischapu,r,thc
NOIWCgianK,agKtionissornadclhatboth
theforwardlockinglugandlheguideriban-
1ac1thc:receivcrwhenthebohisfullylockcd
andclostd.Thit.pluslhefactthalmostNor-
wcaiar,K,.swen:madeyanaftertheU.S.
Kn,Hs~make:'Jitabnoillccr-
11.mthalNorv.'\'glal!IICtions,.~madoofa
bmcrqual11y$1CCl,andlhis~gh-.:n1moR
oonuolledandurulormheal-treaunen1.AU1n
lll,theNOl'WfjianKragactionis~IO
lheU.S.Kngaction,andear1yNorwqianac-
lions,whichrevcallhenX>Stp,-ecisemachininj
andfinishing.arc:cvcnsmooiherinopcn11ion
thantheU.S.counterpan.
Opcra1ionoftheNorwegian Knlgisthc
samcuthc:U.S.Krag,andthcac1ionis
loadcdinthcA.l'Mway. ManyNorv.·cg,an
l{nanfles"-a-esoldonthesurplus1m111mar•
kotdunnglhe19SOs,sotheyarcra.rtycom-
mon.Noonemakes1~lacanmtAfdyor
1nper. W,llwn Gun Sigh1 Co., maka a
rua,w light'° fit the rifle.
While I do a:imider lhe Norvoqian Kn&
ac1ion51rongcrthantheU.S.KraJ1aclion,I
wouldlimiti1Suse10thestandardfacmry-
loadcd 6.!l~SSmm Norma cartridge: or io
handload! which de,·clop .somewhat lcsa
"'-:hprcM.urC.Thisactioowasmadeforthe
6.!ldScartridge.whichitwillhandlcbettcr
thananyOlher
,.,_...,
Asmcntioncdearlicrintluschapter.lhe
Kna;•.lorgmsfflriflcoriginalcdinDennarl<
.,,t.,.;ufintadopredasamiliwy.,.uponby
lhalcountl')' in 1889. The ,·ano\11 modds
•'ffl: made by Gaxrfabrikm KjObmha,i,

84
 --I ''
·-
,~ =Pin
11 8 o t ~
12 MagazirwCi.dl
13 ~ & n , w
14 ~
:: :::--
17 Fll)nlSigll:
19 ......,.a.,
: ~~
21 ~
"" """'
""'
:M Trigge<Pin
: ~GuardSaew
27 TriggtrG,.i.,,j
28 Fr0111GuardSCfew
29 MlgazineGal&
(Copenhagen AnllS Manufilct«y) and
HaermsTojhus(AnnyAncnal).andwm:,o
martcdonthclcllsidt-ofthem:ei,-cr.The
modeldesl&na1ion,asv,-.:ll asthedate(ycar)
ofmanufac.-tun,isllamp:donthelcf\sidoof
thcrcc,:,ivcral,o.
S,e,.'el'lll modelswm:madc, bu1 themo&1
common me 11CC11 in the U.S. is the Model 89
rifle with a 32.75" ~ l Like lhe German
M88 Commission nfle. the Danish M89 nlle
halallunmcta!IUbeow:.-thebarmlOxrv<:
uahandguard.Thenfk,.~ghsabout9.5
poundsandil52YO\-cnlL
UM eommon ~ Kngs- the M89
mfaMycarblne-..'ith23.63"'barm.-..tuchhu
lhc lfflcr F infrontofthescrialnmnbcr;lhe
M89 an,llny carbmc with 24.02'" t:iarwl and
lhelello:rAprocecdingthescrialnumbcr;the
M89cnJin=~with2J.5Yband{with
woodhandguanl)andthelet!er l befori,the
serialnwnbcr;the M89cavalrycarbineislikc
thcengin«r'1,;art,inc,buthasthclelter R
bef()fflhe!lmllnumbcr;theMl928sniper's
rillew,th26.SO"barmofheavywcight,with
~frontandrearsighu..andmaited"11h
thclfflerl; f'SK. v,hlchmcans"snipcr'srifle;"
andtheDnshsm&leshotWgttrifle. Thislasl
,ssumlar101hewpcr'sriflc:,bulisawiale
shol;v,nholl:~ClllSinlhcm;ti,~.
All of\MSe Kngs, both rines and car-
b,na. uechambcrcd forthe Danish 8mm
(8.rl8R)nmrncdcartridgc.Thcsinglcshol
1argc1rinc waschambercdfo.-1he6.SxSS
Swcdi$hMauscrcartridgc.
Thel)arushKtagrepeatingactionisve,y
similartotheU.S. Kragactioncxcq,rforthe
followin1t: I) The magazine cover, hin&ed
11C1U"lhefi'onc.opcnsb)'swinging001andfor-
wardlthasached.cn:dkrol:Hypccatchoni1$
10prcarsurface10holdlheooverclo6oedllld
actSasahindletoopm it. Whenop:n.--
lrld&elftmc,-elyrolledintolhemapz,ne.2)
Tbc:1111f~is•round.<;hm;cn:dbunonp:Jli-
b0nedonlhenghlsodeofthei:angbdwldlhe
bohhandk. l'fnsedtothekftands"'"lllli
blck.lhenllcisrady1D~andthebohcan
bcc:,pcrMCd.S"''Ull&b-lo-ard.thesafdylocb
thebohand.scar.lccan"cbc""'""lf"""'~
unlnsthestrikcri1cocked. l)Thctoeking
JMCehas1SIUbby"'hook~,.;ui;1$1Ton1cur,'ed
surfaccch«kerul.Bygraspingmishookwi!h
thelhwnb.thelll"ikcrcanbcmanuallycockod
orthecocked!lrikcrlowcred.eilher!Othefull
down position or co a half..:ock posicion.
When in the half..:ocked position. the uf~
canbecnaqed.4)Thccjcaoris1!1unlcaf
~mounredinagroovcinthebot!Omof
lhe bole ~11y. S) The rettl\"ff magazine
cm-a-or plate: is shaped andanac:hcd to the
rtm•-crdllkrmtlythanolhe:rKr:ags.
LikcOlherKnp.lheDarushacuons-
wcUrnadeandfinisbcd.andan:vcrylmOOlh
inopcr,,,1ion.Thcbohhcadi1~and
11M:bohisdisassembledandffl'l'IO>'Nfrom
theretti,'llfjustliketheU.S.Krag.Unlikclhe
U.S. Kraa,bwlikctheNorwqiar,Kraa,the
forwardlockinglugandtheguide ribcootact
therettivcrto cake up thercarwardthruslof
firingacartrid&einthechamber. Forthisrca-
J<Jn.lheDanishactionisoonsi<krcd10bc•bit
S1ron&«andbenerlhantheU.S. .ction.
HCJC~IIDmCdimcnsionalspecifications
fortheDanishKng~IClion:Rttciv•
erdi,mcter,l.l(W;bolldiamtrer, .700"";bolt
tra1"el.l.710'"';strikcra-r."el • .SOO-:bohface
recessdiamtler•. 590";bohlace1Ue1dcplh.
.060"':~nelcngth.handlcs~
nmmedcartndgc,snok:ingffthanaboulJ.20"
o,.-cn.JI.
TheDanisll Kragsingk,shoctatg,e1act>on
""ISmadcwiU11boltfacereccssto1CC0m•
rnoda1ethe6.Sx!i5Swedish Ma'-'!llf~,
whichhasa.480"caseheaddlamctc-r.lnthe
early1960s.s.evcn.lfinnsofTcrcdtheseac:-
1ion, for sak, and they were an CXC(:llcnc
choiceon"'hich10build1lona;-ran~tar'l!d
nllcmthe6.5x!i5caliber.
LikclheothcrKrap.!heDanishlC!lon
lhouldnocbcused"ithcanndges"·tuch
de-,-.,1opmuchovcr45.000psibr=:hpn:,,-
surc. II hastlM:bcstufetyofllltheKrap.
'lllereisnocommerciallriggermccham1m
madeforlhelMlishKrag..
85
 : l
T 11E BRffiSH LEE-E.n6eldriflehan ~
andcolorfulhislcwy;onc"'tiichinc-ludcs"''O
WoridWn,manysmaller "'-anando;onflicts
oovmna·,1idearusandmanyoountrieso=
1hc fate of the earth. The ·•1..«" ofLoc-
Enfield 11 James Paris Lee.a Scottish-born
Amcricanfirnrmsdcsignerwhoinvrnledthc
Lee tumboh rnagaziRC firearm in 1879. A
bookoouldbcwritta1aboutthclifeandworlc
ofthis inventor; it would be an intm:sting
challrngeforsomcbiographer."Enficld"
dc:nvnfrornthcRoyalSrnallArms Factory
11En6eldlockinEngland.1grea111m1man-
ulacnarinaplant"''hcn:,formanyyan.mo,s1
nuhtaryde-,1:lopnent,."Ofk,.'tidoooonlffllS
~.sopcedby~Britain.
Manyarucleshr,1,hffl,,.,inmabout Lee
andlustumbollriflelhll,.-asthcfcnrunnerof
thcBntl$hL-En6ekiThereader~only
checkthcbibliographya1thcbackofthisbook
tofind,fcwofthcartil:kspublishtdinAllll'f'
ieanRijlcman. lnaddi1ion,mereisancxceUent
book on Loc-Enficl&-'111ef.tt..En[ield Rifle,
byMajorE.O.13. Reyoolds-mll.$1readingfor
anyoncin1m:stedinthe5canns.&causeof
th,sw.:aldlofbackgroundmatcriaJ.l,.'Ori'tgo
dcq,ly iniothchistofyanddc-.1:lopmcntof
this famous mi~iary rifle. r ,.;11 limit my main
ddclllllOIIIOthcl\l,'Oloc-Enfieldactionsllled
dunn&""'OWoridW.-s:TheNo. I M-1<:111
ofWWl andthcNo.4Marl<lofWWll.
A w:ty bnefh,SIOnell outlme ofthc ' - '
Enfield, however. ii in order. After Lee
puc,uedh1s,•Cfticalmapzinetumbolt1ct1on
ml879,hcwasno,irnrncdiatelySIIOOCSSfulin
gc-ningthcrif\csmadcandsold.Hctriedto
intcrcstthcU.S.Navyinthcdesign,buti1was
II01 um,I the Remington Arms Co. of Ilion.
Nc-wYort:,bought themanufacturingrights
thatthcl«rillchadany,.'Orthwhilebacking.
Known as the: Remington-Lee rifle. a few
wm:soldtothcNavyforcxperimmu.lput-
po$C:1 in 1881. Rcrn1ng1ontricd in vain 10
,ntm:stthcU.S.Armyinthcamcrillc.
Mcan,.·h,le.Rerninamnalsolricdooin1lffil
foreipaiun1ne$inthcncwrillc{somesam-
pkswcn,m,,deforQ,inaandJai-.amona
Olhm)anddidJtll,orneooCumandSpau,.
86
I
At .tiout thtS time (1883), England bccarM
111tcrcs1cdinadoplmgam1gazmcnllc,and
thclccnfkssubmiru:dcamc-outbcstinthcir
18871nals.Thisbroogl11L«hisfir11rc1l
laSI.Coffamc:.TheRcrninstonfirmthcnbcpn
makingRcming1on-l«Sp011ingriflcs for•
varictyofcanridgcs,cvcntuallyinc!udins1hc
6mrnL«.30-30.30-40,303Britisll,35Rcrn-
inS1on,45.70andothers. Remington made:
thc,crillcsuntilabout1906.
Aftt'r En&[w's i1111ial accq,tancc, the, Lee
system was !IClll1CWhat modified ,.,;th dc•"CI-
Opmm1 and manufacturing donc III E.nficld.
Thcfin1Britishl«rillc,.'ISthcLoc-Md-
fordMapzmcRlllcMarl<l.thcdesignJC'8kd
mD«cmbcr.li88.Various,mpro,'ffllCtl!S
andmodirQbOnSfolkM't:d,.iththcfirsttnlC
1..ce-Enficldhrin&IJlln:ldi.:cdlaleinl895.•
Th~ WIS folk:M'td b y ~ Chan$"5- mod-
jf,cat,oos lJld marl< dcs1gnaCmns cvcry fcw
years or sollll1il the Mark Ill wasadopccd m
1916 a!i the Shon Magal!inc- Lee-Enfield
(SMLE)No.lMarklll.
"'-
ThcNo.5Marli:lcarbi11C,.'C'ighslboo18.9
powds.has125rbancland1144.8"m..,.,
1ll.lthas1fulllcngthformd.andthcrnr
$1Jhtismountcdonthcbancl
TheNo.4Ma,i,;lrillc.aboul8.6pounds.
hu125.2"bam:landis44.4"o,..,..n. lu:
lora,dcxtcndlncarfy10thc:muzdc.andthc
rc:ari.,gM 11mountcdoothe,..:c""'bndge.
ltwa11dop1edinl941.
TheNo.5Mart. l c;art,ine,.'C'ighsabout7.2
pounds.hasa20Ybancland,s39.l"m..,,..
111.0flrncallcdtht"'Jung[eCart,inc-,"ithas a
shonsponer-1ypcforendandafunrn:l-likc
___
nashhidc-ronthcm~zzlc.bu1 is otherwise
hkcthcNo.4riflc.ltwas~in1944.
___
Al1Loc-Enficlds,.1'rtdiscontinucdin19S4.
__..... ........______
....,
_.. .,
-~--..........
•~,.,._,,.._._nllcs""'twra,ao_.
---"~-
M<llord'•...-.---nffioa,l"IIIC-
_____
...,..,_...._ _
_....,._
TmMl.1-- ■ ktlll
The Loc-Enf1cldrccci,·cr(c-.allcdtht
"'body'"inl:ngland)is1one-piect,S1C"t"lf0111-
ingwhic-h required a great many machine
opcra1ionsbcforcit"'aSfm1shed.l1 ismorc
tomplc~ than 1hc usual ccntcrfirc lumboll
aclioobc:causcofthe1wo-p~sto<;kdcs1gn;
thcsepara!Cbutts1ockisat1aehcdtothcn:arof
thcreccivcr{c-.allcdthc"bunsockct")bya
through-bolt The rcm,·cr forguig v.-as made
witha'-gcmassof111C1alonitsmir,.·hi,;,h
,.,.m,llcdandlhrtaiedtoKccptthebut1-
WXk1cr1onandthcthrough-bol1.Thisis1
\'ffYSCClftlndn,ggedSIOCk~
Thefrontcndofthcrttti-.whasngjll-hand
it.cadsofthca,mmonV-typc.Ahca\)'collar
osleft1nsidc1hcrearoflherccc,,..,,.nna
aga,nst,.hlchthcllatbrt,,:!chcndofthcbaml
butt:J.Thebancl,salsomadc,.nl,a"""fOlt'ed
"'°°ldcrwhichbuttsagainstthc-frontof1hc
r«civer, making a rigid barnl-to-r«c1VC1'
joint.Asl01cu1throughtheright1idc-of1he
collar(andama1chingbevelcdnotchinthc
tn«hfaccofthc:bomd)adrrntsthcu.tractor
hook.Thc..-ollarc-losetysurroundsthc:!rontof
thcbohheadandpn)Yidcs1good.tcal11thc
brffdl.l'k1therthcfaceofthct.rcl{cham-
ber)northcbohhcadis~forthccar•
lndgchcad.Sma:thccartndgc:nmisnearl)'
thcsamediamcla-asthcbohhcad.thctadu
sowcUscalcdlhatam:eaisnoc......i...t.
The cerucr of the r«ci,·cr ,s boffll and
m1llcd10acccp1thctv,o-picccbolt.Thc
n:cc1VC1'bridgeiss.lonodtoallowpassagcof
1hcrigh1 lockingluglguidtribandthcc~ll"IC-
10rluaonthcbolthcad.
Thehelivyleft,.11lloftherccc,vcris1light-
lylo"'crthanthc1opofthcrecci,·erringhnc.
A$hallowthwnbnotchisC'Ulin10ittoa1din
loadmglhc rifle from the top1hrough the
opcncdaction.Thcrighl,wJlismillcdmuch
kMffthanthclcft.pn:wiclinaamplcopcn,ng
forloadina;andqe,:tion.
(f'w:lur9d llboYe) 8rilish SMLE MaJII Ill Ille.
whiet'lllltertier::.nelhllNo.1MaJIIIII
 Thereceiverbridgcissloncdlhroogh.his,
however.bridgedoverbythenarrowclip-
chargerguidcbridgeo,·erthemiddleofthe
=eiver.conne<:tingthehighleftwallwith
thelowrighlwall. happcanlhatthisclip-
chargerbridgc was made fmm a separate
piece of metal. then afterward forged 10
becorneintegralwiththerc«iver.Thetop
frootofthisbri<lgeisgrooYedtoaccep!the
303Britishsttipperdip.
Thetwo-pio:::cbolthasa~bohhead
lhr=kdiniothefrontoftheboltbody.The
smallhookcdexlnlC!Orfi!.$inaslolthrollgha
lugonlhebokheadandisheldinplaceby.and
piVOlSon,ascrewthrollghtheW>dersideoflhe
lug.AsmallbulsnudyflatV-springu:nsions
theextrac1or.Theextrac10rcasilysnapsos-er
thcrimofacanridgeplaccdinlhedwnber.
Theboltbasdual-<lpj)OSedlockinglugs
loc,ucdslightlytolherearofitscmter.Thelefl piece. Theboh isdrilledfromthefron~with piecemustbcmanuallypulledl>acktofull
(bonom)lockinglugengagesina=essmilled themainsprmgoompre:sscdbetw~acollaron cock.Originallydcsignedasasafetymeasure
intotheleflwal!ofthenx:tiverbridgc.The thefi"ootoflhefu"ingpinandarearshouldcrin thchalf<oeknotchscrvesoousefulpwpose.
longguideribonlheright(top)oftheboltis theboltbody.Then:arcndofthefiringpinis Thereisalsoasmallsrudorcamon1opofthe
alsotherightlockinglll!l-itcngagesforward threadedimothecodingpioce.Ascrewatthe cockingpiecearmwhichengagesaootchCU1
ofthe=i,-erbridgewall,ontherighl. Bolh rearofthecockingpi,cccpm'tTIISthefiringpin intherearoflheboltbody.Onraisingthcboh
lugsaresolid,andlherearlockingswfaceof fromrurning.Forwardtravelofthefiringpinis handlewiththeactionclosedandthcsniker
earhisslightlyangled!Ocamthebohforward stoppedwhentheoollaroothefiringpinoon- down.thcootchengagesthcstudandpushcs
asitlOOIIC5tolhefullylockcdposirion.lnaddi· tactsthebockofthebolthead,notbythccock- thecockingpieccandfiringpinback.Thepur-
1ion.thefi"on1surfae<:oftheleftlugisalso ingpicceCOO!llC!ingtherearofthcboh poseofthisarnngementistoprcvcntthcfir•
angled to ma1eh the surface in its Jocking Anarmorto,,gueontheoortomofthe ingpinfromgoingfullyforwardunlessthe
n:cess.Thisprovidcstheinitialextractionpow- cockingpieccextendsforwardWKlerthebolt boltislockcd.lnoihcrwords.thei.ce-Enfield
crwhenthebollhandleismiscd.Thebol1han-- body.intoaracewaymilledintherecciver. aciioncannotbcfiredunlessthebolthandleis
die.at theextremc rear end of the bol~ has a whcrcilengagesthesearandsafetyprojecting ncarlyallthew11ydo,.11andthcac1ioolocked.
tapered square-to-round stem that ends ina intothisraceway.Theactioncock.sonclo6ing Thesafetyisa1thclcftrearsideofthc
round grasping ball. Whenthcboltisclosed thebolt.thesearengagingthefrontofthc rea:ivcr.Aflancnedintegralsrudonthesafe,
andlocked.thebolthandleliesapil!Sltheburt cockingpiccearmandholdingitbackasthc typrojec1Sin1othecockingpieccraceway.
socketoftherea:iver.withthegraspingball boltisclo5ed.Theheadofthecockingpiece Twoshallownotchescutin1otheleflbonom
onlys!ightlyawayfromthcsidcoftherifle mayberoundandknurled.orflaland1101ched. edgcoftheoockingpiecearmcancngagethc
Thcreisnoaw,iliarylockinglugonthebolt Thcreisalsoahalf-cocknotch(called"half- safetywhenitisswungback.Thcscnotchcs
Theboltheaddoesnottumwiththcboll. benf"ootchinEngland)onthearmofthe aresospacedlhatooeortheOlhcrisopposite
Astheboltisfullycloied,thelhreadsofthe cockingpicce:byfirmlygraspingthecocking the safety when the rifle is cocked orun--
bolt head draw it agains1 the front of the piecc.i1canbcloweredfromthccockedposi- cocked. Whentheacrionisoocked.thcsafety
bolt---wthethrostoffiringisnotpl"'-'Won 1ionordrav.11backfromthcfiredpositionto locks both the stri ker and bolt: when un--
1hethreads.Thelargelugon thebohhcad engagethesearinthisintcnnediateposition cocked.itlockstheboltandpullsthe fu"ing·
hoosingtheexlnlC!Oralsoactsasthcbolt-siop Thislock.sthcboltandthesear.Tofirethe pintipwithinlheboltheadsolhatablowon
whenitconlaC1S1herecei,-erbridgewa1las riflein1hishalf-cockposition.thecocking thecockingpiecccannotdischargetherifle.
the bolt is opened. A lipundcrtheoul.$ide
cdgcoftheextrac1orlugfi1Srn-eragn,0Yccut
in1othetopedgeof1herightreceiverwall.
andthiskeep:stheboltheadfromtumingas
theboltisoperated.Thisgrooveendsshortof
therea:ivcrbridgewall.Whenthcbohisful•
lyopen,theextractorlugcanbcpulledupand
rotatedintoaslolinthen:cei,-erbri<lgc,-tl>e
bolt can then be removed. A small spring
retaincr.providedintherightsideof1he
receivcr~1raetor-luggroove.engageswith
theLipWKlerthe~tractorlugwhentheboltis
fully drawn back. It prevents1he bolt head
fi-omtumingundernomia1opera1ionofthe
bolt,yctallowstheboltheadtobcrotated
manually!Oremovclheboltfromtheaclion
The firing mechanism coosis1S ofa ~
picceflringpin.coilmainspringandcocking

67

TopviewoltheNo.1~111actiQn,t,owing(:Ulollpulledout:theboltwilpickupcart!ldgel
l,omlhflmt,galineaalhflbolliloperated.
Thebollillockcdby•~patlm:adal
onlhcSlfflloflheJ&kly. Thedread ismulti-
truadcdandkfthand.J>anoflhisboltlocil:
exlmds1hmualtlhe~-er"'-all10cnpgcin
agrooycct1tilm1hen::aroflheboltbody.As
1hcsafelyis,...ungback.lhethmtdsfon::elhe
boltlock10WardlherighllOC1Jilll!CIJll"OO"Cin
lhcboltandlockit.A~lncketscn:wcd
10thefllCCiverholdsthesaFe1yinplace.(ln
~andpcmap5ebewhen,,lhepen"'tiich
l calllhe''Jafcty"-thepartwhichactually
lockslhescriker---iscallcdlhe~bol~"
ancllhl:pat h:alllhc"'bohlock,"""'ttichac:1Ual-
tylockslhc:bolt.isallcdlhe"~Caleh.")
The __ anl.,wpedpieceofmtW.isheld
.. p11ceby.andp,V01Son,at,;n:l\"und,:rlh,:~
,;em:r.TI.,t,;n:l\"alloholdslhebolt-head~
lease~ltisunderlC>lSionfromallal
V~p,.W!l(ftdber,,,,ea,lhe99andmap-
Zffc:aleh "'-hidl ahollfflicsltnSion 101hc9c
r-u. ThelrigppiVOl!!lonapininlhelriggcr
guard.Thec.r.'Cdtri&g,erisgroo,,ed;ils~pat.
which 0Cn1aCtS lhc: Sf:21", has IWO bun1'5 "''hich
pn,vidclhcoomrnon~militaryp.ill
Thcdetachable~boxmap-
>ine,of1CIHOla'ldcapacity.ismadefromheavy-
PJF!hoetmetal.Tocfuilo,,,...-hasatalscdrib
onitskftlidewhidlcause:slhecatridgestobc
5U&IFcdinlhe~Thelolloweris1a>-
sioni:dbyaW.iapcd5'ffl&.On-.dlips ■ lhe
&uraand.-oflhemagazintopmingholdlhe
c:attldp:sinlhenwp,ine.
The....,,..,box.polilitn,da!d,emillcd-
OUlbollomoftheretti\"crbythetnggcr
88
~ plale. is held up by 1hl: map-
Zffi.h.l'lltial~piid,: lipf.millod imo
boll,llde$of1hl:magazint"--ellholdandgwde
lhec:amdgcsimolhec;haniieraslhc:y~IQI
w:oflhemapm,1:bylhebolt. TheffllilZlrl"
canbc:linglcloadcd"·hetherinoroutoflhe
nfle,orit..,t,,::k,adcdwithastrippcrdipwhik
inlhcrifle.
The No, I SMLEaccionlLasacanridgc
cutoff,1fla1triangularpie«ofmetalposi-
tioncdinasl01millcdintherightre«i-
wall.hpiV01Son15CttWtluougblhcbouom
frontcdgeoftheretti-. Pushedin(er>-
pted}.lheCUIOlfslides0>-erlhecartridgesin
lhemapzinc.solheboltcanbc:eloscdwilh-
OUlpickincupaeanridge.Thislllowssingl&-
round loading. holding the canridg,cs ITT the
~m~~Pullcdout.lhcCUIOIT1$
inopen,ti,·e.kninglhcbohpickupthciop-
rt!Oltcart!ldg,:inlhemagarineasitisclo9ed.
Theej«ror1smm:lyasmallsrud1ercw
threaded into lhc kft receiver wall. When lhe
bollisopened.lhentracicdcascorcar1ridge
1lidesalongtheinsidewallofthcrcceiver
until its head wikes the end of the CJCC10I'
screw-lheboltncarlyallthewayopcn.This
tlps1hee1$etotherigh1,0U1of1heac:tion.
Agas-cscapeholeinthcbolthndvmts
111ypowderp5e11whichmighlmterlhcfir•
ins-pinhokinlhccascofapieroedprimer.lt
•"ffllSlhep,csup•••ardalonglhecdgeoflhe
Jc,ftm:ewcr,.,1111.Thefeisanothnsmall
obkinJps-ctc:apeholeinlhcldlsideoflhe
n,cci,unng,inlinewiththe~omip!C'd
bylheeanndgerimbetweenthefaceoflhc
bolt andbaml. Tom isalsoanolehC\11 lnlO
lhcn::aroflhercceiverring.juslaheadoflhc
atractorlugonlhcbolthad;lhlsspa.,:.and
lheoblon&holeopp(lSiteit,shouldcxpellll'I)'
gueaescapingfromarup!W'cde1$ehead.
A new system of model desipion was in-
tm:b:ed in May.1926. TheSMLE Mart Ulbo-
aunelheNo.lRifle.Marl< III.ThePant:ml914
Rifle(lcnowninlhcU.S.asthcl917Enf,cld)
bcc:anethcNo.3Rifle.ThcNo.4Rifle.f.urk[,
-•~oflheSMLEf.urkVI.
TheNo. l Lcc-Enfield(alsokoo-,,.11ulhe
SMLE. for Shon Magazino Lcc-Enf,dd).
inlrodocedshortlyaftcrl900.undcN-cm
rnanydlang,:lbeforelheNo.41..ce-Enfieldl
"-m:inlroducedaboutl939.We-nocooo-
c:cmcdhefe"'-iththemanyminorchangesin
lheac:tion.sinoeitmnaincdSlnlCClln.llylhe
sarne.Offkially.ascachci>angewasadopted,
lhemodeldesignationwasehang«l.bcgin-
ningwithMartJandcontinuingtoMartVI
andincludingsuchasteriskor"starred"(•)
dcsignationsastheMartl•.ctc .• ctc.TheNo.
1ac:tionit:selfremaincdsub5tanliallylhesarne
forcwcrJOyttrS..ands~itwasmadcin
largequantitics_itislhefflOlta,mmon(lnC.
Blll.41ȣ111111Ac1111
Littlede,·elopmmt,.-asdonc:ontheltt-
Enficld nfle after WWI sin,;,: Ille nfle and
actionhadprm-.drdiablewin&thaloonfbcl.
Nor"v!hcremuchntt<l10makemanyflddt-
uonaln~leasl.nocinilWWllloomed
mtosi&ftt.HO"A'C'o·cr.ithadbecnprcvioosly
foundthatlheriflecooldbc:simplifiedand
improvtd.andtheactioo made IIOOle>''ha1
stJ"On&Cf.Thedev(;lopmentworkdonc:..,.;,::,ro,
ina]y ..-astowardmalcingthcriflemon:ICCll-
rarc.simpler and stronger. Foreumple. it"•
foundm.ltlheriflcgavebener.x:urxywith
anapenun:sighltn0tlllledontherc,;:,eiverand
lha!!hcrewasootealntt<lforlhemapz,ne
cutolf.Thus.inlhelate1930s.whcnthc
Bnushapinneedcdriflcs.tbeyadcipe,;llhe
MarkVl.1simplifiedand~-.d--
lhllhccamelheNo.4Lcc-Enf,eld.
~arcsomeofthechangcsldoplcd:
l)Theew,lf,.,-aseliminaled,lhemachin-

ingforitomittcd. Thislefttherightrcceiver
,,1allstrongerthanbefore,simplifiedandstiff-
erw:dthea.ction,andlcftrr.:mmetal in the
rightwalltosuppontherightlockinglug.
2)Thtbridgewasmadeabithighersolhat
aleafapcnuresigh1oooldbcmounted.
3)Thefrontof thcbridgcwasalsomadea
bithigher,sothataoonne,;tingstripofmetal
joining these projections formed a much
.smallerandneaterclip<hargerguidebridge
4) The thwnb ocitCb in the left =eiver wall
"'aS_madeshallower,funher~ingthe
S)Thcbohhtadwasallttro,aswellasthc
melhodbywhichicwasgwdedwxln:tained
The e,:tractor lug was made smaller, and
insleadofcngagingO\ttthecdgcoftherigh1
reoeiv<:rwall,itlTKIYCdinagroovecutinside
thewall.Onear1yNo.4actions,aplunger-type
lx:ilthcadn:lea.9:,fittinginamortisecutimo
thercceiver,oooldbc~torcleasethe
bohhead.Latcr,thisrelcas.ewasomitted;
inslead,anocchcutoutofthcboltheadgroo,~
inthefrontoftherightn:oeiver"''llllallowed
theboltheadtoberotate,;latthispoim for
removalofthclx,ltfiomtheaction.Withthis
changc.theri~becametheNo.4Marlcl•
6)Thesafe,yshape,,,aschangcdandanew
...-
safety spring used, eliminating the safety
7)Theltftsideofthcbolthcadwasmade
l\attoallowagreaieramountofpo,,,.1iorgases
10cscapcoutofthebol1htadholcandpagthe
reoeiverwall.Thegas-c,icapeholeintheleftof
thenx:ci,-erwascnlargcdandmaderound.
In addition iothe above, a groove was
mi!ledintherightlockingluglguideribto
makethelx,ltlighter. Then:an:a number of
dwigesintheeonfigurationofthe~eiver
whichwerctheresuhofclimina1ingorsim-
p!ifyingthernachiningopen,tions:
Onla!CNo.4s,thetriggerwaspiVOIC'din
thereceiverinsteadofinthcTriggcrguard
TheNo.4actionsinwhichthetriggerwas
pivOledinabracketbraudontothebun
socket became the Mar\ •/i.Latcr.whenthe
braud-on bracket was eliminated and the
lriggerpivOleddi~tlytothebunsocket,the
dcsignationwaschangcdtoMar\.•/1
TheNo.5Lec-EnfieldJungleCarbinchas
thesameac1ionastheNo.4.
T...... 1111111.,.._,
Makeoenaintherifleisunloaded.Remm-c
themagazincbylil'tifliupthemagazinelatrnin
theaiggergu.ll'dandpullingitoutoftheaction.
Disas.lffllblethemagazinebydcpl'cssingthe
rearofthefollowerllnlilit,;fromendslipsru1of
thernagazincbox.thengcntlylifloutthefol-
lo11,-crand follower spring. Reas.scrnblein
re>'Cl'Seorder.
RemovetheboltfromtheNo. l Marklll
byraisingthebolthandlcandpullingtheboh
backasfarasitwillgo:thenrotatethebolt
headbyliflinguponthecictractorlug.andthe
bohcanbcpulledfrorntheaction.Toremovc
theboltfrorntheearlyNo.4riflc.fiMtipup
therearsight,dcpressthebolthcadrelcase
andopcnthcboltasfarasiiwillgo:now
roia1etheboltheadCOW1tcrelock"iscandpull
theboltfromtherecciver.Onthela1eNo.4.
open the bolt and pull it back about 1/i~. or
untilthebohheadcanbcrotated.thcnpullthe
bolt from the receiver.
Lee Enfield Rifles
Todisasscrnblethebolt,unscrewthebolt
head,remo,.-cthecictraclel"screw,thenpullow
thee~tractorspring. Turnout the firing-pin
lockscn:wfromthecockingpiece.Usingthe
specialtoolsllo,.n.imertitintothefron1ofthe
boltand,whilepressingthefiringpindown
wilhlhistool,unscrewthe firing pin from
cockingpic«,.Reas.scrnbkinre-.-cni:order.
Remm-cthesafelymechanismbyTUnting
OUlthesafccy-springscrewandlitliflithesafo.
ty-springandsafetypartsfromthen:cci,tt.lf
theboltlockis~fromthesafety,i1m1.151
bc~igncdonthe~sothalilwillfitthe
holeinthen::<::C'iverwiththesafetyinthefor-
wazd(FIR£)pogtion.
Rcmo,-c the bunstock by opening the
buttp1atctrapandremovingthefeltwadthal
coversthesrockbolthead:usealarge.long·
bladedscrewdrivermunscrewtheSIOCkboll
Rcmovethelriggerguanl/maguincplateby
rcmovingtherearandfrontlrigger-guard
scrcws.thenliflitoutofthefon:ndRemovc
themuzzlecapandbarrelbands.thengcntly
pullthefortndawayfromthebarrelandaction.
OntheNo. I Mar\ 111 ,tumoutthemaga•
zinc:cutoff=andrcmovcthecutoff.Dri-
,-c Oil! the ~ t c h pin and rcmovc the
catch and spring. Tum out the bolt-h<:ad
relea!lC-spring=andremcwetherek,asc
springandsear.Rcasscmbkinrevcr;c,order
OntheNo.4.TUntOll!thernagazinc-<:atch
screwandrcmovcthebolt•headreleascstop,
bolt-hcadrelcasc.boll-headreleascspring,
maguinecatchandspring.Drivcou1thesear
pinandrcmovcthesear.Drivc001thelrigger
pin and remo,·e the trigger. RC85$Cmblc in
re>"CTSCorder.
89
 --,_
ND. 1 Mll'III
, _.,.
3 MagazineWIOII
4Magazinewt<Jlfsc,ew
5 Magazinelaleh
6 Sear/magamelalch
:! -
-
The No. I Marklll&lll*:Al\erasscmbly.
eachriflcv,aspm,·edbyfiringTWoproof
loods;thesc,Jc,.•clopcdabout2Spcn:cntmore
brecch~urcthanthenormalload.Aflcr
i~specti_o_n. if nothing was "TOng with the
nfle.Bnnshproofmart:liwerestampedonthe
brttehcndofthcbam:l. receivcrring.boll
headandboltbody.lbescrialnumberwas
usuallystampedonlheharrelbreech,recei,...,.
andstemofthebolthandlc.Therestofthe
man:.ings.stampedootherigh1sideofthebun
socket.includeaproofmark.manufacturer,
date and model designation as follow$: A
crownwithlhelcm,rs G.R. ""ltSstampedon
10p.Belowthis,lhenameorinitialsoftheman-
ufac1Urcr"·asswnpcd:suchas E N•· 1E Lll
(fortheRoya]SmallArmsFactofyatEnficld
Lock, Middlesex. England), B.S.A.Co. (Bir•
mmgham Small Anns Co .. Birmingham,
England)or L.S.A.Co. (londonSmallAnns
Co .• of London): below1hisand over the
modeldesignationwouldbethedate()'<'ar)
lhenllewasmade,asfollows:
SHTL.E
lll (orlll*)
Theletrers ..S'" L.E."mean"Shortlcc-
Enficld."TheNo. l riflesmadeinlndiawere
~ ISIIAPORE, lhose made in AllSlralia
90
werestamped LITHGOW,bOllicitiesinlhose
rountrics.Varioosrillepartsalsoan=Slamped
wilhinspector's orvicwer'srnarks.whithmay
beanumba".alctterorbodt.often,.;thacnw.TL
No. 4Rifleswereallmadeundcrmorc-or-
lcsslryingwartimeoonditionsinanwnbcrof
fa.c1oriesinEngland.theUnite<;IStatesand
Canada.Thcmarkingsystcms,.-eresomany
~,•aried,andlcan·11istthemall. To bcgin
w,th.mos1No.4swereproofmarked.serial
nwnben:danddated.generallymarkedwith
1hemodcldesigna1ionand1henamc and/or
place of manufacture.
ProofmarkswerelL'luallystampedonthe
ban'elbre<:<:h,rcor:iverring,bollheadandboh
body.SC'rialnwnbcrandda!e{ytar)ofmanu-
facturewerellSUallyS1ampedontheleftside
oflheb<msockC'I
The model designa1ion, was usually
stampedontheleftsideofthercor:iver.asfol-
lows: N° 4MK 1.N° 4 MK l *,N" 4MK 11,,
orN° 4 MK 113. If there isa "(T)"afterlhe
markdesignation. thisindicacesrhcsnipcr
rifle. The No. S Caibioos are marked ~ No.
s ~.followedbythemarkdesignation
Three firms in England made the No.4
riflcs.Thcsefirmswereassignedblocl:sofscr-
ialnwnbtnsolhalnotworifleswouldhave
!he same number. ll>e number was stamped
(orsometimesctched)onlheleftsideofthe
butt sockC'I Rifles marl<ed with an t' V or
ROF(t) werefiomtheRoyalOrdnana:Fac-
toryatfazakcrley. Lancashire.while those
with an M, RM or ROF(M) came fromlhe
Royal0nlnancefac10rya1Mald,y.Vooohire.
Thosemarked B.85B or M47 arefroma
BSA-conrrolled company in Shirley. near
Binninglwn. The wm1 ENCLAN"D is often
stampedontherecci,·erringofthesieriflcs.
ll>eNo.4 Mari<l•riflesmadeinthelong
DraneharsenalnearToronto.Canada.were
marked LONG BRANC H on the left side of
lheroceiver.RiflcsmadeintheU.S.bylhe
Sa,·ag(' Arms Company (in the fo,mer J.
Stevens Arms Co. plantinChicop«Falls.
Massaehuscns) were stamped U.S. PROP-
ERTV on the left side ofthe recciver. (They
"'""' madeundcrthcl.end-l.cas-carrang('-
-
mentbelwccnlhcU.S.andEngland.) Thescr-
ialnwnberofthescU.S.~riflesincludes
thelctterC,forChitope,:Falls.
Agn:atmanylee-Enflck:lriflcsweremadc.
HundredsoflhousandsoflheNo.l rifles were
madeatEnficldLock.lhcfacto1ylhaldidmos1
of the original devclopment wori<onthem
O,.,:r2.000,000weremadeatEnf\ck:lbctwecn
August.19 !4.andNovember.1918.ll>elarge
BirminghamSmallArmsfinnbeganmaking
1.ce-Enf\cklsaboutl90J.DuringWWl,they
madcsornc:7000!01 0.000awt>Ck,andwring
WWH thcymadcaboutl.2.50.000oflhcNo.4
rines. Thcfac1orics in Australia made over
Lee- Enfield
No.1, Mark Ill
(SM LE)

42

49
i so

~1-"
25
!•
-._j ~
Jel··
--i=~ r
)

,, ,,.. ,,.

i 5=
: !".lScnw
"
"
jj
"" ., ,_
"
~ :i ~ScwN
91
 : I
640.000Lee-Enficids.0-,erl.OOO.OOONo.4
riHcs,includingaboutl000sniperrif1cs..,.=
madcinthelongBnux:hanenalinCanada
MorethanamillionoftheNo.4s.,."C'l'Calso
made by Sa\ttlgC in the UnitedSta1es. This
acoountsforaround6.000.000ril1cs,botlhat's
onlyparlofthetO(a]production.lhavcoo
additional production figun:s.norscrial num-
berreoords.sol can'tC\fflgucsshowmany
"'f:l'Cmadeina.11.Nordolhavca:,yf,gureson
howmanywm:importcdintotheU.S.assur-
plusarmsaflerWWll ,butitprobablyrunsinto
---
hundreds of thousands. At least there=
enoughofthemintheUni1edStatesandthe
n::s1ofthewcwldtol&Slaloo&time.
,_
ToC111do.,.11manufacturingand=bly
time.pcrhap,s.andctflainlytoreduoemainte-
nancetimc la11,ron whenheadspacecoms::-
tions.,.'f:l'Cnccdcd.ancwheadspacingsystem
wasinmxb:edwiththeNo.4rifles. l!wasa
simplesystem.madepossiblebythetwo,piece
boltwithscparatebolthead. ltconsistedof
makingtheboltheadsofdifTercntlengthsto
obtainandmaimainproperheadspacc;inthe
303Lce-Enfteldrifle,thisisthespacebctween
thefaceofthebohheadandthebarre!face.
The bolt heads, made in four difTmnt
lenljlhs..,.'f:l'C!Uutlbercdfrom"O"to"3."No.O
head was the shonest; No. I was .oOJ• longer
thanNo.O;No.2was.OOrlongcTthanthe
No.l;andtheNo.lwas.003.longerthanthe
No.2head0\lringfacroryasscmbly,abolt
headwasfinedwhichgu-cnormalheadspacc
or.064·ro.074•. Thesefigurcsrq,rescnrmin-
imwn and maximwn allowable headspacc. If,
aflcrmuchuse,hcadspaceinrn:ascd.ancw
lx,ltheadoouldbei:malledto~head.
spaceby.003•..006•.etc.Boltheadsofthe
No.4riHesweremarkedwiththequalifying
numberontheexlnletOJlug.
92
I
Totheconsrerrwionofmanyhandloaders.
No. 4 riflcswcreoflcn found1ohavcovcrly
largecharnben-thalis,longerthannctdbeto
aca,ptcoomiercial303Britishcartndges.These
wartimcchambcrs.,.'f:l'Cpurp#lymadclarge
sothallherifleswouldfunctionproperlyC\-cn
withdiny.oorrodedorslightlydamagcdammu.
nition.Whilemostl=E'nfteldmiliwyrifles
ha,-c"maximum"chambcrs,mostNo.4riHcs
(aswcllastheNo.5carbincs)seemtoh:ivc
chambenmuchlargerthanthenomtalm.ui-
mum.solargethatthe fired cases show pro,
IIOllOCCdbodyenlargemem.withbodysplitsnot
uncommon.Manufacturingrolerana:sforbolh
riflcsandammunilion"eregenorousdlringlhe
war,v.hichinnowayafTcctedtheriflcformili-
taryll'IC,orC\-enforsportinguse.Alargeclwn-
ber,1..,.,,,,,,er,isnotdesirableinatargetrifle.so
itwasaproblcmformanyhandloaders.sincc
theirca,icssekkmlastOOmon:thanrwoathn:e
reloadi~beforothey'dsq:,aratc
Case~Oigenemllycausedbyovcr-
woocingthebrass,byrepeatcdfull•lengthresiz-
ing.Shoolersoft,,,,,blameexoessi,-cheadspare
for=esq,aration(anditmaybeparllyto
blamc insomerifles).buteveninariflewith
minirnumor?.e10headspa,;:e,too-frequentfull
kngthltSizingistherealrouseofcasc!q1a111-
lion.ThcL=F.nfieldreloadersmuldA)Ciela
fulllmgthsiDngdictailoredtohisrifle'scham-
bcr;RCBScansupplylheseifsevemlfircd~
csaresenttothem.B)Rcsizethe=ejust
enoughtolclircnierthecrumberwithatouchof
cffort.qNecksizeonly,a.ssuminglhatca.1es
so,worl<cdv.illenterthechamberv.ithoutundue
/'or,oe,Otherthanthis,lheonlypositivesolution
istosctthebarrelbackandn:<:hamberit,or
installanewbarrelwithanmnalchamber.
Both No. I andNo.4rif\escanberemod-
eledintofincsponingriflcsforhuntingbig
game. Formos1 big game hunling, in my
opinion,fewcanridgesarebe1terthanthe303
British.Undemealhthewoodhandguan:lisa
slim tapmd ba=l of the most pleasing con-
tour, ideal in weight for a sporter. The action
is reliable, strong and easy to ope1111e-
smoother.roo.thanmanyochermili131y1wn-
bol1octions.Theactionhasagoodsafetyand
alow,well-]l0Sitionedbol1handlc.Shonening
thebarrel,installingthesightsofyourchoicc,
remodclingtheissuestock.orinstallinganev.•
sponcrstockandforend.isabo\uallthatis
needi:dtorumlheseriflesin!osponers.Olllcr
thingscanbedonetomakcthel.«-F.nficld
intoadeluxesponer.butwhetheryouwanta
plainordcluxejob,the'makings.. arethere
ldon'11hink.lhough,thatifsprattital10
spc,xlaloioftimcandmoncyiobuikladeluxc
Lee-Enfieldsponerforse,:cralreasons.First.it
ismucheasiertorcmaketherifleorcarbinc
imoanopen-sightOOrough-and-r-iy,spare,
scoondorloan,ootriHe. ThcNo.5Carbinc,
muallycalledthe"JungleCarbine,"issucha
riflcasis.hisperhapslhebcslctio;c:eofany
miliwyrifletouseprettymuchasissuedfor
hunting. Thcbo!IStockisrathershlltforr1'1311y
shooters,andtheoombisverylow,butputting
onalov.·<OS1fajcnorBisho1)botwockwill
=tlbcscproblems-andallyouncedisa
largeandlongscrewdrivertoinstallit.Anew
forendisaseasytoinstall.butlheissueforend
ontheNo.5isao:,:;eplabktheway~is.
Bccauseithasalongt.Tbarrel,theNo.lrifle
makcsabetterlookingsponer.lsuggestshllt·
eningthcbarrclro22or24inches.lhen
installingsuchopcnsightsastheWilliams
Gwderearsighl.andabeadorbladefromsighr
mountedontheWil!iamssweal,()llOfscrt:W·
on111rnphasc.lfyou'dratherha,-carccei,,,,.
sigh~l'drocommcndtheWilliamsfoolproof
sightFortheNo.4L=Enficld.lsuggcstthe
Rcdf,cldadaptorbrackctandtheirrecciver
sightsincer,:,drillingandtappingisrequired
Afterthebarrelhasbeenshortenedandthe
R&lll:IIIISlllkd.theNo.lorNo.4sportcrcan
bc~bynsiall~•-~s&oct
andbend. Theyaefimshedbyr.ffllmdc
fmm. Tollllp'O','Clhclooboftherilk.lhc
mmlcanbcpollShedbrigll;andlhenn:blucd.
A~ofthescrillcshavcPamrizicdmctal. lf
youlilelhismaallfflCC,buldislilethewlor,
thepartscanbcrcblucd"ithou1doinganypol-
ishing. T o ~ the Parkcmed finish, it will
ha...e10bcpolishedoff.SomeNo.4riflesha,..,
a dark. paintal-on finish. which can be
lt"fl10'lt"dwithcoaneemeryclolhinlhcfirst
51cp1nmakiJl&themctalsmoodl.
lt1snot1oodifficull10alterthcten-shot
ffll&&lll'll:llllive-shot.CUlofftheboaompan
ofthemagwne,,.·hichproj«tsbf:lowlhc
SIOX'k,andweldorlilocr!<>klerona ....... boc-
......
10111plal,emadefiom1piettofhea\'yshttl
Tomakethe~•'ffabittrimmer.thccl,p
clw)ffgu.idcbridgccanbctutofTentin:ly.
llusw1llno1wcakmthelelion1<1anyro'lllCe-
ablcv.tcnt.ThemagazineCU10fTontheNo.l
IICtionsshouklbcdi!ardcd
Lc,e.Enfieldsan:notideallysuiledforuse
with a M:0JIC sight. However. a huming$CO(IC
canbcmounlCdonNo.4andNo.5riflcswith
oneofthese>"er11lcooimercialtc.:ip,:rnouots
1vail:able.
lha...eofltnbttnasktdaboulthefeasi'bilily
ofl'CSIO:dlngtheLc,e.Enficldwith a one-p,ca,
--- -
IIOCk. A a:q,leofmy fi"iendsSIOCkedlhcir
Lc,e.Enfidds1111hasmarn::r,ldaflerl-thi:
viort lll'o'OMd. my11dvioe is--don"tallor,pfil!
Lc,e.Enfll'ld rillcsofTcrnon:d-.ambcring
potiibdrties.Thmisthel03Britisltl~
cartrid&<,1blo-,,TK:1U1,sharp-,sl-.:,ukocr-
sionofthestardard303,llo.ll~bcringthe
Lc,e.Enficldforitisnotadvisablc.(The303
BritishP-14Enfieldrifle,wbichlwasuoogcr
actionthanthelc,e.Enficld.howcvcr,issuit-
ablc:fortlusm:harnbcring.)
lconunuallygetlc!tersfiomshoot(n"·ho
-...,..kllile10build145-70orsomcotherbig
~calibcrbolt«tioorifk,manyoftbem
••antongtoknowifthcU'e-Enfll'ldlCIIOII
WOl,l)dserv,:lheirpurpose.Welltbelomwt-
rierofthel.ee-Enftckl.thcRcming1on-Lee
nlle.wu made11145-70,amlthcNo.land
No.4Lc,e.Enfll'ldlClions."ilhsomcalter-
.iions,rou.ldbcldaplalandrcbarrcled10
hlndlctlusc:artridF.Withsimilarmodilica-
t1on1,thcNo. 41Ctionwouldabobcsuitablc
forthc444Marlincaraidgc.Whcthcrtlus
lftlURlmgwooldbcpnlCticalornotislOltle-
thingcl,,,, much depenwngon howmuc:h of
_.,,._
theworicyoucandoyoursclf.
l strongly~h-iscagainstusinganyLee•
Enficld11Ctiooforrcliarrelingtoanyoneofthc
wildcatcaruidgesbasedonthc303Drituhor
Tllll...atllM_.T. . . Wlf'II
JnEngland.CanadaandAusmlia.thclc,e.
Enfield has Ion,: been used for competitive
llrJelshootin&.•sponforwhichthe:scrilles
ha,·e been highly\E\'Cloped. Parl<cr-Hak,
Lld., ,.'IISontlO!ln:C:OfllincofiargalCOIS-
fOOCSforthisrillc.includinglhcbcstpro:;i-
POfl.ma&, receiver ,ighu. Because the
7.62mm NAT0(308) "'llSthcstandard mm-
lal}' cartridae ofthe,e aiunlries. and because
the IUf!l)ly of good 303 British WIid ammu-
nition w1t11 no longe-r plentiful, many targe1
shooters coo,·crtcd 1he No. 4 rifles 10 the
7.62mm.AtlcastoneftrminEnglandonce
offered I coo,·crsion ki1. which includes a
lhmdcd and chambered 7.62mm bam:I,
~ine,cx!r'ICIOr.CJe<:torandclip-slot
adaplor. lnfilct.ifthcrillc"'llSuseda1sin-
pcshot,only1 ~isnm;lrrl.and..y,;om•
poncn11barttls,mthooulddothejob. Onlythe
No.-4(orNo. 5).,;'IIQnissuiablefor7.62mm
rcbarmina,sinceR1Sthestronges1ofthele&-
S,li<kl,.
O,mngthcmanyy,:arsthatrillcmecha--
nismshaveintereS1cdmc, l' vereadandhcanl
muc:hpraiseandcriticismofthclce-Enficld
action and rif1c, with dcvocces and critics
oquallyvcherncm.Whilcldon"twaruiomlcr
iniothisdcbatc,lwillmakcsomecommcnts.
Allhoua,h the U'e rumboh-1C1ionsys1cm
""IIOfadvan«ddesignwhcnJamt1 Parit
LccpllCnleditinl879,and,.-hcn1modifocd
,_of,1,.•ldopledby~Bnwnin
l88&.ilm11S1bcconcedcdthatit"-as,akll,a
wrththcnmrncd303Bririshcartndgc,,out-
mododbythcMausersy,crmllClionsde\'ei,
opcdfioml893tol898.Rcprdlessofthd..
thcBritish,bavingmadcthc<;hoic,c.pn:,t,.bly
spcntmorctimcandmoneyinv.pcrimcnt111&
""-'tatincthcLc,e.Enfieldrillctt,.,..yOlh-
crooun1rydid.Thefaclthatthclc,e.Enficld
nllepcrlormcdso"""duringitslongmili-
wyh1$10ryprm•eswithowadoubltha1thc
lctionis!IOUOd.Manufacturina;spccifica1ions
wcrcqui1e rigid. Tl,c: steel used in it was
alwaysthcbcsta\'llilablcforthel)llll)O<IC.The
variouspanswerc:propcrlymachincd. r,,..
ishedandhca!-ll'Calcd.UnlikethecarlyMOO-
cl l90JSpringfieldactions,thcn:"'ltllnevcr
anydoublaboutthequali1yofthesteeland
hcat-1rcatmen1uscdinmaki11Jthcl.ce-
Enf,e)dllction.Gencrally,hol>"C\-cr,itisnot
........
material or .....,farnirc: that is ~ bul
Thetwo-pieccSIOCkdmgnisoftmmti•
~~lthinknoodamil1iaryboh«1>on
rillehas 1 stronge-rbuttSIOCkarudlrncnc10the
rc:,;ch·cr. h is,perhaps,SO"on&crthanthc
Japane91:Arisaka Typc99riflc.Thescpanlc
Lc,e.Enfieklfomid,though,hasalwlysjp,·en
1JOUblc.lbf:licvc.howc,.•cr,tha1if1hebun
l'XkC'!hadbcendesigne,Jwilhafrontrc:ccn.
sothcrearofthcfomidoouldha,'Cbttnfi!tro
inside i~ and the barrc:I had been made a bit
shoncrandhca,•icrfromthcstart.bcddina
probkms-..ooldha,-clargclyelirninalcd.
Theprotrudingshect-meta.lmagumcis
abocriocl7.lcd.TheBrilishdidnotde-.'Clopthc
Lc,e.Enf,eldfor-,ythinguocptmilitaryU1C,
andlbcloe-.-eitlmapzincsysRllllSOtleoflhc
bcstformili11ryusc.Themapi;incboll-..-.s
madenthcrlip.bulit1>-asquicklydr:tach-
ablc.lnd1fit"'l1Sdamagedanothcronecould
bcqu,cklyinsemd.Forsomcmihcaryuses.it
probablywasTOOR:coo,-enien!tocanyutra
loadcttmagwncsthanlooscarnnmnitionor
llt1Jtlunitioninclips. E\lfflthoughthcmasa-
rinewasdr:tachabk:, formatilmilitaryuse it
,.-aslcftinplaccandloaikdfromthctop
through the action. citherwilhchpsorby
pnssingsinglccutridgcsinioit.Thelarp:
apacity-cenainlydcsirable.amlthefacl
thalthcmapzincpn:,audcdbclowlhclx)clOffl
oftheMOCk"'llSofnodisad\"antagclormili-
wyus,:smo::ethcpoin10fbalanceofthcK
nflcsisKlf\11-.nloflhc~
The Lc,e.Enlicld action has more than
93
 --.
Na.4Mri.1

'''
'''
'
'""'
"",.
""
"
18 Sear
19 Seafpin
2<1 T,;gg&r
21 Tr',werpin
22 Searhnagaiinelak:h

~ ::=se
25 Boltheadrelease
26 ~releases10p
27 Magazinela1Ch!ICl8W
28 Triggerguard
29 RearguardSCfflW
30 Frootguardscrew

~~=spring
31 Magazinebol<

94
,_
--J~-
,.... ~=-~
;--~
,.
12Trigger
13Trigg,i,"Pwl

~; ~~Screw
16Fronto...-dScrew
17 FronlGullrdScrewBusw,g
I
3fl ~HandGullrd
,. _,.
37FrontHandGuard
"""""'""""
""""'-
=-
Boll.HeadAeleaMSpmg

:: :-·~ 39 Bua:SlngS......."-nb!y
4Q Ae,,Sb;i<:Banll

95
 ' • : l I

ample strength forthe303 Bri1ishcanridge

Thetw0rearlockinglugsarenotonlymore
lhanadequa1eto=theboltinthen:ttiv-
er.butkccpthencccs.wybolttraveltoamin-
imum.Thethrcaded-indetachablcbohhead
i!lagoodfoat=;itprovioodagoodbolt•SIOJI
anda,·eryco1wcnientmeanstocontrolhcad-
space.aswasdoncin1heNo.4rilks.The
safetyandtriggermechanismsareruggcdand
reli.ablc.Thecxtractori!lgood.butlbelicvcit
wouldha,-cbecnabenerdesignwithacoil
springratherlhanaHalooc.sinccthecx1rae-
torspringisabou1thconlyp:,nsubjec110
breal:"8c,Therevrunoneedforthehalf-oxk
feature.Nc,·crtheless.Reynolds(opcil.)says
tha1 demands from field units brought the TheNo.4(1elt)andNo.1 Marklll(right)Lee-Enfieldbollheads
half-oxkfeatureback;thati1Slackvrucon-
sidereddangeroos.Thcactioncocksonclos- grainbullet.ThcSlllndard303Britishballload- donewith1heregularunmodifoedlce-f.nfield
ingthebohandisnotlikcdbymanyshooters. ingfrom 1910uscda 174-gminpointedfull- miliwyriflc.butmanyOOJblo-ban-ekdrifles
but ifs really not a drawback once a pcnon jacke1edbuUclaiamuzzle,-elocil)'of24401ps. chambcn:dforitwerethechoiceofmoreafflu•
gctSIISCdtoi1Sproperoperation.Thisgocsfor Notlongaftcritsadoplionin 1888,1he303 emsponsmcn.Wincheslerchambcred1heir
thedoublc-sugetriggerpullaswell l'llrtlidgebecameaverypopularsponing Mode195ie>'tf-actionriflcforthe303British
round. It vru used throughout the British cartridge.making1heriflcpopularinCanada.
1'111803IHlllll&lrll'MII Ernpireonallkindsofgame-tigersinlndia. For the mos1 p:,rt. the only 303 British
Likethelce-Enficldrifles.the303British smallantelopetoclephantsinAfrica.croco- sponingloadsavailablefornianyyeanwere
cartridgcprovcdane>ccellentmilitaryround. dilesto"-aterbuffaloinAustralia.anddeerto 1he 215•grain soflpoim for use on thin-
Thcoriginalmiliwyloadingwaswitha215- mooseinCanada.Muchofthisshooringwas skinoedanimalsand1he215-grainfu11-meta1-
casedbullctcdloodforthick-skinncdgame.
American.Canadian.European.Afncanand
Lee-Enfieldfiriogpinremovaltool Australianshoolct'Scanreadilypun:ha.sc303·
caliberBritishsp::,rtingammunition.Thetwo
most common loads will be wi1hthc 150-
grain and the 180-grain bullcts. Thc 303
.125"- i- Ilritishcanridgcisinthesamepowerclassas

© ==_=
__ =_ -~-_=-J---+-+, the30-40Kragand300Savage.ltshouldnot
beconfuscdwi1hthesmaller303Savagccar•
oidgc.noris1he303Bririshintcrchangcablc
wi1hanyothercaroidgc.allhoughitscasci!l

-I i-.21s· .250·
nearlythesameasthe30-40.
Thc303Bririshcanridgeisrelo.,dablc.h
=~303(.311"•Jl2""diamctcr)bul-
lets.Lcc-f.nf,eldOOITClsha,-ealefl-h.1ndrifling
lwislofoocruminlOinches;bon:(lard)diam-
e-teris.303".g:roovediamctcrabout.314"
{Below)BritishLee-Entieldbollshowing:(A)bolthead:(B)exlrac· Mostbarrelshavc5groovcs.althoughsome
1or:(C)boltheadluowhldlhousesthee1mactoranda,tracior late-manufactured No. 4 rifles may have 2-
&pring:(D)boltguideribllockinglug:(E)eockingplece;(F)lelt g,-,:KM:barrels. ThcNo.4riflesmadebySav-
lockinglugand{G)gas11entholein1hebolthead agcusw.llyha,-e6-groo>-ebarrels.

96
£1'1111122Rnh
Convnlan lhl
L uGER FANSHAVElongbecnfamiliar
with the Enna22rimfircconvcrsion unit
made for that pislol. Not so well known,
hQweVC1",isthc22Long Rincconvcrsion
umt this finn (Erma Werlr.c ,n Gennany)
madeforthcM98rine. l bchcvelhisunit
wumadeinthel920sand'l0,,butldon't
lhmt11hasbecnmade11ncebcforeWWll.
Thccon,·cnionun1til1U$tn1tcdhercis
unmart,;ed(eiccep1 for serial numbers and
proofrrwl<s),but l bclic••c,andsevcn,iother
Mtuser fans a ~ wi1h me, !hat this is the
Ermaunit
This.or1similarconVff!.ion,mi1,"llSalso
uscdt,ythemilitaryinCie<amn)-furtnining
l'JUl'll0llft.lt,.vcalltdthe~Model24lnsert
8arrd.~ltwllS11101tlikdyf111tmade11Stsin-
Jkshot, then as1 rq,eaier lateron. These
..--probablybyEmia.
This conversion unn llas1hebasic
~hanialloompooentsof1nflc-....rom-
ple«:actionandbam:las!lefflblybu1minus
sights.triggerandstock.Thcattioni1a rum-
bol1,thccanridgesfedintoi1fromadetach-
abk box mo,gui~. Only the boll and
floorplate/followcr assemblies must be
rano,,cdfromlheM98riflcfortheunitlObc
,ns1al~h,.-umadepnmarilytobcusedin
any8mmM98militarynlkorcarboncha,,..
mgabam,latkast24~1ong.butitcanalso
be lls.ed in 8mm Mauser S!>Ol'llllll rifles wilh
sun, larlcnjphba!Teli.
Thcrc<:dvcroflhi1unitfitsin thcrttciv-
erof1heM98inplaccoflhcrc11ularbolt.
Thcmainlengthof thc:baml i1onlyslightly
smalkTthanthc:landd,artlderofthc:8mm
baml. so it fiu sn111ly ,n the bore. The
tncchcndofthc:ban'clisthc~ondst,.
ofthechamber.Onthc:brttchcndthm:isa
collarmd,bcr,,ccntru1collarandthc
=civer, then, is a two-pi,x,c thn,acled
ad1ustablesleevcananacm,en1.0nepanof
thi1slccvchas 1WOlugswhichcanbcrota1cd
loengagcmthclockinglugfl'CCSlm1he
M9S receiver. When the unit is ill5Cfl<:d inio
the M98.thc outer sleeve with its lugs is
turned clockwile to engage the lugs in the
r'\'Cei,·er. then lhe inner sleeve is !urned
dockwi~1os,:cun,thcunit in the rifle.
Holesatep,tl''Jdedmbocliouterand,nner
1lttvn10"-thc:yC1nbetumed ..ith1tool.
1UCh-.1na,]...,thnspoi111filcdoff.
Thcfrontpanoftheunit'sreea,-crhasiwo
operunp;onealthebooomforthcmogazinc.
oneonthetoprigh1forthc:ejedionpon.Thc
rcarpartofthc:naiver.Jargcrthanthc: main
part.ismadeiofitinthc:Jargcropeninginthc:
M98r'\'Ct1ver1ndo=thc:topofthetana.
Thispm'fflllthc:tnli~llllitfromtumina;in
therccc,,'C1".Thc~l,sanxhediothe
ru:eiVtrwi1htwoCfCIISSpins.
ThcbolthasllatcmainpuU;thcr,,·o-
diamelff bolt body, ..tuch com:ams the long
onctorandtcpara1efiringpin;thcbolthan-
dlesleevc.11,•hichthteadsin10thc:rcarcndof
thc:bol1body.andthcfuingmechanismoom•
poscdofsiriker.mainspring.cock111J1pieee.
safctyandstriker1111t.A!lo!ismillcdinthe
thockrcarpanofthcrrotiverforthc:bolthan-
dlc.ondan01e:hcutinlrul~forthc:bueof
thcbollhandleiolockthc:boltinthcreeaver
whmthc:boltiscic-i.Thcbolt510p1S-
lyashouldermthc:rcar:tig-n,1lolforthe
boltllandlc.
Thcoockinapic,:clwaprop:tionwluch
exiendsthroughar.am;,wslotinthebooomof
thc:reeciverandinlOthc:cockingcamraccway
inthcM98reccivertocogagcthe$e1r.Thc
striker ii cocked enti~ly on the dosing
mo11onofthebolt.Whenthc:1Ct1onisoodcd.
thc:11,1fllS1fctycanberowcddlw.1110mpac
O\'C1"thecndoftherocd,'C1".
The deuichable fi,-e-shol box mapnne IS
well made. The milled folkr,,er i11wdcd
mSIOCthc:magmncbyitsroundcdfrontcnd
movingin1cylindricalguidowaybu1hinto
thc:frontofthcmaaazine. Thcroilmagazmo
springispositioncdinthi19linder.Thcmag-
azincis11=isclyond5cCUR:lyheldinposition
throughaholeinthefloorplale.insi(kof
11,'hidlisattachedasheetmelalguidehou5in&-
Anolehedflalspnnaatlal.hcd10therightsid,e
ofthcmagmneholdslhemaa:mno..,whm
lhenolehaipgesova-theedgcofthefloor-
Plate. Thc bonom ofthc: magazinc Ind ns
~leasesprin1 project belowthc:magazine
_.,_
floorpla1esolha111canbecas1lyp$pCdand
·-
Theuni1illU$1Jalcdhc.eisvcry11,-cllmade.
fincdandfinishc,d,andallthc:majorparts...e
Toinstallthc:unitm ... M98riflc,l'CITIOVC
thc:bohasscmbly.floorplatc.followerand
fol]o.,,-crsprin1.Tumthcl«kingslec>'COO
thc:Ermoumt10thc:holeinthc:rurpanof
this1l«--ci1"1',thcn 1nxntheuniliniothc:
rccciverandbur'elasfuasn11,illao.Pull
thetriggeroroprnthcboltoftheunitson
wills1ayforward. Nowrotatethclockin&
1l«vc1 /,-tumclockwiscuntilthelockin1
slcc.-ccan be turned. When the locking
1iec-,-ciscngaged.tumtheadjusuncntl1CC'Vt
cl«kwiscun1il1i&M. l11S11llthefloorpla1e.
1ilipinthc:mag.mneandthc:nfleisrcady10
fin,.
lftttdthcconvers>onunit$ho\o.11hc.e,i..,
indoor50-footranac.us1nastandan:lvclocify
22 LOOI Rifle ammun11ion. Taking a fine
bead over the ~nido military sights on the
M98acarbineinwhichtbisunitwasfittcd.
andwiththc:rur1iah1elev1tcd10thc:600
mcfCO"setting.lhesllOll~perfcctlyinthc
iarret. Coo.wmna thecru(ks,ghts.aroncy
wuquitcp,od.111,tableforplinkingand
97
 : I I

small same at dose range. Thc1111i1 func..

tioocdpc-rf~lyandlhercwercnofccdtni,
i&fUtionore...tnctionproblans
Thne Emu,ron,·crsion1111iuarcscldorn
Thecomplele22
~relonun~tor
sc,entoday.bu1thcy'rcanin1erestingcxtrafor

__ ...
lheM98rifleln anyMauserrillcoolk<;tion
8mm(8x57o, Althou&hi1wasasortofmakc-shiftaffair.lhe
7.tx5~~ Malll' . . . . . CIVII' rovcrdideffc,;tivdyshroudlhegre;11erpanof
Oncofthe~s1accessoricse,·ermade lhcaction.
open.TheErma fo,theM98miliwyriflc.,,-asabrc:tthcov- This brc:tth cover consists of two main
un11a .....r.Ul\ld'y ,:r. Owingthecar1ypanWWI.theGcrmans pans: theco,·erandthedipbywbic:hthe
supplledln ■ parti­ d,sco,·m:dtllattheirM98was~asfool- assembly is anxhed to the rifle. Thne two

=~==- proofui1<;011ldhlvebccn.Thcmainf1ull pansarcamchedtocai:hodabyalCle,c,op-

J.ho.,,·edupwhcnthcriflcwuuscdinall in&h,nacjom1.solheco,·,:r"·iHopcn and
.sonsofbattlcand.,,-calhcrcondim,ns-in d1•w1lhlhebolt.
mOO-filled1rcnchcs,ondus1y.sand-s,,,cp1 Thcdipismadefiomaptettofwtde
b,,1tlegrounds,orinfn:ci:ingniin.Then1t spnng-1cmpcredstccl.Thctopoflh,sclip
could become ,noperatiYc. oriisopcn11,on cncirdesthecxposedtoppanoflhebrc«h
affected, bythecntryofforcign material cndoflhcbaml. t,c,v,-centhemusightand
inlo!lleaction. hlrrclshoulder.lhcnextendso,,,:rlhclcftand
Amonll lhc SCYeral openings in the M98 underside oflhc forcnd. II is mado with
whereforcignmatcrialcouldeasilycntcr.lhc e1>011p!Springte11$ionsoi1isooteasily
lafllCSlislhclhwnbnotchinlherttei•'Cf"111l, unsnapped from 1heriflc.onceitlwbccn
whic:hcxposcslhelcftlockinglugraceway. ~intoplacc.
Thisopcningislargccoough.frontandrcar, ThcCO\'Cf.whic:h isalsomadeofspring-
1oallowforcignma1tertocnterlhelockin& tempcrcdsbcclstcc~isaccurmelyfonnedio
lugou:esinlhefiootofthe~'"erandc,,cn mcl0Kmos1ofthetopofthe1e1ion.l1
goinsidelhebolt.lm.>Ughthetwolarp:pS extcndsfiomlheR'al'oflhe~vcr""llll
esc:apeholes.and----anlintotheboh-slOp Justf01"'.vdoftheAfety.andiswidemough
andcjcctoropenings.Olheropenings.espo- 10ooverthetopofthe~,·ernna;andrun
clallydurinaniinandfroci:ingweather,arc overlhecdgc:ofthestock.l1·swidcra1the
!ho: dip JtUido skM in the bridge. the space f\'al'IOCO\'Cflheentirebohsiop.bnd&'e.lhe
betWttnthebohsl=-candtiridgewhic:h llaredpanofthebol1sffl-candtherootof
cxpowsbothendsoftheboltguidegroo,-c. lhcbollhandlc.Thercarcndofthecovcris
andlhcspacct,c,v,-cenlheexttllCtOrandbolt rumedinwudandeu1ou1toconformtoand
The problem wasc~iden1lyconsiderwseri- conLactlhecontourcdsurfaceoftheboh
ous mough to wamu,t development and man- sleilve.Thercllfrightsidcof1llecovcris
ufoc1urc of I brccch covcr 10 shield 1hesc notchedtofilO>'Cflhelx>hhandlc,and1sim-
openings. plespringbarlalch.fas1tne(hlthecdgc:ofthe
Unlikelhe Typel8and99Arisakamilitlry CO\"erO\'erlhcoou:h.looselyfascenslhecov-
rilles.whosc1C1ionswercinitiallydcsign,:d CflOlhcbolthandle
forallidin&co-'Cf.lheM98ac:tion,.-asnol!IO ThccritK::alpanofthel:nechco•-crlS5l'ffl-
~and100-'Cfhad10bcmado10fitit. blyisthe1e1escopi,,:hingeonthelefts,de.Thc
Th,s"-as~assho,,,-n in lheillia- OU1Crpll'lofllushingeisa11eelnabeltalfdy
1n111ons. Thc co--cr "'3S ""anslnlel0d thal it fuiened IO the left oflhc clip. llus rube
cowdbceas,lylllllehedlOtheunaJlmdGew- exlffldsabouthalfwaybackontheco-'Cf.A
98 nflc with the suaight boh handle. lor,adunspnngrod.rollcdintolhemarlcft

98
bonomedgeofth,:eo,.·er,exrcndsfor,,'W
,motherubetooomplclethetdcscopichingc.
allowingtheooverioopenandclosf:andslidc
~kwudandfor,,.udasth:boltisoper.11-
oi
Whcnthebrc«heo,.-crisinplacc.andthe
action clOSC'd, it clT"°'ively cnd0$CS the
mainpanoftheac1ion,prot«lin1itagainst
thcentranceoffon:i&n material. Thcco,·er
innoW11yinterfer-c:s·,mhthenormalopen,-
11onofthesafeiy. and whmth:actionis
open1ldoe:sllOlobslnlC!loadingthernaga•
iine in any way. On opening 1hc ac•ion.
howev«.theooverrisnonthebolthandlc
stem and this makes it ncccswy for the
sbootcrtognsponlyth:ballofthebol•
whcnthellCOOnisopen,led.
Thcbrtt<:hco,'('risrcadilyrcmovedby
firstrclca$ingthebarlatchundcrthebolthan-
dlo 51cm. swingina open the "°"er and dnw·
lll31110thercar10~il1iomtheclip.
Thccl1pcanlhenbeTm10','edbyprai1113the
undcntdcofthedip10thclefl.witili1scpa-
ratesfiomtheforcnd.
Apparmtly the brttc:h covm wen: !IOI
10•1delyuscds,n,;elhcy11rescaiutoday.
P~lheywcn:nocde,·dopedandmadc
earlyenoughtobeuK<lbcforeWWlcndcd.
ormaybethecoverwasn'tentirclyJUCccss-
fu<.

M98brNchcoverlnpiec.onlherille,lhow-
inglhebollhancl9.,,dbrNchCCMWraised
Ylitt,aclior,open.

99
T 11ROUGH STlJDYOFothernllcactions
llldhiJ01011devdopmenlw,:d.PawMa-..
pincd~le11mghtmtoprccixly
""hltfc:MUla"'tfl:nea::saryllldlbu3biein
■ rrul1iaryrillc.Hekne,o,thaleachofhissuc­
=dlll&;dcsignswasbctrcthanlhc:proceding
one,sohcprobablyfehthallheModel96
act1001,,asstillshonofpnf-.Jt'1intcr-
c,s11ng lha1 there was a lapse of two years
bctw«nlheintroduccionoflheM96S""Cdish
Mauser andthe-,lv,:n1oftheM98,while
ITIO$lcllhersuccessfulMallSCl'desians"-ere
onlyayearapart.
Thm:""aSindeedagreataoh'lrlCefromthe
basicM7lbbo::kpo"·df:ractJontolhenat
,mporW11change,lhelfflOftlesapowdercar-
tndgt' M88 action. The lancr introdlm dual-
opposed forward locking !up and the
~pie« boll drilled from the rear. Thcne~t
major and importan1 design changes wen: in
theM92action.,.•hichintroducedthenon-
rota11ngextnlC!Or.andin thcM9J withiis
flushstaggercd-a>lwnn,nondmchablebo.-.
mapz,ne. All of this design IICIIYII)' by
t,t.,,s,:ronhisboh-llC!ionS)'$1ffl!culrrunlled
inthedesignandthcpcrfcctionoflheinside
collumthcreceivcrrin&,thethini,orafety
lugonlheholt.andlheimprovalfinngmcc:h-
an1smoflhc:M98
Thisaclue,.ffllentwascro,,ncd"'hcnGcr-
many.his nativcroun11y,fldoplcdtheModcl
98Ma.,.,.rifle.Allhougl,Mau1crconunucd10
IR\"CIII other= some of,.·luch wcnc out-
sundq.dislheM98&1ionb-"ilichhcisbcsl
1<Jio,.11.Pai1Mm!icrdicd.,May,1914,JUSlll
thesta'tofWWl.1confliclll.iwould1J1:1ehis
M98p,11Cdagainsl ■ vanttyofonffflorrifles.
"'"""'
Thcone-pic«reccivcrismachincdfroma
S1eelforging.Thcm:oill11&,anin1c,g,:,,Jpan
oftherttti,'Cl",islocalcdaboutl.4Ybd>ind
lhefim1cdgeofthereceivcr. l1isaboul.lY
wtdeand.25~indi:plh.-,nplein.mito
l«>ftlhearnonin ■ rasonablyhlrd.wood
5toekifpn,pertybcddodandli&J,tcncdin
platt.Bchindtherecoillualheboaolnofthe
rtttivcrisflat.includin&thetan&-
Thcrecd,.,..ringisthre~insideto
accqi11hcbarrclshank.Thc1hreadsan:of
100
common V-rype, bw ,.;11, a 5s.degree ■nale
mhcrlhanthestandan!Amcrican60-dcgm:;
angle. The~lbrecchisflat,"·iththe
chambercdaeslighttyrounded. lnsi«thc
recdvcrrifla~is1collaragainsiwhkh
thebreechendofthebanelabws.Thisoollu
extcndsen1irelyaroundlhcinsideoflhc
re«,lvcrringexoxp1foranex1n1e1orcu1.l1
formsaringlllatclos.elyswmundsthcbolt
head"·henthcbol1isclosoclThcrearofthi1
col.lar,be-...,lcdtow1rdthcchamber,fonn$1
widcfunnel"'hidl,omctimcshdpstogwde
thecanridaes1n1nthech■mbcr.
Thiscollarllrffl&tha1Sthcrecri-,'Cl"rincllld.
e""'1"forlheexnttortu1,provldesaa<>od
sieal ■romldlhcbohhead.Normalty.lhcbaml
shankisrnade10buntigt11tyagainslthiscol.lar
solha1thcshoulderofthebarrel,,_;lnotl'l(lr
shouklcontactlhefrontcdgeofthcrttei,..,,.,
Thcfflllil"linewcllofthcM98actionis
milled from the bottom of the re«,i\•cr.
bc,tv,"ttnthcbridacandring.lc■ vinglipsat
eitherJideoftheinecdgc:10holdthecar-
llidgainplacc. Thcfionloflhc:wi:Uismillcd
wform ■ shallow'°lrramp10auidelhecar­
tridgnin10thechambef.Thcrighlsidc:ofthe
rtttivcropemngisCU1verylow.lea~inglinle
morethanthesideiailofthcmagwne....,11,
lnelcflsideof1hcr«<:i,..,,openinghas1
""llltxttndingaboultwo-thirdsofthewayup
thcreceiverring"·hicbismilledfortheleft
lockinglug~y.HcM=,therearoflrul
leflwall.cloletolhebridge.istlltalowa
thcright,i«10formathumbrecc$$10aid
lo■dingthemapzinefrom1charg,erclip.Thc
onlyrcallyweakpoirninthcactionres.ul1$
fromthisnot<:h---moreonlhisla!er.
ThclOpfronlofthebridgeisskiacdforthc
clmgcrclip.Thctopofthcbridgebehindthc
ch.lrgcrclipslorismilledthinnertoremove
exOCS1Smctal.Thcrearoftherttti,'Cl"endsina
tang.g,oovcd10acupclhc:cockingpic,;:,:,;am.
Thcboh111IIOlidsceelmachintdforging.
withaninicgn,lbol1handle.Du■l~
lo<,kingl11&1lll'onthefmntcnd.Therighl
{bollom)lua11sotid. Thcleft(top)issloaed
toallowthcejettortopa.sslhrough. The
bridgeandthcleftreceiverwallaremillc,d
insidetoJ11$Sthebohandlugs.Thcre«,ivcr
ringismillcdinside10formlllppOl1ingshoul-
dcrsforthclodlinglugs10,:npge"'hf:nthe
bohisclosod.Thctclupholdthcbohsecure-
ty ■gainsltheblm:lbn,ech.
Arccessinthcbohfacclelive11ashallow
rimabow1WO-thinlsofthewayaroundthe
bolthead,panially&Upponingthecarnid@e
head . The left side of this rim (opp,site the
extraetor),throughwhic:hthecj«lorslotpass-
ts.ismadchigherandundercul110theextrac-
iorpr=iuewiU9CC!Rlyholdlhe~or
thefindcne,v.iulethcbollisbeingopened
Thisprc,·ent:sthe,;ascfromdroppingdown
■ndJlff"Jlt5it..-cillhee:,«10rfl,psitcu
Thclongspring-st«lextractorisanachnl
10thebohby1collarwhichfiisaw,xr."tu1
intothebol!body.Alipunderthcextractor,
behindthecxtnM;Wrhook,,:ngagesanarmw
groo,.·einthcboltheadinfron1ofthclo<,long
lugs.pre>"Cltlingk:Jn&itudinalrrl0\""""11ofthe
ex1n1Ctoronthcbolt.Thcfionloflheex1111C1or
lip.andlhcgrooo,"imo"hichillits.isslighlty
undcn:utlOl'!"'""lthcexlrlCIOrhookfrom
ma>ingoutwardorfromslippingo-,..,,-1car-
tridgerim"i,enfora,isrequired10exu3CII
tightcarnid@eorcucfromlhc:chamber.
The M98 boll hu1 third or safety lug
locatedatthcrcarofthcbol1slightlyforward
ofthebollhandle.andinline"ithlheright
lo<,kinglug.Arecessismilledinthereccivcr
below the bridg(' in which the lug ITIO\'CI
"1lcntheboltiscloled.Thcrccessismilled
..,thenoug:hlOlcrlnoetolhelugw,llnotcon-
tactthcrttci,..,,.__itisnotinlendcdtohclp
holdtheboliinlhclo<,kedpositionbulacts
onlyJ1S1safetylugmthee>'entthefionllock-
inglugsorl'tttivcrriflashouldfail.Thcholt.
a1iop.hasaoemerauidcribabou12.r1ons
and .235# wide. When the bolt is tlo5ed. this
ribrotatesundcrlherearpanoftheextractor.
Theundenl«ofthcbridgeisgroovedw
allowpassageoflhc:rib.
Thciopforw1rdoomerofthe5<j<13n:base
ofthebohhandleislhghllybe,,eled,therear
~ of the recei,'CI" bndg,e inclined 10 the
rear. On operufll, the bolt is cammed rear-
(Above)Original"499Maustrri!le
wan! by the boh handle bu, which mo,·es
alongthisinclincdsurface.Thismovemen1
prov;destheiritialexttactioncammingpow-
er. This inclincdsurfaccalsoaidsinstarting
rot:nionoftheboltwhcni1iHlo6ed.lnaddi-
1ioo.inclincsootheapproachesofthelock.ing
shooldersinthelockinglugm:C'SSinthe
rettivcrring.alongwithaslightlybcvelcd
cornerooeachlocking!ug.providcthepower
1oforoetheboltforwardthelasl•ln•inchas
theboltisro1a1cd90dcgrecsto!ockit.Thc
bolthandlcshankusuallylwaslighttapcr
anderidsinaroundgra.spingba!I.Onmost
earlymilitaryMawierriflesthcbolthandle
shankiswaight.atarightangletothelong
axisoftheaction.Onmostsho!triflesand
carbincs..thebolthandleshankisbcntdown
toplacctheballnearertothestock
Thertarofthebohbodybchindthebolt
handle(about.W')isrnadelarger(.78"Jthan
thema;nbodyofthebolt(.70,.Thisprovidcs
extrametalforthefiringandsafctymccha-
nism.Thcbohisbon:dfromthereartoocccpl
thefiringpinandmainspring.andllasbuttress
threadstoholdtheboltsleeve.Thcrearhalf
of the firin@ pin is f1a1 on 1wo sides and
ex1eridsthroughamatchingholein the bolt
slee,'C.Thcrearoflhtfiringpinandoocking
picccan:machincdwiththrecevenly-spacod
intmup(edlugstoaffordasolidand11=ise
quaner-tumfasteningbetwe,entheseparts.
Theooilmainspringis comprcssedbctween
thebol1sleeveandtheflangeoothefiringpin.
andisretaincdbytheoockingpie.:e.
Mos! M98-typeactionsmadcafler 1901
werernadewithasafetyfiringpin.The$efir•
!hcboltonfeedingali>-ecartridgeintothe
ehamber,itCO\lldnotstriketheprimcr
becausethefiringpinsafctylugswould:;aike
theshoulders"ithinthcboltandblocki1Sfall.
Thcoockingpieeecanfusintothe"3Fofthe
bohsleeve.Thccamc:,;lendsdo,,,nintothetang
l!JOO''Candforwardintoadecpno1ehcutinto
thelhickrearendoftheboh.Thisno1ehisirl-
clinedtoonosidesothalonmisiri&thebohhan-
die the oockin~ piece and the firing pin are
forccdbackabout.J50"~sothcsear
dropsinfrontoftheco::kingpica:sear.lJ.nll«.
Th:n.onthefimlclosmgrnOlion.theboltrn:JVeS
forward"1tilctheseaz-ooldsthecockingpica:
back.oockingtheactionfully. Althooghthe
M98actionisnonnallyrefcm:dtoasa·"OOck·
orKlpf"ing""action.aboutOllC)-(hirdoftherock-
ingmotionis~ishedaslheboltisc~
Thcbolt-slec\'Clockfitsintoaholeinthe
leflsideofthcboltsleeve.ltisgi,a,furwardim-
si<x,bya,;oilspringandispositionedby a small
101

studonthebodyofthelockwilhinagnxwein
theboltslec,-e.As1heboi1istumcd10unlod:
i~ the safety notch CUI in therearoftheboll is
roiatcdinJinc,.,iththcbolt-slcc,-.,lock.allow-
inglhcmtoengageThis-lylocksthcbolt
slee,,-eandpre,,"ffltSitfrommmmgonthcbolt
1mtili1islockcdagain.whmlheboltiscloscd
andthcbolt-slcevelockispushedbackintothc
boltslcc,·cbylhercaredgcoflhebridgc
The wing safety isposi1ionedinahole.
k:ngthwisc.inthetopoftheboltslccve.The
wingpanof1hesafetyisno1ehedandfi1sover
aoollar onthebohslcevc.whiehpl'C,·entsthc
safetyfromfallingo<11.Thiscol!arisno1ched
on itsfarrightsidctopcnnitlhesafe1y10be
remoV'-"lfromlheboitsleevc.blllonlywhen
thecockingpiettisremovedfirst.Withthe
a.c1ionas.scmbled.andlhesafc1yswwtgtothc
right.themainspringtensiononthecocking
pieccholdsthcsafetyinplacc. Thes1cmof
thesafe1yextcnJsforwanlthrooghlhefront
oftheboltsleevetoimerscctthcrearof!he
boltbody.Thecndof1hisstemisno1chedand
engagcsinthcno1chinlheboltonlywhenthc
safetyisswungtolhefarriglnor .. safc.. posi-
tion.lnthispositionbollithestriker(firingpin
andcockingpiecc)andtheboltan:lockcd.
Swwigtotheleftor"off'"position.lhesafe-
tyisdiscngaged.Swungupright,initsinter-
mcJiatcposition.only1hestrikerislocked
back.allowing!heboi110beoperatcd10safe-
lyllflloadthcmagazincbyrunningthccar-
tridgesthroughthcchamber. When the safety
issv,ungfromthek:fttolheuprightposition
orbeyond.itmgagcsbehindlhecockingpioce
anddrawsi1backcloarof1hesear. When it is
rel"'500,lhesearwillbeinpositioninfrontof
thecockingpiett.holdingitcockcd
Theboltbastwolargeoblongvemslhrough
whichpowdergasescanescapeintheeventof
apicn:cdprimcrorruprurcdcasehcad.Thcse
102
A "'ltlort" MIII mlllary ~ ha ving an overall
"""'al8.Wandamagazinllopeningol3.225"
_..._,fllledwtthanewbolt haodle).
1woholesareloca1edin1hefron1panof1he
bol1.oneoncithersidcofthce,11ractorcollar
andncarlhesmallpanofthefiringpin.When
thcactioniscloscdthcsc,'Cl'IISalign"'iththe
lefllocking!ugraceway.thusdim:1ingany
es.:apinggascsbackwartLMuchoflhecscap-
inggaseswouldexitatthethumbslot.lfany
gasespassintothebridg<:raceway1lw:bol1
wouldblockmuchofit.whilethewidc-.bolt
slecvcflangecflffljvc!ydetlectslheremaindcr
away from theshooter"s face. This flange is as
w:deasthcrearpartoflherecei,..,...
Theboh-stop,posirionedatthelcftrearof
thereceiver.isheldinplaceby.andpi,'OlSon.
a pointed screw which passcsthroug,h the
bolt-stopandaslo11cdsquaresmdin1egral
wi1hthem:civcr.Aprojcc1iononthebolt-
stopprojcctsthroug,haholein thcreceiver
bridgc.placingitinthepathoflhelefllocking
tug. Thishaltstherearwardmolionofthebol1
wl>enitisdro."11bock.Thena1tjectorisheld
insidethebolt-sropandpivotsonthebolt-Slop
screw.Theejcctorprotrudcsthroughaslotin
thereceiw,r.Atw0-leafspring.mortiscdin10
thcboli.s1opprovidestcnsionmthcbol1-stop
toholditagainstthereceiver,andtokccplhe
cjcctorridingagainstthebohsoi1willbein
posi1iontoejectthccamidgeorcase.
Thescarishingedviaapinandastudunder
thcrearoftherecei,..,...Acoilspring.~
a1thefromofthesear.1cnsionsthesearand
triggcr.Thetrigg<:rishingedtolhesearbya
pin.Thetopofthetriggerismadcwi1htwo
humpstopro,ide1hetwo-$1agi,lriggerpull
Thetrigg,:rguardandthemaga,:ioeboxan:
machinedfiumasinglepioceofsieeLAhlx.,ugh
thetriggerguardis,;ombined"iththe~
box.itisusuallycalledthetriggerguard-or
simplytheguaniTheguardbowis<p.Ii1ehcavy
andthesamewidlhastheguard1angaboveit
Thcmagazirebox.q,cnatthch<Xt(m,isclosed
byamilleddetachabletloorplate.Thelloorpbll:
isheldinplaoebylipsateithcrendfining
g:n;,o-.-e:scutintotheguan:landretaincdbya
spring-looocdplwig,erattherearofthemaga-
~box.and~inaholeinthestudon
lhercaroftheplatc.Oeprcssinglhepl~
throughthcholeintherearofthefloorplate
allowsi1tobemo,.-od10then:arandn:leased.
Themagazincfollowcrismadewitharib
onitsupperlcftside,forcinglhecartridge:sto
fonn as1aggcrcdcolumn in the magazine
Thercarendofthcfollo,.,..,,ribissquan=
When the magazine is cmpty and the bolt is
oper,ed.thcfollowerrisesintothepathofthe
boltandpre,.1'ntsitfrombcingdosed.This
infOllll!l1heshoolertlw1hemagazincisemp-
tyTherndsoftheW-shapcdflatmagazine
springfitshallowmonisescutintothebonom
ofthefollowcrandirwdetheHoorplate
Heavyguanlscrcwspassthroughholesat
eachendofthctriggerguan:landthreadinto
1herecoillugandtangof1hereceiver.Alarge
studonthefromendoftheguard.through
which1heguanlscrewpaMCS.isrecesscd10
fito,..,-asmallerstudonthcbonomofthe
recoillug.Thisstudalignsther-eccivcrand
thctriggerguardmagazincbox. A sleeve in
lherearguardscrewholeofthcstockcorm:t-
lyspocestherearoftheguanlandreceiver.
Most M98 miliwy aCTions use two small
scn:w:stolocklheguardscrews.Theheadsof
1hcguardscrcwsareootchcd.and1helock
screwsarepositioncdjustinfrontofthcmto
-
pre,.-entlheirtuming.Thelockscn:wsarealso
no1ehcd.lfthcyarctumcdsotheno1chal@\S
withtheguan:lscrews.1hela1tero;anbeturncd
outwithoutmno,·inglhelockscrews.
Thea.ctionisopenedbygraspingthebolt
handle, rotating ii upward90dcgre-esand

pullingbackasforasitwillgo.Thtstrikcris
partially cocked when the bolt handle is
raiscdlfthecartridgesareinachargerclip,
inscrteithcrcndofthedipintothetharger
guidev,'3.yoftherecciverhridgeand,wilhthe
fingersundc:rtheactionandthumbon the
toprnos1camidge.shm1'thecanridgcsdo"T1
intothemagazine.Cartridgescanbesingly
loadcdintoanemptyorp:,niallyemptymag•
azine,bylayingthecanridgein1heoJJW
action and~g it into the magazine wilh
thetipofthelhumb.Toclosetheac1ion,gt11S1>
thebohhandleandpushthebohforward.As
theboltmovesforwarditpusheslhetopcar-
tridgeinthemaga,Jneintothechamber.The
camidgehcadslidesur.dcrtheextraetorhoo.:
onthefinalforwardmo,~tofthebolt.
Duringthefinalforwardmovememofthe
bolt.andonroraringtheboltdo,;kwisetothe
lockedposi1ion.thesearengagesthecocking
pie<:e1oh,olditbarkasthelockinglugspull
thebohfullyforwan:ltokdandseatthecar-
lridgeinthechamber.Theriflecanoowbe
fin::Jbypollingthelrigger.releasingthefir-
ing pin under mainspring tension, or the
actioocanbemade"safe"byswinging1he
safetytotheright.Cartridgcscanbec~tractcd
andejectedsafelybyswingingthesafety10i1.s
intcrmcdiateoruprighlposilionanJopcoing
anddosingthe'oolt
Thefiringpincanbeloweredwithoutsnap-
pingitbymcrelyswingingthesafetytothe
left,orfireposition,raisingtheholthandle,
andlhmholdingthetriggcrbackasthebohis
ro1ateddowntoitslockcdposition.This
shouldonlybt,done,.1tltanmiptyCMmber.
TIUIIDWIIMIIAIIIIIMY
Check the chamber and magazine tobe
certainthcrifleisunlooded.Closcthcboltand
placethesafetyintheuprightposition.Now
raisethebol1handle,swingthebolt-stopto
thelefl,anddrawthebol1fromthereceivcr.
Todisasscmbletheboltpn:,c«dasfolk>ws·
Depresstheboltslceve!ockplunger,then
unscrcwtheboltslee,"<Oandfiringmechanism
fromthebolt;placethefiringpintiponahard
surfaceand,firmlygraspingthebolts!«vc,
Mauser Model 98
An underside view of the M98 Mauser boll
showsthedual-opposedloclcinglugs(A).
utr11ctot(8),extrac\orcoll11r{C),du11IOO'
longventh<lies{D),andsafetylug(E).This
98acarb<nebolt huaben1downhandle
~ t h : ~ ! ! i ~ lhe g<asping bal llat-
press the boh slceve down; tum the coding
p;c«one-quartertumineitherdirection.and
liftitoffthefiringpin.Firingpinandrnain-
springcannowbcs,eparatcdSwingthcsaf~
tytotherightandpullitoutoftheboltslceve
Depressthehohslcevelockplungerand
roo>teitcounterdockwiseuntilitisrcleased;
pullitandthespringfromtheboltsleeve.
Remove the ex1ractor by lifting the front
(hookend)awayfromthebohsothatitcan
betumedtothebonomofthcbolt;thcextrac-
tortannowberemovcdbypushingitfor-
wanl.Rcassembleinreverscortler
Ton:mo,"<Othebolt-stop,tumthebolt-stop
screw0111,andlifti1fromthereceiver.J>ull
thcej«torforwardoutofthcbol1-stor,.Place
thebolt-stopinaviseand,usingadriftpunch.
drivethespringforwarduntil its end slips
down. Now insen a small screwdriver
betwcenthecndofthespringandbolt sleevc.
andp1ylhespringforward.lnrcassembling
thespringintotheboh-stop,thecndofthe
springmustbcrai~overthecdgcofthe
bolt-stopwhenitisbeingdri,'fflinloplace
Torem,wethcbarrelandactionfromthe
military stock, first remo,·e the upper and
lower barrel bands from the forend, then
rcmovethetv,'Oguardscn!wsfromthebonom
ofthetriggerguard.Thebam:l,action,and
magazinecannowbeliftcdoutofthcstock.
Remo\'elhefloo,platebydepressingthe
flOOIJ)la1e plunger with a pointed 1001 (or
pointedl;,;dlettip)putlhroughtheholeinthe
rcaroftheplate,thenslidctheplatetothe
rear. The magazine follower and its spring
willcomeoutwiththcplate.Thethreepans
canbeseparatedbyslidingtheplateandfol-
lowerofftheendsofthespring.Removethe
Hoorplatcplungerbydrivingootthecrosspin
fromtherearofthcmagazinehox.Rernove
thctriggerandsearbydrivingootthctrigger
andsearpins.Reassembleinrcv~order
Ul'll..illlll-Acllllll
Modtl98actions"ithan:cciverringabout
l.4lifindiamcterarerommon!ycalled"large
nng~ Mausers. MostM98splrlingandmmwy
riflesmadcuptotheerdofWWll arebasedon
this large ring action. MOSI oflhecommm:ial
M98-typeactionsmadeaftcrWWll.likethe
FN,arealsoofthelargcringtype.
The"smallring"'Mauseractiomha,"<Oa
receiverringdiamcierofabout 1.300". Ak>I
oftheeartyM98carbines.!ikethe98a,wm:
basedonthesmallringaction.ThelllOit
notablelatercamineusingthisactionwasthe
lightweightCzechModtl33/40.
103

Thcdiffcmicebe!wCffllhclargeandsmall
nnaactton1isrcJdilydiscemiblcbysightor
1W1;h,andlhoTeisnonced10useacalibcr10
idenbfylhml.Onthcsrnallringactionthelcft
sidc:oftheruei,-erisstraight.includingpa,1
ofthcbndF.thc""lllandnng.Ho\o~cr.oo
lhclqcmjllctionlhis.surfaa:hasanocablc
JWIIP•'hefflhercm,-erwallmcrgcs"iffllhe
nng.,.-hlchc:anbc:KCnandklL
BccauKlhebrgenngact,onhasathidff
wallofl!IClaluroundingthesi<bandiopof
lheblnel!hankandloclm,glugreccssarcas.
1tna1unillyisS1rongcrthanthcsmallring
act100.JuS1howmuchstrongcrisdiff,cultlO
say. However. German gunmakcrs comid-
crcd thc small nna action strong eoough for
lhemos1powcrful8mmmil;wyorspon1na
canridge.Qfflerally,lhebrgeringactionsarc
prefmedandrm:immendcdforusc"ithbc:11-
ed""&"urnandlargernmlcsscartndgelike
the 30-06and8mm. ThcJmallringlClionJ
arc pri,fc=d for hghtwc,ght sporms 11$1ng
::.','._nmlcslcartridgeslikethe7mmand
St.-llllllllll-T..-..
lnour studyofMauscractionsp,-eceding
theM98.wcnotcdthat Paul Mauser made
eac:hst1CCessivca,c:tionbencr.strongcrand
safcrthanthcl'ftCed,namodclthroughbcttcr
design.lti11icnmllyagrffdbycxpcrtsthat
theM98Mauscrobtainsiissu-engthlromiis
des1gnr1thcrthanbytheuseofspcciallyfor-
mulati:doralloyulstecls,orbysomcspccW
heat-tttatmmt. It is not known jl>Sl exactly
..11:MktndofS1Celswcrel-1iomalcthcvar-
iouspar1S.orthc~lsofthcllCIII.-
bullhoTe11nodotcitthal""hatie-,wstttlsllld
i....-wac,,sc,d,lhey..,.,..,enem,1y
Mltqual,:iornalc,theM981he"-or1d",mos1
sutttSSfulmilnsyn.mbohaction.
104
IORS
J1i,bclicvedlh.ittheM98receiverswcrc
madeoftoug!t(f,lollitykl-.'<:alboostecl.Afttr
-
machinin&,.theonlyhcal•treatrnen1theru:eivcr
gotW1Jcamurizing(cas.e-hardcmng).This
fC!Ullro1111twd<:Uside~IOraist"._
andrust,butlcfltheron:rcbti,·elytoftfor
R ca:i,-cn:ofthcs--WWl er,a.cspccially
theU111llnna1)1)C.lffld10bcJ0mcwhattoft-
crthenthniernanufacrun:dinlhel920s,"30t:
andearly'40s. l hr.-eobs,crvedthalrcm,·m
madelareinlheWWllpcriod.orlllOISCda1ed
"44Hand"45,Harcsorne1imese,ther,'t1)'.10ft
orhard,mosOythelaner.Thcnonnalmngcof
hardl'IC$SforagoodreceivcrsecmJIObe
a~JSCRockwcll
Model 98 bolts and some of the 01hcr
wotkingpansofthea,;tionw=cvidcntly
madeofmedium-orhigh-carbonstecl.10lhat
thcscpartscooldbcmademuchharda.
llw:n:lleCITt'!ll<lbenoC\idmcclOmdicatc
lhat any re-hc-aMreatmcnt or, toft M98
rcm,-cr11,ill1111(1ffl\-eitormakcitscronger.h
1S...tvuabie,lherc-forc-.10ha,-edusdone.
Thli bnngs up I question I'm oftc-n Mked,
" Howdol p'llboutseleaing1goodong1111l
Mall5ef98miliwyactionoo11,'hichiob\lild
myov,11customrillc?'"
My~ionsarc:Bll)'lhcaction.or1
romplclcriflcfromwhichtheactionis1<1bc
utkcn.from1rcputablcdcalerwhowillrcfund
)'<llll"rnoncyifforanyreasonyouareno1sa115-
ficdwi1hthcactionorrillclheyseU.Avo1d
lhoscdtledbcforc-1920andlhoscdaled1ftcr
1943 Fmalty.ifpoaible1<1do.so.pd<:orcdw
qsmadebyorcofdlcbcuerplau. Forc:um.
ple,youc:an hardly to wrong 111 pic:km&an
-,,,made.,thel9JQ,havingRidi......,,.(or
oodc le-um) as MlltlSC'f. DWM. FN or Brno
(VZ-24),wnpedondlcrecci,w.Allcr~
orcofd,c,clt'bOl'ISlherc-isnop:,ir'llint..,..
therecei,-crtcsledforhardness;whcthc-r11is
110mcwl111thardath.ln35C Rockwell.or,;,on.
iidmbly10ftcr,dlca:::tionissrillw;xxl.
Oncfmalwordofcautionaboo.ll,-cry110fl
m:,:,.·..,:lfyouhr,·canM98rillcandyou
""lntlOusctheactionforb\lildlnganlle- -ir
ofs--1920manu&ctm-c.orifthenllc.sho,,.,
evidcnccoft.,,ngbocnusedagr'91dcal---tt
,o-wldbc:1,'t1)'goodi(lea1QleSlfin:it,prefer.
ablyw1thsc•,cn.lfull-toeniocrounds.Aflcr
eachfinng.iftheboltllandlc-canoolybc
rmsed w,th d,ff,why, lhis may imhcau: loclr.-
1na lug se1.t,a,c:k in the rccei,-cr ring. This is
usuallyasignthatlhcrccciverisverysoft.
and tit.at Ille locking lugs ha•-c hammered
dcprc"ions imo !he locking shoulJm. The
rcsultisth:lt"+.mthcboltisopcnedlhclock-
inglugsm11.S1passfromthedoprcMKlnl10lhc
highcrundamagc-dpar10fthelock1ngshool-
den,forcing1heboltforwanlin10do,.._ The
IOW11C1-ba,c:kmaybconty1-.,ic,orlhou-
sandthsof111mch..but"'-cnso.000!"flin&
dlcbohthefircdcartridgf:mustbcforcedfor..
11,wtlinlOth:clanbc,-lhesamc11n01n.Su::h
1rcm,...-shouldnot bcrc-uscd.Thita.ndi-
l10111tnotcasilyCClffttledanditindicarcs,
po,$$,ibly,avaysoft~,w.
Tllt ............ kllllt
ThcrcgularorscandardM98actionmade
forthe8mrnMausercartridgc-.whcthcrlargc
orsmatlrinatypc-.is8.75.inlcngth.Various
rountriausingthe 7x57mrn ~ as their
0ffic111mihtaryroundadoplc-dM98•ac11oo
rillcslhalwerc,insomccascs,,Jighdylhoner
then the ~gular 8mm Mauser action. The
Jhor!Mcx,canM98action"-asoncedlcbcsl
knovi11oflhelhonactions.. l1 is&.50"'in0>-er-
allknglh.ThcseM,:xi,;:ana,;lior,s,~small
orlarg-enngtype..-e9Cal'CC.H0\,,'eYcr.&ir·
mglhepasifcw>=othcrshonM981COOn$

ha,-e ~ on the surplus mar1<et. ducfly
lhcModeJ24Yugor;lav.
Hman:lhedimensionalspocificau.onsof
lhc short M98 acnon md lhe regular lcngch
8mmtction:
Mlllll l8 .._.Acllllllltl
W.igt,t ......... .43oz. ..45oz.
~1fr191~ .: .....:~::•~
~~-=••ii~~=::;~:
. . . . . llngtll .... 3.225w . .3.J20"
.....
AIIOlhcr$pCC1/iationsan:aboutthesamc
~
TheshonM98.,;tionshm:klnghad.and
1tdlh1,.,,apU1appcal10shc:w;:u,rsandgun-
$mllhswan1iJl&iobuikllightfflghlspomna
rifles for cartndges like lhe 220 Swift, 2$7
Robcru.. 243 and 308 Winchester. When
rcadmaabou1shortac1ions.the"'Ofd'"shon"
,e,cmsiohavcarnag:iclllappealandshoolers
wi!lgoLOalmostanylength!OJ!ClSUChan
--,,,1y10 find ow laler. Qshown m the
1t,o,,.,1abk,lha1theshonactionisnotas
shortor•light•lhey~
Without qunt,on the M98 ~b"- is the
best. IUOftgesl and most foolproof m1hwy
n.unbol1actione-.·crmack.hhasrnanyOU1-
Slandma ra1urcs "'hich 111,·e bcm lmlc
improved upon in modem bolt IClions, but
hkeal1IC'OOIIS,1nclud1nglhela!ffldesijp15,
the M98 MaU5C'T tw its faulu and "'CU
p01ms. l $hallliRlhc'11riousgoodandpoor
foa1uresaslsc:ethtm--bascdonSOyearsof
e~pcricncc in using. remodeling, rebam:!ing
andbuildingmanyriflesonthcscactions.
Al l se<: it, the only major ,,,eak po,m in
theM98m,~taryacrionislhcthumbnocchU1
lhclcftrctti,•Cfsiderail.l havcscenanum-
bcr oflhe,e actlOflS ,mh lhe left ,ece,\,'ff rail
cncktd111h,spomLlha,·ecrackcdonc
my,clfinlemng it mto a .POCl<. IDOlherwhffl
laa:odcnwlydropped1ton1canm11loof
Onttldropptd1bamkd1Niononthecc-
mni1 floor and the entire rew pan of the
ncc1verbrokcoff11thcthumbno1ch.Al-
lhoughtheenurelenglhoftherightra,llw
r,omoremetalini1thanthetl11nnes1panof
thelcftm1l111he1humbno«:h,i1_..,1SIObc
.suongcrandrcsis1Scrackingv.-hcn&ub,tec1cd
toS1rain-mu.:hbetterthanthelcftn1il.Th1s
"problblytlue101hehca11reauncmgiven
thcrwch·erin v.hichathinar,:aofmclal
betWC<'rlllO'Olargcrmassesofrnctalbecomcs
hardcr,andthW11morebrinle,than1s,m,lar
dunlf'Clnotclost-toalargcrrnass.Anolher
cxamplcisther~werbodgt-;althoughthe
en1,n:n:,c,:"-crhasb<cngi,-enthe$amChoal
11Utmen1orundergontthesamchardenuig
trca1mmt,thedunrcc:ewcrbodgt-1sal,.'l)'S
Mauser Model 98
(Above)The8mmmilitarycartridget,...,.
IIUPl)ll9dln.tripperdips.Toloadlhert!lelhe
IX>lllt0ptned,lheloadedclipln$,lr1tdinlo
lheelip-cllllrgerguideweyslollnlhe(eceMI"
bfldgeandlhecanridgespusheddownlnto
the m&{lllzlne. The empty clip 11111 away
wtienlhelXllllacloaed.whlchleedslhetop
canrldge In lhe magawe Into lhe ch9mber.
Singlecanridoescanalsobelnsen.i1n1o
lhepllrtialyemptyorernplyma~l)y
ope,,,nglhebolt,dn:,ppinglhec:artricl(ltln
lhe ,..,.,;,,e,ope,q, and p,essing •1nto Ill
~wilhltlllhumb.
muchhardertodrillortapthanthemuch
tludterrea:1\-crnng.
Conmcmal M98 type rcttkcn made v.ld>-
oo.a the tlunb nocch are nannlly rnuch snffcr
antlmoreng,dthantheno1ehcdmihwyro-
c:ei,-.eollw:freU5Uallyprefcm:dfor~
and1argctriflcs.SomegurNnilhsstiffcnlhemil-
il!Wy~vcrbyfillingthethlffllOOICbwilh1
p;.a,of~stedandv.eldingumplace.
Althoughthe98ai;tionisave,ysafconr, I
bcliev.:>1..-ouldbce--eisafcrbyhav1111onr
ort ..'Ogas,-aMholesinthetcft,ilkofthe
rctt1,erringantl"'lll'-"PP',l151tcthe,ffllboles
mtheboh.asmthe03J\JSpringfidd.
~1v.-eaknc:slor1&ult,bul1Dme1-
sar,oe,1Sthallhcbol1canno1{"1thoul1great
dcaloflortt)bcc:losedcma,;artmgclhlli.
bccn~iNothect..nbcr~thee,;-
-..-illnociJipo-,...-therirn H.owever.lhis
mmor""'53rl0ecanbcoonutedby~ful.i-
~lhcc,<1rac1orhookandin-
rn:as,ngthefurwardsk;,pcisalllhalilncabl.
ltmuSlbcremembcrwlhatPaulMau.er
des>ane,llhisactionsolclyforrrul,taryuse,and
&om thisSlllrldpoin1allotherfearuresofllus
-~QlXSlandi:,g.Tb:siemcludelhemAde
ooll.-mthercot,cfrcrring.lhewelylugonlhc
rearofthohlh.1ve,yn.,ggede,;l!llC10rwhich
v.illnotklgoofacartridgcrim,.ffllthebolt
osopened.the~andpo,sit,Yeigmbonsys-
tem.thesrunlyandrelllbksafetyandboh-
510p.andthefine:lrilcar3blc,....,_l)'Slelll.
105

Dcspi1ethe"rnihwyncss"ofthisaction.
GmnanandBribshgunsmithssoonfoondthat
itmetalltbc~1n:mc:nl$Ofsponsmcnwho
dcsiredarepeatingmagazineriflcforhunting
Largcgarne.ThcM98actioowassomelilTIC1
used--.Sissued."Evmaitbcpeakof&.q,ea,I
boh.-ctionsp;wtt111ntledo,,dopnem,tbcfor•
ei&11sportgnandemandcdlittlemore!hantbc
buica::tion.or•mo11only•1™ttprofilcof
thcbohhandle.andmorecoo,'ffliemfloorplalc
rclcaseand.forlhcGcrmans.adoublc-5citrig-
8"'mcchanism.Americanhun~.shoo\ers
andsunsmiths,i..:,..,c;.w.dcmandedmoreftom
lhisaction:intime111,,asfoundtobc-
~andeasoer10remodellhan1nyochcr
militaryboha::tion.SolftlCh,odmit'-~
..U,"tl"Sallyacqlltdbymo11SJ111N"andpro.
fessiomlgunsmithsasthcirfirs1<hoiccmili-
taryboltactiononwbichtobuiklariflc
ThcM98actionispopularintheU.S.for
sevenilrcasoos.butprimarily~it,s
radilya,-.ilable.especiallysinttl~5.Amer-
ican $hoolcn first bc<;lme famil~ .,,;th this
action in fiw- nwnbcn afler WWI ..wn the
first sou,...,;, nncsappcucd. Commcrcial
Mau!iCr spom.,rshad been imported since
abou1 l'H0.110.,,·evcr,;twunocumilaftcr
WWllthalM98miliwyriflcsand"'tions
appcam:I in great numbm.. Since tlw 1mlll:
coonkssthoi-,ibo(theserifle:sand.,;uons
"-'-crcachedthcAmcricanmarl.:ct.Shorlly
1flcrWWl1ammcrcialM98actionsbcpnto
__
appear. bcginnin& with the lklgiar,-<nn FN
andfollowcdbyO!hcrsmadeinYugosla,,ja,
Swcdcn,WdlOmnany,Spainandlap;u,.
~mUS1,;:,:rtalnlybef'armoreM98-l)'JIC
,,,
actionsandriflcsintheU.S.thananyother
ccnierf'in,tumboltdeslgn.andpcrhllps-
lhanalltheseochcrac110nScombincd.
I have previously de-scribed the M98
brc«hingsys1cmwhichccntcrsaroundthe
collarorringinsidcthert«ivcr.Thcflat
106
boftdlfaceofthebarrelbuttsapins1th,s~
larandthcladofthcboltism:ascdwithin
thccollar.touchingthebarrelwhcnthcboltis
lockcd.Thcrcarcodlertn«hsystnnsthatarc
muchsirnplcrandcquallyas~and $1.fc.
butfewofthcmofkrthconead-,-anta,g,elhat
i.o:,na,bulcd101ho:urmalehedpopulantyof
thisaction---cfcanffsddomdncusscd
Manypcoplc"-vesaidtome."Thcrc-
se.·cralfinnsfflll,"iandoffcringlow-cost
tumcd,thrcadcdandchambrn:dbarrclsinvtlf-
M.lU'lcalibenand~forlheM98a<;tion.
Whydoo'tlheyoffi:rsimilarl:crclsforocher
a,;tioos likf the '03 Springlkkl and 11117
E'.nfield.as"-ell?"'Thc-...-islhadx:reisno
singlemilitiryorcomrnercial~-crbolt
actionthatisasiuncrousoraspopular.tolow
incost,strong.safcandsuitablefora,'lrictyof
~asislhcMll8Mauser---a,,J,01<.,,iclr
11/xirrel<t111brjinfflJOrosi/y.
l cannotgointothedctaikdprooedurcsof
filtingandheadspac,na1barTelh=.Suffict,
t1toS11ythlt1tisfareasicr10propcrlyll1a
bandtolheM98th:anitistofuonelOmoist
ofthc:othcrmihwyboltactions.especially
thoseno1madc:tolCOOrlltllOdateafla1.J:ncch•
tndbarrcl.his,ho"-cvc1-_possibleandpn,cti-
CabJe to manufacmre barrels for the M98
action10clo$cfflOU&h~IOthat1
knov,•kdgc:ablc...-alfllrguns,mthshouklbe
_.....
ablc10fu1tpropt"rty10tusaction,.,thoullh,:
useof1mctalbtheorchambfrinarearrw:r.
ThiswouldbevCf)'diff1CUh.ifnotimposs,-
ble,withan'0JSpringfieldor 1imllaraction.
The reader should nol get the imi-ion from
"'hathasbemsaKllhatfiltinsabam:ltothe
M98actionis1S11pand~~tllffl.
mgituptighdy.Thisisno1thccue.
Tobcginwith.itisonlypracricabletousea
militaryM98actionforbuiklingarifleifyou
canck,allor111eastmoistofthemnodclins
worl<younclfforeumple.,fyouhl,-can
TheM98acaobirmhawatpe-
cialtingedmuzzlea,,,w.Aillel
were stacked Wllh the cap
cbledlOproMdthebotefrom
the-.ither.Byopenk,gthe
aprir,g loaded cap 1h11 bore
ocudbedeanedfromthllmuz•
zle.Aholei"ltheo:,,er.amaler
thanlhebote.p,eventawear
enddam!lgelOthemuzzlefrom
the steel Mi!IJWf dNrq ,od
Theo:,,ermustbe,amo:,«ilO
._lherille.TheprOjtc:lionon
1111.-ollhea,,,wtn::t,slll
vlllwbeyondlh&lronllligl1. The
98.-.ruogedlronl~llasa
torwa..:lhooklOeng&Qlllhe
muuleCOVfl<.TOrarTI0¥91he
-,doaalh&cap.pushdown
=.::..90de(,euCOI.Wllel·
a,ction,,,hichoost)'OUooth,ng.andhiredthc
rcmodclingworl<doni:toeqoollheoommer-
cialFNSuprcmeMauseraction.thcnitprot,.
ablywouldhavcbecnadvisablctobuythe
commen:ial"'tioninthefirstplacf,Onthe
otherhand.ifyoucanck,theremodelin&
younc,lf~isnomili~actionqu1\fas
idealaslheM98on,.-hid,tobuild1nfle.
ThcstandardM98miliwyac1>onmadefor
the: 8mm Mauser canridge has a magazine
imgthopcrll"l!Ofapproximate}y3.J20"and,
thercforc.isbestsuitcdtocartridga:lolldedto
asL,gj,tlyshortcro,.·crall\mgth.Thcbohfaoe
rtttSJande,cttac10rarccorreoctfor1nyccnter-
firc canndp: of30-06 t...i ,~. ~fore.
withoutmodifymglhemagazu,e,boltlador
nlJllC\or, the 5landard M\18 mihwy action
willhandlesuchcanridge:sasthese:243,244.
6mm Remington. 257 Robnu, 7mm Mauser.
284. 308. 8mm Mauser. 3~8 and wildi;ats
bascdonthesecases.Thcunaltcn!dact,ons
.,,;JJU$Ul.llyhlndleshoncr-,ndgnqui1e
"-cll.sudlasthe22-250.22S.220S...,ftand
2S0.3000. Ho.,,·evcr, for pnf«t fttdms ii
usuallyis~10inwill1fillerblockin
therearofthemagarincanduseashortcrfol-
lowcrfortheshortcrcartridgcs.
LengtheniJlathemagazineisno1toodifli-
cu1LThisfflllcstheM98actionsuitablcfor
cartridge slightly longer than the 8mm
Maulcr.Dythimincthe~andfi,:wmaga-
:cinewallsandalll:ringtheloadingramp.or
by moving the from magazine: wall forward
andalteringthek)adingrampacronlingly.it
canhandlcmost30-06or2701cnathcar-
tridgcs.Thcn,byopcningupthebollfacc
mcc:ssandshortcningtheutrac1orhook.lht
actioncanhandlesuchshonbi,ltcd-majp,um
canridgcsasthc264io458.0pcntngupthe
maga.:ineand11tcrinstheloadinaramp
enoughforsuchlongcrmagnumc;anridgcsas
the 300 H&H Magnum is 11111 recommended
siocethisgrcatlywtakensthcm:c-i,..,,.,..1.=
itsuppo,uthclowcrkrlinglu1-
 --....._
,1 ~(q,~
3 8oll-stlplCfflW
4 8oll~spnng

..:,, ,...,....
=91)Mg
1D T,WS.
. ,,.
U Tri(prpo,

:~
12 Exndorcolw

li
20 ........ lockspmg
,, ,_
21 Salefy

~
,,.._.Modelll8

Ignition
miledinbridge
--
~~tleellorVn;l,unel0tltldbridge.Strippef~~

······~~~~lugllorwatd.Allwtllogon11>ebol•
···=:=:i~ooi1.......-,g..-.:1oocmgp,,,ce.Cod<s,,,...,.on

=·....
Magazlrw ~~nondllachllbleboi(magazine.s-shll~.Oewf>.

:::=::r~eo"SWrlllfromllllllO,V..
loc:NngSlriker~whenin~poeition;locbboChb01andstri<..-wh8n

=:::=~~=~~:~~oolw
Eje<;tor ...5'wlginglypll,locatedlnboll-Slqlhousing

Remodeling the M98mil it.atyactionis

made easier by• number of accessories of-
frn,d especially for it. Thm-are lriggershocs
a,-ailablc for !he trigger, replacffl,ml safe1ics
"1lichwillclearthclowestmounh:dSOOflCS,
quick-relascf\oorpla1edevffl.sei-mll&ff
mcoclwusms.fullylldjustablesingle-suge
tria:g,:rmcchamsm:s,.fflor,.ilhoulslodc-typc
safeucs. Then:aremon:scopemoun11m:adc
forthcM98actionthanfuranyO!hcr.Jfth1s1s
not mough. you can buy a ~ffcr mamspnog
10speed up the lock time (as ,.~JI as makmg
thcac11onhardertoopen,tc).l.asl.bu11101:
lasl.chambcn,dandfinisf!..tumedba=bare
available111arunbcrofpopularcalibenfiom
K'Vtl'alfums.Mostofthc~an:e11$-
,ty,nsullcdbyfollowmgthcmanufactums
1ns1roct,ons,butunlessyouha,·cthc:propcr
cquipmen1forbarrelfi11mg.l5U&#Slyoulcl1
compc1mtgunsmithdotlwjob.
lfahummg!COpCl510bcmounrcdlowand
o,·cr thc ~ only way n should be
mounted lhcnthcmainal~willbelO
thebol11wdcJoit"1llclearlheeyep,enof
lhc-t00pl'.~bolthandlecanbcforpl101

107
 Oneollhllau1hor'slavorilevannlnlnn.--.ccmpac1medi,.m,wev,trillebasedon•llhort·
enedModel98IICtlon.ltisasingles1101.c:hlllT'b8tedlorlhll219~Wasp.Thtmedi·
um-heavy21"chrome-moly9leelbllrrtlhilaa1:14twiltWldlltv&ry-.i.o.Sighlingis
done"Aflh,--,finelhe<Ul•/,"V.,,,.;ntt,;q,11ol10x.Slod<lltolullra-lanc:yl0Ulhlll'nlowll
aa.!1) ............... ""~..-.dlorn~in•1-.--oa-lapd81n.

lowpn:,file.ortheoripialbohhardlcanolf hawigtheshooldcrofthcbaml oon1a.tlhc penod"''U lhenflc"1tha29. l3"blncl.The

and11.ora-bolthandle."''t'ldedonmthe
lowprofilcpos,llOn. lpreferthelall<'l".115illJ
an electric weld to111ach1he new handle.
Thet'Can several gunwnithingboobas·ail•
.i,11:,.,hichgivedcwkdlllSINCOOIISonal1eT•
•na boh handles. drilhng and lappmg the
t'Ctti,-erfursi;lltsandlOOpCmounU..m-
mJd oflhc,_,..,,._ TheCIN<lm g,.amulh."'
lhreadingabarn:l fortheM98. willcutlhc
lhn:adsonthe~l10fillheindivilkialactlOII.
andcanacruc\.., as tight s filashewisbe9-
e,.-en"'itha60-dcgrtttlnadct1Uer.
Besid,:,s a f&Irtyanuglhreadfi~ the ideal f11
11 atso10ha,-e bolhlhcbfttchmdandthc
maincarbmcvmionofthatperiodwaslhc
M9S..with a 23.62"barrcl.Thcmosccom-
monM98deo.'t'lopcdaflcrWWl.andthcpin-
cipalshoulderannusedduringtheWWII
period."'-q thcM98k"'itha2).62'"bam:l.
lllm:-.."t'1't'Olher,'lriations.lOOnumcrouJIO
menlion.plus&c-,-c,nl,'lriationsofan,per·s

--- ----
sallmgban-elsandaltcnngdlcmagazmc.ci,;,.
lfyoo,.,·ar1110dothls wor\.anddm"1know
how.getthesebookaandfindout.Thcym-
cludc The Modem Gun.smith by WJ. JIOW(:.
ModunGun.smithlngbyOydeBakcrand
Gtuts,n/1/lingbyRoyOunlap.
Modcl98rifbhm,bce'lmadeovcr 1 1on&
pmodoftimc,111anumbcrofcotlrllricsandby
manydiffcrcn1Mn$.J1is.therefore.na1ural10
assumctha1notallofthcm"'-=madewith
e:ract/ythcsamcban-elthread.Whalthey sll
ha,-e in common ,s a Wlur.o'Ol'lh-typc thread
"''llh a mctncpnch.Tlus11115~V-
ncad. us.ally -..111, roinlcd bo!nn and a-esl
Themctrio;pild,is>-erydosclOtwelvc,we.tl;
pcrinch.Theohwmaofthcbanelshank5fll'l)-
;ricatl0l1indica1CSthethrcaddiamclcris1 .1ocr,
the lc-ngdioftheshank .62~• . ..;th a p,ich of
!Wt'l,'Ctlnadspcrinch.TheAmcrianstn:lard
V-em-.adhas 1 60-dcrcqlc:andilha!:lon&
bemacustoo11ryprx1aofAmencan .....
sruths10use!hl:60-dcrctlwcmlinfiaq,-
t.rcls10MaUlierlCbml.1pracooelhll"1pcr-
f~ty actq)labk. Elanelmakers producing
thrcadcdandchambcrooM98replaccmmtbw-
"'lsmUS1ofnocef6nytu11mirurmanlht'Cad.i0
lhllthcbam:lswillf~111pncticaUyevtsyM98
ac1KJn-WS is aJ,oalln&htsma:1sl,a.htly
~tm:ad fn ispmrussibk. T h e ~
lhircfttthelll"IWN"IOundmtlniislhllthe
twmmus1beuncd1nand"3ol~~,-.:rybWI•
ty. Theflalbmxhcrdofthebanelshouldron-
lac1theoollarins1dctherc«iverrather1han
t.rrd shooldcrf;'(lrllXI. the n:ocwer. bul ,.,,th
thcbfttchmdcontacnnglhccollarmuch
morcfinnly
Th,sbool<1s chic.,nyconcemcdw1thlhe
acoonsof,-anousCffilemt't'tumbottnllesand
...-... canbedonc,w,lhlhemntherthan"'11h
theorig,nalnllcs. 'Thm"'ffl:llOmanydilfcr-
en1militafyrines basedonlhcM9811eoon
tha1iodc$cribc:thcm allisbeyoodthcseope
ofthisbook.Forinfonnationonthesemany
nnes.t't'fer10ourbibliography.Thcm0$t
informati,·cofdlcsc,11tlesanMollJC'Bo/t
R,ffe;sbyLOlson,M,,,,_-R,~df'ulobby
Sm,lhandSmullA.-oj/M ff'o rldbySm,th.
Arwmberoffmnsin(iermanyrumedout
hugcquantit1c1ofM98militaryriflcsand1l 1S
CS1imatoothatscvcralmillionhoobc<:nmade
bylhccndofWWI in 1918.Thcywm:mado
by several rommcrcial anns fimu ,ndudmg
MallSff. Sauer, llamcl and OWM. DWM
madcam,llionalone. ThcGmnango,-em-
mm:ancnalsinOanzig.E.zfun,Spm,dauand
Ambergatsomade,uquantn,ca.
lnthcycarsfollowmgWWl ~wasonly
limitooproductionoflheM98.butmlhcmid-
1930s.whenlhdc:rbc:gannmlinghi• Jlber.
prodoctionapmweritintohighgcar.This
bmcmany morcfinn18()111110the11Ct.includ-
,ng some, IQ Germ., ~ 00UlllnCI. No
one kno,.-s how many m,lhon M911s ,..en,
madcfromthis t,mcunlillhcdcfcatofGer•
manyinl945.but1hequan1irywasimmcnse
The principal M98annofthcpre-19l8
-
nllesuseddunnaboth,.'m.TheM9Sltcar-
bincwasdc>·clopcdinthcmid-l920sandic
evenruallybc:camelhcmostfn:quenllypro-
duccdGcnnanmilitaryshoulderann
Asprcvioo!lymcnlioncd.thcmany,-.ria-
oom of the M98 milnay rifles "''ffl: earned
out by a numbcrofdiffermt anns making
plan!liinOermany.andlateronind,lfermt
planlliinanumberofOlhercounlries. lnthc
periodpriortothcl92(1$itwasSla!>danlpnc-
t1ceforcachplanttostampi1Snamconlhc
recri,·errina,alongwnhtheyarinwludilhc
nflc ..-umadcTheleftrc«i,-erwallwasus-
uallySUlllpCdtoindiclflcthcmodclofthcarm.
s.uch as MM.198.~ "'GEW.98" or "'KAR.98.~
Somc11mcslhcn:uneandaddresaofthcmak-
.,.,.,.asstampedonthcsidcof1hc~civcr.
Themakcr'siMigmaorthccrest(coatof
anns)ofthccountryforwhichthcriflcwas
madc.,...alsosornctirncsswnpedonthe
n:u,,-ernng.
lnthel9.l0s a numbcr-<XldcfYl&em"V
maugun,tcd.EIIChofthcprowccnofthtsriflc
wasgi,..,.,acodcnurneralwhich"'v$UIITlpfd
onthcrccci.-crrin11-atongwiththcdatc(Jcar)
of manufacture. Around 1940th11 number
codc...-.t,rgcly~byalenl:rwdc;b-
e.umplc. the lcners "'byf' swnped on the
recri,-.,,.mcan1dmthcriflc ...-.n-.iebythe
Mauser We-rte, plant in Obemdoff. Emticr.
"+.enthenumbercodcwasinurc.theMauser
firmhadthecodcnumberM42.""DuringWWll
usuallyon!ylhclas1twodigi1Sof1heyear

108
 Mauser Model 98

Anothe<oltheauthor'1fall0ffl9spo<1-
1ng rifles, 1hls one based on 1he VZ·24 Czech
Mauser action. The stock, ol cla5'!icde$ign, is made from a fine-figured !)i8Cfl of Amer-
lcan black wanut. It has a 24•sportarbant1I and a Waaver K·10 soope. The action has a vary
!ineMillersingl&-w1trigger.Thisparticularactionandrillehasseenalololservice.Theactioowasmade
in 1939 and the military rifle from whith ii was tai«,n had seen ham use siJ'IC<!l the bore was nearly worn out when ttwas
otltainedin 1945. Theactionwasfirstfilledwitha220Swiflbam!I.AflerMngabou110008hotalhrooghthlsbarrel~was
replaoodwilhooeinthe2201mprovedSwlltcaliber.Allerfirlngaboul1500timea,ltwasreplacedwilhanotheroneln225Winchester
caliber,andlhatonefinall)lreplacedbyonein243ca liber
were stampe,j on the receiver. like M41" ac1ion. That1henumbersma1chmaybeof hcavicrspiucrbulletwithaboo.ttailbasewas
insteadof'"l94l."During1944manymanu- someimportance10thco1>nerofanM98,but adoptedandthe8x57caseloadedwiththis
facturtTSmcrclystampedone"4"onthc having ma1ehing numben on an action which bullet became the standaro Gennan mihwy
receiver. Manyofthcearlyoode numbers istobeusedforbuildingarillcisofnocon• canridgedesignatedasthc8x57sS.Thishul•
nc,·erhavebeenwva,-clcd.butthcrodclet- le1weighedl98graiMandhadamuzzlcve-
tcrsarckncMn.Thelistofthesc<:OOQistoo loc:ityof24761j>Satabretthprcssun:le,..,lof
loogtoincludehm',butthcinterestcdreadcr n.a--...c.tl'IIIII neariy50.00lpsi.The8x57sSisapotentmil-
canfindthcm!is!CdinMauserBollRiflesby Cinmanyadop1Cdthe8rnrnsmokclesspov.•, iwyoutridgcwithveryimpressiveballistits.
L. Olson and Hard,,,,.'s Notebook by J.S dercartridgeinl888along1>iththe/>'lode!88 lntheUnitedS1ates.1hcsponingversionof
Hateher. Commissionrifle,withwhichPaulMau:1erhad the Gennan 8mm cartridge is known simply
ltwasoormalpracticetoproveall M98 Liulctodo.Thiscartridgeisbasedonarimless. as the 8mm MauSC1' or 8x57mm Mauser.
miliwyriflesandgi,·ethemaserialnumber. boCl:lcneckedcaseandwasloadedwithal:ullct Mos1 U.S. ammunition makers loaded this
Suchproofinark&.thcnumberofmarl:sand of.3!8"diameter.Uwas1henofficiallyknown outridgcycarsagoandmadeitwithse>1'Rl
thcirlocationonthcrecciYer,bam:landper- asthc7.9x57Jor8x57l 0 Theflf5lfigun:in1!JC differcn1typesandweightsofbullcts. How-
hapsonsomeotherparts,varied.Sinccthese cartridgede:signa!edthcgioow,dimensionsin cver,sinccthcn:wassuchawidevarictyof
areso,wiedandoflittleimponancc,lshall millimeters.thcsecoodfigun:isthelcngthof ri0esbcing used,chambcfed for the 8mm

makc oofwthermemionoflhem.Asforthc
serial numbering practices. there probably
wasoouniversal~employedamongthc
manymanufucturersdwingthcentirepmod
thcywmmade.e,cccp11ha.ttheydidnumber
lhem.ltseemsthatsomemanurac!ID'el'Smcre-
1y swnpcd ronsccutivcly higher numbers on
cachrifletheymade,andwhenthenumber
n:achedacertainpointthcySlalledover
again.Thusthen:maybemorethanonerifle
madebythesameoradiffcrentmanufacturcr
havingthesameserialnumber.Lateron.cach
manufacturer was assigned a letter 10 be
added 10 the serial number, for example
7436d,sothatproductionfigun:scouldbe
1:ep!secret.RegardleMofthcsystcmorsys-
1ems used, the serial number itself is oot
importantsinccthcdatcandmanufoctum's
name,orcodc,an:stampedonthen:ceiver.
Gcncntlly,thcfull serial number is stamped
onthcsideofthc=iverringand~l,and
cithcrthccomplctcnumber,orthclastrwo
digitsofiiissiampedonmostoftheothcr
pansoftheaction.lfallthenwnbenan:thc
sameonagivenrifleoraction,!hisindicateS
!hatallthepansareoriginalwithlhatrifleor
thccascinmillirneteTs,andthc"l"sw,dsfor
the German word "'lnfanlerie.~ This miliwy
cartridgewasnonnallyloadedwitha227.g,:ain
jackelCJround·DOSChulterh.avingamuzzle
,..,loc:ityofabou12l001j>Satanavcragccham-
berpressurcofabou145.500psi
When the M98 was adoplCJ by Germany
inl898,itwasal.sodwnben:dforlhe8x571
canridge.TheGermanssoonwantedbe!ter
ballisticsfromthiscanridgc,soaboutl905
theyadopredanewSpiizer{j!oin1ed)hullctfor
the 8x57mm case, wi1h a new diameter of
323". This cartridge was designated 7.'h.
571Sor8x571S.Thisnewhullerwcighedl54
grainsandinthenewoutridgcitwasdriven
10amuute,..,locityof28701j>Satabrec<:h
presMIUOfabou149,800psi.Whenthislarger
bullet was adopted i, became necessary lO
enlargelhcriflcborcaacoonlingly.Thiswas
donebyincreasingthegroovediameteronly,
from.320"to.324".M98riflesalrcadymade
forthc"l"cartridgcwcn:thcnn:bam:ledand
charnben:dforthc"JS"cartridgc.Latcron,a
---
MauSC1'outridge,someofwhichhadactions
of marginal strength or barrels borffl 100
smallfor1hchullcts,thecanridgemanufac-
ln due time, the 8mm Mauser canridgc
loadedintheU.S.cvolvedintoasinglehul·
leted loading which dc,..,Joped only mild
b.-eachprt"SSUTCSSO!ha!itcouldbcfiredin
most8mmMauserriflcs.Therefore,asloadcd
!OdaybyFcdcral,WinchesterandRcminglon.
i!hasal70-grainjacketedsoftpointhullet
giving a muzzle velocity of about 250010
25701j>Satapn:ssun:lcvelofabout34,00l
psi. Gauged by modem s1alldanls. or com-
parnl 10 a canridgc !ikc thc )0-06 with the
!SO-grain bullet, the U.S.-loadcd 8mm
Mausercartridgeappearsootdated.Thisisnoc
thccase,h<.n<"'"'·forthesc8mmMausercar-
lridgesarecqual10the30-40and303Brilish
for1akingmostspeciesofNOr1hAmCTican
biggameanimals.
The8mmMauseroutridgeis,ffyrespon-
sive mhandloading.andthecarefulhand-
loader having a sound M98 miliwy or
sponeru:edriflccann:loadthccasetonearly
cqualthe30-06inpcrformance

Builtby1heaulhor,lhlsmedium,weigh1(about10
pounds)vaon.-,triflehasa24"mediumbarre!chamberedlor1he2191mproved
Zipper canridge. Stock i. o! eldra lanc:y American black w!lnl/1 lilted wi1h Niedr.er-type
check(lredblJttplateandpis1ol~eap.WeaverK-10scope,smountedverylowlosleetTlklen
mounts. Front and rea,o! magazine are blocked off, 1he folowe, shortened IO hanclle 1he rimmed
caJtridgea.Theactionls filtedwithaGermandoubl&-se11rigger

109
J F THERE WERE • Hall of Fam,: for
fimums designers and 1nvcnion. the KCOm·
phshmcms of Gennan-bom Peter Paul
Muuscrwould~inlybcdlSplayedmost
prorruncntly.bccauschc.likcourownJohn
M Bro•••ning,wasoncoflhc:workl'sforc-
fflOlltmuorsOff=nsmcchantiml.
The Model 71 "·asthefirstwccessful
ntkdes1pedand~byPaulMauscr,
but thll achic\'cmcnt did llOI come easy,
and1twucouplcdwilh1penonald1sastc,-
"h1chwouldha\'CSlorpcdmany•manno1
u hardy 11 PaulMauscr. l1s , ucccsssig-
nalcdthcs1artofalongcarttroffireanns
development which ultimately led to the
Model98Mauscractionsy1tem,unques-
11on.ablythcbc$1militarytumboh ac1ion
cverdcsiped.
lt"'al~turalthatPau1Mauscr(l838-
1914)becamcagunmakcr.h,sfath<:rand
ii~ older brolhers "·ere also sunmakcn.
Aftn10rneschoolingandan1ppren1iccship
mlhegunmakingtradc,hcbcgantoshow
anm1crcs1ingundcsign,.h1lcworkin11ina
JIOVcmmcnrarmsfactoryinObcmdorf,Oer-
=, Wilhtlm ~(1834-1882). 1'2w'sbrod>-
cr, four yean oldcr, was alJO m1crnted in
f,-m5de-.eelqment work.and !hey worked
IOf!Clhcrl.llllilhisdealh.l'llul,ho•••ever,had
the bnms and hands for the m«hanic&I
dclai1s,whileWilhclmhandledtheblisi11CS$
end. Toacrhcr they developed the: M71,
obta11>1.'dacon1rae1andse1up1factorytopro-
ducelhcrn
PaulandWilhclmprobablybt-pnwOOOng
rov,:thcrinthemid-1860s.Thcirfirstcfforu
wcrefocuscdonm.,rov,nathel>reysencedle
ntk,.ithaltimea"·iddyused~load-
1113mil,u,ryarm.ltsfirmamtehan,smhada
lonsnocdlc-likcfiringpm"luchhadlOpcne-
lnllethcpapcrcanridgccascandpo""dcr
d.arp:10detonatctheprimcr,pos111onc:da1
thcbascofthebulle1.llicirmi11al impro,-e-
110
mmtchangcdthcacuontococt.ontheupl,ft
ofthebohhandlc.Aboulthesamctimc,lhcy
co1wertedthcattion1ouscametalliccar-
trid3c,itsprimcrlocatedinthccaschcad.h
appean1hcMullS<'fbrolhersalsoworkcdo,"Cr
the O-.,OC ICtlOn in a similar manner, bul
failedroscllth<:irideastomodcm~thc1e
rilk,.
TheMaUSfflthcn.abouc 1867,bwk,ome
rillctiona.tionsoflheir°"'n<bignma,rpo-
ming 1hese ncw fca11,res, bu1 agam thcy
failedtosclltheirnewriflc<bign.llov,eever,
anAmcricanBmtSsalcsman,SamuclNorris,
rcprcscn1;n3Remington,hcardof1hcirriflc
andlhought1tshowedpromise.
Norrisncgooatedapartnmhipwith the
Mausen,andevidmtlylhoughtenoughofthe
Mamiera.toonlOhaYCitpalmlcdintheUnll-
edS!alcs. ThisptllrN,No.73.60J . ...a11grantcd
10himlndtheM3US<'l'SonJune2.l868.Tius
a.tion_kno,,.nasthcMauscr-Norris.wasthe
firs1patcn«:ddcs111J1bcaringPaulM1USCT'1
Mcanwhilc,thcMauscrbro1herscon1m-
ucdworl.in3lodcsi3nandde,·clop•rifle
action which would imcrn1 50ffle0ne, Rcm-
ingcon ha,·ing failed totakc up the patcntcd
ntk. °'5carding many of the Mauser-Norm
fcaturc$.thcybuihalrlO!herritk",lh,c-,"er-
al ,mportanlup,ICIS. The ncwrincswcre
&i•=iothel'nissw,annyforiesting.Aftcr
tl>csetcs\J1 fewchangcs"·cresuggcstcd.
TIM: Mauscrbrod1cnmadcth<:ncccssary
changes.followin11whichthcPrussiancom-
mission1eS1cdth<:ncwriflesandfoondthcm
JlOOd ThencwriflcwasotT1eiallyldoptcdin
1871,andthc ~buserbrothcrsrttciveda
oon1raet.They"-etembusinessatlast!(Thc
Mauscr-Norris.orlhcMauscrM67,69,as11
isalJOkno"'ll.andasecondMauscrnne,
knov,n IS lhc 1111mm Model, an: extremely
~ . Only a few tcSI nflcs were made, and
fcwcrcxi11today.)
ThcM71andthcirncxtriflc,theM7l/84,
..-eremadcinlaracnumbcrs,andatt51il1
oornmon today. I will limn my dclailed d,s-
cussion in this chaptcr to thcsc two modcls.
TIIIMlllll71-...
WiththcPrussianconlfa<:I in hand.the
MaUSCTbrothcnSClup 1$1111lllCfflponry
Rq)inCltifflidori',thenrTIO\'tdlOla!BC"quar•
1enin\872.lnll74thcnewfactory"'"
dcslroycdbyfin:,bullhcypromptlyrebuih
andresumcdpnxb:uonofthc:M71.Nolkwlg
1ftcrlhcyweregivcn1ncwcmtract10make
100,000 M7ls.Thcygrantcdhcenscsand
rcccivcdroyaltiesfromothcrarmsmakin&
firms, which alsobcpn producing 7ls in
largenwnben.M7l1"-etemadcinvariouii
Gemwi go,·cnunent arsenals at Amberg,
Danrig,EtfurtandSpandau.andinthcgrai
Ausuianlffll'lcm!erat5'cyr.V.'hiletheM71
becamethestandardshouldcrannforthe
mnn: German cmp,n:, the 5leyr flCIOry built
lhousandsoflhcmforCltina,JapanandOlhcr
counuies. All in all. huse quanliticswcrc
-~.
made from 18721018114and,thoughthcy
"·eremorcorle$$ob5olctebythelanerd31e,
manywcrenocretimlfromltl'Viceuntilyears
TheM71 Mauscr"'almadc insc,=al
Sl}'lcs.Foremn!l:waslheM71 nfle,.ithabar-
n:IJJ.5"1ong.53•.,_.rtan:1wcigtunglilou.
10po'-"1ds.ThcM71Jat'8Cfriflchasa29.45•
barn:1.is48.7S•0>·crallllnd=1ghs1bo,119
poonds.ThcM71shonnflc""Cighsabout8.5
poundsandlwa20Ybam:l.
-·
llicM7lCarbin,;:hau20'"barrcl,isaboo1
39.5•0>·cral!,and"eeighsaboul7.5pounds.
All ......, chambered for the 11mm Mauscr
1'1M71--AcUII
Thcm:ei,u,aonc-p,ca:iron«Sleelcast-
{Above) The t.471184 Mausef rifle.
 ingorforging.isborlldlengthwisetooccepl
the boh; the from end, about 1" long. is
ducadedtotal:ethebarrtlshanl::. Beginning
behindthering.panoftheu,pandrighlside
oftherecciverismilledaway.lcavingalood-
ingponabou1J.12"1ong. Therccei,-erbridgc
behindtheloadingponisslooed10allowpas-
sagcofthebol1handleandboltguiderib
Behindthebridgetherecciverismilleddo"TI
tofoonatang
Thesteclbohbodyiscylindrical.drilled
001frornthefrontlmegralwiththebol1body
isahcarylongitudinalguideribandabolt
handlcwi1haroundgraspingball.Wi1hthe
boltintherccciverandthebolthandleiumed
do,,11.therearcndof1hisribliesinfron1of
theriglu recciverbridgewall.lockingtheboll
intherecci,-er
TheM71 bolthasa$ep3?11teheadwhich
docs001rotatewiththebol1whenthehandlc
israisedorlowcmi Therearcndofthebolt
hcadfitspanlyimothefromofthebolt,andis
wa...11back"iththeboltbyacollar"'·hichfits
intoanotchcu1w>derthefrontpanofthebolt
rib.Thefaceoftheboltheadisnotrttesscd
forthecanridgcrim.Theonc-piececxirac!or
springisfincdimotheleftsidcofthcboh
head,itsrearendheldinplacebythebolt
body
Theone-piecefiringpin,andthecoil
mainspringwhichsurroundsit.fitsinsidethe
bol11hroughthefrontend.Themainspringis
compressed be-tween the step-down in the
rearof theboltandthecollaronthefronlof
thefiringpin.Thefiringpinextcnds1hrough
therearofthebolt,throughthehearycock-
ingpiece,andallareheldinplacebythefir.
ingpinnutwhichthreadsontherearcndof
thefiringpin.Adeepnotchintherearend
oftheboh,andamatchingprojectiononthe
frontofthecockingpiece,causethcrocking
piecetobepushcdbackwhenthebohhan•
dleisraisedtorocktheaction.Aheavyrib
on topoflhecockingpieceextcndsforward
in101hcslo1 in the receiver bridge.which
prevems the cocking piece from !Urning
whenthebohhandleisrai.sedorlowered.
Thesafctyisf111edintoaholedrilledlength-
""isein101hc,ribontherockingpiece.andis
hc,ldinplacebyacrosspin.Whentheaction
is cocked and closed, the safety, when
swungtothcright,camstherockingpiece
back slightlyoffofthc,searandlocksit
1hcre,atthc,sametimelockingtheboltsoit
cannmbeopened.
The Model 71 Mauser carbir>e. Cl\ambered tor thfl 11mm (43-ca~
il>Br)Mausercartridge, thiscarbir,ehasa20"banel,is39.25"0\ler•
allaodweighsabool7.6?()Ullds.Themodeldesigna1ion, s!amped
onlheleftsideol ther&ca<ve, ,is "K.MOO. 71". Thedate(year)of
manufacture is stamped on the righ1 side ol lhe reCflivflr. On lhfl top
flal 0\18< the breech end ol lhe barrel is stamped the makers name,
on lt>isone: "GEBR MAUSER & CO OBERNDORF."
Onopeningtheboh,thefrontendofthe
boltrib.contactinganinclinedsurfaceonthe
rearoftherccei,·crring.fon:esthebohback
topnwidetheinitial extractionpower.Con-
versely,therearendoftherib.itslockingsur-
face,andthetopcomeroftherightrecciver
bridgewallaresimilarlyroundedorangledso
thatonclosingtheboltandloweringthcbolt
handle.thebollisforttdfO!Waf'd1osca1the
cartridge in the chamber. A heavy washer,
heldonthebohribwithascrew.actsasthe
bolt-stopwhenthebolt isopened-lhenthe
washercontaetsthesani-.:ireularcutsinthc
10ptdgesofthcrecciverbridgcw:ills
Thesearisanachcd10alongspringmem-
berbyapin.thcspringbeingattached!othe
solidbo1tomof1he=iverwithascrew
Thetrigger,alsoattachedtotheendofthis
spring.pivotsonapin.Thesearprojects
upwards1hroughaholeintherecciver,con-
taciing the bottom of the cocking piece when
thcactionisoperated.Thetriggcrhasthree
smallhumpswhereitcontactstherttei,-cr.
Onpullingthetriggcrb.ick.thefirsthump
causesthe,,.,artobepullcddo,.·nalmos1all
thew:iyoffofthecockingpit<'e,butafler
thc,secondhumpcouchestherecei,·eronly
anadditiooalshonpullonthc,triggermoves
thc,scarfreeofthecockingpiecetofiR:thc
rifle. This is the siandard military double
stagctriggerle1-off. Thethirdhumponthe
triggerisprovidcdtomo,-cthcsearallthe
waydo"11,whenthetriggerispulledback
al11heway,sothebohcanbewithdm•·n
fromtherccei,·er,butonlyafterthebolt-stop
screwandwasherareloosened.
TheM7lhasaooc-pieccwalnu1bunstock
andforend.Alongnarrowplateisinleued
intothebottomofthestockw>dertheaction
Two s1urdy screws-one thn;iugh the receiver
tangandstockthrcadsintolhisplate,theoth·
er,throughthefrontendofthisplateand
stock, threads imo the receiver-hold the
ac:tioninthestock.Thesetwoscrews.therear
endoftherecciverw,gandanupright~
tiononthefronlcndoftheuiggerguardplate
alltend1oprcvcntscibackoftheactioninthe
stockfromtherecoiloffiringtherifle.The
1riggerguardbowisscrewedtothepla1e10
protectthetrigger.Barrt"lbandsaroondthe
barn-landforcndholdtheforcndag.ainstthc
"""'
ThcM?lhasasimpleyctreliableaction.
"-ellmadeandcon,fflicnttooperate
Ton,mm-ctheboh,raisethcbolthandle
andpullthebol1 backasfarui1 will go.
Tum out the bolt-stop washer screw and
removeth<,washer.Whilepullingbackon
tbetrigger,pulltheboltassemblyfromth<,
Todisasseniblelbebolt.firsttumthecock-
ingpieceone..quartertumcounterclockwise
tolhatthccod:llljjpirocisfurw~d.Pulllhc
bohheadfromlhcbolt,thcnpullthce:nnClor
fromthcbokhcad.Rcstthcfiringpintipona
hardsurfaeellld~do..t1onthccocking
p,teetolhcfinngp,nnutcanbcunscrev,'Cd
fromlhefinncpm. Thcfinngpinandmain-
spnngcanthmbcpolled fromthcbohand
....
lhcpart11tcp1111!ed.Driveowthcsafct)'pin10
mno,·e theAfct)'. Reass.emble in n,,·erse
Tomnov,:thcbam:landactionfromthc
a1ock. lirs1 unscrew the ramrod and pull il
from the forend, then remove the ba=I
bands. Turnout the tang screw and thc front
aig&crpardplatcscrcw.thcnliftthcbam,I
andactionfromthcstock.Thclriggerassem-
bly can Ihm be mnovcd by ruming out thc
ll"i&&er1- spnna screw. R~blc m
rc•·mcordcr.Thcbamlisthmdcdtighdy
,niolhcrcce"'er{nght-handlhreads)andis
nutcasilyrano-,"Cd.
M71114--IIIIIII
WilhclmMauscrdiedinl882.butevcn
hcfcnth,sl"aulMauser"'llS'''OOOngalonc
onfurtherdevelopmemof1hcM7laction.
Byth1s1>rneln0$tmilitarynationsbcgan10
K"ethewisdomofadoptingarepea1ingrifle
fortheiranncdforces.PaulMauserhcgan
working on a rq,ca1ingmcchanism for1hc
M71,nthclaiel870s.andil"-asprettywcll
pcrf«tcdbyl881,whmhcdtrnonstnltedit
bcfcnGmnanoffiellls.Thccon,"aSoon,on
"luchheobwncdapatcnt,waseffcctcdby
mmlhng • magmnc tube in the fcnnd
undcrthebam:landprov1dingacarricrin
lhcbottomofthcn:cc,Vfftoliftthccanrid~
112
from lhc rnagwnc to thc rcc,:ivtt opnung.
The demonstration was successful and
Mauser 5000 obuincd contracts to make
thc,e repeating rifln-dc-signatcd the
M71/S4.ThcM71/S4riflcs,,,cn:no1con-
,-.
,'Cf1cdM71s,bw"""'cntirclyanewnw,,.._
The M71/84 Mauser rifle hu a 30.S"
bam:l,11Sl"O\·erallmd"1:ighsahoutl0.2
pounds. ll is ehambcm:l for the 11 mm
Mausc:runridgc,andthctubularmaga,;inc
hasacapac11yofninerounds. It was1he
officialGcm,anshoulderarmfrom 188410
1888.atwhichtimeGcnnanyadoptedthe
Model 88 Commission rifle chambcm:l for
the 8mm canridge. Although I great many
oftl>c M71/84s wm, made during these
four year,. prObably Ml enough were made
IOcnt1ttlyrq,lace1heM7lriflcsthcn1nUK
,nGcnnany.
TlllM7118411c1111
Tosay1hlltheM71/84Mauseractionisa
M71w,1hacanridgecarrieraddedisano,-cr•
simplif,c111on.Adding1carrierandrnaking
theactionarcpcatnrc<[uim:lconsiderable
changingoftherttcivn.plusaddingparts
suchasthccarrier.cartridgesiop,ejector,cut•
offandsomemeanstocausethecarricrtotip
--
up and down when the boh is operated.
Addmjlhescpartllalsone,,:cssitatedchanglng
ochcrpanssuchas1hetriggermechanism.l
,.-,llcnumcnucandbricflydcscribeallof
I.Rcceiver:Thcn:cc,,-croftheM71/84is
S1m1lar1nprolilc1otheM71 rcce,vnbut.
1nsieadofbc,ngroundwith1solidbotlom,
It is made with a l>cavy rcctmgular box
undernuthn,whichisintummilledand
mach,ncd10accep1thevariouspansofthe
rq,a,ungmec1-ism,lca,·ing111opcn1111in
the bol"".. ythrough which lhecartridgc$
maypass.Thcrcarpartofthisboxactsasa
rccoil-lua wrfaee uansmining the recoil 10
"'""""·
2.Canicr: The hcavycanridgeurricr
(oftmcalledthe"lifter")"·ith,uU-!hapcd
trooghislinedimothcbo~bclowthercttiv-
cr: it is held in place by, and pivc,11 on, a
heavy pin 1hrough the ~arofthe box. A
large-headed lockscrcwholdsthispin in
plaee.Thccarrinis1ippcdUJ1andOO'A--nby1
carnlincd1ntorttcssc$cutintolhcleftaide:
ofthecamerandrcceiver-box,...ll.Th11
carnpivotsonaSl\ldwhich is pan of the
mtglZll"ICCUIOffle,.-cr,"-hichintump,\-.,q
ona$Ndsct1n10aholeonlhcleft,Olllsldl:or
then:cc,Vtt.
ThcCUIOffishcldinplaocandisprovldcd
1wo,pos1110ntms10nbyaspringSCfC"''edlO
1hcrcce,ver. Achcckcrcdthumb-picccon
10pofthccu1offlevnprojN:1Sabovethe
stocklincandallowslhecutofflobemovcd.
When1hccutoffistippcdback1hc:carnis
n,iscdsoltSupper,roundedcndprojcctSinto
the CJ«lor raceway. When mewed or lipped
forward.1hccu1offlowersthc:carriercam
w1thinthcearricr~soi1isoutofcon~
w,thlhce.,ector.
3.Ejc,ctor;Toactuarclhccarrier.thatlf..10
1,pi1upandOO'At1.,1ncjcctorribisincorpo-
r11ed"11hthcboltassembly.hisaslona;11
1heen1,rcbolt1ndisanached1onbya
spnngclampon ,ufrontcnd,cnpginga

prove in the bolt head. Then: is • ,;mall lug
undcrthc:ejectorwhichfi1Sinto1holeinthc
boh he~ and anothe1" lug on the coc,J:ing
p~ "''hich fils in• a;rocm: 111 the~ pan
or the CJ«IOl'-dlis helps 1hgn lhnc ~
andlukbthecjcac,rinplacc.Arace11'3)'is
milled mlo the inside kft m:covcr wall for
theejcctorand.hcsKlos111otherfun.lioos.
helpsguidetlM:bohand~ventsitfrom
binding.Themainfurw.:lionofthislongejec-
tor.howcvcr,istoactivatcthecarricrand10
cj«1thcfimlcascsfromtheac1ion.Thcrcis
• rece$$ groove milled in lhe outside: bonom
~ofthisriband...,'hmthccutoffislipped
blltklObringthccamercamup.themdofa
cam II brought up ,mo 1h11 IJOOYC. Thus.
,..hen the bolt is opened and the md of the
IIOO'",;ootxlllthcam,thecamcrisupped
up.ltist1pptddo,o,11agamwhcnthcboltis
fullycl~andthorcarmdofthcgroovc
pushn1hecam. tipping the carrier down
oncemon,,topickupanewo;anrid~from
thctubuWmagazine.
functioningaslhcC')CC!Or,lhcfrontcndof
tlu$ribproja:ulhrough11ffiO'"CUl1DIOthe
~boltfia.hismadcioha,-c50111C
longuudmallllO\"Ol>CfUonthcbollAsthe
bolt11opencdandthcribsirikesthecamcr
cam.Che boll mo-ushg.luly farther back
1Jwithcej«1or101ip1hc:canridjecascto
thcrightandoo1of1hcaction. Whcnthccu1-
offistippedb.:lckmdisc:ngagethccarricr
cam from thctjector.1 11udon the front
,nside of the cuioff spnna. proJecting
through• hole in the cjec\Or ,-way. ,;on.
tactstheffldofthetjeclorlfOO''ClmteadOf
lheam.haltingthetj<ctorasbcf-10qect
""-
4.CamdgcSIClp:Par!Ofthe,q,eatulllsys-
temisthe,;artridgcsq,builtmrotheleftside
ofthearrierbo,c. lt isale,.•cr.piv01cdona
pmsetin ■ a,om·cmthcsideofthcboxand
gi•'t'lllCIISionbyaspringwhichalsopla«s
thearrierwldcrtension.Th:reisapro,e,:uon
onthefrontcndofthecanndg,e510pwh,ch
extn>dsinsldetheboxjuslaheadoftheQITI-
er.and,s.:1,."llledtordease1canridaefiom
thcffllgv.inewhenthecamcrisuppcddoY;n,
andholdincbackthecanndgcs•,,henlhecar,
Ol'l'ISllJI.
5.Maga,nne,Tocomplctethe~auna
system a maguinc lube is fitted into the
forend,w,thitsn:arendextendinginroahok
inlhefron1ofthe01mCrbo,c.Thefrontcnd
ofthcmapzinetubehasathreJd-oncap.
...m1c ■ 1on&th,nmagazinclflrUllandplua
l'ollo-.·cr completes the maguine. A cross-
tey bet">:CII the &ont end of the rnapi,ne
rubcandthcba=l~'t'lltslhetubefrom
slidingforwardfromtherecoilofthenllc,
6.Tn&acr. Becauscoflhecamcrboxon
1hcM71/84m:civcr, a diffcmittriggcrar-
rang,,n1cnt had1obe<bigned.Thiskqitlhe
firilljlpinfromtuming.
7.Saf,:ty.Thesafety,.'3Simpro•,cdmtwo
,,,ays. Fust. ,nsleadofusmgacroupm• Ill
1hcM7lacc11111.thl:safetyandthcfinngpu,
lllll"'ffl:IIOn-.lethatthc,..heldlhl:safety
mplllC<'.Second..byN,,•ingaroilspf'ina
around 1hc safety stem 10 push the safety
back,thesafctyalso!ft''t'lltSJ>OSSiblekllSlof
1hc scn:w and ~op wa.sher when the boll is
n:nxwN.Thccxtractorispositioncdonthc
1Qp,ngh1-hal\dsideofthebolthcadins1cadof
OfllhckftasmthcM7laction.Thetnggcr
guardbowi1rnadoasanimewalpa11ofthc
tri~guardplatc.and•~lllrouJhthc
insidebonomofthcSICK:kholdsthelriggcr
guardmthcsioct:whmthctwoauanl1Crn,·5
-""""""
8.M,norchangcs:Otherchanilff"'cn:
made in the M71184. A cross pin throuJh lhe
Mauser Mo
boltribpn:vcntsthcbolH;topscn:wfrom
being wmcd OU1 romplclt-ly. which is done by
II\U:inga5qW11te$Carle,.'Cl'pivoccdon•pm
111hcn:aroflhecamcrbo,c.AcoilSJl'ina,1t1
maholcinlhcsearie-.'Cl'.10-c:s~tension.Thc
9Cllrandthc111ger.fittcd10thcm1rcndof
thl:searlo~.sn:hcld111placcbypinsjustas
1ntheM71.Thc111aac,-haslhl:$amCdoublc,.
stasepoll.
lnpracticallye-.-cryolhcrn:spoatheM71/84
actiooisabou1thc11arncastheM7laction
Thccxtrae!Or, bohbody.firingpin. main-
spring.bol1hcad.bolthandleandbolt--s10pan:
allsimilar101hcMode171,Thcklcking5Y$-
1emisUICwnc,and110an:thl:exlnlCIOrcam-
mmgandboltcammincfcarun:s.
M1nordcsip and construction ch.anacs
"'ffi'madcinthe71and7ll84M311Stflwhen
lhcy ...-.:n:inpnWCUOn.butlhescchangesan:
ofhttlcimportanceandlM~notlhoroughly
cxaminedcnoughof1hc$eriflestode!cribc
lhemindctail.
Makcsun:lhco;hambcrandrnaaarinearc
empty. Torcmo,~lhebol1proceedasfol-
lo..-s:lfthccutoffbunoni!lnot111thcfor,r,-ard
position,opcntheboltandpull1tback10rl1Ule
the carrier, then push thecu101Tforward.
l.oosoenthcbohlllOpJCl'C'Wac-'ffltlnimsoras
far as i1 will aow11bou1 rcs,stancc.(N~c
then:isacroupinthroughtheboltribwhich
prcvcn\S.lhccomplelcn:movalofthebol1.
s\Qp ~ . lfit is nccc$$al'}' 10 rcmo,·c th,s
,cm,,•complcldy,lhcnthccroupu,mustfint
bcdrwcncu.)Openthcbollandpullitback.
T,pthcrif'lc:farm-criolhtright.fflWlljlsun:
lheboh-510p,,,ashcf,sap,nstthehc:adofthl:
bolt-stop~.lhcnmovethecut0ffle,.'ff
back about •l1M10 ra,x the cutoff spring
11lightly.Thcboltcanlhcnbcpullcdfiomthe
113
 Rolles & Actmns

llrlma'71/84

........
rue,,ff_Tolq)lacelhc:bohlhecutoffmus1

Todisassemblcchcbol1:Liftup1hcrcar
endofthctjtt,orand_.'Citfromthcboh
Tumthcbolthcadooc-quancrturnincithcr
dim:tionandpullHfromthcboltbody. Thc
Utrac!0rcanlhmbelif\rofromthcbolthcad. Reassemblc:in~._order mgger1uard screws;lhcbufflandaction
Now. =i the fmncpm upon thc wtn:t,m,h. Tomoo>'elhebam.,landac1>0n!romthc can now be lifted from the scock. Tum out

andwhikpn::u,nadovi11ontheAfety,,,,lh
the thwnb ofchc hand gn.sp,ng the bolt.
unscn:wthcfmn1pmnut.
AflerthcnUlismnovcJ.thcfinngpinand
mainspringa:,ben,mo•,edfromthcboltand
thesafetymnovedfromthccockilll!PIC«,
11 4
S10ek: Remm1:lhl:smallscrewfromthckft
side of the muulc brlm,I band and drwe OU1
1ht-cron-keyto1heleft.Slidc1hcmu,:zle
bandoffthcbarrcl.Also,..,movetheOlher
l,am,lbandorbaods. Pullout the map.zinc
1ube abouc I~. Tum ou1 the front and n,ar
-
thccmterguan:lscrewandlhcmger1'131d
can be remo,·ed. Rcusembk in rcvcnc,
Tod1sasscmblethcrestof1hcac1ioo,firs1
rumoutthccutoffspringscrcwandrc,no,.'C
the cutoffsprin&- Lift ounhc cutQff. Tum out
 ~~
5
7 16

~ ·15

10 '!• z 3 '

11 33
34

~ 13 j
35

~7
115
thecarrierpinlock,crewandliftoutthccar-
ricrpin. Rcmovcethccarricrand<;aniercam
fromlhebonomoftheaction.D,m,ou1the
RarholdcrpinlOmtlO\/CthcRarandtriggcr
assembly.Rassemblcin=meonler.
111171 ... 71/84~
BolhtheM71andM711114MallKfrines
an:casilyidcnrifiedbythelQmplngsonthe
left side of !he =iver. I G Mod. 71 is
stampedonthe71and l G Mod. 7118-'onthe
M711114. Thenamcofthomanufactum-.suc:h
1Spandau.Ambcrg.e11l.isusuallyS18.mpcd
onthe10pflatoflhc"'-hendofthebarrcl
onbo!hmodels.along"ithacrown.Thedaie
(ynr) of manufacture is usually 9lampCd on
lhcrightwallofthe="·erbridge.Bolh
rnoddsan:tcria!IIUl1lbeml,..,lhthenumbcrs
~onlhereccin.-nna,breechendof
the1-n-clandbolt.11,id,lhelasttv.-odigi1Sof
,,.._
tha1nwnberstampcdonmo,tofthoocher
VlriousOermanproofmari'.san:stampcd
onlhcbarrcl,rca:iverandboll.aswellasvar-
ious~'smaiks.Asmallnwnber .. 11M
,,.
-
~,,,::icwerthcchamberindica1escahber
Thcfir,tMauserrifleleverownc:dwas
a Model 71/tl4.andwilh it came several
boxesof&eshcommen:ialammunition. 11
wu1cari,,nc,1nexccllcntcondit,on."·,1h
avcrynieeligt,1rolored"-.ln11tstotk . At
thar 1ime 111\·ed a long way from any '-r
hunting, bu1 I oflen swung and snapped
that rifle11 a pictureofachargingwild
boar in my room. I fired that carbine a
number of times H targets and enjoyed
shoocin11i1dcspitci11 heavyreeoil.ldon'1
recall what bc:ome of it; I prob,ably
SV.'3ppeditoffforsomerhingmon: sun«t
1omyhuntingnccds.
Mottliulymanym<KM7ls"-.:n:n-.k
than"'ffl:M71184s.bulbolhhavebcenquitc
a:immonintheU.S. sincclherumoflheocn-
1wy. After WWII a ~at many more were
impon«tand110ld;aslarcas 1967onefinn
stilloffem! M71/84sinvcrygoodoondirion
forlcs:s 1han$lS.
,, _,.....~
The 11.1Sx60R(.43j Mausercamidge.
alsodesignedbythcMa11Serbrothcrs.was
introducedwilhtheirM7 1 rifkin 1871.A
rimmcdandboCllcnccked~wilhacase
60mmlong.l"ormi~wyutetheswodardori,-.
inalload,.vn(P'aU"dofbladcpov,lkrbc:hmd
a 1U.11KH1015tdbdbullel:of38Spains.M=
zle,'doci!y,.vlboutl...O(j,s.Thesc:andanl
rnilitaryic.iforlhcM71/84rifkhadallal-
poimbullct,o<herwisci111,~identical.
ThellmmMau,ercartridi,cispracticallythe
samcasothcrllmmmililal)lloodsdc••elopcd
during the l870slikcthe43Spanish.1lmm
F~Gras.llrrmBdgiw,Canblain,nioth-
as.Likemmy~~b-Ma.l!f:f
rifks.lhcllmmMaulerbecamepopularfor
lpllftingusein--.issucd'"M71 SldM71184
rifb,nicarbr,es,inmnadeledmiliiayrillcs.
,mmKmelpOltingnllcsspcciallychambcred
foritBccauseofthemanyM7landM71/114
Mauscrrifles!OklinthcU.S.andCanadaby
FrancisB:innmnan&Son,bod!Rtmingu,anJ
Winchcslerhaveloldedamrrulitionforit.
A FTER SEVERAL YEARS of use by
1hcirarmics. 1hc Model 1889 (Belgian).
1890 (Turkish) and 1891 (Argcn1inc)
Mau$Cr nflcs, all essentially the same
ac1100,began101.howsomcdesignandcon-
~ionfaults:Thcsmall$pringcxtn1CtOr.
w,th itsnarro,,ohook.pro-,-edUM:hahle: the
magmncchargcrclipandclipguidc,on
the rcc:el\cr bndgc, pr,"·ed faulty: the
dclachablc box magazmcs Weft often IOSl
and,be<causethc~pro_t«1edbelow
the1tock l11~.tlw:nflcs ,.·erenot1l"'IY.
easily earned. The trigger coukl be pulled
neprdlcss of poS111on of the boh: the
thn:wcd connection bet,.·ccn mikcr rod
and "xk,ng piece oflcn prcscmed In
assemblyprobtcm:1hcactionhadtoomany
pansandnccdcdsimphfying.Doublcload•
inawaspossiblc--that is.unless1hcboh
"'asfullycloscdandlockedafterchamber-
in&eachcanndgc,thcboltcouldbeopened
w,thoutcxtrac:1ing1ndcjcc1ingthetham-
beredcanndgcandtbcocxtroundwould
J1111beh1nd1tonn,closing1hcbolt.
Pai1MaGcr,hoping10pinnewarmscao-
lnCtf.lellOw0ft10unpn11<e.suengthmand
umphfylh,s1ct>0n.Thisdf0111ed1othc
~lopmentofthcM<.>dcl1892Mall5Cf{I
fewofwtuchWtTemadcforSpain)and.
Jhonlylhcrnfter.101hcModcl 1893Mau-
5Cl'-<kstincd10bccomcaworidwidcfavor-
"'·
In the t...nsitional M92. Paul Mauser
in1roducedthclong,non-roiatingcxtractor
anachedtothebollbodywilhaoollar.This
cx1111Ctorprc•-aitcddoubleloading,since1hc
canridacheadcouklslipbehindthcexlrllelor
hookwhcnpu&hed0111of1hcmapzinc.Tlw:
cartnd&e"-ucxll"lctedandcjectedonopcn-
"'ilhi:bol1.c-.-ai1flhcbolthad1101bccnful-
lycloMd. Thcmagarincbox""Umadcpan
ofthetngeraua,d.soitcouldnotbe
dctachcdandlo$t,bu111wasS1il11smglc-
column affair projecting below 1he stock
linc.Apinwasprovidcd atthefrontofthe
$C&r,projectingimo1hcreceiverandmatth•
ingano1chmi11cdinthebohbody.solha1
thctriggo-oouklno1hcpullcdunlcssthcbolt
wasfullycloscdandlockcd.Thcmagazme
dip-charger and diarger guide ·••=
llllf!IO\-~Clurunannglhcnccdforlhcboll-
llopto hold the clip in place. Instead of
lhreads,thccocklfllllpica:andfirmgpinhad
inlfflUplcd lugssolhcscparu:oouklnot be
asxmbkd1noon'Ully.AlhinOOltgwdc-rib,
m1l1NinlheCffltcrofihelcfllockinglug
n,m,,-ay over whkh the sinned lockmg lug
pas$Cdastheboltwasopen1Cd,helpcdl0
pn,venlthcboltfrombindingasitopcned
andcl0$Cd.lntroducedwilhthcM92Span-
ish rifle was the oow famous 7mm Mal.l$C1'
(7x57mm)canridgc
AllhoughtheMl892Spanishrillcwasan
1mprovernerttOVCTi1Sprcdccesson.ithad1
shortlik.Thcsame""UtrucforthclCSIMod-
el 921'93 ~,sh Navy =binc in 7.6Smm
caliber. only I few hundred being made.
ApparmdyMausa-wasdissalisflCdwiththc
si,.ic..;,oiumnmagazincarrangerncnt,nthc
nlles.form 189Jhein{rodutedthcflush,
Slagemkolumn box maga,;inc.
The new nllc. "~lh its new magarinc. was
erucred,nthcSpanishtrials,whcn:itwu1
hu11C-.lt,.-.spromptlyandenth-
ticallylldoplcdbySpainanddesignatcdthe
Spanish Model 93. Apart from having1hc
ncwmagazinc/triggerguardoombin:ition,and
then,ceivcrallcrcdtoacceptlhismagazinc.
thercstofthcaction"-.s_,tw1ythcsamo
ttthc M92.ThcM9lsafcty,howcver,was
simphfitd by eliminating the $prina and
•-· --81-16.ltla
Th,: rcc:c1vtroftht M93 MauKri11
rnach,ned.onc-p,eccstcclforging.Thcbo(-
tomisflatformostofitslength.Thcrccoil
lug, 1bout •1,•ooc kfromtheforwardcdgc
ofthercc:ei,·crring.isaboul.22S•dtepand
l.086.widc.The00rrclhas1welvclhn:ads
pcrinch(V-typc,55dcgrccs).Thebarttl1l
na111ththrffl:handismadcwilhashoul-
der to butt 1gainst 1hc front of1he flat
rcctl\'Cl'nng,ratherthan1pinst1collar
1ns1dclhcrcctl\'erring.Thcn,cc"-erlllhc:
samcwodllilhrooghout.lhusthckflsideof
the rttd•·er ring, wall and bndge •• an
e,mlyroundcd1urfacc.Thefron1panof
thtrcc:ei•-er~ isofthesarncr-'i111111
thercc:ci,·erringand1dip-char11Cfauide-
w1y ,s milled 11110 thi s area. Behind the
thp-loa.dingguidcway.lhcrttci,·erbridgt
is machintd 10 a smaller diameter to n:ducc
wdght Therttcivcrendsinatanaaboul
2.S-long.
Thconc-piecc:bolthasdual.q,posedlock-
m1lugsoni1Sfo.wardmd.thescengaa:ing
shouldersmilledintherccci,·ernngwhich
$CCUn:lyholdlhcboltagainSllhcbarttl
brecchwhmtheboltistloe<dTlw:n&ht(or
bonom) lug is solid; the larger lefl (or top)
lug.bcmaslonnl.alio..-slhcqct1or10pa$f.
The kfl locbnglugraceway in the ~ - l l
m,lled10lea,·e1longndgc«ribofmelal
down11Sttmer.matchingthctjcct,:,rJlot,n
lhl:lockmglug.Thisribactsttaguidcand
help,tokcepthcbohfrombindingu,tos
opcncdorcloee(l
The bolt face is panly rcc:cued to
cncloKabouttwo-thirdsofthccanridge
hud c~lractor rim. The lefl lockina lua
tx1c:nds1headof1heboltfatc1ndform1
panoflhccanridgerimrcccss. ThcrttCII
is1bout.060"dccp.slightlydorpcrtJw,lhc
(Aticw.)Th97rrrnSpanishModllll3~
Shon Rifle, 21.75" barrel. ,U,3" 0Y9<111,
...igtllabcoJl8.3pc,.n:15.
117
thickness of the 7mm Mauser canridge
CXtrti;IOrnm
ThelongspringcxtrJclor11auachedto
theQUtsidooflhcbol!byacol!arwhichfits
in101groovcinthebol1bodyHook1althe
cndsoftherollarcnpgc1n1mQ11isc.cut
m10theinsideoflhcex1111C10r.holdmgthe
exlflttor1gainscthebolt.Ahpm,,chintd
1nsidethefrontofthccxinctoren&,ages1
(P'OO•-c:eu1partlyaroundthebolthcad1oprc-
vc1n longirudinal mo,·emcnt oftheexlnC!Or
oothebol1.Theextrac1or'1bc,·elcdhook
cxt~ndsm·erthebollfacenmfarcnoughto
engagcthcex1ractornmon1hecar1ridgc.
thusholdingitagai11S1thecx1,:ndcdlefllock•
,nglugforpropcrextractionandr_,«honof
thcranridg(',orfircdusc. Thc:extrw;tor
dor$ no1 rotaie on the anndp head as the
boltisopened.butonlymo,·csba<:kand
rorm .. 1ththebo1t cartndg('1nthcchambcr-lheextractorhook cxtmdslhrooghlhcboltslttvcandisheldlO
All M'13 and M'15 bolts. including the docsootcas1lysnapm•erthecascnm. lhecockingpieabyatcnc50f1ntem1p1cd
variant M94 and M96 Swedish Mausers, 'Thcbohh.andle.atlhccxtrerncrcaTofthc lugs.Thcrearpanofthcfirinspinismillcd
111,·e pan of the canndgc rim recess cut bolt,i1f0flleda1anintegra!pan.'Thcshlnk flatontwosidcstomaichaholelhroughthc
away,penniningthccanridgcrim1oriscand ofthc:h.andlcendsjnaroundgraspmgball boltslecvc.Th1spr,:,•cntslhefiringpinfrom
shpunderthcextractorhook u11cmerges Onmosl M931ndM95riflc11hc1hanki1 rotatingand~inalooscfromthecocking
from1hcmaguinc,.Thecxtn,,;:torhooki1 sm.1gh1.thebohhandlesuck1stn11ghtOU1or piea.Acamonlhecockingpi«eu1mds
made1oholdthecar1ndgehcadmplace hori~tal.Onsome shortriflcsornoib1ra throughaslolmlhebolr!k,c-,-c:and5lidcsin
,.,th111thebolthead.'Thcu1111C10r"1llhold lhcshank11bcnldo,,.-,,10bnngthepasp1ng •arom·ecutU110tho:m:ci,·eruing.'Thccam
11 there umi1 the cartndgc, or caK is eJ«IC(l ballcloscrtolhcstod.Attheleftrewoflhe catches the ~•r md of the bolt or SClf,
when the bolt i1 opened. This fcatu~ pre- m:ci,·er bndJIC • rearw,ml 5lopc: form, • dependingon"helhertheactioniscod.cd
,·en1, double-loading. since 1he extrxtor cammmgitlt'fac:eaga1~whichthebolthan· oruncocl.cd.Thcrcarof1hcboh11nou:hcd
engageseachc:artridg('Hlllcavcsthemaga- dle"s square base moves as tile bolt" intwopl:occs.'Thcfron1endofthccocking
w1e 1nd w1ll ex1ractandcjec1 i1whcnthc opcncd.Th,sprovidcsinitialcammmgpo"• camcanengagec11hcradccpno1eh.whcn
bohisop,:ned-<"vcnlhough the boll was cr101heex1ractor. thcboltiscloscdsolhcflringpinripcan
ootentn-c:lyclosedorlockcd.Mostofthcse Theboltslccvcthrl:ads1nto1lle~arof1hc: reachtheprimer.orashallowerootchwhcn
nflcspcrmitthebohtoclosconacartridg(' boltbody.'Thccoilmainspringshpsovcrlhe thebolthandlcisraiscdorlhcbol!open,ed.
,inglyloadedinwthechambcrnadofthe finngp1nandi1comp~bct"'ttnthc Thepmposeofthe5hal1ownou:h is tom.tin
cxtrxtor, but not 111. A few rcquu-c: 50ll'ICC boh~and-~lderailhefrontoflhe lhefll"ingpmt,pw,thmthcfac:eoflheboll,
ntrafOIUIOdMCandlockthebohona finngpm. Thcrurendofthefinnapin andmpreven11heboltllcc,·efrombcin1

118

casilytumcdoutofpositionwhenthcboll,s
opened.~firingpinisrockcdonthctlos-
;ngmocionoflhcbolL
llic wing safety has a round sicm which
fitslcnathwisc,in10aholcatthetopofthc
boltsleevc.hishcldinplacebythcwing
(roerlappin1•lipontheboltsla:ve.Anoich
inthcnghtsideofthislipallowsthcsafcty
IObcmr>O\-«l,bo.ilnot"11ilethcstrikcrl,-:I
1 1 i n ~ s...'Wllliothi:farlcAthesafeiyis
discngaa«I. 11 ,s then in the Moir or HfircH
posmon.S"'llllllupighttothcimennodi.atc:
po$llion. thcsafcty locks the striker back and
lhcboltcanbcoprncdandcloso:dS,.w,gio
the far ri(llu tu the Hon" or Hsafc" position.
thcsafctylocbthestrikcrbackandthcboll
closed. Whenthcsafctyiseithcruport<.>thc
righ1,11drawsandholdsthecockingpiccc
ofTthcsear- the!ICarwillstillbcinposition
rcadytornpgelherockingpiecewhcnthe
safctyismcwcdtothc"'firc"position. With
thcNfe,yupright,thisoffersasafeway,o
unloadthemqazme,chambcringandcjcct-
mg ~g,:s with the bolL No bolt sleeve
Mauser Mod
lock II provided, 1hereforc, the shgh tcs1
tooch apinstlhcboltsleevcorsafcty,"hm
thebolt1sopcn,cou.ldcauseit1oro1a1c
cou.ntcr-dockwiseand1Wis1outofnlignmcn1
wnhthcrc,;civcr,prohibitingclosurcofthc:
bolt
Most M!JJ and M95 Mausers, indl>d1ng
thcCicrman-madoCluleanMausm..lladno
provisioo1od1,·cnorv,:ntpowderpsa
harmle$Slyou1oflheactioninthcc,·m11
pnmierorcasehcadrup(Umilnsuchcascs,
lhcn,thesea,;tionswillpcmmga.scsmcntcr
thcboltthroughlheftringp,nholc.rush
b.lckaloog lhestrikn-and m.ainspnngand
spaythem.andtomeoilpickcd..,alona;thc
way.allhe~cr'sface.Gascsncaping
paS1 lhe wire<:cucd pan of lhe bolt face will
bedircc:1cdbackward.00"111heleftlockin11
lug =cway, toward the shooter's face
dcspi1c1hcbohs1op!ugandnarcdbol1
sl«vc. ~ M9) Spanish Mauscn, notably
the ones made in Spain by lndumiude
Cauih111a,havc1single11"-'lcscapovcn1holc
inlheboltncarlhercarbonomedgeofthc
lcftlod111glug.marchinganoblongholc1n
lhem:c,verring. Thcsc,·entcdaction:sarc
safer,butthceftsmallholcisnotlikclylO
ven11lllheescapinggasfrom1$CnOUSca,c
""-drupturc.andsomcmaystillbcdirectcd
10thc$hootcr"sfacc
Thcbolt-stopisattachtdandhingcd10the
left of the rcc:,civcr bridge by a poimcd scri:w
pwingthroughthebolt-stopand1nin1epal
squuclugoothcrttciver.Ailud.onthcend
ofthebolt-$10p.proaudesthroughaholc:lfll0
1hclockinglugraccwayandhalulhercar•
wudtravcloftheboltwhcnucantactsthe
lockinalug.Thisstudissloclt'dforthce.,cc-
ior,hol-1i-twly-..nhi:nthebolt-s&op,and
hcldmplaeebythcbolt•stopscrcw.AOOl>o
.......,
blc-lcaftbtspring.moniscdintothebolt-S10p
hous1ng.holdsthcbolt-srop1p111Stlhe
ri:tt1verandkcq,sthetjcctorpivocalaga1nsc
Tllcscaris1ttachcdm.andp1>'01Son1p,n
throughascudoothebonomoftherttel\"ff.
Thclriggcrpirntsonapininthescar10the
ri:arofccn1cr.Tllc1opofthclliggcr.which
bears apinsc the recci,·n-. has two hump$
whichPfO'·illelhedouble-stagclct-<1ff.Tllc
snrandlriggerarctensx>neclbyacoilSpin,:
~"ffl!thefrontoflhcsearandn:uwcr.Just
al...toflhc1nggcrspring,1pu,pes9Cdtn10
the sear proJ«U through I hole ,n10 thc
n:ca•"ff.Thtrcisasingle.narmwgroo,--ccut
mio!hcbolthodylhalalLJVIS"Tihthcpo,nlof
the pm Mly ,..hen !he bolt is romplctcly
closcd,01hcrwisc!hcbol!hodylff'·em:sthc
searbeUljlri:leawd.Thm:islW01flalspocon
thcbonomofthcboltwhichpOSilH)nSo•on
thepinwhcnthebolthandlcisraiscd.and
v.hmthebohisc~wuilthcoock111J1Clnl
C001at:tsthcscar.Thisallowsthelliggcrtobc
pulk:dba<:k,low<'ringthefiringpina.,:thcboh
isc1osied
ThccartridgcguidtlipSarcm,llcdmte.
pl w,lh !he magazine ..:ell opening ,n the
119
 M1l1tary Rifles & Actmns

rccel\·er.TheKa,,idelips.oneaieachstde
ofthemaprincwdl.holdthesugg=drol-
umn of canndaes, 10 the mapzine unul
pushed forward from the maguine by the
bolt.andlheyJUidethebulletpoimimothc

''"'"""
T h e ~ box and trigger gu:ud an: of
o-pM:«,machincd-stoelcoostruction.with
theopcntopofthemagazineboxmatchillll
thcrnqazine"1:llinthereceiver.Thcreceiv-
crandt.mlsn=heldsa:un:lyinthest<x:kvia
1woheavy1uardscrewsgoingthroughthe
front and rear ends of the magarine/guani.
Thc&onlauardscm>'1h-ssin10lhereooil
lug.lhc..:.-iniotheendoflheiang.
Many pc,$1-1898 nlla hn1: lock ~-.10
prt'\'ffltlhtguard!a't"WSfiomtuming.Thc
~pmdis!IOC\Rlyheldinalignmcnt r:::'a1::.~(tell)an:IM93(righl)MauMrbob. ~lhen.1spo1onlhebollomollhe
,.,lhthel'COO"ffbyastudcollarlOWardthe
fromO\~amatcltingstudutending
fmmthebonomoflhereooillug. lhrnmadcround.Actionshavingth,slatcr ... 11cn1heriflcisfircd.thesmallsafe1ylu1
Alongitudinalrib,tothckftonthciopof type ro..nd bolt head, and 01herwise un- behindthcbolthandlcwouldhaltorrewdthe
themi!lcdstcelfollower,causesthccanridges marked,canbceither M93sorM95s.M93 n,arwardmo..cmen1ofthebol1,lnJl><.'han
IObc~inthemaga;.r,ine.AW-shapcd bollll with flat•bottom boll hca,,lsarc not intcr• extn,mely ran, event 1he safety lug would
followcrsprina.heldbyunden:utsinthebol- changcablcin~versmadel'ortheround, • «onJ~prot«riontotheshooterbypn,-
tornofthcfolto..-crandinsidethefloofplatc, i.e.dedbolts, Vffltinathebolt&omsuilinghishead.ltism
providettheupward~wlhc:lollower. lhlllrcspc,;tonlylhatthcM950ulcanaction
Thc~hablcmagazinefloOfpweisheklin TNM86CMllaActlll 11 JOmeWhat ufcr than the olher ~98

--
pl.ll$iDQnbylip$11bocl,cnls~rw:a- TheM95Chilcanactionisalmostidentnl act,ons. ln myopinion, ho,,,'e>'Cr,ltus feallft
escut mto themagazine/guanl. A sprina- 1ne,·nydelail10theregularM95Span,sh docsn01makctheactionanymcn:su1table
"-d,edplungcr,a1the-ofthemaprine acnon, excep1 11w II hQ a third, or safety, forlugh,inlcnsdycanridges.
bo...1C1:1uthelloorplalecau:hiokx:k11fur- lock1nalllg.Thislua,lbout.lWlugh, . l2S~
ward.Oqnssingthi1Qdeh-..ith1poinlnl 'Aideand .540"'1ong.islocalcdonthcnght
IOOllhroughtheholeinlherearofthefloor- sideofthellngJUSlbehindlhebolthandk Earl1crinthi1ehaptcrtheM93Spamsb
plaleatlow$1heplale10fflO'ol=ba<:k.andtalT)' root.lluslugdocsnoloontactthcbollhandk; action.made10SpainbylndustriasdeGucr-
thefollo""ffandfotio...-a-spnng ..;thitlm: bu111dci1gn.atcdtolea....,a\'isiblcgap ra,w15 mcntioncdashaving1ga1 cscape
ofthek!ion. betwcmitandthebolthandlc.ltspuposetS ventintheb<!!tand=civcr.Thispanicular
not10helpholdtheholtlockcdinthe~v- 1ctionfur1herdiffersfromthcusua1M9J
er,but1oactasasafetymeasure.Tha1is,if andM95intha1themagazinc/guardhasa
ForallptaeticalpwposesthcM9Jand the forward dual-locking lugs should fail hingcdlloorfllatc.Thefloo,platcisbinged
M9SMauscractionscanbcoon.sidercdthe
same. In fact, an early Mauser calaloS
dcscribingthemmakesnodisrinc:tion.They : : m ~ = =-b olt(lighl)asco-nper«lwithlhtM93bolt(lel't).Nolegasescapevent
an: l1$1cdundcrthesubheadingMAUSER
MODEL 93-95 ,.;th a single description.
~-.ho,,,~,:r,variationsby,.tiichone
maydelnminttheitCCJm<:1dcsignation.or
dm,fylhempo111Mlybymarkinpon dw:,,:
acllOllll, lf.,-.tionismarud-Modcl l89r
or-Modtll89S.~111inthcc:aseoflheChilean
M9S.thercisnoquestionaboutthccom,ct
designation.
When fint made, the M9) bolt had two
1liglnboltfaccproj,:,;1ionsfo1mingasmal1
f11tspotundcrtheboll,clcarlys.hownelse-
"'N.ffinlhi1chaptcr.Thetangandtherearof
them:civu,as~llastheloadiJ'laramp,were
tu1aooon:lin&IYto1llowpa,<$3g,::oftheboll
The,e,mailpn:,je,;:tionspcnnitledmcn:ofthe
bolthcldsurl'acetocontactthecanridge
hoaclswhenf«d:in&lhemfromthc~
intolhecharnlxr. Lucron.howe-.-er,lhisfca,-
ttft ,.,. &opped-it - found to be umec-
...-y l'or proper f«.ding-«nd the bolt "v

120
a1tbe frontonapinandishcldclosedbya
smallspring·loadedlatch-finedimoahole
a11heuppafi'on1ofthetriggc:rguardbow
Pushingtbesrnallphmgerofthislatch!Otbe
!eft.withabullettiporpointed!OOl,R:leas-
csthelloorpla1esoit.alongwi1h1hefollow-
erandfollowerspring,canbeswungdown
memptythe magazin<:. On others of the
samcmake,adiffcrcntlatchwasuscd. A
R:lcasc kversimilar101ha1 used on !he
Japanese Type 38 caliber6.5mm rifle is
locatedinsidclhefrontcurveofthenigger
guard bow, and depR:ssing the button
rcleascsthclloorplate.
Anolherdisiinct,11riationi$foundonM93
Twkishriflesin7.65mmc:aliber.Thisac1ioo
has a magazine cutoff--a thumb-operated
lever,piVO!Cdonlherigh1sideofthe=civer.
Whentheeu1offisengaged.itfon:esthecar-
nidgesinthemagazinedo11,nsothebohcan
becloscdwithoutpickingupacartridge.To
io-,....,.afullmagazincofcanridges,adecper
lloorplalewasusedonthisriflc.
Mos1 M93 Spanish Mausers we"' made
withamagazinefol]o11,...,.,squareatlherear.
whichblockedtheforwal'dlllO\-cmenlofthe
bolt when the magazine was empty. This fea•
mrcprcYcnted"blindlooding'·ortherillc
Aflcrejectingthelastcase.thebohwillno1
dosc,indicatinganemptymagazine.O!hcr
militaryriflcsbasedontheM93actioo.likc
theM94BrazilianandtheM950,ilean,had
the followerslopeda1 the rear so the bolt
would close when the magazine was empty
SomcM93sandM95shaveadtq)thumb
no1ch cul into the left rcceh·er wall just
Thflsa.fe1y\ug(arrow)on1heChileanM9Sactionislocll.tedon1heianglustbehlndthebolt
handlebase.Thflluglsabout.175"high,.125'wideand.540"'1ong. ltdoesnol{andshoold
IIOl)contactlhebaseolthebolthandle
ahcadofthebridge-anaidinloadingthe
riflefromastrippcrclip. Thenotchisfrc-
qucntlyasdecpasthat foundonthe M98
action. On others, the thumb notch will be
veryshallow,justthetopedgeofthelocking
lugracewaycu1awayandrounded.Another
typc,liketheM950,ileanMauser.shows
nolcftwallcu1atall.
Mlal83_86 __
lwill lisihercafewofthevariantrillcs
andcarbinesbasedonM93andM95Mauser
actions. Foremost were !he M93 Spanish
rifle with 29.06# barrel, weight abou1 9
pounds:theM93 Spanishshortrillewitha
2l.75#bam:l.weightabout8.3pounds,and
theM9SSpanishcarbinewitha 17.S6"bar-
rc1.weightabout7.Spounds.Manyofthesc
Spanish riOesandcarbineswcrc made in
Germany- Ludwig Loewe & Company.
Berlin. made abou1 250,000; the Mauser
finnmade 30.000.Agreai many of these
annswercmadea1 !he Fabricade Annas
arsenalinOviedo,Spain.andahugenumbcr
oftheshor1rilleswercproducedbylndus-
triasdeGuem,deCa1alunaarsenal.alsoin
Spain. The Spanish arsenals made these
rillcsformanyyearsandlha,·escensomc
dated after WWI
Ptmapsthene~1mos1commc,nrifleusing
thisactionisthcM950,i1ean.ltcarricsa
29.06" barrel and weighs about 9 pounds
LikctheSpanishM93sandM9Ss.itischam-
bered for the 7mm MatlSCl'cartridge
CenturyArmshasChileanM95Mausers
11,ith ..OVS.. ovcrtheserialnumbcr(leftside
ofthcrccciverring).Thcsewercoriginally
,;oldioOrangefrccSta1e,Afiic:a,butapor•
tionwcrcnolpaidfororwcrcll:fused-for
whatevcrreason. lncsewercthenengraYed
(?)withtheO>ileancoatofarmsontopofthc
nxci,'Cl'ringandsoldioChilc,
Rarer,andnotaswcllknown,aretheM93
Turkishcaliber7.6Smmrillcwitha29.06"
bam:l,theBrazilianM94in7mmcalibcrwith
29.06'bam:landtheOrangcfrccStateM9S,
whichissimilartotheBrazilianM94.0thcr
cowinieswbichalsoadoptedtheM95Mauser
wercMc~ico,UruguayandPersia(lran).
TheMauserfirmmade0\...,.200,000ofthe
Turl(ish M93 rifles. Ludwig Loewe & Com-
pany(Gennany)and Fabrique Natiooalc(FN)
ofBclgiumproducedrillesforBIWI
M84-Blwlllllt,.._..
BythetimeSpainhadadoptedtheM93
Mauser in 1893,PaulMauserwasmaking
furtherchangcsioimproveitandoblainc,;,n.
1rae1.sfrom<>lhercountries.[n 1894,Swedcn
adop!edacarbincwithlheseimprovernents,
designated the Mode! 94 Swedish Mauser
Carbine.Thenewcartridgeinlroducedwith
thiscarbinewasthe6.5x5Smm.whiche,.'t'n-
tuallybccamcfamousfori1Slong-rangeaccu-
racy,bothasamilitaryandtargetround.
The Swedish govemmcn1 ordered 12,185
ofthesec:arbines.dw:ingl894and1895.tobe
madebyMauserWcrkeinGcnnany.La1cr,
theM94c:arbincswercmadebyCar!Gustafs
StadsC,e,.-arsfaktori(theSwcdishgovcmmem
arscnal)inEskilstuna.Swedcn.
Beingmadeforadiffercntcartridge,hav,
ingaslightlylargerbodyandheaddiamcter
thanthe7mm.thcM94Swcdishactiondif-
fercdfromthcM93andM95ac:tionsinlhat
lhecockingpiecchadanuprightprojcctionat
thecnd,the1opcheckeffii The true purpose
ofthisfeatweisno1k"°"'11.butmostlikelyit
wasmcanttounc:ock theactionmanua!ly:
lhatis.awaytoholdthecockingpiecesothat.
onpul\ingthctrigger,thestrikercouldbe
lowercdorwicocked.ltisalmoscimpossible
tocockthestrikerbypullingthecheckercd
projoction.Hence,itspurposcmUSlhavcbecn
IOWlCOCktheactiooratherthantocockit.ifil
hadanypurposcatal!.
Justahcadofthischeckercdprojection
tbereisanorchwhichallowsthesafctytobe
swung over when the striker is down. Like
moo10lherboltac1ions..whentheM94firing
pinisforwantandthebol1closcd,thefiring
pintipprotrudesfromthefaccofthebolt.lf
the safety is swung= to the righ~ engaging
thiscxtranotchintheoockingpiccc,lhefiring
pinispulledback"ithintheboltandlockcd
Ihm. It may ha~ been ma, this feature. plus
lhecheckercdprojtttionontheoockingpiece,
allowedthesoldicrtounoockaloadrorillc
(withacartridgcchambcrcd)andthenengagc
thesafcty:thercafler,anaccidentalblowto
121
the«,ck111&p1ea:""0Uldno1d1tcharge1he
nf\e. Wilh the si,fcty engaged on lhe
uncodcd-.uon,lhc:bohilllodcdcbcd
1nl896.S"'cdmadoptcdariflecalkdthe
Modc196S"'CldishMauser.ha.scdonlhc:M94
aciion.butmadcwithanimportantadditiooa!
fca1ure . TheearlyM94S"fflishactiononly
had a shallow cut forthe thumbin thelefl
rtttl'·er wa!l,andthiswasfound1ohave
1I1SU1f1Cicntthumbclca.rancewhmcharg111J1
the mag.u1nc ,.;th a snipper clip. On the
M96.lhc:lhumbllOICh"»mademuchdtq,,
cr.utcndinglhroughthclcfllockinglug
raceway. Thncforc. IO JlfC''effl the left lock•
,na:li'omsaikmgdiccdgcsoflhisllOIChaslhc:
boh-ns opcmcd.and10kccpthebollli'om
binding.thcbohbod)'"» madc"'ilh a nar-
rowgwderib"h,chpa.ucdlhmughamaieh,.
mgiJO(Mcutms;dcthcrttei"tr~.
lnaddiuoniolhcdceplhumbnotchand
guiderib,thcM96bollhad111M:gasescapc
hoks. Onc:smallholcwasloca1cdbehindlhc
ex1ractoroollar,dircc1inganyescapinggascs
1othcleftandin1olhelugraceway.As«ond
hole11 forwardofine,nracmrcollar,Yisible
when the bolt is locked. jUSl behind !he
recc:inrri11jabovelhcex1raetor.Anolhcr
smalltrholewasbom:11hroughlhc:frontof
theextraCIOCundertheexuxtorhook. Th,e
122
gas escapeholcsmadclhcseS"''Cdishaccions
saferlhananyoflheodapre-98Mai:!ffs.
TheM96S,."CdishMauscrrcta1ncd11le
clicickered pn;,;e,;oon and the uncoded si,fccy
notchfeaturcsoflhc:M94S""Cdishaccion.All
M94smadcaftcrtheintroductionofthcM96
weremadc,.•ithlhc:dcep thumbnotch.gu1dc:
ribundgascscapehol,:s.S incc fcwcarly M94
Swcdishcarbi~were madc.1heyarcvny
tcarce and seldom enoounremt. thcn:forc.
M94andM96ICUOWlusually,..,..ucalikc
mpracticallye-.·nyde-tail.Theonlyno1,~
ablediffi:n:noe111halthcM94bohhandleis
benldo,,.n...:hilconlheM96ilS1>Cks11r11ahl
OUIIOdiclidc. ThrM94andM96accionsan:
.......
like the M93 and M9S action.5 in m011t oda
Besides the M94 S"'"Cdish carb,nc. 1n
MauscrplantMObemdon(Gmnany)made
manyoflhc:M96Swcdishrifles.ln1899.for
cxamplc,theyweregi,fflaoontracttomake
45,000M96rines.
Agrcat manymoreofbo!hlhcM94sand
M96s were madc in Sweden by Carl Gus(afs
fum,lndtheyoon1mucdtoproWCCthcmfor
many reu-J h,w(' seen them daled as late
as lheearlyl940s.
lnl938.S""Cdcnadopledashont'r~lcd
•-enionoflhc M96rine,namelytheMJ8
TOJ! view, M94 Swe<bh IICllon 9howwlg lhe bolHI\Op, d,p--dlarper
gu,deway,•xtrKtor.bollgl,lld9flb(u,.,.Ptraclor), it"P()HdQBS
....,..,.and~~ltuntlpotlol~
SwedishShonRifle.lnl94 1,theyinrn.wa:d
lheModel4lSniperRifle.simplyaM96rifle
JC!ec1cd for IICCUfllC)' and with a high. side-
mourucd !Cle,,oop,, futed IO the rttei,'Cr The
action1 ofbochlheMJ8rineandlhcM41
wen: rhcsamcasthe M96,excepl for the
tumcd-<lo,.11bolt handlcof thc M41
M94andM96Swedish actionsan:n:adily
idcntifiedbytheche<:keredprojecung lugon
-
thccoc~inspiece.TheearlyM94swillno1
ha,·cthc&Uideribonthebolt.bwalJ M945
willh:1,-ethebentbohhandle.
Mauser Klions mu'" Germany an,
SlampcdonlheA:«1,-erdna:
MAUSERIOBE RNOOAF
ThoscmadeinS"'cdmarcSlampcdonthe
recciH•rring"1thadatc(year)asfollows:
CARL GUSTAFS
STAOSGEVARSFAKTORI
~h the German- and Swcd,sh-fflW
aaions ..illha,-etheirmajorparunumbeml,
and only if all thenumbmoftheact,on
mat,;h ,;an ii be ronsidered original. The full

serial number is on the receiver. and the
srnallerpan:susuallycanyonlythelastl\>oor
llu'tt digits of the entire number. This num-
bering practio: 1>.s groerally followcd by all
makersoftheM9JandM9Sactions.
lntcrarms of Alexandria. Va .• imponed
manyM94andM96Swed;shMausersinto
1hcU.S.afterWWll.Forsomereason1hc
re<:eiver of fflO'il M94s imported by them
wcreremarl.edwnh
INTERARMCO G33/50.
T..._...iklllMy
Thefollowingproccdun:sapplytoallmod-
clsdescribcdinthischapter.Torem<lvethe
i)Qltraisethebolthandle,drawlhebolthack.
swing001thcboh-S1opandpullthcbollfrom
thereccivcr.Ton:movetheliringmochanism
fromthebol1,firstclosetheboltandplacethe
safctyinitsuprightposition.lbc-on:movethc
Mauser Models 92, 93, 94, 95 & 96
bolt from the receiver. Unserew (countcr-
clockwi,e)theboltsleevefromth,ebolt.Place
thcfuingpintiponahardsurfaceand.finnly
graspingthebohsh:,:,-c,pushitdown;tumthc
CQCkingpieceone-quanerrumincithcrdin»
lionandlifti1offthcfiringpin.Thestrikcrand
mainspring can IIOW be removed. Swing the
safe1y101hcrightandpullnfromtheboh
s1tt,·e.Rcmovetheextrac1orontheM93by
rumingit1othe1opoftheboltandpushi1for-
"'lll'd.offthcbol1.RcmovethccxtrJCIOfonthe
01hersbyrumingi1tothebo1tomofthebolt
beforepushingi1fo,wanl.whichreleascsi1
fromlhccollar.Thccollarcanbespreadapart
toremo,-i,itfromthebohbodybm<Wnot
r,>mo,-e u unless absolutely 0ttcssary
Rcasscmblctheboltinre,-erscorder.
Remove the magazine noorplalc by
dcpressinglhcnOOf)llatccatchwilhapointed
tool,movingitiotherearuntil ,tis released
Slipthefollowerspringoflthefollowerand
Ano1herversionof
lheM93Mauser
lh8hiJ\\19dma911-
zinelloo<plate
~~::!,~
the frontofthe
trigge,gua,dOOW.
thefloorplate.Toremo,..,theae1ionfromthe
stocktakcou1frontandrearguardscrews.lift
thebarrelandae1ionfromthestockandthen
pull out the magazine/guard. Driveou1 the
searpinandremovcscar.lriggerandlriggcr
springfromtherecei,·er.Ori,·eou11riggerpin
loremo,-ethelriggcrfromthesear.Tumout
thebolt-stopscrewandrcmovebolt-stopfrom
therecci,..,,..l'ulltheejec10<for-,,1U'dandout
oft~bolt-stc,phous_ing.Holdthe_bolt-slop
hous1nginav1seby1tslugand.us1ngadrift
punch.drivcthebolt-stopsprir,gfor-,,'lU'duntil
theendofitsrapsinsidethehousing.lnscna
sharpnarrowscrewdri,..,,.bladebctweenthe
endofthespringandthehow;ingandpryit
backumilit isfrec.Rcassemblethesc:partsin
reverscorder
Thebarrelisthreaded(rigln-hand),·ery
tightlyintotlw:rc.:ei,·crandshooldnotbe
remo,·edunlessnecessary.andthenon/yif
propertoolsareavailablc.
ThcM93andM95Mauscraelions(includ-
ingtheM95Chilcan)madcinCiennanyby
LocwcinBcrlinandbyMauscrinObmdorf.
show the highes1 qualityofwon.manship.
Theyareextremcly,,:ellmadcandfinishcd
Allthepartsshowcan:fulmachiningandpol-
ishing. Withou1qucstion.thcy,,,eremadeof
thefinestandmostsuitableSleelsforthevar-
iousparts.llles,,v....,.,propcrlyheat-treated
andternpcredformaximumS1mtgthandsafo-
1ytheactiondesignallov.-ed.Onmostofthe:se
actionsthercceiverandmagazinelguardparts
v.-erefinishcdarichbluc.whiktheboltand
allauachcdpansw=leftbright.Thcsamc
praisewouldccnainlyapplytotheGennan-
madcM94andM%Swedishae1ions
Asagcncralrule.theSpanish M93and
M95actionsmadeinthe0vicdoandlndu.s-
trias de Guerra arsenals are not as well
machinedorfinishedasthcirCiennancoun-
tcrparts.ltisassumedth.ntheSpanishactioos
confonnediothcsamcgrneralspocifications
astheCiennanactions.anditisprobablctha1
similarsteclsandhea1treatingmclhods""°'
alsoUSOOintheirmanufacture.Sincethisis
1ikely.thcSpanish-madeac1ioosshouldbcas
strongandassafcasthe-Gennanones--
thoughthelanerac1ioruiarealwaysprefcm:d
Ofallpre-98Mauserac!ions.!heS"-edisb-
madeM94sandM96sareronsideredthehest.
Someexp,-rtSbeliovethattheSwcdesUSOOa
bcuerSleelfor!heirbollsand~,..,.,..This
may well be 1n1e for 1he high quality of
""S"-edishSleel""iswellknown.Thciractions
"·erealsoaswdlmadeandfinishedasthe
Gcnnanactions.ThcS"'Cdish-madeacrions
we~ proofed with loads de,·eloping\lJ) to
66.000psibrecchpressun:.ldoo"tlhink
Swedishac!ion.sareaeluallystrongerlhanany
of!he Olher M93 or M95 Mauser actions. but
thcyaresaferbecauscof!hegas-ventingholes.
123

The firing pin can be lowered to the
uncockcdposi1ionona1lofthcseactionsby
pu.$hingtheopenedboltforwanlandholding
---
thctrigscrbackwbilerumingthcbol1dQ5ed
Ofcoorse.thisshouldonlybedoneonan
cmp1ychamber.
Anyof1heseactionseanbeusedtobuilda
sporting rifle with a minimum of remodeling
m;iuired.Jfascopeistobemountcdlowover
thcrccciver.lhcbolthandlcmustbealteredto
clcarthcscopc,.lrcoornrnmdtuningofl'the
otiginalbolthandleandelcctrieallywe ldinga
newforgedonctothebol1body.Al1erthcbolt
onthcM95Chileansothatthebascofthc
boltdearslhcsafctylugonthc~,..,,.just
asthcotiginalboltdidOtherwisc:.theprob-
lcmofalteringthebolthandle.orweklingon
anewonc.m;iuiresnomore"'Orklhanthe
M98Mause.-.
Comrn=iallymadelowsafe1iesareavail-
ableforthesc:rifles,eliminatingaltm.tionof
the original. Attachments to eliminate the
double-stagctrigscrpul!aremade.butifsa
muchbetterideatoinstallacommen:ially•
madc.adjustable.singJe-stageuiggermedta-
nism in these: actions if you dislike the
militarypull.
All receiver sights made for lhc M98
Mauser aclion will also fit any of these
actions. Most scope mounts made for the
small ring M98 can be used. Ofcourx,
installing a recei,·er sight or scope mount
m;iuiresthatholesbedrillcdandtappedinthe
recei,·er. For actions which have the crest
groundfromthcmpoflhcn:cei'"er.lwould
suggestusingasidemount instcadofatop
mounrforthcsoope.
One of the main objections to pre-98
Mauscraclionsistheirlongstrikerfalland
slowlocktime.Mostshoocersalsoobjectto
thccock-on-dosingdesignoftheseactions.
124
Chilean M95action.Th<!origmalbotlhasbeen
alteredtoe!orgedlow-<:Ontourbotlhandla.
Actually.ncithcrfeaturcissoobjectionable
thattheym:iuin:altcrationwhenbuildinga
sportingrifle.Mysuggestiontoll'loscinsist-
ingonacock-on-opcningactionis tos1an
withonealreadyhavingthisfcature.rather
thangoingtoallthctroubleandexpenseof
cooveningthesc:actionstocockonopening.
Ycs.thiscanbedonewiththeseactions.bu1it
wouldnocbeprac1icablctoat1Cmptit.
Whenrebarrelinganyoncthesc:actions.. I
ad•·iselimitingthccanridgechoicetothose
originallyusc:d,ortoothcrcanridgeswithin
thcfollowinglimi~:Anycanridgedevclop-
ing!essthan45.000psibreechpre$$Ure.of
30-06headsiie.,.·ithanoveralllcngthless
thanthatofthcmagazine.
l oonsideralloftheseac1ions.withthepos-
sibleexceptionoflhcM!ManJM96S"-edish
Mause.-actions.ashavingrn3J&inalstrength
and safety forlhc 308 Win. (7.62mm NATO)
canridgc. ! would nm recommend any of
thesc:actionsforlhc22-250.220Swift.243.
244or6mrnRcm .. 284Win. and358Win.
Wha1 about the 212. 221 M.agnumandl23
Rem . c.anridgcs? 1 believe these actions
wouldbesufficicntlystrongandsafeforany
ofthcm.butthereisnopracticablcwayto
alterorad.lptthemaglllincortheboltfacefor
11\csesmall cartridges and keep the rifle a
rcpeater. llowe,..,,..lhcactionoouldbefincd
witha22-caliberccnterf,rebam:landcham-
beredforthe222andusedasasingJeshol.
Thisre,;iuireslengthcninglheextractorhook
for1hesmallercanridge. At best,evcnasa
singleshol,theseactionsan:justnoc100well
adaptcdforcanridgeshavingaheadsize
smallcrorlargerthanthestandanl30-06siu
T1117•~
The first ··war trophy'" M93 Mauscrs
werebrough1in10 1hcUnitedStatesfrom
Cuba after the Spanish American War,
whichendedin1898.Besidesprovingvery
 II ' '

13
Q 14

111 1/ ,/

d
/. 21

11
" ' 3~~
22
~

--
~ 35

""
I__
'' ,_.,
""""""""
2 Boll$trwed ",,
4 FlmgPin
:~~
~ ~Place 40Bayone1Stud,Shon
41~Bandwith~
1~ ~rd
11
12
Butlplalfl~
Butlplalfl
"-"""
43 ~ r d Ang, Rear
44 BayonetStud,Long
13 F,un1Sight 45 BayonetStudNut
14 F,un1Sigh1Band 46 BayonetStudSctew

cffcctin mili1arily, !he 7mm was soon es-
tablishcd as an excellen! sponing canridgc
for big game hunting. Almoslassoonas
thcM98Mauserrincwasimroduccdand
sponingrincs11,•erenu,dconitsaction,thc
7mmcalibcrwasoncofitsmostpopular
chambcrings
Bythetumofthccentury,thcsespon-
ing rines were bc<:oming known to Amcr-
ican sponsmen. for many years af'tcrward,
lhc7mmMausercanridgcwasoneofthe
most"wriuenup"ofallforeigncanridgcs
andr«civcdncarlyasmuchwordagcas
thc30-06
Commonly koown as the 7mm Mauser, it
is correctly referred 10 as the 7x57mm
Mauser.Thisdesignatcsacase57mmlong
andcaliberof7mm(bullctdiameterof.284").
hisarimlessbonlcneckedcanridgc,with
muchofitslongbulletcxposcd.Thciypical
military round had a 173-grainround-noscd

125
 ' ' : I I

--- M1111188•116Mllllr

~~'" .'~i:i
Mauser r.lldels 83 & 115

-M.
·
Boll , .. ,.
Ignition .
--
3::~:.
-,--. .
Guan:llcrewapeclng . . . .7.625"

·_-3}[ Elttractot ....

Boll-$lop ..

8:""................... .485" Ejector ..

,.......94. ■ IIIIIIIMMllllr
Bolllacerecess(partlal):
~.:
~length
. .:~
.. 3235-
jacke1cdbulle1dihenatamuzzlc,-clocityof around2490fjls.hisloadcdtoapproxirnatc-
about2300fps.Mostmilitaryrincscham- lythesameovm11!length,usingabu!lctlhal
~ .~lopenlrig bl:'m;I rorthiscarttidgehavcbam:lswitha matd,esthemilitarychamberandriflingpcr-
Frool .................. 4 .84• riflingtwistofonerumin8.8",and=deq)ly fectly.Ballisticallythis7rnmloodiscompa-
'Wodaslspol.about1"1ranlhel9ilrol throotedtoaccep1lhcloogbullct. rabletothe308Winchestcr(]80-grainl'ower
well. O l h e r ~ arellbotll Commcri:ial 7mm Mauser canridgcs Poin1).
lik(llhoseollheM93&M95actions. lo:,dedinlhcUnitedStatcshavca175-grain I include([ the figures and comparison
softpoinl bullet with a m=le ,·elociiyor aboveforagoodrcason:Firsr.forhunting

126
 .... _
''
:!
gamelikcdttr,antelope.blackhear.sheep,
goa15, caribou and elk, the U.S. commercially
lood,ed7mmcartridgeisequal1<1manyofour
popularcartridges.
1 bdie,·ethe7mm will be around fora
loog1imcyd. A!iofl994,anumbcrofam-
muni1ionmakershereandabroadload1his
cartridgc,somewilhscveraldilfcrcntbullet
wcights.andmostofthelargcsponingarms
makmolfc-rrifleschambertdforir
The 7mm Mauscrlwalways been a hand-
loadcfs dream cartridgc. This is bccause therc
issuchawiderangcofdomcsticbullctsa,-ail-
ableinthiscaliber.lnmililal)'riflesthebesl
accuracy"illusuallybeobtaincdwithheav-
icrbullets. those ranging from 13910 175
grains. Someofthelighterbullctsmay gi,-e
fin,:accuratyjfsea100,·cryshallowlyinthe
ca.seneck, fora minimum of jump from case
torining.
TlllB.6XlifMI~
!flhavcpraiscdthc7mmMauscrcar-
1ridge,1hen 1 shouldexiol1 he6.SxSSmm
Mauser cartridge as well sinccit,100.isa
renownedperfonner. ltis,intbeopinionof
manycxpcns,thcfinest6.Smmcamidge
evcrdcvelopcd. ltfirs1pro,·ed1obean
excel lcntmilirarycanridgc.andlaterona
better sporting and !argctcartlidgc. Asa
1arge1 cartridge. i1 establi1hed somecnvi-
ablcrerords. hshjghcsicem isrcnc,;tcdby
thcfactthatitwasoffcrcdasoncchambcr-
ing for the Rcming1on40XB1argc-trine.
Therefore. if you have an M94. M96 or
M4l Swedish rine with an cxcellem bore.
127
itwouldbeplurnbfoolishtorebam:I itin
another caliber
TI!c6.5x55mm,asloadedby Norma, is
a,·ailabkfromdealershaodlingthisbrand.
Likethe7mm.thehcavier-bullC'lloodspcr-
foonbeslinthedcq,-throated6.5x55mmmil-
itarilychambcrcdbarrels. Us.ingNormacases
it's agoodcartridgcfortheseriooshand-
loader. Thcbcstreloadinginformaliononthis
--
cartridge is in the 1/omady Handbook ofCar-
lrldge Relooding.
ThcSwedishrillesdiscussedinthis chap«:r
A tine custom•made sporter based on 1hfl M94 Swedish Mauser action. A
1903Spring!ield!oori)roovebarrelislilledto!heaction
and rechambered to 308. A new bolt handle,
Buehlers.i!etyandWeaverdelach-
able side moont carrying a K..\
scope were also fitted The figured
walnutstod<hasskip-linechecker-
-,
were never plentiful. From time to time dur-
ing the 19SOs, !IOm<: dcalCT$ in military sur-
plus offered M94carbinesforabout S30
M96rifles"'.,....,ofTercdlessftcquently,and
"'.,....,usuallypriccdabithigher. SomcM38s
"'.,....,ofTered.as"'.,....,theactions.inthela1e
19SOsandagainin1heearly 1990s.Sales
apparently were good-for these items were
seldom listed after 1960. Surprisingly, how-
c•'<'r. in 1%7 and l968 a couplc of finns
offercdthcM41 Swedishsniperriflccom-
pletcw;thscopcandmoumforabout S70
While all the Swedish Mauser rifles m,
becomingmorescarce.i1usual!yisnottoo
diffocu!ttopickoneupfromdealershaodling
.-scdfirearms.
AsforthcM9)s,theyappeartobemore
common than ever before. Sinccthcmili-
1ary surplus market boom began after
WWII. it seems that more of the various
M93carbinesandriflesha,·ebecnoffered.
aswdlasM93actions.thananyotherfor-
cignann.lcxpec1thisoondi1ion1ocxistfor
a few years yet. though the supply will
diminishevcntually.M95Mauscrs,espe-
cially M95 Chilean rifles. arc much more

P AUL MAUSER MUST surtly hu-c bee,i
disappoimedwhenhisrwiveOOW1tryadop(ed
1hc Model 88 Commission rifle in 1888
Although the M88 action contained a nwnber
oforiginalMauserdesignfeatun:s,itwas~
a"Mauser."ThcMauserf~ll!ledinthe
MSS wen: thoseoftheblackpowder M7l/84
includingthenon•rotatingsepantebolthead,
ejoctor.triggerandfiringmcchanism.
WhikGennanywasconsidcringadoption
oftheM88.PaulMauser••:asbusydesigninga
newaction.Hctricdtoin,prm--candstrcnglhen
--
hisM7l/84action.andatthcsametimeelinii-
natingthcspe<:ialclip~tohoklthecar-
tridgesinthcM88magazine.apoorfearun:
Thisactionwasanimprovtdversionofthe
M71/84Mauserwithhighrecciverwalli,dou-
ble loeking lugsengagingr«esses in the
recci,,:rbridge.andaninwho!Wlgleoolwnn
00:0:.magazine.hwaschambcn:dforanc:w
Mausercamidge.the7.6Smm.asmokdess-
powderload.Mauserentcrtdlhisrifleinthe
Belgianrifletria!sbutwas~successfulin
scllingi1- i1rcmainedanexperimentalmodel
Faili11&withtheexperimental M88.Paul
Mauscrdesignedanentirelyncwaction.Afar
departun:fromanyofhisearliertypcs.itwas
the forerunner of the justly famed Model
l898Mauser.Thisroewand,-asdyimp«wed
actionintroducedthcMauserlockingsysicm
for the first rime. The one-piece bolt. bored
frorntherear.hadlhlal~loekinglug:s
onthefO!Wardend.Thcrifle.chambertdfor
the7.6SmrnMausercamidge.wllOiadopted
byl3elgiwnin!889andbccameknownasthe
Modcl1889BclgianMauscr.
ThtM89wasthefirsthighlysucccssful
Mauser actioo designed for a po"-crful.
smokelcsspowder,rimlcssmihwycamidgc
l!wasalsothefirstMauscracciondesignedto
loadthcmagazinewithacharJ!er(morecom-
monlyrefcrred1oasa strippertlip). This
accionse1thegeneralpancmforothcrMauser
---
tumboltrifleactions which followtd, with
changcsandimprovcmentsthalmadcMauser
actionsaSlandardthe"OOdo,,,,.
ThcfirstBdgianM89swen:madcinthe
la,geFabriqueNa1ionak(FN)plantinHer•
stal.Delgiwn.Originallytherov.-=lhree.-er·
sions:ariflewitha30.67'barrel.acarbine
witha2l.65'bom:landashortercaminev.ith
alS.7S'harrel.Allof1bei;e{plUliacarbineto
bcintroducedinl916)wen:madewithabar-
rcljacket-essentiallyliketheoncuscdon
the MS8 Commission rifle. This jacket "11S a
thin.walledstoelrubcooveringthebam:I.Thc
rearofthe1ubethreadedoo10thefrontofth,e
recciverring.withabushingatitsoppositc
endtoeen1erthebam:lrnllZZle. ThcFNplant
madcsome275.000ofthcscriflcsandcar-
bme$frornl889toabout1925.Agreatmany
morcwco:madcintheBelgiangovcmmem
arscnalinLiege.Manywcrcalsomadcin
Birmingham.England.alaplantsctupand
opcratcdbyBe!gianrcfugecs.Oddlyenough.
anAmericanfirm(Hopkins&AllenofNor-
wich.Conn.)obtainedacontractandmade
manyoflbe,;eriflcsforBelgiumafowycars
bcforeWondWarl
Some ,·crsions of the Belgian Mauser
madeaftertheintroductionofth,el890Tw1t-
ishand 1891 ArgcmineMauscrswilloften
havcmioorimpro-,1'IDCntsfO'JOOon1be,;elat•
errifles.Thescimprovemcntswillbcpointed
OU1inthedcuiiltdd:iscussionwhichfol!ows.
ThelauVfflionoftheM89BclgianMau=.
theM89136.docs~ha.vethebarreljacket
NoneoftheM89Belgianrifles"=madc
bytheM=plantinGennany.Someofthe
lateM89/36BelgianriflesweremadebyAro-
etabf'iq,erinHerstal.and"=somarked.
M111111890Tll'IIIIIIRIII
During the development of the M89,
Mauserhadacon1racttomaketh,cM87riflc
forTurlr.ey.oncbasedontheM71/84action.
AclauseintheconU'3Ctpro,:idcd.Twt.eywith
Wbencfitofanyimpro..-emen1Smade1othe
Mauser actions. After more than 200.000
M87s"'el'Cmade.Tw1teyinsistedthatthcrffl
ofthecontractbcfillcdwithriflesbasedon
thcModcl89action.ThusMausermadc
upwardof280.(XX)ofthescM89rifles{some
ofwh;chmayha.vebee.icarbincs).Dcsignat•
tdtheModcll890Twt.ish.theserifleshada
29.IJ'sicppedbarrel.withoutharreljacket.
butwithasbonwoodenhandguardtooover
thetoprearofthebom:l.Thconlyn01iceabk
change made in the ac1ion W"'i a bunrt"ss
threadusedtothreadthebol!sleevein1hc:
bolt.ll>escriflesv.-cl'Cchambertdforthc
7.65mmMauscrcartridge,aswel'Cthe8cl·
gianriflcsandcarbines. ThtM90Tur1dsh
riflesareverylUlCOfflmontoday.
1'1111111 1891 ~
In 1891,ArgeminaadoptcdaMauserrifle
basiedontheM89action. ltwasdesi~the
Modcl 1891 ArgentineMauser.ThcM91 was
madev.itha29. 13'barrelandchambertdfor
th,c7.65mmcanridge.apopularmilitarycat·
tridgcbythistimc.M91shadoobarreljackct.
buta"·oodenhandguardoovercdpanofthe
breochendofthcbarrel.AnM9lcarbinc,:er.
sioohadal7.6J'barTel.Thcprincipalsupplier
oftheseriflesand~v.~Ludwigl..oev.-c
&Co .• ae..tin.whomade 180,000riflesand
30.000carbines. OWM.ofGermany.also
madeaquantiryoftheArgemincritle$.Pcru.
Colwnbia.Boli,UandEcuadoralsoadoptcd
theM91asthcirmiliwyami.
Mil.....,..__
ln1891Spainbccameintetes!tdinthese
ncwsrnokelesspowderriflesand,mostlyfor
trialpurposcs.boughtaboutlSOOofthnnin
(Above) M91 A<gentine ea~ne. caliber
765mmMauser. 8arretls 17.63'1ong.lengl;h
3roveraD,weightabout7.2l>S
129
caliber 7.65mm. Known as lhc Spanish Mod-
el 91, i1 was essemially 1he same as lhc Turk-
ishM90.Fcwwcremadeandthcreforethe
M91Spanishrifleis,'el)'scan:e1oday.Spain
didadoplthccarbine,,m;ion.almostthcsame
aslhcM91Argentinecarbine,andsineemore
ofthesoe,.-cremade.thecazbineismoreoom-
monthantheSpanishM91riflc.
TheSpuushM91 Mawcrriindiffersfiom
1heTurkishM90inthatithasasmatlspring
builtimothcrightlockinglugoothcbolt10prc-
,...,tdoublcloading.TheBclgianM89.Turki.sh
M90andArgentineM91 scrionsweremade
"'ithoollhisf~.ltispossiblc.lherefore,10
OOIJble.loadtho:seri~unlesslhcboltisfully
clooo:landlockcdwhenchaml:eingacatridgc.
Normally, in lheseriflcs.thecartridgeis
pushodin10thcchamberbythcbolt.andno1
u:nrillhcbohisturnwdownandlockcddoes
thccxlraCIOrslipoverlhccanridgerim.There-
forc.ifacartridgcischambcred,andtheboltis
ootfullyclosed,onwithdrawingthebo!tthc
130
camidgcwillbclcflinthcchamber.Then,on
closingthcboltagainitwooldpickupano!her
cartridge.anditsbullelwouldstrikethecar-
lridgealreadyinlhcdwnber.Thisisno1only
annoying,butcoulddischargcthcchambered
cartridgcshouldthcpointoobu!lctstrikcthe
primerhanlC1100gh.Theboltheadroccssof
thcSpanishM9lissowidcranthat,onpush-
ingacanridgcfiomthemagazinc.thccanridge
head slide!! directly into the bolt fac<' = ,
undcrthccxtractorhocik.Hcldlhereundcr1cn-
sior,byasmallspringinthcrightlug.ifthebolt
isnotfullydosOO,thccanridge"'illbccxtract-
edandtjec!OOwhenthcboltisdrawnback.
Asaln:adyOO!Cd,cxceptforminordiffcr-
cnces.thcM898elgian.M90Turkish,M9l
ArgCT1tineandM9l Spanish Mauser actions
arewcn1iallyalike.lsuspcct,thercforc,that
practicallyallactionpansaremoreorlcssin-
tcrchangcable.Atanyrate,allofthemwerc
madeforthc7.6SmmMauscrcanridge.Since
theM91 ArgentincriflesandactiOll!iappear
10bethemos1common. I ha,·cchoscn this
actiontodescribcindetail.Thedescription
following applies to the other actions as
well- excepcforthefewdiffcrcncesaln:ady
mcntionedortobcnotedlateron.
Theone-piro:n:,;civcrisamachincd~eel
forging. The recoil lug. integral with the
rcttivcr,islocatOOaboutl.OO""backfiomlhe
fiontedgeofthcrcttivcr.Thefionrpanofthc
rc.:eivcrringisround.Thcbottornofthe
receiver,fiomthcrccoil luglOthercaroflM
magazine.isfla1.Themagazinewellopening
ismilledinrhcccnteroflhisf1a1area.The
rctti,-erringisthreadedinsidetoa,ocepcthe
bam:lshank.Thebam:lhasashol'tshoulder
tha1bunsagains1thcfrontoftherc.:ei,-er
whcnthebarrelistigh1cned.ThcM89Bel-
gianrifleswiththebarreljacketsha,-cabout
' IJ2~ofthcfiontouts;dcoftherccei.-erlhread-
edforthebarrcljackncollar.

Therccci,uisthcsamewidthfromreceiv-
erringwbridgc,makingthck:l\sidcofthe
recci,uring.sidcwallandbridgeasmoolh,
rounde,jsurface.Thefrontpart(about 1/i")of
thcbridgeisthcsamediamctcrasthcrtttiv-
c-rring.Arectangularoou:h.milledintothis
part,formsthcchargerguide,.,.ys.Thcresiof
thcbridgeismillcdthinncrwreduceweigh1
Thenxei,-erendsinatangaboutU"long
Theonc-piecemachinedbohhasdual-
opposedlockinglugsoni1Sforwardm:L Thcsie
enJ!ilgernatchmgrecesscsinthcreceiverring
andholdthcbohlockedagainS1theharre!
whentheactionisdosed.Thcright(orbollom)
Jockinglugisso!id"-hiletheleft(or~)lock,
i"3lugisslontdwallowtheejectorwpass
Theboitfaceisn:,;es!le(!toa~ofabout
.120'"".Excep1forashallowoou:hinthebol-
l()moftheboll face.narrow extractor and
ejcctorslots.lhecanridgeheadissurrounded
byaringofsieelwhenthebohisclosed.
The extractor is a thin picceofspringst«I
abou11.460"1ongwithasmall hook on its
frontcndwengagcthccaruidgerim.1tisfincd
inwaslotanddovctailmortise.cutlenijthwise
inthcheadofthcboltoody.Hcklinplaceinits
r=bythcdovdailmor1ise.theei<cractoris
Jn",'Cnledfrommovingforwardbyalipimder
itsforwarden,:Lengagingaeulinthcbolthcad.
Onclosingthebolt "ithcartridgeinthcdwn-
bertheei<1r3CIOlmapsea.silyoverthccanridge
Thereisasmallsrud(pin)pressedimoa
boleintherightrtttiverringlocking=
Whenthcbollisfullyclosoo.thisstudcoin-
cideswiththehookendoftheexttactor.lts
purpooeiswsuppontheendoftheexuactor
andpn:ventitfromspringingtoofarshould
powdcrgasesesc-ape in the extractor area
Thus.withtheboltcloscdand locked. the
extrac1orhookbeoomcspartofthesupporting
rimaroundthecanridgehead
Thebohhandle.anintcgn,lpartofthcbol!
body,hasashonsquarebase,aslcndcrround
shankandaroundballgraspinghandle. On
mostofthcriflesthebol!handleisstraight.
whileonlhecarbinesitisgcncn,llyhentdown
'I:'
Primarycxtractioopov.uisachievedonopen-
ingthebolt-thebaseofthebohhandleron-
tactsandmovesoveraninclinedsurfaceoo
theleftrearedgeofthem:eiverbridge.
Theboltoodyisdrilk:dfromtherearwao-
ceptthe firing mechanism. The coil main,
springiscornpn:ssedowrthcsaemofthefiring
pin,betweenthesbouldcroothefiringpinand
theforwan:l.th~shankoftheboltsleeve
Therearofthcfiringpinulaldsthroughthc
boltsk:eveandisheldinplaa:hythecocking
pie<:e.threadcdto!hefiringpin. Thewii1is
retainedinpositioohytheboltslecve.being
thmldcdinwtherearofthcboltbody.Asmall
ribontheftringpinandamatchinggroovein
thcboltslceve.throughwh.ichthefiringpin
moves,prcvcntsthcfiringpinfioottumi"3in
thecockingpiece.Thisribisofsuchk:ngththal
inas.\ffllblingtheftringpinpans.thecocking
picceisturnedoojustfarcooughforcorm:t
firing pin tip protrusion when the cocking
pieceisthmldcdagainslthcrib.
lbcrearcrwonorchc:sa1thercarofthebol1
into which. thecamorsearofthecocking
piccecanfall.Adeepriocc-hooinc:idcs"iththe
camoothecockingpiccewhenthcboltisful..
lyclosedandlocked,allowingthefiringpinw
move forward under mainspring tension for
properfiringpinprotrusionandignition.On
raisingthebolthandle.theinchnedsurfaceof
thisdeepriocc-hmo,-csthecockingpiere.fir-
ingpin,andftringpintipbackwithinthcboll
face. Whcnthebolthandleis fully raised the
camonthecockingpiccefallsintheshallow
riocc-h.lnthissc:condposition.thefiringpin1ip
isstillwithintheboltfaceandpreven1Seasy
tumingoftheboh slc,eve when the bolt is
drawn back. Theriflec:rutnOlbe fired unless
theboltisclosedenough.toallowthccocking
piceewfallwithinthedeepnocch:inwhich
case.thelockinglugsan:engagedinthe
rcce;,-erandlocktheboltclosed.
Nopn;,visionismadewblockthesearwhcn
thebolcis001fu!lylocked.Theactionis
cockcdoothebol!"sfinalclosingmotion-the
searengagesthecockingpi<:ceandhold$it
backwhcntheboltisclosed.Theftringpincan
belowen:d,withoutsnappingtheactioo,hy
holdingthetri~backastheactiooisclosed.
Thcwing•lypesafc,yisfit!edlengthwise
intoaholeatthe~ofthebolts.lecve.Asmall
spring-loadcdplungerinthesafe,ywingcn-
8age5a shallow groove in the bolt sleeve,
holdinglhesafe,yinplaoe:shallowdetentsat
cithcrcndofthegrooveprovidcthe"'off"and
·•on'"safe1ypositions.SWW!J!tothclcft.thc
safe1yisdisengaged.allowingtheactiontobe
operatcd.Whcntheac1ioniscloscdandthc
firingpincocked.swingingthesafetytothe
,-enical ortoihefarrightposition locks the
boltclosoo.soitcam>Olbeopened,andholds
thecockingpiccefrornronlael"iththcsear
Thesafctycanalsobesww,gwtherig:h.t.whcn
thefiringpinisuncocked,wlockthebolt
131
 ThcsturdyOOx-hkcOOlt-stopishingcd10
therearleftsideoftherecei,-eronastudand
pin. A projection on lheOOltstopcxtends
throughaholeintherecei,..,,.800,onopening
theOOlt.itstravel iss1oppcdwhrnthelell
lockinglugcontactsthisPJO:ioc!ion.Swinging
theOOhswpoutwardrrwmallyallowstheOOlt
toberemovcd.Thcthintje\:lorextendsinto
then=i,·erthroughanarrowslol.ltishoused
inthcOOlt-stopandpivotsontheboh-slOp
pin.Thcbol1-stopistenoonedbyasrurdyllat
spring.lOOllisedinlhcbolt-stophousingand
bearingagainstthc1opsurfaceofthesqwrc
OOlc~stud.ThisspringkeepslhcOOlt-stop
closcdandagainstthereceiver.Thesmallfla1
ejcctorspring,do,~ilcdinsidetheOOlt-Slop
housing.contactslhcejec,ortokec-pitagainst
thelx,hbody.Asmallscrew,throughtherear
endoftheOOll-stopspring.holdsitandthe
eje<:torspringinplace.
Thebolt-Slopismadewitha!onglipcwv-
ingupwardatitsforwardend.Thcendofthis
lipextcndsslighdypastlhcleftcdgeofthe
clipchargerguideway.ThcendoftheOOl1-
Sloplipholdsthespecialsllippcrclipinplace
132
The\ip.ofcourse,isalsothcmeansbywhich
1hebolt-stopcanbeswungou1wardssothe
boltcanberenio,-ed
Thesearisartachcdtotheundersideoflhc
receivcrandpi,'OISonasmallpin.Tcnsionis
prm·idcdbyacoilspringwithinlhcsear.Thc
triggerisoflhcdouble-pulltypeandispivot-
cd10thesearonapin.
The1riggerguard is combined with the
maga;cineplatethroughwhichthedclachable
box magazine ,,mers. Two guard scre,,,,·s. one
oneachendofthetriggcrguard.thrcadin10
therecoillugandtang,holdingtheaction
s«urelyinlhcstock.
Thcsinglccolwnn.five-shotboxmagazine
is extremely well made, with thin sides of
springstccl.The10pedgesofthesidcsarebent
inwardslightly10holdthecartridgesinplace.
butcanspringoutwardwhencanridgesare
insened.Thejointed-Vfollo",:rpivotsallhc
booommJll\comerofthernagarineboxona
screw.Thisscrewalsoholdsthebooomplate
ofthemagarinc,inplocealongwithapin(riv-
etedinplaceandnoccasilyremcr,'OO)attherear
ofthebox.Twoleafsprings..groo>·tJinplace.
onceachinthebooomplateandlowerfollow-
erann.tensionthefullowcr10raisccanridgcs
inthernagarine.Thcrnagarineisguidedand
precisclypositionedintheaction.byaholein
thelliggcrguardandtheguidecxtensionatthe
booomoftherea:i-.-erwhentheSIC3rispivoo:d.
Aspring-loedcdlatch.inthefrontofthettig-
gerguardbow,holdsthemagazineinploce
Themagazine.nocintendcdtobequickly
detachable. can be remo,·cd. howC"'CI'. by
depre:ssingthe!atch"ithapointedtoolorbul•
letpoint.throughthetriggerguardbow.and
pulling down on the magazine. On the M91
ArgentineM3115Cn.themagarinc,isfaslenedin
frontbyacoin-sloncd.lippcdstud.ltisrivcted
intothelliggerguardwiththe!ipofthestud
engagingaslotatthefroncofthemagarinc,.
The magazine isnonna!lyloodcd "'hile it
isintheaccion.Withtheboltopen.themaga-
zinecanbeloadcdthroughthe!Opoftheac-
tionbyusingastrippcrcliporloadcdsingly
bypressingthecanridgesdirectlyintothe
magazine. The magazine could be remo,·cd
from the action, loaded.and reinserted into
theaction.butremcwingthcmaga;cineisnoc

easilydonewitboo1a100l10<1,:pressthemag-
azinecat.:h.
AlloftheB,:lgianand~nnanM89.90
and91Mauserriflesandca,bincsl'Yes-een
weresupert,lymadcandfinished.Therewcrc
noshoncuts,crude$t3ll1pingsorsoflalloys
u~intheirmanufacture.Alloftheaction
pansarcprcciselymachinedand ,.·ell fin-
ishedlw011ldassumc!ha1suchvitalpansof
lheactiooasthereceiver.bolt.e,tractor.fir-
-
ing pin, etc. were made of the best s1cels
a,-ailableandsuitableforlhescparts.and!hat
1bc)'werepropcrlyhea1tmllcd.
Theserialnumber.orapanoflhatnmibcr,
issumpcdonallmajorprutsofthescactions.lf
thescnumbcrsmatch,ircanbcassumedlhalall
thepansareoriginal.Somepansareproof
markedas,.dl.Themodt"ldcsignaoonandthc
namcofthomanufaaurerisu:suallysumpcdon
tholeflsideofthereoei,tt.Thecrestofthogo,,-
ernmem for whom lhc:se arms were lTllldc was
u:suallysumpcdontopofthoreceivcrring,but
inmanycas.eslhisidentificationwasgrouodoff
beforcthoarmswereliOklassurplus.
Allofthescarmswcrcchambcredforthe
7.65mm Mauscrcar1ridg<".verypopularin
ycanpa.st.ltwasandisanexccllemmilitary
andsportingcartridge.WithalSO-grain!ICmi-
pointcdsoftpointbulletitha.'lanad,·eni~
muzzlevdocityof2920fj)s. This places ii in
apowcrvelocitydassbetweenthe308Win
and30-06.Therefure.ifyouhaveoneofthese
riflcswithanexccllrntborcandwam to use
it,l"dsuggestusinsitspresentcaliber.Thc
7.6Scartridgeiswelldesigncd.anditcanbc
handloadedeasily.
o\ctllllllr'lllltll ... lllltr
!wouldjudgethescactiomtobcasSIJ008
andsafeasanyothcrpre-98Mau.'!el"action---
the M93and M95.Theseactionshaveno
'"saf,:ty'"or"'third"'lockinglug.Noprovisioois
madcto'-'ffltescapingpowdergaseshannlcS&-
lyfromtheaction.intheevrn1ofacaseor
primerfailwe. Howe,·er.thedceplyrecessod
bo!theadandrwrowcxtractorslotactually
~morccanridgchcadsupponandoov-
eragelhandoanyofthela1erMauseraction9-
inc:h.dingtheModcl98.Ne\fflheless.thoogh
thescactionsmayha,-ebccnproofedatmuch
1 1 I' I I
AM91Arg,entineMauserriflespotterizedbylheauthof.
higherpresrures.whencoo,fflingtootherca!-
ibenbyrt>ehambering.t"Cboringorrebarreling.
l would limit thecartridg<"choil'e to those
dc\-elopinglessthan4S,<XXlp«i.Themagazine.
bolthcadandcxtractor,aswellasthcchambcr
and bore. impose <!Iller limitations on the
choiceofcartridg,:ssuitableforthisaction.
whichlargdy!imitsanyoonversiootorebar-
rclingonly.ByrtOOtl"Cling.theM89.90and9l
Ma..seractionsW0111dbesuitableforthcfol-
lowingcartridges.noocrcquiringanyaction
changestobcmade:2S0-3000Sa,·age,257
Roberts.6.SmmMauscr.7mmMauscr.300
Sa,-ageand3SRcmington
The receivers of the M89. 90 and 91
Mausersan:ofthesamcgeneralsiu.length
and contour as the M93. 94, 95 and 96
Mausers;anyscopernow,twitableforthcla1-
tergroupcanbeusedonthcformer
RecciversightsmadcfortheM98arecor-
rcct for the M89. 90 and 91. When rnow,1ing
ascopelowandO\'Cl"theborc.itisJ>eCeS$al}'
10alterthebohhandle10clear11lesoope.The
sameprocc:,;lun:isfollow«laswhenal1ering
anyotherbohhandk.lrecomrncndcuning
off!heoriginalhandleanddcctricallywdd-
ingonanewone.MaynardBuehlermakcsa
lowscopcsafctyforlhcseactions. ! don"t
knowofanypractical"-aytorcworktheac-
tiontomakethebol!rockonopcning.oora
"'llytoalterthemaga,:inetobeAushwiththe
stock,lcanonlysuggesi.ifyouuseoneof
theseattions.thatyouaccep1 theselimita-
tions. includingthelongstrikerfall. Whrn
using!hcM89Bi:lgianactionfi1tedwitha
barrel slec.-e. J would discard the jackci.
Ho,.·ever.youcanusc 1hecollarfromthis
jacke1tooo-.-erupthethread,;onthen:cei,-er
ringbytumingtheoollarontiglulyanddress-
ingitflushwiththeftontendoflhel'e«'iver.
Youshouldbeabletopun:hasoeasemi-inlet-
tcdand shaped s!ock from one ofseveral
rommen:ial!>IOCkmakcrs.
To disassemble the Model 89. 90 or91
Ma..seraction.proceedasfollows:Remo,-ethe
boltbyswingingtheboll-stoptothelefland
pu!lingthebo!t10thcrear.Torenl0\-ethcfuing
mechanismfromlhebolt.pullthecocking
piece back slightly wi1h a small tool and
unscrewthebo!tsleeveformthebolt.Graspthe
bohsloe,.-efumlyinonehandand.rcstingthe
flringpin!iponahardsurfacc,pushthebol!
sloe,.-edo\o.1110oomprcssthemainspring.Thm
unscrewtheoockingpKUfromlhefiringpin.
'I:'
Removethesafctybyunscrewingtheplug
screwinthesafctywing.Removethespting
andplungcr.1henpul1011tthesafety
Reassemble in reverse order.
R=-etheextractorbyinseningasmall
scrcwdrfrerundertheextractorhook,pushing
thehookoutwanl,anda1thesame1imeprying
the extractor forward until the lip on the
=--
extrac!OT clears its re«ss. Reassemble in
Remo,·e lhe maga,:inc by unlocking the
forwardmaga,:inelockstudanddepn:ssing
themagazinclat<:hinthetriggerguardwitha
pointed tool. P\lllOll! the magazine. Disas-
semble the magazine by rcmoving the
expo~ magazine follower pi,·ot screw.
allowingthcmagazineplatetoswingdo\o.-n
and remo.-ethe follo"-"Cr. Dono1attemp1to
removethebottomplaterntirely----thesmall
hingepinisrivetedinplace.Toreassemble
themagazine.insertthefollo,.ttandpartially
insertthefollowerscrew.Swingthebottom
plateintoplaceandtumthescrcwtight.
Toremm·etherece-i,-er.barrelandtriggcr
guardfromthestock.firstrcmovethebarrel
bands,thenbothguard$CTeWsandliflthesc
pans from the wood
Remo>-ethesearandtriggerbydri,·ingour
theirretainingpins.R=-ethebolt~by
drivingouti1spin.Bolt-stopandejcc1or
springsareheldbytbebolt-stopsptingscrew;
rcmo,·eitanddriveeachsprinsrcarward
fonnthebolt.stophousing.Theejectorcomes
out of the boh-stop without removing the
springs.bypullingitforward.
R=-ethemagazinela1chbydrivingout
thela1chpin.Reassembkallofthesepansin
-
,evers.eonkr.DcM1unscrcwthebarrel from
thcrt>eei,-erunlcsspn;,pertoolsarcavailabk
todothiscomctly.
Hcrearcsomequcstionsl"vebeenasked
manytimesaboutthescriflesandactions:How
manyoftheM89,9()and91 Mauser rifles
"-eremadc?Answcr.Alltold,agreatmany.l
don'tha,-eanyexactfigures.butifthekl10"TI
quantitiesgiveninthef11$1panofthiscliapl<T
aretotaled.thcremusthavebeenovcrahalf-
millionoftheM89smadeforBelgiwn.and
abou1thesamenumberoflheM90sand91s
madeforTurl<eyandArgcntinacombincd
Do you consider these ac!ions as being
suitableforcal1ridgeslikethe22-250.243,
6mm.308.and358?Answer:No.ldonol.
These arc all modem high-intensity car·
!ridges. and should be rc~trictcd to stronger
andsaferactions.ldon'1mearitoimplylhala
133
 --- =w.-~. --
Weight .. . .... 2.751bs
~~e,:ri;,g·di,;.···· ···· t ~

~s:-.:.::.::.·::.:~ii
Mauser MIil

······~~slooltorg.lg,ll'ISlo!ledtn:lge.Clipchaf98f

=loo :::::::::5·~~~~~~.Cod<soo
=
Guardacrewspaclng . .7.062"
Mawi.:".~1.'. . 475"
Length ............. . .3110"
Bo'{...,-~neopenlng:· · · · · 3 ·65•
Bolt~ receu;······· 3 ·1w

~············:·.!n:

Model 9! Argentine action. for example,
wouldblowupifproperlybam:ledinanyonc
oflhesccalibers.Howcver.incaseofaseri-
ousprimcrorcasehcad~withahigh-
intcnsi1ycar1ridgc.lhisactiondocsno101Ter
thesh<x>lerthesamcprotectionfrome:scaping
powdergasesandbrasspartideslha\asafer
actionlikethcM98Mauscrwould.lnothcr
words,thcacti<;,r,maybestrongenough.but
is it safe enough? l know !hat many gun-
smithsdonolagrttwithmeonthispoint,bul
lprefcrtoerronthesidcofsafe1y
lsitpracticabletobuildarif\cbasedooone
ofthcstactions?Answer,Yes,asahobby,if
yoocanfitalow<OStbarreltotheactionand
doallthewori<your.,elf.No,ifyooha"(:to
hiremostoralloftheworkdonc,ordotM
WOO<you,selfandexpec110selltherif\ea1a
profi1.ltispracticabk:10sponcrizeorrcmod-
el only ifyoo ru,.,i with a rifle having an
excellentboreanddon't changcitsprcsent
caliber.hmightbeadvisablc.too.oottocon-
sideroocoflheseriflesinex~llentororiginal
rorufaionforanyalteratior,orn,modeling
Doingthisgmulyn:doccsitsvaluc:asacol-
lector item. Thisdocsootapply if the riAe has
alreadybeenmodificdorrcmodcled

134
 'l:'

··=

21 A6a/Buttpla1eScrew

r~~·-
22 TriggerGuard

31 FloorplatePin
32 Floorplate
33 Floorpia!<!Sp,'ng
34 ~ P i n
: =Alm
=
:~ ='::
40 FrontS'MYI.II
r:.s=Screw
135
f N HIS EXCELLENT book Mar,ser Bot,
Rifle:s. LudwigE.Olsondescribessomany
difTerenlmodels.variationsandsiylcsof
Mausertumboltriflesthatscanningthcindex
=·en::usestoarnazeandbaflleme.Manyof
thesearcdescribedinsomedctail.butthcone
listed as "8·mm Mauser. Siam:· (oo page 126
inmycopyofthisbook)hasbutoncshort
paragraph.llOO!bershonno1eaboottheSmm
rimmedcartridgeitfm:d.andthafsatl.Thisis
understandableforthe5erifleshavebeen
extremely scarce.and Mr.Olson probably
neverhadagoodchancetocxamincasp,xi-
mmandtakeitapartloo.·enhoughtl'dhave
achancee-ithcr,butsuddenlytheir"exin:mely
scarce.. statw1Wtichanged.viathemilitary
surplusannsmar\:ct
I first saw the 8mm Siamese rifles and
ac1ionsad>'fftisedinthcJunel.1970.is.weof
""Sholgun News."" A member f11mofthc Inter-
arms group once offered them as •·M98 ac-
tionsforrimmedcartridges.""andas ..Sleck
M98ac!ionsdesiw,e,:lcxclusi,·e!yfurrimmed
cartridges.Bohfae<:andmagazinewillac-
commodatesk>Chpopularcalibersas45-70.
444Marlin.303Bri1ishand7.62Russian""
ThcywerepriccdatS20eachor.inlotsoftcn.
at$l2each.
FarthcrOO"-ninthcadcompleteriflcswere
describedas"Cat.8mmx52RM98Thairifles
(Japancsemanufacture)Modcl45146.'"These
riflesw=pricedat$15eachinlolsof1en.
Sellingtheactionsandriflesin!otsoften
makesmebelievetheyhadaconsiderable
nwnberforsaleandmightresuhintherifle
andac1ionbecomingwdlknov,n
lorderedoneactionandthein,·oicelisted
itas""RTM-98MauserAction ... lhavebeen
informcJbyareliablesowuthatthemark-
ingRTonthisactionstandsforRoyalThai
Thus.theactionandtheriflearegivensev-
eraldifferen1designatiom.suchas: 8mm
SiameseMauser(theoneluse).M98Thai
(Thailand).andModcl45/46.Thesoutheast
136
Asian coumry of Thailand was formerly
known as Siam. hence the use ofbolh
!ha,-efoundbutlinlehistoryofthc8mm
SiamcseMauscrriflc.atidnolmk>Chofany-
thingabouttherifleitself.
Apparenllymostofthcseriflcsweremadc
in a Japanese a,senal-al least the actions.
marked with three interlockingcireles. are
Japanese made. An item in the September
1955 is.sue of the American Rifleman me11·
tionsthatsomcoftheserifleswcremadein
theSiamescgo,.-emmentarsenaJinBangkok,
Thailand.butlhavenofactstoprovethis.
Withootmk>Chdoubt.alloftheseactionsand
riflcsthatwereforsaleareofJapanescorigin.
lhavenoideaastowhenorhowmanywere
madenorhowlongtheywereinscrvicein
SiamorThailand.asthecasemaybe. Bythe
l960stheThaiarmyWtifairlywellcquipped
with the most modem arms. with the 8mm
SiameseMau.serriflesbeingsoldasobsolele
surplusarmssometimebeforethel960s.The
riflcissomewhatsimilartotheoldGennan
M98Mauscr.TheSIOCkhasaserni-pistolgrip
and a llnger-groo,-ed forend that e~tenJs IO
withinabou1s•ofthem1122lc. hhasahalf-
lcng,hwoode!lhandguardhcldinfrontbythc
middlebarrdbandwiththcfrootslings"ivcl
anachedthercto.Therearslingswivelis
sc;rewedtothcOOIIOmcenterofthcbullSlOCk
Thefron1andrearsightsare1ypicallyM98
Mauser. with 1hc graduation markings in
unusualSiamesenumerals.lftherifleiscom-
plcte.itsmostidentifiablcfe.aturewouldbe
theslidingbr-ee<;hcoverwhichisnolconnecl·
edtothebohandmustbemo,.-edmanually
--
Another distinctive feature is the Japanese
Arisaka-typctangstosu-cngthenthegripan:a
ofthes1ock.
The 8mm Siamese action I have shows
se,-eraldistinctrnarl<ings.TheSiamcsecrest.
orcoa1ofanns,isstampedonthctopfor-
wardpar1of1hcretti,·erbridge.Thiscr-estis
round andaboutl/1•indiameter.Ahncof
fiveSiamesenwneralsorlenenisstamped
onlhereceiverbridsebelowthecr-est.and
anotherlinestampedacrossthebridge
Although I havebeenunable1ogetthese
linesdecipheredortn1mla!cd.theyprobably
refertothedateofrnanufacrurcandmodel
designation.Thefapanesearsenalproof
marl,;,threeinterlockingciR;les,isstamped
ontheleflrecei,·erwall.Arabicnwnbenare
stampedonvariouspartsoftheaction.bul
1hosewhichareapparcn1lytheserialnwn-
bersares1ampcdontheflatbo1tomofthc
~iverringandontheleftsideofthefi-ont
..,_
1angofthetriggerguard.
The 8mm Siamese is a copy of Paul
Mauser's M98rumbohactionwithcertain
modifications and additional feat= that
makeitoncofthcmostdislinctiveandun11$1l-
alfonnsofthebasicM98.Themodif>Calions
an: essentiall~ those needed to handle the
8~52RSiamesecartridge;thea.dditionswhich
areofJapanescinfluenccir.oludethcdetach-
ablctangsandtheslidingt>rcc.:hcover.
Bycarefullycomparingthe8mmSiamese
specificatiom with those of other M98
Mauseractionscoveredinthisbook.andby
srudyingthephotographsofthisactionand
theOlhcrs..itiseasilyseen1ha1thisisapca,-
liar,aria1ionoftheModcl98Mauscr.
First, let"s see what this8mm Siamese
action has in common with the regular M98
militaryactionmadeforthe8mmMauser
cartridge.The~iverisofthcsamegeneral
pauemandconfi8'1f"liOll. it isthelarsering
::J~ ~~==~r~~
lhelangsandslidingbreechCOYflr.

typcandhasthercgularoollariruidcthering,
slolledonlyonthc,riW'I for the extractor. I!
haslheclip-,:hargerguidedolinlhebridge
andthc,dcepthumb<;111intheleftrocei,-er
wall.Theretti,·crwiUKttp11Sllndan:l-
k:llglt,M98bolt,lboughlhe=i•uisooly
8.W.or.lWshoncrUWllhe-.dard
M98.The~,-crislbtonlhebonomand
has the iniegml =oil lug lite: all omer M98
aclions.
Ex«p1fortheb<llt facc:andcartridgchead
recess..theb<lltandfirinam«hlnismarcan
aaccoopyofthcM98bolc.TheS!faigMb<ll!
handlchasapear-shapcdi,asp,ngball.The
bolthasdual,q:,poK(lforwardlockinglugs
,.'llhtheleft{q,)lug.slonedlQnhctj<anr,a
dun:lrcarsafdylug.aguiderib,andlWingas-
ventholes. Thecxtrw;torislhesamecxoepi
that the hook is I bn n.arrowcr. The b<lh
1lccve, b<llt sleeve lock. safety, firing pin,
mainspringand fi ringpinheadarccnough
li ke the standard M98 parulhat they arc
almost.bulno1quite,in11:n::har,gcable.
Thcboll..-opandrjcctol'noflhestandan:I
M98panemoccp:llwthetje,;torspringis
n,'dediothc,bolt-slOpspnna. The_,.isllso
...-
swldard,bulthc\ngga'Slaniscod.cdbacka
bi110bnngthe~I01mcn:,ean,-ard
l nadditiontothese1im,laritin..theSia-
me$Cactionhasthesamefunctionalfcarures
asthcSlandard M98,includingcock,on-open-
ing.safetyoperation.exlrlCIOrcanvning.ett.
Also,e-o-erythingisdisassembkdand...,._
Jffllbledinthesame,.-ay.
ThedilTcrcncabccweentheiwoactions
I.Thebr=:hcovcr.TheSWD<$Cactionis
fiuedwidl1,uynea1sprin&.-lbrttchrov-
erwhichslido:110thercar10oo•,crtheloading
andej«:tionpon.andforwardtoexpo,cthc
Siamese Ma"'9erllciionopen,uingslnplaceandbfeech~9litlfo<ward
po,1, Oneachsidcofthercceivcr!ll<:n, i11
rwrowraiscdimegralguid,o.n.ilovcrwhich
thcsklesoftheOO\-crmpg,c-andslidc.Thisis
unlikctheJapancscArisab=>:i\'Cl'llwhich
IRgfOO''edfor1slidingCO\W.Onthc,ngh1
sKlc:oflhc:Siamc:s,:~brcc,;hW\-er
lhm:11m'Clod1hookedC11Ch,.'hochenpacs
no1ehcs1nlhesidcoftherett1vcrnngand
bndaetoholdthcOO\-ereithoropcnorelosed
andby,.·hichlhc:W\-crcanbeslidbackand
forth.liis entirelyindepend,:1,1oftheb<ll1:i1
must be moved manually by grasping lhe
hookedeaicl,andpullingitoutward.Thcoov-
crcanbelffllOvedbyslidingitforwardolTof
lhe._.._,Theboll,;:anbeoper»edsndthe
nflefiffli,.llhlheW\-erinanypos,bOn.bul,t
mustbcopcnlOCJ«lafirtdc;as,:ortoloJ(I
lhemapzine.
2. Rt«h-crshroud.Thcfronrendoflhe
receiver has a shroud or collar ex1cndmg
about •lt forwardasoolhc Poli!.h Radom
M98Mauscr,Thepwpo5Cof thiiooilaristo
holdthercarofthchandguanlinplacc:.
J. BarTclslLanklhrcads.Thcl'ttC'ivcris
tlreadedlOrecci,.,abarrelshanlaboul .99(1'
indiamf:w:rwi1hl4Vtm:adspcrinch.The
n,gular M98acuonsha,.,apn,;:hofr,,·el,·e
thtaldspcrinehandusuallyfor1lhfcad
diarnelffofl.lO".TheSiamcstbarn,lismacle
withallhouldcrlargcenough10abu1andMtc1·
upMasainst111<:froncfacc:ofthcrett1vcr
ratherthanh.avinglhcbre«hfaccofthebar-
rclbunagalnstlheinsidcrecci,'Cl'oollar,.sin
the,qularM98ac:tion.
4, LcftrettiverwalLThe8mmSiam,:,e
,_.,,-ernn,issl,ghtlyiarger,ndiamclcrthan
thelargcrin&M98action.butunlikethelll-
tcr,1hm-isno"'stqiMbel"·ttnlheleft1Kk
wallandthcrecc1,-crring.Thismtanithalthe
left receiver wall is m,x,h diickcr ,n the
Siamesem:e,ver,andthercasoodwi1,sso
maJeii;bttauseof1hcbrtt<:hcovcrsuide
rails.Thcavcr3&C M98Mauscrlcftsidewall
is about .lSS" thick, while lhe Sillmcse
Mauserisaboul.200"1luck.
S.Boltfacc:-. Thercca.Hdboltheadwill
acc:cp11eannd,enmnolargerthanabou1
.s64".Thcn,arenolipsexlmdingfo,v,-ardon
lhelcft$Kleofthcnrnruas115inlhc,qular
M98Mauscr1Ction.Thenmm:cssiscu!
,,..,,yatlhcbooomtoallowlheeamidgerim
toslipWldcrthcexlrlCtorhookonfttdinga
artridgefromthechamber.which prcvenlll
doubleloading.
6.ExU11Ctorhook.lros1'1ffO"-crthanlhc
ClllrKIOr,belD&onlylbo,a.JOO",.i,de,
7. Tangs.Sq,an,1cuppcrandlov,uw,g
olefflionlonlhe8mmS.--.::oone:111end
reara.-ardabotiJ"andaremkutdinlOlhctop
andbooomofthep:,pofthe$10tk.Thoyare
milledatthefton!tndtofil closelyaplnstthc
roundedendoflheinregnJrc,.:civerW111and
triggcrguard.andarchcldinplattbythcrcar
guardstrcw.Theianas,~ at thercar
byascrew.arealmostnactlylhesameu
dl05CusedonlhcTypc38Japancsc,Arisab
6.smmnfltsandcarbine$.Thoyareused10
5lmlgthenthcp:,paraofthe$10tk.
8. Magazine. The rombmed u,ggcr
guudlmagarinc:isofooc-p,ecemilled51CCI
COOSU\1Cl1001ikcthcregularM98Mauscr.
The from and rear ends oflhe magazine b<lx,
ho"·cver,an,slanre<Jforwardarasharp
angle. This1lan1edmagazineb<lx pmni11
easy lood,ng of the larger rimmed 8mm
Siamesceu1ndgc:.theslopepm·en1ing1hcir
rims&omcatchlnaoneachothcr.Eadicv-
tndscpushedmtolhcmagazinemo,·C$10
lherearsolharthc:neucartndgc1nscr,ed
0\-critwill have,tsnmaheadoflhccar-
lridge nm below. To p,n adequate map-
rine capacity, thc: rearofthemagarinc:b<lx
137

BoUhH<lollhllSlamaseaction,showir,g·
(A)tw!ngas-v&ntholN: (B)extractOf: (C)
righ1(bollom)loddnglug:(D)ull09rw!car•
lridgehffd,....:(E)ejec!Orslot.and(F)
tlolttdlell(IOl))~"!llug.Thebolt alao
11a$!'-.-.g,..a,rM98M$.-shorlguiderib
andti.rurutetylodunglug(IIQlshownJ.
wasmadeabout 11,"lkcpcrlhanthcrcgular
M988mm Mauser. Thefloorplateofthe
Swnescac1ioni1nothinged.butisquickly
dtlachable,-.aalatchhuillimotheforward
panof1hc: trigger guard bow. Duetothc:
slantedmaaaz,nebox.thc:triggerguardbow
isposi1ionc<Jbackfanher 1hanthercgular
M98andforlhisrcasonrhc:triggcrshankis
bc-nlbackasmmtioncdearlier.
lncidcn1.ally,thcfinn1andrcarguard
smwsofthc:Siamcseactionhavcthc:same
dnadpnchaslheregularM98Mauserguan:I
,crcws.bu1thc:Siamescsc=o-.arcsligh1ly
llfF1ndwnetcr. llO\\-'t '\"ff,rcgularM98
MaUK'f IJllll'd screws can bc: used in the:
s-11COOn.bulno1oom-cndy
Tlll.__c.tNIIII
Ciencnllly rcfcrrcd to as the 8x52Rmm
Sii:mcsc.lhi1is1rimmed.boalcneckedc:ar-
1ndae normally loaded with a 181-grain
poin1ed..jacke1edbulle1.Nol:muchiskoown
abouti1- whcnitwasadopledorwhodcvcl-
or,edi1. h'sprobablymcrclyaballistically
improvcdvcrslonofthcolder8xSORSiamc!lc
Type45cartridgc:1linlclongercasc.apoin1-
edbullctand-powtler.
FrcdA. D111iginhisbool:CanridgrsFor
Coll«1orJdcs1an,atedthiscartridgcuthc
8.d2R Silmcsc Type 66-so docs~
C. Nonie 1n his bool: Home Guide To Car-
tridge C011,"ff".<iolu. l don"t know " ·ha1 thc
"Type 66~mca.r11. Rcgmlless.ifyou ha,-e
138
theSiamewMausffrifkaodwantto'11COC
11.1hereis,·c,y h11lechancetha1yoo ... ,U
ever find any f.crory-loadcdammunilion
fori1. lf youan:atw.dloader,Non1c1ug•
gcststhefollowing:makecaiCSfromnew
4S-70 brass. mm to 2.04" and tum the: rim
10.560"'diamc1er.Full-leng1hrcsizein133
WFCdic,sizedownthcneckandpushlhc
-
shoulder back in an 8mm die umil the cue
will chambc:r, then fire-form. UR .323~
bullets.
The Imm Siamese Mauser Kl1on l
recci,·ed ...-u1n,'Cf}'goodcondi1ion. Very
\O"Cllmadeandfinished.il,.-asusmoochin
opcnmon,uanymdnaryM'JSMauserl"ve
e-·erhandkd.lha,·cno,.-ayofknow1ngthe
kind ofsieel used in making the rttel\'Cf
andbol1.oordolknowwha1hc.attrcatmcn1
..,-u1iventhcseparts.lflmi3h1g~ss.l'd
say1ha1if thcarscnalinJapantha1madcthe
Siamese Mauser actions also made Arisaka
ac1ions, the samestcclandheattrca1men1
were used for both. I know tha1 a me 101
forhardnessisnonctoorcliablc.bu1,1can
beuscdtocompan: the hardness of such
puq as ntk bolt heads. To do some com-
pan11ll I toolt I filc m the locking lu310f1
couple of M98 Gmnan Mauser bolts. but
couldnotaetaaoodbite.Thisisnormal.
formostM98bollsare,·c,yt.ard. Thenl
lmd the file on the Siamese boll and I
couldculbothlockinglugsandthcfroot
cdgcoflheboh.Ncxt,lgotoull\O"O eachof
1hcJapancseType38and99Ari~bolts
lnd,withthcsamefili!lllelfott.cutallfour
of1hem.lkc.auscthcM98Ma115Crbollhat
sma ller lockinglugs!hanlheArisakai! is
probably I aood idea 1ha11hcyarcmadc
veryhard.ldon"t1hink!hcyhavetobc:
madcuharduthcyan:forstrrnglhalone
solsec110rcaJon"'hylhesofterbol1,nthe
S,1mcs,e..:1ionwouldn"tbc:just uruong.
Howncr. to be: on the safe side, the
SiamcscM111SCractionshouldbc:lim11cdto
canrid1e1thatdono1dc,·elopmuchover
45.000ps,brttch~.
' - - - - - - - -- -------"==--.....J
ThclmmSiarncsc~(W2R)has1
nm d11rT1C1er of .561• and is about 2.ns•
O\ffllll.You"llrccalllhatthcadlreadallcd
lluSICIJOIIIUllllblcforlh:4S-70.444M-,!tn,
etll. lchcckedanwnberofcanridgesmlhis
at1ion.andhcrc"1"""'tlfound
4S-70. The45-70rimis.608.indi.am<:tcr,
1oobigf0<1he.565•diamc1crrecessinlhe
boh fa<:e.Thefrontofthcmagazincwcll
(cartndgcgu,dchps)isalsoslightlytoonar•
row co pus the 45-70 rim. The unaltcn-d
mapzmc will accept and hold 45-70 car-
uidgcs.bu1thcbo!tomorltil~isnot
upflcdh1&hmou3hinfrontforittofccdcor-
rccdy. Tousc4S-70anridges,thcbohfacc
1'CCCS11mlQlbc:opcneduptoabout.6]f/'and
lhefroncoflhemagazine"-cll"'~
dilf1CUlt10do.ThclaUCTjob"'1Hmos1likcly
endthcfccdproblcmofthclastcartridgc.
With these modifications this 1$ 1 aood
..:uonforthe45-70cartridgc.Ordoasthe
la!eGeorgeNontesuggestcd:rumtherims
downto.S60diamc1er
444 Marlin ldon'tthinkthcuscoflhis
a<:tionisgoingtobetoosucccssfulwiththc:
444Marlincanridgc.Thc444rimdiamcleris
onlyaboul.5W.andlhe8mmSiamcsebolt
facercccssiscoolargcfor1hctooshon
CXll'ICIOr!Oholdthiscartridgcinplaccfor
properc,ccuon.Abo.thcmag:azine"'11ln(ll
l'\'llu\thcfirstcanndgcinscnedinloil;sun1-
larly,iflhemapzineisloaded"'Uhrni:«it.i
oncClrV>llgc,lhel,,stcartridgc"illpopout
11\crthcodw:rcanridgcshavcbttnfcd.ThiJ
lasiproblcmcanbc:comctcdb)'rebuild,na
lhefolio,,.-er.bullknowofnopn,cticableway
torcducetheboltf..:crecess.Thcrcforc.if
)'OU"'&llllOUSCthi•actionforthc:444Marlin
l"dW&l!C"lyousoh-etheboltfac:(:rc,;cssand
mapzineproblernbc:forcgoingtothetroublc
:i.;~pcnse a
of fining 444 t,.,,,-cl 10 the:
J0JBrllish The303 Bri1isltcanridgcis
normallyloadcd1oanoveralllenalhof
3.075M and it w1II jllSI en!C'r the 8mm
Siamcscm11p:tinc,"'1thlinlclcngth-room
IOJParc. ll lwarimdWDClerof.5<40".and
11 liu ,he boh fke rca:u OK. although for

bcl1erejectionofthe fired cases theextl'IIC·
l0rhooksho11ldbca1rinc1oogef.ASWilh
thc444M arlincanridgc.theJ03 British
cascrimi11b11 1oosmallfortherurwid1h
ofthemaguinc11,dl.andinorderforthe
rnljlll:1nc 1orcuunthefirs1canridgemscrt-
ed intolhcmaguine.orthc lastcanndgc
aflertheottw:nha,~bttnfcd.thcrightsidc
ofthl:follcrA·crndgc(lcftsidcofthefol-
lQll,-e,)shouldbcbuiltupslightly.Tl111can
bcdoncbyswcat111J1(softsolderi11J1)1thm
pieccofshect!lcclootoiL Thc:.l-OJBn11sh
cannd1cdocsno1fitthisac11onpctfec1ly.
but it comes v~ close. and with the modi-
fkanons to the cxmtc1or hool< and follow-
cr.thcS,amcscMauscractiooiiJ!ouldprove
tobcid<:alforthiscanridgc
7.6? mm Russlt n ThisistheoldRussian
miliwy canridgc wi th rimmed case. and is
lt(>lt(lbecoofuscdwith 11,c more modem
7.62Jr.39mm Russian or the 7.62mm NATO
anridga. l1le 7.62mm Russian casc has•
nmof.564-andisloldtdlOano,.'tfalllcngth
ofjusco,.-erJ.00"'---;uscshortmoughtofitm
themapzmcofthc:8mmSiame9cacbOII.The
fC\-cnlsamplcsofthis~11,·hi,;h l haYC
m mycollecuon fit perfectly. Nonna has
loldtdthiscanridgcforsc-,'Cfll]yanandHIS
--
•soodroundforbiggarnchuntm&.lfyou
wantl0bwkla30c:alibariflconthisKtion.
lhcnthc:7.62rnrnRussianisagood~
tocllo0i!e.
lfoundthattheJ0-40Kragandthc348
Winche$1ercanndgcsarehothq111tcsu11-
1bleforthcSiamcsc Mauscractioo. ln f1et.
thc30-40cartridge"·itharimdiamctflfof
.S4S.fitsthisbcnerthanthe303Bnush.
Myop1n1onis1ha111tc30-40canndgt"
would be I much better d1oicc than either
thc30JBnushor7.62mrnRuss,an.Many
w,ldcalllhavcbttndc\-clopcdonthc30-40
CUC-lltc 6mm Krag. 2S Kn.a. 3S Kra1
andthc30-40Kn.g lmpro,·ed.lfnocloldcd
tolhccxtmnc.anyofthernwouldbcOK,n
th1sect1on
1lM:348Winchcsterisalsowcllst.ntcdto
thisKtKlR.llllrimdiamctcrof.610"requi~
thcboltfacerro.:sstobeenlargcd,butother
thantha1.the348functionspcrfcctlyinthi1
-
KIKlR.Thcrearcalsosorncvcryfmcw,ldcats
bascdonth,scue-JOl348l"'l"')''Cd.3Y348
lrnpro,"Cd4(),')481mprovcd.44/l48and4SO
A-.
Becauscu111bas..:M98Mauseract100,
jll!ISffllth1ng wor1c that has IO be done.
lllOlt
TopvitwollheSiameseaaicrlwiltlbrNctl
-cioMd.8reechooverisindependenl
ollhebollandn1$1.bamoYed""""'-'Yby
grup,nglhesmalhook&tlherlght-ol
lheoover,pi6lg~outlllightlylhen!l'IOYing
lheCOVIH'.ThesprioganaphooklockftN
coverlneltMrposition.TNcovercanbe
oompletetyremovedbysljdjngltlorwardoll
ol lN recelY9r. 8elow-Aclion w,th breech
COVIH'open.
orcanbcdooc,ooaregularM98forspon-
1ngrineuseunalsobcdoncon1hisodd•
ball Siamese Mauser. Foruamplc. the bolt
handlccanbcaltcrcdasu,111lbyhea1in1
1hcshankandbcnding11&:n.·n.orf01JLn8
111nhol1handlebcndingblock$,orbya1t•
11n1offthchandlcand,,,cldinai1or1ncw
bolt handle mlo the rw:w po1nion. Low
scop,:safcUC$madcfor1hcM98Mauscer
canalsobcfitted1otbisect1on. ~v,:n.l
commercial M98 adJ11St1blc smale stage
tnggerm«hanisms"·iUalsofit,thou&hon
someitwouldbcagood1dca1oltcatand
bcndthcfingef-piettofthcmggcrbKkso
....
nwillpositionbcnerin 1hctriggcrguard
Thc~hOOVCfcanbercrnovedandd,s-
canlcd.ilsguiderailsgroundoffle,-clwith
therccciver,andalmoslanytop!ICOpemoumJ
madcfortheM98MauscrcanbefiHcdlOthc:
rcccwflf.Am;:ci,..,,.sit!)nfortheM98Mauscr
11,·1llalsofi1thisacuo,i.lllebrccchco,.'Cfcan
bcrc1a1nedanduscd11,ith1rccc,,-erS1&ht,but
--
,ftlllsisdone.thchoolconthctn«hco,.'Cf
Cllehshouldbcmadelongcr.Thetn«haw,
crcanno11beuscdif10prccc,,-crsoopemoum
S tockingthc8mrnSiamcscecbOnnllc,s
l{linglObcthebiggcslproblcmforthe..,...
tcuraunsrmth,butifhccanmakcastock
fromablankforanyothcrcemffllrelllmboh
nnc,he'llbcablctomanagt"th1sonc. ln
StockingthcriOc1hcsepara1cta11gscanbc
di,canlcJ.
Thischaj)lcfmaylool:alinlc~;nolhav•
ingalloftheusualdc:tlilcdp;cturcs.panslisu
andOlhcrspcciflcations. Hov,,..,-er,uoep11for
thchingcdmagazincfloorpb,lt"andlloorplalC
lalt"h. the ,;omponent pans of the 8mm
SiamcscMIIU5Cf=cssentiallythewnc:as
thcM98M.auscrnullwyaclion--oovcrro
ci-i'lercmthisbool:..
139
R uss1A WAS NOT lhc finl Rlltion 10
JIOOl!lasmoltcle$s.powdercanridl"formili•
wyuse.butthcy"'<:rl:ahcadofthcUni!Cd
States by one year, lhcyadop!Cd lhc 7.62mm
Russian cartridge in 1891. ""hile the U.S.
adoplrolhcJOGov·1.(30-40Kn&}~
in 1892. Thccanridgclwen:s,milar.both
"'ffl: baKd on a rimmtd bonlcnec:ked ~ .
"-cRofthcsamccalibcr{bullcrdiameter
.lOSj.andic.dcdwifflround-nolcdfi.illmet-
al•jadclcdbulle!s.Tho7.62nvnRu$s11111car-
tndge hua lar&ffbodydiamelnllla.nlhc
30-40Knground.lltusthe R11$$iancaroidg,,
wasthcmon, powerful oflhc two. While lhc
30-40camidgcwasno1muchimproveddur-
1ng thc brief time the Kng-J0fBensm rifle
wa111hc ofrodal U.S. military shoulder arm.
lhe7.62mmRussiancartndgewasirnpro-ved
from lime IOtimcand loaded "·tth I grW.
,-.neiyofbullcls10Ulpln10vaiousmilitary
necds.~tsbegan111eadyasl908
"'hen the Russians adopted 1hc ISO-i,ain
sp1t=bullcrandloadedi110equallheballis-
ticsandnngcoflllhermititarycanridgcsin
use1tthattimc
Aswutheusualp111ctkcofmoslnatioos
when major changes in a shoulder arm and
cannd,c ,.-en, considcffd. the Russians.
IIOOIII l88J.w,mtedaoom111111ec10advcr-
t1sefor.study.1mandmaltereconunmda-
U0n$forlheldoptionofanewrif'lcand
c.tndg,:-.Aftc,-afewyearsofstudytworilles
mnainedundcrcoosidmitoon.Oncwas
de$1gncdbyaBclgianin,·en1orandarms
manufacturernamcd EmileNIJ!llllt.lhcolhcr
wasdesiglledbySerJ!ey h'lLl>()vi,chMosin.a
RIISSianmilitarynw,COIIIIOCICdwilltlhearse-
nalinTula.RIIWI.Aftcrmuchsrudy.cxperi•
mcnlationandlCSling,lhcoornnu11ttdecided
10usc1hcMosinbohandreooVffdesipand
aq,le11,.i!litheNapm~"'"Pffl'C-
Thofinalrl:SlthwaslheModellll'JIRussian
nfle. latcrioMknown ulhe Model 91
Mosin-Nagant.
140
lnlll'Jl.andC'\ffllalcr.Russialackedado-
quatcf..:ilioc:siomakethenewrifleinsuffi•
cicntq1111ntitics.A!iarl:$ult.thcfinlM91
riflcs"-cn:madcatanarsenal inChatcllmiul1.
'-·RU5Sia eventually began producing the
riflC$.bulthey1pparer11Jycouldno1make
enoughiomce11heirarmynecds.solarge
conaw;ts•,,cn:placedlbmad.ShonlyMf.:n
1917.twoU.S. fmnsmadearound 1.500.000
ofthi:seritlcs.Rem,ngionArmsCon,p.ny.111
Bridgeport.Conn.. madeo,·cr7S0.000and
NewEnglandWc,tinghouse,inSpringlield,
Mass .. madcthercs1.Reming1ooandWin•
cheslerloodedmanylhousandsofroundsof
7.62mm military ammwiition for RllloSia dur·
inglltissameperiod.Smith·sn.e&XJl/of
Jojk;J-llwlhcSIGfinninS"il=l,nd
andlhcSteyrarms r1C1oryinAustnaalso
madeM9lritla .. onetime.Thcscfigura,
plus1hcfa-a,eaterquantilylhatRUSS11111..-
--·
nalimade1ntheintervcningyan,indicl1e
that many millions of Mosin-Nagam rifle$
The Modcl91andthc:1alcrModc:9 1138
Russianriflearequi1eplcntiful.aslheyha\'e
been since the 1920s. lkf.:n Rcmin&ton and
Wc:sung:t,o,.Lsehad,;ornpleledtheircontnlCU:
"ilhRU55,a,and"ilhmanythousandsoflhe
newRUMianritlasrillintheU.S.,thc:0:to-
bcrrt"VOltotion111Russiacameandthecon-
lraCIS"-cn:ancck:d. This~in110small
flnancial,;risisforthefinnsrmkingthcrilles
and ammunition. Tho U.S. go,..emmcnt soft-
ened the blow by l>llying a grea1 quan1ity of
thcscriflei(oncbooksays600.000).manyof
whichwmlatcrshippedwRussia.TheU.S.
wasalsoshoMofrifles .. oorcnlr)'inloWWl.
ando,,cr280.000oflhesego..·cmmem•pur•
chased R1rs1ian ritla wen: IISed ror imnmg
U.S.troopsdunna;lhcfUSlpanofthc"'w.
fa-entually,lhislaslbunchofM91$"'-m,,old
10 NRA members through the Director of
CivilianMarksmanshipforles!illla.n$3.50
each.ManyofdlOICmadebyWestinghouse
""CR50ldl0priva1efirmswhore$0ldlhem
"'as issued'" or mnodcled and converted to the
30--06cartridge.
After WWll. $111plus arms dealers found
moo: Russian riflcsabroedandapparmtly
imported• gr-cal many 11110 the U.S. They
"-cn:iqularlyoffmdbAlealldlroughlhe
1950sandl960s.PtvblblylcwRussianriflcs
"'m:takenhomebyAmcncanSCl'Vicemen
dPir!gWWJl.but•"dennSof1heKoreanron-
flie10:'llWden:dthemp,i?.cs.
Tho M9l Mosin-Napnt rifle was used by
the Cornmunis1 fon;cs in Viel Nam. h seems
---
lhattheprefcrredsnipcrrifleoftheVietCong
and North Vil:,: Nam marbman W3$ lhe M9l
orM91/30SmpcrR.ifle fittedwithashon
1Clcsc>Jpe~
Thereare$C','mllrifle,'lriationsbascdon
theM9l M-NIIClion.lwillbrieflydescribe
lheprincipaloncs. f irsl,ofcounc,isthe M9l
riflcwillta30.5-barrel.weighingabou19.75
p0Un<ls.Thefir5lofthesc:had.slingswi,..,ls;
later on swi,·els "=omitted.Ind sloes cut
111101hcsrock~"hichthe1lingooukl
~Thenlhcrl:isllw:M91D!agoonrifk.its
banel2B.8"1onjand,...,,&hi"labout8.75
pounds. The10poflhc~ofM91 rifles
isoctagonalinshapeandusuallyoolorcue-
hardened.Udermodelshadan,,undrea:i,-cr
top, induding the M91/l0 standard rifle
c2s.rbam:t.andabouts.1spouoos)andthe
Sniper's rillc-aboot the samec~c,:pi fitted
will, 1 1Clescope sight. Several types of
rn0UnlllandSCl.ll)C$""tn:IISedonlhesesniper
rifles.Tho5COpCSaretheshoMandlow-pc,w-
etalhunringtypc:,IIIXhedwnhhigl>-l:ncl,:i:t
( ~ ) R~Moclet1891Mosln·Nagant
r!lle.catiber7.62mmRu6'1an.
sldcmounts.Tho:soopcsUSUllllyhadbuilt-UI
"indai!cmdck>,aoor,.IIIJU$1mC1>tS,md11SU-
allywithoncorbodloflhcKac!jUSlmffllSalso
bu1hintothc:mount.Thcmoun1basc.
altached to the side of the rccc"·cr. was
dc'lligne,jtoktthe11COpCandmountbracke1
~easi!ydetachcd.Thcsni~rifkhadalong
bcnHlo.,,nboh handle. 8olh M91/30shavca
akkfroorsight.
Thmv.-ettahodveeM•Ncarbmcmodcls.
lhcrn,accord1ngtoonercport)101tt1lw
r.'Cf)'part ..'UmadcJ11S110.Thcac11ons
madc1nRussia.CSJ)t'Ciallyduringthc:wat
years.an:1111Mr~fmi5hcd
Therttc"·crisaonc-pieccstcclforgms
machincdtofi""l.shapc. Theinsidcof1he
rccci,·crnngisboffl:llrldthrcadcd10rccc1vc
thc:bam:lat.nk,Thcbrtt,chcndoflhcbam:I
asflat~fora,cx1nK:10rhookreoc$$,lak-
ingupaboutonc-lhmlof1tsfacc. Mosc

- __
The Model 1910hua N'bam:I. "''Cighs
lbout7.Spounds,andhuanwiprolCC(Cd
blu::froorsighl.ThcMod.-11938al!ohasa
20"bam:l.wcighsabout7,6pounds,and
M1910bladefron1sightThcModcl1944has
a20.4wbam;!,wcighsabout8,9poonds.and
huaglobefrontsight.All M-Nriflcsandcar-
recci,'Crlha>-ca, UISldccollar.lplllSI Y,·luch
thc:bam:ltbuls;thasringiscut1wayonthe
right forlbout one-third of its cimimfcmi«:,
tom:ikcroom for the extractor. V~latc
wanimc:~ivcrsdon'tha,-clhi1insidcrol-
lar. 1'hcrcarofthc:n.uivcrringismilltdOU1
tore<:civcchc:duallockinglug1onthebol!

,.,
bincs ha,·c dcvation-adjustablc rear sights
and an: chamb=d for the: 7,62mm Russian
Anoddandi.ni:sualaction,nhasfcwfca..
lllm"iuchanbc:saidtohanbc:cncopicd
fium other actions. In fact. it has a numbcT of
foatrnes wiique 10 it. ln a way the action
secmsafllir1ysimplcone,asindicatedbyits
rdativclyfcwparts.butatthc:11:Unetimcithas
1complica1edtltrtt-pieceboltaMembly.lts
design and manufacture II oompliatcd
btcau!lcnbas10aooommodate1nmmcdcar-
lndge.ManysmaUandminorpartsan:dimi-
rwedinnsdesign;~..,,...~safcly
orbolt•stopparts.ondthc: numbcrofniggcr
andbolt-stoppansiifour. Ennthc:no,·d
magazineinterrup1crfcaturehuonlyth=
pans,ofv.'hichoncisthecje,;tor.Although
thc:1ctionissomcw11Mcrudclrldisnotmsily
operated. it is nonetheless qwtc reliable.
ThcModcllll':lltctions.,,·11hoctagonal-
toppcdm:ci,,:nshowrnudibcncrv.vrkman-
sluplhroughout~dolholiew,lhroundtd
rccc,vas.Tlusiscsp,ciallytrucofthc:acoom
made by Remington and Wntingho\lse.
doobcletsbecausethcscplantswt'rcS"-antl·
ingwilh Russian inspcct0<11(1boot 1500of
""'·
Thcre,;o,lshooldcrmldcrlhcrecci,'tl'nng
isqunchcavybutnarrow.afford1111only
llboula •lt x l/{besingsurfa«agafflitlhc
SIOd:. HowC\'tl', arn,ssbolt is usm in mo11of
thcSIOCksofthcscnflcs10reinfon:c,thc:woocl
inthc:,-,ilshooldcramJ
A portionofthcbonomoftherctt1vcr.
fromtherccoillhouldcrback.ismillcdnai.
Thcma~nc-.,,-cllrcccssinthcbotlomofthc:
receiver ii milled out to approximalC the
.shape of the rimmed 7.62mm Runian car•
tndgc • .,,·,lh1IOl'tof1wU1Clorchutemillcd
outmthelllUTl)Y,'Cffronthalfofthc.,,-clllO
lllow~ofthcC31t1'1d£chcaduthcc;ar-
tridge11pushcd1n10thcdmnbcr.
Thcrccc,>Ubridg,cissloncdtoallowthe
passagcoflhcbohhandlcandthebolt-handlc
bascriborguidc.Thcforwardcndoflhisslot
iswidcncdoo1abi1andgroovcd1ofonna
dip<hargcrguidcway.Aspccia.ldwJlcrdip,
madcofsc«landhoklingfivccartridgcs.is
nonnallyuscd10kl0ldthc:mapzu,c,butncan
~1-ltd,.11h1,1nglccamidgc:sprc:Med1n10
thcopenKOOnwiththcthwnb.
Theboltofthc:Mosin-Nagantnflc11mher
1oomphc11edafflir.difflClllt10dcscribe.To
bcgmwuh,thc:boltbodypropcrismadc~of
1hrttsqxiratcparu:thcbolthcad.1hecon-
TopviewoltheRunlanMosin-
Nagiint&ciion.
IICC!ingslce\'Clrldthc:boltbody.
Thcbolthead,aboutl.50"1ong.Nlltw0
solidandopposedlodanalugsoaitslorwan:I
cnd.Thelronlcdgesofthelupan:roundcd.
When the bolt i1 ,n the locked position the
lugs an: homonlal. Iha! is. to the left and right
Thisisthc:rnerseoftheMaU!lCTlockinglug
s~stern.wherc, when lhcboh is locked, the
l11gsarcvcrtictl--oocupandonedcw.11.
Thlls..whcnthc:M-Nboltisdra,.11backthe
uppcr(nghl)lugltlO\ebadi:throughlhcslol
mlhcmcci>Wbridge,v.ililcthc:boaom(lcft)
lugmoveslhroughlhcmagazme.,,-cUopcn.
,ng.OnMauscracnon,thc:lcftmcci>'Cfwall
ismilledootforlhclcftlockinglug!K:C'Mly,
b111D11M-Nlhclcftrtal\'Cf"'al11Ssolid.Thll
gi>'CSvcrysolidbacking•uplOthelcftlug.not
unlikctha1affordedthebooomlockinglugon
the FN Mauser sin&)c I.hoc bcnchm1 action
~inaoothcrdiaplCI".
Thcf-oflhcboltisfullyrtuSIC'dforlhc
Qftndgcrim=:q,1forthcnarrowu.1raC1or
Cllllndtjt,:lor~
Thccx1rXU>r,saonc-p1CC1:lpringaffair
wedg«linaslolanddcwc-taikdinthebolt
head.h,;anno1ffl0\'Clongirudina.llyinthcbolt
bcadbecauscoftheabutmmlofthcdoi.·e1ail.
andi1ClllUIOlrno,'Cbackward11$longasthe
boltisromplctclyasscmbk:d.Thcinsideool-
larinlhcrcoci,"C1"ringiscutawayo•"C1"1hc
u.1r1C1or.g",ngthclauerroom10movcow-
"-ard"·henlhcboltisdoscdon1carmdgc.
"ilodlaho-.ysfflO\flirMolhcchamberaheld
oflhculraClorhool<.
Themaanbohbodyisncat)'4"1on&-Madc:
U>lcgnllywid!itisahcavyguidcrih."ilhlhc
~bohhandlcposnioocdneartherurof
lhisrib.Thisplaccsthebol1handlcwcllfor-
"-anl.orabowmidwayinlheaetion.Thc:bol1
handlchasarow-.:lstemandaroundJl18SP<n&
ball,andpmjccumaigh111111iolhcrigh1of
the .:tion. The Mosin-Nlliplll sniper rifle has
1long-llCmllledbmtdov,11bolthandle.Thc
hcavyguid,erib.cxtcnd1111alm11S1fromthe
,-,vcrbridge10lherttti,"C1"rtng.halK"-cr-
alfunc11ons.hguodesandpn,,·entslhebol1
frombindingasi1rnovcslhrou&hlhe$1<Kin
lhere<:ci,·erbridgewhenthebollisopened
andcloscd.halsoac1sasathirdsafctylug
whcnlhcboltisclo5wbyerwnilforward
ofthercttiverbridge.andth.issameboltclos-
"'icamslheboltfullyron.11n1 .. whandlc
is rumed down. On oprnmg the boll. initial
camnm,,pov,...-isprovidcdbylheforward
cnclofthegui(kribmov,nrgi,;rQNaslop:d
surfaccontherecc,vernna.Tocguidcrib
al,olinksupwiditheboltheadandbolta:,n..
ne,c1ionslec\'C,as"·illbepom1cdou1larcron.
142
Thcboltt,c,dyandlhcbohhcadarealigncd
and~bylheboltconnr:aingsleevc
Eachcndoflhisslec\'Cistumeddov,1110llt
insidclhcboltbodyllldbolthcad,~vinga
ringabout'l»"lhockscparatingbodyand
hcadA6.5"1ongguidcb.-is.,inrqr.s-t
oflho:boh-«JMeCtinasltt>'C.and""11hthe
asscmblcdboltinlhea,ction.itlicsinlhebot-
u;mlo<;k,nglugraoc,,,-.y.Thcboltbody.«lll•
ne,ctingslcevcandbolthcadareheldtogcthcr
asaunit,whenlheboltisasscmbledlnthc:
action.byalugoothecooncc1ing-slce\'Ccol-
larengagingin1groo,,'Cinthebolt-guidcrib,
andby1Sludoolhcconneaing-sleevcguodc
bruenpgingm1groo>'Cinlhebohiw:.t.A
srudonthebohhcadmpgingm1poo>'Cin
thcbolt-guideribcall5C5thebolthcldto
,.._...,lhlho:boltbody.lnrlWJtilndlow-
cringthebohhandktheconnttungskc,'C
doclnocrQIBle
The boll body is drilled and bored out from
lhefront.leaving1S1ep-downinlhcrmrcnd
The coil mainspringiscompr'CSWagainst
thissiq,.downandagainstthecollaronthc
onc-pic,cermngp,n.Toc ..... cndoflhclif'ina
pinthreadsll'IIOlhehcavyonc-p,ea,codona;
pic,c,e.Tbcfinn&pinlSpR\"Cnledfromwn,.
inginlheaucmbledbohbylhcbol1oonnco-
10rslee,.'C.throug:h,.tuct,thcflancncdmdof
thellrinapinpasscs.Thccockingpiec:e.•l-
lhoughonlyofonc-pi«ccons1rue1,on.is1
productofmanymachiningopcrations. ltlwl
ahcavyguidcrib"'hichextcndsinlOthc~
cei,...-bridacslol.Aprojedingcamonlho:
cockingp;cccfallswithinama1chingcam
l\01Chinthemiroftheboltbodymi.onrais-
qithebollhandlc,lhcadingpiooclndfinng
pin.-effl0\'edbd::10rocl<thc11Ct10n.Therro-
w,gularscarlugoolhcbooomoflhcoocktna
pic,,,c:islootclyll\Qftisedinanocchinthcrur
mdofthcOOMCcting~lee,-eguidcbar.
Nopnwisionismadeto1llowpowdergas-
es ioescapc harml~lyoulofthe boltor
actioninthce>'Clllofapim,edprimerornop-
~casehcadCiascsctClplll&IJIIOthcfir-
ingpinhokfrom1p,tlfflpmncr"wldnoc
likclygettotheshooter'sf-but,."OUld
probablydissi~llwoughthejodofthebolt
hcadllldboltconnocungslec\-e.lnlhecasc
of1ruprurmca.,chcadespcc.ally1fthebreak
wm:intheupperhalfofthehcad.lhegascs
woulde,icapethroughthccJectorgroo-.'Cand
throughtheuppcrlockinglugraccway."'ilich
would aim the px, dire,;tly toward the
shooler"sforehead.~modcls."ilhoutthe
1nsidcrtttivcrrollartos-tly$UmlUOOand
mc:loscthcbohhcadwould1fforde>ffllw
~ H()ll,'C"ff, thc ~ ofca,c,
hcldrupwnngiscxtn:mely~andthm:is
linlcchanccofithappcning""'thrcwammu-
nnion
Thetriggcrisheldtothc=civcrbya
hcavypinrunningthroughiniegrallug.soothc
re,;eiver.Thesear.aone-pi«eflalspring
1ffair.isanachcdiolhercttivcrby1hcavy
--ThcrnrJ)'rlofthisspringscar
exlaldsthroug:h1hollowmlhctriggff."ilh1
pmJCCOOnwhichexlmdsthroug:h1holcmthe
recci•-crintothclock,nglugratt\0-.y. The
tnggcrhasasu,gle.--.pult.bw,.·hmthc
actioniscockcdthm:is~slackin
lhetrigger.Bc<:auscthcscaritsclfisaspring.
andtha1quitehcavyandslm,thctriggerpull
is""spongy;Mtha1is.lhewcigh1ofpulls«ms
tioincn:ascasonepull!thclliaac,-tl-.ough.
Agroo-.'Cmillcdlmathwiscinlhcbooom
ofthcconncmng-slcc,-eguidebru(md,ng
about l~ from the li,:,ni cncloflhebar) is lhe
racewayforboththcscarandthesrudon10p
ofthctriggcr.Thebolt1SSIC,ppcdbylhissrud
con1actingthecndofthcgroo,,'Cintheguidc
""·

UrKlersidelliewolthefron1endollheRuss
ianModel91boltshowing:(A)boltguioerib
lug,(8Jlocklugs,(C)e•tractor,(0)car1ridge
headrecessand(E)boltconnectingsleeve
Thcreisnoseparatesafetymechanismon
theMosin•Nagama.ctioo.butthereisasafety.
Therearofthecockingpiocecndsinagood-
siw.l knur1edknob,andthecockedactioncan
bemade"safe"bygraspingthecock.ingpiett
fomly.pollingitbockslightlyandn;,1a1ingi1
counterclockwiseasfarasitwillgo.Thiswill
holdthecockingpieccandfiringpinback.
111hilelockingtheboltatthesametime.The
safctyisdisengagedbyw,ersinglhcsemovo,
ments.Considerablceffonandagoodg:ripis
~uiredtoplacctherineinthe"On"and
"Off'safepositions
Therornbinationmagazine/triggerguartlis
ofooe•picccsu:dconstruction.Thcver,ical
opcningthroughthemaga.:ineisjustwide
andlongeooughfonhe7.62mmRussiancar-
tridge.TI!csidesofthemagazinehavetwo
stcp-downs;oneneartheb:>cktoma1chthe
caruidgcrim.andonea1about1heshoulderof
thecamidge,soth:ittheopeningisrwrower
infronttomatchsimilarstcp-downsmillcdin
therccei,-er-"·cllopening.A hinged cm·er
closesthebooomofthemagazine.ltishinged
onaheavyrive1throughthefrontofthemag-
azineanddosedbyaspringcatchs,;n:wcdto
therearofthemagazine
TI!cmagazinefollowera.ssembly,hingcd
tothcmaga.:ineco,-er(floorplate).iscom-
poscdofthe follo"·erann, follower plate
hingcdtotheann,aspringforeachanda
s,;n:wtoattachthefollo""eT..umspringmthe
cover.Pullingb:>ckontheendofthelatch.
whichprojcctsfromaholcinthercarofthe
magaiineoover.opmsthecovertounloadthe
magazine. Depressing the follower pla1c
againstthecoverpcrmits1heentirefollo""eT
assernblytobedelachod
Theac1ionishcldinthcstc.:kbytwoguartl
s,;rewsclampingthen:ccivertothemaga-
rine/lrigger guard. The n:ar guard scn:w
extmdsthroughtheretti,·eriangandthreads
in101hctriggerguardbow;thefron1guard
screwgoesthroughthefrontofthcmagazine
andthreadsintothereooilshoulder.
A novel featurcofthisactionis1h<:car-
tridge feed-intcrrup1erand ejector system
Theejeccor.allatpi,eceofstcel,fitsintoanar-
rowslotcutintothclefloftheretti,"eT.pn>-
j«linsinward.ltthenmovesintoagroc"·cin
theboltheadtohitlhecartridgerimasthe
bohisopened.Theejcctorisheldinplaccand
tcnsioncdbythecartridgefccd-inlerruplcr.a
bentpieceofsprinssteclattachcdtolhe
=eiverbyascrew.Thelrontcndofthcintcr-
rupterprojectsin10thetopldlofthercarpan
ofthcmagaiine,whcn:i1cngagcsthesecond
ca11ridgcfromthetopinthemaga,:ine. Its
mainfunctionistopr,:,·entdoobleloading.h
doesthisbyholdingthcscconJcartridgc
down,fn:eingthc1opcamidgefromanyten·
sionofthefollower,soi1canbefe<lcasily
into the chamber; it frees lhe next ca11ridge
onlywhcnthcboltisfullyclosedonthecar-
tridgc in 1he chamber. in which case lhe
cx1raetorhookhasposirivelyengagedthecar•
tridgcrimsoitwillbecxiractcdwhcnthebolt
is opened again. Wbmthebol1isclosedand
the handle turned down, 1he interrupter is
pushedtothelefl.byacutinthcbohbody.to
allow the top cartridge to rise. Wbm the bolt
handleisraisedtheintcmipteragainholdsthe
secondcarlridgefromthctopdown1orepea1
thecycle.Theernploymcmofthcimerrupler
doe5 mu<:h to eliminate feeding problems
wilhrimmedcartridgcs.
Make sure magazine and chamber are
unloadcd.Remo,.-eboltbyraisingbolthandlc,
thenpolli1bockwhilepollingthetriggerbock
asfarasitwillgo:thcbol1cannowbepolled
free.Thcbol1canbepu1bockinto1here«iv-
erwithootpullingthcniggerbock
Disassemblcthcboltasfollows:graspbolt
handleand,withtheoihcrhand.graspthc
cockingpiecc:pullcockingpiccebockslight-
ly, rotate i1 coumen:lockwise slightly and
allowittomo,-eforward;boltheadandbolt
connectingslcc,.-ecannowbepolledforward
ofT1hebolt:rotateboltheadonboltconnec1•
ingslee,·cumilthetwocanbescparatcd.Do
~rcmovecxtractorunlessnecc:ssary;todo
lhisinscnbladeofasmallsercwdriverundcr
cxtractorhooktoraiseitalxr.cthecdgeofthc
bolthead,thendriveextractortothcrear.
Replace extractor by men:lyslipping i1 in
placc,thcndriveilforwardunti!itsrearendis
nushwiillthcbolthead.
Disassemble the firing mechanism by
unscn:wingfiringpinfrom,;ockingpie<:e-
aboutfifleencomplctctwnsaren:quircd.The
firingpinandmainspringcanthcnbe"ith-
dra"11fromtheboh.Reassembleinre,-er.;c
on:ler.startingwithcockingpieccinthedo,,11
orftredposition.Tumthefiringpininuntilits
endisllushwiththccockingpieccknoband
indexmarkslineup.Reassemblebol1head
andoonnectingslee-.·e1ogcthcr,so1heguide
barsrudisengagedintheboltheadgroo,-c,
thenplaccthcsepanso,·erthefuingpin.Line
upgu;debarsoitwillslipm-erthesnronthe
cockingpi,ece.andthesrudoothebolthead
soi1willslipin1othcg:rom-einthcboltguide
rib1111tilthclhn:epansareagainsteachoi1,er
Nowgraspthebolthandlcandcockingpi,ece
and.whilepollingbackonthecockingpiecc,
rotateitclock>o,isewrtiltheendofthecock-
ingcamfallsintothcshallownotchinthcrear
ofthebolt.
Asnotcdearlier.relcascthemagazinccov-
erbypullingbackla1ch.swingcovcr&:i..n
andpressagainstfollc"'•er.Thisn:lcascsthe
entireasscmblyfromitshingeri,1'1.Rcmo,·e
followcr-annspringbytumingoutilSscrew
Removefollower-platespringbypn,s.,;ingits
enddo,,u,thenswingi1aside.Pushingoutthe
1wofollowerand follower-platcpinsscpa-
ratesthcsepans.Reasscrr,blein,,,.,mcorder.
Tuming out the two guard screws allows
magazineltriggerguartltobepolledfromthe
bottomofthcstock;thebarrelandac1ionmay
beljfledfromthctopofthcstockaflerremov-
ingthcbarrelbands.Remo,.-emagazine-co,.·er
latchbytumingouli1Sscrew:tumoutmaga-
zine,-interntptcr screw, remove inlemlpltrand
!ifloutejector.Twnoutthesearscrcw,thcn
-
pushoutniggcrpinandtrigger.Thesearcan
no"' be removed. Reassemble in reverse
"""·
ThevariousmodclsoftheRussianMosin-
Nagan1rifleha,-eprove<l,·eryreliablcmili-
taryweapons-justconsidtrthefaclthatthey
h;wcbeeninusecontinuouslysioccl89l,
longerthanalmostanyOlher military boll
ac1ionrine.TI!cM-Nrinemayscemcrudeto
mostpersonsfamiliarwiththevariousmili-
taryboltaclionrines.andinmyopinionthe
M•Naclionisacrudeaffaircomparedtothc
98Mauscrac1ionormourow111903Spring-
fieldacrion.Ne11ertheless,theM-Nac1ionis
stillagoodone,andtheU.S.-madeRussian
rillcscouldhanllyhavebeenmadeanybcner.
Remington probablynei.'el'madeotherrifles
beforcorsinceundersomuchsupcrvision
andsochrigidinspcctionsastheydidthese
143
 --.._,J ,_
:::=(10pvlew)

' "'
58oll~$leevfl
t~pk,
~~
,. ,_
10Trigglrpi-,

12 S..-IICNW

a~
1$ ~
18 T r l g g e r ~
17 Magazinecowr
(floor-pla\ll)
11 Fo1owtrann
11 FolowerannP.-,
r=:-armspring
20 Followefarrnlpts,g
21

:==~
,. ,_...
25~QI.Mlrllld',
21 ~0CHlll'liddl
:t7Flonli:,adacrww
29RrNr-11,1Wdtcrew

---
IUMI Molil-Nagll1I

=--::- :·.-.:·.-.:·.-.1.::.:
Weight .....•.•..•......•.~oz.

===~=~ .
Boltbodydla.
Boltlravel ....

Dill.

-~~lorran:l
.•..•.....• 650"
Slrll<trlrllvel .......... ..
.U70"

:1140"
Oepttl ...........•.......060"
.575"
485"

::..--aoo.c1n:r,w1e-
~Earlyrecei'Jefllllliltloaagc>-

144
 Russian 11/losm Nagant Rifles

.-~ ~
~
.-·.~~J~
4
3

'
'

'
"'·

1 ' ,,,,/'

:,
.
? " """
14 RoorSilt,I

r~~

rifla.ThcM -Nrillc:smadc:111R11$Sia,cspe• dra,.backs andpoorfeatures,foruseona

,, ~ -
24 Fll::iorplala-l..alr:hScnw

orC01TCCtthesedrawbacb.Thcbolthandlc
ciallythoscmadeduringWWll,v.'U'enot huntingrifle,an::lhebohhandle is1oofar canbcbmtdownorancwbohhandkmade

-·
ncarlysowellmadeandlin1shcd.ye1tbcy
rehablc miliwy rifla. All~ more
"'l:'tt
thanamplySUOOJ!forlhe7.62mmRussian
Foruseon1sponmanf\elhe M-Nacuon
has1numberoff:aul1$,yetmanyM9lrifles
havebttnsponaiztd.Amonalhcaction's
forwvd for easy and rapid m1mpul111on.
Puninglheaafccyonandoffisioohard;lhc
proJectma magaztM often interftTH w,th
carry1n11herif1e;lhetriggerpul111poor,
andthuct1011isnoc .."'llsui!edfor1re«iv-
..,.,.g1i1ortcope.
Link-,ifanylhing.canbcdonciorcmcdy
andattachedlOplacelhejp'tiplrlgballlov,'ef
andfartherbatk. Nolhioacanbcdoncto
lfflPl'O'"=lheAftty,1llhough1tispossibk10
malr.cand iruwl adiffcrcru rypc of.afccy.
suchasaaou-bolirypcbdnndlhclrigger,
IN'Ollglilhe510ckorinu,,rKUW Thm:osoo
pn,cticalv.Tj!Qchaft&eorehm,na1elhcpm-

14S

jectingmagarinc.Nocmu,;htanbcdoneto
changcorimpmvelhetriggcr.acq,1perhaps
makinglhepull1b!thghltrandsmoolhtrby
llorungtheniggcrandsearcon1ac1ingsur•
faoes.Nooonvnm:llltriucrorsafelymedl-
anismhasC"~bccnmade forlhe Russian
'"'·
Almoughthcn:isnocasingleootstanding
fearureabou11heModcl91Russianriflc:oron
its IC!ion whkh would rccornmcnd it for
mnodclingintolspo,1el',11'1'131N"gml5ffllths
oftcno·rmool<edthis,orpointootthatthe
-challengt,~th,snf\ep,uenumakesthcm
want to tackle u . When these rifles were
chcapandplrntifulmihc1920sand)Os
manywcremnodckdandused fordccrhunl•
mgandlhclikc. Thisworknmgedfn:mmcre-
ly lhortemna the forend and bam:I, and
pcrhapsfmin&1new1etofhunlingsighuon
lhebam:LIOSU!lffdeluujobs.suchnone
thatthefamouswxlcmaker,thelaieAlvin
Lindcn.oradid.•
Bccauseofthefultsalrcadymcn1ioncd.l
han!lythinkitadv1sablcKldoanycx1C11Si,·e
remoddingofthi,rif\e.Aboottheoolyjob
l'dm:anmmdwouldbem~theto.ml
ioaboulU",lffllO\l\'lheoriginllrars.(lhl,
mswl1WiUiam1Cluodeiarsight.-dfront
S1ghlonaramp,andmnodel1hemgmalnul•
"'""""'
lccrtainlyadviseagamsirebam,linathis
action, whether to itsori&inaJ calibcrorlOIRY
Olhercaliber, since the IClion is neither worth
11noristhcn:myOlhercanridgelhelction
,.,1Jhandlebencrlhlnlhe7.62mmllustian.l
am Ibo apinst ~ or rtbonna !ht
bam,lforanothercartndfeorcaliber.
lhav,:nc,·erhcardoforread,bouta
Mosin-Nagant rine blowing up when used
wi1hmilitaryorlXlnllllCfl:ial7.62rnrnRussian
ammunition. Ycanago.hovi=.""henthese
•n.t--0..,l<nJ.aMloa..lfll
"lk1--ll4..."ti,-Ahm~
146
Ck>M-upo!RusslanMcx1911891Molif>.N~t
Klion;e1111ylypewiltl~rec:eiver.
rilleswen:1drugonthemarkct,11001Cshofl5
con,·enc:d them to J.0-06caliber10make
them mon: marketable and some of these
rif\eslCIUl.llyd,d t,lowup. lnonetueW
shooter "-u Tt'pOl'tro killed. I do not know
howthecon,'CfSioofromthe7.62rnrnRUS5-
ian cartridge 10 !he 30-06 cartridge was
made,bu1theywereboobytraps,nddcfi-
nitelyverydangeroustofire. Thechanc:es
arethatthebam:IW111mcrelyn!ehambered
"'ithoot.se11in111back.andtheblow-ups
"'Cl'CthcresullorcucfailureinlhtOVffii.tt
chamber.Finn11308c:anridgeinlheM91
rif\eoouldbeasdisastrousastheM9130-06
boobytraps.Thcrefore,ifyoowantanM9l
Mosin-Nagantrine 1oshootorn:model.jus1
makesureithas•good~.thatithaslWI
beenprniou,lyrec:lwnbcred.andpn:fer-
ablymadebyRcminglonorWestmghouse.
ormadebefor1: 1940.
-
Muchinformat1011aboutg,msm,1l11nalnd
remodclingtheM91 Russianriflcs<;anbc
found in n.e Modt'rn Gurumith by Howe,
andModmtGunsmlthingby&ker.
0n ITIOSIM011n-N1gan1rifleslhtfenal
numberisUSU1llystampcdonlyoolhetopof
thebolt-guiderib.OnmostriflcsmMlein
Russilthedatc(year)ofmanufactureisusu-
11lystampedoo1opofthcbre«hcndof1he
bam:I. Somc1imcs lhe words MADE IN
U.S.S.M.are alsostampedontherec:ci,·er
=•Model 91s mad,: by Remington hll•~ the
"w-ds REM INGTON ARM O RY, daac
{year)andseri.alnwnberstampedoothetop
ofthebrttchendoflhebam:I.
Tbl 7.11!111111111Cartrllllt
The7.62mmR..uiancartridgehasarim-
medandbottleneckcdcaseoffairly large
capac:ity.Powerfulandaccun.tc,n,s1 pro~-
en militaiyc.a.rtridgt". The normal bullctcd
loaduscdbytheRussiansandocheroour>-
tries(Modcl 1908Ball)hasa 1SO-arain
pointed bullel, dri•·rnac about 2850 fps m1,1u-
zlc ~eloc:ity
Bec ause so many M-N U91 rifles re-
mained in the U.S. after WWI, and because
many of them "'Cl'C sold to shooters. Rcm-
ing1on bcgan 10 load I sport1ng canridgt,
for,tinthe 1920s. Thisc.amcd1 ISO-~m
Bron« Poin, expanding bullet .i I vclotlty
ofabou12700fps.Remingtond1sco,,1inued
this cartridge about 1950.Sinccthattimc,
howevcr,agreatmanymoreRussianrifles
wcresoldonthesurplusarmsmarket,and
shootersbc11nc1llingforth1scanridge
1g1,n. In response. Norma-Prec:mon re-
introduc,cd the 7.62mm Russian tartridgc
in them,d-1960s. TheNormaloadhasa
180-graini.cmi-pointcd,soflpom1bo.a11ail
bullet. advertised muzzle veloc:ity 2624
fps-1gains126l0fpsalthemuzzlefor
Norma·, 308 caruidg(' loaded wnh the
same bullet. Ofcourse.theNormacases
all: reloadable . The obsolete Remington
7.62mm Russilnloadac:countcdformany
headofbisgamconthiscont,nent,nplSl
years, and the Norma load should prove
cvcnmoreeffcctiv,:with i11hcavier.J08N
diameterbullet.Themrucimumcstablished
""Orkmapreswreofthis7.62mmcfflridge
isaboln45,000psi.ThcNonnalo!Kl1slist-
cdasproduc:,n1abou142.000ps,apmst
49.000ps111nnflH'thcNo,....308load
mentioned above.
Thc308cartridgeisin1en:hangeable"•ith
the 7.62mm NATO c:artridgc, but 1/le,secar-
rridga an nm interclwngrabl~ ,.;,h tire
7.6lmmRu.uianmnridgt.
As IN THE 011,c,r chapters 1n this book.
mypnmaryin1mtionhereis1othoroughly
dis,;uuSpringficldactionsonly,i.c .. how
1hcactionsaremadc,descnbinithcm.list-
1ng thcirwong and wcak poinls.howto
remodel them, CIC. You may not find J,e,rc
C"-crythingyouwan11oknowlboutthelus-
1oryanddevclopmmtofthe 1\lOJSpring-
focldnllc:.orleamaboulthemanyvaiauons
pnxlu«dforthisinlonnatlonlsuagcstyou
obcamoneorallofthefollow111&books:Tloe
'OJ Springfield by Campbell, lfatdff''s
Na1elx>ok by Hatcher, nic Book a/ 1he
S,Hingfie/dby<:rimmanand,thebes1 book
ofall,11,eSpri..g/ie/dl!>OJRljlcbyCol.
W.S. Bn:,phy
TheSpanish-Amencan,.'lrofl898pro,,c,i
thallhe9JMauscrrillc:and1117mmMauser
canrn1gc,,,cn:supenor10ourbc$t5er,·,ce
nllc:andcamidgt'lhmin11K,namd)'lhecal-
ibrr)().ol0Krag-~lmmcdaaldyaftcr
the"artheUni1edStltabeganOX\'elopnmt
ohncwcamidg,::andrillc:.TheplanningWll5
iar&elydonebyboanlssctupforthispurpose.
andtheworkdonemostlya1thcU.S.Spring-
field Armory, Springfield, Mau .. l,cnce the
popularname.''SpringfK'ld.w
Sc:•·=lcxpttimmtalnncs"·cretcsted
froml900iol\l03bcforethefinal,"CrSion
wasadopledinl\lOJ,1husthcdcsignation
of Model 1\IO)Spnn&field.Adopledatthe
same ume ,.._ a nmlCN bonlcne,;lr.ed case
w1thlhedtsignationof-C1libcrJO,Model
ofl\l03,"orl0-03forshon.Th11canridge
was11ill notthet»illisticequalofthc 7.9
(8x57mm)Ma11Jercarvid,e,"'1 thi1Sspiizcr
bulle1,butinl906theUnitedStatcsadopl-
ed1 new and li&hterbulle, ofsp11ttror
poinled form and the new cwtridg(' " •
de$1patcd the -C1hbcr 30, Model of
1906,worJ0-06for5hon.TholcSpnngfickl
nncsmade up1othalt1mcwcrerecallcd
andmodifiedforthencwroundbyrefining
thebarrel
TIIIM1803Aclllll
ThcSpn1tJ1ficklaction"'hichemcratd1n
1903 was sound and compact, 1 wcll-
dcsigncdand"·cll-buil1rumbohac11onhav•
inasc•'Cnlfca1urcscopiodfromthc93and
98Mauserac110,,..ThctruthistlwtheUn1t-
edStatcshadtopayMauscraroyallyon
eac:hriflcmMlc:"hichrcsul1edinthe1r
remvinaS200,000forinfnngancncsonthe
acuon and stripper dip ~nis. The 03
SpnngficldhadsuchMaUJerfca1urcs asthc
dual-<ll)posed forwud locking lu11s: non-
roouinge~trac•or fastened to the bolt with a
collar: s1a1111ered-.:olumn, non-dc!achable
flush magarinc bolt combined with !he tn11•
ger&uard,lndabohslccvewhichthreadcd
1ntothcrcarofthcboll
The rttcl\cr ,s a one-piece machined
stcclfcq.mg. Thcfi'on•mdoftherecc"'rr
is threaded to accept the bam:I Jh.ink,
" 'h1ch is .734• long. w,tha bodyd,ametrr
of.990",athruddiamcterofl.040".The
threads are $quare with a pitch of ten
!llrcadspcrim:h.Thebretthcndof1hct»ir-
relisfunnclcdasapossiblcaid10guide
canmljcs ,n10 the cllamber " 'hen fed from
themapm1C.Thcrcarinsideoftherecc1v-
er nn111 mach,ncd 10 form 1houklcn
1gamstwh1ch1hclockinglugsontheboll
canmgagc10holdtheboltaga1n11thcbar·
reldunnathcthrustoffiring.
Theborlomoftherttci~Cl'fmm the fi'o,u
of1hcscar10thcrc.:oilshouldcri1flat.Thc
=ilshoulder1sofample1i.:c(abou1 LOSO"
"·ideand.360"'dccp)10pm·cn1rea,....'atd
-1ofthcaction:rndbarrelinlhelloek
oiK'IOrecoil. Thcmappanofthisllal$Ur•
faceismilledoutforlhcmagazjncopm,111,
Themillinaisdooc10astolea,-e,nq:ralcar•
tndgcgwdcl1p5mlhr:recci,"Cr.
Thckftreceivrr"11llissrnoodl"·1ththc
rccc1nrnng.andisncarlyaslughasthcmp
ofthcbolt.Thcrigtuwall(orrail)isonlyas
h1&hasthcboltomof1heu!ractor.which
lea,uamon:thanamplc:recci,..,,openingfor
loadingthcmapz1nc.
The receh·er bridge is, 1cchnically,
unslonedsim:ci1 hasathinraiscdtop10
cover or contain the m1ll-.:u1 gTOO\'Cthal
allov,·spassageofthc111.fctylugonthcboh.
This makes the top of the bndge higher
lhantherccci,·rrnna.Cl1J><hargcrgroovc:s
,nthctron•ofthcbndgcprov,dc1meansof
load1ng1hcmaigaz1ncw1thcartndgeshcld
,nastrippcrchp.
Thcbol1with1tsintcgrallwldkisalsoa
one-picccmachmedsteclforging.Thcright
(orlowcr)lockinglugissolid,"'hilethcleft
(ortop)lock1nglu11issl011edforthcpas-
i.agcofthecJcctor.Thcbo!tfacci1panly
rttCSSr:dforthccanndgchead.Thercces,i
,sundcn:uttoallowcanndgcsroshpundcr
thcc.uraciorhookastheyfeedupoutofthe
magazmc. This pre\'ents double loading
b«ausc the ~•nridgc ~mg fed into lhc
chamberfromthcmaga.zmr:will~e,urac1-
cdandcje<:tcdonopcnina1heboll,evcnif
1heboltisno1fullycl0$Cdoncham~ring
thecarvidgc.
ThcbohhandlchM1round~wnk
bentdownto1bou114$dr:gll:Cangleand
(.&.bov11)TheMoc1911903U.SSpringfield
rille,calit>er30-0e.Thlsrifl9we,ghsabout
8.7pounds,hasa2,·barr&landis(J.:Z-
overa~.Thetul-lengthona-plecestoci<l\at
a straighl grip with finger grOO\les In the
to,eo1:t Its steel bultplal& OOOlaio5 a hinQed
~lha1g;v..,-.10theholewidwt
lhalholdsdean;ngaeeeuories.Tt>erea,
sighl.adjustableklforindegl,1ndeleYation.
ilattachlldlOlheblMdlendollhebiln91.
Tt>eooe-per;eWOOdtn~e~
torwamrotheendollheior.nd.Thebarr91
has a grooYe diame1er ol .308", wi1h lhe
tour1;1rooveriflloghe"1ogapttdtolooe1Um
ioleoinches(righl•hendtwlst)
147
cndllmaroondgmpingball.Thc~base
ofthebohhandleatfflds,•1·••ard.pa:rtlycwer
themwendofthebolt. Thcfimtofthis~
portionisinclincdand,mp,nslheilulialcam•
-
m1ngJ)OYott10thecxu.c,or"11tntheboltis
open<d.t,ya.,rw,ningandlnO\""llagainsi•
ma1ch,ng swfa.ce milled in the ~ , t t
ThcW!!Csafctylugisloca1cdabou11.25•
aheadoflhebolthandlcbasc:"·hcnthebol1is
clo,cdandlockedi1ispositioncdforwardof
thebridgor.Thislugisnocwppoaediooontact
lhtbndgc:ilsonlyfun<:tion1S10holdtheboh
111thetecei,-erinthee--cmthe~,·ernngor
lhc1wofonr,-ardlockinglupJhouldfail.Thc
pPbc1wtcnthe!'lfctylucandthei«:ci,...-
shouldheno1lcsslhan.004•.a1thoughitcan
bcmochmorclhanthisandnotimpair11>c
fWlctionoflhe!ug.
ThclongMauscr-typcspringcxtnw:lor,
whichdoesOOlmwcwiththebolt.isfiulencd
IOthebohbyahookedcoli.ran:iundtheboh
enpg,na1moniseinsidetheatr1C10r.Atug
,nsid,:lhefiumcndofthe-ri<bin•
groo••eeu1iniothebohhe:ad."·hic:hpmffllS
lon&,rudin:al movanmtoflhtoiraaoron the
boh.Thcorraaorismllkioslipeasilyc,,.u
therimof1canridgcplxcdinthechambcr
aheadoflhc:boll
l'llcboltisdri!lcdfromthercar 1oaccep1
thefiringmechanism.whichronsistsofthe
firingpin.striker.ma,nsprina,.Slrikerslec-...,
lndbohsJ=...,l:SSffl\bly,Thcbollske>..,has
sq~lhrcadstha1111m,ntothebolt.The
round scrikcr rod nlmds thn:,uJh the bolt
slec-ve.andtheooilmainspnn,:11~
cweri1t,ylhesuikersle,c,...,,,.tuct,,sinwm
heldblickt,ythescpara1elinngpmmoniscd
O\.'CTthefiootendoftheSlrikcrrod
148
The ro<.:kmj pica, with its in!Cg:1111 cam,
is1hreadedandpttn.edonthccndofthe
suikerrod110llcannotloosenor111m.andis
flaralandknurlcd,othesuikercanbcman--
uallyro<.:kedoruncocked. Thisf~11of
smallval,ce,;c;cptwhcnoncmightwan110
re-oocktheboll1fleramislireorhanJlire.
Theextramc1aladdswdgh1101hes1riker,
bowcver,andthiscanbchelpful toignition
Thecockingpiecc.strikerrodandsepara1c
firingpinoftheSpringfieldaction.,..,more
or less I bokk,\oer from the U.S. Kna·Jor·
~rifle.
Thcoock,nac:ampanoflhl:coctin&poca::
extends lhroogh I !Jot in the boll 51«.-eand
into1raccwayinlhetecei,..,,.tang.andlhm
fonr,-ardinio1decpcamnoo:heu1intherar
ofthebolt.ThcSlrikerisro<.:kcdonlheuplifl
ofthebohhandlc:
Asmallspingandplungerboltlockfiltcd
in10theleftsidc:ofthebol1slecvc,andcngag-
ingin1sballowno1chinlhebol1whcnit11
opcn.locksandpm-emsthebol1$lcevcand
firinamedmusmpartsffllffltuming,.'hrnthe
boltisch,onb,,ck.
Thc:round st=ofthcwingsafcty(ll!Offl-
erKrag-Jorgcnsenbold-o,·er),sfincd,n1
holclcngth"'iSC:inthctopoftheboltslccvc.
Thcwing.whichcootainsasmall 1pring-
loadcdplungcr.andthe.11emofthcsafcty
arcpttnedlogflhcr.Thcplungt'fmlcsin1
shallowJl')O\'CClllintothcbolislee>..,,pro-
YidinglCMIOOIOlhesafctylokttp1lin
plac,:, and in the On or Offposnions. The
safctyis111thcOfforFireposilion10hcn1tif
101heleft.Thc:Afctycanonlybcswung
over when the ac1ioo is cocked and bolt
closcd;thcgroo,.·esinthcsafctylhenlincup
withma1ching1101Chc$inthc10pofthewck-
ing pie,;,e. When the safety is swung upright
or10theimcrmcdiatcp0J1tion.onlytheRrik-
crislockcdblickandthebol1canbc-opmcd
and closed. When the af,:ty is swung IO the
farrightorSafepos,tion.bolhthestrikerand
boharelockcd.
The maga,:ine cu1offi1 posi1ioncd in•
m:cssinthclcflsidcofthe~vcrbridgc
andisheldinplaccby,andpivotsoo,apin
lcngthwis.einthe~, 'Cr.ThcCUIOffscrvcs
adualpwJ>05C;101llowthe riOc10bcused
and loaded 1$ a sin1le SN)! with a fully
loadcdmagazinc.andas1boh-stop10hal1
thcrearward1n1,..,Jofthcbolt.Thc:cu1off
con111ns1smallq,nng-loadcdplungcr
,.-hichridcs1n1shallowgroo,·eonthc
receiver. Thcgroovchuthrecdepressions
for1hethreepos1tionstowhichthecu10ff
canbcpivOled. Whcnthecu1offisupwith
the...-ord"'On"$howing. i1 isinthcnormal
posiiiontohaltthebolttra,·clanda!lowthc
bolltopickupartrid&csfromthcmagazine
..11rni1iseloscd.Swung10thclov,-c:stposi-
1ionsothattheword"Off"shows.the_,..
wardlnlvdofthebol1ishaltcdoboulJ75•
shonofitsnormal lcnglhoftravcl,sothat
thcheadofthc10pcanndgc1nthemagarine
remainsunderthebolthcad.andcannotbc
picked up by tht bolt when it is closed
When thc cutoff is placed in its intcm1cdi.:11e
position (swung outward), the bolt can be
removedfromthem:ch'Cr.
The small eJCC10r is fined UISidclhc fecCiv.
erbridgejustahc:adoflhc:cutoff.ltpivotson,
andisheldmplacct,yapmwoughicsincler•
Adc.hdoesD01ha,..,1sq,araw:spring.but,s
piVOICdsoitsmd1Jtippcdin10thetjtttor~
onthelcfllockm1luabythca.c1ionofthc
lockinglugagai!\Slthebueofthctjector

LeftsioeollheMoool1903Sprlngli&klaction.
Thelriggcrmechanismiscomposcdofthe
lrigger.scar,searspring.andtriggerandscar
pins.Thelriggerisastllldartlmilitarydoublc-
pulltype.The frorn faceofthetriggeris
=·cdandgroo,'W.
The bigger guard and themagazinebo~
arl:millcdfromaone-pie«stecl forging.
ThebamlandactionllS$C1llblyisse<:url:ly
held in 1he s!ock by two guard S'-'rtWS
through hoks(ineach end of the trigger
guard)which1hrl:adintotherccoil lug and
1anj!ofthercceivcr.Theguardscrewshavea
l/,x25thrcad.Themagazinenoorplatehas
lipsoneachimdwhic:hengageinmatching
rccessescutimotheguard.andisn:tainedin
posi1ionbyasmall spring-actuated catch
posilionWjust behind the magazine bo~.
Thenoorplatecanbequicklydc-tachc<lby
depressingthclatchwithapointedtoolor
b\llle1throughaholeinthen:aroftheplatc
and sliding it back
Thesteclmagazinefolloweristcosioncd
byaW-shapednatspringwhoserndsgointo
moniStSinthefloorplateandfollower.The
ridg<=onthetopleftofthefollowercauscsthe
camidgcstobestaggen:dinthemagazinebox
whenitislood,ed.Thcrearendofthefollow-
erissquarcdandpre·,entsblindloodingwhen
themagatineisemptybyhaltingthefclfward
1111,·elofthebolt,asign1otheshoolcrthatthe
magazinelliempty.
The 03 actions were made with a small
spring and plunger which was called th<,
bo!t-stop. ltwasaflatspringwithasmall
roond-tippcdplungerattachcdtot>neend.lt
was positioned under 1he receiver. in a
groovein1herearofthemagazinewell.with
theplungcrprojcctingthroughaholeintothe
bottom of the left locking lug raceway
'I 'I I 'I l•
Thercitcomacts,andisdepresscdbythe
lockinglug.whichhastwosmallindcnta-
tions in its lower surface. With the magazine
cutoff in the On position. and the boll
opened and drawn back, the bolt-stop
plungerfallsimotheforemostindentation
With the cutoff in the Off position the
plungerisalignedwiththereannostindcnta-
tionwhentheboltisopcn.lneithercase,the
intendedpurpo:seofthebolt-s1opwastopro-
videsomefrictiontotheboltwhen i1 was
drawnback,sothatitwouldrt01fal1forward
of its own weight iflhe muzzle of the rifle
waslowCl'td.ltwasthoughtthatlhiswould
behelpfulinsingle-loadingtheriflcwhen
thecu1offisinuse,sinceitwaslikelythe
muzzle wouldbelo"·ercdsolhecanridge
couldbedroppcdintothechamber.Thebolt-
stop.ho"'C'\'Cl",seemedtoimerferl:with!he
rapidopcra1ionofthebolt,andmanyowners
n:mo,·cdit,asdidordnancerepairmcninlat-
eryearswhenthcserifleswercser-.iccd
Provisionswercmadein1he03actionto
allowpowdergases1oescapeintheeventof
apiercc<lorrupturcd primer or split case
head.A,-emholewasprovidcdinthehead
ofthebolttoallowgastoescapeintothekfl
lockinglugraccwayifitentercdthroughthe
liringpinhole.TIICsizeofthisholevaried,
norwasthen:generallyaholeprovidcdin
1hereceiverringoppositetheholein1hc
bolt,eiceptinac1ionsmadeafterthemid-
1930s. The gascs entering the race"·ay
wouldbedircctedto!herl:ara!ldcouldgct
in1otheshoo1er'sface.Agasescapehole
was provided.however, through the right
side ofrhe receiver ring in line with the
exiractor slOl in the barrel. Generally, a
small hole was drilled in the front of the
149

U.$.Mocl(o1903A3Springfield
rifle,calioor30-06.AWor1dWarll
modilicationoflheM1903Spring-
lield, ~ditler.lffoollhe03 mainly in
lha11herearsighlisff'lOIXl18doo
lheteceN91bridgeandlhelri9-
ge,guartllmagazineisasi-t-
metal$13/npng.Theoompac1
1903A3aperturerearsightis
adjustable for elevation and
winclage.Thebarralhaslhe
sameborespecificationsas
lhe03excepllh9lmostol
lhemaremadewilhonly
twogr()()VI)$; how9ver.
some were made wi1h
~~ ~(>'°::!
made by Remiogton
ArmsCo .. llliol'J.N.Y.
andbySmill>-Corona
Typewrilffl,,lnc
exU'aetorinlinewilhthcholeinthereceiv•
er.lntheevemthatacartridg<:headshould
splitfacingtheextractorsl01.theseholes
would probably allow enough gases 10
escape1oavoiddamaging1heextractoror
injuring the shooter
Tl1Mn: I M1808~
In 1917 Mr. J. D. Pedersen. an anns
inventor employed by Remington. devcl-
opedandpatcn1edasmallau1omatjcfiring
device(laterknownastherederscnDcvice)
whichrepla<:edtheb::,ltinthe03Springfield.
ltfirodaspc,:ial30-eal.pisrol-sizedcartridge
fromafony-shotmagazinc. The03action
had 10 be sligh1ly modified lo use lhis
device.Thedeviccwasadoptedinl917and,
although many more were on:lel'ro, the Rem-
ington factory finished only abom 65.000 of
1hcmbeforethewarendedandtherontrac1
wascanceled.They"-crenocusedandprac-
1ically all of them were dcslroyc:d. along
withlhc65millionroundsofammunilion
made forthem. Ho"·e,·cr.as1hePedersen
Dcviccswerebcingmade,thcSpringfield
Armoryhadlhcjoboffumishing03riflesto
handlclhem.Apparcntly.theriflcswerc1101
corwersionsofalreadymanufacruredregular
03s.lns1eadofmakinglhercgularriflc.they
made the Mart I. since the MARK I stamp
isincludedwiththercgularmartingandnot
addedloprcviouslymarkedreceivers.No
spc,:ialserialnumberswercassigned1olhese
rilles;thcywereserialnun,bemlinseq..cnce
withlhercgular03Springfields.Themodifi.
cationstolheMart I actionconsis1cdof
millinganoblongholcinthe!eftreceiver
walltoprovidcaeanridge-caseejcctionpon.
in5tallingaslightlydifTerentmagazinecutofT
havingaroundgroo,-c1ohold1hcdeviccin
lherecei,-cr,andaspc,:ia!searwithane~tra
lc,·crtofunc1ionasthedisconncctorforthe
automatic firing dcvi~. With thC$C modifi•
cations the rifle could s1ill be usedwiih its c__ _ _ _ _ ___J
originalOOlt1ofirc1hc30-06canridge. Model 1903Springfieldbolt.(A)boltbody.
Springfield Annory made approximately (B)leh(upper)lockinglug,(C)right(lower)
101.775oftheMarkl03riflcs.allofwhich. k'><:kinglug,(D)extraet0<,(E)extr.>C10<colar.
reportedly."'Cl'ClaterrcleasedwhenthePed-
crsen Devices were destroyed in the early
1930s.
=::::·~
(F)auxiliary$ilfelylug,(G)bolthandle,(H)
cocking piece, (J) safety. (K)

Marklactions.all madeaftcrthechange10
lhcdoublehcattrca!mefll.areasstrongand
serviceablcasthercgularMode103double
heattrca!mefltoctions
When the Mark I rifles were released for
useagainasrcgularriflcs.thespecialcutofT
wasreplacedwithastandardone.How..-.-cr,
lhespecialsearwiththedisconnc.::10,lcver
wasnotalwaysrcplaced.Thissearisasfunc.
rionalasthcrcgularsear.MostoftheMarkl
rifles were released through the OCM and
soldasrcgularriflcs.Excqnfortheoblong
hole in the receiver wall. which may be
unsightlytosomeshootcrs.thesea.ctionsand
riOesarcasserviccableaslhcregulara.ctions
andriflcswithou1!hehole.
NltlonllMltl:bs,e,t•llldTargttktlunl
Eachycar,froml9201oaOOutl940.
Springfield Armory made up a quantity of
spcciallysclected03riAcstobeusedinthe
Na1ionalMatches. ThesewcrecalkdNation-
al Match Springfield.. bm they were not
markcdassuch.'Theirserialnumbers"·crein
sequcncewithregular03riftcs. There were
variousmodclsof1hcsc1argetriflcsmade.
includingsomewithhcavybam:ls.bu1itis

150

notourpurposetodescribcthoscspecialbar-
relshercsinceitislheactionsinwhich"·earc
intcrested.Howe,'Cl".alloftheseniatchrifles
,.=fittedwith~star-gauged"bam:ls.which
meansthalthebam:ls"=""lectcdbymcans
ofagaugcwhichde!erntinedlxlfeandgroovc
diametertoinsureunifonnity.Thcbamcls
selectedwerethenmarkedwithastar-like
stampoolhemuzzle. However.itmus1 be
noredthatnotalloftheModel03riflesfitted
withstar-gaugedbarrelsarcNatiooalMa1ch
rifles.lncsebam:lswffl'B\'llilablcseparotely
to anyone who wanted one insulled on a
~-.
Springfieldriflc.Also.someNationalMatch
Springf!<'ldrilleswi:rcasscmbledonrec,:ivcrs
madcbylheRocklslandArsenalandtheyarc
Bricfly,thcactionsusedinrnakingup
1hcsematchriflcs,.·ereregular03actions.
selec1edforclo5"toleranccsbctweenboh
andreceiverandforuniformquality.Thc
National Match rc-ccivers Wffl' Par\:cri~.
theTargetandSponcrac1ionswcregencr·
ally"bro,.•ned.""Thelockinglugandcock-
ingcarnracewaysw=hom,dsrnoo1h.The
bohand1hecxtractorwerepolishedbrigh1
and. in most cases. lhc sc:rial number
stampedonthercceiverwasetche<lonthc
bohbody.Thcprirnaryextractorcarnsur-
faccs.cockingcam surfaces.and lockini,;
!ugcarnsurfaceswcrealsohone<lorbur•
nished very smooth. The contacting sear
surfaccsandtrigger-to-receiversurfaccs
,.·crealsolloncdtoprovideaverysmooth
anduniformtriggerpull.Thenoseofthe
searwasshoncnedtoreduce1hefinalstage
of the trigger let-off. The feed ramp was
alsopolishedsrnooth.Everythingwasdone
tomakc1heactionassmoo1handaseasyto
operate as possible
Some of the ma1ch aclions ,.-ere fined
wi1hal!!\'crsesafcty.Othcrswcremadcwith
aheadlesscockingpieceand fined with a
stiffcrmainspringtoachieveafastcrlock
timc.Mo:stoftherccci,...,.wercalsodril!ed
and 1apped to accept the Lyman No. 48
reccivcrtargetsight.lnshon,theseactions
were superb. Depending upon when they
wcremade.thcrecch·erandbol!softhcsc
NationalMatchactionswercmadeofeither
'I 'I I : 'Ill
thedoublehcattreatedcarbonstcc!ornickcl
steel.Allthcscac1ionsarcinthe ..highserial
nurnbcr"rangc.
TheNationalMa1chModel 1903Spring
fieldswcn:stockedjustlikctheregularMod-
c11903rif\e,fastoolywithsuaiglugripped
s1ocks.butlateronwith1hcType-Cpistol
gripstock.
""""-
The firsl Model 1903 Sprini,;fie!d
"Sponcr"wasrnadeatSpringfieldArmory
atthcrequcstof.andfor.ThcodoreRoo-
"'""el1,1hcnPresidentoftheUnitedStates. lt
was built on rc-cei,·cr No. 0009 in 1903.
There is a full description and drawing of
1his rifle in the book The OJ Springfield.
RooseveltuscdthisrifleonanAfricanhunt-
ingtripandlikedit.Sorneofhisfiicnd.hear-
ingof1his.alsowan1edSpringficldsponcrs.
Somcllow, lhe late Captain E. C. Crossman
obuined.about 1911.cnoughModel 1903
Springfieldpartssothatfoursportingrifles
couldbcassembled.Thegunsmithwor\was
donebylouisWundhammeroflosAnge-
les, Calif. The well-known author Stewan
Edward White got one of them.• Both White
andCrossmanwroteenthusias1icallyabout
lheserifles.andprettysoonothcrswantcdto
pun:hase1hc03militaryriflcforsponeriz-
ing.Asaresuhofthis,in 1910theModel
1903Springfieldmilitaryrifles,.•cremade
availablctomembersoftheNa1ionalRiflc
Associa1ion.
In the early 1920stheNRASpone,,.,as
dc,..,lopedandfirs1releasedforsalctoNRA
Members through the OCM (Dirc-ctor of
CivilianMarbmanship)inl924.hwasoffi-
ciallydesignaled thc"U.S. Rifle Cal. 30.
•1ti,aRockl11andAncna!,pec1men.lffl&lnwnba
166.06.• ....tthoon.,,..ibon<l .. dalt,IF<Moal)'.m0.
151
 : I
Anenractiv9fightweigh!Springliek!
hontingriflehomlheevthor'sworl<·
shop. The remodeled Type C
Springlieldstocklsfittedwilha
recoilpadendpistolgrlpcep.The
WeeverK-4scopa.mountedln
the quickdal&ChableWaaver
side moon!, pieces the scope
:7o~ 'ii:~~~~u~
rich speed·lock uo~. Theone-
lnchcarMngslinglsattached
~t!s"1..~~""::
barrel.TheTypeCstockla
152
I
SiyleNRA."(Note: Previous to the release
oftheNRASpol'tcr.SpringfieldArmoryhad
developcd22rimfireriflesbasclonarnodi-
fiedModcll903action.Thelaslvenionof
thisriflewaslheModel 1922 MIISpring-
f,eld.!twasmadewithasponer-typcStoCk
luivingafullpistolgrip.highcombanda
sporter-length forend wi1h a barrel band.
Since these riflesarerimfires. I luive nOI
includedlheminlhisbook.buttheyarccov-
eredinfulldetailinTlte"03Spring/ield.)
The NRA Sporter was made up using an
action of National Ma1ch quality. a star-
gaugedbarrel,finedwiththeModcl 1922
Mtt stock and a Lyman No. 48S receiver
sightLiketheNationalMatchSpringf,elds.
theywercbuihonbothSpringfieldArmory
and Rock lslandArsenalaclions. Manyof
themwercmarkedonthetangoftheguard
with the ordnance ··naming bomb" mark,
with the letters NRA below it. Only about
7000ofthescfinesporterswcrcsoldbefore
sales,,,eresuspendedinl933
ThcNRASporters.offK:iallyintroducool5
November. 1924. were finished like the
NationalMatch03sasfarasthem:ei,'CfSaod
bolts were concerned. and all were Star-
gauge,:l.Theseshandwmehalf-stockSpring•
fields were-in the opinion of many-the
fines103severmadeavailabletotheshooting
public
At Rock Island the last receivers were
madeinaboutl920orpossiblyshortlyafter•
wards.Apparcntly.thelastonesmadcthen:
didnotha,·eserialnumbers.However.some
ofthcsereccivcrswereusedinassembling
rifles in the Springfield Armory and then
given serial numbers. AccordingtoJ/Mclt-
er"sNotebooltthelast0)rcccivermadea1
theSpringfieldArmorywasin 1939,serial
numbcrl.532.878. Productiooofthe03was
resumed again in November. 1941.byRem-
ington Anns Co .• in Jlion. N.Y. They pro-
duced348.08Sbeforcswitch.ingovertothe
Model 03A3 in May, 1942. Reminglon
began their serial numbcringwi1hnumbc:r
3.000.001.
TlleMallll03.Ulcllll
The""A""inthe03A3dcsignationmean.s
"Ahemate,"aodisthusthethirdaltemateof
the 03 rifle. To fill in the gap in the
scqucnce. l shouldmentionthe03Alandthe
03A2 versions. although they have no
importanceinthissincebothhadtheregular
03action.The03A1 Springfield rifle is an
03riflefincdwithapisrolgripscock---there
is no difference in the action. The 0JA2
Springf,eld1,1asastandard0311C1ionandbar-
relassemblywithsightsremo,~andbroou
bushingsfiucdon1hebam:l.sothatthe
assemblycou!dbemountedinthebon:ofa
tankcannonorartillerypieceforsubcahber
pracllCC.
The 0JA3 action was a ""hurry•up.~ or
simplifiedversionofthe03action.Hereis a
lis1ofchanl!;esfoundonthe03A3th.atdis-
tinguishitfromthe03actionc l)theold03
rearsightonthebarrclwasdiscardcdanda
maledovetailbasewasmillcdonthertteiv-
crbridgefortheill!talla1ionofanewrear
sightThisrearsightwasanapertUR:sight
ruggedly made and had provisions for
windage and clevalion adjustment: 2) the
trigger guardlmaguine box was fonned
fromsheetmetal.prcssed.folded,andspot
welded1ogether;3)themagazinefollower
wasmadefromasheet-metalstamping:4)
someintricatemillingcut:sonthe rtteiver
were omined. for example. no cuts were
madeforthebolt-smp;5)somemillingcuts
11,erealsoomittedonlhebollinthefinal
~riod of manufacture-for example, tl>e
safetylugwasldlarectangularblockand
was 00! milled down in front to match the
extractor;6)theholeinthetangfortherear
guardscrcwwasdrilledthroughcompletcly;
7)1hegasvcnthole in1heextractorandin
therightsideofthereceivcrwereomined.
andinsteadalargegasventhok:wasdrilled
inthe!eftsideofthereceivcrinline withthe
gasvemholesinthebolt;S)thebarrclbands.
thebuns1ockswivelandtl>ebunplatewere
roughly made stampings
Because of the need to tum out 03AJ
actions s~edily. previous manufacturing
tolcran«swereincreased.Asaresultofthe
increase03A3actionsarcmuchrougherand
looser than the 03 actions. This is most
noticeableontheoutsidefinishofreceiver
aodbolt.0JA3boltsarcusual!yveryrough.
withthebo!tbodytumedtoasmallerdiam-
eteraroundthesafetylugsectionth.anelsc-
where. leaving two or more pronounced
ridgesoothebo!t.
T111Mllllllll03A4Ac11Dn
TheModel03A4rifle"·asmadeupasa
sniperrifleaodfinedwithatelescope.llwas
made by Remington in 1943 and 1944. The
03A4action islhesameasthe03A3excq,t
thatthereceivcrringandbridgearcdrilled
andtappedwithtwo8x40hokstoacceptthc
Rcdfie!dJr.scopemountbase.aodlhebolt-
handleshanltisalteredtocleartheeyepicce
ofthescope
1.1w ..........
Uptol918them:eiversaodboltsofthe03
actionsweremadeofasingleheat-trea1ed
carbonstcel.Somcoftheseactionshavc:bc:en
known to 1:>urs1 for no accountable reason
whenfired.AtSpringficldArmory,bcginning
withactionnumber800.000.ancwheat-trea1-
menl method. called the Mdooble heat-tn:at-
mcm:· was started which resulted in the
actions(scillmadeofcarbonste(:l)being
muchstrongerandsarertluiobefore.Thus
rincsmadeatthcSpringfieldAnnoty(all
Springfieldrcceivcrsarcmrui<cdwithloca-
tion of manufacture) with a serial number
abovc800J)00arcthcso-callcd"high-mun-
bcred"Springfieldl;,andthosev.ithalower
numbcratetheso-callcd"low-numbcred"
A1Rocklslandthenewdoubleheat-trcat-
mcn1 was swicd at about action number
285,507.Tlm isthcdividingnwnberbetw,:en
thelow-andhigh-nwnbcredacrionsmadeat
tha1arsenal.
Torepeat,03smadeatSpringfieldnwn-
bered below 800,000 and those made at
Rocklslandnumberedunder285,507areto
bccomidered"low-numbcred"actions.AII
others,includingthe03s.03A3s,and03A4s
madeby R,:mington.andthc03A3smadeby
Smith-Coronaare"high-numbcred'"ones.
Hov,"C\tt,allofthesc'"high-nwnbercd''actions
wercnotmadewiththcdooblehcat-treatcd
carbon steel. A new steel was in1roduced
callcd'"nickelsteel"sinccitoontainedsome
nickel.
lnthelancrpartofl918ataboutaction
nmnber3l9,921,Rock lslandAJsenalbegan
..singthenewnickclsteelforpanofthcir
recci,ttandboltproduction,butcontinucdat
thcsametimctomakesomcofthcscparts
fromcarbonsteel.histhoughtthatthc
reccivcrsmadeofnickelsteelwerestamped
withthclencrs NSinftontofthcre<:eiver
ring.llm,,"C\tt,inrcbam:linganumberofthc
Rock Island actions in this serial number
rangc,lhavcnevercncoun!eredtheselet1m.
l1issomctimcspo5Sibletoguesswhichsteel
isusedbyafiletestsincethcnickelsteelis
soflerandcutsmoreeasilythanthcdouble
hcat-ttcatcdcarbonsteel.Actually,thercis!i1-
tle difference in regard toaction strength.
safctyandn,liability whether an action is
madeofthc:doobleheat-lrClltcdcarbonsteel
ornickelSl«l.lnmyopiniononeisasgood
asthc:other.
In 1927. at action number 1.275,767.
SpringfieldAnnorychanged 1onickelsteel
forallsubscqucntproduction.Thcfirst03
actionsRcmingtonm.adewen,ofthcsame
nickelsieelasthatus.edbyRocklslandArse-
nalandSpringfieldAnnory. The last of the:
Rcmingloo-madc03s.alloftheir03A3sand
03A4s.and!he03A3smadcbySmith-Coro-
nawercmadeofaslighllydiffen,ntnicke1
stcelalloy,onehavinglessnickel.pl..ssome
molybdenum
The !ow-numbered actions which are
madeofthcsinglehea1-trcatcds1eel arc001
100.ksirablc,sincethcre<:eiversare,·cry
hardandtend1obebri1tle.Whenthescre-
ceivenfail. instcadofstTt'lchingorgiving,
theyusuallybrcakapanorshancr.Thcdou-
blcheat-trcatcdcarbonsteclrccei,·ers,how-
ever.ha,,cavcryhardsurfaeewithasoller
andvcrytoughinneroore. lllcrcceiverring
ontheseac1ionswill usually stretch a bit
underextremcpressurebcfore thcybreak
Be<;auscof theirvcryhardsurface,thesc
ac1ionsareusua!ly1hceasiest toopera1e.
especiallyifthecontactingsurfacesof 1he
mainmovingpansarehonedorpolishedas
were the Na1ional Ma1chand Sporterac-
tiom.lllcnickclstcdactionsarcprobably
cquallyasstrongandsafe,ormoreso,than
doobleheat-trcatcdcarbonsteclaction.s.and
undercx1remestresscs1here<:eivcrringis
moreap1tosm:tchru,dswellthru,tobrcak
apart. llowe,·er,becauscthesurfaceisno1
ashardascarbonsteel.nickclsieelactions
arc somcwhat"'stkky'"andthcactioncannot
be operated as easily.
Thehigh-nwnbmdSpringficldactionsan:
strong---that'safact.Theyaresuitab!efor
manycartridgcswhichh.avcaoormalwort-
ingprcssun:upto55.000psi.Buthowstrong
andsafcarc1hc low-numbered0lactions?
This I cannot answtt. When made, they were
pn.x,ftes1edwithloadsdcveloping70,000psi.
andvcryfewfailcdinthisleS!. lnteres1ingly,
manylow-numbcredrifleswere keptinscr-
vieeuntilafter1945.andmanyofthemwere
rebarrdcdbyvariousgovernmentarsena\s
<lwingWWII.
Apparently,theywercconsideredsafe.The
factisthatonlyaveryfewofthelow-nwn-
beredactionsburst.and some of these for
suchknowncausesasapluggcdbore.Some
expericnccdgunsmilhsfedthescactionsarc
safeenoughtobeuscdwithcanridgesthat
developuptoabout50,000psjbrtt<;hpm-
sure.providedthcriflehasminimwnhead-
spaee.Asforme,lwouldlimitthisactionto
moderatelypressuredcanridgeslikethefac-
1ory-loadcd 2~7 Roberts and 7x57mm
M-.
Mlarl, Mrilap ...............
SpringfieldArmoryatSpringfield. Mass ..
manufacturedthc03,Marl: l andvarious03
match rifles from 19031hrough l939with
numbers from I to 1.534.878.Notquitethis
manyrifleswereactuallymadc,sincesomeof
thcrecei,·ers(thconlypartofthcrifle
stampcdwithascrialnumber)wereusedin
testsanddesuoycd,andsomewercheldover
forreplaccmentparts.Tbere<:eiverrinsof
thescrifleswasmarl:cd
U.S.
S PRI NGFIELD
ARMORY
MOOEL 1903
(Serial#)
TheMarl:lriflesweremarl:cd
u.s
S P RINGFIELD
AR MORY
MOOEL 1903
MARKI
(Serial ft)
153
 IVl1l1tary Rifles & Actmns
SomeoflhcOJA2Springfieldrttti,-crs(or
complc!eactionsorbarretedactions)werc
n:leascdin1ocivilianhar.ds.mostlikelybythc
arsenals as replacement recei,·crs. These
recci,=aremarl:cd
U.S.
SPRINGFIELD
ARMORY
MODEL 1903-A2
(Serial#)
Rock Island Arsenal at Rock Island.Ill ..
manufocturedOJriflesnwnberedfrom 110
346,779(forspar,,partsthisaracnalprod~
receiversnwnbcrcdover445J100).froml9CM
tol9!l,andfroml917toaboutl920.The
rereiverringoftheserifleswasmarl:edasfol-
""' U.S.
ROCK ISLAND
ARSENAL
MODEL 1903
(Serial#)
TheRerningtonAnnsCo.,alllion.N.Y .•
made OJ rifles numbered from3.000,00l to
3.348,085 from November, 1941 through
May,l942.Therccei,·erringof1l>eseriflcs
wasmarl:cd·
u.s
REMINGTON
MODEL 1903
(5enal#)
Remington03AlriflesmadcfromMay,
1942throughfcbruary,l944havcserial
nwnbersfallingwithinlhcfollowingblocks:
3,348,0S6 to 3,607,999; 3,708,000 to
4,707,999;4,992.001105.784.000.Norallof
these numbers wen, used, however. and pro-
duction was halted at about number
4,l69.000.T0131productionprobablydidnol
e~ettd 345,000. The receiver ring of1hcse
rifleswasrnari<OO
U.S.
REMINGTON
MOOELQ3..A3
(Serial#)
Remington 03A4 sniper's rifles made
fromFebnwy. 19431h.roughMarch. 1944
h.aveserial numbersfallingwithinth.efo[.
lowing blocks: 3.407.0SS 10 3,427.087;
4.992.0(H to 4.997.045; 24.000.000 10
154
24.002.920. Produclionwasstoppcdbefore
allofthesenumberswereuscd.Totalpro-
duc1ionwasabou126.653.Thc03A4snum-
bered within 1hc firs1 1wo blocks were
rnari<OOonthelcftsideoftherecci,·erring
belowthesoopemountbase:
U.S.
REMINGTON
MODEL03-A3
Thc serial number was stamped on the
rightsideofth.ercccivcr.Thc ..Z"serieswcre
similarlyrnari<OO.butwiththemodeldesigna-
tionchangcd10
MODELQ3..A4
L.C. Smith-Corona Typewriters. Inc.,
made 03A3s from 0,,,tobc-r. 1942 through
Fcbruary.1944.withserialnumberswithin
thefollowingblocks:3.608.000to3.707.999;
4.708.000 to 4.992,000. Production was
stoppeda1riflenumbcr4.S45.831. Thctotal
number produced wasabout234.500. Thc
m;ci,'Cfri~wcrernari<cd
u.s
SMITH-CORONA
MOOEL03-A3
(Serial#)
Thiscomplctesthelistofmanufacturers
whoproducedthe30-06Springficldmili1ary
riOcs.lnallcasestheactualnumbcrproduccd
waslessthanthefigurcsindicatethroughlos.s
ofrecci,·crsintestS.etc.
Theonlyothernoteworthymarkingson
thcseriOcsar.:onthetopofthebarrel.just
behind the front sight. Herctheini1ialsofthe
organiza1ion 1ha1 made the barrel and the
monthoryearofmanufac1ure""CR:stamped.
Fore~ample. SA 6- 12 means lhat the b:lrrcl
was made by SpringfieldAnnory in June.
1912 Barrels made by Remington were
markcd RA.Rocklslandb:>rrcls""Cll:markcd
RIA.Smith.-Coronabam:ls"·eremarkcdSC.
A•·is RiOe Barrel Co. barrels ware marl.cd
AV.Joh.nsonAulOmaticsbam:lsarernari<cd
JA. andSedgleybarrelswarernari<cdwith.an
Swithinacirde.Thcdateoothebarreldoes
notneccssarilyindicatethedaleofmanufac-
tureoftheeotirerifle.sinceitwasstandard
practiceforarscnals1orepla.cewombarrels
with new o= made many years after 1hc
---
Allpartsexceptthereceivershavebeen
anilabk for the Springfield from the DCM
ando1hersourccsforrnanyycars.Thc
re<:civer.theonlypartcarryingthcserial
number.• was conJidered the only non-
c~pcndablc part oflhese rifles JI has never
beencomrncn;iallyavailable. ltwasonly
a,·ailable from the DCM on a replacemcnl
basisine~changc forabrokenorlow-num-
bercdreceivcr.SinccWWll,hugequamities
of03and03A3partshavcbeensoldtosur-
plusarmsdealcrs.Alsosorne03A3sha,·c
bccnofTercdforsalcwhichareapparently
a.ssemblcdhavingnon-arscnal-manufactured
rttei,·crs.lhaveseen1heseriflesrnark«t
SANTA FE M- 1903-AJ, and with. the
recei,·crmarkcd:
NATL.ORD
MODEL1903A3
andwithascrialnumbcrover5.000.000. I
havealsosecnan01hersuchriflemarkcd
NAT. ORD. CO. EL M01''T£, C AL. Of
course.suchriflescannotbeconsideredtobe
authenticSpringfieldmili1aryriflcsbe.:ause
oolySpringficldAnnory.RocklslandArsc-
nal.RemingtonandSmith-Coronamadclhe
gcnuincSpringfickiandnooeoflhesc""Cll:
nurnbcredover5.000.000.lhavenoreliable
informationastoth.equalityorstrength.ofthe
NatiOfllllOrdnanc<=Companyreccivers,wl
canrnakenofurthercornmentsootheserifles
atthistirnc
Thcbolthandlesofall03srnadcup10
abou1l908ofsinglehcat-trea1edcarbon
steel. were turned straight down. Wh.en the
doubleheattreatrnentofthcboltsand
receivers started in 1918. the bolts were
made with a slightly swept-back handle
whichplacedthegraspingballfarth.erback
Lateron.whcnthereceivcrandboltwerc
made of nickel steel. th.e leners NS were
starnpedon1opofth.esquarebaseof1hebolt
handlc.Thebohsmadeduring1heWW[l
_ _ _ _ _ _ __

Un<.lersideotlhe1903Springfieldbol1head
showinglhelw(lbolHtopindents(A)inlhe
lel!k>ckin,glugar.dthasinglaQBS8scape
h<lle(B).
)'t"ars.ahhoughmadeofnickelstoel,were
notusu.,llymari<edNS.
Untilaboull917mostoftheoutsidtmctal
partsofthe03werebruwnedorbluedby,-ari-
wsmetlio<kUp10thistirncm0S1ofthemctal
partswerewellfinishcd,somosiofthetool
m.ulcswen: renxwed. After l917 l110Slofthe
mctalpartswerefinishcdbyaproccsscalled
Parkeniing.inwhichthepar1Swereboilcdina
solurionofphosphoricacid.lnfreshsolution
thi11•1011ldimpanadullmane.blue--blackfin.
ishthatwaswear,glareandlUSCJ'CSiS(ant.As
lhesollllioowcakcncdoragcd.themctalsfin-
ishedlightcrincolor,varyingfromdarkor
lightgreysrogrccnishshadcs.lntheprocessof
l'arkerwng!iOll>eironpho6phatccry:113.lsprd>-
ablyarcdoposi1cdonthest«l.This.plusthe
crc-hingactionofthephosphoricacid,prodlce:s
adullmanefmishthatdoesagoodjoboferas-
ingor•·oo,,:ringup.. toolmarlcsleftonthesur·
faa:.Tosomcthisfinishappcars10bcafilm
ofsomc,ortbutitisactuallypanofthesurface
oflhcmctal.TheParkerizedfinishcannotbc
removed with ,·amish remo•,er. although the
d Models 1903, 1903A3 & 1903A4
metalcanbcrna,;kbrightwith§OITOCTUSland
bluing-removing solutions. V.'benlhisisdone
thetoolmarl:shiddcnbythefinisharchrooght
OUL Therefon:.ifyoulikethedulll'arl<c,md
finish.bu1want1orefinishittoabluc-black
color,thenmerelybluethepanswilhootdoing
an)'lhingelsetothem.Hov,,:ver.ifyoudislike
the Patkerizcd finish, whether or l10I you also
wanttosmooththemetal,thenp:,lishthepans,
polishingthcParl.:crizc:dfinishoffa1thesame
time.Thcn.=i,-eristhemos1difficultpanto
polish.lfi1docsno1havcdeeptoolmarh.a
--
veryplea.$ingfinishcanbeobtainedb)lp:,lish-
ingalllhcpanssmoothexccp1thereceivcrand
thenbloe,:,.'Cf)'1hingexcq:,tthebolt
lfahuntingscopeistobemountedlow
overtheaction,andthisisthconlypractical
waytomountascopc,itwillbeneccssary10
alicrthebohhandlesoitwillclearthcscope.
lbelievcthisisbcstdoncbysawingoffthe
boltandw,:klingonanewforgedh.lndlewith
anelectricwelder.Thcshankandhaseofthc
boltisveryho:avy,and,inmyopinion,forging
thebol!handlewalowprofileisnolthcway
todothejob.
Alow.moumcdscopcalson:quiresadiffcr-
ent safely. Several commcn:ial low-scope
safctiesareavailable,andi!'srnuchbenerto
i11S1al1oncofthcsethantoa1tcrnp110al1efthc
originalsafery.Thcrcarealsoseveralcorn-
men:ialfullyadjustablesingle-stagetrigsm
availablefortheSpringlklds,someofwhich
aremadewithasidesafety.Then:arenwncr-
ousolheraccessoricsavailablcforthe03,such
astriggcrshoes,aquid.. rcleasefloorplatcbm-
1on,onc-piecesafctyfiringpins,spe<d-lock
firingpinsandspttd-lockmainsprings.
Do not rcmove the male dovetail base
fromlhertteiverbridgcofthe03A3andA4
actions. Practically all lop scope moums
madcforthisaction,andthercarescveralto
choosefrom.requirc1hisbase10beintac1to
successfullyattaeh1hcmoun1. Therearealso
acoupleofaperturcsightsmadetoattachto
thishase,althoughi1wouldbehard1ofioda
bet1craper1urchun1inssigh1thantheorigi-
nal 03A3 rcarsight.Olherreceiversish1s
madeforthe03A3suchasthelymanand
Williamssights,haves!idcs"•hichneatly
coverthehase.Howcvw,ifyouhavea03A3
actionwiththesightbascalrcadyrcmoved,
youwillbercstrictedtousing asidcmoun1if
ahunlingscopeis1obefitted.Thisisno1a
drawback'iincemostsidcmoumsarefully
asn:liableasanytopmoun1
lalsoadviscagainstcuuingofftheflarcd
endof1hecockingpieceinonlertomakelhc
striker!ishtcrandspecdupthelockti=.
Howc,·cr.ifthisisdoni:,itisesseruialthatlhc
strikerrodbere-attachedpermanen1lytothe
cockingpieceeitherwithasturdy~pinor
b)lweldingthe1WOpans'°8C!her,!nthisease,
i1wouldbedesirablctoi11S1allastiffcrspced-
lockmainspring.
lnstallingaone.piecesafetyfiringpininthc
bol11orcplacelhcoriginaltwo-piecepindoes
make the action safer to use, Howe,·er,
becauscthescsafetyone-piecefiringpinsare
quitelishttheycomefittedwilhaverySliff
mainspring. Withahcadlcsscockingpiecc
andstiffmainspring,installationofthcone.
piecesafetyfiringpinunitmakeslhcaction
much"stiffcr"tooperalc.Oncofthethingsl
havcalwayslikedabouttheSpringfield..:tion.
andespeci.allysowilhthedoobleheaMn:ated
andNationalMatchactions,isthatopening
lhcbohatlcrfiringaca11ridgeisquitccasy
comparedtomostbolt-actioorifles.lnstalling
astiffmainspringspoilslhissmoothandeasy
bol1operarion.Forthislstillprcfcr10usclhc
originalsuikerfiringpinandmainspring.
The30-06canridseandtheSpringfic!d
actionweremadeforcachothcr,butthese
actionswillhandlcorhertaftridgese<jually
well. Forexample,theyareidealforrchancl-
ingtocanridgeslikelhc6rnm,257 Robcrts,
7mm, 270, 280. 8mm and 35 Whelen. TIie
W'13ltcrcdSpringlic\dmagazinewillalsohan-
dleshortercanrid8es like the 22-250,220
Swift,243.2&4,308and35&.Wilhthesccar-
lridgesthefeedingrampmaybeimprovedby
blocki"8 off the rcar pan of the magazine
withapieceoFshcelmct.alrivetedorsilver
soldem;linplace,andshorteningthefollower.
SomcgunsmilhshavemodificdtheSpring-
ficldaction 10handlethe long300and J75
H&H Magnum cartridges, bu1 this requircs
removing vital metal from the feed ramp
which.aswiththc98Mauseraction,weakens
thcsupponforthelowcrlockinglug.llowev-
er,thehigh-numberedSpringfieldactionscer-
tainly arc adequate for the modem shon
magnwncartridgeslikethe264and300Win-
chester, 7mm Rcmins1on, 35& Norma and
458Winchester.Alteringtheactiootoacccpl
thesecartridsesrequircsonlythattheboll
fac<:beopcnedupandlhcextractorhook
shonened.Sorne!imesi!,.illbencoeswyto
s.moothlhccartridgcguidelipsinthcmaga-
zine well 10 make these short ma8Jlum car-
tridl!C5 feedbetterintolhcchamber. It iulso
pracricahlctorechambertheissue30-06bar-
rel 1othe 300 Winchester Magnum if you
wantmorepo,...crlhanthe30-06provides.
Thisismuchmoredesirablc1hanrtthamber-
instosomcS<Kalled"imprm-ed''30-06car-
tridse.lncidcntally.theissuebarrclcanalso
besctbackandrechambercdforlhc308or
rcbored for the 35 Whele11 cartridgc-------.n
e~cellentbisgarnecartridge.
Springficldactionsareentirclyunsuitablc
forsochsrnallcanridgesasthc222.222Mag-
numand223 Rcminston--w,lessusedasa
singlesholonly.
155
 : I I

1---.iActla---·
tWelgM ...... . . . . . .... 45oz.
C>Yeralllength ......•....6.562"

i[;i;.-_~~:·.. .·.
Guard..:rew 1paclng .
· · 1·~··'."",;
, ,
~~ -- s~
Model 19113 Sprqlal

···=~~~ed~.
......OnD-piece,>Whdual<wOSedlorwardloc:l<ng ug!I. Alhn.l U',l on

Jr~)~~'.~ ·:·::•i: = . . . ..$S?'==$:=£-

capacily. OelaChable

&'.t" ....................485'
·~ t e o n l y.al models,in
Extractor .. .~ ~ ~ t u s e r s p m g ! y p e. attachedtotheboll
>Whacalar.
Magazln1cut-off .. RoorwardbolltraV91ishaltedbytherotary!ypemagazinecvloflon
f Models 1900A3&A4 theleftrearolreceivef..tlerlthelel!loc:l<ngugcontacts c.
=:..lop. ~ ~ h o u s e d io left$ideolreceivefb<1dge

156
 03, 1903A3 &

~·- ~.'
3O•
~ ~---
-&~ --
1./P""
.
14

)!bP-',,
-.,._20 '

157
swmgthe~cutofflOHSll"fflmedialc
poslllOnandn:mc:M:bohfrDmlhen:o:i,..,,.,
To disaSKmbk boll: With safety upng!M
clcpftslthebohslce,·elockphmga-and
U11$Cn:Wlhefinngmtthanismfrornthc:bolt.
With finng mtthanism rem<m:d, rotate the
safety mthe left. Grasp the strikc,-slcc,·e
bc1wccn lhumband forc.fingc,-and, while
rcst1ngthc.stnkcrknobonatablc.pulldown
onthcsle,c;ieuntilthefiringpinc;,nbcnioved
offthestrikttrod.Th,sdone.thestrikc,-rod
canberm1o••edfrornthebol1~.Swmg
thcs,Jety11Psotheplunacr1nthesafetyisin
hnc"·,ththelhallowslopcontheplunger
lfOO"'.,,d,",th•hamm:riw.tle.strikethc
afc,y1Ddri,-en10thercar.Rano\-ctheboll
sltt>-elockbydri,,ngOUlthcl>!Wlcn.is:spm.
R,:movctheextrae10rbyrummgnasfiltasil
..,uaoiothcbonomofthcbohandlheniJidc
11forward.Donotmll0\11:theexuactoroollar
unle59necessary.sincei1canootbceasily
rcplacedw11hl)u1deformingit. Rea!l~mbk
the bolt in re~crscorder. ln reassembling the
safciy,uscasmall:;cre"·drivertonii~lhe
safe1yplungcrwhcnslidingthcsafcty1oits
fmalpos,tion.
T,....Qlllthe,cre..,inthemagazinecutoff
andshakeOU11tssp-ll'&andplur>3"'.Usinga
small,cm,,Uiverbladepull1Uthcmapzine
l;IIIOITpm.Reassembleinre-,'Cl'Slemlcr.
Tol'ffllO\"Cthemagazin< floorpla!C.fol.
io....,,.anc1.,,..,USC1pomted10ol{orhard-
balln:iund')thruu&hthchole mthc rurofdle
floorplll1C10dqnssthclloorpl3!ccaich:now
thclloorplatecanbci.ltdbackandrdca!otd.
Slidclhefollowc:roffthcfollowc:rspringand
the follower spring out of the tloorp!a1e
R~bkinn:verseorderwithnam:,wend
of thcW-springi1tSC1tedintothcfollowtt.
Toremovethesmck.firs1mno,.-cthebar-
relb.andsandhandguani Tum out the two
tri~guanl11C111:WS.liftthcbarrelandrecciv-
erfromtheS10Ckandpullthctrigger
guard-mapztncfromthcbonomofthestock.
RffllO\-ctriggcrasscmblybypushingQll!the
~-
_.andlriaffpll'IS. Tomno>-ethetjcc1or.
drweout n,pm from the iop(althoueh illm•
$1oncd'-1.-1tnotascmo-).Rcassanblcin
Thebarrel1tll!Ulllys.:m-""1,uyt1ghlly
11110 die reccher; make no am:mpt ro mno>..,
,tunlcsllhepropcrtools(~l~,~and
a,;tionwreneh)area,'&ilable.Thercusight
basc:ofthc03isheklinplacconthcbarrelby
1small,;rou.pin. Thispin,slocatcdmthe
t,onomfor,,-ardpartofthebascandishanJto
find.Driveoutthispinandthcsightbasccan
bcdrivenforward.off thebarrel.Thcn:ar
sighconthc0JA3isdri,=oniothcdovelail
baconthcm:eiverbridgcandthenstakedin
pba:.l111difflCUJttoremovcthisS1ghl"'llh-
outlkmag1ngit.butifit11nottobcU5Cd
ap,nlhebcstwayton:rAO\'C it is to saw
throughthcw,ndagcscmo-tomM\-ethe
-
windagc: base. and Ihm saw CTOSSWIK
throughthcbaccr,-crtheccnterofthcdcr,..,.
1ailbac. Then1ttscasilyslidoff.
lbchcw:tha11lmosie~"ooklagn:c:
thatthefirst-dlOtccSpringf,.klaction"oold
bcthcSpringfieldArmo,y-madc03Nalional
Mutchor1heOCMSponcrversionmadca1
aboulthcsametimc.Eitherwillbecxtremcly
hardlOfind!l"dratelhcrcstinthisorder.1)
SA03ofdoobkheat-lrea1Cd~l:2)SA03
ofruckdsiec:l:3)SAL90JMart.l:4)R1AOl
ofdoublchcat-lm!h:d.Slccl;S)RJAl903of
ruct:d sieet; 6) Rcmmgton 1903: 7) Rmuna-
ton 03"4. 8) Remington OJAJ: 9) Sm,lh-
Col\lnaOJAl: IO)Lcr,,·--IU1lbmdSAOJn:1
11)lownumbcredRIA03
Given1choi«ofeitherthep,-cfcmdOJ
SpnngficldlCtioosoroneofthcbellcrlTIOOCl1
ofthe98Mau=militaryactions. I lcrtd10
favorthcSpringf,cld.Thercare"10fflCthinpl
dono1likcincitherac:tion.bu1forbuildinga
uimeasy•to-opcratcspoflingriflecharnbcred
for1cartridgclikcthc6mm,270or30-06,l'll
iakcthc Spnngf,.ld. My n:asoosare: !he
Springf,cldactioniscasiertoopcnitcforfast
repeatshou;lesaeffortisr,:quin:dlOliftthc
bolthandlconopcninglheactionandpushina
thchandledo,o.11ooclo5inathcaction.F«d-
1ngisgencnlly~.11ikethelhape.
lizt:andplacftnenlofthctriggerguardbow
bo:cler. lalsolikctheSJ,rinefiddtangbcttcr.
th11featwe.plusthci.lightlylo-A-'U'edangleof
thetnl&Cfguanlbow.allo-A--s a tnmmerpllilol
gnpiobc...ie.lalsoprefttthcSpnngfickl
a.tionm..,,.dleMausier'JII forblliklmg••-
ictnfleforse••cralofthcsamc_.,
forusewithanyofthcholwildcatorbcli-
cd-hcad magnwn cartridges. l prefer lhe
MaUSl'fm-crthcSpringficldbc<:ausclfocla
bits.,ferbchindthcla11er.
ThcSpnngfield11etionwouldbcabcttc-r
oneifmon:Mau,;erfeatw-cshadbccncopied.
mcludma thc one--p;ecc s.,fety and finng pin,
TheSpringf,clda<;t1onalsowouldhavebccn
btntt.1nmyop1JU011atleast.hadthc safe1y
lug been omit1Cdand its ll.mttion ina.wponlcd
wilhthcbohiw.tleenpga,g1n1natchcut
llllllthc11r1&-This"ooldha,-callo-A-"tdalow•
er~,..,,.bridge
l",-coflcnwonderedwhyRenungtondtd
no1cootlflUC10makcSpringficklactioos aftcr
WWll as they did withlhe 1917 Enfield
KtionaflerWWI.CertainlytheSpringf,cld
a<:11on has always been mon: popular and
__
moredcsinibkthanthe 19l7Enfielda<:1100
!lnd.hadtheyconrinoedtomakcSprinafield
KIIOIUI of the quality of the old National
Matchac1ions.andmadclban1vailablc:11Cp1•
n11elyalong"ithassernbledriflcsofd1ffcm'lt
,., n1 nnes.
$1)'ks.lbelievethey"-ouldha,-efound1,uy
goodmaricct. lnstcadtheyillU'Oducedlhe
Models m and
1nll'Odtocedinl906.thel0-06(pronounccd
"lhirty-ah-sa~)canridgcsccmstobcaspop-
ulartodayasiteverwas.At first ilJlffl'"tdlO
bcanootstandingmilitarycartridgcand.no1
longafterwards.loadcdwithsunablc:huntma
1ypcbullC1S.itprovedtobconcofthclincst
,;anridgcsforh1111tingallNorthAmcricanbig
gamc.Lastly.loadcd"ithmatch-typebullets
andfin:dintargetrifles.itsetmanylong-
rangc:accuracyrttords.Nowdccmcdobso-
letebymos1mititarymenfornuhtaryuse.il
i- and probably wm remain fom-cr
henco--amostpopularandeff«tl~ehunt,ng
cartndgcforallthin-skionedbigpmeani•
rmb.andas11opCl'llllOndc:rinanylong-nnae
match ~ It is the ideal <:lflndse for
the$prin&field19031CUOOS.
159
 r.ontnarelll.._lAcUIIII
AnschutzClassicCentertireRifle 161·165
BlankCustomRifle . . 166-168
Blaser Model R84 Takedown
Rifle............. . .•. 169-173
Bmo(Czech)SportingRifles ... 174-181
BrowningA·BoltllBOSSRifle .. 182-187
BrowningBBRRifle .......... 188-193
BSA Royal, Majes1ic, Monarch,
Herte~sU9Rifles. . ..... 194-206
Champli!lfirearms,lnc........207-211
Colt Sauer Rifle .. .. . . .212·219
CooperModel38Centerfire
Rifle ..........•..... . . .220-224
Dakota Arms Model 76 . . . . . .225-229
FNActions&Rifles ..........230-236
FrenchModel36MASSporter 237-239
Goloo!1EagleModel7000 .....240-243
Her1er'sPlinkerRifle ......•. 244-245
Husqvama and Smith & Wesson
Rifles ..•......•........246-251
HusqvamaModel8000 . . . . . .252-255
lnteranrlS MarkXMauser .....256-260
1n1erarmsMini-MarllX ........261-266
llhacaModelLSA-55 .........267-271
Kimber Model 82 Hornet . . . . .272-279
KimberModel84 ............280-281
KleinguenlherfmprovedK15
lnsta•fire .•.............282-286
Krico Model 3(X) Hornet. .287-291
Mathieu Lefl·Hand Rifle . . . ....292-295
MauserTwo-ShotShotgun . .296-299
MauserModel98Sporters ....300-304
Mausers,Miscellaneous
Commercial . . .305-311
160
Mossberg Model 800 . . . . .. 312-316
Newton0rigina1Tumbo11 ..... 317•322
Omegalll. . 323-327
Remnglon Model 788 .........32S-333
Remng!on Model Seven Carbine &
Model700MountainRifle ...334-341
Remnglon Models 30, 30S
and720 .... .............. 342-344
ReminglonModels721,722,725,
700,600,660and40-X .... 345-357
RugerOrgnaJModeln ..... 358-366
Rug8fModef77Marllll ...... 367-374
Rl.lg8f Model 77122. Hornet . . . 375--380
Sako Rifles....... . . . . . . 381-395
Savage Model 1920 ....396-401
SavageModel23B,C&D .....402-408
SavageModels40Sporter&
45SuperSporter .... 409-412
Savage Model 110Senes .... 413--423
Savage.Stevens Model 340 .424-427
Schultz&LarsenRifles .......428-433
Smith & Wesson and Mossberg
Model1500 .............. 434-439
SportcoModel44TargetRifle .. 440-443
Steyr-MannlidlerModelSLRifle 444-449
TeK!IS Magnum Rifle . . . . • . . 450-453
TraclewindsSeOOS600Ac:1ion . 454--458
Wealhert:lyMarllVRifle ..... 459-464
Wealhert:lyVanguardRifle . . . 465-469
WinchesterModel43Rifle .....470-474
WinchesterModel70Classic 475-479
WinchesterModel70Post-'64 .. 480-486
WinchesterModeis54&70 ...487-497
M osr SMALLBORE TARGET shoo!ers
an:familiarwiththelineoffineAnschulZtar·
getrifles.butlwonderhowmanyshoolers
knowthatAnschutzalsomakessevcrale...ccl-
lentccnterfin:,·armintrifles?Wcll.theydo.
andalthoughAnschutzhashecnrnakinga
centcrfin:rilleforanumbcrofycars.theoncl
"'ll'lttodescribeinthischaptercanbeconsid•
eredanewmodcl. ll is the Model 1432D
Oassic.incalibers2211ometand222 Rern-
inglon. It is an ideal rifle for anyone who
desircsanaflemoonofleisun:lyshoolingal
papertarge,sandtakingavarmintoowand
thenatrangeslll)to200yan.lsorso.ltisthe
rifleftttheshoo!erwhodcmand.\qualityand
accuracy.andwhoal90isahandloader.hisa
rifleevcryshoolercanbeproudof.
AnschllttriflesaremadebythefinnofJ.G.
AnschutzinUlm.Germany.JuJiusGoofiied
Anscliutzbeganhisannsmakingbusinessfour
generationsagoand,exceptposSiblyforthe
,.i,arycars,thefinnheSlarledhasbeminbusi-
~ since. For the most pan their line of
fireanmhasbemlimitooto22rimfuesporting
and target rifles. Theywerconcemarl<eted
undertheJGAnamcortrademark.Anschut:z
targetriflcshavelongbemfamousforthcir
accwacy.Thefirmal90makesprecisionair
rifles. The quality of Anschutz rifles has
always hem high. There are no low-«>St
Anschutzritles.andliketheirwgetmodels.
lheirsportingmodel,;areconsideredbymany
astop<p.iality.Andthisopinional90appliesto
theca1temn:riflesbeari!l(!theAnschu1Znarne.
ThlAnlcllltlC.....IINIII
lnl982therewcreonlytwoAnschutzc:cn.
temn:rifles.thel432DClassicandthel432D
C\Nom in two calibers and they diffcrmosdy
inthestockstylingandbarn:lwcight.Bothof
lhesemodelnumbershavebecn replaoedby
sligh~y different model,; but practically in all
instancestheactionhasmnainedthesameand
itis theactiontha1isthcmaintopicofthis
~.Bothcanberightfullyclassedastigbl-to
medium-weightvarmintriflessincetheyarc
chamberedfor,-armimcanridgesandan:fihed
withmedium-heavybands,withtheC'us!om
modelhavingthelightcrbarn:I
Theactiol!i~aboltactionwithadetachable
box magazine holding four cartridges in 22
Homctocthrtt222caraidges.Thetriggcrhas
ashortsingle-stagelet-offanditisprm·ided
withadjustmenlS.Thewinssafetylocksthe
strikerandthebolt.Duallockinglugsan:atthe
rear.andtherecei,·crisbothsroovcdand
<killcdandtappedfocscopemounts.The23.5#
barn:lhasasliJushouldcroontourandfrom
thatpointtapersgentlytothe.&20"n:ccsscd
Cl'O'-'nedmuzzle.Everythinsissieelandall
cxix-!partscxccptthebolt_whichispolishcd
white.arehishfypolishcdandblued.
TheClasPcmodelccnterfin:hasanAmer-
ican-styledclassicstockofdcnseEuropean
walnut.lthasnowhite-linespacers.noraised
comborcheekpiece.flaredpistolgrip.
bca,·ertailfon:ndoranaddedfon:ndtip.h
doeshavcamplcwoodthroughoutwithouta
traccofbulkiness.ltalsohasstraightlines.
hand-cutcheckerins,studsfordetachable
slingswivels.ahardplasticgripcapandbuu-
plate,aperfectlylevelandsmoothsurfaoeand
anon-slarefinish. ltiSIIOIIOOunlikethe
splendidModel77Ruserstock.Weightis
awroximately7.75pounds. It is this Classic
modelasshownherethatbecameoncofthe
new Anschutz rifles for 1982.TheCus1om
c<=merfiredescribedbe!owhashecnas1an•
dardAnschutzofferingforquitesometime
hhasacheckp;c«.raisedroll-o,·crcomb.
flan:dpislolgripwithpalmsweU.andaschm-
bel-tippedform:l.llal90hasskip-linecheckcr-
inganda high gloss finish. Weightof1his
modelisaboul6.5poonds.Toese1woriflesin
the22Home1caliber"""'gi,i:nthemodcldes-
ignationnumberofl432D ClassicocCUslom.
whilethesameriflesin222caliberwcregi,,:n
thedtsignationofl532PCla.wcocCl$0m
Of the two models. Cla~ic and Custom,
myprefrn:nceiswhollytowardtheCJass;c.J
likei1Swcigh1,beavierbam,landstockfar
beuerthanthelighterwcight.slimmcrbam:I
androlled-combstockontheCustom.lscc
linlepointintheroll-overcombandtheother
··custom"'feamreswhichtheCUs1omstock
has.Asforachoiceofcalibcrs.lchosethe22
HometsimplybecaUoJelfiguredthisClassic
Anschutz would gi,-e me the mos1 accurate
"'--
Hometlhavees'<:fowneduptotha1time
Therecei,..,..isround,probablymadefrtm
seamlesssi,:,eltubing.Thebam:lshankisa
shrinkfitintothefrontoftherecei,..,..and
anchomltherebytwoero&pins.oncateach
sideofthereceiverring.Thismethodofsccur-
in~ a bam,I to the r,:,eeiver is seldom used
cxcq,1ftt22rimfuerifles.Athinm:oil1"8,
pancrnedaftertheluglonguscdbyRemingtoo
ontheirM721 and700series.ispositioned
belweenthebarrclshouldcrandthereceiver
Thebr=:hendofthebam:lisflal.althoughit
hasanarrowextraclOrcutontherigblsideofit
Behindtheieceiverringthercisagenerous
loadingandejediortpon.largeenoughfor~
ilyloedingtherilleasasingleshotBelowthe
loadingponisthenarrowmas,uineopening.
Then:isplcntyofreceiverwallleftoncither
sideoftheloadingandmagariJ,eopcningsto
lcavctherecei,.,,.rnorethan""""lyrigidto~
portafull-lloetedbarn:1. andstrongenoughfor
the rear locking lus system. The rear of the
receiver is macbined with a recess to fonn
shouldersforthelockinglugs.Thetopofthe
(AboYe)TheAnscn.11>.Moool1432DCIIIS$iein
~=~~has~~!;!
makesthis7.5-pculdrifleioeallorashorl-lo
mediun-ranO(tvanr.-.t rit',e. The ro-frilldassil':
,.,
slyledstodtismadeolEuropeanwalnut.

rtteivcrringandbridgearegroo,"(:(landalso
drillcdandtappedforscopemcvns.
Thcmainpartofthcbohisa1wo-pi<:<:e
arrnngement1helong.norMut11ingboltbody:
and1hcbolthandleslee,·ewilhitsintegral
lockinglugs.oneofwhichistheroo1ofthe
bohhandk.Thebottomfronthalfofthebolt
body is grooved to ride ovcrrhc magazine
lips.1eavingaridgcbe1,..•ccnthegroovesto
chaselhe1opcanridgefromthcmagazine
Thcfaccofthebollisrccessedapproximately
thclhicknessofthcrimofthcHornctcar-
tridge. although 1hc rimof1his recess is
machined off at the bonomtoallowthecar-
tridgerimtoslidcundcrtheexuactorhookon
bcingchambcrwfromthemagazilll?.Thcsin-
gleex1JactorisanarrowclawhookpoSitioned
inaslotcutintotherightsideofthebolthead
anditistensiooedandhcldinplacebya
spring-backed plunger.
Thc rear of the bolt body is turned to a
!imallerdiameterandonit the bolt handle
slee,-ei!ifinedandrotates.Thcroo1orbase
partofthebollhandleform.soneofthelock·
inglugs.andthcrettivcri!inotchedtoreccive
ir.Acur.'Cdsurfaccattheupperfrontcomer
oflhi!inotchscrvestoprovideini1ialex1f3C'I·
ingpowcrtotheboltontheupliflofthebolt
handle.To.wisiinthis.andtoholdthebolt
handledown.aspring-bacl:edplungerisfit-
tedin101hcfron1ofthcbolthaodlebaseto
bearagainSlthefrontsurfaceofthenotch
Onthcbonomrearofthesleeveislhcs«-
ondlockinglugthatfitsintoamalChingr=
inthereoei,...-.Thislughasalength,..illegroovc
cutinto~10allowi1topassoverthesear.To
cockthestriker.acamllOIChisna;hinedinto
thercaroflhcbolthandlcslccve.
Thcfiringandsafetymechanismwasthe
workofacleverperson-forme10describeit
isnighimpossible.butl wintry. Thcone-
piecestrikerwilhitsintcgralheadismachined
from Aatstockandisvcrylightinweight.
Thcrcisaslee\-..thatslidesO\crthestrikcrand
rcstsagainstlhcstrikcrhead:thisslccvehasa
proj<:<:tion on i~ the function of which I '-'ill
poin(OUl lalCJOO, Next comes the coil main-
162
springthatslipsO\-erthestrikerandagainslthe
slcevc.andlheriasmallcollarwhich.whenin
placcandgivenaquaner-rum.holdsthemain-
springoompressedonlhcstriker.
Thcrearendoftheboltbodyissloned.Thc
assembledstrikcrsl ipsintotheboh.thena1
strikcrhead1non,sintolhisslot.andthepro-
jcctiononlhcslce,·eprojectsup,..'3Jtlbchiod
thebolthaodlcslceve.Bchiodthebolthandlc
sleevecomesaspacerorcm-er.alhinpieccof
s1eeltubingsloneda11hcbot1omtofi1<"'cr
panofthestrikcrhead.
Thcnoomcsthcsafety.acomplexbi!of
metal.ltnotonlyscrvesasthesafetybutalso
se,vesastheco,·erforthcn:arcndofthebolt
to hold the boh assembly together. and il
servesasthebohlock.l1isrnadeofasingle
pitteofstcelsllapcdlikeacupwilhawing
projectingfromitlnsidethecupadividedcoJ.
!arhasbeettmachinedtoengageamatching
collarootheVeT}'endofthebolt.Thcupper
collarinsidelhccupconlaCtSlhcprojedionon
thestrikcrslee,-.,whenthesafctyisinplacc.
thus.ootheupliftofthebolthandlewhichwill
l.el(sldedlheAnschutzceot&Jfireaction&howinglheboltopenedandlhemagazinecletached.
8ofttravelisvervsho<1aodlherooldlhebolthandlese("8SB$l)nl.lollhelwolockingl.Jgs.Am,,,
pointstolhes«on<11ockinglugbelowlhebolthandle.
draw!hcstrikerback.thcs)ce,.-.,willmna;n
stationaryandthemainspringwill be fully
oompressed.lnsidelhccupthcreisalsoariv-
et·sh:lpedpieccofsteelandacoilspringtha1
servesasthccockingindicator.Whcnlhc
actioniscocked.thc!itrikerpushcstherivct
backsoitspolisbedstcrnprojectsthroogha
hok=inthen:arofthecup
Assemblcdonthebolt.thewingofthecup
safetyistowardsthekflandi1isdisengaged
whcnstraighttolhclefl. Pushinglhcwing
downasfarasitwi!lgo""3teSthecup,sothe
lowercollarinsideitengageswilhtheprojce-
tionontheheadofthestrikcrtolockthestrik-
crandtheboltatthesamc1ime.JuS1howall
lhisisdonclhavenotfigured001asyet.Any-
way.itisanarnmgcrnentofcollars.projec-
tionsandcammingsurfacesthatwOO:s. ln
additiontoallofthis.withtheboltremoved
fromthcrecei,·er.andwiththcbohhandle
sleevetumedtouncockthcstriker.thesafety
isthcn""3tcdcoumen:lockwiscabi1beyond
thcSafepositionandthesafetycanbe
removcdtodisasscmblethcbolr
Rceessedinaslotlhroughthelcftsideof
lhcreceiverwallisthebolt-s1op. This is a
simplcandsmallpartthatpiv01Sonapinand
istensioncdbyasmallcoilspring.wilhallof
itwithinthen::ceiverwalle...ceptthesem.ted
C'lld.whercbyitcanbe~leasedtowithdraw
tl.ebolt.Agroovealongthcleflsidcofthe
bohbodytoaccq:,tthefrontendoflhcbolt•
stopservesnotonlyasthestop.bu1alsoasa
guidctopreventtheboltbodyfrom""3ting.
ltisasimplearrnngcrnentandbencrthana
triggeractivatedbolt-stop.
ThcAnschutztjttlorisaseparatepartfil•
tedinsidethen::ceiverandhcldinp!accbythc
s=wwhicha!soholdsthemagazineclipand
magazineinplace.ThispartalsoSCT\"esto
pm'Cllttheboltbodyfromro131ing.

ThcAnschuiztriggerisoomJJrisedofthn:e
main pans: bracke1.1rigg,:randscar. These
partsaremountedmgeilieronthebonornof
thcrecci•"tT- lhereisoohousing.Thcbrack-
etisfasccnedtothereceivcrbyapinand
screw,and10jtispinncdthetrigger. Two
adjustmcntscrcwsan:fittedtothetrigger.one
inthcrcarwithacompanioncoilspringro
provideweighH1f-pulladjustmmt.andanoch-
crinfioottopn.widesear-<:ngagemcnt adjllSI-
mcnt. This screw and the "''eight-of-pull
springcontattsthebrackct. Thewcight-of-
pullscn:wcanalsoprovideovcr•lra\-eladjUSI-
111(!11iflhc1riggerisadjustedtoitshcaviesl
pull. which on my Ml432D Classic is 5+
pow,ds.lfadjustootoaligh1er,.-eigh1,then
thereii;ooo,·cr.ira,-elstop.lcanadjustthe
lriggeronmygw,toa,-erycrisp3.5pow,ds.
Thcsearispi\lOIOOonlhcsamepinlhatholds
thebracke1.andi1andthetriggeraresomade
wi1hascararrangcmcntso1hatwhenthc
TheAnsehulZ!r',gge<h.asa&ho<tcri&ptriggerpull.Shownherea ra:(A)adjus1mentscrewfor
seareogagemeotand{B)adjus1rnemscrewforwe'9htofpull
Top view of lhe Anschutz ac11on. A.Now
poin1s tolhebolt•stop
actKllliscocked.thelriggerholdstherearcnd
ofthcsearup.whichintumholdstheslriker
cocked.ltisagoodlriggcrbu1i1isno1meanc
tobetakcnapanasitisadjustedatthefactory
fortheshoncst.safcstpullpossiblc.Thcstock
must be removed if)'OII want m make a
wcight,of-pulladjustmcnt
Thctriggcrguardplateisinlettedflushinto
the~cornofthcSIOCk.Asmalls.:rewholdsit
inplocewhcnthebarrelandactionasscmbly
isremo,·ed. Twoguardscrewsgothrough
holcsineachcndofthisplatcandthroughthe
mock.threadintothebonomoftherecciver
andholdthcbam:landactioninthcstock.
Thefrumcndofthesholgun-sl}lledcrigger
guardisattachcdtothisplaiewithathreaded
studandnuc.whikthereartangcndofchc
1riggcrguardisinlettcdflushimothemock
andhcldinploce,.•ithawoodscn:w.Boththe
lriggerguardandpla1cares1cel.highlypol-
ishcdandblued.
Madeofshcetsteel.thcmagazinebo~ is
wclldcsignedandconstructed.Thcbonornof
thcbo~ iseasilyremovedbydepressingan
cxpoSedpanofawirespring.Atthefrontof
thebo!CAnschutzhasaddedaU-shapcdpi«c
ofsteeltonoion!yreinforccthemagarinebut
alsotos.erveasaguidetoholdthemagazine
intherifle.lnsidethemagarine!hereisafof.
lo"'-erwithanarmhingcdtoitandtotherear
ofthebox;acoilspringappliesupward1e1r
siootothefol~.Arowofholesoneach
sideoflhebo!Callowstheshootertocountthc
cartridgcsinside
Attachedtothebottomofthere«i,"tTwilh
screwsan:thetwopartswhichguideandhold
the magazine box in place. One pan is the
sheelmctalshellorguide.proper!yccntered
O>"tTthemagazincopcninginthere«iver-it
i,soshapedatthefrollltofitoverthcrein-
,-=rguidespocwcldedonthefrontof
themagazinebox.Thispmffl1Sthcmagazine
lrombeinginscnedincom:ctlyandpositivcly
holdsthemagazineinpropcralignmentwith
then,ceivcrandbolt lntheopenrearendof
this shell the magazine spring clip is posi-
-
lioncd. l1hasaSCTT11tedftngerpiec:ewhichpro.
jcctsbelowthestoxkandlriggerguardplare,o
thacthemagarinecanbeeasilyremovcd
ThcAnschulZ1432Classicrifleismarked
asfollows:S1ampedontopofUl<bam:lin
onclineis:
AnsduzMod. 1432Gal.22Homet
FOAFACTQRYU)A()SQNLY
Ontheleftsideofthen,cei,-eris
J. G. AnscllltzGrrbH IJmWesl GemlMly
Sielnc,N.Y.N.Y.
Thcsc,ia!numbcriss1ampedontheleft
sideofthereccivcrringandpartofthatnum-
bcron thebolt. Proofmarksareslampedon
thclcftsideofthebam:l~h.ru:eivcrring
and bolt.
163
 1--.111111....-,
Oiecktomakecenaintherifleisunloaded
byremovingthemagazineandopcningthe
0011. Remove the OOlt by depr=ing the OOlt-
stopon the left ofthe reoei,-er and pulLing the
"""~·
To dis.assemble the OOlt, grasp the 0011
bodyinonehandandrota!etheOOlt handle
clockwiseasfarasitwillgotounoockthe
striker. Nextswingthesafetydown as far
(oounterclockwise)asi1willgoandpullitoff
theOOltNowremovethecoverslc,:,.-e,striker
assemblyandtheOOhhandleslee, -e.The
mainspringandthestriker~-ecanthcnbe
n:moYedbydepres.$ingthelockslecveonthe
frontofthestrikcruntilitcanbetumed.tumil
onc-quanertum.andi1andthcmainspring
andstriker$lee',ccanberemoved.Reas9:m-
blcinreverseordcr
Ton:mo,•cthebarrelandactionassembly
fromthestock.proceedasfollows:RffilO\-e
magazineandopenorn:movetheOOh.Tum
outthewoodscn:wattherearofthetrigger
guard.can:fullyliflthen:arcndofthcguanl
fromtheinle!ting,andswingthctriggerguanl
countcrdockwise to expose the rearguard
screw.Tumootthisscrew.Next.tumootthe
fTOruguanlscrew,when:uponthebarrelcan
beliftcdpartlyoutofthestocktoallowitand
theactiontomovcforwardslightlytoallow
theentirewiittobeseparatedfromthestock.
lfyoowantton:movcthetriggerguanlplatc
fromtheStock,remcwethesmallscrewthatis
locatcdinfrontoftheuiggerguardandliflthe
plate out. The trigger guard OOw can be
rett10\'Cdfromthepla1cbytumingoffthcnu1
tha1holdsiton.Reasscmbleinll!verseordcr.
ThemagazincOOxshe!l,magazineclipand
theejcctorcanben:movedfromtheretti,-er
bytumingoutthetwQscn:"~atbodiend,;of
TheAnsmJIZ1432botlheadshowing:(A)el<1ractor,{8)boll•stopgroove,aod(C)grooves1o theshell.
clear magazine lips Verytight-fittingpinsareusedtoatt.lch
andholdthe0011-$10J>,uiggermech:mismand

-
barreltothereeeivcr.Unlnsaboolutclynec-
cssary, make no attempt 10 n:moYe these
pans,aodespeciallynotthebarrel.

lha,-ehadalongacquaiman=hipwiththe
22Hornetcanri~andlhaveownedand
usedanumberofrifles.bo(hOOltactionand
olhertypes,chamberedforthissmallcenter-
firecartridge.Bolt•actionHomctriflesthatJ
haYeusedincludelhe Savage Model 230,
Winches1crModels43.54,and70andacus-
tomrifleortwo,oneofwbichW3SaMode1
98Mauserthatloonvc:ncdintoa22Home1

(lefl)Close-upotlherearpar1otlhe 1432
bohshowing:(A)safetylboltcap,(B)cove,
st&eve, (C)groovedlocking!ug,(O)rootof
botthandlewhichtormslhesecondlocking
lug,end{E)cockingindicator

164
repeater using some Model 70 Winchester
Homc1parts.l'vehadaloloffunwiththcse
Hornets. II was most popular in the la1e
l930s,thmalmostdicdoutaftcrlhc222was
introducedinl9SO,butaftcrthemid-1970sit
hasgainedbackmuchofthatearlypopularity
lbclicvethismaybcbccallSethe Hornet is
oursmallestreloodable.rcadilya,·ailabie,
commercial rifle cartridge and, to prn:tice
cnergysa,·ingande<:onomy.shootershave
50Ughtoutthelittlecartridgc.
Whilelhadfunshoolinglhc:Homeibolt-
actionriflcs.l=..,,su.yedwiththiscaruidge
becausenoneoflherifleslusedw,:reasacru-
rateasldernanded.lbemostaccuratebolt·
aaionliometlknewaboutbelortgedlOafriend
""howould~pan"ilhilltwasatargetgrade
ModelS4Winchesrer.Havingn01ownedor
fuedaHooietbolt-acoo1riflesinceaboutl9SO,
lbelies'Cthata!longlasllha,:cariflethatwiU
mee1myaccuracydi:manm,andthatrifleismy
owncd.MOl'COver,itisbyfarthemosthand-
sorneandmostqu:,li1y.b.Jil122Hometthathas
ever graced my gun cabinet. 'The Kimber rifle
isooven:dinanotherch:lpler
There isooe featw-eoftheAnschutzcen-
terfire rifle tha1 I wish the Gennan maker
wouldchange,andth:itisthernethodtheyuse
10fitthebarn:ltothcreceiver.Thecros&-pin-
ningmcthodthatAnschutthasbcenusingfor
solQngatime,evenQntheirhighestpriced
targel rifles. must be good. When I remart:ed
1oafriend thatlhebarrel ofhisnew$800
Anschutzmatchriflehadthebarrelheldin
placewithooupleofpins.hedidn01bclieve
me. Ye1,everyAnschutttarge1 rifle1hat J
havesoenlCSCedwashighlyaccurateldollOI
know whether these rifles would be more
accwiite with the barrel threaded into the
re,:eiver,butlwouldfeelbetteriftheywould
_,,
usethisrnethodwhenmakingtheircenterfire
And, ofrourse, I'd like to see the bam:I
threaded imo the receiver. These changes
wouldaddlinlerosttotheriflebut inmy
opinion1heywouldmakeanalreadygood
actionabetteronc
l have mentioned before the me1hod
Anschutz uses to secure the barrel to the
receiver. WhatfewAnschuttO"Tiel"Sknow
andwhatlleamedlongafterlbccarneac•
quainted with Anschutz rifles was thal, bt,-
sides the two pins. the barn:l is shrink-fined.
resultinginanextmnelytightbarn:lfi1into
therecei,..,,.Onccthebarn:lisfur=lin10a
he3ted=eiveritisapermanentfit.lleamed
thisooedaywhen lattempted10remo-.'<=an
Anschutzbarn,landfoundthati1oouldootbc
""'""
lpaniculariylikethestockof myClassic
rifle.l1iscleanoflineandwithou!fiills.lbe

Arochuttl432DClasslc.lthaslhe""tightand
"~gtudisuibutionthatllike.andiflcanjudgc
its aci:wacy po1ential by lhc many Anschur,;
rnai:,;hrifleslhetargetshootersareusinginmy
area,myArochutZHomclriflewillbchigltly
~ firecanridgelwouldlikeloseelheaction
MOS1oflheweigh1ofmyrifleisinthebar·
l'Clandthatiswhcfelwantit, lbech:unberis
perfc,;1ini1,thetriggerpullisperfect.andthe
locktimeisveryfast.lfmyAnschutzHomet
isfedtherigh1bulletitcannothelpbutbc
However.sinccbeeominganowncrofa
KimberM82SpecialGrade22Homctriflc,
limjtcdtesting"ithfactoryloodedamnumi-
tionindicatesth:ititrnightbcmoreaccwiite
thanany22Homeiriflcthallha,:cever
TheactiQnusedfortheccmerfireriflesis
almost identical to the rimfire actiQn that
Anschutzhasbcenrnakingformanyyears.h
isatriedandh'UeperfonnerandAnschutz
getsthemostoutofit.Forusewithacentcr·
redcsignedabit.Forooething,lwouldlike
toseethegroo>'<=inthelo",e,-(orleft)locking
lugomined.Seooodly,lwou!dlikeamable
flatspoiprovidedunderthe=ei,·crringand
tangforaflatbcddingareaagainstthestock
Anarea•t, 1,.lin,:;hatoolhendswouldbcsuf-
ficient.Thisrouldeasilybedoncunderthe
receiverringbyasirnplechangcinthecon·
structionoftherecoillug-ndthatisby
rnakingitsimilartotheooeBro"Tiingusesin
theirBBRrifleasshov.Tiinano1herch:lpler
pistolgripoouldbemadeabit s!irnmer,but
Olherthanthatitisanidealstockforthisrifle.
There you have it-ne1,.t to the Kimber
MS2HometmyAnschutzrifleisoncoflhe
finest22Homc1caliberboll•actiQn,·annin1
andtargc1riflesyouwiUeverlayeyeson.
lbeAnschuttfinn is constantly making
changesinlheirlin,:ofriftes.Foraloogtime
theactionhasremainedmoreorlessconstan~
bulootso"iththestockandod>erfearures.ln
1994,theynolongcrliSleda 1~32D.Howev-
er,theyS1illrnakeriflesinlhe22Hometca!-
iberandinOlher22caliberssuchasthe222
and223.Theymostlikelywillcon1inucrnak-
ingtheirfintrifle5inlhesecalibersforalong
timetocome. lbeywillhavedilferentnum-
bers,ofcourse,anddilferentstocksthanon
theClassic.bu1 theactionwillmosllikely
rcmainthesame

LallAAvlewoflheAnsehulzClassicrille

~
AnldldZ M143211

--
· . : : · : l : r o ~ ~\tlrrnachnedstool,Wo(Mld,drlledandlappedlor
soopemounlS,separater9COilV,lbetweenDBrrelandreceivef.
Bott . . . . ···•Noo-rolatin9~.ooal~l_gs atrooron~bolthandlesleoM!.
Ignition . ~~ri<er,coil~,cocmgn:licatof,ood<SOO~ol
Wngsaletyooraarolboltlodlsstrike<andbolt
a..,,,.
Pillotal,rn,;u,tOOinleftreoeive<wall
Sta\iona.ry,moo.ntedonabloci<insidelhereceive<.
Single-stage.~lortak..upand~olpul
Singla-coumdelachableboxm.,gazine.

165
RJ. BLANK OF Jackson, Michigan, is a
skilledandexpcricocedtoolanddiemaker.
Heisalsoatalentedfireannsdesignerand
custom rifle builder.as witnessN;I by the rifle
ilh1s1ratcdhcn:.Thisfinehigh•po"-eredbol1-
ac1ionrifleisjustoneofanumberofsimilar
onesthathehasbuilt.!haveexamincd1wo
ofhisrifles,andtheywen:tn.ilyfinesponing
armsine-.erydetail.
lwasunabletogctmuchfirsi-handinfor•
mation from John Blank himself, either
about him or his rifle-he evidently is a
modest individual. Being a machinist and
working ,n a place where metal working
machines were available for his use, and
beinginteres1edinhigh•poweredrifles,he
thoughthecoolddcsignandbuildariflethat
wouldbesupcriortoanythingthathecoold
buy.Andthisisel<actlywhathedid.Hebui\t
his fil"Sl Blank Sponer$001etimcduringthe
t950s.ltwasasuccess.Thatspurm:lhimon
1omakcrnore,witheachoneaniniprove-
TheJohnBlallktumboUaction. Threeguartlscraws(lwointrigoerguartlatraarofrTl!lgaiine
andonelnlrontof magaiine) hold the actiooand barrffi inlhes!ock. lt ha$atar,gsafety,
adjustabtetrigge,andinsioe-the-stocicmagazinabox.ltisaverystrongaodsafesciioo,
made entirety of modem steels
166
mcnto,·erthcpreviousone, and different
fromitinvariousways.lnsuccee<Jingyears.
hebuilttwen1y,one,someforhimsclf.some
forothers.Oncofhisrifleswasbuiltforfrcd
Huming1on,founderofthcRCBSreloading
toolfinn.Thelastriflehebui\twasin1968,
and since that time he has done no gun-
smithingorriflcbuilding. Forlackoftimc
andfmanccs,hewasneitherable1opromote
hisncwriflcoraction,ortocommercially
produa,i1himself. The Blank rifle shown
hercisdatedl963andbearstheserialnum•
ber 116, which was the sixteenth rifle he
made.
Theheanofanyriflcisitsaction.andthat
isthepanoftheriflcmos1everyriflemanis
mostinteres1cdin.ThcBlankac1ionisnot
onlymadewithnieticulouscare.bu1e,·en
moreimponam,thedesignisgood- itwas
wells1udiedand thoughtoul. lthassome
standardandtime-honoredfcaturesasfound
in some of the best 1umbohactions ever
madc,plusafewnewandcxccllen1fea1urcs
ofitsown,whichall together make fora
veryexeellentaciionforahighpoweredcar-
tridge
The Blank action isallsteel.Allofthe
imponant pam are machined from solid
stockofthehighestqualitysie<,l\Vherenec-
essary.thepansarepropcrlyheat-treatcdfor
durability.strength.safe1y.rcsistanccto
wur.andsmoothnessoffunctioningand
opera1ion.Allpartsareprecisclyfi11cd
The recciverappcarstohavcbeen
machincdfrornasinglcblockofsteel.his
roundexcep1forthcheavyrecoillugonits
forwardcnd,alugsimilartothatonthe
Mode170Winchcster.Thebam:lis~adcd
intothcrecei,·erring,andiisbreechendis
flat. All the many machine opera1ions that
hadtobepcrformedonandinthereceiver.
suchasthcboltandlockinglugraceways,
locking shoulder recesses. magazine and
loodingponopenings.andscarrauway,all
areprecisclydonc.Thebolt-stop(ofthepiv-
otalMannlicher-Schocnauertype)isncatly
fittcdinaslorintherearleflofthereceiver
bridge.Tbcbohisstoppcdonitsrearward
mwel when thelefl{ortop) locking lug
strikcsthebolt-siop.Therecci,-erisdrilled
andtappcdforscopcmounts
Tliebol1alsoappears1obemachined
fromasinglepieceofsteel.althoughthebolt
handlcmayhavcbecnweldcdon.hhasdual
opposedforwardlockingtugswhichengage
bchindsolidlockingshouldersinthereceiv-
crring.Thebolthandlerootscrvcsasthe
third,orsafety,lockinglug,forwilhthebolt
(Above)John8lank'stinecustom-buil1bolt-
actionsportingrille.Thisparticularone,
whiclthebuiltin1963,ischambered1orlhe
7mm Magnum cartridge. With 24"banel and
Clarowaln\llstock,thisril\eweighslust7•1,
pounc!s. lthilsafou,-shorhldoenmaoazine
(Righi) Top view of the acHon with boll

"""""·
clos.editfitsimoaootchinlhcrecei\"l,r. lllc
boltfaceisreccsscdtoencloscthecartndge
head.F;ne<lintheboltheadan:theextractor
and1heejector:theex1ractorbcingofthc
ph·otl>ooktypc.andthcejectoraspring
backcdplungcr
Thebol1isdrillcdftomthereartoacccp1
lhcbohslecveandfiringmechanism.Aone-
piecestrikcr•firingpinisbackcdbyastilT
coilmainspring.Thefiringmechanismparts
aresimpleandsturdy,locklimcisveryfast.
andignitionpositive.Thestrikeriscocke<I
upon 1he up1um of the bolt handle. The
uptumalsoprovidesinitialextractioocam-
mingpowerasthcroo1ofthehandlepa.sses
overaninclincdsurfaceon1herearof1he
receiver bridge. The bolt handle is of low
profilesothatitwillcleartheeycpiece ofa
low-mountcds,;ope;nodclailisoverlooke<I
Thettiggcrmcchanismissecurelypinned
tolhcbo1tomof1herccci,·cr.lthasacrisp
single-s1agcpullandisadjus1ablcforwcight
of pull and over-travel. The adjustment
srn::wsareaccessiblcfromabovcinthetang.
Therearscrcwisthetrigger-s1oporo,·er-
tra,·el adjustment; 1he forward o~ the
we1gh1ofpulladjus1mcn1.The1riggcriswell
clll'Vfflandw.,llplacedinthe,.,aroflhctrig-
gcrguard.
Asliding-iypesafctyislocatcda1therear
of1he1anginusyreachof1hesl>oo1er·s
thumb. Engaged. it locks the trigger.sear
andbolt.and itiscon,·c-nicn11oop,:rate.pos-
i1i,·c.andsilent.
ThcBlankriflefea1urcs a MauscMypc
167
 --- . t~
.. .. . ..........690"
.. 4.250"

Thebolto11h8JohnBlankriflehasa
reoassedfaceandsoliddual-owosedloclc·
inglug&.
~ ·::·::5~5r2a.1~~=~
Extraclor
--
. ... .~~hatlcleservesassafelylug.

staggered..::olumn nondetachable box maga-

zine, ,,,iththemagazineboxmadeofheavy
~steel.Thefollowcrismilled.Blankhas
madcsomcofhisrifleswithahiddenmaga-
iine, as in thc rifleillustrated here. ln this
case, themagazir,e box is inlened in rothe
stockandthe!l'isnofloorplate,justascpa-
ratetriggerguardWithothen,heemployed
-~
.....
t~..,,,....
Ejector . .
Trigger ... .

Blank made may also vary. On the rifle

aconventional1riggerguanllmagaiineplate
with a quick-release hinged floorplaie . ln
bothcases.thebarrelcd-actionishdd;n1he
stockbythreeguardscrews;oneup front
andrwoforthetriwrguard,justaswiththc
Modcl 70Winchester
No doubt there were numerous med1ani-
cal variations in 1he twcn1y-one ac1ions 1ha1
Blankmadc. withfeatun:stltatdifferslight-
ly indct.ailfromtheactiondescrib«lhere
Perhaps hcmadcsomeactionsshorterthan
others,andperhapi;witha slightlydifferent
trisger,safery,ctc . lamsurethatallof
them were as trim in outline as the one
shown here. smooth in operation. very
runc1ional.andverystrongandsafo. lam
a!so sure!hatallwereequallywell made
andfinished;v.ithnomachincmarl<s show-
insandthemetalsurfacesl evelandvery
smooth .
lbemart:ingsofthetwrnty,onerincsthat
168
shown here. the markings arc as follows
Stamp«lonthclct'tsideofthert-CCiver is:
MADE BY R.J. BLANK
JACKSON. MICHIGAN 1963
Thescrialnumberisalsostampedonthc
rcceiver(Nurnberingwasstanedwith ~101).
and1hecaliberstamp«lonthebarrclbreech.
Blankprobablyuscdbarrelsfrorndiffer-
entmakers,bu1thcbarrclonthcriflesbown
herewasmadcbyHushWincland.ofWest
Unity,Ohio.Blankalsouscdagoodgradeof
walnuttornakethestocksforhis rifles and
madchisstocksalongtbeclas.$icGriffin&
Howe style. On the rifle shown here. the
~ockworkis asgoodashismC"talwork.
I have no idea what Blank charged for
makingone ofhisfine rifles.orwha1one
mishlbeworthtoday.Scriouseollccmnof
classiccustombuiltrumboltmaga.:inerifles
willsurclybecomeintcrcstedintheBlank
rifle.butthey,.·illalsosurelyfinditalrnost
impossible to find. let alone acquire. Bul
un!ikesirni!arsponingriflesmadeby50nle
oflhe wd!-known custom gunsmiths such as
Hoffman and Griffin & Howe who used
ac1ionsbuiltbyothers.JohnBlankbuilthis
riflesora.ctionswhichhcdesisn,edandmade
himself-an action which isc,·ery bit as
good or better than any of the rumbolt
actionsthatthcseOlbergunsmithsuscd.This
rnakcstheBlankrifleunique.
As few innumberastheseBlankrifles
arc.mostofthernwillbearoundforalons
1ime. Mosioftheirprcsemownersrcali~
thatthcyhaveararcbrcedandathoroush-
brcd.andwiUsce1oit1ha1thcrifleistaken
care of. Butastirnepasses.therifleswill
passontodiffercntowners.fifiyormorc
ycarshcnce.gunwritersandannshistori-
answill cenainlyrcceivc inquiries about
rifles marked. MR.J. Bl a nk, J AC KSO N.
i\ll C HI GAN~- this book in their library
will give them lhc infonnation they will
"""·
A FTER I HADordcml a Blaser rifle
throughmydealerandw1itedtwomon1hs
forsomewonlaboutit.lcalledtheirnpoftcr
andpoli1dyaskedabo\Ui1.
'"Oh.tthcanswered,"lhan)'<JOU"order
nght~.YouonlcredoneBlascrModel
R84.ttThcnhl:informodrn:tt..thettrould
beafewwttksmoredelayandthenyour
"B~willbe~.lhsvoi,c,cJOUnded115
,fhl:wasGermanors,.u,.Thc .. A.. 1spro-
llOIUl«'d111in .. AhHa".Sonowyoutnow
how they pronounce the name of this-a
mos1in1CTCSlingand1rulydiffcrcn11umbolt
rq,eatin3rifle
Markedontheright sideofthcbam:I
01cnsiononthisrillcisthefollowing:
-73
Model R84 Made In Germany
On the left side of the rc«wcr 1s marli:ed
the caliber. "Caution? Read manual before
usc!"'.andbclowtha1Gcrmanproofuwb
On thetoprcarendofthercceivcr, the mod·
cl number and the serial number lj)pcars
apin.
lnthubool<.therearefivcbolHction
nllesdescribcdha,'lngt\OlJ1)1CC'CilOCks.and
they are the Bl.Iser. Lce,Enficld, M98/40.
MJ.6 MAS and the Omega. Tone an- t""O
nflcsdcscribedwhicharctakcdo,,-ns.and
thcyarctheBlasc:randthcOriginal~,on
Thc Blaser is a 1akedown rifle. which
mcansthatthebam:lcanbc:cuily,icparated
fromthercstoftheriflc.WiththeBlaser.it
isonlynccessary10looscn1singlcscn,wto
takcitOO\\n.Totaketheriflc00\\'11.thcfol-
io,.,ngmUSlbedone.andwbenllkcndov>n
thcrillcissepara1cdon1ofourpartt:namely
thebaml.boltwcmbly.SIOCkandrecciVtt.
andmagarine.Thcboll1$Semblycv,nesolT
lirst.whichiseasy10do.Ne~t.onescrcwis
loosencdandthebmelanditsban-clextcn--
1iooslipsoffthercceivcr.towhichthestock
andforcarrnarcattachcd.Then.1umthc
rc«h·crs1ockassc:mblyovcrand1hcmag1•
zinedroptout.lfthcriflehasa23"bam:l.i1
and the barrel extension ha,·c a length of
2J.S",andifthereisascopemoun1edonthc
baml.the10tallcngthmayrunupto11x
1nchcsmore.Thcrccci,·cr...,;iil0Ckaucm-
...
blyi1abou128.5"inlcngthsolha1.takcn
OOV>·n.thcnflcwillfitintoacascabout32"'
l amnotatallkttnabouttakcdownnflcs.
ande1pec1allynothighpowcrcdoncs,1nd
whilcldonotncccssarilybclievethatthis
riflcwascspc:ciallydesigncdtobcatako-
down. i1 wu jUSI a na1ural ou1comc m the
dc$ign, "= i1 I takcdo,,'TI rifle ... ~ the
br«chin&l)'IICmlSIIOllff«ledbyconstant·
lybe1111Wcndov111.aproblcmtha1was
comm(Jn,.·,thtakedownriflcsofthcp1151.
There 11 oothma to ""Caf out and IOOKn
bccau$elhobrcechboltwilhiisthm:lock•
inglugslocksthebrccchblockasscmblyto
thebam:l.Uniqucisthewordforitbccausc:
itiscntirclyunlikeanytumbohriflcactionl
haV(:cvcrsc,,:n.lllcrcisonlyoncriflcinlhi1
book•.-.ihiuchanentirclydiffercn1ac1,on
thallamat1compklclossas"·hattocall1t.
andlhatnllc,sthcBlaser.Andham111dif.
fcrcntaction.,talsohasmanykaturanot
foundinanyorallthenflcshcrc,n
described.
Aswcsha11Jccla1cron.thisriflci1nota
toyishdesignc<Joramateurishmanufacturcd
onc.bu1anhoncs1-10-SoS1thc-man"shuntin11
rifle.Thconlyrcuonlboughtthisnflcwu
,olhallcouldincllldeitinthisbook.Tobc
llff.it111one-of-kindriflc11S)'OUWill1tt.
--
I do not know,.·hodesigncdit,orifit ,,
patented.or when ,twas first made.All I
tnowabow1t1S1nlhorillcitself.
Thcl9941itcra1urclrcceivedonlhisriflo.
bcforcordcrin11onc.bstcdthcR84asbcin11
l\'ailablcinscvcralgradcsandcachonc
morecxpensivcthantheother
ThcModclR84waslos1edasbein3madc
,nfounCfflulibcrs.andthc:yan-22-250.
243 Win .• 6mm Rem .• 25-06. 270 Win .• 280
Rem., 30-06. 2S7 Weatherby Mag .• 264
Win. Mag.. 7mm Rem. Mq .• }00 Win.
Mag .• lOOWcathcrby Mag..338 Win.~
and 375 H&H. &ml length: 23" for stan·
dard calibers and 24" for magnum calibers;
approximate weigh! ,.,thfCOpC mounts 1.2S
lbs. Stock: the two-piece stock isTurl<ish
walnut.finishedon01l.hand-cu1checkcnna
andfincdwitharccoilpadandpistolgrip
__
cap:sa.,pcmountS:thenflc,sfumishcdwith
a mounted scope mounl base and one inch
nngs with mount base .itachcd to ban'el
,..
ntcnSion.Riflci11>111lablc,nc1the,-ngh1-
or left-hand models. Avait.ble in three
grailes:Standanl.lkluxeandSuper~hue.
MyBlaserriflci1theModclR84.andit
willbctheoncl w1lldescribc1nasmuch
detailaspo6Siblc"11houloomplctclydisllS-
s,:mbling thc bol1 and lliggcr asscmbhcs.
Tba!hinderedmc:a,atly.andwhalcauscd
mctoabandonan-,:dcu,ileddc$cnpoon
was that "·hotvtl' UKmbled it for the final
time at the flCIO<y mUSI s.urcly have used
Lock-ti1eonlhc:screwsandtightcncdth.cm.
so1hatlfoulld11allbut1mpossiblctoloosen
(Ab<Ml)n..BI.-R&4.~inGennany.
lhl$rillaialhloonlymodemtakedoown
dNcribedinttliabook.Charnberedtora'Mlle
number of Amt,r1can and European c.r•
tridgeslrom1he223~I01hemt,g-
nums.n-..rfllewilapptall01tio$ewhowant
ariflewhichcanbapacked inasmalspaoe,
169
 The81aseffl8'actionopen.Thebreechb10ck~.,_ontwo,..
manyofthem.Tiierefon:.myadvicct0own--
CTSOf1hisrifleisifanypMinthebol1and
trigg,:r m«hanlsm n«ds t0 be ri,p;ii~ or
replaced !hat !he rifle be shippN back 10 the
factocyinGmnany.
The m:c"·c,-11 madeofam:raft1lu-
minum. The uposed part of the m:c1>·,:r
between the s1ock and forearm 111pproxi-
m111ely4.12"1ong,and1hisan:ais,~nea1-
lycngravcd.Thccn11ravingisdon<:on
sc-parate1hinpla1csm:essedin1otherccc1v-
,:rsidcsandprobablyan:ccmentedinplacc.
8«1use they 11\'Kpal'atC pla1cs. l would
Judgclhatthey..:madeofaS1ainkss11ei:I.
h,smaderound1t1hebonom.anda1bolh
endsarc1ang-likcpro;ections"hith,w~
theactiooi1st0cked.arehiddcn.A1hrough
bol1inthebuns1ockfastensthestockt0the
m:ci,·er.A1thefroot.aroundalumimunrod
fas1enedt0thercce1v,:rbc(,omcsthefOl'l'-
armhang,:r.M0110fthefom1m1channcl11
dttplyroutedout"i1htheu«peionofan
ueaatlhefi-on1endof1hisrod."1Mrcthe
rodfi1Ssnuglyinto1hole.anda"·ashcrand
screw threaded inro this rod anchor, 1hc
foreannt0thercce1V(:r.Thcfatto<ydcscrip-
tionstates1ha11heforeannisfree-noated.
and so it is. except th.at on my nnc as I
!Omveditar,,-om,;1,arcaonlherigNPde
ofthctipbcaffllhea,·,tyapinstthebarrel.l
<:On'C<:tcd1h11bysandingthisarcadow11.
Bu1thebuns.ockandforeannca.n~1wi11
orshifl.
Thcupprrsurfaccofthercceiv~isprc-
ciKlymachincd1Uen11r\'lmg1h.Muchof1t
islta1.Howev~.thercarewal111tbolh
sidcs.walls,.·h1chwilloon1ain.guidcand
hold the iwo (Pl>de raol1ofthe boltlSSffllbly.
Thesegu1desutcnd1hefulllcng1hofthe
Thchammcr-forgcdsportcrcightbam:lis
sccurclylhreadedintoabam:lextcnsion.
This par, is made ofslttl and rlays an
170
,mponam p;ir1101h,sac1ion. Th,sheav,ly
constructedpanisabouttwoincheslongand
ismorcorlelSOCtaJIOllinshapc;thcfront
end for the barn-I and the rear md is
machincd1oexcq,ttheboll headwi1hits
tlli'ttlock,na lugs. Th,spar1 ,sdnllcdand
tappcd(11neholcs)fortheonc-pioc:ef<>Ol>O
mo,m1btio.
At the bol1om, lhis monoblock is
machined across its center lo fonn1 recoil
lug and inlo whkh 1he lakcdown SCr\'W
tlireads. Likew1$C. bUI in ri,vcrtc. the top
front of the m:e,vcr is made 10 pm:1sc:ly
K«p1thebonomofthcbam:lex1cnsion.
andwiththetakcdownscrcwtigluened.the
bam:lcannotsh1flforwardorbackward,and
canoot1wis1orshiftfromsidc1osidce.hisa
finnandsolidjoint
Thcboltassembly(lthinknouahltobe
calledlhetnc,;hblocl<assembly)halanalu-
mm..n shell ,.tu.ch houtes the boll and f111n&
rntthanism.andtowhich isanxhedstttl
g,,tdcrail,;on,::oncac:hsidcandanachedby
foursmall!IC!'CWS.Ontheinsidcsurfacc.thcsie
railscxtcndforwardoftheshell4.5mchcs
withlhcseutcruionlg:roow:lontheinside.
lnadditiontotheothcrmachino"-ortdoncto
lhcupp,:rsmfaccofthelUffi-er.four~
tionsha,-ebe,:n ld'l.iwonearlhefi'ontcndof
therctt1,-erand1WOatthemir.llocKJ1rOjt'C-
oons..:abot.H .. u-.:hinlengt:hand,:achon,::
hasaridge1hesamcsizcasthcgroo,:esinthe
longguiderails.and1heyan:placedJOtha!
lheyhoktlherailsclosctothen:,ceivct"walls.
So""cllplacedarethey.lhatwhcnthebolt
auemblyisinplx,,.ilslidc:sopcnsnddoscd
socasilyandsrnoochlyv.ithout1hm1ofbond--
ingornoi11e.Bestdes."'henthcaruon11opcn
withthcboltastcn1blybacked1w11yfrornlhe
rcccivcr.then:i1hanllyahin1ofcndplay.
Whcnthcactionisclosed.thcrailscxtcnd
almost all the wayintothcforeann bam:l
channel.
Hcldsecun:ly msidc the boh assembly
shellinsquarestttlshclltowhichlhclock-
ingbohis fitlcd.Thisbolthas1roundbody
wh,chcxlendsforwardofthishousmgabout
.f1S~.and11hll1lnec.=ly~andsol-
id lock1ng lugs up front. "·h1ch. v.·hcn the
ac:uoni1closedandthcbolthandlcdown.
cngageahcadofheavysupportshouldcr
inside the barrel c~tension. Thc ri,sult is a
verysuoo11bre«hing.probablya,strongu
thatofochertumboltrincs.
Thcboltitabout3.5incheslona,andlhe
rearpa,1of11,scloselyfincd,n1otheS1ttl
hous,ngwlw:re1111~insomcmanner
that11canootrr.:wefor.,.-ardorbackand11111
berowcd.Tolherearo:ndoftheboltbody
thebohhandlci!ialtachedbysomcmeans!O
1hatthcbol1canbero1a1cdand1hebolt
assemblylockedandunlocked.Aslociscu1
1hrough !he aluminum hous,na tolCcq:,I the
bolthandlc:bueandtoallowittonJWCthc
60dtgreesnttdtdtounlockandlockthc
"""Somewhen: ms,dc the boh 111he finng
pin{stnkcr),coilm.ainspring,cockingcam
notch and cocking pi«c. This las! part
extcndsdownintoasloc1hrou11h1he1lu-
minumbolthousingfarcnough1ocngagc
thescar.,henthebolt,scloscd.Asmall
pro,ce1t0nontheri,arofthecock,1111pocce
projce11ngthroughaholci111hercarofthe
bohas.scmblyhousingscr.·csas1cocking
indicator.
"Thc:Blascrsafctyissubstantilll.ltisfincd
,mo the riaht rearofthcbolt-,nblyhous-
ing wherc 11 ~ with thccock1ngcam.
..,thbothmachinedsothatonsw,na,n&lhe
5afcty10thercar1tdn.wsthefiringp,ninto
the face of the bol1 and locks it there. A
mightsoundsafcly.lwouldS,11y.
lnal>Olelong:itOOinallyinthclcflsideof
thebol1asscmblyhousing.1hercisaspring
tcnsioncdplunser·••hithiithebolthandlc

lock.Whcntheactioni1cloKd.thisplungcr
i1pushedbockintotheboltasscmblyshell
andthebohiswtlockcd.anditC1>tberaised
andlo,.:crcd.Justusoonutheuscmbly
mova bock, lhi• plwi1cr cxtmd$ forward IO
lockthehandleJOthalllcannotbelov,-c-mi
Toquick.lymno-.·cthebol1-.-blyfrorn
theaction.itisnecnwywlowcrthebolt
whcntheactionisopen,and1nlhisasethe
lockplungcrcanbepwhcdordcprcssed
withallngertoallow11>eh.ondk10below·
""·Thebre«hfaecoftheba~lisOatasis
thefaccoftheboh.l lowevc-r.1hefa~of
theboltisr«essedforthecartridgchead.
andwhentheac1ion is closed and locked
thecartridgehead1sm1ged..-,thstccl.Asin
many other 1umboh KIIOfll <.kll'mbed in
th,sbook.1hecjector11aspnng-backed
plunger positiomd 1n the edge of this
receu. Also.Hin 1hc Savage MIIOC.
Browning BBR and Winehe11cr Post- '64
M70,thecxtrac1orlicsOushinamonisein
oncofthelockinglugsandlikctheOlhcrsis
spring tensioned. I am not especially fond
of this 1ypc, ofextrxtor. but oflhe three
other riOcs men1iolled. l believe the Blaser
hasthebt$1one.
As mentioned carher. I d1d not mnovc
thetnggcrm«hamsm for reasons stated
llov,-c,'C'r,lknowfairlywellitsmake-up.lt
1t. lbelieve.inwhiehthetriggcrpansarc
housed inan aluminum shell which isin
tum ao integral panofthc1riggerguard
Theuppc-rpa,1oflhistriggcrsuardllts,-cry
closclyin1oarec~inthet,onomof1he
recewcr.Soelose.infa,et.thatitmightbe
diff"ic11h IO mno,·c it. Like the mucn in
manyoflhcmodcmnflcs,11~pNC5of•
,car,lriggcr,andlhcnecasuypins.springs
andKrCWS.Thescuispivot<:datthe>'Cr}'
1opandhasaprojcc1iooupfron11ha1
cxtcndsupwardthroughtholcinthetopof
therecdvcrhighcnoughlOcngagcv.ilhthe
eockingeam intheboh.Belowthissc,aris
1hetri1111crmadcso1hatitsuppc,rcndwlll
cnpgcwilhasimilarswfa.cconthebottom
of1hesc:ar. ltfune1ionslikcothc-r1riggcn
do.thati1,whcntheac1ionisclo$cdandthe
magcrhookthesearup.thesearholdsthe
cocking eam and firing pin cocked until
n:leasedbypullu,gthetrigger.TI11s1ngger
eanbeadjus1cdforwcigh1ofpull.Socthe
i11S1ruc1ionsla1cron
Thcmagazincis aheavyaluminumt>o~
lhatfil!n1thcr~lyinarccessin1he1lu•
minum reccivcr. With a bam:I and boll
assembly removed from thes1oek. n will
ik'Dpinwplac,,.ltisasingle-c:olWMmap-
zinchoklingtwocartridgcs.andwnhacar-
uidp111thcehambertheriflc1s1duft..shol
rq,ca1tr.Myn0cischambercdforthe22·
2S0andthcmagazincillmadeacron:lm&IY,
and I do not know if maga:i:incs made for
longcrcMtridgcsarcdiff=tfrommymag•
azinc. Anyway. my magazine has a grooved
spring-tensioned follower and an unusual
arT'ln&cmcmtoholdthecanridgcsin the
magaz,ncand10guidcthemstraighl1n10the
chamber.Th11arnngcmcn1cons1mof1
rv.-o-lipp<:dspnng-cmsiontdgadgclncarthe
fionl of the mapz,nc boll which cu, mo,,c
upanddown1nckp(ndrntlyfromlhcfollow•
er. Wh<:n aeannd~ is pressed 1nto1he
chambcr.1heshouldcnofi1sp,-cadoutlhe
lip•IOholdtheeanridgcinpla.cc.Thesc lips
holdandJlllidethecartridgcin1otheeham-
bcrunulthec•nridgchasm<»-edforward
beyondthebps.hissonofcle,·cr.
TheBlascriutakcdo,.-nriOcw1tha,·cry
wt,quc.flmpleandsc:nsiblcdcsi&n.llprob-
1blycamclbout 1nthat!hcdnigncrwan1cd
a riOc which will .,;ccpl 1n1crchan&cably
other caliber barrels. maga:dncs and bolt
Thisphololhows1he81ase<
bteechblod<,1htltworailson
whlch~fflOlltll.and1heboll
headwilhllslhreelocklng
lugs. •~1,actor, ejedor end
setety.
asscmblicsinaddnionto1heoncsfumished
with the rifle. Forcumple.myBlaserriflc
isa22-2SO.andiflsoehooscloouldonlcr
a diffcrcnt calibcrofthoscsunablcforth11
riflcandmap2in<'.orc,·cn1boltasscmbly.
lfl,.,,rncda 7mm.08calibcr, lwouldordcr
1~l1ntha1calibc:randw,lhit,."0Uld
come the corTCCt map,:inc. Then. ,f I
mscalled1SCOJJeonthebert'elandsightro-in
thcriOcus1ng11.leould1wi1ehfiomthe22,
2S0tothc7mm.0811wi11andbeq11itccer-
!ain \hat 1hc 7.Cro would Slay the same.
Lastly,supposcl lostthcsigh1ofmyrighl
cyc.lrouldordC'r•kO•handcdbolt-
blyandcvcryth1ngWl')Uldlltproperlytothe
Tbctroublew1thalloflhisistha1fcw
nOcmcn or hun1cn woold use any of the
abo\-caeccssoncs.""'-IIOOftcnhappcnsil
tha1ihshooo:rhas1Blascru,onecaliber
ofhisorhcnllrstehol(;c.andlhcnthcydo
~1anothcrbarrclforanothercaliber.they
usually wind up with an cxtn barrel and
magaxincthcyscldomifc,·c-rusc. lfthcn,
has10bcancx1raboltasscmblybcsides10
aff«taehanse.andiflhcyh"'-cconsidcrcd
thc1ocalrostof1chlngc1ncalibm..thcy
w,llsurclywiMltheyhadpul'l'hascdan
cntin: new rifle ins1cad. I have w,mcssed
thisoftcn.anduusuallycndsuptheextra
barrels mnaining in the pn cabinet never IO
beuscd.Tbcwholcidcaofltakcdowngun
sounds migh1y 11ood especially 10 the
younsershoo1crsandhun1crs.butusold•
timers and c~pcricne<:d nOcmm know it just
ain'tw.
Anyway.lhcprottdun:IOtakctheBlascr
riflcdov.-n11quncs,mplc.lllnditbt$110
mno>-cthcboltasxmblyf,rs1.lhcnthelm•
rel and then the mapz,n<'. To mnovc the
t>olt:mcmbly.mcn:lyopcnlhcaclionpan
way. then by dcprcu,ng the t,olt lock
plunger on the left fronlcndofthet>olt.kw-~
171
Angled view of tile Bluer
recelY&I. Arrowpointsto1118
sear.Thlsparta!soHIYHH
tll8boll·S1op.
erthc:bolthandle,afkrv.hi<:hthc:as.,ernbly
canbeslidbackofftheremver.Thmwith
thc:pr,:,perAllmv.-h,rum~thelake-
do,,,,a,cm,oundertheaction11111ili!11loose
(11 will n01 fall out) and lift the baml from
thc:action.Aflerthc~landboltwembly
mrtm0\.·cd,tipthc:S1ocko,·erandthc:mag-
a>:inewilldropou1.Rc=blcinrcverse
order.lnthc:replacingofthc:bol!asscmbly.
inK11thc:cndsofthc:,.ilslowinthc:grooves
in which they slide while holdin& 1M rear
end of thc: wembly (";C'Jltcml and low 0\.-er
the comb wilhin JI,~~ or JO from IOOChina;.
Theassm,blyshouldlhm1hdcfrcclyfor-
"'-.rd- Now, if the bolt handle ha$ been
,.1SN.loweritsothatthebohasscmbly
-·
stidcsov,:rthc sear, aft,:rwhich raise the
handle10fullcockandlhcboltwill sli<k
Thm:11onlyoneadjusunent1vailableoo
theBlaseraiggcrandthat,slhcadjuwnem
forv.l'lghtofpull. When I received my
R84,Jcouldn01havcaskedfor1betterlrig-
acr1nditnecdednofurtheradJ11S1mcnt
llowever,1omakcfunheradJUStmrntpro-
c«d u follows: Take down thc rine u dc-
Kribed abovc. ln thc boc1om o;cnt,:r of1hc
magazine cavity there is a Krew. This
Kll'W holds• cover pla1c down. Remo•·c
theserewandtheooverplatctouposc:dthc:
wc1&htofpulladjustmrnt5CTCW. U1i11J1a
11n11ll-wdriver,tumth111<=rcwclock-
w,sc10,ncrease"''eightofpull.ooun1er-
clockwis.etodccrcucit.Youeandclcrmine
1fyouha,·cover-donetheadju1ting.orif
youhavcimprovedit,byprcUm&dov,non
thesearwithyourthumbandsqucc~ingthc
172
aigg,:r.Thesa,isthe5m3.IJ$1cclprojcclion
abcwcthc'°"ofthercarcndofthem:c,vn.
ThispartabolCn'ClUihcbolt-stop. When
youhavelin,Jhed,rcasscmblctheiunand
1CS1thctriggcr.Dothisbysnwtlydos1ni
-
theK1ionJcveral1imes,andifthc$Ulkcr
fallse-.·cnonceyoubadbe11nincrcase1he
W('ightofpull.
Thehtcratun=thatcarnewi1hmyBlaser
R84sta1cslhallhcri ncisfumishtdw1th 1
top 500p< mount lltaehed, and that the
mounc i1 Identified IS a Blaser. My nflc
came with a mount l ttaehcd along w,th I
pair of one inch rings. PC!bapsthemounlli
onocuscdonlh11rifkwercBlaserrnoun11,
but on my nnc the mount base and the ring1
looked co me all the world like Redfield
pr0d,,cts.Rcaardle$$.thc:ooe-piecc:bascwas
sccun:lyanachcdbythrccscrcwstothc:bar-
,dnlc:nSKln,..,thoneendprojcctu,jibcymd
lhc~of11by1bout.750".Almostallof
Redlicldonc-p1(ttbascsaremadccsotha1
theoppos,na;sa-ewsern0ngocsiothe~.
but on the mount base made for the Blaser
thiss«11onilur,lron1.Thishldtobctogc1
lhcscopc:ulowaspo$Sihlc,andllindn01h,
ingwrongwiththc:basclittcdonbackward
1othel1$U,'.llpractice.
lmllll sayhercthatnoulls,;opcsaresui1-
ablc forth,snflc. The problem can be that
lher<:1i<:lcoellon 1soopcmightnocallowthc
soopo to be mounted back far enough 10
obum proper eye relief. 1lN: Rll&ff No. I
also presents thi1 problem. l pul a Wca-
scopc:onmyriflcv,•hichprov;dcdthenccded
eycrclicf.
r found1wominorfaultswithmy R84
Onowuth:atifthe11fc,ywucnpacdand
1hcndisengagedbcforethcriflcv.-aslired,
,omethinginside:lhcliringmechanismprc-
~mlS the bolt handle from readily being
rai!led.Someminord1angcinsidcprobably
wouldclimina1clhis.TheJcOOndonewhich
lhavealrcadymmtioncdbcforeinthischap-
terwasthatthetipoftheforcannprcsscd
againstthc:rightsidcofthc:barrcl.Thiswas
easily oom:cted by sanding out this am, of
the f<narm channel JO th.It ii no longer con-
la,;tw the barrcl.
hha$nocbccncusuxnaryv.~thmcinthcse
chapltrs1<>1es1thenllcsforlmllllC)',cspc:-
ciallyno1theneweronct:.tlov,-a·cr,bccause
theBlascrrineos10d11fcrcntfromallthe
others, anda111kcdoW11oneatlha1.1 WIS
ruriousabou1theaccwacypotentialofmy
p.vticularriflc.Also.b«auselordcrcdmy
riflcchambcmtforthc22-2S0,whichisa
varmintcalibcrandmyall-timcfa'"oritt:for
manyycars.lhad1$killednnemanfricnd
tesl it with his fnontc handlQads. Sighted
withan8xscopc:,and1hoo1mgatlOOyards,
thefintr,.-osholsfrom1~andcoldbarrcl
1trutklcss1han.~ccntcr-to-centn.
AdJuS11ngthesoopo10hitonpointofaim.
fivcmOll'shou werclircd. They grouped
abou1oncminu1e-of-angle.However.ifthe
lirS11hrecshotsofthal i1JOUphadbeenfircd
withthelil"Sltwoshots,allwouldha,·eland-
ed within le.ss than .7,-0 MOA. That, my
frimds,iscxccllmtvarm1ntshootingacw-
racy.MorelfOUl'$werc:lircdwiththeburd
hcalcdupfromprcviousshotsandthcyran
slightlyabovc MOA. T111t1i1S1illgoodfor
most vannints. What bu 1lway1 been of
highesi priori1y to me in a vannint rinc.
especially forcrow1. isthal myrine will
 Blaser Model R84 Taltedown Rifle

Thlsphotoshowslhe rKOillugonlhebonomoflhebarrel1)(1enaionaodlhe
,_ro,~inlhel(l9ifOl'lloflhef9C9ive<asshownbylhevrowa.

-- ·
l::"-
--
lllllrR84Acllon

alwar1placcthefirsisholfrom•roldand
1.mdcan barrel e,caclly "'hetc I Wln1 it to &0-
l:IJ;' :
.,,..,M.
lf my rifk does that, lhcn i1 i11 rine I can

Two we(."1:$ lalcr we tcs1cd lhe rinc again

E)eclor ...
~~ - .. .
lnbreechtJll:dcreceu.

~lhelot:l<r,gt.Jg~.littedto
Thi1umolhefiJS11hree$hocsfromthecold
andWICleanbarreJgroupedlesslhan .SOO",
:::l~~~~~~:,e
andlhl::ttr0hadn'1d1angcdsincclhelime
Mf~. Tlw speaks ~ well for any ....Barrel~an:llappedlorRedieldJr. la)l)ebue.
vanrururifk_

173
lF vouHAvEamihwyriflc ... acoon ..'itll
O:.St-;OSLOVt:NSKA ZRROJO\'l(A.AS
BRNO VZ.24 $Wllpc:doothc sidcof1he
rtoeei•'t'T.)'OUO"'noneoflhcvnybcsl Model
981ypeSe>'el",,.,.i,:, 1fyouhavcariflcmartcd
ZIIROJOVKA- BRSOand MOO EL ZK'-,
lhmyouha,..,oneoflheruccstsponinariflcs
,,.,.i,:in~. Bolh•m:,,.,.i,:withccityof
Bmo.Cll!dloslovakia;thcVZsingrcainum-
bcrs from 1924 io 1945,andthcZKKJ in
mon: tttenl )lffll'S. The VZs are very common
as many of them wercsoldoo thc swplU$
marlcet.butlhcZK.Klarcquiler.vt"inlheU.S.
~VZac1iooislhcsamoasthcsundard
M98mihlaryacl>Ondcscribed,nanolher
~.1:llllthcZKKis"1ito:differcN.
ltlmrrlN~INl!w.i
AbriefhistoryoflheBmofinnisinortlcr
becalanotmld!iskno\o.nabW;it.Aa:onling
IDmyinfurmation.ltxiul 1918..,.,,.mi!iiary
mmlDOkO\wtheAustro-Hunpiala'l\'Wl\'lCl1
slq,1nBmo.,_,,..ttdleSm:Ammnm&
~Woria..Aye11lalerthename,.,u
changcdioCU'ChoslovakStarcAlmamenc
WOO<s.f'riOflO 19241llisfinnproductdand
ossemblcd..,vcn,Jlhou.sandMannJichc:rriflcs
1111d rnc.n lhan 40.000 M98 Ma,_.~rifles.
In l924thefinnl\allto:,.'asagaincllanp
ioCeskmk,,,·et1$UlbrojmbA.S .• wllicll
translarcdmeansDtttuk,••al<lanAnnsf1e-
mry Lid. Ho ..•evff, II "'11$ then ITIOIC oom-
monly known as the CZ furn. The principal
productmanufac1urcJwas1heM24(orVZ-
24)MauscrrifloforCuchoslovakiaand,ev-
enlolhtrrounlrics.VariousodicrbasicM98
rruliwyriflesandca,t,ines,.·crc•ltomade
thcn:inlar)ICIUlibcnform,ny-thc
"'Olld0'-er.mcludingmany ...tuct,Gennany
usr:dinWWII.
Aller WWII, 11K: finn's name was again
changed. !his lime lo Zbrojovka Brno (Omo
AnnsWorb)orZBforshon.Thiswas'&l'in
changro.1tleaMfor1shonrimeanyway,10
Zbrojm·bBmo-Jan(orJanc)Sverma(or
Svcnny)WOO(s
ln thcla1" 1930s.thcfinnboganrnakin11a
1incoffinc1umboltsportingriflcsbaKdoo
thcVZ-24Ktioo. AflcrWW11,lheymodificd
lhcactioocoosidcm,lyandbeganmakingan
e-,..,..bcoersponmgriflccallcdthcModelZG
47.Theylll,o,,.,.i,:1shon-acllllnedllllor-
nctboltriflc,thcBmoZKM465
Forafcwyca,$mlhclatcl940sandearly
1950s. Brno rifles were imported inlOthe U.S
lthinkthcsefewBmorillcsrca,,:hin&thcU.S
inthe1960s.especiallylhcModclZKK.had
beoishipptd.,frnmalargcspon,Jhop,Waf-
fen-Frw-.orua.ofGmnany. Cllhcncamemto
the U.S. tl.uugh Can.la. In the l %9 Ellwood
Epps cataloa., I "Brno 222 Rem." nfle ""85
listcd.Nomodcldcsignationwugi,..,.., Asof
1995,MagnumRC$Careh.lnc:.• bogan$CnOIU
impo,wionoflheZKKli02andolllm..
TlllNIZG47
The~4Tprobablyindic$nlhe001Clhis
riflc .....sintroduccd. AslDOSloflmptC!Ulm
andscm.1111gcnm,llyatypicalGmn:ln-typc
sponerwi1ha,'ffyuimstockandslmdtrbar-
rel.While51ylesvari.:d.thcUSlll.lZ047ha$a
"'alnulstockofminmundirncnsoons.mdud-
ingavcrythanwmb,smallchcekp,coo. a small
ho.I: ,...,ll<Un>:d pt5IOl pip. mlda ilim. iapeml
fomxl endana; ..,lh I !clmabc,l. Nanow iJina
.,.;v,:,[si,cm,,~mlOdleSIOCi<"''ffl:!Undani
as"'·ereahomp1stolgripcapandbu11pla1e
Grip and forcndwcrcd1C<:kered. The23.6~
ll)Ulldtaperedbamlsponedabandrampfroot
sight wilh changcabk sight blades and a
~ u s t a b l e ~-siJll,lmouNed
onasmallran..-,madell'lq13!"11htheb11Tet.
Ulleroothey,.m:made,.ilhaplaan(iaman.
typt'Sloekwitllouldlcd,:pic<::eandgopcapor
...ithlheheavicrAmcrican-typcsponcrstOcks,
the latter II.wing a ve<y pronoun<:W Mo,,le
Carlocombandtfullformi
~Z047~waslike1hct.icM98
type. bw wnh lhcsie "'Unpro\"Cfflfflts:M l)
Retti,·crrilll!andbridgt'ha,..,inrcgral,copc
moon1ing~ordovetails.Aa1ootop,wilh
lhetopoflhc~IO\<'e!"thanlhering. Tot'
00\~I W\"C!Wlhecntirelengthoflhe~
butlhem:ei-do:,veQilendedJustshonoflht
frQrllcdp:oflhe,.,.,.,;,..,,..Tht'~ZG
47sooperncu11 .."aScallcd 1 "11,de,.on~1)Jle
bridge mount ,.,lh lhwnbscrcw-11gh1cncd
clamp$.Anm:::horblock.providedoolhelcfl
rcaroflhelme,engagedamatchmgno1ellc,,1
intothesidcoflheiw:i,>:O"bri,Jgc,pm~
lhe,copcandmountfrnm!OO'Vinaforwan:l
oodcrrm:iil.2)Tht'Sll'talnlincdbollslm"Chad
ln:Dy-f)1)eS1ft'tybuiltinloilsn(lhtsode.Pi,·-
CJltd~'afd.thesaf,:tylocka:lbolhstriker...i
bolt, Ill k,,..- p(l5IOOn allowing~ With a
low-mounlOO!!COpe.3)Thepcar-shapcJbolt
handk:.~stra1ghldown.islll'.$0madc~
thati1canbooperatedoodcrlhel0\<-m:iunred
avpc.4)Tht'llll....imap,;ineila$ahmpl
Ooocpla1e.,tslatch1111hcfiontof1hctngger
guardbow5)Twolligg,crmtdausms"=
.,,.,Jablc: •
5Wldant double-tel or • smgle-
stagctypc"11h a built-insingle-8Ctlrigg,er.
Z047riflc:s,.=a,.iilablein270,7x57mrn.
7x64.30-06.8x57mrn,8x64S,9.3x62and
10.75x68. Thcsc""Cl1-madcriflcsarcusually
~inzcdbylhe,r.,.,.,xn.TI,ey ..=IISled
inthcl964Waffen-Fnrikonia~lhebesl
grade11Sl39.50.
Tlo-!Xl
ldon'tknowexactlywhcftthcModelZKK
BmoriflcwasfirstofTcrcd,butprobablyaller
l965. l f1111rcadaboutitinthel%9issueof
thcG,,n~.
lllusntcdhc,care!lftCdiffc:n:nl,._., or
(Abov9)CtKh 8rnoZKK601 rifle cham·
bflred !or lhe 222 R<!mington u,rtrklge.
Obsolete Keaaelrlng mountring,are used
herelOalt&Chlhescopatolhilrllle
theZKK601:TheZKK-600hasthe~
Jerwmlt1io!lbcanridgesofthe8.d7nvn10
30-06Jen&ih.TheZKK..«l1.ash<.:.taa;t>on,
isllscdfor1111Chcartridgesas222.243and
303. The ZKK-602. a long or "'magnum ..
action.handlc!!!UChlargecanridge:suthe37S
ll&H Mll&flum and 404 kffcry.
Exa,plforllClionlenglhandcahbcrs.ZKK-
600nlZKK-60lriflcsan:al~Oer-
~aportingriflcs,quircligh1andlrim
The,.'llnJISIOCk,.nhou.the,-erylhinccmbor
the 9Chnabd is ochmvise typically European.
,.llh1small~JK51(11"-and•vcry
skndl:r,shortforml.Themouldedplasnc
bunplaRdoesnothr.-erounded«lgesand
loobot11of1'1--Thechdcmlplnrisonthe
a,,pandfor"(n(!w.-a-agoodlyarca.butlhe
c:heclu:rinal,.-asnot,.-el.llDIO.atka51IIOlllll
the rifle laammcd A plain 1•slirlgsv.wd 11 BmoZKJ<60111Ction.TheZKK600and602acllonsaresimilarlOlhisone,bullW,vflonger
!1Cttwed11110thebunsrod;lhefronlswivt-lis ITlf,guine boXH. The action Is shown wilh the ?NP sight up in sighMg position, lletion
mountcdonabam:lband.==ilinchesfor• eoelutd, and lhe safety in lhl!I OfF (tipped back) or FIRE poaition. When 1h11 ..tely Is llppfd
,.wofthefomidtip.Thecombisquilelow. loMard,itloel<slhl!lsearandlheboll.lhelan8fbeingaccomplishedbylhl!ltq:,ollhl!l ..lt!y
about 1/i" below the bolt when it is op,:,,ed, ard angagingoverlhebolllod<lug(lndica1tdbyarrow)oothebaseofthebollhandlfl.
lowmoogh1101hattheopensigh1canbcrca,lj.
lyllscd.The23.6.slim.roond-iaperedbam-l yards.and~snapupanddo""'''CIY]IOli- mcn:ly ~an ,mpro,·cd M98 Mauser" action.
-•~liorl.sigjx.made1101hatthe hvelyto.uay ..·hcn:theyuepu1. in 1pncof for1tismochmon:thanthatTheactionisof
bladcs,ghl(".allbccasily~Thelolding hcavym;oil.Thcfrontsightis111cas.ily- 111-sicelconsuuction.
leafiarlipl.00\-ccailedirlk>mintcp,-,., n:placedbead.covcmlbyahoodw,th1 TheOOC-pettn:tti\'t!"isabiPrw.•-aynice-
onthe1-Td.is~for,.indageonlyby ~10adm11lightontothen:arfaceofthe lymach...done,.ay!UUCe. ~fJJ2ispooll-
m-i,..,.itowr.Flippcd..,_it~asmall-U bead.The602sh.avcasecondm;oillug bly thc only forged magnum-lcngth Mauser
s,ghlfflllllOICh.lfld,.ilenkJ,.-,1.ilisotllof formcda11hcrcarendofthclugWJOrrthe .-nonrra.1c..,,...h:fl:inthe"'Ofld1Jday.1D111&-
lhe .....y ...ntntheiar~sighlisuscd n:ar9'ghl.tniep,,l"iththebam~lllllbean ,..lhatwglw10makeasornnfle.b.iild,n511
Therarapen,Rsigjwisbuikimolheiop q;a,nstastttlblockinlffiedtn10theforaid. upandllkc:IIDIICe.lnsidethe!Ua\"tf~lhe
fbloflhe~•-a-bridgc.tba1is.,.ithinthe Thebamls. • bston the602s,an:hammer M93collari$$1,,acdonlyontherightforthe
1ntc-gn,l100pCmountba.,c.Pm,ieddown.it forg,cdandlappcd.andare,-erysmoothinside uncior.agoodl'c:aan:thataddsSb"tf411h.The
hesentll'Clywithillthe~,·erbridgc.lh..s,s and•'C!)'~e.TheconlOUrSoftheaction m:oiJlug,mado8$Slinleppartofthe1'!CCIV•
OUlofthewayiftheregularopensightsora bonoman:diff=1also.mon:onthatlater. crring.hasamplcbcaringsurface,.,ththeSIOCk
scopeareused.Dcprcssingaplungeroothe £xtC'J)tforthesepointsandhavingabarrcl IOpn:va,tsct-back.fu=ptforthefJJ2,thcn:11
ri&t,11idoofthebridgepopstheapcnun: up proportionallylarger.thc602isjuf!likelhc noflalsurfaceundertherccci,-a-ring."t,,chis
i111ovicw.Ascrewinthcfroo1oftheapcrtwe 600and60lmodcls.hisnotfumishcd"·ith ~lcsinceaflalsurfacehen:might.i
armadjUS1Selc,'3lion.whilcanolher11C1"CWin thccxlnl1ingle-settrigger.anditdoesnot yearsiolhe~ft-oftheSIOCkb)'])l'C'"fflli'llpcmi•
theaperturcarmadjUSISwindagt,. h.a,-cthcapaturerearsight. blespl11ting.
The60lriflc:,.-eiJhsaboot6.75pounds. ~magn,.m-lcngth602.ontheochcrhand.
theZKK-600aboul7 TlllD . . Adlll hasafl.ll.5'.rlattbttv.=ithe'"Cf)'dnctruoil
TheZKK..«l2rillc.madeforthe375and ThcZKKactioncannolbcdescnbedu hcandlhefitnofthemaguin,:co■:u.~
453~1apn,s.isbea,icr.goingaround9
pounds.Bcsmha,,ngalonger1C1io!J,.llh1
d.cpermap,;inc,itisabobed"edupinolher
lmlS.TheSIOCkoflhe602nicetyacoommc,.
dalesthedroppedmagarinc. llisofEnghsh
ll)'lc,withashon.slimfom'ld.noc~
nogripcaporfomidtip.dettntchcdmna,
andalhidblack~re,;oilpad"ithno
whi11:-Hncllf)ilCC1".hisS10Ckcdinaclassicpa1-
tcmforoflhandshootingwiththeexccllcm
ex!ff$$sights.lherebcingabitmorcdropl0
the51odclhan11usualforarillcdesigncdfor
usewi1h•90CJ!!C.Themagiun-lcngth602sin
nther375H&Hor458Winc:hostcrcalibcn-
hmdy.wellbalaradrilli::sclearlym:signcdlor
lltir>-Sip,l:ust: ..... dquousgame.
The 602 rar 11a:t,1 is., ~ ,.;m
,faarfy,.·idl:,-oeOOICh,~forlOO)"ll'lk.
Tom an:,,.,.,lolding leaves for 200and 300

175
 : I I

boaorn.sufaceoflhelCbOnin"''Oarcas:nc:ar
art8W11anS,-enesenmommillcdintolhe
lhefrol-.oflhemaga:cin<opcning.andundl:r
lherar11n&-Theselffl8tioosbiteintolhe
woodllldl!IIOlherarlplO:l"bushing.and~
,---------liiiiliiiiiii1i--,
\'fflClhemclal~$1idmialonglhewoodin
reo:>il.1<iuchsecons10hclpgrtally10J)l'C'l-'t11I
splitting.Thcscstocbha~nocroot1.Jxll1$
w~..,,.,thoog.hduetolhcsimplclriggcr
dcsijln, Ihm is1111hcra k>t of,.uod lhickne$I
rmiairuna;111frol-.ofthetngger,"t.ereharo-
kick,ugnlag,:n,:rallystart10splillhrirSl::,l;U
Them:ei,-errin&isabout l.6S" long. The
bndge-,llboutl.5'1'~isbuihupsortstop

~~w~;::!:..o=.z
gral KOpC mount bucsaflcr poo•;cs ,n
millcdtnlheirSKlcs.Asmrntiooedearlicr,an
c~ttllcn1 and fully adJU51ablc pop.up rear
apcnurcsiJlnisbuihintolhebaseonthc
bridgc.Adecpnoichiswtintolheleftsideof
thet>ndgcfortheanchorblockofthcBmo
soopcmounlrinp.
Thehi&hlcftretti,·er"·al!bctwe<.'nthcring
andbndgc isunnotchcd.thoog.hits loph.ilfis
madc:lh1nncrtorcduccwcighl.Thetjec1,on
J>Oflopm,ngontherightc~taldstothe~-
tomofthe lockinglugracc,o-ay. Both walls
an:pcadystrmgthmcdandsciffmedbya
heavy-wallcd~guideor-.
sun1W"to,bu1heaY1erlhan.lheM70Win-
chesatrandMTI Rugcractions.Thesi<bof
thlsbo.oan:qu,telh,ck.and"·ilh1hcnght
wall uicndingt.k IOlhe ..fcty. lhcyoffera
oomidcrabkfla1surfaceareaforbedding.
ln1Cgfalcanridgegui&:lipsoncith:rsidi:
oflhemapz,ne-"-ellopeningholdthecar-
tndgcsinthemaga:rir.candguidethemin10
the chamber when !he bolt is closed. Tllo
loadin11rampinfront ofthcmagarir.c-wel1
opm1ngisdi:q)andpolishcd$fflOOOL
Thc:rnapz,r.cbo.o ismadcofhea,-yshcct
'--- --'"""'"""'------------_j
CloM-upollheBmoZKK601 rlllellC!ion:~altaehed'A'!ltlKesselnrlgmounta.
mclal--p!OS('d.bf:nlandformr:dlfllOa~
t.o...lassumelh:a!atleaslfourdiffc:rcntsizcd
bo1tCSarcmadetohandlethcfourfamiliesof
canridgcsforwhichlhese riflcsan:cham-
bcml.ThiswouldincludethcshortmagMir,c
forthe222canridge(ilis2.2Siflong111Sidc).
oncforthc24Jand30S(about2.87S"lorqj).
oneforthe)O.(l(ifamily.andlhelor'&Qlonc
for the J7S ll&H Magnwn and 404 Jeffery
~lnthe30-06andsbonermaga,inet.
IIJOO"ff-prus,e,dll'IIOlhesidcsofthcbox•
lheanidgcshoulderj,n;rionlOhokllhe_.
lndecst.kinthcbox10pm-en1banatdbul-
lctpou11Sasthcriflcrc,;oils~~
Thercct:"·eraccepcsonlythemagazinc
bo.o for the cartridge family for which !he
ac:1ion1smade.andthe~guidehpsm
1hcmapzir.cwcllarcmade-.coordingly
The ~swil W-shaped follower sprin11 is
llscdwi1haS1cclfollowff.thelancrmachincd
onallsurfacesandpolishedverysmooth.Thc:
W'IIWlllhm11aboul i1is!hat!hcridgewhich
scaggers!hcQlfbidpinthcmagazincQlon
!hcnghtsidcrathcrthanonthelcft,asan:thc
follow~inrnoscodierac:tions.llov,,..,..,,.,thc
60211asitonthclcft.
The 1riggcr guard is combined wilh the
magazincplatc.llldthemagazrnc,boxishcld
bclwttnlhispanandtheri:«i•·erw·hcnthe
nflc,slMCmblcd.Thc,floorpla!cishm&cdlO
thefroruofthcguanlplalc.A,·erynealand
hoavyplur,eer-cyp,:c:atehinthefmllltopi-,
of the guard bowholdslhe m i l ~ ~
doted.Thc:~pmticubrfyonlheGvp-
box602.11""')'bcaibfuUymadunedim:.,gh-
oo.a,ol,•;iouslyno1 .. irn'C:Slmeff<;asling.
GuardJQ'CIQ.gomglhoughlheffldsoflhe
m.-gwn.1pa.an<1~1NC11hereooi1
Juall'ld=,,-erta,g.holdlheac:t,on!IOtVCly
mthcsrock.Slee\uorboshingsartUKdO\-er
eachoflhese!ICn:W:SIOJffl"idclhepKFSJIIC-
'"11bct\>.ffllthctriggcrguardplaccandrtt'ci•-er.
Thc,endsofthefollowcrspringslipintoslots111
thcfloorplatellldfollow'ertohokllhesepans
iog,:thcr.lncidcnlally,thcguard!lm:W"lhreadi:
an:about.2JO"'tndiameler.theirp,tchban&

176

Topviewollhllr&11rpartollhllBmoZKK.etion,withboll~,$hOwinglhlllocationol
lhelrigger .....lmtnlllCfllWwillwllhe ..tttyloet<inglug,-,Uindica1edbylhllarrow.
a,b,;u lharty«ec 1ln:ads pa- ,rdl..
Thebollis•~lorging.thebolllw,.
dlcaninlegralpart. Thecbllop!)OICdlockqi
tugsonthebofthcboh~liOlid;lhal,s,~-
lhc:rooeis!-lontdordrillcdTheboltF-i,
sliply~b-the,;:anridg,:ffl1,.,.llhlhts
m=1Jnball ■ theboaomasonlheM98boll
10allowcarmdga10sltp\nblhl:e,i-
t._x,k,.h::nbe.lll'edffllllhernlplJl'lt..(Jh,s
K!lllff~elinunaleslhep,:aibilttyofdw-
bkloadin&,l<.UISkkrlrullado,;irabkfeal,..,,n
a hwllingriflo-mon:dcsirablethan a fully
RO:SiC!dbollhcad.)The~IOlheb;i:-
;ng.luglhoulden!Mldelhc=,"ffringare
bc\-ded .... 01111JCabrWtheboll10kd:il,lhe
bolliscmwnedfullybv.ri
The low-profilebolt har>dkwill dear a
low-mounitd ICOpe. ltsscem. round and
llighllytapcrcd.cndsmape.v-shapc,Jgrup-
ingball.Theballhasaholemilkdini~IOcoo-
lidmbledcf,dl.Thcbohhandleisonlhc•'ff)'
rearm:loflhcbol~anditsbasepaniallycncir-
deslhebolt. Thcinlc:ri-toflhtslmeflel'\-e
as 1'IC third safety lociung lug by <:ngagUlg a
rnatchtnireccssmillcdimothc=vn.The
uppcrpanofthebuthasananglcdJ!Uf-
which contacU a matching s.urfa.ce tn thc
bridgewhcnlhcbolthandleisraiscJ.andlhis
providcstheiruualcxuaaionpowcr.
Theatr1C10r1s0Fthelongone--pteeenon-
l'Olal1Dg~bisrtypcanached10thebohbody
b)'acollar.Al,punderthefi'ontm:loflhc
cxu.;tor, cngaa,ng a ~ eut pan way
aroundthebolthead,pn-vmtslong,1udmal
cxU'ae•or movement "The cxtnw;tor has
enoughsprinJ.androomenough10spring.to
llipovcrthcnmofacarnidgeplaocdmlhe
chambcraheadoflhee,itrlCIOr.
ThetjtclOl"isamlllpicttof~lymgma
slolcutintothebonomofthc=,-e-bridg,c.
hpiV0CS011apm.1CnSioncdb)'asrnallcoil
springandplunger.Anangledsloliscwrnto
thebohhead,andonopcninglhcboh.1M11p
oflhcejc,;:tormovcsin1olhisslotcotjccttho
canridgecaseorcartndgetolheright.
Tocboh--.,is1hcln)'p;ec,cofs110C1SIOXI
flttcdinloaslotcutintotheboucmlcftsidtof
lhcbrqenlopeningiNothelcft~lug
guideway.PiVOlcdonlhesafdypu1.it111m-
sicn::db)'alflllllbtlSlilf«lil~Theboltis
Sltlppedin11S----'lldn,.-el~lhelcftkd:-
WWkll!ronaict!11hebolHIOp.Themrm:lof1hc
bolt-t10p~cuof1he~=justbd>ird
1hebrid&c,andb)'~lhispinforw.vdlhe
bolt--stopislippoddown10allowranovalofthe
bolt.Thet:,carandbolt--sq,..,clolecq,ios
ofthellJfflCIW1511l1hcoldModdi'0&110n.,nd
111= ..........""'ll",d,lhel01)'$1anl.
Thefmngmeclwlismis~oFlhc
ldlsl=-c.ono-pl'CCfirqpm.ooil~
cockinl!picce.maimpringrcwncrmn,main-
spring~nernutk,ckandbolt-$le,:vcdisas-
semblyca1Chandspring.Thebol1sltt-.-e.
thrc:adedtn10lhcrcarofthcboll.11boml
lmJUlh forthe cocking p,eoe.. The oodmg
~·~~IOchefirq
pin ...ma=-i:pm.The5111froil~is
~bct>,-ecnthe-.noftheboltslccs~
andlhcrnainsprina~ldlod:.-.lrminor
nut."ilhlh,spartbeingthrcadcdonthefiring
pin.Thistl..-eade,jponionisflaumed.ondlhc
nodeoflhelod:ismadelOfitOYa"~JO~.,.ill
notium.llw:fronloflluslockhastwosmall
~ ..il,ch . . . . .,shalk:,w~irllhe
ttlaincrro.a..,,dwilhmam!l)nngprc,i!llft
agawlthelock.thelfflintrlJJIISpm't'l"IU:d
from 1ur111ng. A smalldisasscmblycardl isooih
inlothelcftsideoflhcboltsleeve,illpurpose
bcing101'1c:.:lthearlingp;ec,ct.ck-,thefir-
WW~canbecasilyin=wcdfrom
thebolt.Bcforcthebohisranovcdfromthe
rille,lhts,;a;l,canbecnp&l!dlOh,;:.:lthearl·
,ngp,c,:ebackby~il:111 ..."hileopcmng
!he bolt lwidle (IIOC tahoown . . - ) . A
camontMcockingpie,:eengagc,sinacam
nolthinlhcrearoftheboll,and011raisingche
bohhandle,1hestrib:riscockcd.Thcn:isoo
sq".lll'lW"boll-si«Yelock.thebohsleeYcbeing
Topviewol~Bmo
ZKK..:tiof'lstiow.,g·
(AJMll-«rypee.trac•
IOf,(6)-~
sighlbuilllnto~
recelverb!lclge,(C)boll
locklug,(O)ulety,(E)
bollsleeve,(F)ooclling
--·
pieo9.(G)pM\flry·
•xtrac:tioneamturt-.
(HJwinde(l91ock
SC1'8'W.aod(l)NYlltion
m
 lumbohactionisthcw1ylhec:ockinipiecc
onth:IClionfus11110and1Jidcsin1mMUcm
thctang.A~onc.;IIS>lleofthcrotk>ng•
camannfil5into~groovesmthe
,;o,;kinacainraccway.Thispn:ventsbir.ding
ofthei;oo;kingpia:einthcbohslcc\1:due10
upwardprcss,.m,fromthcsearwh:nth:
action is,;ockcd,aswcll aslimitingupaod
dcn,11playofthccodm&pieccandboh.
Thestm(brdtriggumc:chanism.ofthesm-
glo-Magctype.isadjasinblcfur,.,,,,g1110fpull
onJy.Thcrnti~mechanismiscompnSICdof
runc:n:,u,pans.andffQ!loflhem~IIIICh:d
IOthen:ui,1:r.Thcar.lhepcn"'tuchl'"OJtCU
inloth:roding-piccccam~-aylOh>ld
thcllrikc:rbadt,isp051ooncdinlerthem:ci,1:r
tang;~itpivotson,andish:ldinplattby,a
Cll)!,Spmthroughthciw::i-w.ilb:,h ish:ld
~byacoil!!plllltcandinplaceinltr
th:arby1small-,,"tiid!islhohddby
thcteSpw.Fon.-an:lofthcteSislhcteS
rdca,c,whichishddmpbffby.nlp1\IOUon,
th: $1fC!y pin. It is1Cn$IOl'IC:d lOCllga&C thc$CIII'
Theaooeuo,yslr,gle-se!triggerwhichis!umlahedasanextrawtththeZKK600aod601 byacoilsping."i!hthctopcndofthisspring
rilles.ltlllhownherelnlhe'\lo-set"posllion,aodlherillecenbeflfedlnlhenoonalwayby bcannson1smallstripofmeta1:this.inium,
meretypua.!glhetriggerback,(A)po'lwhk:hholdllhetwosell!\ggefspringslnplecelnlhe '-'sl8U!5tthcnoleh:dbonomoflholnli,'tl'
lligge<prd,(8)1!\ggef8P'w,gMOpl)O'l,(C)triggerpiYOlpo'l,and(O)se11tigger-rpo'I \\1:lghl-of-p.ill~-lmadcclilllO
thebcl!tomofthem:c,,..,,,Onremminathc
~'Crlledliunn.,,ing"'halthcbol!isopcnby thisball~anodlcrlill1allno1Chinthcrear bollfiumthcm:ci,1:r,thcheadoflhisllCl'CWis
thcoacking-pica,camrestinginashallowoott:h ofthcbolt.h:lpina10kccplhebol!sloc\1:fiun cxp05(:dinthcsafetylugnoo:h;ruminj11in
onthcrearofthcbolt. Thtteisaboalill1allball lllming.Theenbff:fwinamechanism11s.q,le (clockwiiC')in=ascsthcwcighlofpull.and
bearing1nffl)nlofthcboll. . . .1 : ~ andwelkbip:d;lod<limeisfastandpositivc. ,..,.va$LA~OOIChonlhl:rewoflh:
caleh-spnng"'hichpro,ectslhrough1holo Themtlhodofholcln\;thc~onthe arrdeasemgagesalharpoomeronthe&ont
nsid:thcl:dlsm,:;Wh:nthcboll....,,,isfi.d.. fwingpin,'i1111N'Clldro111.1isgood. bonomofthcarioholdlh:se:ill'up.--.:llh:
lyinplace,and"tomthcbollllllldleisraisod. A fcatu~lhaveno1 found on any other strik«badt."'haltheactioniscic-1.
Thcniggcr,,..hichhasawell<Ur\1:dand
TohlheZXKriftewia,lhe~lrigger.lilp..,shedlorwlrdwilhlhe~ollhehffll.nil groovedfmgerpioa:.isp,w:udon1pminlh:
"set'o,,;,od<ed.i'IWhittlptllillorllilthowni...Aii,lb.dlonlhe1811r91ea9e"-W ...... lng,:,rguard.AIOplllllOOlh:trigerc:,;lfflds
eshlfflllintMlriggerlO .... backirdiir....ionolhlsellr\gglrlTIIWISpmglO~lhe 111101l/-nolchinlhl:bonomoflh:,earrdcase,
119Mf_...._(8)1romhl-(C).AlliodM,iythowni'l ... ~ i l h ~ ( O ) . andonpullinglhe1ng«bac:k.thearmetie
bol·SIO!l(El,boldisassembttealCt1(F),and~,-ro,lheBmotoop11mco.nt(G). i11ippeddo-,,.n1o~lcasclhe1Cafagamsclhe
prcssureofthemainspnng.ThercisaVftY
IJighlamomtofslack in lh:triggtt, tu lhisis
notatallbothcnomc.Olheo-isc.lheinu,:r
pull11shortandcnsp.andlhenmnal101:l&Nof
pullcaih:ldjl,slcdfiumDllll2.5104poonk
Thislni!Psys1e>n11starxmlooalllhrttmod-
eb:ofthcBmoZKK.ttowe,."Cr,aneJ1tras111gle-
,cttriggttacccssoryunitillfumish:,;l"ithlh:
600n1601.nllh:tfli1Fguardsofthc,etwo
modclsa-t!ICl'l'IData:pllhisint.
This~-iscompriscdoflrN#I
tngrer"1th1stra,ghtfing«pieoe.1e1tngaer
lc-.1:'l',release-lc.."Cr""1ll$U1lClllscrew,relca$c-
levcrspring,rdeasc•lc\"Crpin.triggcrma111-
spring.tnggertcnsionspnr,a.rwoh.>l<kk,v,,,
pms. and the n:leasf:.Jc..1:r~ J)UI.
"'ith!hulastpar11beadyfined111d.:inagi,r
guard.ThcS11:1trigg,erlllfJIICC3S)'IOinslalland
itit:doneasfollow1: R,:mo\l:thclriil!Cfguanl
fromthestock.Pushou11hetriggerpin.
mnc,,-.,the1ri11Ff,ondreplacci1withlhe
aacmbled!ICltrigg,er.lkKftinsertingthotna-
FfJ)Ul.llipthelh111$pringintolhcheavy

178

,pring.and ..iththtshoncndsofffiesprings
doo,t1,IRSffllhelon&endloftheSJll"ID8$11110
tht...-cnolehinthcraroflhe~lhen
~lhebcnlpanoflhelJlnQP,r-.::,thtlrig..
g,erguardftinscrlapmthroughlhcholcpro-
vi,;lcd 10 hold the springs in place. Now
mampula1etheuiggerbyp11shinithefinger
p;c,c,cforwan.luntilthepincanbcinscrtcdin
lheholc<11..,,.lhecndoflhehcl.vy$pring.Then
pushthco'iggerdov,11i01hetnggc.,rpmcanbc
.-.,.nod.T...,tht.iju,;unenltf;1N'inor0Llas
req111m:lsolhllasthetnyr,11pushcdfully
fornrd. the rdease le\-erc-npga ..;m tht
rdca.~-b.... pBlinlhernagerpin!Eldllhe
1ngcrbward.Theacwcanlhcnbcadjust-
cdtolhalonlyal1ghtpull oftheideasek'...-
willallowlhctriggerlO§Nf!back.Roplacethc
triagcrguardinlhe5!0Clt
Thcse1trigsercanalsobcopcntedasa
_,,~tiQnallriggerby~lypullingitbad<.
1S"11hlhe~lar1nger.ToU111:ausetuig-
F,pushthelriggc,llhcad"1ththehpofthe
lhwnbun1il11iscodedandsu,Yffor,,.ud
undcrspnngprcssurc,thmfiftlhcnllcbya
hp:iou,;!,onthese,aigcr~k:asc:Je,,'CF.
lflherillcisnot10bc/irmalltrlhctnagc:rlm
bcmsct.iicanbcunsct-.:a,nbyplacinglhe
llunbfirmlybchindlheDiac,-ardrclcaiingthe
1ngg,:rbyllle~firy:roflhcsamchand.Ne-.·-
«11:11he1ngg,:rlrliljuslbciire)Qlarekllaiea
!hot.nlpr00lldylnd~if1heshocisnotl3kal.
The.ii:ly,n,a,:d.-dp(J1$1U\'C,i,iposn>oncd
onthengblsidcoflhen:m,ttllngdtrcctly
bet.ndlhebolthardeandislri.l.,pba::by,
nlp,vocsoo.apm.l• osprcr,,d,:dOffandOn
Jcnsionbyaspru,j!lllldpluna,,:roccupyfflia
s1ot,;,11mrothesidcoflhe~•-er,juscahe:ad
oflhesafcty.Thesafctythumbpiccc,largcand
luu\od.iswn,-.:nxnlin<lplnlion.l'ulk:dbad.
lhcsaf"ctyisinlheOffor f ifcposition.atwbich
wn.araldocis,isibleinthtbtieoftheboh
"-de. Thebohcanonlybc~"h:nlhe
safftyisbltt.WhmpushcdKJl'\O'lld,lhebolt
andseararclodcdbylhciopoflhesafety
~0>,:rapqect,ononlheb11511:oflhe
boltlandle.Thebolklmoflhe.safclycnp&<S
OYt"rthebouonofthexwandpullil~upslighl-
ly.WhilcthesafeiyisC011,ffllfflt10otlC1311:and
posltl>'C.IIISIIOleasilyopmlleda,dmali;ea
diswn,;ld,; ...t.:npulblbid.welTIOlllyio
lhe"ff)'stilfsafuyplw,g,er~ llmcaibc
ginffll:dbyahoncningthe~Lalemodd
602sha,,eanHolffier'lihalacuas1S1Cipfor
lhesafeiyandprevcrusmos1ofthenoi~.
Theactionisadcquatelyventcdinthc
even1of1pnmcrorcasclltadfailure.Aholc
intherighltideof1herccci....,,.niljlCQinc:ides
with110floornttOftheextraclorhoolt.Thcft
isas1ngkround ,..,.._hole in1hebol1 body
abclulonen:hbadtoflh:bohhead.andps-
c:sFffllllin!ldethebolt"-ouldbtvcn1cd11110
theleftlock1n&l11irace,o11y. ~1soo
flange on 1hc left side of the bolt sltt~• 10
dcflcc, any aasn tha1 migh1 escape: ~k
lhroughthisraccway.soitisoobcncrseal«I
atthispoin1thanthe M70Wincheoler.
Bcsidesthe1woguardsci,ews,1hcrcis1lso
BmoZKKbollheadshowing:(A)•Klractor,
(B)rightlodunglug,(C)undltrculboll·l-
rKeU. (0)-teclllfslot. (E) lelllodungk,g.
(F) gu-_,. hlH. (G) e><lrlldOf colar
Brno (Czech) Sporting Hilles
BonomviewollherNr~ollheBmoZKK
boltshowing:(A) .. tety~(B)oociang...am
not<;t,,(C)boll-lodungk,g
1formdscmr,,10hcljlholdlhebarn-land
ac:tionintheSIOd.Thit$1:!"C\\"~in101
studlincdinagroovcmthemlargcdporuon
ofthebarn-1..,hic;hforrnstherearsighlbase.
The602hasanadditiooalrcroi11usmachined
into1hisenlargedportionofthcb:lrrel.The
groo,.,eforthcforcndstudism1llcdlmgth-
wi~ with the ti.ml, and lhe stud is mao.k 10
bcaloosef11init.Thus. onughteninsth11
!Cm'".thcstudmo>'t'SIOthcprecixlocation
ofthe!':m'·. JtmtghlabolllO'semthegroo,-,e
uthebamlhc-aisupfromfumgorifthe
foraorlshouldsluftlm.lllpchangcsmmo,s.
tureandtempcra1w,e.Wh1lclthinki1is1
sood idea to h.i,,,e a forcnd screw in magnum
calibers. l don'1s«muc:h11$Cfori1intheodl-
erriflcs;bu1 ifascrewisused. I thinkthe
methodBmocmploysmtheZKK isthcbcSI l
h.1,,esem.
The Brno ZKK n:ioel\,er Ins ., unusual fir,.
ish.lts«mslOha,,ebocnhcr,ilysand-blaSlod.
TheMriilcehasamancfuushthall!lpyi511m
color.contra"1ngWllhthc"',ell-p.,115hedbiuod
b.melaodlhebriilltCbollande:<tractor;the
effi:aislµ1epleasina. Thebohsl=.-c.cockin&
pic,x.safcry.trigg,erandthcbolt-sroparefin-
ishedjusilikcthcn::ttt,,er Thebohhaadle,s
hlgblypoli5hedandblued.as-thctriger
s,urdardfloorplale.TheKpansar,esmood!,
lc-."dand"'dlpoli!hed.ThelCOOn"'S!mOOd,,
easy10ope!1111f:.andC\~lirctic;nedper-
fealy.ThebohwaylllSldctherecei-"'s""dl
polishod.m.1kJn&lorllOOOlhbohopcra!DLNo
boltgwdcribisf"'O"ded.l:Mthel:ridFislong
179

Shown~lt'ilfBmo2KKktt,gf'911feiit,t
(A)~intl1Ml)b$$1l(B)rnad!inei,al
WllhlhebarlalBebwilforend$CfllW(C)he(id.
edintlamcMlblllllW(D).Seel8xl.lQrde!ailt.
-
~10piidelheboh~lhen:islittlc
ltndcncyforlheboltlObind"h:nilisopc,ad.
ThM-1rcw11unp1c1on·11ib:abcullus
nfkondt loroflhmpl <kl. FormylaSle. lhe
aod;111b1t100skiq,y.bul"'hatldislikcd
rno$1 was !he cheap ~ plastic
bultplalc.lflhadlll)1lling10<kl"ilhthcdosigJI
oflhisnReJ,.,:,uldh1vcmadc1111ex1111s--,'tnl
holeinlheleftsKleoflhe=ei,i:rjl.1$1b<:mnd
lheinsidcm:ei,i:roollarandplaoelhe,-mthole
inlhcboh,oilwoulddi=tgasesimolhcmag-
azincinstcadofintolhelcftlockinglugraco,
way.Othorthanllle$Cpoims,thcBmoriReand
IC!IOn.C"ft)'fflllChlOmyliking.
lliki::lheblllan;eondfcdofd!isrifle.On1
luutgnRe.llike10h1,1:lhefiuntsling5"i\~
dOll:oothct.m,l•ondtisrifle.Un~
ly.lhe1Mcst602shr.1:lhefiuntslq5"1,-doo
thc..-.:k.,.-haeilcanlmhthelingcronroooil
Jdon'tlhd:"')'Ollat"Oll"llla"cialrifle.mado
.-.ore-1:rbebe.has1bcaa-op:nsigh.K1Up
thanbnloolhisBmorifle. Thcrcarll)ffllft
SIPdesavtsspcaalmention.ltldonlyis1
,-cry elever.sigt,~ but it is ,.-.,n designed and
~ltish.1rid)'anddoesnotintcrfcre
withanything.Whcnnotinuseitis""llpro-
tc<:tcd fromd:arn&F, and when needed ifs
instuttlyn:ady.ltisa!ittlcpackageofinuaooe
10 a hunter. The lhoolm 10 whom l"v,: shown
lhisriflehlveallcalkdthissightag,e,n.Sadly.
~·11101tw11hellt\t,ut602actims.
ldon'tbebevelhen:isaiodw.-11.wnbohlction
madc._hls1bcaa-.5ll'aForrrKR~
boltlock.FewOllat<OOr1SIUIO"'"ofh1,1:1
bo:a:r,....,-.orrrKRnw,dandrdiabletng-
g,,,rand,grut,onl)'Slffl1thanthisBm,amon. l
180
Brno ZKK band-ramp sight with remo-,llble lllghl ~ - Dapr&Uing the checker9d round
plungtr,tlhe!rontotlherampllllowslheaighltobe&!idout
don"t think coo nu:lt of t h e ~ triage,•
Bmohas1n.>dcit.butlfindoofaul1withthc
-""-
=-bigge,.JlikctheloogMauser-1ypc
The Brno trwlernan: is the lcttn Z within
IC\'Cl'l(rontffltnccin:les(moan110~
1,·iewoftheimi::riororariflcdbsrd).Th11
emblem. ,.,th the Wl'lld$ TRADE MARK in
anallc:aptals..is~onlhe1C1pflatofthe
~•i:rnnatndonlheband.OnlhelcftSKlc
oftherccci,,,,.isswnpe,:1:
- ZBROJOVKA BRNO-
In smallcr lencrs on lhc sidc ofthc: bridgc
1nthrcelincsis·
MADE
IN
CZECt lOSLOVAKlA
Thcwonl BRNO andlhcll100l:ldesigna-
uonarc~ontherccci•"ttbridgelhus:
MOO.
ZKK.((l(l(orli0lor602)
The,erialrunberisstampedonthenghl
Pdl::ofthc~,uringwithitslastfourdia-
ilS Mamped underneath the boh handle.
Slampcdoniopofthc:bam:llll!thc:"uds:
ZBROJOVKA BRNO-
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
ThcctliberisS11mpedonlhcbrcechofthc
barrel1ttheropandalsooolhefollowtr.vif-
iblc when the action is opened. Cum:m
Cw.:hoslo,·akianproofmatks(indudinglhc
date.as66)arcstampedonthebam:ll:noc:h.
m:ei,·trringandbolt
1.......... ......,
~ntmal.cstnthechaml:...-and~
srenw.Tomnovctheboh.nriwlhchan-
dlcand."hilcprcssingthc:boh-sq,knobful-
lykn...-d.pullthc:bohfmmtherccei,u. lt
canbemn$Cn.d,.ithoo.nprcss<113thc:knob.
Thesaklymustbep.,!ledbacktota!IO\~or
rcplacethebolt.
Oohdisasscmbly:WithlhcboltinlhcriRe.
tumthchandledo-a.n.cockinglhefiringrn:d>-
anlsm.Prtssinthedisassemblycatchandt,ft
the bolt handkand ,..;thdntw !he bolt. The
cock. . pi«%n:lf.-ingpin-.rmlynay.-.
beeasily..-.;m,.-ed.[flliefiringm«hanismis
10beliriadisasscmbled.i ..illbefint-
sary10~lhiscaleh.Dolhisbyplaans
lhefwqpa!liponahardsmood,ariccn:I
dcprcslheboltslee,,1:IHillheCllk:his6=1.
A.,..,ictoo1nutbe"'-":10disas9cmblethc
fmngmcchanism. though mon: m:cn1 nflct
camewiththisa:<:essof)I.Saworlik:1noldl
aboutll,.~widcandl/1~<11:cpinapim:of
hcavysheecmctalandpla,a,ilinavt$Cwllhthc
notchup. lnscnthcfiri"ipinintothisnocchat
aboullhclCCOlldroilbad<fn:mthcm:,nlofthc
mainsprinaand,,.tlilcpushingforwardonthe
finna pin t o ~ !he mainspring .dighaly,
__.thcliring-pinmtfmmthcfirina;pu,:
aftc:rthis.thekrlring.mainsp,ngn:lftnng
pmcanber,,ro,edfiunlhcboltslee,,-e.. The
oocbn&?oceCllldican~bel'ffllO\"edfrom
thcboltsloc-vi:byusingasmalliktflpn:hond
~lhecadi1Dlheinsidort..:,Qgh1srd
hok:O\'el"lhecmi.Bcam'ulllDIIOlolelhe
,-ayanallpl111F.Sfmllandball~rhal
an:underlheca;h. Tort:aSSemblc.1111itnlhe
ballbcaring,spingandplungcrintheholein
lhcboltslccve,~lheplunger"'ith•small
pwdl.andthm,holdingthccatdtwithtwt,u,.
cr1,stipitinplaoe.ThcnocchedlOOl)'l)llmadc
todiw.<iemblcthcfiringpinpart1-abobe
uaedtoassemblctheparts.lnl.'!Smlblin(lthe
firinapinpam.lhefiring.pin~mustbenwncd
on•faruilwillgo.butneedno1bebad
hghllkfi:ttmemblinglhefiring......i.usn,
imothcbott,lhecockingpi«%mustbepulkd
back10lheo:icmgpj«%Cllldicanbe.,....S.
To-~ the exncu. lift !he hook ...-.y
&cmlheboltn!pushlhe-Q\flri The
mnK10rcolarcanbe!pmdapa1ond~

ll'.llhisllll)'Splq;fkoollYIO'lhal:itmaynolbc
pc:rfa:dymmdv.-lain:fiaodw;ilhebok.
Tomno,,ctheSIOCk.tumoutthefomid
t,;mv,asweUaslhelrontandrarguard
,cR,o'S:IIDWlhebarelllldlheactior,anbclift•
cd&ornlhe-,,;l,:llldlllclrigerguardpulk,;I
fromtheboltomofthellOCk.Themapzine
OOl,anlhl:nbcpullcdfmmlhe~andlhe
pilllp.llhcdOUlofthetri~guardlOfCmO\'e
lhetriggcr,floorplateandfloorplaleCIIICh.
Oi5QJCmblclh<safetyandsearmecha-
nismasfollows: Pushoultheaearpinand
tmlO\'Clhei,ear.,;:earSprinaandscar-spring
arm.PushOOlthesafetypinfi'omrigNIOloell.
Ltftoutlhesearn:lease,1e1r,n:lcate$pring
.ndlrigcr«ljllS!mtnldid<pbt,:. LiftOOllhe
bolt-stopandboh-S10pspnna.Wilh1sma.ll
purw;h.p.,.llthesafetyplungffl'orwan.l-11ift
outthesafety,afler"'hichtheafetyplungn
andSpringcanbcmnovcd.Wilhabcnt
BrnoZIOl]'iggerSymm
punc:h,pu,hou1thecj,caorpintothelcfland
liftoutthecjec1orfromthcholcbchindit.
Twnou1thetrijgeradju.stmenllC~.Rc-
asscmbleallofthesoepartsinre-ffSCotder.
Thebatd•-.m,,-edlipmyd>lhe-
a,dshca,ldlllllbc~imes&neoeswy,ani
thto>onlyifpropa-cqu,pnc:r,tlOdoJOisMhnl.
Sofar lha,sedieE-ibcdonlyoneBmonfle.
and[..,._._lhaarunt,crof,-.ialion$cxist.
PCICDickey,fonncrlywilhFirnnnslntcm:t-
tional,lnc .. andforanwnberofyearsonthe
1eehnical Slaff of 7M Ammt'all Rifl~man.
clcscribcsthe Model ZKK (,(l(lriflc thal he
acqwrcd,1nllev,tnchdiffcnfiomtheonel
dcsmxd heft. lbs nllc:. in 270<:ablxr. has 1hc
WllldsSAFEandFIREsaq,edonlheboh
slee-,-e,and.,~tllrl:wnhl'<OOil
pad.pSIOlffcapandfcrmdlif,madeof!IOITle
darl:wood,allWl!hwhilespaxn.Wnhllienflc
""»lipCciallOOlwid\s,;m,.uri\~t,ia(klha,
canbc.-llOadj~theviggerandlhelijihts.
andfurdisM,emblinalhcM"l!~
Fora long time, mly a few Brno rifles bad
bcenimponcdioCanadaandlheU.$.Fora
longtimc,acquirinalhisrilleinlheU.S.has
bcen•problem.lnthel996C..,,Digat,four
maa, Bmoriflesan: lu&ed: l)BmoZKB S27
fox rille-ti shon«tionnl nne ..,th •
o:lo!achablebO>.mapz,ne,ncalibers22Hor-
nct.222 Rem. lnd22J Rem. 2) BmoCZ5J7
Sponerrillo-inc,,liben270,30-06(intemal
five-shOlmagazine).243ar.d308(dctachabk=
fi~mapzine).3)BmoCZ5.SOrifle-in
c:alibm243.308(Four-sholdctachablemap-
zmc:). 7"57 270. 30-06. 7mm Rem. Mag. and
300Win.Mag.(fivo-shctlflla.,.Jm,p,;inc)
4) Brno ZK.K 600. 601. 602 rifles-in cal-
ibcrs 7x57 • .J0-06, 270 (M600); 243. 308
(M601); 375 H&H. 458 Win. Mag. (M602)
andfi,~sholrnaaazjne.Toftndthenamelnd
importer )'OU nm! only a.insult
lld(lm.s of the
thelatcsl issucoftheGu~ Digest.
181
T HE TITLE OF this d1ap1er will require
tome explaru11ion. In another chapter. 1
dcscribclhcBrowningBBR.1modclin1ro-
duadaround 1984. lnthischapler. I willuy
to describe a mod1f1e1twn of this action
"lucbBrowningca.lhlhcA•Bolt,lfllJOduccd
,nthcariy\990s.histheModtlA-Bottll.
"hoch ha, a sornewhlll differml boh lhan
uscdmprt",·iousmodels."Thcfean:thrce
grades of the Browning A•Boh, namely
Huntcr.StainlessSta!kerandMedalhoo.Thc
Hunter grade is the lowest in cost. Now
come,theBOSSinthcti1le.~B-O-S-S"'-
thescfourlcttersstandforBallistil:Oplimiz-
mg Shooling System. WOW! These four
wordsn:fcr10a,-uyd1stmetandv1sualfca-
rureoflhismodel.thede\·,,;,::011themUWC
of the baml. You will hi•"<' IO read further
onforBrtno.Tiing"sandmy<k$qipl:ionofthis
dcv~.
The rifle shown hen: is the A-Boll II
Hunter.theonclpurchaKdinl 994andwill
describc. ltisehambc~ for1he25-06car-
trid&e.a,-uyexce11cn1powcrful,flatshool-
ingnumbcridealforlong-,-igcworkoothe
largcrvarmintaandforantclopc.hhasa
plain,.'llnutSIOCk"·ithnochecl.poe<:cand
w,thanon-n:flc('llve. rust-n:s1stant,black
mane surface on the ban-el and n:cei,·er.
Withoulscq,e,itwtighsaround7pounds.lt
:r:~".'"
is fitted with Bro,.1nng"1no,·eldelaehable
which iJ ■ feature many humen
For this Hunter model, Browning used a
plainpicceofdensewalnut,$hapingitjust
rightforcomfonablelhooting. l1 is fitted
with a smooth-sided rcco,I pad and sling
swivdsrudsforsundardslmgswivds.Aftcr
bcmg""<'llsandcdSl'TIOOlhandle\"<"l.it,.m
Jive-n1glonyhardsurfaceflnishofsome
kmd,andboththepis10lgnpandforearm
cleanlycheckercd.llikctho pi$10l&fiponit
hisnotcapped,anditscndisblcnded
182
smoothlywithlhcbottomlineofthc5IOCk.l
also like 1hc height of1hc comb and 1he
thickness of 11, making it ideal for scope
sigltting.Thcn:cel\-crisbcddcdintoascant
arnoontofbcddingcompound.andfromtho
n:ce,v.,-r°""'lfd1hebam:liscnt1rdyfrce-
floa~•thrsis•panoftheBOSSsystem.
Theu 1s no bedding compound m the tan&
an:a,UOVl"CVCT,then:isaSlcdslumbCl"-cen
iangandwood.then:asooforthatlcanooly
gucssa1.
Now comes the real BOSS sys1cm. which
is lhc muzzlcbrake on lhe muzzle oflhc
22w round tapered baml. I am going toeall
thisfeature1dcviecr1.1licrtban1brah
bcousc Browning credits i1 for doing
much mon, 1han 10 reduce recoil. Anyway,
1h11 device aceompaniN! by a chcckcn:d
lock nu1 ,s 1hn:adcd on the barrel wuh
thrcadscuttominimumtoleran«1sothlll
bothpartsc1nbcjus1tumcdbyhand.ln
addi1ion.anylonstripintlicthn:ldsofthe
bodya!somakeupforsometightneH.The
barrel.locknutand1hebrakepartarccali-
bratcd. the pwposc of which will become
dear 1n the following descriptionof1he
--
func1ionofth1Jdevil:ctake-ninpartd11tt1-
lyfromthc Browmngbookletthatcomc,s
withlhenflc.
The BOSS(Ballistil: Oplimizma Shoomlj
Systcm)operau=,asanadjustablcrifkbam,1
vibration dampener and muulcbrakc. An
adjustablcweiglt1affcctsaccuracy111hile1
sericlof clthauslhoksrcduccm:oil.
Every11rt1C1nflc1sflred.bam:lvibn•
twnsan:Jc'l1nmotion.Tllcscvibn111ons
oceurmalld1n:elions.e-,·cnbackandforth
along the nil of the barrel. Brown1n3
n:scal"<'hhasconfirmcdthatbarrelvibra-
11onsan:1heprimarycauscofinaccuracy.
Barrel vibrationJan:infl~cnccdbymany
fac1or.isuchasbullc11ype. bullet weight.
primcrs.diffcl"<'nlpowdcrsandbam:lcon-
fig~ra1ions
The BOSS adJUSlJ !he 11mmg of baml
vibrationssothcbullctcons1stmtlylcaves
thcnflcmuzzleatthcmosta,:h'lnugeous
time,. ~ the BOSS is adjusted to thl5
"'s"-«t spol~ for I 1wcn ammwmion. your
rifk will consisicn!lydch,-crc:,;.lnlordinarily
ughtgroups. With prc<:1s,on ammuniuon.
BOSS-oquippcdriflesofmanycalibcrsarc
capableoflOO-yard,onc-holcgroups.Thc
smallest thrcc-sholgroupob1amcddunng
thoBOSSdcvclopmcntmcasurcdanincred-
iblc .067". usin1factory loadedhunung
ammunition. With the BOSS you can tune
your rifk IO gft the optimllffl accwxy for all
l\'lilabkflCIOryloads.
When adJUStcd to \he ~,,..CC'! spol.- the
BOSS will oompcnsatc for slight dcviatJOOS
in ammunition velo,;11y. The BOSS will noi.
however.compcnsa1eforpoorshootingor
flyer,; caused by low quality bullets and
ammunition.
Thcuniquee:,;.haustholepattemonthe
BOSSprovidescotts,derablen:coilreduc-
Thc BOSS body knith is 111/0 inches for
ill calibers. Thesizeofthops•=thole,
andholcpam:misthesamef.,,.allealibers.
Thcsiuofthcbulletex11holeisthesame
forallcalibersuccptforthe338Win.
Mag.Thethrcndsystcmforthc338Win.
Mag.isdifferemfromothercalibcrstorulc
out!hepossibiliiyohccidcntallyswitching
componcntsandcreahn11nunsafccombi-
111tion
EachBOSScons1S1sof1locknut.body
andwcight.
(Above) Browning Model A-Bolt II Hunl&r
BOSSrill&
 l'recisionaccuracyfl'QflltheBOSSsys.
lcm is achieved by calibraiinJl your rifle
caliber and ammo with a .. sweet spot" SCl·
tinJl. 1ne '"sweet spot"" chan in the owner·s
manuallistsa,·craJlc""swectspots.""These
mayvarybetweenriflesofidcmicalspecifi-
cations with a given ammunition. Even
onc:..quancrofa1uma,,,ayfi'om1he"sweet
spot"cancauscagrouptospreadasmuch
asoneinchormore.Wesuggestyouuse
ourlis1ed"sweetspof"sc11ingasasta"ing
pointindcterminingthe""sweetspo\""sc,.
ting for your pa"icular rifle. then make
adjustments accordingly. Any chang, in
BOSS settin g may slig htl y aUtr yo ur
rlflt'1 polnt of impact.h"srerommendcd
you sc1 1he BOSS ··swee1 spot"" scning
beforesightinginyourrifleforv,indage rifle fordiffcrcntgameandshOOl different BOSSinthischaptcr.youwillhavenoticed
andclevation.TheBOSSwastcsledinfull loads. some differences already with more 10
tum.on.,..haffandone-quanerrumincre- Thenouns"swcetspot'"couldhavebeen
mcnls. Tighter groups may be achieved betternamedtheidealspot.Tudeterminc:the
with1heBOSStcs1cdinolherpositions. idealspot.youwillha,·c todoeonsiderable TIII HGltlActlan
Fullrum""sweetspoi""scningsorgradua- tcstfiring.lnebe-S1waytodothatistofire Thcrecciveristhrcadcdupfron110
tionsarenumbercdl-lOandinscribedonthe fromasolidbenchres1inidealweathcra1a receivethebarrel.Therecoillugisasepa-
barrelofyourrifle.Smallcr.onc-1cnthtum larJle! l00-yard dis1ant. You will want a ratepartse.:urelyheldinplacebetv.·et'!l1hc
incrementsareinscribedattherearofthe goodscop,:onthcrifle.andlwouldad,·isc shoulderonthcbarrelandthereceiver
1ocknut.Toselthe""swectspot.""thelocknu1 youtouscearmuffsorearplugs.lfyouare Remingtonhasuscdth,ssonofrecoillug
istumeduntilitrestsonthedcsired""sweet prom to flinch from recoil or noise. have andfastcning sincel948wi1htheintrodlll'-
spot'"numberinscribcdonyourifle"sbarrel. anotherpersondo1hefiring.Jwouldsuggcst tionuf1heirModel721. Thefrom panof
Olle-tcnlhtumincrementsaresecbytuming youusefi,•.,..shotgroupsrather1han1hree- lherttcivcr.lhcreceiverring.isroundal
thelocknutclockwiscun1ilthedcsiredset- sholgroups.andtomakethetestthoroughit theboltomandmachinedpaniallyoct.agon

.,
tjnglinesupwiththehashmarkonthcbar-

Supposeyouhavea270-caliberA-Bolt
mayrequirefiftyorrnoreshots10betal:cn.
Allof1hisisveryimponan1ffyouwan110
getthefullmcasureofusefulness1ha11he
on 10p. The ,·cry top of1he recei,·erand
bridgc.oraflatsurfaceifthereccivcrhad
beenmachincdafullhalfoctaJlon.hasbecn
riflcandaresightinginwilh 150-graincar- BOSSsyslemv.•illdeliverorasBrowning lefl the samcradiusas !hcbonomofthe
tridges.Referringtothe""swectspot""chan. pronuses recei,-er.Thereceiverbridgeismachincdto
you"·illfind1hea,·erage"sweetspo1"'tobe I find themodcldesignationsofBrov.11- thesamcdimensionsasthcrinJlwithcach
6.0fora270A-Bo11and 150-grainammo ingriflcsabi1confusing. When [wro1cthc ofthesurfaccslevelwiththosconthering
Tumthelocknutumi!itsedgelinesupor previouschaptcrbackin1heearly1980s.r Thetopsurfacesaredrilledandtappedfor
res1son1hemarkingforsixon1hebam:I. knewthcriflcasthe BBRbeeause i1 was scope mount bases. E,·cnafterthcmachin-
Sinccthe"'sweetspot'"islistedas6.0.the0 martedasslll'h. La1eronitwascalledthe inghasbcendoneonandin1hcrecei,·crfor
inscribedonlhe!ocknutshouldlinc:upwith A-Boh. Anyway. if you ha,·e read the BBR thcboh. magazincwellandcjcctionpon
thehashmarkonthebarrel. Your BOSS is chap1er.youwil\havenoticedanumberof openings,itiss1illavcrystiffpantoade
quatcly hold 1he free-floated barrel.
.,,.,. ..
nowcalibntcdforlherecommended"sweet actionfeamresinthatmodclthathavebeen
retainedin1heA-Boltll model.andifyou Be<:auscth<: bohhasthreeevenlyspaced
lfyoude$ire10 funherexperimentand will compare them with the A-Bolt II lockinglugs.three!ockinglugraceways.
possiblyoblaineventightcrgroupings.1um
thelocknutone..quancrofatumclockwisc
andfireyourrifleatyourtarget.lfgroups
opcnup.!umthelocknutcounterclockwise
and sight-in a1 diffen:m one..quarter\Ums
untilyouaresatisfiedwithyourgroupings.
Again. "sv.'cel spots"" may vary between
riflesufidcnticalspecificationswithagi,·en
ammunition.Asinanysighting-inproc,:ss,
bes1resuhsareobt.ain<:dthrough1rialand
error.Onccyourrifleisfineruncdtoits
"swcetspot.""youwillexpnicnccaccuracy
youneverlhoughtpossible.Youwillneedto
re-tur.CthcBOSSshouldyoudccidctoshool
differentbrands.lot'landtypesufammuni-
tion
Besuretokeeparecordofyourrifle"s
"sweetspots.""cspecially if you use your
183
with one 111hc bouom, ha,·c b«n cul
lcngthwisc:inthcrccei,·cr.Then.ofcoursc:.
thcrcarcndofthcrcai,·erismac:hincd10
acccptthcuiggermcchanism.andthebolt
shroud and bolt handle.
Thcbohon1hcold rno<k:I A-Boh 110:n
5m00lh.andsowasthebohracc".ayinthc
rc«1ver,ThcA-Bohllhasonlythrccloc:k-
'"itup.andthebohbodyhaslhrccfull•
length ma1chtdridgcsandthe raceway ,n
thercccl\·uforthcbol1 hasmacchmg
IJIOO'ff.ThcbohbodyrouldJustas,,,cn
luivcbttnnlkdaslccvc.---anon-rotauna
panbclwccnthebolthcadandbolchandlc
s.ection.Thcsciroo,·csmdupfronttofonn
thclockingshouldcT$forthcboltlugs.
Havingoolythrcclugsinstcadofnincnin
1hcprcviousmodelgreatlyshonencdthc
spaceofthcboh head, which alsoshor1-
cncd 1hc reccivcrringand shor1cncd thc
tnwclthccanridgemus1takcgoingfrom
the magazm,e to the chamber. l am quite
TIMMlollbolthudlhc,w;ng:(A)twoollht
tl'nelDddnglugs:(B)extrac10r;(C)ejllclor:
(D)bolllace-.
184
surcthatthethrcelockinglugsarcequally
as stronauthenincon the old model.
Also,thcridgesontheboltbodyalsoscrvc
asbolt;uidcsasthebohisopcncdand
closcd.Onmyrinc,chcbohslidcscasily
and is cnurcly bmd free no matter how the
bolt11opcratcd.Thcbolthcad,sfullyn1-
ccsscdtocrw;1n:lethecanridgcrim.Thc
SLmplcclawcuraclOris"'-ellmad.:andfi1-
ICd.morc101haninsomeothcrnncsw1th
the same lypc of ex1J11Clor. In this A-Bolt
nfk,theeiccoorisaspring-backcdplunger
posmOl'lcdatthecdgcofthcbolthc,adrc-
ccsscd s,m, lar to the one in the Rcmmgton
Modc1700sc:rics.andthisisanimprove-
mcntovcrthccjcctorusc:d inthe BBRas
dcscribcdinanothcrchapter.
The bolt handle. extractor cam on the
rceciverbrid~.boltshroud(bohsleevc),
cockmgpiccc.firingpin.mainspring.bolt
wou,,lloc:kandspringarcthe,iam,:inthis
rifleasmtheBBRdescribcdclscv.·~.Thc
TIM~'1BOSSSY$19fflde'lic9showlt>U: (A)welghl;(B)
....,.:(C)lod<ringand(D)bllm,I
disasscmblyinstructioni;forthesc:pansas
gi,·cnin the BBRchap1erarethesamc.bu1
bcadviscdthatthisisnotancasypl'O<.:Wurc.
,,.,
lnddcmally. the bolt shroud isalum,num
The trigger mechanism is al'IQ • any•
o,'fffromtheBBRmodel.ltisattac:hcdlO
the receiver in the same manner as in the
BBR.thesafetyisthesamoandthetnuer
huonlyoncadjustmmt-lhatof"-elj:Nof
pull. Thctriggcrhousingi1S1o:el.Alto,;ar•
ncdcwcrareatlthemagazincpans:h,nacd
11oorp1,1c.dctathablc steel mapzirte bo~.
lng&cr&,aardandthesmallpart5thatmakc
up the complete unit. Trigger guard, maga-
rirte followerand floorpla1care rnadc ofalu•
minumalloy.
Thcrcarcthrc<:gradcsandtwodifrcrcnt
action lengths of the Browning A-Bolt II,
namcly1hcHunterrno<k:lwithapl1inoo-
~hi:ekpie,;cS1<Xkwith theOUISkkmclal hav-
1na1mattcnon-rcflccti,..,surfacc:thcSt.allcer
modelwithstockmadc:ofblackfiberglass,•
rt'Cci,·crmadc:ofslainles.1sieelandtherest
oflhcmetalgivcnarnancdsil,·cr-grayfin-
ish: andthc Medallion grade with a sl()Ck
madcofmon:showywood,bertcrchcckcr-
1111and1h1&f,crpoli$hiodx:metal.C1libcn
fordx:lhrttfordx:long-«1ioomodelan::
2S-06. 270. 30-06, 280, 7mm Rem. Mag.,
}00 Win. Mag .• 338 Win. Mag .. and 375
-
H&HMaJ.;andfortheshonmodelan:lli.
22-250. 243. 257 Robert. 7mm-08, 284 Win.
""'"'·
Tom, is lwdly any fcatW"Cofdx: Brown-
in& A-Bolt II BOSS that I cancriticizc. l
hkeiissuxk.andonthcHunterrnodel l like
1hema1tcfinishonthcmc1alpan,. ln1he
cahbersitismadc.lherccoilpad is not a
badidc,1. J liketht-smOOlhopenuingand
bind-frttbolt.Allhoughldonotmuchlike
lheloollsofthcoock-eyedandnat\Cf1edboh
handlcknob,i1sW'Cfi1Smyhandbetwecn
my crook tnger finger and tho middle joint
of my thumb-ii has I narural fit, After
adjusu111thctnax,,rto11h=-poundpull,J
findnoth1ngtocriticize.lknowSOfl'ICshoo(-
~"',.nt•fullyldJustablctrigger111thcr
1hanthcs1nglc"'-c:,ghtofpulladjUS1men1on
th1striger.lha,·erunacrossmanyshooten
whodmiand1fullyadjustablctrigger."'ho
can'tbcsa1isfi,:,Jwithanytriggcr,andoftcn.
ifnotalways.blameamissedshoton1hc
triggcrratherthanadmi1i1wastheirfaul1.J
doprcfcr1safctythatlockscither1hesc:ar
orsuilter,butlcouldgctalongfincwiththis
onc. lalsohkcthctnaguincamngctncn1
"''>thdx:s,mplestcelrnagazincbm.a1111Ched
iothch1111cdfloorpl.llc,andthcrnagu1nc
can be easily dcbched from it. lfdx: map-
W>e 1s lcft 1nached wheo thc riflc is pu1
.,... y,this1lmo6t.,.wantcesthali1won'1bc
m,splacfdorlosl. Thatoftmisaproblem
with rifles having the usual detachable
magazine
-
twonderwhyBro,.11ingdidnotchoosc:10
rct11inthcm.:oillugwithiisfla1platformu
uscdonlheprt'Viousmodelofthisnfk.
Swnpcdonthclc:ftsideoftheban'elis:
BROWNING ARMS COMPANY
MORGAN, UTAH & MONTREAL P.O.
MADE IN JAPAN
St.mpcdontherightsidcofthci.ml111
onclll'>C1s:
PAT,4723369&PENO.
A·BOLT CAL 25-06 REM ONLY
Stampcdonrightsideofreccivcrbridgeis:
48027NW817
Note1haloomarkingsindicate1hat1t1s
lhcA•Boltll.Howevcr.theinsuuctionboolt-
lct Iha! comes with this BOSS~uipped nlle
--
huinboldprintA•Boltll onitsro\'O'and
inside.Therdoremydesignationforit,sdx:
A-Bol1IIBOSS.
Unless I rifle nut like myself his rudy
1CttSSI01 locofnflnofmanymakcsand
models.suchasafcwlargesp:,n111ggoods
storesm1gh1ha,·e, 111smigh1yd1fficultto
keepabn:astofand to examine and study
ni:wriflcsasthc)lan:introduccd l havcbccn
unablctodoth1s.andtmuS1hmitmyselfto
the ones Jean find.Of course: I do keep
abre;istoflhewri1ingsofothergunwritersin
rnagazincsand~s.butalltoooftcnwhcn
I new rifle comes on the market lhey as
oflcnas~f1dtogivcthcfitlldctailsofthc
fctturdofihorifle]"'al'IIIOknowabout-
SU<haslhc:tctionrnechanismc,.n'Cf'Cdbythc
stock.Totakcmcxamplc:,dunngthc11=
spa,,bmo'Cftllhe1ssuanccofthcBro...11ina
BBRdcscribcd1naoothcrchaplct'1ndmy
mtroducuon to the A-Bolt BOSS 1n this
thaplcr, I knowlha1scveralfca1Urcsofthe
BBRwcn,changedbcfon:itwasdiscontin•
ucd.Sodonotbctoosurprisc:d1ofindthal
ywrBBRoryourA-BoltBrowni113shave
somc--·hat d1ffcn:m actions than I ha,·e
dcscribcd,nthcsctwoBrov,·ningchaptcl'II,
The Bro ...11i113 A-Bolt BOSS model I pur-
chasc:d in 1994. and whith is "'°"'11 hct'c, 1s
dx:lluntcrmodcl,dx:lo,.'CSlpriceclmodel111
th11l111C.
My A-Bolt BOSS rifle is charnbered for
d>C"25-06,acanridge"'·hic:hlha,·ebccn
familiar w11h for many year,. My tcq1W1»
1at1tt "·1th it star1ed when it "-as knov,11only
asthc25Niedncr,andthefcwnflcs lbu1Jt
fori1--·ere1llas1onisbinglyaccura1c.Tha1
wa, 1he n:ason why I bought the A-Bolt
BOSSinthiscahber.Myson,Mark,andhis
father-in-1awalsohavcriflesforthc2S-06,
andbccausctllcyha,·cthefa,::ili1icstotcsl
my rifle I 1avethcjobtothem,Frornthc
stanldid11111ha,·ctomuch faithlha1the
BOSS S)'Slcm "''Iii all lhal the Brov.,u113 li1-
er.1un: da11ncd for it. Onc rnsonformy
skcpticismislhatthcvctylaslrifklbu.il11n
llusc;alibcrcouldandilidfrorndx:,'Cl)'Sla1
putnoconlythn:esbouin1ooncholc.bu1
fi,·cshotsinoncholeatlSOyards,andthlll
"'1thowmypdgctondx:muzzleto11nker
with. Cwld the BOSS system do my better,
1 ...'0llden:d?Jdoobtedit.Howe,·crhercan:
M!llt's comments:
"Onfirin1theveryfirs1sho11with1he
Bro"ning BOSS. I immediately noticed
,,..o 1hmg1: the lessened re<:oil and the
incn:asedmuzzleblast. The recoil is(kfi.
mtcly lCSI 1han with any oO>er 25-06 rifle I
h.avec,·er fired. The Brownm1wn,·cty
ple-.sarittofin:inlhatre$pCC!.Butthcnoite
andmuzzleblast"'ISterriblc,andtmcan
tcrriblc. lhd (fnnk) "·amcd = lhlt I
1houldwcarcarplugsandthis I did.but
theysecmcdno1tohelp11all1111n11thc
185
 The~-'-8ol ■ SWl<.-,..lrWr!xu::edin1987,ilr..a~._,_.
prtJ01'slottc; ...... IIIMl1'101Mtf;.,__,.,_1T<'Yhsh01122"iltld'1ff'(n.g.)_,.
caa:,,,,,~r;J27'0.::tO-Oe,7mm~Mag.lltld375H&ltandawti;t1r:Je..,.ti7'1,tlL

The8rowning-'•8ollllVarminlrille(wilhBOSS).&un. .. lhe-'•8oltllH,,,ni.,-•XQOP1
~hasatieavy~ri,elbllrNJl,lamna«idwoodSkX:kwithtplOtl~llat
lorer.::landpalmsv<tlg,lp. Chambotrfld°"'flor223and22·250,Mocim.twithBOSS
barrelvibrtllion~andmuuWwakl!syslem.lr'llr1:ldo.l<:<1~

The 8rowning -'•8oll I I ~ ri1le (with BOSS). Hantllomt clttaiing and mt ln--
ish. Roeewood ~on lhe grip and lorend give lhe Medallon • loolc.ol dilln:lion.
lntricatetyengrav9d-.......-fllottaddel8$$M;goodlool,:t.Thet.,,ncl-Mltdwalnul
SkX:khlllahighgmlllnilllandlhatpcutchecke,ir,g.MmetallUl'lacuhawadllep
lustreliniolh. A,lloomadelorlefl-handedshoolets.Madllin .. Cll~e,icepl3751i&H
wilhlhe~BOSS

186
blas1s.Sobeforelfiredmoreshots,lcare-
fullyfoldcdmysoflkathcrgloves,placed
them over my ears and then pulled my
heavystockingcapdownoverlhem. Still,
thenoisewastcrribk.My25-06Rugerrifle
kicks more 1han the Browning, but 1he
noiselevelisfarlcss.
"Asfortheac,;uracy,well,itwasnothing
ou1s1.1nding. 1 fired 1hre<: sho!s with lhe
BOSSslc,:veremovedandthcnfin:dth~
sho!groupswiththeslee,·eadjustedtoadif-
ferentsettingforeach. Thesmallcsigroup
wasjusto,·eraninch. l firedonlytwenly
rounds.sothiswasnotarealtestPerhapsif
I fired forty to sixty rounds, and did some
moreadjuscingtotheBOSSdevice,lmighl
havefoundasettingwhich,.nuldproduce
tightergroups.Anyway,rll1.1kea24"barrel
andashghtlyheavieroneona25-06over
anyBOSS~uippedrifle"
Toclose,lwanltoreportonlheresultsa
friendofmineob1.1inedwi1hhis7mrnMag
numBrm-11ingBOSS.Hefin:dsixtyrounds.
Ofroursehisrinewasscopedandfiredfrom
abenchrcstat lOOyards,asdidmyson.He
reponedmuchlessrccoilthananothcrritle
in 1he same caliber. Then, when 1 asked
aboutthenoiselevclmadcbytheBro"'11ing,
hes.aiditdidnotbotherhimhardlyatall.As
focac,;ura.:y.thesmallcs1groupsheobtained
wen:about.750".Perhapsmyfrienduscda
goodsetofearmulfs,bu1of 1hat lam not
sure. Perhapshedid,butwhowearsthem
whenhunting?Fromthcaboveinfoon.ation.
youcanformyourownopinionasrotheval-
ucanduscfulnessofthcBOSSdevice.
187
T HE BROWNING ARMS Company mcro-
duf;ed their Modol BBR lu&h-J,ov,"cml bolt•
acuonspc,uingriflcinl978aflttapmodof
IC'lnalycarsin"''hic:hlho),pmi,cednorilles
oflhistypc.Pre-.iouslOlhcBBR.Bl'O\>-ning
producedvariouscaliberlof1:a11erfiR:rifles
buihonthctlutt!ctlithsoffinnish-madc
Sakoac1ions(su1/Jecliup1erenrirleJRuger
Modt:171Marl:f/)andontllefamous8c1·
i'um-madefNMallKl'llctlORS(s«l/rec/tap-
ur..,_,FNAclionl'd:RJjks).forasourtt
ofModolBBRs.Brov,-ninghasnwncd"'"tSI·
"'..rd. for lhc BBR is made ,n Japan, lhc
~ofin-enlodaBrov,-runalircanns.
I haveahighrc:gard forlhcModol98
~bU5<1" ac!ion. cspttially so for Ille FN
MauscractionasllSCdbyBrov.-nmgandodi·
crs.ThcFNactionslha1lha,·e$eCIJandllSCd
were"'"llmade.,"')'func:1ionalandvc,yrc:li•
able. [IS major drawback was that ii was
designtd to handle Qllly Cll1nd&ff of 30-06
headsix.andlhallhc~,,,, ...-as ...~
.... hm the lltlion was modified to handle
1onFcanridgeslhanlhe30-06.Thett"'"IS
al10nopracti,cal"''a)'IO~lheFNMau,;cr
actioniohaMlclhe222familyofcanridges..l
alsohavelhehighestrtprdforlhelhrttSako
ac1ions-theyarc:c~1rc:melywell made and
finishcd,lho),areabout11Slightinwcightcoo-
liS1cn1wilhstrenglhasanytumbol1actioncan
bemade.andlhercisanactiontohandk
almost ..y $lalldan.l ,;enlCrf\n: artndge from
lhe 17 Remington on up to the 375 H&H
Magnumand-158Magnum.Thela1es1acuon
188
Iha• Bro,>-nonahasadopted.the BBR....
oon5Micnblt~fromlhcFNMaUStt
andlhcSalodwcsome.
n,,.,,..
Let"liakc11ooka1theriflefirstandlhcn
goontothcactioo.Asfirstintrodu«d,the
BBRrifleisafull-sizcdriflewci~n&around
8.5p0Undswilhoutsightsorsling.lthas•24"
round tapcml bam:l of medium $pOl'ICf
"'-nghl.Thcmuzzlediamelieris.«11'.Chuall
lfflglhoflhcriflcis44.5".Thesto<;ki.Am:r•
icanwalnu1.andS1yled~-hatsomilarto
d,eWcalhcrbytumbohriflcSIOCk.v.11h1111Xd
oombandchccl::piro:,flarcdp1stol1P"'Pllld
flat-bonomcd fcnnd. ThestoCkhasahigh
glossfinishandischec:kcrcd.Thech::,;kerina
on my IJBR is coarse and oot well dooc
Thcn:isadarltwoodcaponthcpistolgrip,
f'achma)Tflushquick-delachablcslinjswiv-
cli, and Brov.-nona's own fam,har prc,Kd-
hom buttplMc fitrcd to the stock. On lhe rwo
magnum caliben. a PachmaYT m:oil pad is
U5Cd.Thl:m:e"·er,s~llcdandlappcdfor
,oopclllOlllllS.NoprovisionsaemadoonW
barrelforopensiat,t1.TheOU1Sidemctalparts
arc"'"llpohshcdandblucd.BBRcalibcrsarc
25-06.270,30-06, 7mmMagnumand)OO
Magnum.
""""-
Thc~,..... oftlleBro,,-nmgBBR,s
roundU!lfromlOaca:ptthebarrel.Bctwecn
theshoukboflhcbandllldd,ertttl\Uts
themoooillug.llu,sl.. isqu11emassive.andit
1101onlyte,",fllOrtSlriclmwwardmo-,~
oflhcbamlandactioninthe51Cd.ilhasa
fwmcaex\Cl>Wni1UN'lrdtoser.'f:as1bol-
10mingplatform1p1Mthe5t<Xk.lnocher
words.,i1is,subs1i1u1cforafla1-bonomed
=
recciverandpri,,"<.'nlStheroundrteciverfrom
wedging the scock llplll1 when the fron1 guard
is lightened. This is a good arrangt"-
The io.dingand ep:1,on pon 1111!,e m:ieiv-
eris mon, lhanarnplein width IO loadlhc
magazine from ab<M:, with the bolt open.
although the !Mpz,ne can also be loaded
frombelowwilhtheactioncloscdbyswing-
ing the floorplate open. Additionally, Ille
magazine can al$0 be detached and loodcd
indq:,cndrnlly.Onthcbonomofthcrccciver.
lhemagazine .....,ll,sm1llcdfla1.andthcl'f:arc
canridgt,gu;debpsprovidcdinthcrteciveras
v.'1:llasonWmaga:nncboxtoholdthear-
uidges in place whether the magazine 11
mltdfromabo-,'1:orbelow
Thercoe,,,,,-nnaisroundon10p."tiilelhe
rccci,·erbndge1S50nlC"'hatflattcncd10
rtducewcight.Botharcdrillcdandtappcd..
rwo holes each for scope mounts. The lcfl
recciverwallisvc,yrigid,itbeingapproxi-
ma1ely.2SO"lhk:k,andi1ha$nolockinglug
ni=,,.11ytoweakmit.Howe>'er,becauscthe
m:,e;,,,.isroundondbccau,cboditheio.d-
ing.'tjectionponandlhemapzinc"'"u~
11111aeam.larp.Wnilond,erighlsideof
thc=dverbeN.....:n!hem:e"·erringand
bridgeisleftverylhin. ThisllCWno1ha,..,
bccn so-i1 cookl CMily ha,,,
been 0nC-C1ghth
ormorethickertorcdu«thcwidthofthc
loadingponlha1much.
Thetlrliisshon.andthcrightsideofiris
nocchcd10aca:ptlheroo1oflhcbolt~.
ThiscooldSCM!Mlsafccylug. Tocxiendlhe
w,aandpn.l',idcaplacelOfflCUlllhesliding
-.sare1y.theBBRhMalll<Clblodtmaclal
belowthercoe,vertang.hcldth=byastud
sa-cw-------.~"'tiid,al,o11tr,ti10~lhe
(Abov&)Thep,e-'IL2Brow!'llngBBRrille
rearguard5tm'>'.Thisblockalsoprovidesa
flalboltomingsw-faceagainsithesrockj..sias
thcrcooil!ugdoesatthe~oftheaction
TheBBRbohisathree-picceaffairoonsisr-
ingofthebohhtad.thecylindrica!andhollow
body,andthebohhandlescction.Thescthrcc
pan:sca11bcsepa,arodbythcrcmovaloftwo
pins.Moreonthislater.BBR'slockinglugs
arcoo the bolt head. llx:rcarcthree.-m-'Sof
them.nincina!l,threeineachrow.Thed:iam-
Clcrofthebolthcado,·crthe!ugsisthcsame
astheboltbody,andthiselimina1esthenecd
!Ohavelocking!ugracewaysmachinedin<iide
the retti,·cr. Browning has used a modem
innovationinprovidinglockingshouldersfor
thebol1hcadin<iidetherecei,-erring.Theyan: Attaeh&dbetwoonther&ceiverandbanel,lhenw::oillugservestwolunciions:aslherecoit
no!machinedinaspartofthereccivcr,rathcr, lu{landasat>onomingplalforma!l(linstlhestock.BrowningaJsoused~beddingcompoond
theyan:machincdinsidea separa1eslee,·e in lhe recoil shoulder area for a dose m between melaf and WOOd
and-with thc receiver ring inside 10 accept
thissl«\"C--lhcinscnsleevcisprcss--fincd prooablyis .. im-e:IUTlenlcasting.Jtismion:d release it unhampered A spring provides
into place. Thelowcr(leftrowwhenbohis tothcboltbodywithapinthroughthcundcr- SAFE and FIRE positions for the safety.
lockod)lockinglugsan:widerthantheother sideofthcboltbody. Acockingcamno1ch Whe-nthcsafety isrearn'afli,arotarycamin
r.,,orows,andthis~u\tsin a wide path milledintotherearofthebohhandlescction thetriggcrmcchani9Tlblockstbeuiggcrl0il
betwemthelockinglugshouldersforcar- cocksthesaikcrontheupturnofthchalldlc. c ~ be pulled.On the same rotary lock is
lridgesfodintothechambcr.Thebreechend Thebohsl=.-eisofone-piettconstruc!ion mountedanxltha1projectsupwardintothc
of the baml is flat, as is the front of the and threads into 1he boh with right-hand notchforthebohhandlc,lockinsthebolt
rccesscdbohhead.lnsidethisrccessedbol1 thrcads.hiienclosedonthcsides.1opand closed.Althoughno!entirelysilent,thesafety
hcadisthecjcctor,aplungerandSJlnnghcldin back,bmopenbclow,anditis,·erynea1ly isno1ooisywhenmo,.-edrotheFIREposition
placebyacrosspin shapedtokeqrn-eigh!toaminimwn. Thefir- Awindo"·edsteelhollsingcontainsthc
Theextraciorisatinypiettofme1altha1 ingmechani9Tlconsistsofthcone--picccsmk• triggermechanism,anditisattachedlothe
fitsintoands!idesinacutandaslitintherim er,ooi!mainspringandthestrikcrhcad. The bottomofthcrecei"crbyacrosspinupftoot
oftheboltfacerecess.hisgiven1ensionbya en1ireundmideoftheboltsleevchasano1ch andbythcsafctyblockattherear.Themcch-
piettofspringwireinsidethebolthcad.For machincdlengthwisethroughitsothatthc anism ishuihonthesameprincipleasthe
thcveryimponan1jobthatithas!Operfonn,it strikcrwith!itrikcrhcadcanslipinandoutof common Timney and similar trisgcrs in that
sureappearsromerobcon the puny side. J i1.Thisisno1casilydonc:sincethemainspring itcontainsasear,atriggcrthatengagcswith
havene>-crStt11ano!hcrcxtractorqui!eljkeit, isvcrystiffandisoompressedbe1weenthe i1,and1henecessarypinsandsprings.Thc
orassmall lror11oftheboltsleevcandacollaronthc BBRtriggcrmcchanism,hov,-evcr,hason!ya
Therearmdofthebolthcadslipsintothc fro111ofthestrikcr. single adjustment-a scn=w and locknut to
boltbody,andthctwopieusarchcldtogclher BBR's sho!~un-styled sliding safety is a adjUS1forweigh1ofpull. Thestockhastobe
byaheavycm$Spinwilhahok:initforthefir• goodone.Mountedinascparateblockthatis removcdtomakcthisadjus1mem.Thetriggcr
ingpintopas:slhrough.A,-erysimilararrango- fastenedtotheundmideofthenx:civcrlal\j!., springandtheareawhcrtthctriggcrcngages
ment isused intheboltofthc SJ:MJ'l'lcoM44 thercisplentyofroombchindtheboltslee,-e withthcsearart visible through holes on
riflc. l seeoolhingwrong"ilhthearrangemem, tooperntcit-c,-enthctopofthegripishol- either side of!he triggcrhousins. The cam
andlwooldsnfcri101,-erthatofsilverbraring lo"-edoutbchindthcsafctysothcshoolcrcan studonthetriggcrthatcngageswiththesafe-
ther..,:,panstogethcr.Thebohbodyisalhin--
walledtubcwithsc,-enlongitudinalgroovcs
machinedinitsootsidesw-face.Sixofthc
grooves art shallow, and they do mctt to
A
m:luc:cf!Ctioninopcratingthebohthantohgh1-
enitTheseventhgroo-.-eisdreperandlonger
thantheodlcrs-ilisthegrooveinwh.ichthc
pn:;ectio,lofthebolt-su,pfitstoguidethcbolt
upmopeningandckising.andtostoptheboh
initsrea,wanltra,·cl.Thebolt-su,pismounted
ontheowsidelcftofthen:cei,-er,andilishcld
inplaceandpivOISonascrewthrcadedfrom
thebouom~.Theboh-su,pisasimpleaffilir,
andalthoughilappc:arstobclittlemon:than
aoeqwteforthcjob,Jwouldsnfcri10-,...-the
pegtypeasuscdonsomeothcrmoclernrurnboh
riflcsdescribedinthisbook.
Thethirdpanofthcboltisthebolthandle
sicction.Asmanyofthcothcrstcclpansofthis The BBR bolt head &howlng: {A) ejecw, (B) e•tracto,, (C) pjnwhich holds bolt head to the
actionappeartobe,thebolthandlesection boltbody,and(D)onerowo!locl<inglogs

189

Thtlslidiogtaogsafetyollhe88Risconvenien11yplace(l,andthe
cockiogindicatorprojectingbelow1hecontou,edboltsleevecanbe
1el!andseen
tycamisal!'O,·isiblc.asislhcboltlockrod
Thelliggerlet-offinmyBBRrillehasallifle
toomuchtake-upando,·eMr.wel.aswellasa
bitofroughnessinlhctake-up.ltSttmstomc
that8rowningwouldha,-ebcenwise10ha,·e
providedadjustmentsfortake-upando,·cr-
tra,-elinthismechanism.
Thetriggerguartlbowismadeofanalloy
andisbeldinitsinlettedarcainlhestockby
thcrearguardscrewandbyascrcwupfrom.
l1is,-eryreatinshapc.andthelliggcris,,;el1
poSitionedini1
l'crhapsthcmostoutstandingfeatureofthc
BBR is its magazine . h is not new with
Bim,.ning.because!ha,-esecnasimilarmag-
azine on a custom-built rifle. although l
belie,-ei1isthcfll'Sltimesuchamagazjncsys-
temhasbcenusedonacommen::ialmodcl
Todestribethisrnagazjnebricflyistosaytha1
it is a semi-detachable. srag.gcred..:olumn,
box maga.;:incattached to1hc: hinged floor-
platc.ltcanbeloodedthroughthcopenaction
or from below with the floorplate swung
downorwiththemagazinedclached.Also,
the magazine box. ifit is ne.-erdetachcd.
woo·tgellostormisplaced
The BBR floorplatc is hinged to a plate
throughwhieh1hcfrontguardscrcwpasses.
andthisholdslheasscmblyinplace.Thehinge
plateisstcel:thelloorplatealight"'eighlalloy.
Alatchbuiltinthcfrontofthen-iggerguartl
hokisthcfloorplatecloscdThemagazinebox
consistsofathinsteelshcllwitharcmovabk:
s«,elbooom.andinsidei1isanalloyfollowc:r
andacross-leggcdfoll<w.erspring.lnthefioo1
oftheboxll>=isartalloyblockwhichscrves
aslhcfccdramp.Theboxhascurvcd-incar-
tridgcguidclipBtohoklthccanridgesinplace,
yc-1 they allow the cartridges to be easily
190
strippedoutbytheboltorfmgcn:.L.asdy.the
magazine box can be easily and qui<:kly
dclach:dfromthefloorplaie-it'shcklinplace
byalipcngagedinaslitatthcrearandbya
spring-bockedplLlllgCfupfiont.Todctachthe
magazjnebox.merclyliftthefromc.-.:lofthe
bo:<upai><!~itisinyourhand. The box
iseasi!y1akenapanforcleaning.ltsemu1obe
averypracticalmagazincsystem
Youmaywondera1mydescriptionofthe
folJo,.·crspring.Well.itisacross-leggcd
affairwithonclcghingcdtothcrcarofthe
followcrandbolhlcgshingedtogctberinthe
middk.withasmalltorsionspringon1heccn-
terhingepin10keepthclegscrosscdandthe
followcrunderpressurt,.Thecrossk:gshold
thcfollowc:ra1aconstantle.-dpositionwith-
ou1binding.l1 isunlikeanyothcrfollower
springmcchanismthatlha,·ee,·crobservcd
Herelmustalsomemionfourothcrfea-
turesfoundontheBBR.Thefirstonevisible
from theoutsideisthecrosspinorJowel
through1hestocka11hertt0ilshoulderarea.
Thcuseofthispininthisareawillalmostcc:r-
t.tinlyprcvrnlthcstockfromsp\iningduc10
n:coil.Thcsecondfeatureis1heuseofan
epoxycompounda1theinlettingareaofthe
rccoillug.ltsusehereassuresaperfectfitof
thertt0iltugagainstthestock.Thenextfea-
turehasprobablynevcrbccnusedbeforeona
commer1:ialrifle.hisaforendSliffcneror
an1i-wa,pfea1uro-anlru-ch:annelmadeof
alwninwncpoxiedinagroovcinlheforcnd
Thcchannelisprobablynoheavicrthanthe
woodremovedtoputi1inplace.ldoubtifthis
fcaturewillbcofmuchvaluc.althoughknow-
ingabitaboutthcwoodthatBrowninghas
bcenusingoflatc,lhechannclmayhelpsta-
bilizetheforend.Thclastfeatureislhat1he
Tut,BBRtriggur
mechanism with
arrowp(lintiog10
lheweiglt-ol·pull
~~=:
adjustment screw.
lheweighto1trig·
ge, pull.
barrel is fn:c-floated. which means that the
fon:ndchannelismadedtq)andwidcmough
!'Othatitdoesootcontactthebarrel.Arifle
withafroe-floatcdbarrelgcncnllyretainsits
zero much be1tcr 1han a rifle with a barrel
pressure-inlcttcdin10theforcnd.Afree-float•
cdbarrelstayssightcd-inn::gardlcssoh-ea1h-
c:rconditions,orhowtherifleisl>eldwhen
fired.orwhetherorno1aslingisusedwhcn
firing-ellprovidcJthebarrelisOOll'CS«:don
oragainS1somcthing.Oflen.bmno1always.a
free-floatcdbarreldelivmthcbcSlaccuracy
poSSible
A1thctimclpun::hasedmy13BR.lhestore
where!boughti1hadsc,'Cralmoreinstock.
lngoingovcrmyrifle.lnoriccdlhecrosspin
through1hestockprojectedsligh1lyonboth
sidcsofthcs1ockandthat1hcbuttplatcalw
extcndedbeyondtheedgcofthcstock.This
_,-ne,;1 10 indica1c that 1he stock had slm.mk
afteritwasfinished.Thenlchecke,;ltheOlher
BBRriflcsandlno1icedthcsamecondition
onthem.Anyway,lamgladmyriHchasan
.
anti-..,np metal channel in i1S forend.
althoughlfearthatifthestockshrinksany
,--. ......,
moretheforend"illspli1d<Mnlhcccntcr.
Always, wl>en handhnga turnboh rifle.
whether in a sporting goods store. in your
home.inahuntingcamporwhere,-er.opcn
lheboltandmakesuretherifleisunloaded.
Toremo-.1:thebolt.opcnit.pressthefront
rndoftheboh-stopdownandslide1heOOh
rearwanl.outoftheaction
Todisasscrnblcthebol1.proccedasfol-
lows: l)Makeasimpk:tool10hold1hesllik-
c:rback.Takca6"pic<:eof 'l,,"rodandbenJ
i1inthemiddlc1ofomta two-tinedfon;.,.;th
thefori<spacedtoenterintotheS!)ac(."under
lheboltslce,·coneachsideofthesuikc:rin
fiootofthecockinghcad.2)Graspthistoo1

~~=lhelorend.Srowrw,gt-..--ledanMIITWl\lfflchannellOstitl«landlla·
ughlly,mhninplacc.pullblckon,1anda1
thcameUmcllR5Cf'C'\ll'thcboltslec,'Cfrom
thcbol1coumcrdo,;h.'lg.Dolhisone111mal
• tune.kc,epin&lhelOOlmplacc.Afttr!le\-er-
al tums. "hmlherockingheadnolonger
1ooi:~thcbol1.lca,..:lhe100linpbttand
complclcly unsmw the bolt sleeve. 3) If you
wan110 remove the: striker from 1hc boll
slceveyounccdlll10!hcr1ool10holdlhcmain•
spring corn~SK<I. Make this 1001 from a
p1cceof 11.-rod1bout5.25•tongandbcnd
cachmdup l/,•,1cavingaspaccof).) r
~"«nthcbcmendl.filethcends1bi1as
i....dcd,odll:IOOl"oo"tslipoff. 4)Pia,;,;lhis
too1"·1thonemdbmindthcmairupru,&111
lhc$lolofthcbohsltt\..:andlhcothcrmd
o,.wthcedgcoflhcshoulderonlhcwiker.
Thtsv.illDl,)mJft$Sthcnwnspring1"-ayfrom
thcbohsltt\'Cand,wnhlhetoolinplxc.hft
offthcbolt~ lfyouwarn10remo,·c thc
rna,nspnng.dm..:001thcpinfromthcw,,:k-
mgladtomno,-elha1pan.S)Toreunitethc
slrikerandboltslcc,·c.uielhcspringrom-
pressor!OOlasbcfon:,slipthcbolt1k<,,...:in
pla,,:c.inscnthcforttoolinp!aceinthcbol1
sltt,·c,rcmovc1hespringcompreSS<;O"IOOI
andyouar'Creadywre.assernblcthebolt
~"1thS1nkerbackintothcboll
After the striker "55mlhly has been
ren11, •,alfromthcbolt,thcboltl-adcanbc
rffllO\'ed fromlhcbodybydri\"U1goutlhc
lwge:p,ntha!holdslhcse"""Opar1Sklgelhcr.
Tosq,amelhebohh.1ndkscctionfromlhc
body,usc1driftpunchllwughthcholemlhc
mwupperSIOCoflhcboltanddriveoutlhc
saudatlhc~sidcoflhcbolt.lwoukl
ad,uc 1&1inst the removal of the c.,ector and
C~lnlCIOf.
Rcmovclhestockbytuming0011hc:rear
and fronl ~uardsen:wsand, with bol1open.
can:fullyhandfon:etheba~landaction
e-.'C11lyoutofthcstock.Thebolt•stopanbc
n;mo,'CdbylllmUIJ10Uli1Ssrna!l!Cl"CW. The
$11fclyand1nggermcchanismseanbctaken
outbyrcmo,inglhcrearguanl!Cl"Cwstud
andlhcafdymountmgblod.andthendri·
....,.outthccrosspmatlhefn;nofthcaill&C'"
houson&dwholds R 10thcrccei,w. Tum out
lhe.:m,,•,nfn;nofthctrigg,;rguardandlhc
guardcanbcmnm'CdfromlheSIOCk.L1ftlhe
lloorplatcass.emblyfromlhcstock. Dis,.s..
scmblelhcrnqaw,cboxbyfirsircmo,1ngrt
fromlhcfloorplau:andbyliftingitslrontmd
upandawayfromtheplate.lllenslidethe
loosebonomoftheboxrearwardandou1.
1flcrwhichlhefollov.-erandfollowerkgscan
bererno,·cd. Reasiemblc inn:,·crseookr.
Theb.arrelandre<:oillugarccllreaded,·ery
t,ghlly1npla<;c:,andw,le,.syouha,·etheprop.
ercqu1pmcn1andlhcskillforlhisopmitton.
nolllmlplshouJdbcmalrtottmO\..:lhebar-
rd. Youllhouldaltonotanemp11olal:clhc
m81('f mtellalllSIII apart Wl'"°5 you ar'C
sl<illedmv.'Ofk,ng"11hmiallpiecu.
-
ThcBnw.tungBBRriflcisrn:arl,;edasfol-
lows: Slart1pcd,nsmalllctlcrsoothcleftslde
oflhebam:lis;
IIROVwffiNG ARMS COMPANY MORONI. UTAH
&MCWTP9,L,P.Q
MAOEIN-W'Nl
Thcmodc:ldcsignationandcaHbC'ris
S(alllpedonrightsideofbam:las
BBACAU3ER.25-060N.Y
Thcscnalnumberisswnpcdoothcnght
......
-
si<lc oflhe rec:cn-er ring. The lctlen NP arc
sumpcdontheboltheaduidonlhcbarrel
Bro,r.111nglireannsha,,.,longbocnheklm
h,gt,Qleemamong!lhoo!crsthc"'Ofldc;.w.
lnyurspast,ifyouCMnedaBrown,ngauto-
1111111eshotgunorlhciro•,er/widcr.ordltir22
au10maticriflcoroncoflheirpockc1pistol1,
youownedlhc:fincst- thelinestindcsign
andworkmanship.lcan"tintru1hsaytha1
aboullhe llBR rifle.orbcoverlyproudofit.
Thcformcrlklgium-madeBrowninghigh•
pov.'C!Nlumboltriflcbuiltonthcl'NMaU5er
o,cuon"'tialinercraftedrinc.Althoo.ghu
had1pooriydesignedandshapcdsiockand
.,,oddly~bam:l.ilwasbettermalr
andfintslledlRSMlcandOUl.AsforlheBBR,
our,......Uy ilis1finelookingarm.lndwhilc
lheo,·enilldesignoflhcaction.barreland
SIOCl;Ui"~lheAmerican~likes.lhe
wor1<rnanslupthatonecxpcctsof8ro,r,tungis
oot !here. True,, every BBR owner is oot
goingKllooklll!lidetheriflcas ldidorbcto
crilK:alaboutscn11llthi1andtha1Stluudooot
affec11he,;afe1yorshootingquah1icsofche
nflc.bu1jus1chesamethe1JllRcouldha,·c
bcenmadcbetter.
Thcfollov.1ngarcafewofthclhingsldid
ootlikconlheBBR lpun:hascd. The stock
hadshrunkandth:a!,ndicateslhalthewood
" -as ootproperlyscasonedordried.The
chcclcnnghado..·er•runs;111surfa«"'II
>'Cl')'une-.'Cnandlhcworl:pooriy donc:. The
191
inle11ingshowcdhardlyanyhandworl::five
minmesmorewithapica:ofsandpapcrcoold
ha,1:rcmov«J~ofthemachinemarksand
splinters from the raw edges. The funnel
crov.11inthemuzzlcisno!thcwayl likemy
bam:!scnw:ncd. l wouldha,1:likcdtwomore
adjusunentscr~wsonthetriggermechanism.
I wouldliketos«abctterandstronger
e x - in th" ac1ion. J wouldaliolikelOsoo:
twiceortripletheamountofmctalintheright
rm,iverrail.Lastly,ldon'tp:,nicularlylike
themachiningdoneonthebohheadand
insidethelockingshoulderinsert
TheBBRisalargeac,ionlhat isideally
sizodfor30-06-lmglhcartridges.l!isa,-cry
strongaction.andthoseninelocl:inglupand
shouldersontheboltandin1hcrm,i,1:r
locked tog<,ther will hold a tremendous
amoumofpressure. h"agoodlookingaction.

:•i:~=~1:1~:C!l~t~~ L__ l!IE:...11

slidcsOOCkwardandforwardsmoothly,and
feed.I arnidges from the magazine imo the
chamberwithoutahitch.Thel'C"llll!V.ineiscasy
toloadandunlood.andbyswingingthelfla8-
azinedo"11itcanbcrefillcdwhilethneisa
loaded cartridge in the chamber. Themaga-
zinecan'tbedroppcdorlostinthcpro=s.
Manyhw11erswillsaythatthisrifk"abit
oothchcavysidctocanyallday.Formysclf,
especiallyinthestandardcalibers, I would
infcrthatthestockhavelcss"'OC!d:perliaps
panemcdaftertheclassicGrimn & Howe
style.Howeva-,stockcdasitis.and~ighing
whatitdoes,itisacomfonablcrifletofire.
e,·cninthemagnwt1calibm.Asis,inthe25-
06caliber.itcanbeputin101heclassofa
long-rangcvarmimer.Thefrcc•floatedband
Th&miigazn:ioflheBBRcanbeio.>dedinlhreewaysclMlU!l'lheejeclior,ponwilhlhebolt
open,wilhlhemagazin&boxdi)tac:hed,orwilhlloorplateswungopenandmagazin&boxallached
asshownhe«!.lnlhelastlwOinstanoBs,lheaction<:anbeleflclosedandlhectiarrberloeood
isagoodfeatun:.asistheepo;o:ybeddingof boltThisresultsinashottupliftofthebolt
,._,
thcrecoillugareaandthccrosspinthrough handle,lll\dtheadvantagesofthisarcthrce-
fold: I) ltspeedsupboltoperation.2)0n
As mentioned before, lliketheBBRbol! thefullupliftofthcbol1handk,alotof
slee,1:andthccle,·erarmngcmcntuscdtoput clcaranceislcftbctweenitandthescopc.so
thecockingheadandstrikerinsidcit.The a full grip can be maintained on the handle
arrangemcnlmakesilverydiff>culttodisas- whenopcratingthebohwitboutdangerof
semblethebolt.butlhavehadarifleortwo thefingersbeeominsbruiscdorculonthe
aroundthchouseforfortyyearsormore.,.ith- scope'seyepie<:c.Thisisespeciallyimpor-
outmyhavingar.eedtoL1kethoscboltsapart. tantwhcna"'idc-ficldsoopcison1herit1e.
lalso!ikc!hclhrec-rowanangffl\entof 3)The shon upliftalsomakcspossiblea
the locking lugs which results in them minimumcutinthes1ocktoallowthebolt
unlockinsinon1ya60degreetumofthe tocl~.Onthisriftethecutislessthanhalf

. . . . . . 9.875.
.........8.750"
........ 1.375•
.........875.
. 4.375.

·""'
. . 132"
) .... .3.380"
Fronl!JllllrdSCrew ..•.. 14x20!p!
-·
Ignition

~ i :::··
Ejector ....
Bott-s lop ..
Rear guard screw ..... 10x24tpi

192
 Browning BBR R1lle

··--a'7 ---.,..
··- 18
··--J.....
.."" 63 SearPin

" """""
65 SearSpring
66 SlingSwivelBase,Front
67SlingS....+velBase,Rear
47 ~ Magazne Spmg
48 MagazneS!nitPin ~~
~ ~~

r--
51 Mec:hanisml-lousing
So,wW-
52 ~HousingSet 74 TriggerPin
75 T ~ P u l ~
36 ~ Latch
76 TriggerPul~t
37 ~ 1elatc:h
38 Magazin&Floorpla1elatdl
"""""'"'
TT T ~ P u l ~ t
78 T,we<Sid8plales
39 ~FolowerAivel 79 TriggerSidepla!eRivels
40 MagazineFolower 80 Trwe<Spring
41 Magazr,eFolowerSpmg
42 Magazin&Ra~Aivel :; 81 Trlgge<SpringRod

the depth than1haton a numbcrofmhcr fla1-bot100lcdn:«i,'C1",alladdupromakethe pounds).lnothcrrcspccts.theliglnervcnion

rines,.•hichhavethc90degrttbolthaodle
uplift necessary with locking lugs on the
bolt. "Thcadvantageofthcshallowc,-notch
isthaithe,uockisootweakenedsomuchat
rhispoint
All-in-all.consideringthe,-ery ..·elcome
magazincsystem,andtheOlhernovelfeamre:s
ofthisactionsuchasthebohslccveandstrik-
crammgement,thethree-pieceboltconstruc•
tion,andarttoillugthatdoublesasa
BrowningBBRactionauniqueonc.
Newscametomejustasl finished this
chapterthatBro"11inghasin1roduceda
lightcrversionoftheBBRtorcplaccthcorig-
inal,·crsion.Thisnewversionhasalighter
andshonerbam:I (22"1onganda muzzle
diameterof.600")andashmmerforend\Q
affce1arcductionofweigh1(8p:,ur,dsvs.8.5
isalmostthesamcasthecal'lyheaviermodcl,
anditdoesaw3ywithoneofthecriticismsl
had regarding the early mode!. Browning
callsthisncwrif\e1heirlighmingBolt
According 10 1heinfomuuionlhavc,the
BBRLightningmodcl.aswcllasothcrBBR
models,wcn:discontinuedin1hemid-1980s
aodn:placcdbytheA-Boltmodel.Oneof
the A-Boh models is to,·en:d in another
chap1er

193
T HE BIRMINGHAM SMALL AnnsCo .•
Ltd .. the,.·ellknownBritishgunrnakersof
Binningham. England.fimdisplayedan
interest inproducingaquahtybol1-action
sportingriflefortheAmericanmarl,;etshon-
lyafi..,.thecndofWWll.TheirU.S.repre-
semative at that time was Jack Warwick,
wllobusiedhimselfgatheringidcasfor1he
proposcdnewboltacrion.onwhichtherifles
were lobe made. A prototype action was
dcvelopedandmade.andarifleassembled
onitl1wasshown1osc,....:ilgunalllhorities
in the U.S. As expc,;ted. some faults and
undesirablefcatureswerefoundinthissam-
pkriflcandaction.Warwick.for1ifiedwi1h
suggestions for its funher impro,·cment.
wentbackioEngland.
BSA engineers s1udied the suggested
changesandlll()dificdtheac1ionaccording-
ly.ln l9S4BSAintroduccdapil<'>lv=ionof
avarmin1rille
Thiswasthefirst"'RoyalLine""rifletobe
introduced.though1hcywcre001so-named
at this time. ntis was based on a short action.
withmedium-andlong-actionedriflestofol-
low.llopcfully
llleBIAIIWIAc11111
ThefirstBSAmodcrnboh-ac1ioncenter-
fire rifle. initially made only for 22 Hornet
and 222 Rcming1on canridges. had a
remafkableactioninanumbcrofways. It
wasshon-onlylongenoughtoadequatcly
handlethe222car1ridge,whichwasby1ha1
timeahighlypopularvarmintandbenchrest
targctround(mygucssistha1thisac1ion
wasabou1 rlong). Thereceiv..,.wasvery
heavyandmusiV(',itsringl.350"indiam-
eter,which is larger than the"'largering'"
M98Mauser.Thebolt,of.700"diame1cr.
had §Olid dual-opposed forward locking
lugs.ll1ldthclongMauser-typenon-rota1ing
extractor. Thebrc«hcndofthebarrelwas
counterboredtoformaringorcollar1osur-
194
roundthebolthead, theringslonedforthe
ex1rac1or.Theround-knobbcdbolthandlc
(oflowscopcprofilc)baseformcd1hethird
orsafetylug,cngaginganok:hinthetang.
The firing me,;hanism was entirdy new.
featuring a compact bolt sleeve, r.,o-pie,;e
strikerlfiringpin.andaro1arysafetyinthe
bolt sleeve.
Thisnewactionalsohadastaggered-col-
urnnboxmaga,:ine,hingcdma~inefloor-
plateandanadjustabletriggermcchanism
thatheldthebolH1opandtjector.lmcgra1
dovetailsonthcreceiverringandbridgepro-
vidcd anchorage for s~ial l'arl<cr-Halc
clamp-on scope mount rings. All in all, ii
wasawell-designedandcon.mucte,;la,c1ion
hsmos1ootablcandimpressivefeatun:was
theheavyreceiver.lltas.'liveandrigidcnough
1osupponaheavyfrce-floatingbam:Llts
mos1obviousfaultwas1hcabsrnce.eithcr
onthereceiverorscopcmountrings,ofany
means to prevent thescopcringsfrornslid-
ingonthe straightdovetaj!s. Nogascscapc
lloleswen=providedintheboltorrccei,·..,.
either
These original BSArifles.22Hornetor
222,had24Nroundtapcredbam:lsfined
withrampfrontsights.Theveryneatstock.
of French walnut, had white-line spacers
undertheblackp!asticbu11plateandpistol
gripcap.alowMon1eCariocombandfor-
ward slanted checkpiece. straight tapered
forend,thelanernicelycheckercdaswasthe
grip.Therifleweighcdabou17.5pounds.
TIIIBIAMIAIIAcllln
!nl956.BSAintroducedanewriflewith
a medium leng1h action . Inthe inl..,.im.
§Orne changes and improvements were
madcwhichwereincorporatedinlothencw
medium length ac1ion: apparently 1hosc
shon actions made after 1956 also were
madcwithmostof!hcsechanges.Essential-
ly the new medium action was merely a
longerversionoftheshonae1ion.long
enoughtohandlecartridgesupto2.87S•
overall. The same l>cavy recei,...,. was
retained. excep1 that it was made longer
(again. my guess is that this action was
7.75.long).plusafewotherchanges.Most
importantwasaholeinthetopofthebridge
scope-mount dovetail. A matching stud
under the rearscope-moum ring engaged
thisllole1opreventlongitudinalmovement
ofthescopcmountsfromrecoil ln,tcadof
thebam:lbreechbcingcounrerbore<lto
shroud the boll head. the new medium
rccci,·erwasmadewithanimegralringor
shoulder1osurroundthebohhead.and
against which lhebam:I abuts. This ring.
slOltedontherightfortheextractor.which
grea1lys1rcngthenstherecciverring.isa
dircctcopyoftheM98Mauserring.(While
lamquilCsuretha11hefirstofthesemedi•
umac1ionshadthisfcature.l"malwcon-
vinced1hit1itwassoondt'Qppcdinfa,vrof
1hecounterboredbam:l- whichine1Tec1
scn·edthesamepurposebyenclosingrnost
ofthcbolthcad. Alanyratc. lbelie,·ethc
integral inside recei,·cr ring feature was
dropped before the long BSA ac1ionwas
introduced.whichhadacounterboredbar-
rel.) Another feature of1hc new medium
action was a guide rib on the boll body
which. when the bolt handle was raised.
romac1edthelcflrecei,-erraccway.which,
hclpedpreventtheboltfromcrampingdur-
ingopcration. The aclion was also made
safcrviatwogas.f:scapcventholesinthc
boltandoneinthereceiverring.
The new medium kng1h actioned rifle
wasoriginallyofferedin257Robens,7mrn
(7x57)Mauscr.300Savageand308Win-
chest..,.(7.62 NATO).
(Abova ) A tyJ)icalaxamplaot a BSA nfla
madepnc>rto 1960.
 Royal, Ma1est1c, Monarch, and Herter·s US Rolles

Gcneralspecifica1ionsofthisriflematch
theshort-actionriflcexccp1that1hefon:nd
was more tapered, slimmer. and finished
withaschnabeltip.Thcrewasalsoath-..
kafopenrearsight.

""'""-
Thelong-a,ctionBSAriflewasintroduced
in 1957. This action is 8.625~ longo,·erall
BythistimcBSA1a.'8Scallinglhcscriflesthe
"Royalline."lnaddition1oofferi113riflesin
newcaliberssuitablewthelongaction.BSA
alsointrodllccda"featherwcightrillc,"andso
designatedit.ltalsoappearsthatatabout
this time J.L. Galef & Soo, Inc. became the
impor1c-rsandU.S.dis1ribu1orsofthisline.
TheBSAlongaclionwasmerelyalonger
,·crsion of 1he medium length ac1ion to
"'-'-'ommodate cartridges of 30--06 length. hs
magazinehandlescartridgesnolongcro,·cr-
allthan3.375#.
Thestandard-weightrifleshada24#har-
relandarc«iverw;1ha1hickleflwall:that
is,thelcflsideoftherocein-rwasflushand
inlinewiththerocei,·crring. Thenewfeath-
erweiglHmodcls.madcwithbothmedium
andlongactions.had22#slirntaperedhar-
relsandrecei,·erson which the left wall,
bc1wecn the bridge and ring. was mille<l
1hinner.
lnadditiooiolhcligh1erbam:landrtteiv-
cr. the stock was routed out in places IO
rc<luce wcighc Las1ly an cfficiem barrel
muzzlcbrakewasir,cluded.Thisbrakewas
madebyboringoutasectionoftheboreat
lhemuzzle.thencuttingscveralnarrowgas-
cscapesloo;,ooeeachsideofthemuzzle,IO
coincidewi1htheborcd-outcage
Theloogactioostandard•wcigh1riflewas
availableonlyin30-06.Thelong-action
fcatherwcightwasoffcrcdin270Winchcs-
tcr,30-06and458WinchesterMagnum;1he
rnediwn•actionriflein24)and308.Thc458
Magnum rifle weighed about 8.5 pounds,
whilelhcsamerifleweighedoolySO<Tle6.2S
poundsinthcoihcrcalibers.
Thecntirc"Royal Line"BSArifleswas
discontinuedabout19S9and1hc"Majcstic"
riflcs,withsomcimprovcdactionfearures,
wercinuoduccd.Beforediscussingthcla1ter
line.l'dlikctoprcscntadetailcdstudyofthe
Royalac1ionasmadc from about 195610
1959. Except !hat the shon, medium and
loogactionsareofdilfcrentleng1h,and1hat
1hefea1herweightrtteiverhasathinnerside
~'"~\ithefollowingdcscriptionisapplicable
concludedthatfcwrifleson thescaciions
were made. I doubt ,·ery much if any of
thescactions"·creevcrsoldscparately,
althoughperhapssomeweresoldinCanada.
TIIIBIAlll)'IIAcllllll
Tiierccei,1:risprc,:isionmachincdfroma
!'Olidstttlbillet. hsboltomisflat,wi1h1he
recoil lug at 1he extreme front end. The
rtteiverringisthreadedtoacccp11hclargc
....,,
bam:lshank,whichhasright-handV-typc
E..ccp1perhapsforafcwoflhcfirs1made,
the r«ci,·er does not ha,•e the M98-type
internal ring or collar; inslead 1he breech
faccofthcbarrcliscountctb::,rc<ltoforma
shroudaroundthebohhead.Therimof1his
rocessiscutawayonthcrightforth<:extrac-
tor.Thertteiverisnocslonedforloadingthe
magazine,,.,i1hastripperclip.
Thebridgeisaboutthcsamewidthas1he
ring.Both,flatonmp,arcmademformime-
graldovctail scope-mount bases. The dove-
tail is about .775# wide on top and is
umapercd. Ashallowhole.about.200"in
Jiamcter,inthebridgedo,1:tail.takesasmd
intherearsoope-mountring,thussccuring
the mount agains1 mo,·emem caused by
recoil. Twotappedholesintheleftsideof
thc r«ei,·cr provide a means to anach a
rcceiversight
OntheFeatherweightmodelstheleftwall
ofthcnxei,1:rbctwcentheringandbridge
is cut down quite thin to reduce weight. On
thestandard,,.,1:ightmodel1heleftsideofthe
rccei,..,,isaboutstraightTheloadingramp
atth<: front of the magazine well is made
withtwoshallowroundedgro,wcsrathcr
thanwi!hasinglecanridgepa1h
The boh follows M98 Mauser design
quite closely. Dual-opposed solid locking
lugsontheh<:adoftheboltengagebchind
shoulderscutin101herccciverring.Thebolt
headispartiallyrccessedfortherimofthe
canridgehcad;panoftlleleftsidcishuilt
up, illl in~ide recess undereu1 so the extractor
wi11sccurelyhold1hccanridgeorcasein
placeforproperextraciiooandejection.The
longone-pieceMauser-typcextractorishcld
againstthcboltbyacollarencirclingthe
bolt.withtheendsofthccollarflangedto
engagcinamonisecutintheundersideof
theexU'actor.Thecxtrac1oroollarisoftwo-
pieceoonstruc1ionand."''hcninplaceonthe
boh.1hetwohal,·esa:clinkedtogetherbya
double notch arrangement. This collar is
casytorcmoveandrcplacewi1houtbcing
sprungoutofshape.Aprojectionnearthc
hcadof1hccxtractorengagcsinagroo,·ecut
panwayaroundtllebol1head.whichpre-
vcnlllloogitudinalmovemcntofth<:extrac-
M.
Thebohhandleisa1thcex1remcrearrnd
ofthcboh:itsbaseformsasafetylugby
engaginganotchcutimothetang. Thebase
of the boh handle also provides primary
extractionpo,,.,..,,,;lllbevele<lsurfacescam-
mingagainstama1chingsurfaceonthcrcar
ofthebridgc.Thelowbolthandlc"·illclear
the lowest-mounted scope

Bcforcgoingintodetaillmustsaylhavc
only1horoughlyexamincdtworiflesofthc
RoyalLine:bolhwerclightweightvcrsions
in )0--06calibcr, 1heirrecci,·ers8.625~1ong
1·,·eneverhaJanopponunitytoexamine
1hesbonormediumaciionsa.nd.sincclhavc
foundthemtobcuccedinglyscarce.['ve

195

Adequaregas-<"scape,-cntsintheboltand
recciverprotectthcshooterfromestaping
gasc:sinthcc,·cn1ofarup1uredprimeror
casehead.Asmallhokisprovidcdundcr
lhcrigln(lower)lockinglug.wi!hamatch-
ingholecu1throughthelcflofthero:civer
ring.ThisseH1pwilltakecareofminorgas
cscapagcaround1hefiring-pintip.Alarger
hole.backonthebohbodyat1hein1ersro-
tionofthemainspringshouldcron1hefiring
pin, will dim:1 addilional gasc:s downward
imolhcfrontofthemagarine.Thereisalsoa
smallholetlvoughlhehe.adof1heextractor
toprevenrgasesfi'omfoo:ingtheutractor
head outward should gasbc: dim:ted in its
dim:iion. The bolt sleeve is sufficicnlly
flaredtolhclefttosealoffthelefllocking
lug raceway should gases escape that far
back.
Theboh ismadewithascmi-guiderib
whichex1cndsfromtheeictractoroollarrcar-
wardabout2.6".Whenlhcboltiiopcnedlhc
edgcofthisribcontacts1helowcrcdgeof
lheleftlockinglugraceway.whichprevenlS
lhcboltfrombc:ingtumedanyfwtber.ltalso
helpspre\"c-ntanybindingoflheboltwllen
1heactionisoperatcd.The,·erysmoothbolt
bodyisasnugfitintherecciver.andevcn
withtheboltopenedanddrawnback.,-cry
littleendplayorwobblcex,sts.
196
BSAcaliber30-06FealherwaightmodelonlheRoyalline---pra-1959(1ongaction).
Thisrifleisfitt&dwithaRedlield4xBearCubscopeinlheexcellentPaffiar-Hale
•rou-otr mount rlnQs. which fit the male dovetails milled 1n10 the receiver.
Thebol1-stop.inthetoppanof1hetrigger
moxhaniim pi,·otsonthc lriggcrhousing-
pin. Thefromendofthci;1opproje<:tsin10
1he m:ci,·er. and under spring 1ension is
pushedupintoanoblongnotchcutintothe
bottomoftheboltbody.jus1forwardoflhe
extractor collar when the bolt is opened.
Wlicnthestrikerisdown.pullingonthetrig-
gcrcauscslhebolt-Slop lO remain down so
theOOhcantllenbc:opcnedanrJwithdra"'11.
TheOOh-stopalsolocksthebohclosedwhen
thes.afcryisONbythea.ctionofthesafety
drawingthestrikerheadoffthescar.allow-
ingthesearandbolt-stoptoriscandallow-
ingtheOOlt-itoptoengagclheOOhlocking
no1chcu1intothcrearOOnornoftheOOlt
body.ThcOOlt-stopalsofunctionsasthe
sear.whichfunctionwillbediscussedla(er
Thcejcctorisathinpicceofhardene<I
steel located in the boltom of the m:eh·er.
lyingpaniallyinthetriggerhousing.Hcldin
posiliononthetriggerhousing-pin.it is
undertcnsionofairnallcoilspring.Thebol!
hr:adisslo11ed1oallow1hcejcctortorisc
behindthecanridgeheadonopcningthc
bolt;lhisbottomslotisslightly1otheleftof
lhebolthcad.Cartridges/cascsareejectedto
theright.
Thefiringmcchanismisqu;resimplc.The
bo!tslee,-c1hreadi;in1otherearofthebolt
The s1rikcr fits through the bolt slec~e and
thern.ainspringiicompn:ssedo,·erlhestrik-
errodbetweenthebo!tsleeveandfiringpin
tipwhichfitsoverthee-ndoflhestrikcrrod
muchinthesamc"'-ayasontheModell903
Springfield.Thefla1strikerhcadisaninte-
gralpartofthestrikerrod. The rotary wing
safety.positionedthroughtheboltileeve.
engagesamilledcutinlhestrikcrhead.A
smallspringandplungerlyinginaholein
thelcflsideofthcbohslee,-cprovideten·
siontoholdthr:s.afetyinplaccandinlhe
OFFposi1ion.Thcmainspringisquitestrong
andthcstrikcrassemblyvcryligh1."'·hich
makcsforfai;1lock-timcandpositiveigni-
tion. Thcstrikerhead.engagingaootchin
therearofthebolt.rocksthestrikeronopen-
ingtheOOII.
Thcrn.agazincbOlCisafoldedsheet-mctal
s1amping. the ends welded iogelheratlhe
front.Thetopisgcntlytapcredtofiteasily
intothemagatinewel!.hiilooselyhcldin
placcagains11herecciverbythefloorplate
T"'"'"ertir.:alridgcs.prcssedintothesidesof
lhcmagazinebOlCjUS1fi.Bwardoftheshoulder
loca1ionofthecartri~hoklthecartridg~
totherearofthebOlCandprcvenlbatteringof
lhcbullctpointsfiomreooil.
ThealloytriggerguardOOwisthconly
non-s1celpan.Thefloorpla1eiihingedto
 I ' I '

--..
'''
'
'
8 Magazi:,espmg
& T,wefguard
,o Floo<pl8t,.,ca1Ch
11 Floo<pl8t,.,Ccllehsplng
12 Floo<pl8t,.,ca1Chpi'l
,. _,.
13 Fnlllllrig,g,erguardsc«!W

r--:
15 Aoo!platehingeplale
16 Aoo!platehingepi'l
17 Aeartrig,g,ergua,dscn,w

~ ~
27 Emac1Qrcolat(lwop;llt$)
28 Fmgp;ri

~nit~ -

Magazlne --
BSARoyal

--
~ ~ - - - -~~$11.H.11-Non-sk>llodbridge_lntegraldovetailscope
rnoum bases_macmedon ~ bridge

- - :-r:r-~~~~~;::::;;::fi,-
ingpo1_CocksonopeonQ
S~rv.:n-delachablfour-sholboxtype_Hingedlloof-

-Sr~~=~oI!_.~~,Z:•.~

_
Trlggor

Safe!y __ -- -=~~:~~~~~=~~-

--
-----~Mauser-typespriog,al!achedlOlhebohby~rol-

=:...~ ...
= ~ ~ M U S i n g, bohreleasedbypullinglhelligger_

ThesameaslorlheRoyala><eeptaskllows
~ -::::-:~ ~ ~ ~ : : : ' t ! :_b ohhead

197

tbcfromguardscrewplate.Alau:h,under
the tension of a small coil spring and locat-
ed in a slot in the front of the guard bow,
holdstbchingedfloo'l'la1cclosed.Ascrew
1hroughtheftontguardscrewplate,1hread-
ingimotherecoillug.andanotherthroogh
1hcrearoftbcguardbow,threadingintothc
receiveriang.sccurelyholdlbcbamland
ac1ioninthestock.Besidestherearguard
screw,!hcguardbowisalsobcldinplace
inthesto,;kbyascrewthroughthcinsideof
1hcs!ockinlcuingin1othefromof1heguard
bow
Theinsideofthefloorp!ateandtheunder-
sideofthemilledfolloweraregrooved!o
accept theendsofthemagaiinc follower
springtoholdihescpanstogether.
TllllloJIITl'WII'
Thetriggcrmechanismcompromisessev-
eralsmallpartshousedinasheet-mctalhox,
andthisboxisattachedtotheundersideof
therccdvcrbyaserewandpin.Asprevious-
lymentioned.thecjec1orandsear.whichis
alsoihebolt-Slop,arefastcr.cdinthetrigger
housing. Thecjectoristensioncdbyasmall
coilspring.Thcsear(asitwillbecallednow
indcseribingthetriggermcchanism)issup-
pliedupwanltensionbythetriplcverspring,
withboththecjecrorandsearheldinplac<=
by,andpi,·otingon.abushing1hroughholes
in the trigger housing. A pin through the
cjcmrandsearbushinghelpsholdthetrig-
gcrmechanismtotherccc,ivcr.
Thetriplc>·er,locateddircctlyunderthe
sear,pi,·otsonasmaltpinthroughthehous-
ing.Thetripleverisheldupwardbyasmall
spring,whichin!umprovidestheupward
1cnsiontothesear.Pivocingonapinandtcn-
sionedbyaspring,1he1riggerpawlisposi-
1ionedvcrticallybctw<'Cflthelriggcrand1he
triplcver. No1chesinthetopofthetrigger
paw!and inlherearcndofthetrip lever
cngagecachotherwhcntheactioniscockcd,
whichcngagementfonnsthe'"sear"inthc
triggermcchanismi1Self. Thetriggcr.posi-
tioncdinthebottomof1hetriggerhousing.
pivotSonapinthroughthehousing
A i;mall but rather sturdy coil spring.
backedbyanAllcn-headsetscrewinahole
inthebaseofthetrigger,i;upphcstcnsionto
thctriggeraswcllasprovidingameansto
adjus1theweigh1ofpull.Ai;imilarse1Serew
throughthetopfron1ofthe!riggerhousing
cansen,etolimi11hetriggersearengage-
ment,limitthe1ake-uptra,·clofthctrigger
or.ifadjustcdtoincreasetriggertra\"el,the
triggerunbcadjustcdtoadoublc-S1age
pull.Thereartopannonthetriggercontacts
ashoulderonthetriggerpawland,whenthe
rriggerispulled.thctriggerpawl is tipped
fo,ward
E$sentiallythii;isalhrce-orfour-le,·cr
(fourlcversif1hetriggerii;counted)self-
198
--.
BSA i'lggel' Meclai8m
'''
.
''
''
""
"""
""
""
seningtriggermcchanism: the!hrttlc,·crs
mcrelyreduce thcvcryhcavypressureof
themainsprinsonthcstrikerstep-by-s1cp
downwardthroughthesear,tripleverand
triggcrpawlsothat1hepressureonihctrig-
8ersearisonlyafracrionofthatsuppliedto
thcstriker.lnthiswayashonandso/etrig-
gcrpull can bcachicved andslill have a
firmandpositi,"<"ensagemcntbctwccnsear
andstriker
Thelriggcrfunctionsasfollows:whenthe
boltisopenedthetriplc•"<"rspringpushesthc
!riplc,"<"randsearupward,placingthesear
infron1ofthestrikerhcad.Asthetriplc,·er
pivotsupwanlthctriggcrpawlpivotsback-
wardastheirscarscngagc.When!heboltis
closed,thestrikerisheldback,intum.by!hc
sear.rriplcverandtriggerpawl. Then.on
pullingthetriggcrbackthetriggcrpawlis
tippcdfonvard.relcasingthetriple,·er,sear
andfinallythewikcr.
Tumthetrigger ..·eight-of-pulladjustmcnt
scrcwin(clockwise)foraheavierpull,and
viccversa.ThiscanbedoocwithanAllcn
wrenchthroughtheguardbowwi1houtdis-
assembling 1hc rifle. The trigger-travel
adjustment screw can only be reached by
removing the barrel and ac1ion from the
stock.Thisadjustrnentisnonnallysc-tallhe
facroryforaminimumsinglc-siageiake-up.
Ho"-cver,rumingihisscrewin(clo,;kwise)
redocesthetake-up,andvice,·ersa. lflumed
farenoughou!,italtersthetriggcrto a dou-
ble-siagcpull
Thetriggermcchanismisused!odisen-
gage thesear(bolt-i;top)solhchol!eanbc
removed. Here is wha11akcs place: To
bcginwiththcboltmustbeclosedandthc
srrikcrletdown,lcavingthesearpivoted
below1hcbolt. Towi1hdraw1heholt1hc
searmus1 be held down in this posi1ion,
whichisdonchypullingbackonthetrig-
gcr finnlyand holding ii back while the
bolt handle is raised and 1hc boll with-
drawn.Pu11ing1hetriggerbackfirmlycaus-
csthetriggcr101ipthetriggcrpawlfo,ward
agains1theloweredtriplc,·ertoholdthis
lcvcrdown.Thcsearhasnoscparatcspring
ofitsownand.ifthesearlcvcrishelddown
byoontinucdfirmpressureonthctriggcr,
............
1hesearwillrcmaindcl"-1lOfitso"11""<'ight
wthehol!canberemovcd.
,
Makesurethemagazineandchamberare
unloaded.Toremove1hcholtraisethehan-
dle and pull the hoh back about halfway.
Then pull 1hetriggcrrearv,ardand. while
holdingitback.withdra"· thebolt
ToremovcanddisassembletheS1riker
m«hanii;m:Wi1hthcboltin thcreceivcr
and closed.raise the holtabou! halfway,
placethcsa fetyintheSAFE posi1ion,then
remo,·ethcbolt.Bcingcarcfulnottotrip
thesafcty,unscrewtheboltslce,·candfir-
ingmechanismfromthcboh.thenre!ease
thesafcty.Placc theholtslccvconaiable
and,firmlygraspingthemainspringa11he
firing pin junction, pull the spring down
andslidethefiringpinoffthestriker.Move
thestrikerbackinthcbohi;lccvc.tumlhe
safctydown,1henpullthesafcty1othcright
outofthebo!tslcevc. Shakcoutthe&mall
plungcrandspringfromthebohslcevc.To
rcassemble.insertthestrikerrodinthchol1
skcvcand,holdingbohslccvebottomside
up.dropthesafetyspringandplungerinto
theirholcintheleftsideofthcboltslccve
lnsenthesafe1yfromrigh11olcft1hrough
thcbolti;lcc,·cand, using a small screw-
driver,depresstheplungcrSQ\hesafetycan
be pushed in all lhc way. Compress the

Herte~sU9trlggeraods.a!ety mechanism.
An-owlodicateslocationofthetrigger
weight-oliMI adjustment screw.
mairupringon1hes1rikerrodsothefiring
pincanbereposi1ionedoni1.lnsenthe
mechanisminthcboltand.whilcpushing
downonlheboltsleevc.beginlumingitso
the threads will catch. On each revolu1ion
ofthcboltsleeve.asthestrikerfallsintothe
cockingcam.raiseitwilhascre,,,driverso
1hebolti;leevecanbescrewedinano1her
mm.Comin1>e1hisuntiltheboltslee,·eis
againstthebolt.sloppingitsothestriker
headrestsintheshallownotchabovethe
cockingcam.RemoYClheextra<:torby1um-
ingitundcrthebollandthcnmoveitfor-
ward. The extrac1or collar can then be
separated and removed.
Toremo,·ethcbarreledac1ion from the
stock. tum om the front guard screw and
rcmovc1hemagazincOoorplateandhinge
plate. Then remove the rear guard screw.
whereuponthebarrelandactioncanbeliftcd
from the stock. Turn out the front trigger
: I 'I
guard screw and the trigger guard can be
rcmo,·ed.RcaMemblcinre,..erseordcr.Both
guardscrewsshooldbe1wneduptigh1
To remove !he trigger mechanism. mm
outthcscrcwholdingthefrontoflhclrigger
housingtothereceiYer,thcndri,·eou1the
pinfromthetoprcarofthehousingllOOthen
thcentircaMemblycanberemoved.Donot
disasscmblethelriggermechanismunless
absolu1clyneccssary.and1hcnonlyifyou
knowwhatil"sallabout. Checktheposition
ofcachpanrccmo,·ed. laying1hemout in
seqk>encesothattheycanbccorrectly
reassembled.
NOTE: lnlis1inglhevariousBSAac1ion
parts! have named them as commonly
lmo"TlintheU.S .. notbythenamesgi,'Cnin
BSA literature. Forexample.thepan I calla
"firingpin"BSAcallsthe""striker."Hereare
some other parts with different U.S. and
Britishnames
TIII_.IIIAActllll
An improved BSA lumbolt action was
announcedlatcinl959.Thcriflesbuilton
thisactionwerecalledtheMajestic.Accord-
ingtoGalcfcaLalogsandthe""DopeBag""
repononthisriflcinthcD« .. l959issueof
TheAmericanRijleman.theMajesticaction
wasstillbeingmadeatthattimeinthcshort.
mediwnandlonglengths.lamabitskcptical
aboutthishowe,·er.andlsuspectthc""short""
actionwasmcrclythcmediumactionfitted
wi1ha shoncrmagazine. Al anynnc. no--
wherccanlfindlistedthelcngthofthcshort
action. In my 1962 f'ari:er-Halecatalogthe
MajesticFeatheN·eigh1a<;tionis!isteda.s
madcin•1woentirelydifferentlengths";the
mediwna<.01ionincalibers222.243andl08.
thelongac1ionincalibcrs270,30--0()11nd
4S8.Thclongactionislistedasbeing7.75"
Jong.whilethemediwn11etionis7.00"long.
Thiswouldseemtoindicatethatthelong
8.625"actionwasdroppedintheMajestic
linc.andalsonotusedla1eroninthe
Monar,;hline,as"·eshallsccla1eron. To
confuse matters. in the same Part.er-Hale
catalogtheBSA""standardweighf"rifleis
liMedastheRegcntModclwithshortaction
in22Hornctand222;astheViSCO\lnlMod-
cl with medium action in 243 and 308; and
aslhelmperial Model with long action in
30--0()calibcr. I knowthatthelongRoyal
actionwas8.625wo,..erallandhcrelsuspec1
!hat the Imperial action was of the same
length, that the mediwn Viscoum action was
7.75~1ong. and the short Regent action only
7.00"long
Jnanycase. the J960impro,·ementsor
changcstotheac1ionconsistcdofthefol.
lowing·
l)Oolthead.cx1ractorandejcc1or:To
bcginwi1htheMauscrextractorwasdis-
carded.aswellas1heinsidecol1arin1he
receiver.lnstcad.thefaceof1hcbarrelwas
coumcrborcdforthebolthcad.Theboh
faccisrecessedforthecm,ridgehcadand
thecx1mctorbuiltintothesideoftheboh
head.Theextractor.sortofaC-shapedclip
withahook.shdesinagroovccutpartway
around1hebolthead.ltistensionedbya
smallspring-loadcdplungerfittedlength-
wiscinthebolt. The new plunger-type is
alsofinedintotheboltheadandhcldin
placebyacrosspin.Thecjec1orinthetrig-
germechanismwa.stherebyeliminated.but
thercstofthetriggermechanismrccmaincd
1hesamc.
2)Boltsleeve:Thecockingpieceis
entirely wilhin lhe bolt sleeve. the lauer
beingclosedsothatthercarofthecocking
piea,isnolongervisib!e.Assmallredplas-
ticpin.posi1ionedinaholeinlhetopoflhe
boltsleevc.becomesthecockingindicator
wheni1projectsoutoftheboltsleevewhen
theac1ioniscocked.Thesafe1yisposi1ioned
throughtheboltsleeveasinihcolderRoyal
actions
The rest of the action remained un•
changed.ahhoughinthefeathcrweightmod-
elstheguardand floorplatcwcremadcof
aluminum
ldon"1find1he 13SAshort•ac1ionedri0e
in 22 Home! ll1>d 222 mentioned any place
after abou1 1962. Apparently. the shon
actionwa.sdropped.However,1he222was
againinlroducedinthcBSAline-up
199

TIie Nut BU Manni! Actlan
ldon'tknowjustwhenthenextchange
WU made, bw it WU probably in l966 when
1hesafetywasomittedfromthebo!tslccvc
andinoorporated"iththetriggermechanism.
!1thenbecameapiV01ingsidesafcty,!ocated
onthcrightsidcofthcm;civerwng. This
alsorcquircdthattheuiggermechanismbc
changcdsomewhat.whichchangt'Scanbc
IIOledbye=iningthe!!eCliooalvicwdraw-
ingsandpartsphotos.Eventhoughasafety
wasaddedwi~theMonan;htriggermecha-
nismismachsimplerthanth.osepreviously
"""·
Thcfinalchangecameinl968whenBSA
beganmakingthem:civerwithou1theintc-
gralsoopemountingbascs. lnstead,the1op
oftherecciverbridgcandringwercmadc
roundandforscrew-onscopemountbascs.l
supposc1oomanyshooterscomplaincdthat
thedovctailedrecciverlimitedthechoiceof
mounts that could be used. w~as with a
tappedm:eivcralmostcvcryscopemount
makerwillhavebascsforil.
In the Monarch action BSA attached a
foldcdshecl-metalstripinsidethcfloorpla1c,
thcfollowerspringfittingintothcfoldsof
thissuip
Monarchriflesarebuiltontwodilfcrent
actionleng1hs:one7.00"long,theother
7.75#!ong.Riflesin222,243and308ha,·c
the 7.00" action, while the longer 7.75#
action isusedforthc270, 7mm Magnum
andJ0-06calibers.
l have never seen the separate BSA·
nuul,;edactionsorbandedactionslisledfor
salc,bu1 l ha,,ebecntoldth.atatooetime1he
actions"·cn,availableinCanada.Notelhatl
said"BSA-nuul,;ed"actions.
200
BoltheadolllleBSAMonarchaodHertMs
U9action,showing:(A)bolt·S101)00!ch,(8)
rig,t(bottom)lockingJug,(C)el<1rac1or,(D)
bolt1acerecess,{E)ejec1or,(F)lelt(upper)
lockinglug,(G)lrontgas-ven1hole,(H)bolt
gvi<.1,,-rib,(l)reargas·V<lnthole
J would also liketopointou1 here that
Ga!crsreccntadvenisementsforBSAriflcs
indicatcthaltheBSAactionsarestillbcing
fabrica\Cd in the same way today as they
were when first inlrOduce,;I . ForeJlllrrlplc, the
adsaystherecciw:rgocsthroughsixty·two
separatemachineopera1ionsbcforeitisfin-
ished,andthatilismadefromasohds1eel
billet. Ano1heradsaysthcboltisentircly
machined. also going through sixty-two sep-
arate sLages before it is finished. Evidently
thcyha,·en01ye1gooe10makingth<:separts
frominvestmentcastingsorusingsomeo!h-
crmodcmprocessingmcthods,techniq11CS
bcingemployedtodaybysomany firearms
manufactureTS
Before leaving the BSA J mustmcn1ion
the locking system which BSA uses on
their centerfire tumbolt actions. In the
chapteronl.cc-Enfietds(BSAmademany
oftheseriflcs),lnotcdthefactthatthe
lockingsurfaccsoftheboltandm;civerare
slightlyanglcd,sothatonloweringtheboh
handle the boll iscammedforwardavcry
small arnoun1. C<.mverscly, after firing the
riflc,1hebolthe<:omcslooseafterthehan·
dlcisraisedonlys!ightly. lno1hcrwords,
theboltncversccmstofreezcinthclocked
position after firing. The British-designed
Patteml4andModel1917Enficldactions
alsouseasimilarsystemthoughnotsopro-
nounccd. The same system is used in BSA
actions- thcrcarsurfaceoftheirlocking
lugsisabout5degrecsoffthenormal90--
degreeanglemadcwith theboltbody.This
angleissuchthatafterthclockinglugsfirst
cngagchehindtheshouldersintherecci,•.
er, as the bolt is fully closed il moves
approximately.o30"forward.Thus,asmust
bcdonewhencheckingormakingahcad·
spaccreadingoftheMl917Enficldrifles,a
lruercadingcanonlyhehadwhcnthebolt
is fully down. On praclically all of the
manyothertumbol1actionsdeseribcdin
lhisbook,thcrearlockingsurfaceonthe
boltlugsareata\lO-dcgrecanglctothcbo!t
orvcryclosctoit
Ail BSA rifles I've seen had the finn
namestampedonthebarrel.inooelinc,usu-
allyasfollows:
 BSA Royal, Ma1est1c, Monai•c11, and Herter·s U9 Rifles

--
BSA MllrB'CII 11111 11111'111"11 U8

~ : : : ~ ~ I I N I. NOn«llt«lbridge.Pf&.'68modelahs\18 . . .
~baseaonlhll~lalerimdels1Ut118p!)edlor1CQP11

.. .Ooe-piecemacmedllNlwiltl~lorwafdlodcing.Har>-

-·
dlea::ts•salelyklg.
1gn1t1on •• , .~..,~lringpinpo,,e,9db)'1c:olmarepMg.Oxl<son

!K.
8oll11<1p Sear~81baltSIOp.
Ejector . .Pl.nge,typlll!MdinlObalthem

T HE BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS U'M. Thc n flc:sareserialnumbcml.lhenum-

CO. LTO.-ENGLAND
ThcBSAtndemarl<--dlreesiackcdnllcl-
i1 $Wllp«l on the rtttivcr. Each rifle 11
$W1lp«I ,01!h the mual nwnber of Bntish
pn:,ofmarbonthelttdvcr,boltand~
cndofthebarrcl.Thecaliberdc5i&na1ionis
usuallyllamptdonlhebruchcndofthet.-
rd,andm...,.lffiWICeSitisfollolo'Cdb)'lhe
hcadspa,.cmiding..Forcxample. JCMl6-
ber§laltlpcdonthercoei,-er,l:ta=l andbolt.
llrllr'llll.k:11111
Hcna-'1 lnc.1mail-ordcrlinn,bcpn1ell-
,ng. o:ntnf,rc high.po,,,"Cmi unbolt ICIKJn
obcul965-1966"tuch1heydesig,-11heU9
acoon.U9t-rdal&Uln'land~nflcs,
Mfl'fflblcdb)'Hcrtl:r's.-ahomadoa--ail-
llble.lna-crydclaillhell9actioilisldcntall0
201

theBSAlction(exoeptblffl&th)andwhile
-1-inthelongcbcnp11011ofchislction
111Hcner'1caialogdocs11ment>ortBSA.11
!ICCl"dalmoslffl13indllllhelJ91Ction1..,,ere
rr..tet,yBSA.Atk:ast l amJIOlllilOassume
lh,stobethecasieuntillhav,:proofolherwisc.
lksidcs being swnped MADE IN ENG-
LAND (in >'Cl)' small leners and shallowly
imprinledonthesideofthe~iverring).
the serial numberisstampedon1heright
lower11deofthcrttei,·ernn1andonlhc
bor1oo> of the bolt handle. British proof-
marb an: abo swnpcd on lhcseattl<JftS.
Atllrjratc,,.·henfimintroduced.Hen-
er"sU9actionwasjUM1iketheBSAaction
bein1madeatthc$aI11Ct1me.lkgiMingin
1968,when BSAactionswcrcbeingmadc
without the integral scope mount bases but
with!heroundtoppedreceivertappedfor
tcopemwnts.Hcner"sal,oannowiccdlhat
theirU9acuMSwouldbe.similarfymade.
AtthattimcHalef'scata~fivediffer-
cnt U91oeuon,; namely, SSKJ0SS for the
222. 223 and 222 Magnum cartn<lgQ;
SSKJ042forsuchcanridgesaslhe22-2SO.
243. 6mm. 257 Robe,u, 7xS7 and 308;
SSKJ056forthc284;SSI00Oforthc270
and 3()..06; and SSK30S7 for such magnums
uthc264.7mm.300.338and 4S8.
Hcner"sU9attions-int"-olcngths
Onc,7.7S-loog.wasuKdforcanridges
from222to308,...-hilcthc0thcrone.about
8.SO""long."-asUKdforthe270,30-06and
the short magnums. Noce tlw Hener"s
Ktioru:,.=:longerthantheBSAMonm:h
K11011Sinthesamecalibers.
The30SSU91oetionha$theJhonestmag-
a,:inebo:<.jlL'ltlongmoughforlhc222Mag-
num. and the magazine ,...,]I
is no longer
thanthemag:arine.Theboltis~a.nd
thcextr.ictormade10handlclhe222head-
,,zcdc:anridges.The3042and30S6mc
alikecxcepttlwlhe30S6mayha,..,asl,gll1-
ly widermapm,o ,...,11,andbolh an: like the
30SSex~foralongernupzincandabol1
hcadmadc10a.ccep1the30-06hcad-sizcd
cartridgcs.ThcJ043and30S7arcalike
exccpcforadifTcren1bolthcad.a.ndbothare
202
. . . TWlltllrlUlllfNII
caliber Tt:,,~ G:,:.
~-250
7167
i[t.;
l0LH. 5
~-1=.~.
300Mag. 10LH.
longcrthantheabovcthrceactioru;.00,cr
than111:ltthelhingsjustmcn1ioned.andlhe
difTcn:n«in...-~ghtandbolt1ras'Cl,allfi•'C
oftheU9ac11onsueo!hcr...-isccucn1ially
""-·
The U9 recei,·erand bolt appcar1obe
entirely machined from solid $10ek. H I
roukln<>1findcvidcnccofcasting."'clding
or\>razina:.IU$Umethattheboltandrece1v-
er,as"'Cllasmostoflheothcrvitalpartsof
thisac1ion,,.·crcmadeofthesamcquality
stttl uKd in the BSA IIC!iorui.
Excepc for very minor difTerrncel. lhe U9
a,;1ion$..,=:1lllhesamcaslhe8SAao;tJQn.
Thisincludcdlhcreceiver,bolt,fuemccha-
nilm,eim.ctor,cjector,bolt-stop.tngger
-
mcchan1$ffl andnugu:inepans. It isp,m,.
blethatmanyofthesmallcrparts"'O!Jldbe
in1en:hangeablcwi!hlheBSAparts.
lhavconly5eenabootadounorsoof
both lkrtcr" s U9and the BSA nflcsand
1<:Uonsbu1,bascdonthishmi1edobscn-1-
1ion. the acli011$ on BSA M - h nfln
"=:madcandfinishrobctterthantheU9
actions.foreurnplc ....-tulcsomctoolmarl<s
couldbefoundonBSAKtionparts.many
morc,..'Creplainlyvisiblconlhe U9Ktion
Ouuide BSA part1 were mu,;h bcucr fin-
ishcd. wi1h moch of thc U9surfaccscare-
1esslypolishcdonasoftpolishing wheel.
lcavingthesurfacnunevenandtheedaes
roundcd.forcxamplc.thcrc...-en:lalhetool-
marbonthereaToftheboltoflhc last U9
Ktoonlrece .."ed...tiilclhcfrontoflhcboh
waso,·cr•polishcd,lellvingthcbol1outof
round in places. TheWCSoflheU9mger
guard bow ,..en: only polished on a belt
W>der,wilhmanygri11inesplainlyvisiblc.
On my U9 action lhc omside curved surface
ofthc1riggerguanl"'8SWCllpolished.and
thc:floorplatelatchlcftinplaccduringthe
polishing.whichislhccorrec1polishingpm-
o;cdure. Ho,.·c,·er. ,..hen 1hc actioo was
bluied.lhela1chwasn01rcmovcd.norwcrc
these parts properly nnsc:d aften>-ank.
boi;auscthelatchspnng"-ucakcdnearly
1ohd ,.,lh~blu1"1 Plt$.
lalsofoundblu1n1111tsa:ro"'>ngou1of
thebarrel1houlder-receivcrjoin1onmyU9
ac110nand.onremovin11hebarrel. ldis-
oovcredthatthc:barrelshankwasonlypar•
tiallythrcaded;lhewideunthreadedscction
ncarthcshoulder-fillcdwilhsalts.ba.v•
in1got1cnintoth1sarealhroughthefront
lnggcr guard tcrew hole. If I had nOI
remo,·cdthebarrel1ndclcancd1he1re1.
!hose 11115 would have kept grov,·ing out of
\he Joint for se,·cn.l year11ormore.Also,
afterremo•"alofthcbarrel.ld,scovercdlhal
1hcbreechfacchadnolb«npolishcd11
all-thcchambcrcdJcwasnotcvcnround-
ed. All in all. 1he Hcrtcr"s U9 action I
recci,·cdwaspoorlyfinishcd.Evcnthough
lhisactionwouldprobablyfunctioncs..and
... hilcsomeoftheitcmsmcntioncdareror-
rectable.thcrc11nuextu$CforJcndingout
abarrelcdattion"·,thaslwpchambcrcdae
andfromwhichtheblu1ng J1 h1 hncnot
bttn"·ashed.
T■-M _......,
BSAMonarchandHcrter'sU9rinesand
ac1ionsaredisassembl«l/assemblcdjustlikc
thcBSARoyalatt,ooudcscribcdprevKlUS-
lycxceptforlhefollmo.·,na;:
Toremo-.'Cthebolt.noisethebolthandle
andpullthcbol1abouthalfv,'8yback,prc,5
forw.d very han:I on the trigger and. "'hile
holdinglhispiusur,,.pullthebohout.
Bccauscofthe \"")'ll•tTmainspring. the
firingmcchanismisqu1led11T,cuhtoremo.-e
andreplacein thcboh.Torcniovcthemech-
anism lhcbolt slcc->'C must be 1umedcoun-
tcrelock"·iscou1ofthcbol1. lndoingthislhc
suikcr must be lifted out of the cockina
notchinthcboltoncvcryt11moflhcboh
slceveuntilthe1leevcQlfreeofthcbol1.To
disas:s,cmblelhefinnamechanismi1i1help-
ful to place a small p1eccofwoodinthe
opcn~inthebollomofthcbohsLce-.·e
toholdthestrikcrfor...-ard.Thcn,...-hikrest-
ing1hcboltsl«•·cona l.ablcandpulling

TheNorthAme~styleBSACF2Spo,ter.Theoombotlh9110Ckislow
tn<:>ughtopermil$9llingwilhltwoptn"ljht.
downonlhefrooloflhl:maill$pnng.lhcfir-
,ngpmcanbestippcdoff.Thcma,nspring
canlhenberemo•ocd,lhesuikcrnppodinthc
boltslee,·eandpullcd out backward. Re-
asscrnbleinrtv~order,agalnusing 1he
picceofwoodmlloldthc:Slrikcrforwardin
thcboltslttve. lntumingthcfiringmccha-
n1smback imo1heboltJ.lee,·e1srnallC-
cbmpcanbcttSedlOholdthcstrikcrbacl:in
lheboltsl=,"CSO!hallheboltsl=,"Cilaea.s1-
ly""""-
Theexll1lct0fcanbcmno-,-c,,lby~
,nalheextractorplungcr"1thlhepomtofa
~knifeandslipp1nglheextn,,;toraway
fromlhebolt.ToremovelheejCCttt,dri~out
thcrjoclorpinbyillsertingasmalldriftpunl'h
in1<1thcholelhroughlheriaJuloc:kinglug.
Aflc-rthctrigger mtthanismisrtmovcd
fromtherecci,..,,-,i1 canbcdi$a$$ffllblcdas
folJo,.-s:DriveoutlheAfC1yp1V01pinand
rm>O\l'lheAfetyandK¥'trigpspring.
Drwe out lhe mggff pin and ,~move lliggff
andtri1111"'"-adJUSU11m15p"111&-Dn•"Coutthc
KUbushingandliftoutthcKU.Rcas.,em.
-· _.,_
blein=...neoo:ln.
Sometime durinathc late '70,,orearly
'80sHcrtcr'swnuou1ofbllsincssandSC\"Cr-
al diffcmit lumbolt rifles1hcy sold"·=
As has happened ,.•,th sc,·e,,al other
unponcd rifles, find1111 • permanmt outlcl
forlheminlheU.S.hasbttodifflCUlt.The
BSAi,agoodcxamplcofthi1. l bchcvc1he
Galeffirmcanicd1he BSArinatbclonges,.
BSA Royal, Ma1es11c, Monarch, and Herter·s U9 R1lles
I believe the line was then taken over by
anothcrfirminNewYorli:callcdl'rccision
Spon1. The firm cataloged the followi"i
models:
Nonb ,o.lM'linn Mood en S portlT-
ThisnlleiscallcdtbcNonh~Mod-
cl bca11$1: ,1,.._SIOdcd1111he style favored
by many Ammcan rifle buyers. It "'II I full-
Jj;ml sioc,k mall itsdimm:sions-a he-man"1
SIOCk. h ,.,ufincdwi1ha1hickrecoilpad.
qu,ckdetachableslingswivcls.namipistol
gripcapmadc:ofroscwoodwitha"·hitedi,..
mondinlaidintoir.andarosewoodfon:nd
rip.Whl~~~off1hcrccoilpad.gnp
capandformd1,p.Thefon:nd,.-asf\a1bo(.
tomcdandsrm1-bc1,fflllilin$hapc..Thepof-
tol&npfittcdalargcllandandsponnl1
Wundharnmcrs11,"Cllonitsrightsidio.Both
1Klesofthcp1S1olgnpand1hcformdw=
c~ken:d.Thel:argeandnlllXTihicko;hed•
piea:slopcstov,.udtbcfront andwascom-
bincd with a Mon1c Carlo and roll-over
comb,,.·iththc:comblowcnough,othc0pen
1igh11on the bam:1 could bcuKd. Those
s,ghtswcn:1WillwnsGuidcrur$i&h1and1
betdfrontmount,edonaWilliamsramp.The
24Hbln'el ..-asofsiandanlsponer .."C1p!and
<XlnlOUr. ~ ..~IWO•-crsionloflh,snfle;
tbcSwidanlcalibermodcl and tbc M11&11um
caliber. S1andanlcalibcr$"'·ere222.22·2SO,
-·
243.6.5d5.7xS7.7x64.270.308andJ0-06
Ma8"um calibers an: 7mm Rem. and 300
Ma8"UDl . The rifle weighed about 8.5
t:ur~tn S.)·lcCf'2 Spon , r-This rifle
hadthc:lllmCac:Uonandbancl.and"-asmade
mthc:samc"1ibers.astbcNonhAm,:rican
stylcBSASponcrdescribcdabo•"C. Thedif-
fcn:necwasmthe$U!Ckalonc. Thesux:kon
th,snfle,.-astnmrnnltoslimrnerlmesthan
tbcNonhArnencansiylc"·iththe"h,tehne
~rsornimxl.Checkcringw&11plain111thcr
lhan aimesbl)-hne. plus the: chedq,,ect, had
no roll--ovtr and the: pistol gnp was slimrner
yct~i~theWundhammtrsv,"Cll.The
smckcouldbehad"·nhc,thcrahigh-gloss
polyurcthancfinishoradulloilfinish.This
rifle weighed sli~lly less than 1hc Nooih
American-style spon«. and although the
stock,."tidescribcd11'"Ew-opean"inSl)'le.
rt"-asno1neariy,0Europeanasthest<xkon
......en
the former BSA RoyalandMa_JCSucnfles
BSA S(utzta Sp,,,r1er- The Stum:n
,."a5 BSA 'sshonbarmed.fullsux:ked~
huntingrille.MOIIAnw:ncanrilkrnenwould
c.alli1aMannlichcr-stocknlrifleoraMann-
lichcrstylcdriflcwilhitsshon20.5#~1and
aforendtha1extend$tothemuzzlc. l1"-as
Mannlicherinanothc:rway100.inthatirwas
alsoa,;iilable,.,th1doublcJc11riggerrnecti.-
nismof8SAdc:Slgn.llulnfleludaa11111U•
ingwoodftllffldnpandpoSIOlgnpcap.1slun
postolgrip,.1\hWWKllarnmers"-ell.opcn
lightsandqutckdclachablcslingsv,1,"Cll.h
""Cighedaboul7.Spoundsand"-asa,;iilable
incaliben222,6.Sx55,J08andJ0-06.and.
onspecialorder.insomeodlcrstandardcal-
;1:>en.Finccheckoingandl"oilfinishwas
Jl3ndan:I.Allofthcsemodclsofthc: BSAtffi-
ttrfirc rifles wcrc fined wilh n:coil pads. AJI
....,.Jeh:alsohadthc:l'llOOI-O"illedandtlJll)Cd
for scope mounts and lhc barrel$ oftbc
sponcrslappcdforWilliamsopcnsighu..
BSA C F2 ll n,·y Barn! Vanninl Rin.--
Th1s nfle wu no1hmg moo: than the BSA
CF2 North Arnc:ncan·$tyle bw fined with •
4.5 -pound~11•ybarrcl .Barrcllenglhwu
23.6# and the nfle weighed about IO.S
poundswilhout,copc.Availablconlymcal-
,bcr5222.22-250and24J. Withstandardor
mlfllrille.
.."'_
00llhlc-$ctlligc,.11 madeane,u::el~ \'If•
lnlhefirstpanofth,schaplc,",ldescrihcd
tbc,-ariousoemcrf~tumbohac:tionsthatthc:
BSA firm made up until 1968. Wesawtbc
203
ciwigemadefiomlhekmgMauscr.iypc,IXln-
rowingextraclOrtoasmalloncbuikinthebok
head; !he ,;;afe1y change,J fiom lhc bolt slccvc
tolhelriggermedwlism;ach3nFinlhetjec-
tor,ct,;, BeginninginllOOUl l968,lhen:,un,;1.
tofJl'Cd~•-erwilh,c,iperTIOmllilliholes
...m:bca:,mq;51111dardl0rq:,lacelheir«gral
do,.'eW]bascs.lha,-.:alrcadydet<;ribcdthe
newline<:IBSArifles~andnowl..,._..IO
des<:ribcthenewCf2-thathudevcl-
opedafter 1968. l usedtheword"'new" in
oxscribing~rifksandactionsandth.11may
be mlslndilll! because, to the bes1 ofmy
knowledg,:,lheyan:nolongcrnew.
The"neW'Cf2actionisba$icallylhesame

,_
astheMonan:hactimofthepre-'68pcriod.
Then:ha,-.:bccnchangaandimpro••cments
made1111heactionandl"illpotn11hemOU1
t,.1,:ron,bulorw:lhinghunotd..ng,:dand lybcffll'orthebcner.lfyouan:notfamiliar n:,o1ofthcbolthandlcandthcrightlodting
that111he..,'aylhey..,-ettmanufactured.The ,..,th !he BSA Monan:h action which preoed, lu&,lnthisposition11mo,·edwiththebolt

-~-
,u,e,vcrwasstillbcingmrdebymachiningi1
fromasolidbil~ofsu,el--m,lled,borcd.
shap,:(l,drilkd,thm>dedandpolishcdin abolll
thesamewayasthcfirstBSA111tnboltacrion
Thebol1wualsobcU13madc:111thatsame
..... y,lheokl-fasltionedslow .....y,bymachin-
"'i11.Theiractionhasnotbttnc~
bylJOlll&IOlfamrandcheaperwayofmak•
,ng~twomajorparu. Thcyha,-.:not
chan&edlhebasicde$ignoflheacooncilhcr;
suchfea1urnasthedualoppoiCt!locking
lugsonthefromoftheboh,theboll'510pand
1rigger mechanism or the magazme n:main
the same. Wha1 theydidchang(: hasgenenl-
edtheCF2,thenm'Clldtheearlypa11ofth,s
Avcrynouceablcfcaturewhich,sfound
onthcCl'2acuoobutnotonearlierBSA
actions,uceploo !he 1%8 trans,tiooal
modcl,wasthcboltguidcrib.lt..,llSaribof
steelthatfit11p,n11andncarlythcful1
kng1hoftheboJ1andalonglhenghtsodcof
lheqcct,onponofthcrecei,·er.h..,llSlw:ld
inplaceby1oollartha1licsmagrocr,-.:,n
thcbolt,and ...llS1Jfflilartotheutn1CtOrcol-
larootheM98Maus.erwithlipsthatcna,a&e
inaslotinlhcrib,Thisribdocsno1rolale
withthcbollandwhenthebohisn>1ated10
itsfulllllllockedpositioo,itlicsbd"'ttnthc:
uitisopenedandclOICd,11idinginthe
lockinglugn,ccway,nthcrcceiverbridgc
and in lhismanncrithclpsguide1hebolt
andprevcntspossiblcbinding,Whenthe
boltisclosed.thcfrontendoflhcguidcrib
fillsthegapoo1hclockmalugl'8CC'wayin
thcrecei,·crrinaandthustcn"cstoJIA:''Clll
f0Rc1gnmat1ergcnmg into this area. The
anangemcn1was,·ery11m1lar10thcguide
ribmtheSakoa.c11CN11,excep11ha1onthe
longSako11C1ioostheribi1fas1encdtothe
bolt,.•ith1,.·ocollaninsiudoforw:.N01an
abwluten«essity,thisribisawonhwhile
feature forthcsmoothCStOperationofthc
11C1ioo

ThlCF2action,opanecl.Thaldion_lhe...,.,.19r,gthforalcal·
~ rrom 222 10 300 Magnum; onty lhe magM1nt lengthf; and boll
tr.....rare~Thlam,,,l)OO"IISIOlhelocationollhlaockel-haad
acrawlhat~~oltriggerpull. Tuming~oounlen:IOckwise
~lhepul.

204

Now study the uploded-view dra"llli of
lhcCF21ctionandcomparci1,as"-cllaslhe
patU legend, w,lh the one shown for the
BSA Monarch and Herler's U9action. You
will no1canuml>erofchanges,oncofwhich
islhebohguideribanditsOlbcrpam.llis
nol 1nc,Judcd m the Monarth drawing but
shooldh.av,:bemasthisfeanm,,.'IS1lrudy
inuscm 1968.Lookclosclyandyou",n
nou« tomCchangcsmade oolhem:ewer.
boh slee\'C, ln&&er m«hamsm, mggcr
g\llld.fmpllicLIIChandOlbcrpan,. lnlhc
CF2action,lhe&on1uiggerguard1C~
v.-.som,utdandlheuiggnguardandmip-
iin< plate made as..,... piece. I consider
cvnyctianac,madeasanimprovmxnt.bolh
1nthct'un<=tion1ngandopen,tionof1hc
action, u wellas intheappearanccofit
These changes and improvements were
pr0bablyno1allmadeandadop!Cdatonce,
itprobably,.'Uanon-goingprocns.
lnaddioontotheBSAriflcsjustde+
scribed. BSA bamlcd actions m many cal-
ibcB and BSA actions v,en: also a""ilablc
fmmlhcimp:,ncr.
ToC1...,..oflheCf28CllOnshoimgc(A)bOlgudarib,(0)salely.(C)
ericaedbollsleev9-,,d(O)e,x:t,:lng.-.dlcal0r.
BSA Royal, 1V1a1est1c, Monarch, and Herter's U9 Rifles
-
Thc:BSACF2nflelbough(ismao.:cJasfol-
lows.Onth:10p,;enteroflhebam:lisstampcd:
B.SA GUNS LTD. ENGLAND
ThcBSAIJlldrman.oftltreestaekednfles
andlhelcllmBSAarealsoonthc10pocmcr
oflhcbam,I.Thccalibcrisswnpedoflhekll
sidcoflMbamlbrecdl.Onlhekflsidcof
GEIERALSPORTINGGOODS,rTHACA,N.Y
Thc:scrialnumbcrisstampedonlherighl
sideoflhc=,verandjustabovc,itis;
UAOEINENGLAND
ThescrialnumberisalS<Jstampcdbelow
-
the boh handle. Bmish proofmarks are
stamped on the brc«h end of the bam:1.
re<,:e1vc-rring,andoothebohhandlc.
No..for1fewoommmtsaboutthc.:110n.
Thcfact'ofthebandis=csscdandlhcbolt
hcadti1smto,1.exacdyastheModcl700
Raninp,nismade.lbkelhis.Theextra<;10ris
oolhesmallsideandi1shde:sin1sloceu1mto
therimofthebohfaccn:,c:cssasintheBrovm-
ing BBR rifle. Of the two. the BSA CXtra<;IOr
sccmstobesturdier.lnthcBrowning,the
cxttactcrisheklundertcnsionbyaunyp;ece
of sp<mg "m:. while in the BSA I spring-
-ked plunger activa1e$ lhc ex111C10r III in the
po51-'64Model70Winc-hestcrandSa,-.gc
IIOC. ILiUthc8SAexn<;10randboht-.i
amngernen1bcst.l""OUldabOpn,fertheBSA
ntrlc:IOro,-erlheoncinthell=mglonM700
scrinandll-1odcl788.Ho..~ff.forlt.i,
gamchun1111gnfklwouldpn,ferlheolder
Mausc:r-typccxllllctOrthatBSAonceuscd.
andtha!WinchestcronceusedintheirModel
70andarcusingagaininthesamemod,,L,and
Rermngton in theModcls30and720.an
cxtra<;10rthalpreventsdoubk:loading.lnaddi-
11ontoscrvingasancxllllct0r.andavery
strongoncatlhat.italsos,m,,,das,bollVUKle
and asao:h probably was a bcllcrbolt VUKle
thantheoncontheBSA.Theconcem..,,.._
doubkloldingi,ccmslObelduna;ofthepast
andalrnoaallomterfirelllmboltrilltnant.1-
f11Ct1Wmwcmakingtheboltsw11h$lmpk:r
andsmallorcxiraaonand])Nll8Cl"-1ypeejco-
ton•lth"''hichdoubk1-lingisJ1')11$1"bk.
ThcBSAsaferyis001Seleu.bul11tttm1
abnonthepunyorderto=.TheCF2is
,lsooncofveryfcwriflesin wh,chthclllS·
gcrcanbeadjustedwnhout removmgthc
stock.] "'IS able 10 adjust the " "Clght of pull
onmyCF2rine10onlytwopounds
TI!creareolherfcaturesofdusactionworth
rncntiorung.Thcmagazinc-boxiswcllmadc,
andtherottndridges~intocachsideof
1t10holdthecartndgesfromslidi"&forward
fromtherecoiloflhcriflcattaichthatthcy
,.;JldoJustdus.BSAhasabOreuiforcedthe
riJl,1m,ci,-ernailbylea,ing1ndg,eofcxtra
metal on 11berwccnthcrccc,ffl"nn,and
bndac- AmalcwgoosmidlsandiiockenwiY
lik~theo,-al~m-.llargt,roundtdmdsof
205
lhemgger~auonblybecausci1iicasi-
ertomk:tmto1SIOdr.. Shoolc-rs,,..illlikclhe
mdoso:(lboltsltt,-cand1tsgraccfulshape.
Al !he time 1 ordcm.l I BSA CF2 rifle !he
,mponcrltadonlyoMon hand10$hip
prornpdy and that WH 1he Nonh Amcrican-
stylc. l ".u; vcry disapp0in1ed ""hcn I firs1
hddilinmyhandsandshouldcr'Nit.h".u;
thcstockldislikcdandthcmor-c l lookcdat
ii.the more I d,shkcd it I thouglu itualy
and crude. Why ,nyonc would wan1 a
rollo~ercheekpic~ is beyond my under-
standing. And whocvcr shapctl that stock
didapoorjobofit.Aftcrlltadeurnincd1hc
sctionandfinishcdmy"-nlcupaboutitand
phorographcdit.luadeditofT10 1 gundcal•
er. l figumJ that he would ha~e a hard time
R llma i,. About• Wffk l.icr he called me
up and told me this story : "Two youna men
cametomyshopandwhcnthcyspo11edlhi1
BSAriflclhalyousod,slikcd.oneofllw:m
uclaimal ·Just " 'hat I wanlcd. • Bchc,·c it
ornottheylikedcverytl11na1bou1i1cspc-
ciallysothcroll-o,·crchttkp,«c. Wclll
soldittollw:mandyouncvcr.sawtwohap-
picrfcllov,·1.- Thaljustaocs10showyoo
thaltastcmnflc$10Cksd1fT,:r"·•ddy.
Al the ome] ,.TOie aboul the BSA Cf2
ICIIOO. II " '311 $1.lll being made and lmpoll·
ed. Although11m,a)ltst1llbemadc. l can
findno1nfonnauons,nccl9'921ha1i1i1
bemgimponcdmtheU.S. l"T01Cabou111
mthcpre,cntlm,c,andiritistnicthatno
onci1 1mpon1113i1.llhouldhavc11sedthe
past1CnSC.Asunwn1crvcryoftmcnooun-
1ersthll1i1uauon.
Also with so ma:ty d1fTercnt BSA mod-
els madc 1nd d1ffcrcn1 dc11gna1ion1 uS(:d
suchasMajcs1,c.Royalandctc.1un""ril-
crshkcmy$Clffinditdifficul110scparate
thcm. lnwritingaboul them I !IOUghtand
reccivcdmforma1ionfromthcmanufactur•
er in England •nd from 1hc major and
minor imponcrs aboul lhcm. Using 1hi1
infonnation. l didmydudlevclbestto
give 1heR various models their corrccl
namcsanddcscnpt,ons. Bu1 nowand1hcn
lha,·cbccnchallcngcdby~hcrstha!some
of1hi1informa11oni1 inoortte1. lfoundou1
tha1e,·en1hc manuf111,:1urcrs arcn"11urcif
whe1hcr J an, wrong or nJht. However, I
d,dmybesl.

206
AN ESTABLISHED FIRM m the field of
custan-built spor1ing nflcs is Champlin F~
llm'ISlnc.ofEnid.Oklahoma.Theybuildtbeir
fmeriflcsonaremarkablctumbohactionpro-
ducedalmostcmin:lyinlhcirshop.Tlw,aaion
Vl"3Sde\"Clopcdaroundapa&rnlobfaincdby
lffly Hasons(J.4~216.daledJure 17,
1969).v."hichcovmlhec:ornbmabon.-salt,.
l)'•lugandtx.:,11:.guidesysic,rn--. li::aturcv."ltich
probablymal:esitusacoonlhe~and
smoocheslv.-.:mtl81p01tmgnfleaaionmade.
ThcChamplinriflcilluscntedisarypica!
examplcoftheCUS1om.buihnAesmmedout
by Champlin F i ~ lnc. ll is !locked in the
timc-~classi<:sponin11srockpannn
Strictlymadetoonlcr.thcs.eriflcscanbe
madeforl110illofthelargcrimlcssorbelted
Cffllerfin:anridges.mcium,.lhe,-aylargc
Wnothefby378and460Maa,,ums.Thcac-
D011$.-cmadeonlymonclcngth.andright•
orlc:ft-handed.-crsions.
"'"""'
Althcbeginningthcrccei,·crandboltof
lhisvcrylargeandSlronjall-sie,:laaionv.-cre
machmcd from 4140 siccl bar stoek. The
m;e;,·crv."3Sheal•tmitcdto37Rockv.-cllon
theCJCale.theboh104S.C.S.,..,.ycarslar,cr
Cbamplin began making !he map parts of
th...-actionsuch .. then:awertndboltbythe
IR\'almenlCaslUlflprocn5"'"ith SAE4l40
S1Cel.Allpans=madeof1rypcofS1Celbesi
sui1ed10iispurposc,andpropniyhcatrrcated
as required for maximum 5trfflglh. dwabilil)'
andwearprevention
Thcrcceivcrislargt'andmassive.lthasa
natbottom.Aa11idct,andi1o,;u,gonalin
MapC0010p.ltis9.00"'long.l.26S-v.idcand
1m·deep.noi:inc:ludanathe,mqp,alm:oil
lu.gunderthen:,;.c"·crnng.v.h,chisJ7S-
deep.Sintethesem:er,-m..,-ei-c,fuushcdmoat
abmc.lheabo,·erneasurem,:nts,andother
spte1foca1ions. may vary IOffleVl"hat. Thcre-
«i,-crringisaboutl.1Cflong.thcbridgcaboot
l.60"long.w1thaloadingpon1nbc1wtt11
abou13.40"long. Twoholeseachattiappcd
in1h,;:1opofthebridgeandril\jjforsoope
moun1basoes.Thcrccei,-crcnd$withani<:ely
tapcrcdta11g.buti1isalmostmtirclycxwffl.'d
by the bolt slcc>-c; only the exlrcme , - shows
v.hmthebollisc!Mcd.
Thcbolt.alsomassi,·e.isshghtlyo,.•cr
6.00"' Iona, IIS mapdmnelcr .850"".
Tomm:clcarlyunderswldmydescnpbOII
oflhe lo,;kmgsystcrn of the Champlin action.
thert,ad,ershould$!Udytheillu.smltionsofthc
bol1.Thc(ul1bolldiamctcris1Umeddo"'nto
leav,:thrtt lockinglugsonitsextrcrnefor-
wardmd.cachabout.41S"wideand.Sl0"
long. About *1:- inch 10therurofeachof
thcs.elu&1-threecquallywidendges
wluch.aseo>"CTrobytheHasl::inspatcnt.pro-
,·idethrttt.afcty locking tup, v.hi<:halso
func11011uguideribs.Thcinstdeofthc
rec,:i,·crlUllllhrttgroo-."CS"-'hichKapthe
ribbedboh.Whmthcbohhandlcistumcd
dov.11.thcthrecfrorulugscngageshouklmin
tbe~civcrring."·hiletbethrceguideribs
cngageinfrontof.buldono1cootac1.shoul-
deninfroruofthet,n,,lgc.Thcboffi:fflguidc
rib.ho,.·~ •,er.isa:nxr,cdforlheboh,st0p.and
itprewn11ontyasmallarcaofpouiblccon-
1ac1w1thlherccei,·cr. thus~--11y
onlytwosafctylugs11woric.Thcfrorulock-
'"llua~infact.ismon:thanadcquaio.
lystrongtoholdthcboltinthcrcceiver
again!il1hebackthrustofanycartridaefor
whichtheriflemightbechambered;tbesafo,
tylugsgiveanaddtdmarginofsafciy.Thc
bol1is,ov.-cll,ccuredinthcrecd\"CTtha1i1
wouldbeimpossiblc10dri.-eitback
Thc3.48S-longbohribsalsoauidcdw:
l,oh,nthcr,:ai\"CTVl'henilis~Vl'hicl,
,stheorpnmaryfunction. Thisfunc:1,oncan
bcslbedescribedt,y,;omparinglhcChamplm
action w11h1 couple of others in which•
smallbolt•!ilOpllClli .. lhebolta:,.11de.namcly.
theRangerand1hcWcathcrbyMarliV . ln
bothoftheselctionsthcruundplungcr-type
bol1-51opprovidcsthconlyboltguidethatpre-
,·cntsthcboltfrom1umingin1he=eiver.
ThcChamplinactionhasasimilarbol1-swp,
bu1i1functionsonly1o!i10pthebolt.The
Champlin a:,.i,de ribs Sleadythc bolt better
1hanthcbol1-!ilopalonerouldevcrdo.Thc
ribsalsolff"C"llhebohfrombindingreprd-
lessofhow.orfromv."halpo51oon.thc11C0011
isoper:atc:d,wilhthcrc:su.ltthallhc~in
actionislmOOlhandeasyioopcme. BccaU$C
ofthctriplclocking-lnsarrangemmt.ooly
aboutaliO-<legn:eboltrotationisrequircdlO
lockorunlockthcChamplinbolt
The~lf..:c:isnat.uisthcboltfacc.
v.•hich nearlycontac:15 n when the boh is
closed. The boll r~ is dcq)ly rtteSScd ror
thecartridgeheadllOthatlhechambercdcar•
tridgcisallbulCOJT4)klelyenc:loscd.Theboh
is110largcmdwnNcrlhat~·sathidi:nm
ofmetalaroundthcrecesa."ludladcqualely
wpponsthc,;anndgehcadandrirn.Thc
spring•loadcdplungcr-typeejccwrprojccts
fromthcrcccs.iCdboltfacc.hcldinplacebya
cros,;pin.ThcsJidi"ilypiCCXtractoroceupies
amot1isecu1intothcfron1faeeofthengh1
lockifl31ug.heldmplaaandrensionedbya
ooilsprinaandplunser.Toelrtmecdgt,oflhe
ex11ae1orisv.-cllhe>-clcd.lctbngitlll0\-casi-
lya,-crthenmofacartridgeinthccharnbcr.
The extractor is wide Cl'10bgh so that ii will
notpullthroughthcnmof1cartridgethat
lendsiostickinthcchamber.ThisulrllCIOris
notunlikctha1inthenewpost-"64Modcl70
Winchesu:randModelll().CSa,-agcactions.
Thcbohhandk.llUIChcdlOthehea,-yrcar
panof!heboh.hls1taperedSlffllv.'hich
anglesslightlyrarwardander>dsinan:iund
ball.Thc10poftheballisneadyandfinely
207
chcckcrcdforbencrgrasping.Thebohhandle
is low enough ioclearlhe eyep,ettoflhe
lowest-mounted scope. Thercar,ideoflhe
bridgeisdoeplyno1dw:dforlheba.,eoflhe
bohhandle. AllhoughthislClioncertamly
doc5notnmlanolhersaklylua,lhebol1han-
dlerouldser,ethisfwK:uon.
Thetopoftheno1<:hin1owh!l'hthebaseof
1hcbol1handlcfiisisslopcdslightlyrearward:
onraising1hcbohhandlc.i1con1aC1Sthissur-
f..eandlhebol1iscammedbadtioprovide
the mih.11 J)CM"C1"10lheutrac1or. Each of the
11wttlockinglugshavemcif~oor-
nmCU1off10lhatlheboll ,sfon:edfoNvd
onthcfmalclosing.
Thcbohisdrilledfromlhe.-ioaccqK
the firing mechanism. which Ii composed
thieflyofWone-piccefiringpm,roilmain-
$pling.cock1ngpiettandboltslceve.Thefir-
mgpinislhrcadodinl01hccockingPffland
preverualfromrurningbyahalf-moon._.'Cdge
208
ofmctalfi11cd1nano1<:hcutin10thestcmof
thcboltsl«-.-e.w·hodl,smtummn:adcdmto
the bolt. ThismclhodofL~thcfiringpm
fromwm,,.,sbencrlhanusinga$el~.
asmthcSakoand50fl"leotheractions..smcc
5"'1-~canwl'lfkloosc.ThemamlJlnnlil
com~o,,.erthefinngpinbelwecnthe
bolt-51oc-.-cSIC1nandaC-shapcdoollaronthe
frompartofthefinngpin.Theac11oocockl
oolifting1hebol1handle.acamonlhercarof
lhebol1 fon:inathecockmgp,ea: back. The
mhrcfinngmechanismandboll11ee\-c-
pn:,•'tnlcd from rummg whm 1hc boll is
openodby1henoseofthcrockingpoeccresi-
ingin•shatlownolth11therearofthebol1.
Thebohsl«-.-c(calledashroudbythe
Ownplinpcople)dcsmu.specia)mc.,n1ion.lt
osquiLClarJe,ando,;tagonalinshape10=h
the......,;,.... briJac,. &pillSI wluch Hfi!S whm
lheac1ioni1cloKd.Fromthebridgc1heboh
sl«-.'1:tacJn1:11'-..-.dyback10rn.1tchexac:tlythc
a.,nlOU'of1hcm;ie1,'Cl"W1g.l&"1flSlwhichthe
boltomoflheboltslec\-cfiuclosely.ltis
mnrelyclosed .. the,-;onlyitsbooomis
q,e,,10alk...lhcn:mo,1aloflheo:dingpio,:e.
Them:ftoflheboltslec\-cisiJighlym;a:sed
10filo-.,:rlhem.-endoflhcbolt.Allofdus
pro,·idts maximum pro1ecuon m the C\"mt
powdergasesshouldgci,momebohbody.
If powder gases should t'fl!Cr the bolt
lhrooghlhcfiringpin1ipholc.lhcrcisanai.lc-
qua1eoblonghole,nlhebohbodybooom,
about?'behindlhcboltfate.toallowlhegas,-
cstobcdirectroimolhemaglWnc"'"Cll.Coo-
$eqUmlly.lhen:an:110,'C111.holcsexpmcdon
thcoutsideofthcactionauo"'11"'hdiJ1orodl-
crfomgnmalerialQn,:mcr.
AspmiouslymentJoned.thcbolt-stopisa
roundplungcr.madeaspartofthetriggcr
mechanism.ltprujectsll(!Wlrdlhrooghaholc
in1hefion1panofthclriggerhousing.lhrough
aholc:intheboltomofthcrccci,,:randinlO
 ----
, c.;._
\ ~(10p-i

:~-
·-
5 Bo11-110p,ei.s.11M,,"
~ =-tt:,plp!TIIJ

I
9 Fn'lgpi'I
;~ ~
12 801 .......
13 Trpguw'rnagazne
1• Magaz1nelloorplale
i: =::rpa,
17 Aoo,pialelllctlpin

: =tprh;J
11 FIDo,pllllalllctlll!)mg

---
21 FIOlllg,adacrew

-
22 AMr-,;,,art!«rvw
Notshown:

=~po,
~ ·::·::~ --
~ - --lrne{,allecoll~.noo-elolledbridge.TIW9d
btopsoopemau"IIL
wilhlhr9tllorwardloci<rlgur,JS.Lowprol'iebolt
rilsonboltalsofuocliooassatetylugl
poweredbycoMmainlprlng.CoclcsonopeooQ
box-typ&wilhhinged

thcbohn,,;,:way. llw:OOIIOl!lribofthcboh is
...,,..,..~,.
EntKtor ...
.

groo•1alfurlhecndoflheboh·510p.lndthc
bohishallc:dinrtsrc:.r,o'afd1m'dwhcnlhe
boh-su,poontactslhecndoflhisgroove. The
boh-stopisamplcindiameterandhardened,
.'lOlhmeislitdcchanceofitbcingdamallt(lor
.she=doffwhcnlhcboltisopcnedsmartly. 11
ishddupby1smallcoilspringandcanbc
low=d.ioremovelhebolt.by1b'ff,.'!uch
is anached 10 lhelef1Jidcofthcttiggcrhoos-
.... Thebulcdknoboflhisle-,..,,.loesalong-
sidethc~,..,,.lal'iJustXIO'\--elhescoc:klinc:.
"·hereilisuooblrusi~andoorwenicntlOuse.
Ofthe!IC'\-eralmakcsofactionswhichhlo,-e
sunilarbolt-siops. l bcliew:lhemcthodCham-
plinll!it$10<kpr"<SsUftrbohlffll0\11l is lhc
bcst.lriscnun,lyindopendmtoflhea,gcr,
thc-rcfon:nothinghastobc.sa,;rifi«dinthc
lriggermcchanismbtawseof,t.
Theonc-piecetriggcrguardlrnag.uinebox
isofallst«lronstruction.ltis heavilyoon-
structcdthmu&l,out.withthK:kandsmooth
w-alls.lnfacl.11isnotmuchdilfcm11fiomlhc
trigger guardlmapnnc oflho: Bm<n Mag·
num Mausc,r 11ctoon dncribcd 1n anolhcr
ch.ap1cr. Theheavyfloorplaic,hinatd10the
ft'on1tangoflhcunit,isheldtlo6edbyala1th
fittcdinlhcfrontoftheuiggcrguanlbow.
Thcbol1omofthcst~lfollo1,,crandthc
1nsideofthclloorplal<'=poo,,e<!forlhc
cndsofthc:W-wpedfollow...-Spnni,which
holdsthcsclhrecpartstogclhcr. Thefrontand
r=cndsoftheguardattOCla&(lllalinshape
to compkmmt the lop shape of the fetti,·er.
Thclloorplalealsolw;bewled ed&es tocon-
llPIICtheoccagonaJoonfigurm,on.
TheCh1mphnmaybehad,.11h1square-
backedg,.wdbow. a distmcm-.,~.or a
co,went,onalroundedbowcanbeordcfed.
lllobowi1 nlll(lenam;r,,-....fromfron110bacl.
andlhccfl"ec1is quitepleasing.
Thcmalll'ne-""llope,11111 11 m1lledto

209
 Undersideolthe~boll~:(A)bollhNdYritt>Q~lod<•
lngluQs,(B)bolt•&topgroo"91noneolthebolt-gul09ribs,(C)ljlU-vent
hole,(D)bolthandle,(E)cocklogplece,(F)eoclosedboltsleeve
1ea,..:integn,lcartridgc•gu1delip:1oneach
sidetoholdthestaggemlrolumnofcar-
ll'>dgainlhernapzine,andtoswdccach"""
intolhechambnwhenpushedlbcrebylhe
bolt.ThcsnlOO!hinsidesurflCesoflhev...:11
lc1canridgesfecdsmoodllyin1othechamber.
Made to handle the longest magnwn car-
lridges.et.mplincanblodcofflhcrearpan
oflhemapz,ne,flhecusumerv.lllllSthcnflc
~fur,5honer-1ridge.
T ...u Allen-head guard ,crev.•s passing
througheachendofthcguanlandthrcading
-
intothebonomoflhcrecoillu&andl"CCC'i,·cr
tang.s«w"Clyholdthebam:landlctioninthc
Cllaoq)lmusoeslheveyfmeCanjar~
sug,:aiggcrfurlheu'lction,Thismechanisrn,
withitsattachcdbolt-Slop,isfasu:nedtothc
bonomoflhel"CCC'i,..,,byanAllcn-headsm:w
andligblenetlbyascucrew.Thctriu,:ri5ful.
lyadjUSlablcl'orv.-eight.of-pull.take-upand
0\-.:r-ln.vd.Oeausethetriucris•Canjar,I
as.sumcthM Canjaralso furnishes a singlc-sel
mcchanism10replaccthctriagcritself.
Champlinoni:;(:fumishcdmorethanonc
typeofsafdy.Thcfirslon.-•pi>'Olingryp,:
builtn;,thcngl,lsideoflhebollske\..:.Whcn
tippcdt.dt.-lod;edbod'lstribrandbolLThc
!eCO!ld111sliding1:111&1yp,:bmhinlo1ncxten,
sionoftheruei,-crw,g;v.+.cnitisslidbackil
lockslhctriggcrmcchanism.Thcslidm(!tang
saktyha:sbca.lm<thcscandard.safety.
tn1imcasmoreac1ions~madeand
-
uscd"°""'m11K>rimpl'O',-cmen1$ha,..:been
.:kdincludinglheCanjartnggcr.bolHlop,
firingpin,c:IC.
This is an cxtmncly ~ and SU"Olli
action, VffYVl'Cll made and fin,stM:d. No
210
Othersponing1umbohactionhas1,u-ongcr
ormoreriS,ld~,'t'forastrongcrlocking
system.ltisalargeandhc.avyacuon.and
10-madethalnVl'11lllandlc 1helargcstmag-
num canridgc 1ha1 anyonc would wan110
fir,:inashouldcrann. Yetit isnot,olarge
andbulky1hat,tlooli;sou1ofplaceona
1rimsponingnlle, llisana,;1ionthatwill
standupundcrhardusagcv.·nhpo.,.·erful
cartridges.Neaiand1riminou1hnc,1llparts
ar,:well fiucd,makingiteasyandsmootl,
to operate. Lock time is very faslandigni-
t1on1spos111-...
ThcTean:othcrthingslhkelboutthis
Champlinbolthffclshowing:(A)utraelor,
(B)boll·lace,_.,(C)ejector.TtQphoto
1lsoshow$1hetriplelo,wardlocidnglugs
lnd1helrontolthetriplebolt-gulderibs,
whichlllso_...uaaliMyluga.
ac1,on.sud!astheoctagonshapeofthcnniv-
crand boltsltt>..:, the mclosalor sb'oudcd
bohske\~andlhemeoftheCan,13rlrt&F'.
ThcChamplinac1ion,~,'t'f,isno1"""
to choose formakina I rifle in one of the
manystandal'dcalibcrs.andcspcciallynotif
youwamaligtuv,"rightril\e.l1isamostodeal
1cnon for buildma • medium- to Ma,-y-
waght nlle in"""oflhebcltcdmagnum car-
tndgcs. Ind Clt)C'Citlly ,o for onc, oflhe Ion&
magnum calibm. for cumplc. if you wan1
aneasyv."O<king,1Ugged11Ctiononwh1chto
build1nflcforhuntm&thelargesiandmost
dangerous African pmc. in such calibm as
the 375 ll&H Magnum or 460 Wuthc,by
Magnwn.thcnlcanreoommcndthi1ac1K111
On the o1her hand, if you want a cuSlom•
madcriflejUSI for show, then the Champlin
ac1ion.withitsoctagon-shapedrecdver,is.s
!lhowyasanyotheracuon,withorw,1hout
mgntving.
lnouraffiuen110eiety,somepeoplearc
ac1uallybuyingfir,:anns1lla1arcunusual,
expmSi,-e,CUS1Qmmadc.orwhate,..,,,jUS1for
tMWcofowningsomc:thingdiffcrentto
sh(,v,,olfandtalkab)ui.WhelherlheCham-
phnriflewillbcuscdornoi.anyoncov."lft&
°"""illccnainly ..'atltlOUhibnn.
0 . . - - - = 1. llecauscoftheboh
dcsign.withitsthrocguidcribs.lhcrearctv.u
opcnings:bctweenthebohandthcrearofthc
rtte,i,..,,ring.lntheran:c-,-en1ofacasehnd
rup1un, much powder ps could en1er the
locl<ing-lugwaysandbcdi=Tcd10\flwdthc
shoolcr'1faoe.Wlulctherc'slinlclikdthood
ofthisc-,-crh.lppctting.,flwerctobuildariflc
onthi1actionl'dVl'll<t1a•l,.-holcdnllcd
throuJhtherightsideofther,:ce"·ernng.
oppos,tethcutrac10r.'Thatutrac10rlocatK111
i11hem011likelyop(llfor1nypov,·derps
e!;eapehro,"CCntheboltandthebam:l.anda
holea1thi5pointwouldallowmuchofthegas
lOC'Sl:apethroughitThisistheonlything
lboultlusactionldon'1like. l a:rwnlydon't
-
thmk1tascriousfault.buts,na:1hcr'ci5no
HylOsealll,os,:hoks, l would"-..theexmi
vmthole111thesodeoflhcn.u,,-a-
The Champlin acnons -smal nwnbmd
The: nwnber i5s1ampcdon the right side of th:
"""'"·erringandonthemajorWOO<ingparts..
The firm name, C IIAMPUN •· 11t EARMS
1:-.'C. is swrq,e,d on the left"""''""' wall ..cl
U.S. PATENT 3,49"'J l6,.,II b e ~ on
theleflsideofthen.u,v,:rnng.
Toremo\·ethebol1.nisethcbohhandle
andpullthcboltbackwhilepush,ngfu,ward
onthcboltn:leascle=-a1thckflsideofthc
rc:tti,·er.Toreplac.::thebolt.then:lcascle--cr
mustalsobcpushcdforwanturuilthcbol!is
wdlstanedinthen:ce"-er
Todisassemblelheboltpnxeedasfollows:
pasptheboltfirmlyinonc,lwi,d;withthe
otherllandrotttcthebohslec,·ccoun1=lock•
wiseasfarasitwillgo:thcn.usingascn:w•
driverO<'S<>mcJql.l!Ul'--edged1ool,drawthe
oockinjpieabackfarmough!Othellll$eOf
lhecockinapieecckarsthccockinacamand
lhebohslcn-.:,;anbcrumedfurtheroountcr-
clock ..,s,e:~tclhebohslcn·eano1hertum
andn:pn,ttheproocssuntillhccocklfl8p,c,ce
no lor,.,- p!"n"ffllS the bolt slec•,c &om bc"'i
tumed:nowgrasptheboltslcn'CIOJlsodeup
and,holdini,\thcbolt le,-.:1,~n:wthcbolt
fromthebol1sl,,,,..eunl1lthetwocanbcsq:,a-
rated; liftou1the firing-pin lo,;k frorn 1hc
thrcadodsim,oftheboltslecve:thefinna:pin
,;anthcnbc,111screwedfromlhecock1nap,c,ce
andlhcfllin&pm.mamspring.cockingpieec
andbol1sl«vecanlhcnbcsq,an,1ed. Re-
llSKf],t,ie,nre--n-scorder.ln~rngthe
finna:p1n,i1mUS1bcrumedmthcoonec1
amoun1sothat,.hmtheboltiscomplciely
-,n~andthesoikerdo,.n,thefirillJl•PIR
tipprotrudcs .060". lfitprojectsmon:orlcss
thanthisamount1111T1thcflringpininor00111S
requiredtoobwnoorn:ctprouusion
Toremo\-.:thculf'llCIOfdcpressthcu1ne-
10rp1WlF'"w1tha,-c,ysmalllkiftpunch.51id-
illJltheCXllaCIOflOwardthe~!erofthebolt,
fa« recess. The ejector can be n:mo..-ed by
driving OUI IIS CfOSI pm. Reassemble ill
reverscorder.
Toliftthct...JclandllCloonfromthcSIOCk.
rumOU1the1wog,.mdlCIC"-s;pulllhetrigger
guani,magazuiefromthcbon,;n,oflheSIOCk.
Slipthcfollovi-.:roff1tsspma.andthcsprillg
OU1oflhefloorplale. Thefloorplatcandfloor.
platclatchcanbcrcmo..-cdbylkiv111&outthcu-
pinslnreasscmbling.thcfolk,"-erisslipped
oothenam,wendoflhcfollo>,,-crspring.
Toremo,-.:theaiggeraw:mblyloo5enlhc
aiggcrmecharusmt1ahlcnmg,cn:w,thcnnm
outthcaigger-holdi113screwDo~disas-
'"'1i>lclhcaiggermcclmn$lllwtlessabsol,-.
lyneccssary,anclthcllonly,fyouknow ..iw
you.edoing.
Thet...Jcl,slCl'CWed,-..rybglnlymiolhe
~d~erand noattcmpl should be made to
remo\-.:itunlcssthepror,erioolsan:a,ailable.
Lale word (lw-l) n:cc,..-ed fi"om Champlin
isthattheyaresiillbuikl111jjfinedeluxccus-
tomla,gegamchuntmgnllcsfor1hemost
discrimina.unghun1m..13ccall5Cthcyareof
thefinesl1p,11~1y,thcpmducoonislinmed.
211
As THE NAME imphes, the Coll Sauc:r
sponing rifle was made for Col l's or Hart-
ford, Conn«1icu1. by thc long es1ablished
firmof,J.P.Sauer&SohninGemwly.Thc
Sauerfirmispcrhapsbestknownfortlw:ir
fincqualnym-a-'undershcqw,s.nfles.and
cc,mbinationguns.Theriflcmkle1bigh11
,.,thU.S.hunte<11whm1n1JOduccd1nl97).
lmponatioo,.•udisoon1inuedin198S.
The Colt Sauer sp<>ningriflc is a fine
pieceofshootin1equipment Built al'QUJ\d
anac1ionofunusualdcsign"·hichlw1U
diesmbeindcta1lla~on.thisrifkis"·cll
bamled and well stocked. Tom, llC two
ac1ioolcngths:alO"ac1ionfor30-061mgth
c:anridgesand1$honcroneforshoncrcar-
tridgcs.
nec.n...,111111
Then:arcthrttd1ffcmitmoddsofColt
Sauc:rspon1111nflcsmade.Theh,st,esi
pn«done-isthcOrandAfrican Sponin1
Rifle, made only ,n thc458 Winc""ter
Magnwncalibcr. lt,sstockcdwithapiece
ofAfricanDubingawood.th«kcrcd,and
fottcdwi1h1rosewoodforend1ipandpiS1ol
1ripcap.and 1m.:oilpad. Onthc23.6#
roundtapcrcdbamlarcmow11cd1hoodcd
bead front s1sht and I Lyman opm rear
sight. lt""CighsM'OUOOI0.Spounds.
ThcseoondmodelislheCo11Sauc:rq,on-
1ng rifle with the long ac1ion. Sund.ord
cluimberings arc 2S-06. 270. 7mm Mag-
nwn. 30-06. 300 Winchester Magnum and
lOOWcathnbyMagnwn.lthasachcckcrcd
walnutSlllekfoncdwithslingswi,-clsll>d:s.
~rormdt,pandpiSIOlgripaJ<.and
recoil pad. The barrel ,s23.6~ long, round
andtapcrcd.Wcigh1i1around8poonds
ThcCollSauc:rShonActionriflcisthe
1hirdmodel.hisstockedandbarrcledthe
samcaslhelongactionmodelandmadein
cali~l2-250,24J,and308.ltswcigh1i1
212
1rOUnd7.5pounds. Thconlypractkaldif-
fcrencc be1wttn this rifle and tl,c long
actionedone111hatlheac1ionis.7SO""shon-
er;lheovcralllcngthoflheriflcisthatmui:h
shoner.alsolhemapzincisshoner.
TheColtSaucrisattnlcrfm:bolt-«tion
rifle havin11 dcuchable. sin1le-column
magazineofthree-ihoccapac,1y. The action
hasabol1lock1ngs)'titemthatis,-cryun1quc
with rctractable locking lugs on the r"Carof
thebolt.Bu1.mon:onthislater.
h has III adJUStable single stage triggc-r
andthcm.:civerisdnllcdandtappcdfor
soopc,mounts.Theblucdllnishonthemctal
isexu-emclywclldone. The bolt body and
the magazine follower arc highlypohshcd.
Th(,re is little tocritkiicabout the stock
althoughthecishlccn-lincch«kcringisa
bitcwrscforsui:hahighquatityrifleand
i.houldbcbcnerlln1shcd..Therifles1n1:not
ligho,·etghtsbyanymcans.andth.11,1be-
o;;aL1SCthcirn:,;cw,:rsarelongcrandheavicr
thanrc«,.·,:rsonmostotherrumbohnfles
ofthesamecalibcr. E•-cnthcso-callcdColt
Sauershonactionislonger1hanmos101htr
actionsregardlcuofthdrcalibcr
Ban-cltareriflcdbylhehammerf«&ing
pro,;css, a i«hniquc _ . in common use by
anwnbcrofnflcmanufacturcninlheU.S.
""'"'"""'·
AdiSlinctweColtfcatun:ofthesenflesis
lhcblackand"hnenunpan1Colttn<kmari<
underclcarplasticinthcccnterofthcpislOl
grip cap. Smith& Wessonuscda 1imilar
approach on lheir Model 1600 tumbolt nflc
,.,_
,.,th their S&.W emblem.
lam notsurcwhetl>crlshouldcallthc
ColtSauerac11onatumboltac1ion.l111no1
1umboltin1hesc~thatlhcbohrollltesin
lherc,;:civcrtolockandunlockil.ortluitthc
lockin&luprocatc:forlhcsarnc:pllll)OK.lts
uniquclocking,yS1emmakesthcCol1Saucr
unlikcalmoste>-cryrumbol1actionlhatlam
awareof:hov.·e>-cr.bccauseitisopcra1cdby
abol1handlc l willcalli11rumboltac1ion
Any-,.-ay. i1 i1thc lockinglua:arnngcrnent
ofth,saction,.·hkhscisitapan from all
other bolt aclions 1 am familiar with. I will
descnbethi1un,qucarnngcmentl11eron.
According lo Colt, the receiver is
machincdfromaforging.ltisofone-pic,;c
constructionanditislongandheavy.The
m.:ci\·croflhestandafdorlooaac:1ionisl0"
looaandwc1"1J I.Spoonds. Them.:i:ivcr
ring mco ,.·hoch the ba=I is threaded ,s
approximately 1.290" and there are no
m.:esscsi11$1dcnsincclhclock1nglugsarc
onthcrcarofthcbolt.Thcm.:civcrwall
betwccnlhem.:ci,·crringandbridgcvarics
inth1clmess1U1Cei1ismachincdthinncron
toptomlu«wcight. B«auscthc single
column mapz,nc is narrow and thcqc,;uon
p<>n1SJUIIWidcmough10aliowcanndges
tocasilypa111hroogh..alocofmc1ali1lcflat
the bonom of the left re,;eivcr wall and right
m.:civcrrail.Theresultisthattherettivcris
s1rong.111ff1ndstretchleH.Ofthesamc
thickncssaslhereccivcrring.thcbridgchas
more 1han ample -..-all thickness to be
rcccw:d 11\Sldc for the locking lugs 10
cnga1em. E,·cnifthcm.:ei,·crhadbttn
designcd1oha,-cno1anglherccc"·crwould
slillbeonthelongsidc.
Beforelcaving1hc:reccivcr,Jmustpoim
ootanothcrfcaturcinthcColtSauc:raction
that is unu~ual Ill a bolt-«tion nfle and tlw
isthatlherttei,-a-ringissplit111hcbonom
w1thtwohcavydraw$CreWSdrawin11hc
sphll01Cthcr.ldon"1kno"•tl,ccxac1pur-
poscofthi1featurc.bu1ldoknowthccf-
(Above)n..COll:Saue<Shof\Actlonmoclel
madelo,~22-250,243,an,:1308.

foru ofit on lhc baml and • pos.sibk use 11
eouldbcpu110.AJUn1l:arsplit~,·erM1·
tcrew t1gh1cnmg arrangaumt is used on
J(lrnCMartl111$lllilc:$00lacrians.includin1
lhcGrmlnGPsholgunandlhcNo. lSBSA
iargetrilk. Onthc5':Martinigunsitisll$N
u• takcdown systcm-4:>yrcmcw,n1thc
f"omldandlootmmglhcdrawscrcwwhich
us~llyhas1larilc:knurlcdhcad.lhcbamlis
looseMd enough so tha1 it can be unscn:wcd
by hand . Conversely, when the ba=I is
replacedand1umedbyhandtotheindcx
man:1,t1gh1cningthcscrewdraw,thcrc-
cc1VfftOJcthcrlotnstantlylocktheba1TCI
K'CUR'lyinp~. Thcactionofdrawingthc
5Pll1re«l\"Cfl0JctheronthcV,lhreadson
lhc baml and ,n lhc rcae,vercaus.es lhc bar-
rel 10 bc dni1••n inro thc ~,-cr and f -
lhc$houlderon thcbaml wabun wilhcon-
stdcrabk forcc 1gamSl thc recciver. It is 1
simpk blrn-1 ti~ing ammgcmcnt and.
,.·hefeilcanbcapphcd."'Ol'b.Saucradopl•
cdthi1arnngi:n,cr,1onthcCol1Saucr11CUOO
andM111ban-clt,ghierungandfillingl)'SICm
th,,tmusi,.'Oftforthcm.lbclic,·ci1could
alto bcllSCduancxnbmclreplaccrnmt
a)'Slctniflheyhadc-.-cr~ided•oolTeran
cxtnban-el,.,lhthenfle.
The Colt Sauer bolt assembly is com-
priscdofmany pi<,ccs.abouta,imanypi«cs
u 1heto1.1lofpansforsomc"·cll-known
complete tumbolt accions. [fl coun1 the Colt
S11>CrStrikeruonepan.thetot.alofpieces
in thit boll i1 1hirty. Thiscomparttwilh
only six pat1S for 1he Japanese Arisab boll
1SSctnbly.scvcnforthcModcll917Enficld
and1cnfor1heModc198Mauscr.Evcnwnh
thirty parts thcCoh Sauer boh i11 very
clc,·CT arrangement, and c0fl5idcrin1 the
unl41Wdcsi&nofthclockmglugslCIMOI
sec how II could be made "·ith fewer parts
and"'·orl<towcll.
Themainpartofthcboltasscmblyislhc
boltbody. l1Sftontfacci$ckqlly=C$Sed
forthccanridgehcadandfiucdwilhadaw
utnctorand plunger ejector, wi1h both
thcscsm.allpartsrcquiringpinsandsprings.
Thrcegasvcntholesaredrillcdinthcright
sidcoflhebohbody.andundcmcathitan,
1wogroo,·csm.aehincdlcnglhwisc101lide
o,·er the lips of the magazine. AOOlhcr
llfOO''Cmadcinthcridgcbcr,,'ttnthcmap-
iinogroovcsi,forthcbol1-smp. ln1idelhl:
boltbodytherei$1holeforthcstrikcr.and
111tsrearlhcholeiscnbrxcd101tccp1!hl:
fton1mdofthcbolthandkdcc,-c. Lastly.
threc:c,-cnlyspaccdno1chc$an,cu111thc
rearmdto11CCCp1thcthrec:piY01mglocking
lup. lnadditiontolhcttiplc~oflugs,a
tmallbu.1verytn1ponan1lc..-crisfitted,n1
groovcinsidcthcrearmdofthcboltbody
wilhonecodofthclc,-crproj«iin&through
1holetothcoutsidc.Thistc,·crpivocson1
pinandistensionedbyasmallcoilsprin&;
itsfunctionistolockthcbolthandlcslecvc
frorntumin&when1he111:1ionisopcn.
The second major portion of the Coll
Saucrbollasscrnblyisthcbolthandle1lceve
towhichthcbolthandlcisallaeheduan
on1cgralpan. Thcfrontpanofthcslee\.-ciu
t hpfit,~lhl:rearmdofthcboltbody.
and,thaslhrffroundcdgroovcsma,chincd
m1oit101hpundcr1hclockingluptotlw
.. 11cnthcbolthandlcislo"·eredtoclosethc
a,c1,on.1hclockinglugsan=sprndoutwll'd.
Thcloclunglugsengagcinthelockinglug
recC$11th,,tcncirclcsthcinsidcoftherecciv-
CTbridgc.Thcreisalsoagroo,-cinthisfor-
wanlcxtensionin1owhichthclockinglcver
eancngagc.andalugwhichcngagctin•
drculargroovcinsidcthcboltbodywbold
thcbohhandlcslecveinplacc.Bclwccnthc
bolthandlcslccvcandlhcboltthere111thm
wuhcrand1nng.Thisringi1imponantu
11isthcpartthalrfflXISthcloc:kinalupon
thcuphllofthcbohhandlc.Thebol1handk
slee\.-c11boredthmughroatccp1thc11nkcr.
sinkcrheldandboltslcc-,·ccap.
Aecordmgtoonesourec. the slrikCTII
213

madcof~pans;n.amcly.lhewikcrrod.
firingp1nheadandasrn.a1lcrossp111tha1
holdsthelwopansrogcthcr. llowc,·er,lcan
findoocvidcn«ofacrosspmmthcstrikcr
ofmyCol!Sa,,..,..EV<'nifthcn=isapin.the
rodandthefiringpinhc,adan:so"·cUpu1
iogcthcrthat l will,;onsid,:rthcmasasinglc
pi«c.Anyway,lhcrnrcndofthcstrikcr
rodlwaslK>nsqWRdffldand11thrndcd
forlh<suifflhead:a1111allkeyJl1psonlhe
squutdmdlOpm'cntlheSlriktrITTltlllUm-
in&.
Thcbol1handlcsl«vclwanadl;liuonal
function.Machinedintolhcl&.lllffdiametcr
rcarponionisthctriangularcockingcam
no1ch,whichon1hcuplillof1hcbol1handlc
cocksthestriker.Thcopcncndofdw:bolt
alttV(:i$clootdwithacaplha11hpsintolhc
11tt,·candishcld1nplacebyaloosc11ud
finnl1naholeonthebo11omleftsideoflhc
slttvc.Thccapis1boo11.S•1ongandis
boretlandsloocd10fi10-.·erlhc$1nkerhead;
thcupdoesnotrotatcwiththesl«vc.A
tigh1coitspringinsidcthccapandheanng
onthestrikcrlockkcyholds1hckcyin
214
lies & Actmns
placc.h,1111,·eryclc>·eralthoughcompl ..
cucd.ThcS1udi1kcptinplaccandfrom
dropp1ngou1 .. henlheact1onisco,;kcd
and/oropcncd,bythe1ailpieceonthes1rik-
..,.hcad.•ndby1he~civerwhen1heac1ion
isc10$Cd.Thebohas.semblyhaslv.omon:
~v.hi<:h l v.1lldescribelatcton.
Bcfon-kav1ngthcbohl should mention
lhrc,: more nems. One is tbat the 5mkcr
he.ihasa1a11ptecc:v.hich.,whc-nthcaction
,scocked,pro:i«lsrcarwan:lbeyondthcbolt
handlcslcc,·ceapandscr.·cs•s••·•s•blc
cocking mditator. The s«ond ,tern con-
cerns the mamsprins. which is about the
smallcstone lha,-cc,'Cl"sccnuscdinacm-
1crfircbo!tac1ionrinc.Thethin:lislha1the
rccchcrisno1ehedforthcroo1ofthcboh
bandletosc,,,.easasafctylusandtosupply
cammu11powcrtothcfinalclosm1andmi-
U..lopminsofthcbolt:thcrootofthebolt
handleshdcs11onficun~surfac:c$oncor-
ncnofthcno1ch.
Thetnggcrm«hanism is housed ma
s1cclshcllandisheldinplaceunder1he
rccciverbytwomllpins.Thescar.the!M'n
whichholdsthcsmlr.crecx:ked.islocatcdac
1heupperfrontofthcm«hanismandisfi1-
1e<.1wilharollcr101Wnccfnction.Thispart
alsoservesas1hcbolt-s1op.Atthcn:arof
1hemechanismisthcalloy1riggeranditis
fincdwilhallQl:kctsct•S<;rcwtoadjUilthc
,.·cightofmggcrpull.Bc•wccnthctrisgcr
andthc5eari$a10Qklanb&ewhich,;crvcs
10oontrolthcscar- toholdi1up"·hc-nthc
trisgcrispulled.TheinsU\octionbookktlhil
comes,.·ilhtheCohSaucrnflesu,1cslha1
adjustment scn:ws an, pro,·1dcd in th,s
m«hanismmcontrol1nggcrslack(takc.up)
ando,·er-1ra,·cl,1ndthatthcsc1woadJuS1-
n,en1shavcb«n n,adca11hefa,:toryand
rcquircnofurthcradJuSl1n&, Thetriggerhas
someslackando,-cr-tra\-clwhich=ybean
annoyancctosomc.butthcbookle1su,1cs
lhatboth at-cnttdcd forthctriggcrmecha-
rusm 10 functionproperly. The1nggcrpull
onmyrinchas1,.·cigh•ofjUilo,,.cr3.5
poundswhichi,sa11sfac1oryon1hununs
rinc.Theslackando,·cr-tra,,.clmo,·c=t
w:asnoti~abkbutnot•1•lldistroc1ins
Ashotgun-style1lidin1safeiyisuscdon
thcColtSaUct"rine.Thesafctybu1tonisidc-
allyshapedandscn111e<.lfor1heshoo1er10
set a firm purchQcon ii. IL 15al50 ideally
locale<.lonlhercce"·ct"ian8forton•"CIUCl>Cc
of use-it can be opera1cd easily and
srnoolhly.!klowlhen:,;cl\'Cl"lbarc:orut«IS
thesafctybunon ..·,1h 1hctn8,8ct"andboh
lock mcchanum. When the 5afcty is in its
forward.orFin:.position,an:ddotappcan
onthctans.thcscarinthctnggcrmccha-
nismislocke<.l,and1hcsprin10nthebolt
lockplunserloca1e<.linaholeinthcrttt"'•
er below the root of the bolt handle is
movcdintopos,tiontolocklhebolt. While
lhesafctydoesact10locklhebol1.thcboh
tan still be opmcd 11 will, This is accom-
phshcd by merely deprcss1n& thc sma.ll bu1-
1ononthcrootofthcbolthandle,which1n
1umdq)rcssesandunlocksthcboltlockand
allowsthcbolt1obeopcncdforunloadin1

the chcamber while the gfcty n:mains
engaged.
A bol1•11op is positione,;1 below 1hc
rccci,·cr a1 the rear e,;lgc of1he magazine
"·cll.1tis1pieceofscecllha1isas!idclitin
nscu1in 1hc:n:ccivcr. h isactivate,;lby1
Slttl lc,·crmoun1e,;ion the lcftsidcofthe
trigcrhousina.Pullingthctriggcrbaclt
1boutufaruitwillgoactivatesthclc-,'ff
andP11IISthcbolt-Slopou1ofitsgn:,o,·cin
thebol1and1lloo.-sthcbol110bcremond.lt
tl1bol1-scopsystemnotunlikethconcuscd
mthcWeatherbyMarli:VIClion,anlCUOn
lhatthcSallCl'lirmonccmade.
Evm1houghalotoftumboltaclioosand
riflcs1n:covcn:dinthisbookthcrcare$till
a r
qui1e number that have not s«n and
cJ<amincd. Thcn:fon:,whilethen, maybe
othc:rstha1ha,..,thisfeature.thcCol1Sauer
i1thcfimoocl ha,·eeJ<amined1ha1hal1
loaded-ehambcr fca1ure. Nowadays with
ia10"SUits1pinscmanufacturcrssocommon.
thttfe1turenught~Col1and$au,cralia-
bih1ycl11m.AnY""IY.thislittlepdgC1on
thi1rifki11round-hcackd.ri,·e1-likc
plunac,lincdw,th1smallooilsprinain1
holcinthcrtteiverring.withitsrounded
hcad111hcvcrycdgcofthccltambcrand
proJtthn&beyondthecltambcritself.lttlon
!IOI inlmcrc with chambcri141 a canridje.
andwhcnfullychambercdthchcadofthc
canridgcpushcslhcplungcrasidc10thatits
cxpoKd end projects out of1he recci,·er
rina, l1canbcusilys«nandrcadilyfoh.
Whcnthcchambcrisempty.theplungeri1
flush with the ouuidc of the recei,·er.
Bcca~thcplungcrprojectstothcchambcr
hncn itnccessary10no1chthcrimofthc:
bolt fac:e rttns 10 flt over it. This don
wukmthenmoflhem:cssbutsotlonthc
cu1madeforthcutrx1or.lthink111s1
worthwh11t feature and other makers of
boh-1e1oonnllcsshouldtry10-up"·1th
Thtbolli.adollheColtSaue<boll
ahowlng:(A)boltla<::1treceH.(8)
1J<trac10<. (C) ejec:tor, (D) notch lor
the loaded chamber indicato<. (E)
rnegazlneclea<ancegrooves,and(F)
bon-atopgroo\19.
Shownhl<larelhelhreeplvodog
loekinglugsonlhe'9arendollhe
bolt body. Alrow po,nbto lhl bolt
hat'lch~locklevel'.
Phololll'IOW$1hehandllsleeVflpa'11ywith:1,.wn~lhtbottbOdyan:lshows:(A)botthllr1-
c111 llleeve lock lever. (B)twool lhe lhrNlocklng luga. (C)lhegr<>OYed parlol lhe boll hoan-
clllslNVfl ..tlicll&xpandslhelocklng lugalOlocklhebottinlherec&Mlf. an:l (D)llng..t,,lcti
f9tl'IICtS!helocklnglugaonlheuplittollhebollhanclll.
sim1larde-,caon1hcirriflcs. procn,d,na; hpon the upper front oflhcmag-
Thctriggcrguanlofthc:ColtSaun-is• wnc: cripgcs in a 11(11<:h in the front of the
one-pi«csittlimit.makingthisnflconeof mapz,nc: ..-ell 111 the rcCC1''ff and holds the
1,•cryfcwmodcrnboltactionriflcswiththe frontofthemagazinc:inpLKc. Toassisc1n
1uard1JOmadc. ThcSaltoi1ano1her. Two thcrcmo,1llofthc:magaz,nc:.Saucrlwpu1
1uardtcrcws.oneatcachcnd.throu11h tw,n.sprin11-loadcdanru1tcachsidcofthc:
holcsinthc11uanlandstock.holdthcbar- maga:t11>eopcninginthcguard;ondcprcsf-
rclcdactionsccurclyinthcS1ock.Thcrcat ing1hcmagazincrclcasc latch1hcscarm1
11uard.scrcw1hrcadsintothetang,whilcthc pushandtipthcrcarendofthcma1112inc
fron1oncthrcadsoverasepara1es1ud ou1cnough1JOlha1thcliponthcfront1s
thrcadcd1111othcrcooillugofthercccivcr. released from its hold. These arms also
The: magazine box slipsusilythrough ass15t in rcinscningthc magaz,nc<:On'Cetly
thc:opcnin& m1hc1riggerguanland 1111 byholdinathc:magazinc:booctippcddo"'ll•t
hcldinpla,c:eby1latchbuihintothcguanl thcrcar1JOlhatthc:lipupfrontispropcrly
juSI ,n frontoflhcguanlbow. This la1Chi1 pos,t1oncd "·11h itsll(ll<:hbcfon: the map-
spnnalCni>Oncdandthcponionofnllw,s z1nc ttfullyll1Sfflcdandlod:cdmplKc.
depm,scdtorcn>Cl''ethc:maprinchcsnush Thcmapnncis•""llconstructcdbooc
,0•11hthc11uard.Thcrcisli1dcchancc1lla1 madeoftcrnpcffllshectll«landit"illhold
th,s la1ch,.1llbcaccidcntlydcprcucd. A ~canndgcsinasinglcoolumn.Thcma,n
215
 : I I

panoflhcbolcis15in&lepicaofsieelloldtd
90itisroundtd111hcii,:wand,q,.i,n,•lhc
rarWhen:ittt:SpOl•,..,ldediogethe,-.Oneach
,idenearlhcfronl.roundcdgroovapn:uc,d
in10i1fonnshouldeninside10coincidewnh
the~shoulder!Opn:,·entcartridgcs
frommovingf°""'-ardfromlhcn:ooiloflhc
rineandthusprcventdamagetolhcbullci
points.l°M'n:an-also1hrccholesoncithc1"
sideailhcrarendoflhcbox 1hroughwhich
cutrid&CS inside can be s«11. The, bonom
cdgeoflhcboxisflaredandlhemagazinc
botlom,al90mldtofranpcrtdsrttl,slipsin
p1a,;conit.Thelolkl'wcr,rnadeof1pol,wd
llfflDnpmg.ispi\.'Oltdon1pin1brwghlhc
10prc11"foldoflhcW,shapcdlollcw.,:r$pm&.
Asmallflll5Jlfin&anaches101hcinsidcofthe
bolcalld,whieh,;anbcdepresscdthrough•
sm1llholein1hc:lov,-erfrontleftsideoflhc RNrtndollheassernbledboll.lhowinglhelocklnglugse"1&ndedfromlheboll.endlhe
bo~. holds the magarinc bottom in pi.«:, dtp<eMed boll handlesleeve lock. Anow !)Olntstolhe tallpieoe oothe cocking ?18(:11 which
allowin&i110berm'IOVCd10disaMernblclhe UN81H&codclnglndicator.
en1ircmapzinc.
T..... al......,,-
Make tun: 1he rifle is unloaded by mnov•
inglhc magarincandopcning the bolt. To
mnovetheboliaQcmblyafterllw:IClionU:
open.pulllhctriggerbeckve,-yhan:laboul
uf1r11i1willgoandwilhdntw1hc:bolt.
Todimlatlblelhcboltproceedaslollows:
Grasplhcboltbodyinlhelefthand.dcpn:SI
1ho:bolthandleslc,e,,-ekd"-hichproje,:U:
fromlhcboltbody,andwithlhcrighthand
n.nlhebolthandleclcx:kv,ise60degree:IOI'
untili1i,~oppcd.thenpulllhcbolthandlc
sleeve auembly from the bolt body, and
rtmO\-ethelockinglugrtU"aCtOrringwithit
RCll1()Vetherett11C10rringand..-ashernocing
howlhering"11SpositioncdNofurtherdis-
aucmbly or the bolt body is adviublc.
Rcplacffllentofbrokcnpansisbestdoneby
lhcf.clOl'yOl'by1highlycompctenlgun- An,anglevlewollheundel$ideollhereeelverrlnglhowing:(A)heavyrecoillug,(8)"1
throughthecenterollhereooillug,(C)hffdandendollhelwosod<el--headdnlwllCl"ltWI,
smi1h.This$11Madvice1lsoapplic$10the and(O)trontlrtggeri:,.,ardstudscrew.
lriggcrmechanismllld101iessie,"dcgffl,10
lllcbolth..tle.slccve~
To dilolSH'fflble the bolt handle sleeve pauanbcremovul.Rcassembleinre-."Cf"K after 1980, 1w the following nwtmp:
usernbly.f11S1uncockthestrikcrbyrum,na on.lerll'llk,nganlhalyouoblaintheoorrffl St1111Pfdonl0Jlofthebam:lm onelmc:
it coun1C1"1:lockwisc in the bolt handle t,ppro!NSKn COLTSPT.F.A.MFG.CO.
sl«ve.Th11willexposelhcstudthatholds Torenwr...,lhebarrelllldactionfromlhe HARTFORD. CT. U.S.A.
thcbohhandlesleevecapinplxe,which 11ock,removc1hcmagazine,unscrewthe Ontherightsideofllw:recei,·ernn11n
WISOOVCrodbythetailpie«onthe striker reartriqer1uardscrcwand then the front twoh!IC5is:
hcad.WithafingerdqmssingandjigglillJI 1uard screw. lift the barrel and action MadeinW.Germany
1hec1p, 1nd!apping1herearendofthe assembly from the stock and then remove byJ.P.Sauer&Sohn
sleevconabcnchtop.thcs1udwillfallou1. thc:ui13erguardandscrcws On1heleftrccciverwallintwolincsis:
whereupon lhe cap and the striker key Rcplscinganypartsinlhetriggcr-safcty· COLT SAUER
springcanbcrcmovedfromthcslee,-e. bolt•$1QprncchanismisajobforlhcfaccoryOI' SPORTING RIFLE
Rert10>·elheslrikerkeynextwithatwttz· 1rompctcntgunsmi1h. Do~ ancmptlo Th,:s,erial nwnber is stamped on !he lc:ft
en. Tousiaiingettingthestrikerre1SKm- sidi:oftben:,;ci,..,,.ringandthtnwnbcr11pre-

bledlpinwithtbeCOl'Rdtipproll'U5ion.UK
1Vemiera,hperandcarcfullymea.1Un:the
distanc:efromlhcendoftheliringpinlOIOlllC
spo1ontbe~suchasthelugonitsl'or-
wanlend,thenlockthecalipcr.Nowun,crew
thefiringpillfromthestrikerhcadandalllhe
-
mnovethebarrcl.ln.wuctionsfa~
blin&tbemap,;inearcinancarlicrpattofth,s cNCd withlhe leuen CR. Thecaliber ss
chapler.Rcassemblethebarreled..:tlOnand ~onthelc:ftsideofthe~brwch.
lril&ffguardin10th:stockinl'C\-cneonb. Thefolk:,werinthemagazin,eboxis~
inlWOlines:
COLT SAUER
M y Colt Sauer rifle, which was made Cal .. 22•250Rem.

216

The name COLT SAUER is also cm-
boucdonthcrcooilpad. Thcbam:l.1-ece'r,.
rrandthcbohareproofmar1u:dandthc00lt
curlc1 pan oflhe serial number. Coifs
famous ltadmwk symbol. 1hc stallion and
-
lhcspear.isoudinedinwhncandimbcdded
undcr1heclearpla,niccen1erof1hepis1ol
gripcap.
l h.analrcadyinj«ted1fcw,:omrnmii;
andopm,onsabou1thcColtSaucrriflcin
1h11cklpter.bu11t.a,·e1fewmon:thatl
""'ttomcntionhere.Thettaremanyfea-
twnoflhis rifle Iha\ I like very much and a
fcwwh,ch l"d!ikediffen:nt.butconsider·
in&thcwh,oleriflclhavc1highn,gardfor
n. Onelh,n1111un,. it is1differen1 rifle
tha1,."0lb.andb«1usci1i1diffcm11i1
lppellltomeH ii has appealed to many
olherri~.
ln,mc:mbt-r,.·dl"·heni1wasin1roduced
andn,ad,ngabouti1in Tlu!Americ<JnR,jle-
,,,.,nandothcrgunmaga,:ines. lpar11cular-
lyn,memberrcadingabou11hcbig~me
huntthatColtSponsoredforagroupofgun
"'1itcrs.allusin1CohSaucrrifles.ldon01
often,.,T11eaboutagun"·hmitisfresh;l"d
muchrathcrwriteabou1agunaftcrcvcry-
oneclKhaswnttenab:Miland1ftcrlha,-.:
pbyed"1th111longwhileandliStcnedto
othtrswhobavcusedit.
I w,11 beg,n wi1h the s1ock. I l,kt the
shapcandthcsizcoflhestockvcrymuch
Topviewollherearparlollheac:tion inlhe
1todc.,lhowringlheboltsleevecap.lliding
::::f~bclltnio~==~
.........
hisnottoobulkyinanyplacc.ldonot
much care for thc 1li&ht flan: 11 thc bottom
ofthcpistolgripbutlcanlinwilhilldo
1101 likc the placcmcnl oflhc from sling
swivel srud-it is much too far back for
Mlryrcooilingcahbersandoughltobell
least2~fanhcrforward.lalsothinkSaut'r
o,·crdiditwilhthcroscwoodforcnd1ip;had
1heymadci1shoncrlheswivelstudcould
217

havebe<=nmountcdfarthcrfOfward.forthc
7mm Magnum and heavier rccoilin& cal•
ibcn[,.·ouldwantnosw"'cls1udonthc
forrnd.rdwarui1onthcbm'cl.
Vr:rysoodqua.l1ty...aln111,susedonlhis
nfk.butlfttllhatSaucrlhou.ldhii,-eused
,,.·enty or 1wenty-1wo line chcckcnng
m!ileadofthcc1gh1tt111inc.lhkclhcuseof
a bedding compound in !hc recoil lug and
fron111uardscrewareaofthi1stock.andthc
prcssurcareainthefrontoftheforcnd.Thc
1hickrccoilpadisagoodidcaforcalibcrs
produdngrnorcm:oilthanthc24).buton
thc22-2SOand243cahbernflnlwould
prcfcr1oha,-eastcclorh0fnbunp~1e.The
trouble ,..,Ill recoil pad$ ,s that they dctcrio-
"" In my section of the co11111ry, hun1crs
10,n11flcran1elopc,decrandclkgC'l'IC'T8!1y
prcfcrriflcsweighingapoundorS<l lcu
thantheCohSaucr,andtspcciallyincal-
ibcrs24l.25--06.270.l08andl0-06.This
rifkinthcmagnumcalibcrs.andin22-2SO
caliber for vanmnl shootmg.1sidc1I in
"-eightandbm'clsi~andlcnp,butinthc
othcrc1hbcrsahghtcrand1hortcrbaml
"·oo1d give the weight r,:du,;,tion many
hun1crs,.-am.
The Colt Sauer action ,sonlhc heavy
s1<kondthcrcccivcraceountsformostof
ii. Thcrcarcplaccsonthcm:civcrwhcrc
metal could be safely and artistically
removcd10 make 11 lighter. but I am not
sure whether tam in favoroftha1 being
~.Afewoonencouldbcsublracted
fi-om!hcac11on..-e1ghtbymak1nathctng•
,crguardofahghicrmatcnal,bul tamno1
mf■ -•orofthate,thcr.lnfact,l'••e"·on•
dcred..-hySaucrusedanalloymmakethc
---
tnggcr.whcn.ifit,.·crcmadcofst«I no
~lenglh ...... lO.OO"".U5•
~dlameter .... l.:»5"1.385"
'"""""
..::tior'IIIClion
8oll:ct.rneter . . . . .785".785"
Bolt ........ . . . . . . ..25"3,625"
Slr1Qr ........ ........3125".3125"
Boll lace-..deplt, .. 115" .115"
218
: I I
morcth~nanouneewouldbcadded101he
wcigh1 and then ii "'ould be an all-steel
ac,,on.
My mcnuon of lhc tngger leads to the
followmg comments: A gmu many shool-
crs ,rc 1riggcr o;on$Cious. oflen v,·crly so
andneedkUlyJO.Buti1is1f1ctnc,·cnhe-
less.Theyoflcnattributcc-.·r:rym1$$Cdshot
a11ariictor1amc:101hc1riggcr.Theyins,s1
ooabsolutc1yno-s1&ek,noo,·cr•traveland
animpcrceptibletri11&crpull.Thcyareu1u-
aUyfruslratcdshootcrs.buttheyk«pon
buyingriflcsin1hehopeoffindin1oncthat
"·illdothcirshoolingforlhcm.
I find no faul1 ..-ilh the "11y the Colt
Saucrtnucrpcrforms. I expect ,twill
func11onandpcrforrnas..-ellc-."CT11!lcrfi,-e
ortmthou$andshocs.Althoughun,q.,.,1he
1ogglctriggcrsyf!cmisbynomcansncw
and 1 know ofat least one U.S. patent on
thcdcsign.Anyway.1he 1ogglcsys1cmtrig•
gcrofthcColtSauergivesevcryindica1ion
1ha1i1,.•il11tandup.Hovocver,iflcountall
thcmanypartsinlhismcehanism,thcsmall
pin$. 'IP""&'· etc., and take inm cons,dcn.
1ion1hehm,tationsofthcadjustmcntsand
thcirlox,uoni,lfeel1hatSaucrwuldhiive
donemuchbcnerhadlheyclcctcd10usc1
more,;on,·cnoonallriggcrm«hamsm.onc
w11hfc"'CTpans.onc..-hichhadafullran~
ofcasilyaccessiblcadjus1mcn1,. I likc1hc
safctyamingemcmofthcriflc.as"·cllas
thebolllockondthcpushbuttoninlhcbolt
handletorclcascit.lll5<!likctbcbolt•S1op.
but I ..-ould prefer that it have 11s own
Vn<lertklevlflwof the
COIIS8uer,1ock.
relcascrathcrthanllavethetriggcrasthe
rclcasc. l alsolihthcloadcdthambcrindi-
Themagazmc,scx«llcnt,ondS<lis !hc
ttiggcrguard,map,:1111:rclcascandmap·
zincp,Wl-outunnlffll'CTll.WithJustab,1
of practice the magu1ne can be quickly
inscncd.Noth1111llasbccno,·crlookcd.
This ac1ion needs no bolt guide-the
IJllOOlhunslottcdinteriorofthcreccivcris
thebcstguidcpossiblc.Thcre isnohintof
anybindingorstiffncsswhcn l operntctbc
boll of my Colt Sauer rifle. and the bolt
sJidninthcrecc1veraboutassmoothlyas
anyof!hcmodcmbolt•IICIIOOnflcslhat l
ha•·c examined. Tllc smoothness also
extcods1otbccocki11t1mo1ion;thatii.ni.is-
m1 the bolt handle aflcr firing. In th,s
rcsp«1i1isoncofthecasicscccr,tcrfircbol1
ac1ioruimcocklha1lamfllmiliarwith.
Thisbringsmcto1hebol1.Asmen1ioned
earlicr,theColtSaucrbolthasmanyparU
butonreflectin1oni11ndtakingthebolt
apartafcwtimcs1011udyit,lcan'tscchow
theboltcouldbcmadew11hfcwerparu:. I
have to admire the ingcnullyofitsdcsign
andconsuuction. l also1ikcthcshonboll
tr.1,-clmadepossibleby1hcrearplaccmcn1
ofthelocki11t1lugs.lalsolikcthcshort60-
dcgrccup•liflofthcbohhandle.ldonot
particularlylikethclooksofthcbo!than•
dlc-it reminds me of the handle ofa Win-
chester Model 67 22 nmfire rifle J once
ov,-ncd.. Tomc.thcbolthandleloobasifit
"-.sbcntl0$hapc.
 .1., ~~ '••100~2
,~I
147 ,s
O 13''I 26
~. 5 lliilt 25, m
-,. 20 21 22 2.3
_,...."::.=.-- F I '""""'
w~ 240
,,///,, 32,~~4142
33• ~ 5f31-J•;!,,__=-,.,
30
51
•
36/' 4638
040-------
,,,"'/ 4',f45
50
52~ ""f
a

17flr'ngPinAssembly 52 RearSightBase
53 Rear~Screw
:: ~~~~
~ ~~ " """
SS SwivelAssembly
56 TriggorGuard

:=:==
57 T'?,';;GuardScrew.
23~
24 HeaclspacerRing

~:=~ng 60 Magwlel...(ltch
,. ,__
" '"""" : ==t:::~
29 Receive<Lock5cmws
30 ThlNdScrew
31 Sa!etyScrew
32 BolllockPin
33 Reoeive<LockPin
. ..,....
63 T~GuardScrew,

34 Bo11Catdl

Oncofthercasonswhy thcCoh Sauer Thesoundofthcsuikerfallappcarsnor- rnyinforrna1ionissketchy.itappcarslhat

action iscasylorockisthcmainspring.As
mentionedbcfore,thisspring is small as
eomparedtothemainspringsofo1herboh-
•ction ri0es. l also noticcd thal I did not
havc1ofighti1whenassernbling1hebolt
rnal,asiftherewasarnplespeedandpower
g1venton
Frorntheinformationlhaveandbcgin-
ning in 1984. the Coh Sauer rine is no
longerbcingimponedbyCoh.Ahhough
thcSwedishfirrn.Gcvarsfaktorict.Eskilsru-
na.Swedcn,recemlyrnadethcgunasthe
CarlGus1aflOOO.Goodasthedcsignis.it
appcars!hatthereisnoU.S. irnponerfor
thcgunalthistirne.

219
I MAGINE If YOU can• heahhy young
man consumed by the desire 10 hike the
Con1inent.aJ Dividefromiutouthcmendin
NewMexicotothemostnonhcrlycndat
theBcringStrait,lmagine,too,thcmany
1ndnricdobstaclutlla1hewouldcn-
C01111tcr;han.hhipsof1hc,.·catlw:rhehadto
mdun:;thcmowuainshchadtoas«ndand
dcsccnd;highplatc1uso,·CTrod<1,bnlsh
andJOfflCtimessnow;1hc$U"tlllllandri,=
hehad10cross; all with1heweightof1
packonhisbock.Butdespitcall,hcdidit
h was not done in a 1in1lc efTon bu1 in
st.ages over a six-year period. It was•
10,000-miletrek. lnthcffldhcltadaccom-
plishcd something few other people had
doni:. The man I am "T111111 about is Daniel
L.Coopcr.
Coopcrhadanolherdream,too,andthat
..-u10design1rinemcclwmmandto
m1nufactu.n: rincsbuilton i1.Ofcourw.
this too he h.3li also done, and the rinc
sho,,11hcrcisa produc:tofthatdream.This
wunotallthatcasy,andthemanyhard-
.......
sh,psheovercamconhissix-yearhiking
ad,·en1urewasallthem1inin11andrcsolvc
Coopcrlivcdin~1onandforac,·cral
~inthcW\980shcl"ooodoffandon
employmcminthccvmpu,ythal manufat-
Mcd the Kimber nfltt. The Kimber finn
manufacturedalimitcdlineofYl'Ollderfully
fineandwclldcsigned,tumbollrimfircand
centcTfircsp::,,1ingriflesof1quality,tomy
w1yofthinkingatlcast,tha1swpasscdevcn
thcWinchcstcrModel52Sponer.Withhis
eycsandmind,.idc:opcn.Dansurely m1$
have learned a lot. When the Kimber finn
""erllwderandcuscdmanufai:runn&,Dan
and.UthcocherKimberernployoes"~out
of""ln.
Bcfore1Uthishappc-ncd,Danhadbe-
Cfflm in1erestcd in a new cartridge. He
wantcdsomethingspedal,someth!ngdif-
220
f=nt forhisriflc. lnshon.what hc"·as
looking for wa1 a reloadable 22 WMR
(WinchestcrMagnumRimfirc).llesc1rch-
cdcanridgcbooksforacasethatmightdo
forhisdreamcanridgcanddi,c.,veredthe
5.5 VeloDogdesigncdloogagotobcused
in1"'11llrcwlverfortakingpc,tthots11
dos• lwus,na a person ridma a b,cyclc.
Anyway. he KIiied (Ml thc: Velo Dos CIK
andhc:fi1urcd..rightlyso.thl.11ftlnscue
"-umadew11hasolidhcadandloadcdw11h
a mockm pnmcr, p<1wderand a jacketed
bullet.hem1gh1havcsomethingbctter1han
1he22 WMR ,and havean:loadablcone
bcsides.somethingalinlclessthanthc:22
H=.
Pictu,edherelnactualsizea,elhe17CCM
and22CCM,l'lanked.,.,&ithersioeby!he
22Hom4Handlhe22WMA. The22CCMII
km powerful than the standard 22 Hornet
but..-nbe~looulperiormlhe22
='!.':tt!'!i:~et~
1ange1.The22CCMcanal.obeloaded
downto22LQngRiflevelocitlNandwlth
ca111Hdbu!ltllCOUklbeidealforUH(MI
$n18lll!'lme-
ln atelephoncronverA1t1onwithDan,I
askcdifhc:mncmbcrcdhiscarlyschool
days.andabool the question of,.·hich came
first,thechicken{)l"theei[Jl:?Thenlaskcd
hunwhichcamcfirst.hisnewlinlccartridge
-··
or the Cooper rifk7 He thought I moment
andsaid,~Wcll,1-SUppofCHhadlobcthc
The Coopc,r 22 CCM, which hc: named
andregistcred.11onlyshl,htlylatgcrlhanthc
22 WMRandsimilarmballi111its.A!\croon-
sidcrable sc=h1ng, Dan found a finn in
Italy 1ha1 would manufacture 1hc cases and
ammunition. Later, ~1 the suggestion and
with help from M,ke Hill, this case was
ncckcd00\01110holdal7-ealiberbulktand
11bccamcthc17CCM.
Thedimens,onsofthc22CO.tcartndgto
-•folk,v.-s:
Rrndameler .307"
Rrnlhid(ness .050"
Basei:iamelef .248"
Neck diameter.
17CCM .197"
22CCM .244"
Caselength .158"
The 17CCMha$ashciulderdiamctcr"f
.2445".
lnthcrcload1nadaia ..·hochCoopcrfur-
nishcs""ithlwiriflel1111hcscr..o,;alibcn,he
bsu2400fpsutoplldoc,ty,.11h140-grlm
bulktinthc22CCM,andatoploadof3275
fpswilha20-grainbulktinthc 17CCM. This
5CC111$IC350Nlbletome
In 1990.whentheKimbcrfinnfoldcd,
(AboYe)Tt.s~Modal38Cooper
rilleisc:hlmb9r-.dlorlhfl17cx:MClll1ridg,I.
DanolllCooperolCooperArmlMIIOStsinglll
handity<leagnecllhllcal'1rldll9andlhelllle.
Healsodeaigoec11almilar22calibercar-
tridgetaled122CCM.Thlslastcartridgeis
moreorless1r910etlllblt22WMR
 (Al.x.we)Rigti!si<ielliewollheM38Cooperactionshowiog1heboltopen.Thisdetachable
box magazine action has a bolt with three forward locking lugs. A1rr:,,, points lO the unique
plunger-typebolt-stop.Thisactionisshownwithlhetwo-piecescopemountbasesmi>delO
a,:x:ep1 the Warne quick-<le1achable scope mount rings. lings vary !lmilar 1o the Brownel l
riogsusedoo1heKimberrille.

Dan and thr« friends who had been ingthcCoopcractions.csp«iallytohandlc

TheCooperM38boltheadshowing:(A)one
ot1helhroo!ockinglugs:(B)thfltwinex1,ac-
torsand(C)1heeject(lrgroove.
employed hy Kimber since it began in
1989.mo,•edfromOrcgontoStevensvillc.
Montana. wh= Dan made preparations 10
manufae1u«: rincs. He sold hisc~pensivc
spons ear and motorcycle. got a Small
Business Admi11is1n1ion loan. fonnd a
buildingands«urcdthcncccssarymaehin-
cry1omakc rifle actions and stocks. His
ncphew,JasonStacy.aidedhimindcsign-
lhc two new Cooper cartridges. the 22
CCM andl7CCM.
ThcfirstCoopcrriflcswercfinishedin
1991.and asof1994,CooperAnnscm-
ploy1 1wcntypersons. Thcy1umou11wo
dilTerentae1iontypes:theModel36made
with triple lockinglugsncarthettnterof
thebohforrimfircandsmatlcenterfirecar-
tridges, and the Model 38 and 2 1. The

221
 Anolherviewollhe uniQUesculpturing ol !hecus1001 Cooperstocl<.

Model l8 is made in the 17 CCM and 22 lockinglugsarecutthelcngthofthcbol1 not<:h,which.whentheboltisopen,allowsthe

CCMcalibcrs.andthcModc121 is for the
17and222 familyofcanridges.The l994
Coopcrpri~lis1didn01list1hcMode138
YoucanfindjnformationontheModel36
intllc"Dopc Bagriin1heDecember 1993
An,erlc,i,rRijlemu,r. TheModel2lrepcater
isslatedforl995production.ltistheMod-
c138actionaodriflcwhichlwilldescribe
herel;>ecausei1isthconlyCoopcrmodcl I
have
TIIIM38Clopelik11an
Thcrccciverisroundanda1hickrecoil
lugisdovct.ailedintoitncarthefrontcnd.
Theinsidcfrontoftherccciveristhreadcdto
rcccivethebarrelshankaodmachinedinside
torcccivethebol1:openingsarecutthrough
itfortheloadingp,ortandmagazincwellifit
istobearcpeater. Thcrcareodofthercceiv-
crismachinedtofonnatangandacutis
madcintotherighlsidcfor1hcrootofthc
bolthandle.Othermachiningisdonctoil!o
acccptthctriggermcchanism.boh·stop.and
travclforthcselugsandtofonnlocking
shouldersforthelockinglugs.
ThcboltofthcM38isconstructedwith
lhreclockinglugsontheforwardcnd.Thcse
lugsaresolidandsubstantial.Thefromofthe
boltisrecessedforthccanridgerim. Twin
c~tractorsfinedingrocwcsintheboltheadare
springtensionedandhddinplacconpins:
ooee,ctracwrisootherightandtheOlheroo
thcleft.Theri_ght onehasallooktoengage
ovcrthecanridgerimandtopullthecanridge
oremp1ycasefromthcchamber,whilethe
one on the left has a dull hook to allow the
casetoslipawayfromittoaidtjection.whcn
thetjcctorhitsit.
Theejectorisaspring-tensiooodlcverposi-
1ionedinagrooveintheboltomleflofthe
n:,;eiver. On opening theactioo. an angled
grooveintheboltheadallowsthecndof!he
cjcctor1orisebehindtheca.se101ipandeject
it fromtheactioo
Altherearoftheboltisthelow-profilebolt
handlewhichissiis'CT-solderedinplace. Here.
1ipofthccQckingpiecc10slipi:ttoi110pre,.1,m
theboliskevefromeasilybcingtumtd.
lnsidcthcbohisthcfiringpin""hichis
powered by a coil mainspring compressed
betweenacollaronrhcfiringpinandthc
frontofthcbohslecve. Thcbol1slee,·eis
thn,adedwithitsfrontcndflaredtoclose
offrhelockinglugra~ways.Theflringpin
isthrcadedimothccQckingpieceandase!
screwinthcundersidcoFthccockingpic«
pre,·emsrhe firing pin fromtuming. The
holcinlherearcndofthecQckingpicceis
filledflushwiththehcadofascrew
Al1he righ1 n,arofthe receiver, inan
angledhole.is asturdyspring-backedplung-
erwhichisthebolt-srop.ltissoposilioned
that "·hen in i1s normal po:si1ion it e~tends
panwayintoalockinglugracewaytos!op
theboltwhenitisdrawnback.Thisplungcr
cxtendsupwardomof1hereceive-r1oallow
i1tobcdepressedwith1he1humbsotha1the
bohcanbewithdrawn. lha,•eneverseen
anotherbol1-Stoplike.itbutitdocs1hcjob

--
ejec1or. and three grooves the size of the 100.isthedeepcQckingcamandashallower itmus1do

.Tumboll.lfll)8aleroperaledbybollhancle
-~•=:,"::s.raooilU9doYelajedinf]lace;<lriledarv.l

lgn~ion

Magavne ..
Tnggef ..
~~~~=~-oocbon~
.Tl'l'Qiliececonstruction:l!lplefo<waodlodcinglu!15;roo1olbollhancle
se<vesassa!etyU9;bollhanclesilver·~.,pla::e;bollhandle
lifl60degrees

~ 1-1:,: ··
Boll-stop ..
f ~·:·
222
 Pinnedbclowtherearofthcreceiveris
thctriggerru«hanism.Cooperdcscribesit
asamatchtriggerandsoitis. llsrompo-
nrn1s-lhcscar,lrigg,:r.pinsandsprinp-
arefinedinsideasteelhousing.Three
sci-screwswithlocknutslhreadcdintothis
housingarethcadjus1memi;,,;rewstocomrol
triggcr1,,cigh1ofpull,oveMra,·elandscar
engagement The whole is liule different
FromthcusualtriggcrmeehanismusedOll
thcbe1terquali1yrumOOltriflcs.Thc1riggcr
onthcriflelcxaminedandwriteabouthcre
waspcrfeetlyfactoryadjustcdandlhadoo
desireioadjustitfunher.
ThcsafctyonthcCooperactionisYery
similartothesafclyootheK.imberM82.ltis
arowy-iypesafctymountcdontherightside
oftherw:iverandblocksthctriggerwhenthe
safctyisrota1cdrearward.ltisfi11edwitha
se1-screwsothatadjUS1mcn1Scanbernade10
take up wear.
Alsomountcdbelowtherecci,1:randpre·
ciscly o,·er the magazine well, on the
rcpea1ermodelonly,istheperfectlyshapcd
magazincholder.hismadcofsheetstain•
le511steelandisfastenedinpla~by1hree
socket-head screws;1woonone side and
onconthcothcr.Thisholdcrmightalsobe
describedastl\(,maga:zineguide.Closcin
fromofitisthemagazinecalchscrewedto
the"'-'ci,·er.ltismadeofspringsteelandits
anglcdandscm11edcndprojeetsbelowthe
magazine when the magazine is in plae<=. It
is a good catch.
Themagazineisalsomadeofahcavy-
gauge stainless steel sheet. It is pcrfealy
shaped to fit smoothly into the magazine
holderorguide.TheupperedgcsoFthcmag•
azinc arecuiwd inward to hold the small
Coopercanridgcs.A1thebottom,theedgcs
arebemou1wardsotha1thebluedsteclcover
eanslideinplattandioallowittobeeasily
s\idoffiocleanthcmagazincshouldthatbe
evernceded.ltisallquitccle,·er. lnsidethe
magazineistheflatmagazinefolloweranda
zig-zagspring.Thcmagazinewillholdthm:
"""""
On the M38single shot, the recci,·eris
madcwithoutthcmagazinc,.·ell.themaga-
::h.holder, magazine and the magazine
Thetriggcrguard/maga:zineplateismade
ofstee!andinlettcdinto thestock.Holesat
both ends are for the t"''O guard screws
which thread into the receiver and recoil
lug,toholdthebarrelandacti011securelyin
thescock.
lnsiieandshape,!hcs1ock011thcCoop-
erriflel had,.-assimilartotheOlleonmy
Mark-X Mini Mauser,exccpttheCooper
stock wasmadc0Faquali1ypieceofwal-
nut,muchbenercheekeredandmuchbcncr
inle11cd.Coopcrriflcsarcbynomeanslow·
costrifles,andcenainlynotchcap.ACoop-
crriflc,regardlcssofthemodelorgrade,is
pricedsimilartoncuscom-madcgunwhkh
itis.Andb«auseoftha1priceyoucanex·
pe<:tastock madeofquali1ywalnu1wi1h
plentyofco!orandfigureinthewood.The
stock is fitted with arubberbunpadand
metal pistol grip cap.
ThefirstCooperM38rifleloanedtome
camewithicsacti011fi1tcd"'ithscopemouncs
madetoattep1thequick-detachablcWamc
scopc1110U111rings.Theyareamodificationof
thel3rownellmouncsK.imbcrused.lamswe
thatthetappcdholcsinthereeciverwillalso
allowtheuseofRcdfiekland Buehlerhascs.
oroneofthescbasesadaptedtofit.
TIII . . . . MIBRIDI
Aflerreceivingandcxami11jngthc first
CooperM38rifle. lalsohadtheopportunity
10 examine and photograph another one
Both were nearly identical except for the
stocks,thesecondonehavingabc11crap-
pointedstock. Maybelshouldsayamore
custom-made stock. Anyway. both rifles
,.·ere chambered for the Cooper 17 CCM
canridge,bothfincdwith24~varmint-"''cight
bam:1s,andthcyweighedabout7pounds.
They,.·creadult-sizerifles,andalthough l
hadnoopponunitytoshoolcithcroneor
tcstthemforaccuracy.lamquitesurcl
wouldnotha,1:b«ndisappointed.lflhad
hadoneoFthemineitherthe17or22cal-
ibcrforcyycarsagolwouldhavchadalot
offunshootingit.lthinklwouldhavcpre-
fem:d the 22 CCM b«ausc ofthcbulle1
supplyandb«ausclcouldhavcusedcast
bulle!S.ldonotbclicvelwouldhaveused
eithercahberforsmallgarnehun!ingbccause
223

Mangled'MWoftheCooperactioninlhe$todi.
lhll,-cnc-,-nfoundoruscdacanndgemore
ldcquatc for th,1 5P<>r1 lhan lhe 22 Lon&
R,lle. Du1(orlhool1ngpn.tssuc-has1he
itnppedgroundsq11,rrel.flK:kena1l1and
Cf0\\-S w1th1nrmgi:therccouldhardlybca
bcttcrnlleorcalibcr.
Bolhnlleshadstamlcssstcelbam,lswhich
wouldanrsc1 a magnctandthismeant416
stainless st«L Both rifles had superb trigger
pull t -lcouldll()lha,~askedforanything
bcucrand 1 had oon,ason toadJuSl 1hcm
bcyoodthefaclOryadjustmmtBothstocb
hadalotof..,-cll-doocchc,;:kmngontM
formdslndp1SIOlanps.andbod,wcn,fillCld
wnh Packmayr bask:<1-wen-c rubber bun•
pads. Th=wcrtthel.l,ngswi..-dwds.lOO.
bullneva-havehadanyiaseforthcmon1
>"lf!l1mtnllc.
TheSIOCklonbocl,wen:madeofdente
Claro ,.._1n111, but of lhe two the lasl Coop-
224
AnothorviewoflheCooperM38rlfle.
nnflclhad"'-.s1hemos1-custom~OM
Theonc:fcarun:IIIO(iccdfirst"'-.sthcbalu-
t,fullhap1ngoflhcstockatthebo11omof
lheacuonand[ha,·ctricd10showthi11n1
photo. Thcs«ondthingwas thew·ell
shapcd1nd!.hadow-linedcheckp1ecc.l1
wunotovcr-done,jUSltasteful.lcouldll\'C
without 1he raised comb. but even 1h11 fca-
tun: wu niccly donc. If l had ordcrcd this
rmcandl).'idthcextrarosc. I would have
askcdforanebonyforend1ipandapis10l
l"PClp
Aslwritelhis(l994)theCoopcrfinnis
onlyfoory,:arsold.Althoughal01hashap-
pmedtllere,theCooperrifleissull 1n its
1nfancy,and1flhccxpcricnccofmanyoth•
crbcg1nn,n3annsdesigntfsandmanufac-
1uren1nthe1rearlyyears1ellsusanytlu..,.,
11tcllsmcthatDaniclCooperisbound10
mabJ0111Cchangcsandposs,blc,mpro..·c-
-
mcnlstoh11a<:1ions. Bylhctimcyourcad
lhisthatmayha,-cal«:adyhappened.
Stampcdonthclcftsidcoflhccrttei\.'tfll:
17-532Coopel"AmlSM38
Onlhelcftsidf:oflhebar«:lb!C'«his
stampedthecalibcr.
lnalcttcrn:cci~edfrom Dan.hcsuued
thatlhc:CoopcrMJSRcpcatcr"'-.sobtolclc.
Tlus mean, that the M36 II.ad takm ,ts place.
Eariicrinthi1chap1crldescribcdthclock-
111a Sytlem of both lhc: M38 and M36. Wit·
ing chloc the M36 had the three locking lugs
onthcbohnearlhc:rniddlc.whilcthcM38
bolthadthclockinglugsonthcfrontofthe
bolt,lcansccchcadvanta1COfhav1ngthc
lockinglugsonthcmiddlcofthcbolll"llhcr
chanupfron1bccausc1hcmiddlcposi1ion
affords1hcsea,h'antages:(l)byclim11Wing
1he l<xking lugRIOUldcrand l<xkma lua
rt«SS in !he n:cci,·cr. lhe gap b<1wccn ma,-
azmc and barrel brttch II also chm1nated:
(2),.hichallowstbcmagazinciobcplaced
closelOtbcbarreltn«h;(3),.tuchmaku
for11honerbohn,·el;and(4)makcsfor
much-n,liablcandsmoolherfttdmaof
thecartridgcsfromtbem.1g1Z1ncto1he
chambcr.Nci!hcrthcboltnorthc.ctioni1
weakcnedw1ththemiddlclockmalu11loc1•
1ion. I had noopponunity to examine an
MJ6,bu1tbclicvccvcry01hcrfea1un:of!hc
M38i1alsoretained.includingd11:triaacr.
safcty,boll-51op,cxtractorandmap;:inc,as
"''ellas1hcwondcrfulclassicwa!nutstock.
Thctwo5honCoopcrcartridge&.aswcllas
lhcnmfircs, n«ess1tatedthischan&eand
theC00perrilleisbcttcrfor11.lf.inldd1•
lion, lhe boll •••en: made in two pans as
Ruger docs in their Model 77'22, and I am
IIO(surc,.·hcthcrorno(l\11,it•••ouklbc a
bcttcrnflcsull.
RI FLEMEN WERE SHOCKED when in
l964Winchesterannouncedthalthey"'Cre
discominuingthemanufa,cturcofthcirMod·
el70bol1-actionrifle.andinthcsamebreath
announced they were imroducing a new
Model 70. Of course, I wondered. as I am
sun:e\'cryfanofthcoriginalM70did.what
thcnewonewouldbel ike. Would it bean
improvedM70.orwoulditbegreadyal•
1ercd?Or,wouldi1bemanufactureddiffer-
emly and. if so, l>ow? Also, would thc new
gunbecheaptformoree~pensive?Wesoon
foundoutwhenthenewrifleappcaredon
the marker andgunwritersbeganwriting
about it. And were we disappointed? We
As i1 happened, the ..new~ Winchester
M70W11Snotnear1yasbadasmostM70fans
believed.bu1it".1Sindeedafarcryfromthc
originalguni1replaced Reganllessofwhat
it"'3Sallabou1,ittookthcWinchesterpeo-
plemoreth&nt"'Cnty-fiveyearsbeforethey
n:deemcdtbemsel,·esbybringingoutaYcry
closereplicaoftheoriginaldesign which
theyca!lthcM70Classic
Manyriflcrnendecriedthcfactlhatthcold
M70mightneveragainbemade.HO\lo'CVtr,
DooAllenandgundesignerPeterGriscldid
somcthingaboutthat.TO(!ether\hcyworked
todesignanactiontha1"·ouldhaveall,or
most.oftheattributesoftheoldM70.Doing
thistooktimeandlhcendRSUhwasanaction
thatlookedmightylikethcoldM70Win-
chcstcr.Rightawayriflemmbeganreferring
toitasacopyorreproducrion.andasonegun
writcrexplained."TheModcl70Winchester
action,lhcrurnboltactionbek,,,fflbyriflcrnen
all0\'C1'1heglobe.isbomagain"
Theywen:notaltogetherwrong,orright
either.Anyway,AllenandGrisclcalle,ditthc
DakotaModcl76andmadereadytomanu-
fu.c;rureit.ThiswaslOOllt 1986and1hefirs1
actions were announced for sale in 1987.
Staningfromamodestbeginning,DonAllen
andhiswifchavebuiltasucces.sfulbusiness
andasofl994emp!oythinypeople. Don is
mostintcrestcdin1hemanufactureofstocks,
andthccus1ornrifleoperationisguidedby
his wife Norma. Undcrhcrdirec1ion, the
DakOlaArmsfirmismorcorlessacustom
riflebusiness,buildingriflesspecificallyto
customer specifications. The customer
choosesthestyleortypeofriflehcorshe
wan1S,thecaliber,barrelsizeandlength,
sighis.gradcofstockwood,s1ockpanem.
ctc . Gencrally.howe vcr.lhcCIISIOmcrsclects
the rifle w&nted from an example shown in
thcDakocaAnnsbrochure.Allaremorcor
lesspureclassicinstylc.bcautifulgunswith
fineEngiishwalnutstocks,"'CllcheckerNl
andfinished.andwithmetalpartse,tremely
wcllmade,finedandfinished.TheDakota
riflesareaccwatc.dwablcandof,"Cr)'high
quality
llillllkotaM78Actill
The~ei,'Cl'isentirelymachinedfroma
solidpieccofchromemolyheat-treatedsteel.
Lookingati1ftomthcou1'iidei1looksvcry
muchlike thcreceiverofthel're-'64M70
Wir,ches\cr.Ho"'C'"cr.closcrinspc,ctionwill
revealtwomajorchanges
Thefirs1oneisinsidc1hereceiverring.
DcsignerGriselchoscn011ouscthe~
typebrcechinginwhich1hebfc«hface of
thebarrcliscone-shaped,bu1i11S1eadmade
thcbrcechingliketha1ofthcoldstandby
M98 Mauser wi1h i1s internal collar. Wi1h
thi s collarthebarrclbreechisflatandthe
barrelfittcdsolha1thcbreechandtheshool-
deronthebarrelcontac! thiscollarandthe
frontof!herecciver. Most gunsmiths will
takegreatpainstogivetheseromactingsur-
facescqualpressure.Whenthebarrelisset-
uptightlybothsurfaceswillbecquallytight
AswiththeMauscrM98,theDakOlahasa
slo1 cut through it for 1he Mauser-type
extractorhook.
lha,·enothingagainstthe conebreech-
ingexceptthatfittingabam:l10suchan
action requires considerable more effon
thanfiningabarrcltothcM98Mauscrtype
ofaction
Thesccondmajordifferenceistheboh-
stop,whichisemiretydiffcrentftomlhcM70
ltisalsodifferentfromanyotherboh-stopin
allofthcactionsdcscribcdinthisbook.Jhav,:
neversce,,anolherlikeit.Th.isimponantpan
is sowcllhiddenin1hekflsideof1hen,ceiv-
erbridgelha1itappea.-slllf1nltobepanof
the bridge. l1'imain pan is around ver,ical
stem that fi1'!throughthcbridgetointerscct
1helefllockinglugracewaywithahorizontal
leverorarmanachedtoit;1he]e,,"Crhidesina
groovecutimothesideoftherettiverbridge
ltisthisle>'Cl'thatiscleverlyhiddenbecausc
i!secmstoha,·ebecnmachincdie>'Clwiththe
side and rear of the brid~c. Of course, thi s
bolt·stop isspring1ensionedinsidethcbridge
toholditinthcclosodandopenedposition.
Thesmallendofthisk\'erissenatedandlies
nearly flush with the rear swfacc of the
bridgc.FingerprcssureatthisJ:M}U11isenough
lOrotatcthebolt-stop.
Theverticalstemismachined to perform
Ihm: functions. First, it serves as the bolt·
stoptoha!ttherearwardtra,·clofthebol!
Second,beingpositioned1ocloscoffthe
lockinglugracewayitbecomesancffectiv,:
seal against any powder gases from a rup-
1uredcasc. Third, it isalsoabol1 guideor
anti-bindfcaturcinlhatithasaconcave sur-
facetomatchthecoovexsurfaceofthebolt.
Thissiem is also milled so that when the
leverisswung90degreesoutwarditclears
(Above)Avaitableinanycaliberffom22-250
10458Magnum, 1heDakotaM76Classic:blg
gamehuntln.g,iflemustbeconskleredas
001.1otlhefi1>11s1tumb0flrift&Smao:le.
225
the way for the locking lug 10 pass by on
!l'moving the bolt from the recei,·cr. The
smallhumpnearthecemcroftheorigina\
Modcl70bolt,whichser.Wastheboltguide
ll!ldanti•bindfearun:,hasbeeneliminatedoo
theDak01abol1.Thisfunctionhasbccntakcn
overbythecleverbol1-s1op.
TheDakoiaM76rccciverisdri11edand
tapped for scope mounis. On the nne I e:<-
amined, an<l which is pictured here, the
actionisfinedwithaSC1ofbasestoacccp1
Redfieldrings.lllese~sarecustom-
madetofitsonca1lytha1theysecmtoha,·e
beenmadein1cgralwi1hthereceiver,espe-
cial1ythefroo1one.
Leh-sideviewo!1heDakotaM76action.canyoulindlhebolt-stop7
226
,.....
TheboltintheDak01aM76appcarstobe
ofone-piececonstructionandinascnseit
ac1uallyis.However,thebolthandleismade
asa$Cpamtepieccandbysomead,·anced
electricalprocessitisfuscdtothebolt.Aflcr
finishingthcreisnoe,•ideno;ewhatsoeverthal
the handle was made as a separate piece
BecauscoftheMauserM98brttching,the
dUlll~lockinglugsaresetbackthe
same amoum as the thickness of the ring
insidethen:«iver,act\lallythesamcaswilh
theMauserM98boh.Bo!hlugsaresolid.
Thisbrecchingislhes.ameasifthebarrel
bre<:ch,ve!l'reccssedforthebolt.Jflwcre
givcnachoiccbetwecntheM98brceching
811d one like that in the Remilli'on M700, I'd
1akctheformcr,andespecial1ysoiflheaction
has the Mauser-type extrac1or, which 1he
Do>~ho>
Dak01a'scxtractoristhestandardMauser
M98typemountedoothebohwilhacollar.
Thcboltfacchasanundcrcutrecessforthe
cartridgehead.Thisallowscartridgesfedinto
thechamberbythebolttoriscfromthemag-
a.:ine 811d allow the rim 10 slip under the
extractorhook,sotha1ifforsomen:a,onthe
bolt is not fully dosed, then pulled back
ag.ain,thecam-idgcwillbecjected. This is
DonAllenisbestknownforhiscus10",.,n1ttlestocks.Heisshown DonaodNormaAllen.ownersol0a~otaArm$.
heraatworkalhiss1ockroutingmachine

227
 ThislstheDakotaM76VVarmintrifle.ThesinglttshotboUaction,
heavybarretC0<1touranctspeciatlydesignttdstocl<make thistheper-
~ ~:~i":i=."s varmin1 hunte<. ll's
made in any
of the Stan-

TheOakola76AlricanGraderillestanctardspecifications-Calibers:450
Oakoia,416Del<ola,416Rlgb')',404Jet'le,y.Weighl:app(OJOO'l8tely9-10
pounds. Barrel:24"lenglh, 1ron11s1anctanctbladesgl1wilh18arlslanct
sg,1wilhoneS1ancwigblade(shownwilhoplional~er-ribiearsi{tol).
Aclion:longmagunor416Fligby.Slock:choo::eolXXXgradeoil-fin-
ishedEngtishor8astoglewahJl"""1ebooylof8ndtip.poinl~hand
checkenngwilhw~arounctforenct.crossboll.1"blacl<recoilpad.
~wilhshadowline,onenettedKanHowell8Wigswi\lelwilh
barrelbardandstool~cap;l:Wolenglholp,..i

calledcootrollcdfecding,althoughlhavc, aboottheM70triggeranwnberoftimes.bu! guan:l1C1eWhasbeeneliminated.Anolherdif-

ah•-aysdescribeditaspw:en1ingdoubleload-
ing.Justthesame.itisanidealsystcmona
hwitingriflc.
Theej«torintheDakotaM76ispaltemed
aftertheoneinthepn,-"64M70Winchester
asimplcrandmoren:liableandfunciional
triggcrhas001beenin,"COtcd.l"-ellknowtha1
manyrifleshoolcrsarcextrernelyttiggercon-
scious.Tbcy1nsisttha1atriggerha,·eavcry
short.crispandhghtlei-offwithabsolutelyno
fen:nceistha1themagazinefol!owerhasi1S
ridgeootherigh1sidemtherthanonthekft.
asintheModel70.0utwardly.thefloorplate
catch,loobl ikeaModel70catch.butonthe
Dak0tailhas!wostcpssothatifdcpres.sed

hisasimplespring-1cnsionedlcvcrposi-
1ioneda1anangleinthebonomofthereceiv-
er.Anangledshorlgroovein1hebohhead.
jll5tundertheleftlockinglug.isthercforthe
ftoottipofthecxtractortoriseimowhenthe
boltisopenedtoejectacanridgcorfirodcase
fromtheac1ion.l!isa1ime1)l'O'-enandfault-
lcssejectorsystem
Again.asintheWincheslcrM70.thebolt
sleeve. firingpin.mainspring,cockingpiece
cxcesstake-uporo,·er-trnsel.andmadeso
thatallofthiscanbeadjustcd.Alotofthisis
nonsense.Tiiesesameshootersmaynevcrbe
sa1isf11Xlandtheywillalwaysblameamisscd
sholoo"'thatdamnttigger."" lflhadtorelyon
atriggertodowha!itissupposedtodo,under
any and all weather. shoolingand hWlting
conditions,l"dch<xisethe M701rigger.his
theonelhatthemakersoftheDakotarifle
cho$e.Myson.Mark.whohashadal01of
-·
oolypartially.pe!hapsaccide-ntally.thefloor-
Platewillopenonlysl igh1ly;10relcasethe
floorplate entirely the catch must be fully
AsWinchcsterhasdonewiththe M70
Classic.theDakotapeoplcdroppedtheuseof
afurendscn:w.
Sofarinthischapterlhavenotdescribed
someofthefeaturcsindc-tail. Therefru-e.l
wouldsuggcstyoutum1omydesaiplionof

andsafetypansnearlyduplicatethesam<:
pansinthepn:-"64M70.UnliketheM70.the
DakotaM76hasoobol!sleevc,lock,apan
whichhasooimp::,rtanlfunction.Thesafcty
iscspcciallygood.1tismountedin1hebolt
slceveanctwhenswungba,c:kthesafetylocks
boththestrikcrandtheboh:s"'1.111gforward
allthe"-aytheriflecanbefired;andswungto
anin1e-rmedia1eposi1iononly1hestrikcris
locked. ltmaynotbethefastcstandhandicsl
safe1ytogctin1ofiringposi1ion.butoncethe
shoocergeisacquaimedwithitthatdisadvan-
iageisgonc
Ahhough r have not tried i1. r do not
be!ievethatthetriggerorthetwomainpans
ofitmin1en,hangeablewiththeM70Win-
ches1er. Botharc,·e,ysimilarandbothare
based on the same sys1cm. I have written
228
expcrienceshoolingWincheslerMode!70
targetriflcs.hasne,-ercomplainedaboutthe
tnggcr.
TheDakotatriggerisadjustableonlyfor
weight of pull ando,·er-travcl. hncedsno
othcradjustment.andifyooeverobtainthis
rifleyouprobablywill1101wan110makeany
adjustmrn!toit.Evmifyoumcaughtina
duststormorinanicyrainstorm.thetriggcr
will do its job. histhelas1 1hingyouneed
wonyabow
The Dakota M76a11-stcel trigger guard
assemblyisalsoac~copyoftheWinches-
terM70:themaguinebox,triggerguard.
hingedfloorpla1candfloorplatccatcharc
=tiallythesame.withtheexccptionthat
the trigger guard and magazine plate is of
one,pieccconstruction.and!halthecentcr
---
theWinchesterpre-"64ac1ionso1hatyou
can better compare the Dakota aclion with
theM70.
Shown nearby are the basic model.,
descriplionsandspecificationsofeachofthe
four rifle siyles manufactured by Dakota
Arms lnc.,Slw&is,SouthDakom.
Towritethischapter.lhadtheopportunity
lo examine. handle and playarowid with a
DakotaM76foraboo1aweck.andyoucan
believe me when I say that I had that rifle
(shownatthebeginningofthischapler)inmy
handsmanytimesduringthat period.lwas
trulyimpressedwithitlflhadbcen.orsti!I
was,adeer.antelopeorelkhwt1er. l couldnot
haYechosenabolt-octionrilkbcttcrines-ery
 I, I, I

TheDakotaModel76ClaS!.lieG radehunting rifle standard

spedflcations-Clibe<S:allstandardcalib8r.1(22·250lhrough
458Won.) Weiglt awroximately 7.5 !)OUl'IOS. Barret 21'lenglh
standaldforshortaction.2:rforaloll1t!<actions. Action:short,
stands.Id. short magnum, long magnum. Stock: choic<!I ot X
gradeoll•finlshlldEnglish, Bastogne otClarowalnut. hand
checkeredinadassicpojnlpanemwilhpanels. F<ttedwilhr
blaci<rectMlpild.s1aelgripcapandslnglescrewstudsllng
$Wivels:13'111en¢lofpull

TheOal<olaSalartGraoe.right./landmodelSlalldarctspecffica•
bon&-Calibers:257Robertsthrough458Wm . Mag.Waight·
appn:,ximately8.5pounds.0arret:23"1englh,ff0ntrampand
rearis!and$9llwilhcnestandiogblade.Action:$hQrt,&tan·
d-ald magnum, long magnum or 458 $h(),t magnum. Stock:
thoiceofXXXgradeoll·fini5hedEnglishorBastognewalnut
wilhebOnylorendtip.cheekplecewilhshadowline.lnl<!ned
swiwiaodbarrelba.nd.staelgripeapand1"blackrec:oilpild
Poin1-panemhandcheckerlngwilhwrap.aroundlorend: 13'11
lengthofpull.Thisaxamplehaslheoptionalquarter•rib

way than this one ii wa.s a delightful sensa-
tiontoimagineabuckdeeroutthereahun-
drcd yards or so. swinging the rifle to my
shoulder,andinasplitsecondortwo.aimand
fire and = the dttr drop. The rifle "''as
designedandmadetodothatjob. Ho,.-e--er. I
did IIOt ha.,·e 10 imagine how this fine rifle
looked or felt in my hands. or notice the
smoolhness of operating the action. Because
lherecei,-erandbohwcrematcdtoclosetol·
cranc:es. there was very little wobble of the
bohwhen1heactionwasopcn.Evcrything
else behaved 1hr: same way. Even though 1hr:
srockhad110cheekpicce.whichismostlyjUS1
an omamenuuion anyway, the s1ock was per•
f<:<:t. Thewholeriflespelledqua!ity.This
quality does~ come cheap, bu1 if you de-
mandi1.theDaka1aModel76hasit.

229
F oR A NUMBER of years S10eger Amu
imported genume Obemdorf-made Model
98actions in101heU.S.Thesewcn:fincac:-
t - o o q....:slion about that-but they""""'
highpril:cd.forcxample.in 1939Sl0cger
hsu:dthelowcst-priccdM98ac1ionat$70.
v.hilcinthewnccatalogthestandardgradt
complete M70 W1nchcSlcr rinc was only
S61 .2.S. Ob,1011Slythceus1omer,.'Upaymg
,-aydearfyforlhal-M.wscrbanna'"stampcd
onthe"'"1VCT.HOWC'\"C1".bythismnc:Gcr·
many"-asdcq,lym,-ol,"Ninmakmgwar.
andherarmsplant$wcrc:Nmingoutnocluna
bu1m,hiary ..·capons. So.S1oegerhadto
tumclxv.hcn:.
FabriqueNauonalc(f'Nforsbort.lhcsame
firmwhi,,hmako:iiBrm,·ningpistols.nnes
andsbolps) inLiege.Bclgiwn.v.-asand1sa
,·cryl:uvearmsmal:ingplant.Formanyycars
theyhadbc:<:nmakmgvariousmodelsof
Mauser rifks. including many thousands
bascdonihcM98.W1,c:nStoc:gercouldno
Jonacrgctong1nalMauscrsihcytumcd10
FN, and the f'N Ma~action v,-asan-
oounccdmS!oegcr"sl9-llcatalog.Callinaot
their--SIOC'gCrPccrlcuAction.-H"'Uonly
$18.unbelie\'llblylow.C'\-mthm.
Thc:Ptabslctionv,-asnochmgOlhcrlllan
theSlafl(llrdM9Smih13ryacrion.asrnadcby
fN.c~cq,c thalihc magazin,e v.-urnadc to
handlel0-06-lcngthcanndgc:sand1l,c:boh
haodlcwasbentdownsharplyatitsnx>1.lt
"-asdcscribedubeingm:>deofh,gh-gradc
S1ecl.propcrlyhurdcn«l."·ellpo!ishedand
blucd.c:xccplforthebohpan.s"hichwen:
kftbnaht.1t1,1uthelargeringtypc:withthe
lhumbslot1nthen:reiverwall.clip-d1arger
gudc:ways,nlhcn:rei,-crbridgeandlhc:stan-
darddoublMtlcc military lrigcr
Whcnl"'"1ndthcl9-IIS!ocgcrmalog.
I rm1C1T1bertha1lqu,cklyonlen:donc:FN
actoon.bulmymonc:y"'Umimdcd.No"'OII·
dtr.forGcnnantroopsuwadcdBdg,umm
Mayofl9-IOandS!oegcr"s~v,'llllrTDA
230
likclyc:u101fbeforcit$W1ed.Sloegcr"sl942
,.,.1a1"1Ldidn01hS1thcsc:ac1ions.
__
A couple of years after the close of
WW II , the fN 98 acuon appear<:d agam.
th11timcimportedbyFin:armslntcmationlll
of Washing1on. D.C. I found 1hc: first
announ«mentofilinihcNovcmber.l9-17,
1swc: of 711e ,4,.,,.rican Rif/~man. h v.-as
callc:d 111c-1947 FN Mauscr'"action. but
,.
c:xtq)lfor,ts~lowprofilcbolthandle.n
was the same as the fN action offeTed by
Stocger,n19-11.
llen:v.-.san1COOnthatgunsrrmhshadlong
bc:<:nscd.:mg.allbooghi1stillhaJ 1 numberof
fc;iturc:s n."lllincd from the military action. Bm.
asFlannouncedintMirl947ad.c:hanges
wooldbemadconit inBCOOR!anccwilhthc
,.,sl,csoftl,c: American shooter. This was
doneaswillbo:Sttll.
lnJanuary.19-18.n"-asannounccdthatthe
followingchangcshadaln:adybc:<:nadoplal:
I) bolt handlo knob panly chcd=d; 2) aia•
pman&edto1smglepul1.no-slacklcl-off;
J)ancwtypcoff\oorpl.atc:quick•n:lcasc
plungcrforinsUnln:mm-.l;and4)1hc:thumb
slolv,-.schmmatcd. Thislasl ,1cm,.-uthc
map and ITI05I important impnn·c:rnmt.
s,ncenrnadcthcn:cci,...-mochmorcngid.
By May. 1948. the act,on could be
onkrc:d fiucd wi1h a double-set trigger
mcchani!im. Byfallof1948theactioowu
funherimprovcdbyhavingar.cwlowsoopc
safct~. a11d the n:,cei\'CT bridge was modified
bychmmatin111h<:raisedportionandthc
ehp-d1argerslot. Tappingthcn:,cei,·erfora
n:rei,•ers,gh1andorascopcmount"-as1lso
stancdatth1st1mc.thoughtheblidgew11s
00( lapl)Cd. Up to this time these: KIIOM
wcn:madef«theswidard30-061engthand
lw:ad-s,>;edcanndges. Byihcmdof194&.
berrcledact,onswcn:offertd,n30-06and
270cahbcn.uwcn:completc fN Ma"-
dcluxcnncsand.bythcrndofl949.c:al-
1bersindudedthc257 Robens.2SO-JOOO
Savagcand300Sa,·agc. Wi1hi n ashontimc
rwoodw:rcalibcrsv.-creadded,thc7mmMau•
serand220Swift.
Thcacuonsforlhcscdiffcrentcalibers
v.-creallalikc:c:xccp1thatashc:elmctalfillcr
blockv.-ufiltedmthcrearofthcmaprine:
box. along with a ~ follower and
Spnna.forlhe2.S7Robcnsand1Mshortcr
canridrc:s- The: first fN bands had an...._.
al"stq,pcd""oontou".bultluschangedonl9S2
"-hmthef'Nsmoocb-rontoun:l,ghtwaght
1-n"e-lwasintroducod.
Thc:f'NMagnumaction.introducedearly
,n 1953, ""asmadc10handlcthethen1wo
ITI05lpopularmagnumcartridgcs.lhc300and
37S H&11 MagnwnsThis""mag:nwn""action
wasoo1hingmorethanthestandard30-06-
l~lhf'N.butwilhthcmaga:cinebo~e:<t<:nd-
c:dinfron1.thcfcc:drampahc:rc:d10acttp1thc
l.60"" magnum cartridges. and the bolt 1-1
anduiractoropcnedupforthcheadofihc
beltc:d cue. Engn,,·c:d fN act,oos v.-m: also
rnadc&\-ail.abkatab0lllthislim,:.
An ,mponanl de\·clopmrnt m the Ma~
acuoncun,:11119SS""hc:nthe""bmch-~~
K!ion was announced. Thi,v.-uas,nglc
shol: act,on. the sohd bottom rccc,ver mmus
anymag:uine-wcllcuts.Thctriggerguard
v,-umcrclymadcwilhalongforwardSlrap
ortan11hroughwhich1hefromguardscrew
passcd.ThcBRactioowasmadc1ohandlc
1hn:cd,ffcn:ntsizcsofcartridgchcads:222.
)0-06orbeltcdmagnumheadsiics. wi1h
theboltfaccande,ctractoraltcrcdappropo-
•tely
~)Mlnnk:her-clOd<edVOll)Oltlrlg,._
bl.-bylheallhof.BasedonhFNDllwte
ac:11on,1hllrillehaaa FajenSIOCl<.Oougills
b9ftlll..:ta8&1.Balb"sc:opein8&Lmc,unlt.
 FN Actmns & Rifles

Assoonasrhevariousscopemountmak- r - - - - -- -------~==~
crsbeganstandardizingthcholespacingin
theirmounts,FNbcgantapping1he1opof
thereceivcrofalloftheiractionssothat
lhcscmountscouldbeeasilyandquicklyin-
stalled
When new factory canridges were de,'<'1-
opcd. such as the 243. 308 and 244, the FN
linewasprompdyex1c-ndcdroincludethem
ltwasalsoextcooedioir.::ludethe458.264.
7mm and 300 Magnums. Then, as some of
thesccanridgesfelliruodisfavorwithshool-
ers,they"-etedroppedfromthcFNlineup.
By 1971 FNriflesandbarrcledactions"'Cl'C
availableonlyinthefollowingcalibcrs:243,
~~7=~0:ti43=~~M~=;~ '-------------------
remaina,.iilable.
Around 1957, the standard FN action
becarnethefNDeluxeac1ion,andanew
actionwasintroduccdcallcdthc:Serics300.
Thenewactioninc0tp0ratedthc,following
improvementsandchanges:astream!incd
boh sleeve, made wi!hout the safety; an
adjustable, single-stage trigger which in-
cludedaright-sides!iding-tangsafety,and
an all-steel hinged-floorpla1c magaiiine
Thiswasafinemodcmactionand,withina
short time, the "Series 300" name was
changedto"FNSupn:me." By 1%4theFN
Oeluxemodclwasdropped,withonlythe
Supremeac1ions,barreledactionsandrines
remaining. ToreplacetheOeluxctypesa
new model was imroduc.::d, ca!le<l 1he Mus-
keteer, but these actions were not ofTereJ
separately
lnthel970sthefNfinn-1produclioo
oftheseactionsandrines.Tocrc;samos1
interesiinganicleintheDecember,!989,and

·--
February, 1990,AmericanRiflemanonthe
histocyoftheFNfinn

FNactions"-eremadetotheusualeXllCl-
ingFNqu:,lity,aqualitysooutstandingthat
nooneshou!dquestionit.Jdon'tknowwhat
stc.::lwasuscdinthereceivcrandboltsof
thes.eactions,butyoucanbcsuretha1thebcsc
availablest«lwasuscd,andthatthe,·arious
FNSeries:JOOorSupremeaciion

paruwerepropcrlyhanlcnedfor1he worl<
theydo,LiketheU5U.llM98militaryaction,
theFNreceiverdtpc-r,dsmorconilSdesign
forstrengththanonspecialsteelsorhealn-eat-
menlS.ThcFNrecciverwasprobablymade
ofa10pquali1y,low..:arbonstttlandsurface
hardened, which results in a ,·uy tough
recei,-er,onethatwill"gi,-e"undcrextreme
sll'tSSCS but will not shatter. The FN boll is
muchhanlerthanthcreceiver,especiallyin
theareaofthelockinglugs.
fNacrioM,,.-erefinishedandfumishedin
thc"white,"thatis.notbll!Cdbutwiththe
metalinitsnatw-albrightstateafterma,chin-
ingandpolishing.Thcbolt,bohsJec,.-e,cock-
ingpieceandafewoihersmallparts"-ere
U5U.lllypolishedveryhighly,andneededno
fwtherpolishing.Thcbolt-Slopandbolt-stop
springoflcnhadalight"hcat"bluedfinish.At
first.therecei,-ers,--=usuallyfinishedpol-
ishcd.butthelatcroncswcrenotcomplerely
fmishedandusua.llyrequiredfwtherpolishing
bcforebcingblued.Thisalsoapplies1othe
uiggerguardandnoo.-plate,exceptforthe
insideofthetrigga-guardbowwhichisscl-
domfacto,ypolishcdatall
-
fa-eryFNactioo-..assoojecte<ltoaproofrest
intheBelgiango,-emrnernproofhouse.Only
actionswhichpassedthisrest"'Creproofinarked
andsold,withtheusual final Belgian proof
swnpcdonthe...::eivc,-ring.MnslFNactionsl
ha,-e observed also ha,-c MA DE IN BEL-
GIUM swnpcdonthek:M-erpartoflhe...::eiv.
er.lllcreareusuallysomeinspector'smarks
S1arttpcdootheooct1Jrnoflhe...::ei,-erab:.t

231
 Browning once used a somewha1 modified FN 8CIOOl1 10 build a line ot high-9rade big game
OOn!ingrilles.Themaindiffe1anceDetweenlhislatamodel81owningFNandtheregular
FNactiooisthebolt-stopwhidlisneartynushwlthlherecfliver.Piclur&dhera.nghtandleh
sides.lslheBrowningSafariMagnumri!le

EarlyFNMaus.eractionsusuallyhadthc
large FN monogram imfll'CSSOOon the =iv-
erring. as well a,i;ha\"ing lhe factorynameand
addressstampcdon!heleftrooeiverwall.La1-
eronthescmarl:ings"-creomittcd.withonly
thclettcrsFNwithina,;mallcirclesumpcd
onthcsidcofthcreceiverring.Thedate
(year)ofmanufacrun,wasalsostampcdon
theearlyactions.
Tomyknowlodge.!hesq,arareFNactioos

....
were1101serialnumbercdnorwerethcparts
ofthcactionnumbcredinany••,ay.
,. ,,_
ThcrommereialFNactioois.10desaibeit
briefly. merely a modernized M98 military
action. FNhadalotofe..pcrienceinmaking
thclanertype,including30-06rifles,andthc
rommm:ialFNactioowasanaruralresultof
this activity Like the military action. the
spo.-ting,-ersionisperhapsthcWl.lrid"s most
FNMauserboltheads: leh.30-06;right.222
:'!~andwidclyuscdcenterfiretumbolt

Apartfromthcchangespreviouslyn01ed.
!heFNactionhasallthcbo.tsi<.:fcaturcsofthc
militaryaction. lthaslheMauser"'largering•·
rooeiverwiththcinternalcollar.thcsamebar-
relthreads.thcsamebolt withitstwoforward
locking!ugsandthcthinlsafctylug.thcsame
bolt guide rib. c~tractor. firing mechanism
andthcsametriggerguardandmagazjnc.Thc
factisthalpracticallyall FNactioopartsar,,
inten:hangcablcwiththcsmndard98military
action. FN actions had features that only
skilledcustomgunsmithsforrnerlybuiltinto
military actions. Therefore. to describe in
dctailthcconstructionandfunctioningofthc
FN action would be merely to repeat the
infonnationgivenin!hechapterontheMod-
cl98Mauseraction
Wilen FNaciionsbe<:amea,·ailableit
wasnolongerscnsibletohaveamilitary
Looking into the tront of M98 (let!) and FN Mauser recflivera. The M98 shows the inside cot• M98 action completely remodeled. This
larcutootforlhee"1ract0<.typicalofallM98ml1itaryactioosandearlyFNltction$.TheFN sortofworkwasonlypracticalifyoocould

~·
raceive,hastherollarcutoulintwoplaoas.opposilelhenormale><1ractorcut-oul.Thisis1','!)- doityourse!f.orifyoudidn"tcar,,whatit
~ofallateFNac1ioos.indudingmagnumandDenchresltypeS

232

,. __
Uli.typeFNSupreme~lholbenchreSlactionwilhlhtung,oovedlorwartlguartltaog
Thitktionwasfumishedwilhcul1111gQerlTIIIChlnilm
Oneofthcfirstlargcsc■lccustomrinc
makcrstoadoptthcFNac,KJllwa,Weather-
by of South Ga1c. California. They used
thc!IC actioru almost exclusively for their
upcnsi,..,customrincsinthcstandardand
Weatherby Magnum c11ibcraun1il 1958.
"''henlheyintroduccdlheirov,11boltacrion
n..tWeatherbycltosc10usetheFNacrion
-problhlylhe,-erybcslendorlcmcntthat
couldbegivmi1.Thcflct1hattheFNacrion
didnoiprovemu~lyuusfllCIOf)'forsomc
of1hcverylongWeathert,yMagnum,;ar-
tridscswasno1thefaullofthe1ction.as..-.:
$hall5eelater.
Se>·eralia,-gegunmakingfirmsalwcho$e
theFNllttionsonwhichrobuildrillesbear-
ilwlhetrfumnames.
As alrndy mentiOl!ro. FN made nncs
on thc'IC actio11$. The Browning firm.
... h,ch 1s1ssoc,atcd w,th FN. also made
K"Vmil line, graOO ofhigh power rincs on
the slightly modified version of the FN
action.Anumberofotherfirmsformerly
made rifles on these 1ction1, induding
Sako. Parker Hale. Colt. Marlin. High
Slandanl.Winslo"··Harrington&.Rio:hard-
---
sonandO!hers.Noholtscuoncouldha,·e•
morcdistinguisbcdendorsernentthanthc
"·ideuseofthcFN.
FNacti,ons-madealfll'Stwilhthcfull
inside collar.just as in thcM98 military
action.wilhlhcoollarslocttJonlhcrightside
forlhee,urac10r.A1somcporn1FNbegan10
fudacand.lhemlf\er.slonalthecollaroothe
lellu..-.:11.IC"lvingonlypanialcollarstop
andbonom.Thiswadoneforoncreason
only-tomalemill111&thclelllockinglug
r1ccv,1ym1.1ehcasier.lfcclth1s..-asan
1mw1Jcmml:.and1hatPaulMa1QerWOUld
11unkthesarne.Ahhoughlha,..,noJ01idcvi-
dtncctoindicate1hatdividina;thccollarhas
1ff~thestrengthorsafctyoftheactioo.l
"'0Uldcn1a1nlyrathcrhau,lheoollarr=wn
asMauserdcsl~it.
, ....... llfilty
Thcoriginaltri~fumishi:dwilhtheFN
Dcluxclll:lionswasnothing1T10R:lhanadou•
b~mil11arytri~,modificdroa1in-
glc-ilagepull.Apoortrigger~atbc$t,1t
woulddo1foncdidn"tmindakqandheavy
pull. MOIi o,,-nmofriflesbuih on du,ll;"tion
,oonrq,lloed1h,spoortri,gger"11honcoflhc
s,e,,'fflloommercialsingle-~geWJustablc
triggcnoothcnwkct.suc:hastheTIJMC)'or
wilhaaet-lriggtt.
When the Series 300 or FN Supreme
action was an110Unccd a new trigger was
inirodl.lCN wilh it. This was the Sako No. 4
triggcr ...·h,chisdcscribcdindctailinthc
chaplcrontheSakoattions.Thistrigger.fit-
tcd"·•tha1idesafety."-asus.edootheS.,.
pmn,:l,;tl(ln,andfiru:dw~thesafctyon
thcDcluxeac,KJn.
Th,stngg,erunderwcnttmimponantmmor
change,11first.lthadprovisionsforhm11cd
Wjustmcn1ofweigh1ofpull.and1triaaer•
stopadjustmcnt.butitwaschcaplyma,Je.
and many pro,·cd unsatisfactory. IL used a
plungcr-1ypc scararrangcmcn1. which rc-
qull'ffl1ha111bewelllubricatcdforproper
funct,on,na,,.h.ich.causedmalfuncuonsio
,-eryooklweather.
TheFNDclW1eacrionhadlheain,"CIIIJQn-
alM98boltslcc,·c,whi,:hwasfiucdw1th1
,·eryruggedlowscopcsafety.Thesafcty
lcverwas 10lhclclloflhcboltslttvcand,
""hcn l WUllJlup.lhesafetylockcdbolhscat
andboh. lconsidcr1hisaveryconvenicnt
andrcli1blctafcty.andpn-ferrcdi1toany
OlhersafetyCVffmadeforlhcMau,erletion.
M011sh.oolen.hc:M~'Cf.didno!likclhusafe.
ty foroncrea,onoranolher. TheSupttmc
act,onhas1lowroundcdboltskc,.·cmrnus
anyp10V1S10nfor1:iafety.butw11hthe1afcty
built in!O the lngger mtthanism Early ones
had I p,voung·type safety lever. later ver·
1ionshad11Hding-typelcver;bo1hhadthe
~-. ,. __
scnatcdbu11oncxposcdlbo,..,thestock1inc,
ontherightofthcrcccivcrtang.Withthc
safctytolhcrcar.triggerandboltwouldbc
locked.Becau,csomcmtricatcmillin&isrc-
quircdootheretti,·erandboltforthissafety.
lheNo.4Sako1nggcr ..11hthcsafetycannot
becasilyinslallcdonthcFNDc/uxeorM98
8clowis1lis111'flol'lhevariousnumbersof
the FN actions. as sho"i, in the Firearms
lmemationalca1aLoauptol969:
~~-=
:no5.270,7....,_1rrm,-.3111o·
2205
~~=
Z<I..
-·-·
300.375."""'°- l'lt"
=
4511,338.Z&I,'"'-
~
Nolelh:atalloftlaclCTIORl.-t"lhearc
lcngth(lll,'/).Sll'ttall.-i-!oothcarc
recei,...-.and1llan:1bot,111hcsamc"-cight
(2¥,pounds).Sclowan:somccommcnt'lon
lhcdiffcrentactionnumbm:
No. l:Thcstandardorbasicattion,suit-
ableforallcartridgcsof30-06headsizcand
approxima1elcngth
No.2:ldc111,calw11hlhcNo.lexccptfor1
foldedshectmctalsi-ri,"Cledinthclal"of
lhernapzmcbox.alorwwithashonermap-
w,:r.:,i1ov,..,,-andfollov,..,,-spnng.
No.3:Sarncac1>0n119No.2bulwnhlhe
spaccrposmoncdfunhcrkor,,.vd.shonrnrng
themaga,meopcnmg102.75~.
No.4,LikeNo.2andl1CbOOSnccptfora
sheet metal spaecr in thc/rolll of the maga-
zine box. w11hboth rear and from spacers
anglcdslightlyrothercar.SincclhellOS"ift
cartridgchas•smu•nmmcdhea<Lthismaga-
zmcg,cncrallypm-cnledincorrectloadmgof
lhcmaganne..,tlwtherunofonc~
CIIIIIIOlcasilyO\-endelnellher.
No.5:This11theFN~action,thc
fromoflhemagazinc,bo,,;lcngthcncdandthe
fccdrampcuttoaccq,tlhelong.bchedlOO
--
H&Hand37511&11Mngnumcartridgcs,and
wilhthcbolthcadandatraetormadcrohan-
dlc the belted head magnum cu:. This is the
■c:tionformcrlyll!edforlhekqWcalhemy
No.6:This1Slhe11nglcsholBcnchResi
with $<llid-bonom rcc,:i,-er. The tlua:
scti,on
differonlyutbolthcadnlextractor.Thcfirsl
No.6 ..-.smadcfor222 Rerru"i'O"hcad-si,,c
cartridges.Thcsccondonc"-.smadcwitha
boltheadandex1ractor10handleall30-06
233

TlMaulhor'1personallongrange
varmlntriffelsbasedontheFN
De111•a No. 6 single shot
banch ra1t action, with a No. 4
S1ko trlogar. The 2s•madium-
W91gt,tC>ouglallS\.l!lramabarral,
rtt1inolwi111,1:r1sehambared
to, 11\t 244 Rammgton. Tha
!ineeurlymaple stocklsfitted
with I Nledner-type check-
&redsteetbu1lpla1aandpls10I
gripe11p,Thaacopaisa
S.Ulcil & Lomb 8a1Eight
--
withB&Lmountt. Thisrilla
wa,ghl;1 1.Spoundlandis
• • ~ aecurata,aven
with tac1ory &mm 100-
234
head-size canndga.. The last BR action ,s
madeio'-dle...,.,ofthebeltt:dhc:Jdmag-
numornmrnedcannd~ofcqwvalc:n1nm
No. 7: Lile the No. 1 excep11ha1 the bolt
hcadandcxtractor"'cn=madcforthebehed
magnumcanridgc
Asooted,lhcNo.Sismerelythcrc,gular
FN ac1ion opened up to BCCC'Jll H&H Mag-
num canndges. lnopening1hemaguinc:
,.·ell.panoflhe fccdrampiscutaway. The
metal in th 1$attl is vital in supponinglhc
naht(orkw•er)lockmglug,andremovina
mt1alfrom1htsffl:1Weakcnsthesupponf'or
!he lock1na: lu1. How imponaru lhls is "ill
becum,ncd
Letusronsi<krthefoll.,,.,ngfacton:1)
Thcuppcr(orleft)kx:kmglugonlhc:M98
andFNbolt isdotplyslotu:dforthec,octor.
w11hlhereiUhtha1i1haslessbe~ngsurfacc
agams1 the rccciverlhan lhe solid bonom (or
righ1)lockinglug.Bcingslo11cd,itis001
nc:arlyas!ilrongas thebolmrnlug.2)ln sum-
dard FNacrions(Nos.1.2,3.4& 7)the
uppcrlockinarcccssgivcsamorcmassivc
suppontoitslockinglugthandocsthelow•
erlocktngm:essroitslockinglugbccaU5e
thelowershouldertspartlyanawayioform
thef«dramp.ThcreiUllisthalthe,.'WC$1
lox:ktn&lu1 1smoresolidlysuppon(dbydlc
rccc1Sfflhanthcstrongerlo,,.ffloc:kina1111,
ln lhe-.dardatllon.lhissuppon ,smore
1hanldcquate10holdtheboh5CC11ttlyinthc
rettl\fflgllnslthcbackthrustoffirin&thc
mostr,o,.·erfulcam-idgcs.J)lnthcNo.SFN
K11on,wnsidmlblemctaliscut 1w11yfrom
the feed r1mp1omakcroom for the Iona
magnum cartrid&eS, which weakens the low-
er locking shoulder c,·en more. Even so.
1hcreisstilladequa1c.wpponfor1hcbol1
withf.ctory-loadedJOOH&Hand37SH&H
Ma&numcaruidgc:s,whichnormaUydcvel-
op less lhan SO,OOO psi brccch pn:m,re.
Hov,"a·er,,..,ththcrecei,·ersomodified(and
lwoold1lsosay,.·eakenc:d).andthcatllon
uJCdforsornehig)>er-prcssurccanndac
Early-type FN Deluxe bench<esl action~ 10 $how tolicl-bottom
__,_andgi-.in forwardlangollhalliggt<gua,d.
basedonthclongmagnumcase,thcp;cturc
ll diffemu.
Foruample. l USoed a No. S FN action 10
build a rifle for the 300 H&H lmpro,·cd
M1gnum, 1ndthca,;tionfailcd. h sov,·ner
firedi1quiteabitwithhcavy.butldooot
1h1nkucci;si,-c,handloads.Onabiggamc
hunthcfireda1hotatantlk,and1hcnwu
unablc1oopcnthebolt.Whcnhcfinally&01
.
thcboltopcnhcfoundthatthclcRhalfof
thcuppcrlockinglughadcntekcdoff.He
w1sclydidootancmpttofiretheriflc1fter
,.
Oncarefulcuminationoflho:nfleloon-
cludcdlhlltthcfollov,ingkdplace:Onf,1-
•n& the nfle a gndual bolt KC-b,,,;,k occwml
becauseofthclockinglugspcenlfl&UllOthe
lock•nashouklm.andduc.lbelie-·c,10thc
muumalsupponprovidtdbythclowcrlox:k-
mg shoulder. As lhe peening quickly
incre1$Cd,thcmctalof1hcboltomlocking
shoulder wu funhcr weakened so !hat 1hl:
toplockinglugwasdoingmostofthewortc.
Althisp0in1,andonthcfinalshol.lhetop
lugcracked.Fortunately,the$llfctylu1took
overandpn:,·cntcdpossiblcinjurylolhe
MlOOlcr---fl'ffl.pcmap$, hadhcfiredanochcr
1h01. However, the receiver and bolt wcrt
damagedbeyondrcpair.Al\crthisupcri-
cnce.andbe1ngmldof1iJnilarhappen1np
,.,thWnlhcroyriflcsbasedonthasacbOn. l
ha,·econcludedthatthcNo.SFNKIKllliS
1u1tablcforfac10ry-loadcdJOOand)75
lt&l!Magnumcaruidges.bulnotforhot
Wcatherbyor similarwildcatcartridges,The
FN No, S Magnum a.:tion was 001 • !rue:
"majplum" IClion, as was thc Brc,·c~ Mag-
num. bu! merelyaSlandardactionmodificd
to handle H& H Magnum cartridges. I hc-
licvcthefailuredescribedwasd~mtirc,ly
IOIO'Cakmingofthclo"fflockingshoulder
inther«ciYerwh,:nitwas altertd. This is
-·
a1,othcreason l adviscthattheM98miliiary
ac1,on oot be modified in this manner for
m.pwmcam-idgcsU!Olongforthconginal
 --·-·-.._
,
2 Bolt.stopScrew
4 Bolt.stopSpmg
l!
li
,. ,_.
: F,._
"~

·-
; ==Colla,
9 Fmgi>n
:1 ~Spmg
12 Coctii',gPiec:e
,, _.""""
21 Floo,plalef'MJIJ>n

23Floorplal&Cllkt!Pin
24 Floorplal&CCt,Pu,ger
,. ,_.,..
25 Floorplal&Galctlf'u,gerSpmg
i
)l1Frurc$9"(~
39FJGt5ighl
40 Fton15igl'IIQ:Mw

ApparmtlymanyoftheseMauscrs,nglc l11jha!lthe sobdSU{)pO<toflhatwallofstttl

Mlllllllllc-b•Mt.l
lllu~1ratcd nearby isan original Mauser
Ol:>c:mdorftarget rifle chambered for 1he
8.l5x46 R canridgc.Knownasthc Wthr-
man,isgr,,<tlrr(serviceman's rifle). it is in
mostf\'Sf)«tsnwiyidenticaltothcrt'gUlar
M98.ICl'VICCrillc,mhthe29"'barrel. ltdifTcn
rmllllyinitschambtringandsinglesholron-
51NCU01l.lnsleadofoperunglhercttwerbot-
iomlorthccon,·cntionalmagazine·••cll,11
wa1loftsolid.Ashallowinclmedgroo,.-cmil-
blmthc10poflhisn:cti,ttb<.,oompmidi:$
•canndFkiaduli!chlm:.
sholriflcs"'·crcbroughtbocktotheU.S.by
relumma Gl s after WWII, and any knowl-
edgc~bk: shoolcrc,umining this riflc usually
commentcdtha1htre"-as .. arealactionfora
vununtor1argC1rifle."Bccause10mCshoot·
mkncwlhis.andbecauscbmc~shootm
wcrebl:efingupM98Ktionsfor1he,r usc,
Firearms lntcma[,ooal go! the word, and
shonlyfNmadcll()sunilarNo.6acioons.
lhavc ahigh~forallofFNMaU5eF
11c11ons.bul lha,·ctheh1ghestrt'g3rdforthe
No. 6. 1 bdlC\-c II is the stronp Mauscrac•
11oncvermadebecausetheboooinlodnng
wh,chfonnsthem:el'·crbonom.Thesohd
botlomalsomakcsthisaction,-c,yngidand
sufT.hhasthcstrength10supportavcry
hcavy.full.floatingbarrelwithoutthcn=iv•
er bo"'mg m the middle. The flat bottom
~ci-·crmaJ.cinlmingi1intothc$1odlcu
ofa problem. lfthc shootcr"-.nledthis
actionhcldn-ue,;ccurelymthcSIOCkthan
anbeprondedbythcrcgularfrontand!Qr
11.W'd.scrcw~.anaddinonalscre,, could be
lhradtdllllOthcroc:ei,"O"bonom.
I C'OIIMd=d !ho fN No. 61ct10n ldtll for
bu,kltng•longr:ange,-armmtorlaf)IClnflc.

235
 Som11Mauser96rillet ... remadeuplofta,ge!shootlng,chambef9dlorlhll8.1S~"6fimm.Thishaslong
been•p,;lplMl'~inGtrmllnvlortargetshootlng.TherWleahown~-moreorlns•~
Mooel96military!Wle•~lorlhllchambenog.Somll_.madeurepea1itl'Swl'Olemoat~10r.ve
1:1Mnmadeas$itigltllholtwlll'l•IOlid-bonomlllOIMN'.wi-madeu•alriglelhol.lhllbotlomollhll
rec:,eiverwasmachinl,dtoleaY9.nw,gledlcNldingchulto(below)801h91•1oadedcMndlJl'couk:lbedropped
ln10lhllopenedaction.•ndoncloslnglhebolllhecMJldv9wouldbeclirec1edin\olhechamber

andklflcalibermoicesfortheformer ..'OU)d
be the 6mm RemmglOn, 25-06 and 257
Weatheri,y Magnum; tho bcSI Ion& rang,: w,.
gelta!ibmwouldbctht6.h55Swcdish
Mauser, 30,-06 and 300 Magnwn. Serious
bcnthrcstshoolcrssaylhcNo.6isOOlquite
Stiffmoughfora"oneholcr"bcnthrillc,but
forlhcshoo4er·held,'WT!l1ntortarge1rillcl
don'1bcl~-cilcanbcbcalcn.
Thnat00n."°"'"C>-.:r,hadonemmorshon-
coming. Thcinsidebonomofthertm,-cris
.,,unbmken,saaighlshallowgrooo.-cma!Ch--
ioa;theradiusofthebolt.Formoreoon,-enien1
Wing l bclicvcitshouldhavebccnmadc
wilh1shallow,inclinedWin11gnX1vc
Thisattionwouldalsoha,-cbccnstronger
ifthefollowinghadbecndooc:Firsc,thercis
noneedforanejcctor,andwith1heej«,or
bcred for the 243,270,308. 30-06. 264 Mq,
num.B8Magnum,458Magnum.l001\&H
f.iapurnand 375 ll&H Magnum. A few new
magnum calibers "'ere added later. among
themlhc:7mm,300and308Nornia.Allcal-
ibm "'ere buih on a modified ,·~ion of the
standard and magnum FN actions.
ThcBrownin(FNatlion"'._r,,..1yma11c
and superbly finished. making ii the
smoolhcsl"''Oll<,ng.bcstlool<ingacoooburo
onlheM98destp.
Excq,1fortwolhings-triggerandboh•
S1op-thcBrown1ngFNfltlionisjustlike,
andhadlhc:AlllC'fca1urcsas.lhcn:gularFN
Mauseratlion,hhaslhelargcringn:-ttiver,
tappcdfor,copemounts.Thcrollarinsideof
lhem:civcrringisdividcd,tha!is.no«:Md
ou1onbothleftandrigh1,ide,i:.Thcbolti1
ed.Onecouklno1ul<for1finer,,m,pler,
moren:liabwtnggc:r.
ThcBrov.11ingFNbo11-510pisalmostflush
wilhlhcm:civer,qui1ediffem11fi'omthcn:g·
ularMauscrbolH!Opboxandtjcc1orhous-
ing.OntbeBrowningfNfltlion,lhebolt-stop
andlhccjectorpivot~onapin.thesc
pansfiningin101hokandslotinthekft
recci,"Crbndg,: ..... I.Thcboh•$l0pandcjeo.
!Orlrt'heldinplaocandlfflSionedby1forkcd
spring1tuthed10lheact>onby1studmor-
hSed into thorecc,,..,,. ..
-a11. ~ l h c flat
11e11111«llhumt,pie«onlhebol1-510pallows
thebolt10ben:moved. Thistppear1 10bc.,,
exccllmt11m111gcmcn1and.bcingncarlyflush
wilhlhereccivcr,1dcsi111blede$ignfca1UrC
Ncitherlhetrill&ffl'safnym«hanismnortbe
bol1.siopltjcctor lrt' int,:n:lurngcabk wilh

_,._
ehm,natcd,lheslollnlheleftlock1nglug
oauklbcomined.Thls"wklmakclheNo.6
e,.,ensaong,:r.Sccond.why.....,·1theundtt-
tutehm,natcdinthtbollfa«ft'ttSSand
made1fulldiamc1err«tU1n$tead?Thi,
wouklhn-cmadetheatlionAfer.
Browningtimmns"'"Ct"Cformcrlymadeln
thefabnqueNa1ionalepJ.,,1inLiegc,Bel-
g,um,thesameplantllw~FNatlions.
While,eparaieBrowru"IFNaruonsllldbar-
n:kdtltlionsintheU.S."'~llC\'ffl\'lilable.
1...,11g,,·c1shondestnp11onofllusattion
bmiuseilisslighllydiffcrcmfi'omlhercgular
FNSupRmeattion.
Browninginttoduc:edlheirfirschigh•power
bolt«l1onriflesin 1960. Theywcrecham-
Klmncalw11hlheFNboltcxccptlhegrllf),ng
ball11round.Thcmag:azi:ncisth.samc.ha,··
ing1lungcd lloorpWC.andci1hcr1sacdor
alloyfollo,.-cr
The Browning FN 1telion, trigger •nd
bolt-s1op1reunlikcthosconthe1tandard
FNac1ion.Thctrigger,morcorlCS1•copy
of1hcModcl70Winchestcr.lwasliding
11n3safc1y which locks both trigger and
boltwhenshdi,.ck.Thetriggerspringpro.
v1des1]c1-offof1bou13103.5pound$,
,·cry1ho"1ndsmooth.OnlyOMldJUSI·
menl 11 provided, I trigger stop scn:w
"'hichholdsthetriggers.pringinplatt;!hll
scn:w11nonnallyldJUStedrorrcC1ly.a1he
factory.
ThcBrowningtriggcrisso...,11de$iped
andmadctha1noolhcradjustmentsan:nccd•
thescpartsinanyothcrM98orFNMauser
~
Brov,,iingFNaruons.-eserialrunbcm:I
ontherightsideoflhera:eiverringandundcr
lhcbohhandlcSICm.
ln 1971. scpan,1e Brownlng FN tumbolt
rillellttions"''m:IIOI IV!lilableinlhc:U.S.,but
they,.·ereinCanada. l found them listed in
EUwoodF.pps'calalog(Orillia,Ontano.c.na.
da)inlhestandardandshortmagnumcaliben
and in lhe long belled magnum calibers.
TodaylheFN Mau$erac:tion isnoJona,:r
•\'lUlablc. Browning and other anns makcn
"1loonccusedctus11CbOa10buildtheirhigh
powem:lsponingrillesha,-crwi!ChedlOoth·
e1makesofac11ons:Browning10thar""'11
fltlior>madc inJapan(...:lhe,;hapleronlhe
BrowningBBRRiHc).

236
IN THE CHAPTER on French military
1umbol!s,lmadeabrief men1ionofthcexis-
tenceofsportingrifksbasedontheFrench
Model36MASaction,ar.dthallhadnc\'cr
scenoocandhadhardlyanyinfonnationon
them.llowe,·cr,lreccivedanumbcrofle1-
tersfromreadersinFranccandAfiicacon-
finning1hefacttha1thereac!ual!y"·ere
MAS M36 sponm. While these rifles mighl
berarcelscwhercintheworld,they"·ere
cenainlyn01unknownon1hcEuropcanand
Africancon1inents.OncParisgunsmitheve-n
went to the trouble of sending me some
photocopicsofhiscatalogwhichillustrated
anddescribedthcdiffercntM36sporters
tha1 he handled. Still ano1her Frenchman
{AOOVa)FrenchMASM36Sporterasmanu-
1ectured by Manufacture Nationale o•~.
Saln1Etienne,Francti.lts22.6#barrelis
chllmberedforthe7x54mmcartridge,ve,y
similarinsize1othe284Winchester.The
rifle weigh$ 7.5poundsandwasmade In
""

{AboV$)Thlltqiollhareceiverringandlherears.ightbasearemachinad1oacc:eptaquick
detachable scope mount. (Below) The MAS M36 Sporter has a pivoting wing aafaty mount
ed inthetriggerguardbehlndthe trigger. ltisshOwnhllreln the Safa position;swinging~lo
lhalel!wlth!hetipoltriggerfinge,diseogagasittromthe!rigger.

237
scn1mcS0111cncga1ivesofaMJ6sp01'1cr
tha1Mowncdandhadusedwhenhclis·ed
mAfrica.
lbcn I r«c1ved I letter from a Florida,
manwhohadaMAS M36sponcr. -would
you hkc IOSCCI factory produced MAS
spor1er?"'hcwro1einhisletter.-or"'·ould
youlikc10buyott:'rOf,;ounc,l"'"OUld.l
"T01cback.lendedupbuying11.l1isthis
nllclhatisshown..-..ldcscribcdhcrc.
Thenflcappu,110beoriginalinc,·c,y
dctai!.andappcarJtoha,·cbcenan:gular
modelu~1oariflcbui!tonamili-
wyac1ionby1gunsmi1h.
The marldnp 8": as follows: On the right
side of !he r«civcr is swnped: MANU-
FACTU R E NATIONA L[ D'A RMES
SA INT ETIENN E. On the left side of the
lttCIYCT "stamped: CA L 7 x S4 No. 91.
Thecal1berdcsip,a11onCA L 7•S4isal.so
~onthcboltbody.Bclowthcboftch
mdofthc~andhiddcnbythcfom>di,
stamped: M AS IU7.The final pos,1,.·c
martmaisonthcurpcrlcftsidcofthcbarrcl
brffch u follo,.,·s: CA L 7•S4. I found no
dcfin1uvcproofmarl<sonthcactionorbam:l.
oom,1,wyterialnwnbenorOlhcrordnancc
marlungl' exccp1 a small marking here and
1hcn: which I look to be manufac1uring
mspcctor swnps.
MyMASM36sponcrhasa22.6"round
1apcrcdbam:lofhahtsponcr"·eigh1.Thc
front s1aJi t is an inverted V mounted on a
rwnpbasclh11ispinncdto1barrclbandand
1weatcdinplxc.Thercarsigh1isthcsamc
asthc m1hwysighluscdonthcMASM36.
anelc\111101HdJUSl8bleapmurcsightgndu-
11cd1nrnclCr$.
TheactlOllappcantobeidcn1icaltothc
m1ht11y ,·cnion except tha1 the receiver
238
bridscand1hcn:arsigh1bascarcmachined
fort<;~ moums, and 1hc triwr guard has
1bu1h-1nsafc1ym«hanism.lha,·cnotscen
an illusmiuonofthc .scope mounts made for
1h11nflc.buttheiroovesanda11smaeh-
incdonthc1ttci,·erindioi1ca~irofrinp
wrththcfion1oneha,·ing1ba$Clhatclamps
mthegroo..-nonthcrttci•ttnng.1hen:ar
nngh.avin11c11chorcl:ampth;,1cngagcs
lhen:ars,a]ltbase(by"·hichtM.scopccan
bc:quicktyrcn·•r•Mandn:pla,ccd)
Bolhlria,gerguardandsafcty=cnun:!y
oon-miliwy.Thc1riggc,-guardbowisnca1-
lyshapedandinmitis builtapivotingwing
safely. With lhc wing swung down. 1hc
safc1ybloch1hctriggersocha1itcannotbe
pulled back . W11h1hcsafe1yswungto1hc
lefl,wh1chiscasi lydonewith1he1ipof1hc
1na,gerfinger.1hcsafctyisdisengagcdfrom
:n~'.iggcr. It is 1 ,·crypo5itl\·carrangc-
Thcwoodofthcstockandfon:ndappcars
tobc:,... lnutandbolharcproponioncdon
the m,n,mum side. Thc forcnd is 1laln1dcd
andoowidcrthanlhen:tti,tt.Allhcbol·
10mi11apmfromthcn:cci,·eriothcbaml.
lt ishcldto1hcbarn:lbythcslingswh·el
9Cn:Wwhichthrtadsimoaroundsruddovc•
tailcdintotlt,cbarn:l.lnaddition1othisfas.
tcningthcn:isf!«lpla1cwithahookMcnd
inlct1Mandfas!cnMin1hcbot10mn:arof
thcforcndtocngagcinarc«ssinthcrtteiv•
er. and this am.ngerncm pn:,·cnts the fom>d
frommm·ingfor.."3111fromthc=oilofthc
rifle.
Thcbuusiockhasashon.round~nded
pis1ol&rip,thm«1fflbanda"·cll-propor•
lioncd«lfflpos1honshotgun-51ylcbunpiatc
Bodi the stock and fon:nd arc checkered. On
myMASM36sponcr.1hcbol1handlc:has
bccnrcbrn1rearward.1>·hcreasinthe1llus!ra•
nonsiniMl'rcnchcatalogthc:bol!handlcis
thc1a-ason1hcmilitarycarbmc;th;,tis.11
1sbc:n1forward.Thcbarn:lisof1hcsa-
configural100.size.andlcngthastheMAS
.......
M36 mihwy barn:1. The rifle "cighs U
The caliber marking on the barrel
1ppean10ha,'Cbcmstampedonbyhand.
!helcncrJandnumbcrsuencitherc,·ennor
of1hc-si~,andadashisuscdins1cad
ofan X bctweffl the numben. The number
4is1lsoindis1inc:tA!firs1lgot1hcimpn:s-
sion th11 pcrhaps an original 7.5-c1hber
m1titarybarrclhadbeenusedandthccsl •
ibermsrl:ingof7.5altcn:d!o7-S4. 1nd 1ha1
!he barrel may ha,·c been relined. llowc,·er.
closc:insp«tionn:,'calsoocvidcnc:cofany
ahcrat,onofthc markingandnopOSnwc
S1gnsof1barn:I n:liningjob. r 1hen:f~
concludc1hatthisriflcis1com~i1l
manufae1um:tone.perhapsthe9lsioneas
,nd,catcdbythcscrialnumber.andlha111
wasmadcin1~7.
lha,·cbcc:nu111blc1ofindanygood
mform.ationonthc7x54cartridgcthisriflc
ii chambered for. Achambercastn:vealcd
thatiti1mcn:ly1hcfn:nch7.5d4MAS
canndgc ne<:kM down to hold 1 7mm bul•
lc1.Assuch.Jwouldclassify1\as1Frcnch
wildcat canridgc-the French gun1mi1hs
ma& up wildcat canridgcs jusl as Ameri-
can and Canadian gunsmiths did. However.
in my n:scar,;h of other rinu and car-
tndgcs.lranintosomcinten:s11n1b11sof
,nformauon.PhihpB.Shirpcinhisbook,
T71t Rifle i~ Alfltrica. wril1n1 about h11
workindc\'Clop,ngthc7x61Sharpc&Har1
ear1ndgc.mrn1ions1hath,sfirsichotttof1
canndgc case 10 use was a 7mm Ftt"nch
 --, ,_.,
' """"""
3 FlringPin
; ~~
' """"""""
7 RearSigh1TeosionSp,ing
8 RearSighlPin
\l ~-
9 RearSigh1

IB MagaiineFolOwer
,,"""
"
""
__
26 FloorplaleCatchSpmg
27 FloorplateCatch

maehincgun canridge developed shonly neckcdi1upto7.5mmcaliber.Andsothc rifle.LikctheMASM36militaryithasater-

after!900.11hadacasewithabodydiame-
1cr larger than the 30-06. Anyway, he
droppedthiscaseinfavorofonebasedon
the300Magnumbeltedcase.l may nm be
correctinthefollowinga§Sumption,butit
would seem logical tha1 when the French
de,·elopedthe7.Sx54cartridge1heymerely
tookthcirold7mrnmachincgunroundaod
7x54canridgemaynotbeawildcata1all,
but merely the old 7mmrnachineguncar-
oidgcreviscd.lnanycvcnt,thc7x54cartridge
isalmostthesameasthc284Winchcstcr
excep11ha1 it has a regular rimless head
rather1hanthercbatedrimlcsshcadof1he
284Winchcster
ThcMASM36sponerisanimc«:sting
riblctriggerpullandpoortriggcr,trigger
guardandpis1ol grip placement. hwould
haV<'beenafarbcttersponcrhadlhefrench
gunsmilhsmo,·ed the trigger and trigger
guard rearv.·ard thrce-quancnofaninchor
soandthrns1ockeditwithapistolgripprop--
erly placed and shaped foracomfonable
hold.
239
T im GOLDEN EAGLE Model 7000 1Um-
0011 nflc is a Sapanesc-rnado impM of,.,tuct,
hnleisknov,11.Verylinlchasa;,pc:artdinprinl
ooncm11nglheorigjnandhistoryofthisrifle
andmylc!ier,10lhe~andU.S.dislribu-
1ttdn:wablank.ldonotknowv,henitw,,s
inlroWcul. v,l,odesignal ;~ how many were
made.orifilwiUc-,Trbe:onthcmarl.ttag:t111.
Frornlhelmltlhalfdidin:o,..,,-inpnntabota
dusnllc.-ltffllS~"'11Sllllrolk.adsornttane
111themi6-1970sanddallhel-louslon. To:as.
firm lhal disln'buled ~ failed Ill 1980orabc...c
thMU-. Whalllhdleamabolilthcriflcl
~ from ad-,-mising htemwe and from
thenllemielf.v,'hlch l hadachancelOeuminc.
"''""
The Oold<:n Eagle Model 7000 1llm001t
riflev,11Smadeinthefollowingcalibcrs:22-
2S0.24J.25-06,270,270Wcathc-rbyMag-
nwn. 7mm Remmgton Magnwn. 30-06. 300
W"inchesrc,-Magiun.JO()Wewtat,yMapm.
338 W"n:hes&cr f.tapm. 375 H&H Mapm
and458Winchestcrf.ta&num.Wt1ghtofthe
scandud-uliberriflc!la•"ffll~around.8.5
pmn!IWJ!h24•ban-el. h"''11Salsol•,iibble
v,·11tu26"~1.Weightofrillesinlhe1m3-
runc:alibm1>,ngedclole10lOpowds.and
forlhe4581p0lnln.n.°">'!heM7000in
!he}7Sand458Mapllll\calibmv,'Cftmade
,.;lhopcn s1JhU,butallwcrcdrilledand
tappedfor..:,,pemounl.$.Thestaggcrcd-<X>l-
wnn magaznw: with hin~ floorplate hokh
fourcanridjCS m the standard calibers and
throeinlhe~calibers.
Fineq111l1tyAmericanwalnwwasu.,c,;lfor
thcstocU.ThcywcrcmadewithMonteCa,--
lo cooib with chcdqnca,. hand-cut checker-
1na. flam.I p151ol grip wi!hagoldeneaglc
111Wdm111c:ap.slantcdforendtipof<VRU11St-
llli wood. quld:--dctachable shng SWJ~I
studJ.,ffllilatedrubbermDliaLandahagh-
gk:u finish. Altholigh ~ rilles Vl"Ctt v,fll
made and ""'ell appointed. they were on !he
240
hcavys11lcandproportionedforalargcper-
sonwithlargchands.
The receiveroflh< Ool<kn EagleKtion
appearstobe:machinedfrornapiettofseam-
lessstttll\lblngwithafmishedwallthdness
of.JOO"". Thtfllt-f"acedbam:lislt..-lcdinlo
thcfrontofitw,thaheavyroroillugllnfd
bctv,'ftfl!hc,ece,,.,.ar,d!hcbarm9houlder.
as ,s done on the Rrmington Model 700
.roon.Mxlunedmlheupp,rrighl~of
!hcrecciverisanarnple-sizedej«t,anport.
WJCmoughioalsobe:ust.dasaloadiflaport.
8clowll.atislhemagazu,ev,-ellopcn"'i-The
rttei,.,,.bridgeisunslonedoo10p.8clowlhe
bridgc:.lhem:c-ivcrisrnachined10accep11he
triggcrmcchani§fflandtheshorlsafetytan&-
Thcuppcrc~pose<lp:,noftherw:ivcris,'CI)'
an,cefullyoontowed10improvclheO!hcrnisc
plamrool\dappcaranccof theusualroood-
lOpJXdrw:"ff·andtomluceiuweigh1.The
iopoflhe~vcrringandbridgean:drilled
andi.ppedfor,copcmounts.
ThebohlJlPCllrSIObe:ofone-pa,e<XlrlSlruC-
lionv,llh111mrcpllow-profikbolllllldefor
low..:,,pemo,n .... Simila--inshape101taof
lheWn;h:sll::rM70,lhebohlmd:is~in
lertgthforp,dgraspingand~Onlhe
rearofthebohan:fi,-elocl<inglugsinlh'cc
C\'ffllyspace<ls,cgmcntsaro...dlhebohbody.
Thtinsidcoflhe=i,-crbridgeisrnacltina.llO
accq,tthesc lU3Sandtop,:,,idelocl<ff111shouJ..
donforal1.Therootofthebolthandk:$CrVCSas
lhesU<thlockingluginanL-sh."lpcdslolinlhe
nghlsodcofthe=ivcrmdg,e.
Thtllll00lhtmn1endofthebohism:ascd
for!hc~head. ln!hcleftcdge,;,fthis
~isthe.ma-loadedplung,erlhalistht
cJ«10r.Thengh1s,de,;,f!hcbc>lthcad11
macluncdlOaccepl lh,:e,ittac1orv,1ud, ,shf,Jd
mpbce.andp,,-otson.apinand111mAOnal
b)'•$pnn&- It mtatc$withthc001tasthc
act>o11i5openedandclcosed.
TheOOltisdrilledfi"omthcreartoaccq,t
thcorw:-piccefiringpin.Therearendof!hc
OOltisalsothrmdedtoaccep1theOOhsk:evc
andisnoo:hcdforthcro:;kingcamoothelir-
ingpinhcad.Exccptforasmal!tcat oo!hc
bo!tomrnrofthellringpinhcad.thebolt
s~enck>scslhccntirehcad.Thereisno
boltslte>-elock.but!hc~isofJucll
lavytcnsion.andc:ombinedwithlhcro,;k-
ina;camin!hcshallowbolt-apcnnoo:h.!hc
bol•slee-,-eisnoleasilytumed.
Thefinngpmisllffailcdimothi:finn&p,n
head.Thecoilmainspnngiscomp,uscd
bttwemashouldcronthefrontofthellrina
pinandlhebolt slecve.Tolff',-entthcflnlll
p,n from !urning, v,•hich would affect tho
amoun1oftippro1ru5ion,therc is1smallsrud
lhreadedin1otheftring pinwithitsheadend
movinginaslotcu1into thc 1hreadedfron1
endofthebohsleeve.
Thr-eegasvmtholesan:providtdinthe
riafn tide of!hc boll b,;,dy to allow psa to
escapc,througjl!hcrj«tionport.shouldany
.,..
cvcrcntcrtheOOltthrooghthcfiringpintip
TheGoldenEagleactionisllmdw,tha
tnae,-m«harusmnotioounlikelh:aloflhe
Tinn:ynigg,:r. Triggcrand,_(~v,11h
the pins, ICMCre-..-s. andspings10 hold llw:9t
paru1nplaccand 1omakcthcmechanism
function)an:housedinastcelboxv,-hichism
tum fined intoaslOI inthobottomofth<
r-ecel\-er;it'sheldinplx-eby1pinandrighl-
mcd by two small screws. The 00lt-stop if
al50p:,nofthctriggcrmechanismwith ilS
ownpinand5pl'Uliandislinkcdtoth<ffiaer
10ac1ivatei1.Thereisoolyooeadjustment
1JCrewforthclriggcr.k:,ca;cdin frontofthe
1ov,.,,.panoflhebousing. Turning it counter-
 I' Ill

do1;bviselightenslhc~pull.Thc~ itwaslOll1ellunaontheorderof-..·hl1Win- dooed Thm: is adequate provISion for ,'Cl'lt·

pullisshor1andcrisp. che~ti:r once did when they adapted !heir ingpowdcrgascsinthecventofaprimcror
Thcsliding1angufctyisoo1shor1s,,parate ModelS4andModel70action.$tohandlethe caschcadfailure.Thcboltsk,e,.-rdesignfor
tanaonlhcrmroflhcn:oei,-erandislinkcd 22 Homct. sealingthermroflhcmodvcrisvcr'jgood.l
wi1h1twcoarowyafdyblocklhrougblhc Thm:-manygoodfeaturc:sinlhcGold- like the design andan-anaanentoflhc firin&
1-srna~inlrtn:oflhcviaser.llblocb fflEagle-lCtlOn"11ichllikc. Thcloclcinalug pin and codina \:affl, and l especially ~
onlylhcnigger.Alcnp,wi,epooveinlhc anw,gemcntisgood.lespecialJy~kclhcbolt lhecontowina;doneootheuppcrhalfoflhc
bolliJprovidcdforlheboh-SIOp.lhclenglhof handle. Withnokx:m!Jllugracc..11ythe n:,;ci,·i:r. l donolscclOOmuchlOcriticizie
lhcpoo'l-rdepcr.iingonlhell::!lglhoflhe,;:ar- knglhoflhcrurivcr.lhcfronlmdoftheboll aboo1themggerandbol1-st0pmoclw11sm,
mdg,eforwhichlhcrilleiJchambcmi rif«tivelysalslhcbr=:bwhcnlhcai;tionis •lthoughlbelieve a largi:rdlametcrpin
Thclriggerguardismadcof1light'-'flght
1lloymd10itishingcdthethin.stam~
floorplate. The magazine box fill between the
trigg,:rguan;landlhcn:oeivcrandismadcof
thinshe,elmetal.Acartri~JUidcorfccd
pb1eisflslrncdinlhct'rontmdofthebox.
An[.,shapcdplateisfa$tCncdinlhcrcarof
lheboxandislocaledlOmab:themapzine
boxopn,inglhcr;orm;tkngthforlhc,;ar-
lndgelherilleischlnlberedfor. Thcfollo,.,-rr
andlhcfollowcrspring-al110madc10cor-
rapond with the maga,:ine length. The lalch
10holdlhcfloorpla1ecloscdismounlcdinthe
10pt'rontofthetriggerguardbow.
Twu$1oncd.hcadguard~lhroughlhe TheGclcilN'I E,gle M7000action . Long-.ld la,oeenoughtohandlabigboolmagnumca,-

.......
-
mdsofthetriggerguardandlhmldedinlothe lridgN.kwu.i.oldapladlOll&ndlemoll"811da,drimlesscartrldgNlromlh&22-250onup.
m:eiYCr. hold the banded tctlon 1ccurdy in

My comments will be mostly about the

1K1ionoflhcGoldcn&.gle1111hcrthanthe
en1in:rifle.Thcactionhasbeenwcllthought
ootanddc:sigr,cd-it isitron&andsafcand l
bel~it,.-asdesigncdspc,;ificallytohandlc
anyoflhcbeltedffilil1Urllcartridges.includ-
ingtheolderonessur;h111hc37SH&H M~
num. Thcn:oei,..,,..boltandlhemapnneall
1ea1110betrlhis0111..
11 i1 a magnum !K"lion throughouL The
~did1goodjcbofadaptinait10han-
dlcsmallcr,;artridges_.h111hc22-2SO,but LeltsideollheM7000action.

The M7000action,optn. Tl'lit;p111tic:ul.aractionhlls1shorlmagazine

boxadapted!Oflhe22-250cartrldge

241
shouldhavebecnuscd1Dholdlhernccharusm
inplacc.Thesafeiy,tic,..-e-.-er.canmtainlybc
improve<J. The safety bunon is much too
smallandthesafctyshouldblock1hesear
ratherlllanlhelrigger. Th=i1alsooobol1
lock. lscenodungwmng,mhlhemagazino
box.follc,wn.folJo..ttspnngorthemedlod
used1Dshontnthcsepartsforshoncamidp.
buttbcsh«l1teelfloorpla1eseemsoutof
placeonafincrine.Thesharpsquared-off
frontmdoflhe floorpla1eboll,cnmeand ii
,.;UbochtrOlhm.
A &.,w«wrvneraon lhl: nfle-i[ As ma,.
tionedabove.lheGoldenEa&ltllClionislargc
wilh amaga,.incdesignedfora magnumcar•
lridge."'Kieanddc,ep.E,-cn"ilhthcstandanl
ligh1weigh1 sporter barrel on lhis IICtion. it is
difficu1!10$1C!Cklhebanelcdact,on1Dcnd~
10'ith ahghl,o-eighthuntmgnfle.ore-.-cn1
BonhelldollheGoldenEi,glerill<lshowing
(A)ejedor,(BJextrador,and(C)oneoflhe
gas--.tholes.
242
medilllll•"'Clgjltone.Thenflesholonhere
"'Clgh,tue1Jy8.5pounds.andsa,pod.
$linged.andloadc:d.itwouldcomeclose10ll
pounds.Thati,ahe--man'srifle.lnaddition.
bcalusethellC!ionis,owide..tdoep,lheriflc
has1largcowr-the-actiong11th.andin111m
thismeansdlalllw:~SlaffSo,,1:llrF,Any-
way,iomake1tlllameDU110lookrightlhe
mdrt'SUlt"'llSahe--man'sscock.oneidcally
wi1edfor alargcmanwilhlargchands.Like
lheaction.it'uSIClCkforarnawuncaliber.
The22-2S0isoneofthefines1,wmm1car-
lndgesaround.bul 1111outofplxeinthe
largeGoldcnEaglc11t1ion:so1sthe243.
Ba:led on my o.,,n experience there is no
,-armin1riflcdcsignofaction.barrelandsiock
forlhe22-2S0urtridgenwnidealthanlhe
Ruger M77V. This rifle 1w le5s wood than
........
lheGoldcnEagk.andthalisllw:"-aylthinkil
The Golden Eagleisafinclookingrine
anda,·eiyhuskyonc.madcforahuskycal-
iberandahuskyhunter.
T_ _ _ _ ..........,
Makesurelhecharnberandlhc~
.mempy.Toremovctheboh.pulllhelrig-
gerback1Sfuasi1willgoandthenopenlhe
boll and remove 11. Todisasscmblc1hebolt.
proceed as followi: Using a piece of hanl
woodas1spa1Ulainonehand.andlhebol1
paspcdfirmJy.,lheOlher,fon:clheading
cambad:awayfronttheboltand1111hcsamc
1imeunscrewthebohsll,encoumen::lock-
wise.Ke,:pondoinglhisuntillheboltslcc,,e
separatcsfromthebolt.TodiASsemblethe
bol1$1eenfrom1hefiringpin,rernovethe
smallsrn:wfront1heslocmthebol1si«-,-c
l"'-bandunscrewlhefinngpmfromlhe
cock,ng cam. Be careful ~ as !he main-
spring is quite powerful. Reassemble in
=oolo.
Disasscmblinglhefiringpinpuuisnot
reoommendedforanypurposecx<:epto~
plaoebrol<cnpans.bccausereassembl,ngand
ob!aminglhccorrec1finngpinpro1n15ionis
difficult.
Ton::movethestockfromthcbarrcland
~ivcr,unscrewlhelmntandrnrpanl
1aeW1.hftlhebamlandrecci,-er0111oflhc
Sloekandmnovcthe1nggerg,urdasscmbly.
Theaiagermectwusmcanberano..'Cdfrom
lherecciverbylooscninglhe1wosct-scrcwsin
lhef'romoflhetriggerhousinganddrivingout
lhesmallpinjustbchindthcm.Donoc1ncmpt
IOdisassembklhe uiggermcdwiism unk:ss
nc,;c$$lr)',andunlessyouknowfor9Ul'C"iw
youan::domg.Reasscmblcinl'C\'CflCorder.
Theban-elis~,fl)'tighdyinlolhe
-
rc,.:eiver and unless you have the proper
N[uipmcnl for this job. do not attempl to
-"
TheGoldenEagkriflcasmadcbyNikko
in Japan is marked u follo,."S:Onthc left
recciverwal!isstampedinbokllctteringlhe
name: GOLDEN EAGLE. On the nghl side
oflhereeci,-crringts:
USPAT. 4005540
MADE IN JAPAN
BY NIKKO
Onlherightsidcofthcbarrelbreechi,:
GOLDEN EAGLE
FIREARMS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
 ThtscrlllaumbcrisswnpedonthokR
si<le:ofthem:ci,unng.Thesamcnumbcris
ahofoundunderthebolthandkandbaITTI
Onldlsideofbarmtn«h:
MOOELrooo
(caliber)

lmaybe"-ron&inthisassump1ion,butthe
thou&IUOC(:Uffl!dtome lhat thedcsian,crof
theGoldmEaiJlcM7000actionandriflewas
mflllCIICCdbytheSchultz&LarsonM68DL
bc«use of se•~ major similarities in the
desijpl.Thc:117.C,wrightandgmen,!Ryleof
both rifb se ''CfY snnilar. So is tho size and
CMSU'UC'llllll of the rccei,u. bolt. magannc
and the lodcinaluaanangement. Hm:and
thcrconthe,cparu:lhedesignefchmgcd
lhinp 11(1 lhat he "'a5n'I exactly copym1,
lh•np su,;:h maluna; lhe bolt ,.;m 11\'t' loc:k,ng
lugs120~apan.ralhcrthanfourason
theS&Lbolt.Thede,;1gncralsoaooixcdand
lldaptcd-ftaturcsofOlhcrtumbohac•
~ - ~~ - -- - - - - - - - - - ~
quahiyofworl: done III makmglhe S&L
atllllll.Nikko100IOOkmanufattunnashon-
tuts. Forcxamplc.lhelockingluponlhe
S&Lbohan,filll5htdolfontoptolhe,iame
radius as the lodnna; ~ in lhe =•·er.
andthe"'""llysforthcm=madrtheami:
"lly.Theloc:kmt!lugraccwaysinthc:M7000
rue"'Cl's«1t110havebttnmachincdw11han
l alll(llhought it"'aSIOObulkylObe~for
anyofthcsw.dardrimlesscanndges.and
lhat1fil"'UbfgcandS1rongmough10han-
dk the Wealhemy super magnum artndgcs
lhen,twasneedlcsslylargeforsmallcroncs.
'The s.,mc is true inttgardtothcGoldcn
EagleM7000acnon.fornscemstomelhal
forahun1ingriflclhcf't'is1oomuchaction.t

--·
tions such as the rc<:oil lug and 0011.stop

Although 111casual glan«: the M7000

1C1>0nin1$IOl;klooksvaymuchthesameu
lhcSchul12&LarsooM68.itdilfmgreally
,n m111or de,;1gn and comuuction detail1
ll!Side.thcao:tionoftheM7000alsodilfenin
thewortflWISlup.intho........,fa:nffandlhe
fintsh111&ofthepansasoompamliolheluah
end mill of less than 11,.# diameu,, and the
tops of the locking!ugsmadetolhesame
radius,usin1ithc:casyandquickwayofper-
fonn1n1ilh1topcn,1ion.En,nwithfourlu115
,nstcadoffi•·e.lhclockinglugsinlhcS&L
action-the~
lnmycooimmtsabouttheSchultt&Lar-
lOflaction•nanolhi:rdlaplcr.lswedlh.at1I-
1houghllus1C1-"'ti""llmadrandsu-ona.
~•n'tbu1 helpadmittthewaySakohandlC$
1h,~ problcm - bymaking1hrcc lengths of
action,: a shon one for !he 222 family, I
medmm ooe for the 308 family and a Ion&
one forthe30-06andthcbcl1edmapum
farn,ly.
lhlt,'t'noinformalionastowhcnlheGokl-
~&glcrille"'3Sdiscontinu:d.lulhl,-enDII
M11CT011Sanysmccaboulthemod-1980s.

243
T HE LITTLE 22 Hornet canndge has
been around sulCC about 1931. Dunng !he
1930s and 40s i1 was a ,·cry popular car-
!ridge. and sc,·cral American and foreign
rilles .,.·ercch.ambcrcd for i1. lllen •lona
camelhc:222 Rem,natooin l9SO.,.·hochcre-
.. cdsuch•sttramongvarmint~tl,ai
!he 22 Horne1 ..... &11 but for-gonm. One by
onctheAmcncan-!11a«22Horne1riflesd1s-
appeared. includma the S4. 70 and 43 Wm-
cheslers and the Savage 23D, 19H. 417,
41711i,340and219.lly1967noA,n-,rican,
made Hornet nfles were available. 111c
••-.ibbiliryofr-•gnnflesin22 HomcHal-
iber ..-..tome\Oohatspond,cbut.ncq'Jlldur-
ing WWII )'Cll'l, 11 was always pouiblc
throughoutmostofth1speriodtoobu1na22
Homet by one mcansoranolher.Ofthc for-
cign-madc bol1 action 22 Homet rifles the-re
were two Stoeger imports. the Krioo, Brno,
Walther. AnKhuu. Sako and several ksscr-
knov,11 makes.
forafewycanthcKriroHornC'landthc
onginal Sako llomel Ktiom were av•il•
able. The Krioo 22 Hornet rifle " 'as last
ofTercdby S1ocger1n 1959. Incidentally,
theTradcw111dsModel600actioo dc.'ICribcd
inanother chap1crisanofTsprin1ofthis
Kncoachon.S,ncethcnithasn:appurcd
on the American market (1993) as• Kmo
Model400.
lnowrcferyou101hcNo.956Prcc"1on
Hornet R,nc, from S1ocger'1 1934
SJroo,e,·s Bible. Most knowledgeable arms
smden1scan1ell 11111lancethat1hiswas
notmuchof1riflc.and1hcdcscriptionofi1
will fool only• few. In all the ~an since
th,srifle,.'Ufirstlistcdlha,·cs«nonly
..,.ofthern.andlcantcllyou1110.'UIIO)'.
hwasnomorcthan1'"eryHghtboy'1nflc.
of !he 1ypc commonly used for 22 rim fire
canridges,111Crclymadeo,·ertoa1:ccp11hc
22 Homctcanridae. Th"bringsuslo ll cn-
er's Model Phnknrifle,lhcm.aintop1cof
244
this d1ap1er, for u, too, is• "lll)'~ rifle, 1n
my opinion.
During the many )'('ars I did riflc-barrd
andclwnberi113work l1umeddownnumer-
ousjobsofrtbamlingandlorruh.ambering
22 rimfirc rifles to the 22 Horne! or $Omt:
CMher22Ct'tlterfirccamidge.Manymoff
""O'C the kttcn I ~vcd asking qUC$110nS
aboU1 .. hetherornocthisortlwlov.<OSt22
bolt action nflconction was suitable for the
Homet.Myrcply.,.-asalmosialwayuneg.a-
tive one. I don"t know just llow "-'ell
Sto,:ger"1 No. 956 Precision Hornet rifle
Slood up. bu1 I have scnousdoubts 1bou1
l'kner'1Phnl<er.
for example. 1f I were asked if a Model
DPagc-Lcwis1mgleshocboll-1ctionriflc
.,.-ould be suitable for rechambcnng 10 the
22 Hornet, my answer would be a positive
"No."' YC'I Wt 1sjw1 about wha1 the maker
of the Phnkerd,d--usc a ,·ery " 'eak 22 nm-
fin:actionandbuildHornC'lnflesonu.Noc
onlydidthcyusesuchan1Clionforlhe22
Hornet, but for 1hc 222 canndae as "-'CIH
11,-·ing gCM a number of lcucrs inqumng
aboutHcncr'sModcl Plinker rifle, I grew
curious about it myself. To find ou1 what
S011ofriflcitislordcrcdonc,1ndhcn:1t
1s.
........ z:z ......
Listed in Hcner'i l970cataloaasthc
Mode]Phnkcr.th"1sasinglcsholtumboh
rifle, listcdasbcinga""i lablcin22 11ometor
222cal ibcn.Thcriflelrccei,·cd,in 1hc22
llomctca libcr,.,.~ighsabout 4.3poundsand
hasa21•barrctThcsix-grom~barrelhu1
r..islofoncturnin16•.thegrom~diamcler-
223 •. Thcbarrcl,about.630"'mdwnctcr.11
no1~rcd.h11hcldinthcroundrcce"-er
by1s,113lcsmallcross-pin.Th,s,sdcfimtely
notthcw1yt0attaehabarrclto1rueiverof
lhc22Homctorsimilarcartridgc.unlessthe
bam:lis1shnnkfilintolhcre<:e1ver.Thc
simplcbladefronlsight.do>·etailcd1mothc
barrel. is adjwtable for clcvauon. The
rcceivertop,sgnx,vcdforcommonup-off
scope mounts.
Thchard.,.·oodstoc:kisstaincddark,lhc
inlemnadoncbymachtM. lllebarrcland
act10nan:hcldmthestoc:k by1smglc11Cn:W
threading intO the bottom of the n:tti,-er
ring.llles1oc:k,"·h,chhasnobu1tplate.is
dcq>lygroo,W.hhasafullpistolgnpanda
comb raised so high that it is about 1mp0Mi-
ble 10 gct onc's face down low cnough to use
theopcnsisJ,ts.Thc.s1oc:kissandcdsmooth
andp,-cnaak>asYfinish.
lllelC'ltcn LUX, ,.ithmadiamond,an:
$WTlpcdonlherccel\"erri111.Thcealiber
__
dcsignat,onandscrialnumberan:sta.mpcd
onthcbarrcljustfoN·ardofthcrecciver
The words MADE IN GEKMANY (in
sm.all lC'llcrs and lightly 1mprin1cd) an:
,,,
stampcdonlhclcftsideofthcrccc"-erring.
Thcn:arenolcssthantlvttproofman;soo
lhcbandand~v,:r!
Thcrueinr,.865"indiamc1er,isabout
5"10f1i,Al.5"opcningintopof1hcrueiv-
c,-g,,-cs1C«SSIO!hcch.amber.
Thcone-pi...-ebolt,.5g7'indiamcter,is
reccss,edforlhccanridgchcadThcbohhan-
dlc,IO.hlChhas•bent-<.lol0.11S1ernand•l'QUlld
graspmgball.fitsm1oahole,nthcn:arof
lhcbolt.lllen&htrearsidcofthcrecc"·er
hasanL-shapcdslotforthebolthandleto
passandlockinto,whenthcbolthandleis
tumcd down. 111c back or the ,lightly
mlargalbascofthebolchandlcisfilcdfw.
=~~ti'";':~;:-~:=:
Shownfittedl"ilhaSavag,eYat\ablescopa.
 Topvlewol,BSW(So.ril,Gennllny)KIIOO,madetboul 19301or
lhe22Homtlcartridge. TI-isls•ralhe<f-v,wel-madllllCllon.
wl!hlhebol~.,.;,,g-lhemain~lug Orig,l,al)'lhis
act1onwullll..:lwiltlan~~lug•nachedtolheOU1-
... ollhe-,wrlhiblugengagong1g,-eu1acroalhe
1Dpollhl....,...-.dbol.Thlsit•mud'lllronge,.Mf..-andlal
a,perlol'IICllonlhanusedonlhe....,..,~rllla

1t11sbecommgthelocbngswfaceagainst 1 thero,;k,ngp~.andholdsitback as thc con,·encd1olhe22 Hornet. Al least these

lockina:nocchinthe1hin-wallcd(abom.160" boltismo>'Nforwardandlockcd. lbetrig- nne5couklnocbcfircdunlesstheboltwas
thid)recci,·er.Thi s lockingnotchisnot ger has a two-stage kt-off, 1he las1 s1agc lockcdsufficienllytolloldi1closcduponfir-

vnydcql.butthebolthandleinthisnocchis
theonly1hing1hatlocksandholdstheboltm
there«l'·erwhentheriflcisfircd.Nc,lher
bol1handknorre«i,·erarchardcned;1filc
easdyeu100lhput5.
Thebol1body.openfiomtherear,Wes
theon,:..p1«cfiri113pinanditscoilmam-
1Jlru!&.Abu$h1nglhrcadcdmrothercarof
thcbollrompnssesthemainsprinaandholds
thefinngp1ninplace.Theroc:kingp,c«,
,.11,ic11 fiuoncothe rarmdofthe finna J!U1
ilml(projffl1na:rothercaroftheboll)ishcld
t,y a p1n.Astudfimng1ntothe sidcofthe
roc:kina:pica:,which'"°'-esinthebollhan-
dlcsln1,providc1 a meanstoplacelheriflcon
Safc,.-1\mtheoctionis roc:kcd.This isdone
bytunll"llthestuduptomgage a shallow
nOlchmtherearoftheretti,·er.lbeslidin&
typccxlfaet0ffitsintoaslOleu1lrngtltwisein
thebonomofthem:;:ei,"Cr. ltsfmntmdhalf-
mcm:leslheartndgehead. Therearmdof
thco:lltnclOl',bmtupv.wdlOenpgc a 8")0''C
inthebonomoflhebolt.islhuspullcdt.ck
" "hcnthebollisopmed.ThistypcofcxlraO-
iorufour>dinSC\ffllldifTercmfon:ign-madc
22nm~nllcs. 11$ "'CUi11mlhelona-<Jbso.
le-tePage-Le,.·is ModclDandWinchester
Modcl67nmfircrillcs. ldon'tknowhowthe
222cxlfaet0fismadcinthisriflc,butitprol>-
ablyhal11181TOwhoot.whi<:hsnapsintothe
extractor Jl')OVC in the rimless c.anridge
-
quitcshonandlight
The trigger guard is I steel stampina
scre-,,.·N1othebottomofthesiock.
ldon'tlh.mkmuchofllusrifle. Whe1her11
1SAfc10uscmnains10bcscen.1',·ealrcady
mmtioncdtome>'Cl')'poorfeawresandwak
pomts.sucha11hepmned-inbam:l.thesoft
llun-wi,llc,drttei,...-,andabolthandk"hlCh
provide,lheonlyloc:kinglug10hoklthebolt
clolcd.bu1thm-arcmorc.Forexamplc.1he
mgger,;anbcpullcdatanytime,cvmifthe
bolt handle 1sonly,·e,yslightlydown. The
loc~ing no1ch is NJI >'e,y deep a1 hes! and
1hercis NJ1h1ng1opreventthisrinefrom
beingfin:Je,·miftheboltl>andlcisNJCfully
closN. Morconlhislater.Also,wilhthcbol1
OflCll.iflhenflcishcldupsidc-<lo\\11andthe
mggerpullcdt.k.theexlnCIQrwillfall()Ul.
Furthennore....·henlhebolt,sremcwedlhe
CXtrllCIOl'ISfrtttofallOOl.
The Model 2JD S..,-age. -..hile noi: hmna
1hardcned-11«lrrcci\·er.ne,·erthcleslhld
1wol~lockinglugs10holdthebol1
cloKd.Yetif1h,s nflcwasfircdalot,tlfld-
uatly de~lopcdheadspa«through"-nrand
se1-backof1hcboltmthere«ivcr.
TheMode143Winchestcrrrcc1verwa1
hmlcmd,anditaboltalsolladtwinlocking
surfaccs.butinspitcofthis.ifthenflewas
ing. Compare these~ .ctions wi1h Hm-
cr's Plmker lldion and it is predictable what
isgoingtohappmwhenthePlinkeri1 fircd
toanycxtcm.lnmyopinionthePhnkcri1an
U1151fcrifle,in22 Hometor222c.aliber,and
I ne,·er m:omrnmdcd it.
Fortunalclythe bolt in my Phnkcrnflc
loc:kc,dup,-crynghlly,andsomecfTon"•
rcqulfflllOfullylc,,t;et-thebolthandle. How
lona1twillmnaintightisanolhcrquc:SDOn,
bw I've seen many22nmfire rifles.with
S1rot1gerac11onsthan1hisonc.wcarand
loo,senuptolhepoint"-hc,elheywe,epo$1•
11,'Clyunsafetofire. Whilelheactionofmy
PlinkerHomc1riflewa!iSlilltightmy11on100k
i1ootforalimitedrange1eSt.ldecidedagainst
firingflldOfyammunitioninit.butusedhand-
loadsoons.istmgofSgrainsof#2400powder
bchind1he45-grain..22YSicrniHomctbul-
leu.Thisi11moderateloadwhichl\'Cfuund
tobe,-cryaccura1ein1numberofdifl'amt
rifles. U,ing 1 4~ Weaver 84 &cope, and
shooun&fram1rest.1hcfirs1fi~shotl.•fter
five11ghuna-inshots..groupedwitlunl .r a1
fiflyyan.ls, This~us. Taking$Wtlble
prec1uhonswcfircdonesholwt1hthebolt
handle only ~fway down, and the boll
mnamcd m !hat position. After the shallow
lockinanou:hbeoomeswom.anditsurely
willif1herifleisfiredafewhundredtune$,
firina:thisriflcwiththcbolconlyhalf-locked

""'·
A1 1ntheP1gc-Lcw1srifle,thesearis a
long1pn11j1 fastened to the boltomofthe
rttei,·ernnabya1JCrcw. lbetrigger1Sp1,-
0lcdonlherearmdofthisspringon1pin.
Thecxu.ctorisnormallyheldinplacct,y
1h11spnng. T,.·opro:,«-.nnson1hisspnna
e,nend mtothe boltway,onc fonmng the
- . theOlberthcbolt-saop. Whentheboltis
cloKdthercarproJ«t,ooeng;agesloNwdof
fircdagreatdealittoowoulddc~lopexcess
headspacc. tha,·ealwaysoonsidcrcdthcse
1wo bolt Ktions as about the minimum for
cutnJaes like the 22 Hornet. HO>\'e\'Cf, they
hldcnooghofabuilt-inmarginof.safetylO
1hatthey"-ercsullusuallysafe10firces·m
.. 11hronsidcniblccxcealleadspace.l 1l$o
ro,mderthc Model 1922 M-1 and M-2
Sprinpickiacoons as brin&onthem,rumal
Sidi:. yet ,..,th a marginil saJny &Clor ,..hen
miat,cprovcdisastrOUS.
FortunatelytheHerter's Plinkerhaslon&
becnofTthemarl<ct.Onercasonisthatlhe
Hcner'1 finn"'ffltoutofbusincssinthe~
'70sorearly "80s.. Anyway, if you ha,·e1
Hmtr's Phnkerriflc.donOlfircit,andifyou
~ofanyoneclse-..1lohasonc,1dlh1m
lhesanxllung,Themainreasonlha,·cin-
tludcd1l11:s nfle,n1h11bookis10soundNt

245
T RADEWlNDS. lNC.. DEGAN to import
lheH"5q,-amacentcrfircrwnbohnAcactioo
about 1954.MadeinSwalalbyllusqvama
VapenfabribAktiebolag(IIVA for short) in
SwtdcnitisamodiflOOMauscr-rypcaction
withf~walk>cklflll"&'onlhcrohand
a staggned<0lumn boll magazine with a
hmp!Ro,.-.plale.
Trade,."inds on« imported and sold the
)lVA bam:kd actions and ,;,on,pkle HVA
5')0flingnfles.
The oompkle linc of HVA nfles range
fromthelo-..-estpri~Huskytolhchighest
engravcdf'resentationGradc.TheM=.andlheir
OOICrgr.,deswm,fincrillcsinevcrysenseof
...
lhcword.and""·en:good>11lues.Allhave
HVAS-..Tdish-madcMrokl·hantmcKd"bar-
TheHVAlmak,w-profilebollhao1dleand
1'1idingtangsakty,bod!outoflhew;,yof1
low-mounted scope. The: bolt-s10pis t..11lt
almostcn1irclywithinlherctt1,·er.Theaction
istrim,lightinweigh1,,lcaninOU1lincand
smoothinoperation.llhasprovedtobe
amply Sll'Ol1g and safe for the cartridges for
whichthcrifles,.-en:chambercd
TMEll1YHV•kllll
Unrilthcearfy 1960stho HVAaa-dif•
f,:rcd11ornewlwinminordctailsfromthclal-
erllVAactt00.ll1ustratedhcreisanearly
IIVAICOOllwhichlm:civa,linl95Sandon
-..·hichllatcrbuiltavayhgh1b,ggamcrifle
in27Ck:aliber.Becauscthisaction,soolooger
made, r lldescribeitonlybricAy.
Thc:marlcingsonthcearly!IVAincludo
lhe HUSq',-amacrownlladctnarkandthcword
SWl:DENstampcdonlhelOJlofthcrecei,-.:r
nna. Thc:5Crialnumber.proofmarl<andlhe
"'mlNITRO arcswnpcdonthe llaloolhe
bonomoflhem:civ,:rring.
Thc:trigga"guard/11111pz,ncasscmbly"-as
madecn1irclyofS1CCI.Thc:triuer~bow
1s pin ofa maga;:inc plate, and into its mag-
246
azincholc1~-=lmaga;:1ncbox11flt-
ted.Spo1•,,cldedm 1hepla1c1nsixpla.ces.
1hc maguincbox is 3.385#1ong. T-..·o HVA
a.c:1ions-....,,..,thenlistcdbyTradcwmds;No.
1 was made for the 251 Roberts. 7mm
Mausi:randl0-06lcnglh,;artndgc1. No.2
for tho shorter }08 family ofcartndges. Thc:
taller is 1<kn11eal 10 lhe No. I, ind001ng
ac11onlm&thand11111gazu,clcngth,bu11he
magazmcbo.1t-..-asmade"·ilhribsinsKlc1t10
hoklthcshoner<;artridge:sinthercarofthc
ho,.
Thchingcdfloorplatclat<:hwasabcn~fla1-
springdfairfiucdimothcupperlron1par10f
thctnggcrbow.Thisal!-stttlact,on"·cighs
ab<Jlit44ounocs.
ldon'tlcnowjuSl"ilcnlhcchangcfromthc
SIC-Cl tnucr guard,magazinc to the alloy
~ ...... made.bulcxceptfordul;dtffcr,
cr.ae.1hefollo-..1ngdescrip1ionofthe!IVA
a.ctionaJll)IIClllOthcearlyactionaswell.
l imaginc1he Husqvamaac1ionwasma(lc
of thefincstqllalily.Swcdishstttlava,lable
for the purpose.with all oomponcnl5pmp-
erly heat treat,:,.!. The rccciver 1s shm and
smooth m outhnc, yec ruggedly ma.de
Reccl\'Crnng1s l .290"indianw:1erand
l.750""long.Thch,ghandunnotehedlcft
wallandlhckw.·errightl'CCC'iwr...-.llexlfflll
scra1gh1l,a,ckfromtherttel\'trwherethey
oonncct-..11hthel.225"1ongbndgc.leavm11
arccc1vcropcningofslightlyovcr3". The
bridgeisthesamewidthasthering.lhusthe
en1ircleft sidcofthem:eiverisscra,gh1and
ofthesamcrad,us. Thc:topofthcbnda<:11
lowerthanthcnng.thegencralshapeand
contour the same as the modem FN Mauser
1C1t00.Thcrcccwcrcndsina.....,....1ang.
wh,c:hg,,urtano,·nall lcngthof8.750"".
Thcpanofthcm:eiwrwhichahowsabove
1hestockl11,e 11smoothlyandcvenl ypol-
ished. The top of1he rcceiver rin11 and
bndg('ea<:hha,·etwo6x48tappcdhoksfor
standard scope mounung, plus \wo 6x48
t.appcdholesintherightsidcofthebridgc
for m:eivcr s1gh1 anachmen1. All of these
holesarcfittcdwithplugscrews.thescha..-.
1ngbeen1wnedinbc:forc1hercccivcrwas
"""""'·
Thc:boaontoflhc:rctttwrisflatcxceptfor
about.42S#a11hcfiunlofthenng. Thisflal
ip0t,U"'Cllulhc:he1wyrccoillugundcrthc
ring,isl.lO""·>dc.Thc:rcwillug,aboll..325"
deq,,hascnougharcampmffltrccoilfrom
scninglhcactioobackmto1hestockprovidcd
itisbc:ddedin1olhcs«x,kproperly.
Thefrontcndoftherina1sthreadcd10
ac.npclhcbwrclshank. Th=isnoinsidccol·
lar111lhcnngsuch as theM98Mauscraction
has.solhcbarrelreqwrt51remf0fttdshoul•
dertoahulapu,srthcfiunlof1heringl0hokl
,1ughdyinplace.Thc:breechfaceofthcbar-
rclisfla1.13at'rclshanksp«iflcationsarc
nominally: length, .615": p1td1,V-1YJ1C. 12 per
ineh;diamctt:r..988".
Thc:bol1isofonc-picce<;OOSuucrion.with
lhebolthandlemadeuanintcgralpartofH.
_,.,_
Thcbolthandlehuaroond.,iapercdscem
=-"cdshghdybtd;andout.andcndingma
roundgmpu,aball. 1tll&l1,·crylo-..profilc
so1ha!ilwilldc:arlhe~of1helc,,,,l:SI
Onlheextrcn>eforw.rdcndoflhcboharc
two dual-opposed locking lugL When lhc bolt
,scloscdtheselugsengagcbc:hindheavy
shoulderswithinlhercarofthcrc«ivcrring.
secw-elylockingtheboltThc:left(top)lock-
inglug.largfftllanthcnglulug,utcrldsfor-
wanlof1hefaceof1hcbolttonearly<.>Jr11••cl
theboftchcndofthcbam:l"·hcnthcactton,s
closcd.Neitherluaislloocd.Thefaceoflhe
(Above) HVA Imperial Custom sponing
nfle
boltisrec=edforthecartridgerim,bu1this
=ssisundcn:utatth:bonornuintheM98
Mauserbolt.Thisallowsthelleadofthecar-
tridgetoslipwlder1he cxtractorhook,on
feedingacartridgefromthernagazine,topn,-
,·erudoubleloading
AsootheM98boh,thellVAhasanauxil-
iary,orsafety,lockinglugontherearofthe
bollbodywhichcngagcsin,butdoesnotbear
agains!,arecessinthebonornoftherecei,·er
bridge
Thcreisa2Ylongribootheccnterofthe
boltbodyandamatchinggroo,·cunderthe
topofthebridge.Thisribguidcstheboltasi1
iiioperatedandpreventstheboltfrombind.
ing.Thce,nractorisacooventiooalM98type,
attachedtotheboltbyacollarinagroove
aroundthebolt Alipundcrthefront endof Original HVA aciion with all-slool trigger guardlmagatine and sprir,g latch fo, 1he hinged
thecxtractorfitsinagroo,·cinthebohhead. maguinefloorplate
whichpre\'entslongitudinalmovementofthe
exlnlctor.lltefrontofthecxm,,ctorhookis endofthcfiringpinishcldinplaccinthe rcceivcrandpivOlingonapin.istcnsion,.,,;lby
flat,andquitethinlikethatoftheregularM98 boltsleevebythecockingpieee.which is acoilspring.Aprojectionootherearendof
cxtractor.Thcsuifaceonthecdgeofthehook securedtothefiringpinbyanintcm.ipledlug thescarprotrudesthroughaholeintothe
isnotangledenoughtoallowthecxiractono arrangement cockingcamraccwaytocootac1thecocking
snapcasilyovcrtherimofacartridgepushed Thcfiringpinhasaflattenedrea,-s«1ioo, picceaslhe bolt is operated. The trigger pi,~
intothechambcr.LiketheM98.thc HVA which rides in a matching hole in the bolt otsonapin1hroughthesear. lltetriggcri1i
action is designed for magazine-fed car-
tridges.
Initial cxtrllction camming power is
sleeve;thisprevcntsthefiringpinfromroon-
ing. A spring-tensioned, plunger-type boh
slecvelockfitsintotheleftsideofthebolt
"""""·
Triggcrpullweightisabout5.5pounds
No adjustment ii provided.
ob!aincdbythebascoF1hebolthandlemo,·- slce\-c,and"·henthebohisopcned,1hcend Tbcslidingserratedtangsafety,atlheright
ingocrossaninclincdsurfaceontherearof ofthisplungcrslipsintoanocchinthercar sideofthetang.i1iapK'Ceofthins1edfittcd
thcbridgc,forcingthcboltandextractor endofthcbolt. Thispn,vcntsthebohslcevc alongtherightsideof1hcscar.Thcn:isa
back as the bolt handle is raised. Similar fromrumingwhenthebohiso,,cn groovccutintothcbonomoftherccciverin10
indinedsurfaccsontheapproachestothe Likethe98Ma=bolt.therearendofthe which the higher front end of the safety
locking shoulders inthem:civcrringalso HVAbohismlarged1oprovidethickcrmct- moves, and which projects into the safety
force1hebol1forwardasthebolthandleis alforthecockingcamnotch.Thcactionis locking lug recess.
cockedonthcupliftofthebolthar.dle. Thcsafctys1idcson1hescarpinanda
Thcboltslee,-cthreadsintotheopenrear Tbc trigger mechanism is similar to the screwinoblongholcs,andisprovidedOn
of the bolt. The coil mainspring is com- coovemional miliwyr,,,o.hunip M98sysiem, andOfftcnsionbyasmallspringscrewed10
pres.sed between a forward collar on the one- buthasonlyonehump,resultinginasingle- thcundersideofthetangandbearingona
pic,:e firing pin and the bolt sleeve; the rear stage pull. The scar, positioncd undcr the smal\pininthcsafcty.A pin through the

HVAaction,open.

247

rearcndoflheK.UprojectsinanL-shapod
slotinlheJ1fe1y.Withlhe1Ctionclosedand
cockcd.pullingbackonthesafelylocks
bo1h5e1r1ndbolt.Pushingthesafe1yfor-
ward.e~posinglhercddotonthen:arofthe
tang,unlo,;bthesurandbolt.lnesafety
canMputOn"·henthea.ctionisclos«land
unc:ockcd,butthenonlylhebollislockcd.
ThcJ1fetyisro,wmimtlypla.cedandeasy
10 use. ~ is no nttd for an unsightly
noo:haninmlhestock10acrommodatelhe
safety. It makes hardly any noi5C ,..hm ii 11
fflO>-ul from lhe On 10 !he OfT(fonmd)
position
Thchoh-it0p(allllbined ..iththetjoctor)
,s1dunp,c,ceofmctallyin&in•groo,-'Cmthe
leftundersidoofthebridge.ltistcr,siQncdand
par11allyhcldinplaccby1flatsprina;...:m--cd
iothero,;civcr,withthebolt.stopal,opivot-
ingonthi1screw.Asem11cdbuttononlhe
boh-stop projecis from the m:eiver. By
dcpressin&thisbuttonwhmthebohhandlcis
raised. the boll can M withdrawn. Q,iite
~thi,tiunondoesnocsrickWI
farenoupon1slim-stockedrifle10sriaaon
dolhingo.-brlash.
Theliompanoflhr:boll-siop,which~
je<:umlOlheK«ivcr,hasNiOAW•toothcd
,.
proJe<:IIOllll;lhe finruoneislhee)CCtOr, the
O!hcrthetooth"'hichSl(lpStheboll
Twoslouarec;ut in1othebol1 head;the
fion1slotiseutintotheboltface,othec,jcdor
toothcanriptheainridgecaseo.-canridgeup
andtotheriaht,outoftheaction,whentheboh
isopmcdTherear!Jorend:sinthesinglegu.
,i:n1holeinthebolt. ThebollislilOppedwhen
therearboll-SIOplOOlhoontactslhishole.
Thereisonlyonep-cscapr: veru hole m
lhebol~andnoneinthereceiver.Thisholeis
1ocata1~•1ti.ct.fmmtheboltfacc,and
whcnlhehohiseic-iandlockcd,lhr:hole,s
posllioncd!odirttt the gases into the lell
lochnglilfl raceway. Theleftsideofthebolt
sJeeo.'C, flush ",th the OUISide of the receiver.
would deflect any powder gases outward
shouldanygeithisfarback.
Theone.-piec,ernagwncboJt/lrig8crguanl
unili1cas1in1hghtweightalloy.11Sisthe
maga1.ioefloorplate.Thosealloypartswhich
showarewcllpolishcd,andthewholeuniti1
anodizedblack.Thefloorplau:.hingedtothe
fiontofthetriggerguardonapin,isn:leascd
by1sprina-loldcdleverbuiltintothotop
fi'Ollloftheguardbow
Onemdoflheoon,'ClltionalW~fol.
lowcrspnnalitsinto1mortisemthelloor-
plate.lheothcrcndin11110ftise111theboaom
o(lhemachinedstcelfollowcr.Andaeonthe
lellsideoflhefolk,..'Crstaggmlhtcamidgcs
mthemagazmebw;.Theiopoflhemaguu,e
boo:fi11flushwilhthebooomoftheflat-bol-
toroedrettivcr. Themagazinc-"'Cllopening
hasimcgralcarttidg('gu;deribsoneachside.
Thc:usualrampinthefromofthemagazine-
"'CllopcningguidcscartridgesinlOthecharn-
bcrwhentheyarefcdfromthemagaw,r,by
""""·
TiuttHVA..;tiOllll"'Cn:1vailable:The
S01wufor30-061engthandhead-s.ucar-
lridgcs.theS02isfo.-308andsu,,ilar-lcngth
andhead-$u.ecartridges.andd.:S03ro.-Mh-
cdma&fflllllSof30-06lrnglh.ThustheSOl
andS02areider,tiQIO,:eplfor~ion
oflhemagazino -..-.US.and the SOI andS03
arealikeexcq>1fo.-dilfercncesinthebol1-
fw;:el'C<:CSllandextr3C!Or.All1hmeh"'""ml&·
mneboo:esoflhesamelmgth(3J85.insode
opening). The: No. 502 maguine-boxsidc
wall1are1hicker in fromthana11heback.and
lhc~110.-ridgeleflprovidesalhoul-
der51op1oholdcanridgesn:arwardin thc
-·
mapzine.Thcshoulderisplact'drom.'Ctly
forcactridgo:sofabout243and308body
T"vwniyguardscmt,"S.lhroughlhefront
andrarmdf;oflhetrigg,orguard'~,
holdlhelCUOIISCW'dymlheSIOCk.Thc:fronl
su-dscrewp,,sscsthrough.,inrqrallugon
lhewiaoflhetriggerguanilrnapz,n,e. The
iopofthislugisrw:ssedlOfitO\"Cflimall
round itud on the bonom of the recoil lurJ.
Thi11lignstheguan:l"ith the receiver. A
-
bushingfortherearguardscn:w,fumishcd
"ilhHVAactions.isusedinthenflcsmade
upb)' Husq,-arna
SinoethellVAICUOllwasfintinmxtu,;,:,d
into tho U.S. ithasbcenldver11scduthe
"IIVAlrnprnvedM~andas.1Monly
impnwcdMauserldiondes1gncdforhaf,t•
" "eightriflo:s.WorldfamousS"-cdishst«I
makespou.ibleanaetionthatis$O'Oll&Cl"in
a:,nsa,.,,;:tioyetlightcin"'Cighllhanothcr
MauscrlCl>OrlS."Thc:newfyinuoo.K:cdS&W
high pow=d rifle isal,o buih on the HVA
ldionjustdesaibed lnthoS&Wact.'ffllSUII
desaibinglhisaetioncanMrcad.a.mongodl-
ersta1emc:nt!i. the following: " ... pos.ses5C:SI
numberof&dvantagesovcrdc1ignsof1l,,r:
militaiyMauser1ype .... Thes1rikertra,·elis
onlyha!flha!ofriflesoflhemili11ryMaltSCr
1YJ)e."and. •••.. tocopewilhthelughpspret-
- produced by modem ammunition-up
toaboutSO,OOOlbsJsquareinch.uapinst
the former maximum ofaboi.u: 40,000 lbs. .•-
Anyonc: knov.·ing anything at all aboul !he
Mausersysiem-..nuldassumelhey"n:n:fer•
nnatotheM98Mauser.ldon"tthmklhey
lO'CS'C,.)lm,'1 wby.

Thcreareonlylwolargearmsmakersin
Sweden, the wmmerdal Husq,·ama furn,
making the HVA and other firearms,and lhe
Sw«lishgovcnuncn18JS('fllll,lheCarlGustafs
Gevaersfak1oriinEskilstuna.Hll!lqvamahad
madeupsomeriflcson1he M98 Mauser
ac,ion ootaine<;I from FN in Bclgiwn. and
lhey'dalsomadesomesportingriflcsonthc
Swedish M96 Mauser action. However, the
CarlOustafsfacto,y-the ..SpringficldAI-
mo,y'' ofSwedcn-manufactum:I many thoo-
S,111,;is of Mauser military rifles for a period of
aroundfiftyyean
Thc .. Mauser"riflcsprodocedatEslr:ilSIU-
nawercthcSwedishM94Mausertarbines
and M96 Mauser rifles. Of the original Mau-
serrumbohsySlcms.theM98iswilhoutques-
lionthebestone,bu1inS"'tdmitisna1uraJ
tocx~1thata"Mauser"thereisooethey
madcandusedduringWorldWarslandJI,
whicharetheModels94and96.Thisisbornc
outbytheswementaboveaboutthestriker
tra,·el. ThcS&WriflcsmadebyHusqvama
havcthesameactionsa,;theHVAdescribed
previously,andtheirstrikertravclof.SOO"is
thcsamc,asthatoftheM98Mauser.Thisis
cxactlyhalfthatoftheM96SwcdishMauser
action.Thus.theHVAadvertisingrcferences
m ..impro.·ed Mauser" means '"improved"
overtheM94andM96actions.noioverthe
""· NowtheM94andM96S,,,edishactions
arcgoodand,foramilitaryaction,theyare
cxtrcmely"·cll-madeandfinishcd.Thcyare
catainlystrongcnoughandsafeenoughto
be used with cartridges developing up 10
abou145,000psii:nc<:hJ)fC$Sure.Fordetails
ofthisactionreadthechapterenli!led
.. MauserModo:h;92,93.94.95&96"in1his
"""'·
Let'ssecwhatHVAcopiedfromtheM96
Swedish Mauser and what impro,·ements
theyrnade.Withsomcchangestheyuscdthe
rcccivcrwhich,incidcntally.isthesmallring
Husqvarna and Smith & Wesson Rifles
type. The t.angwasmadea bit wider, the
bridgewumadewi1hou11heclipslotand
theraisedpoc!ion,andthelhuntbgroove"'aS
omi1tedfromtheleftreoeiverwall.Thcsame
barrellhreadsan:uscd,thelne«hingsystem
islhcsame,wilhthebarrelhavingaflarface
Excep1tha1thelefllock.inglugisn01sloned.
thelockinglugsarethesame.Thcbohface
recess.boltrihguideandextractOran:also
thesame.Thcfiringmcchanismisesscntial-
1ythesame,buttheHVAcockingpieceis
rnadelightcrandthefiringpinfallreduced
by half,1wo improvements over the M96
design. Other HVA improvements are the
auxiliarysafctylug,1heflangWboltslc,:,'<'
wi1hitsM98boltslc,:,·elockandthelow-
profilebolthandlc. Thctrigger,esscn1ially
lhesameasthatontheM%Mauser,isno
improvement.
HVA features which were not copied
direc1lyfromanyotherac1ionan:lhcsliding
1angsafctyandtheboli.s1op/ejector.For
sportingusethesafctyisanimprovemen1,but
1hebolt-sloplcje<:torisadoub1fulonelti5,
ho"'<',·er, an impro,·emenl in lha1 the left
locking!ugnecdn01besloncdforlhcejector,
andlhebolt-S1opnecdno1projectbeyondthe
cdgeoflhestockline.Thebolt•stop"ooldbe
bctlerifit"'<'fl'builtheavicr
HVA regressed in designing the gas-
cscapesystcm. Thcywouldhavebcenbet·
1CrofTduplieatinglheven1ingsystem used
ontheM96action.lnaddition,lfc,:llherc
shouldbeagas-ventholethroughthelcfl
side of the re<:eiverring, in line with the
vent hole in the IIVA bolt, or even two
holes,wi1h1hese<:ondonejusttothercarof
thebarrclface.lalsoscenothingwrong
"·ithaholethroughtherightsideofthe
receiverringandasmallholethroughthe
endoftheexrrac1or.Thcsetwoor1hree,-ent
holeswouldmake1hisactionmuchsaferin
theeventofaseriouscartridgeheador
prirnerfailurc. Truc,suchfailuresllll'sorare
with modem commcn:ial ammunition tha1
onc hardlyneedstoworryabou1it,butthe
handloadcrmigh1"'antandneedmoll'pro-
tecnon.
lalsofttlthatlheHVAbr«chingsystem
,,,ouldhavebcenstrongerandsafcrhadan
insiden:,;ei,"CTcollarbeenused,asinlheM98
action. Still, the IIVA tne«hing is not so
muchdifTeren1fromtha1uscdinlhcpre-1964
M70Winchestcr,andldoo'tfindrnuchfaul1
wilhit.
AsforlheHVAst.andardlrigger.l"''Ollkl
muchralherhavelheregulartwo-stagemili-
tarylct-ofT,forwithitlhelriggercanbeasafe
oneandstillhaveafmalrcleasethatisshol1,
freeofcrccp.andligh1inv."<"ighthwwldbe
jus1aboutimpoS1ible10ob!ainasbortand
moderatelylighttriggcrpullwiththeHVA
triggerandsti!lhaveasaferifle.Fewshooters
andhuntCTSlodayaresatisfiedwitheithera
heavy.fl,"<"poundsormore,triggcrpullor
wilhadouble-stagepull.solheonlysolution
rogeningagoodlriggcrle1-offwilhtheHVA
ac1ionis1oinst.allacommcn:ialadjustable
trigger.
ThestatementinlheS&Wlitcraturethat
lheHVAac1ionismadc1ocopewilhfflllXi..
mumprcs.sure,;of50,000psiseemsoddtomc
becausethefactory27010lldde,'<"lopsmorc
than50,000psiyetitisoneoflhecartridges
forwhichtheirriHeswcrechamhered.H..sq-
,.unaalsouseslhisactionforthe7mmMag-
num,whichalsodevelopshighcrpm:surc.l
bclievelhcHVAac1ionwithirssolidlocking
lugs. safety lug and modem steels is suitable
forcartridgesdevelopingupto$0mC55,000
psilne«hpressure. Thcrcislin!cquestion
1ha1 the HVA Improved Mauser is a strong
SmilhandWesson,longkno"11forlheir
qualityhandguns.enteredtheriflcfieldin
1%8.Theirriflesa!l'basedonrhe cxacc
249

IUqvll'lllnSnffll&WIISaanRIIIII
I/VA lmpro"'d Mauser actmn I ha"'
dcscribcdh=,theonlyditfcm'ICebemgthat
the S&W trademark emblem has replaced
the HVA seal on the receiver ring. bcqi!
forsomesli&t,tdifferencesinstockdesign
the S&W HVA riflesarealmostthesamc as
the UVA rifles listed by Tradewinds. The
higherprioedoneshavethe IIVAadjuslllble
trigger.
T...... _..__,
M•kc $Ure map.zinc and elwnbff •rr
empt y. To mnovc the bolt. raiK the bolt
handleand.w11hthe11pofthelhwnb.hold
the bolt-flop downandoot; now pull the
250
: I I
--
T..,. . ······· ·.iexnc:,:,a
=euioir::~~:-=.i~oo11.a..ooa.
BoN-«op .... . .. .Positionedinlhe-leflollhel'8CMW;lll)l)llooltbycot-,g
lhegas--.tholll.
Ejlclor ..... .. Partolhbol-slOp
boliba<:kandoutoflhe=eivcr.Thebolt•
s10pneednotbedepresscd1ore-inscrtthe
bolt.
To disassemble the bolt. grasp the bolt
body,mhonehandand."'1rik<kprasingthc
bolt slee,,•e lock plungerw,lhthethwnbof
thatlwid,tumthcboltslee,l'oountadock-
"'1SCIOlhecoc:lw-sp,ecefallsattotheoock-
mccam. Thm,LISffll•smallscrrwdriveror
thelikemtheotherhand.pulltheoock,na
pi«cback10lheboltslee,'Ccanberumcd
cwn1erdockwiscanothcr 1um.Contin11Cturn-
;nallfflilthcbolt slee,'CisW1SCRWcdfromthe
bolt. TodiSMSembktheliringpinassembly
grasptheboltsiee,ieinonchandmd.while
resting the firing pin lip on• hardsutf..:c.
~ the bolt sl=.l' inil the cockin& piece
,;an beturned ~ tum in either dircic-
oon. The ooclana piecc C111 now be bftcd off
andtheliringpinandmainsprin,:scpanued
fiomthebohslttve.Depreslhcboltsl=.l'
lot-kplungcrandrumittoi1SretainerSl\ld11
 24 Searspmg
25 Pk,gscrews(6)
26 Searpo'\
g =?'l
29 Safelysc:rew

"' """-"""
31 Floorplateriirge?if,
~ ~~sc,uw
34 FolowerspmQ
35 Magaznl,llloorplate

relea,ied from its gro,m,. aflcr which the bolt
slcc,·cplungcrandspringcanbcremQved
Reassemble in reveTSC order. Rcmo,·c the
extrnctorbyrumingi1undcrthebo11andthen
pushingi1forwan:I.Donotrcmo,1'thccx1rac-
torcollarunlcssabsolU1clyncccssary.asi1
maybesprungou1ofshaj)('.
Tumou1thefron1andrearguardscre"·s
fromthebottomofdieriflcandliftthcbam:I
andac1ioofromthes10ek.andthctrigger
guanilmagaiiroc from the bonom of the stock
DrivcOU1thepinsfromlhelriggcrguani!mag-
a:cinetorcmo,·cthefloorpla1<:andfloorpla1e
latch. Tumou1thcsafc1yspringscrewand
n:rn0\"<'thesafctyspring.Drivcthescarpinto
thelef\wilhadriftpunch.tumoutthcsafety
screwandthesafctycanbcrcmoved.Rem0'-1'
thetriggerandsearbydrivingw1thcsearpin
Twnou11hebolt-stopspringscn:wandliftthc
springandthebol1-s10pfrom1hereceiver.
Reasscmblcinreverseonlcr
Thebarrelisthreadedtigh!lyimothere-
cei,·er(right-hand threads)and r,oanempl
shouldbcmadcton:rn0'1:i1unlcssyouha,1'
thepropertools
La1<:modelHVAactioosha,-cthcfoll<M-ing
stampedonthclcf\n:cefrcrwall, II VAAC-
TION-MA DE IN sw•: DE N. The serial
number. proofrnark(s) and the won:I NIT RO
arestampedonthcflatundcrthcn:ceiverring.
Accordingtoinformation!receivedfrom
Tradewinds.lnc .• whoimponedHusqvama
riflcs.theHusqvamafirminS"-edencca,ed
the ma,mfact= of all firearms in 1972. This
mcanslha1theHusqvamarif\e.as"1:llasthe
Smi1h & Wesson rifle. which are described in
lhischapterandthcchapteronthcHUSq',.una
Model800'.l.werediscontinuedataboutthat
lime andha,-e not been reit,troduced Smi1h &
Wessonhasintroducedano1hcrhigh-power
bolt-actionriflctoreplacetheir tt usqvama-
maderif\eandlhisnewmodelisdescribcdin
thcchapterontheSavageModelllOfamily

251
No SOONER HAD 1 "Tinen the original
chaplcr on Husqvama actions wllcn an
cn1irclyncwonewuintroduccd.carlyin
1969.ThcModc1800()HVArifleactionis
quitc•dcpanurcfromoncdcscribedinthc:
pr,.,:e.:hnachapter.
Bc,f'"dc,,;ribin&lhcnewaction. l"lla,,,,:r
lhcllU1q>Vn&nflesbuiltonit.Thcbestonc.
the M8000 Imperial, i$ quite an ~ , , . ,
rilleineverydnail.Offeredm270.J0-06.
7mm Magnum and JOO Magnum ,;;i,li~
th,s,.·ell-madeMauser1ypcrumbol1nlle
wc,lhJllbout 7.Spounds. Thefour-gnx,•l'
loglmo,"Claht 23.62~ban-e1 has ooopco ilighu
onit.oorisitiappcdforany.Thcrilleis
in1cndedtohc:l1Sedwithascopc.andthc
rcttivcrissu,iablyiapped.uitisalsofor
moon1ingart«ivcrsight
The wcll-proporlioned SIOCk. of select
European walnul. isshapcdtosatisfytllc
l\"ml&CAmencanshooler.hc:ingquitcfull
inlheformd.gripandrombarcas.Thcfine-
gnuned.well-wlorcdstocki$sandedlc,·cl
andsmooth.thengi,·enahlgh-glossplaMic
or vanush iypc finish. T""O panels nth of
skip-hnechec:kcnngdecon.1ethc1idesof
thcf~andp,~tolgrip.Thestockhas
IIOO-detachablc sl1ngs,,.·ivds and a rose-
"·ood forcnd up. Thc:pistolgripcapand
bu1tpla1earcpla5tic."ilh"1lite-lincspaccn..
uhasthcforcnd 1ip. Mctalpansarchc:auu,
fullypohshcdandblued.uccptforlhc
highlypolishedandjcwcledbolt. Thcan·
odiicdalloyflOOfJ)latcislightlycngn,ved.
The M9000 Cro,.•n grade H..sqvama rifle 11
incvcrywaysimilartothclmpcr:ialgradc.
but the stock isaplaincrpieccofwalnut
w11h1$Cm1,glo»finish.andithasopcn
sights.
BIIIVlllllllNNlkllll
Tomakc11easicrformetodcsaibcand
easierforyoutofollow.andtoavoidsomc
rq,cc,11011,l"~Uoompan,thisnewHusq>-anw.
252
ICIIOllWllhthcolderHVAattiondttcribed
cl,ewh,erc.
Tobcjimwilh.tllcuiggcrguant/rnap:einc
11SK111blyonrothactionsisncarlyidcntical,
wilhbothoflightwcightalloyone-piecc.ron-
struct,on.Thcfollowcrspring,followcr.and
floorpla1elalchan:alsolhesame.
Out"-.nlly.thc M8000=ci•·crisquuc
11m1lartothatofthcearly HVA.but 1t IS
shghtlylon&trandhasawidcand"·cll-
rouoocdtangsurf°"likcthatonlhcncw
M70Winchesler.Undcrneath.hov.'Cvcr.~
osqui1e,diffcreno:;e.Ell,;eptforlhcrecoilh,g.
thcbonomoflhcM8000reoo,-a-,sround.ll
maybcthatlhisia:ci,'CTismachinedfrombar
stockorfromadicforging,ori1maybcan
mvcstmcn1cas1mg.lnanycasc.1hiswould
no1rcflectontllcqualityors~ngthoftllc
recc1vcr.l1oolyind1cateslheHusq,:amalw
adopted a bcuc-r method 10 lllllkca bc11c-r
=civcr.Thctcveralpeoplel',·cshownthil
reccl\'CTloallagrccthalthciuoillugismadc
1n1egralwiththcrc$1ofthcrctti,-crand,if
th11islhecasc.thc:recci,·crprobablyis•
modcminYCStmeN,;asting.
Thcb.rd.ofooune.isthrcaded11110lhc
ia:ci•-crandilha,sailMbrcuhfacc.
Thcmagazine,.dlopcningos3.525•Jona,
though !he mapm,cbm. hasanopcninJonly
3.390"mlcngth.lnmakingthcmagaz,nc
wcll,,;;i,nridgcguidclipsarclcftonca<;hside.
Then, are oo machine ll1llOO on the sides of
thcwcllandguidcribs.andlhesurfaccsarc
unusuallysmoothandbwr/m:.Thi1i1onc
rcasonwhycanridgcfcedingi!lsoca5yand
rc,hablc.
Evcrytlt.ingclseisaradicaldq)artw't,from
thceari1crHVAaction. TbcM8000action
has1numbcrofnc..•dcsign featutcs,.fach
nflcshooten$Cemtodemand.Thc,cin::IWC
1se1ofnon-slooedforwardlock,ngtup.a
safctyh.w,~boltfaa:.a.d:<QIM.lPffl-
,,.,._cncloKdboltslce,.~.sidesafcty.cockma
1ndicator,adJIISUblclriggcr,anti-bindbolt,
and1lowboh-handlcprofilcforlowtoope
mounting.
Thcfu!ly~bolthcadiscutawaya1
lherimonlyforthec,cTractor.thclau.:rheldin
pl-andlcnsioncdbyasmall~ngand
plWljCl"tctintoaholcbchindit.ltisacloae
copyofthccxtrxtorinthcSakol-611Ctlon.
Thctjectori$•spring-loadcdplunacrfiMd
llltolholeoolhcedg,eoflhcbolt-faccrucsa.
Thcwil-<ipp05(dlottincluparcoothc
au=,efionloflhcbohandbod,arclOIKI.
Ascanbc5C'Cl1inthcaccompanymapholo,
lheluparcfantailaiinshapcor.,fyoupre-
fcr.maledo..-ctailshapc.Tocomplcmcntthis
shapclhelockinglugguidewaysinlhc=riv•
craremillcdto1fcmalcdo,·ctailform.Tht>s.
astheboltisopcncdandcloscd.withthclcft
loclunglugslidingsnuglyinit:sguidcway.lhe
fronloflheboltisguidedwithoutbinding.
Thcn,is,inaddition,aslightridgeonlhelow·
eroomcroflhcnghtlockinglugwhichslidcs
magroovccutalongthcrightrecci•-crw11ll,
1bo,l'thccartridgc-gu1dclip.thuifunher
guidinalhcli"ontofthcbolt.
The 1$1h isthatthcbolttannOltbmd oo
lflllkThow,1,sopcralcdorby"'~ilhal
IOS(> 1111 llnlghl hnc. finally. thc Husq.wm
gunmakcrsfinishcdthcoona,,:tingsurfacaof
thebol1andthcia:ci,-crso"l'Ulhatrt11onc
oflhceasicstandsmoodlcstactionstoopcr-
llCmadc.Sincclhcdo\-ctailshapcoflhcloc:k-
malugsprovidcsmoreconlaCtareawithlhe
....,_
recc,,,.,,.lockingshouldcnthanu1ual.thi1
rnaybcofsomcadditionalbcncfitinpn:vcnt•
ingse1-backoflheboltinthereoo,'CTckicto
Thmis1singlcgas-vcntholcjuSlbchind
andbctwemlhclodinalug:swhich.whenthc
~)Model80001mperil[GradeHuaq-
vama lf)Ol'ting rllle, once imported by
Tradewlrdl. Inc. It was madll in 270, 30-0II.
7nvn Magnum and 300 Magnum.

~BOOOHusqvamaaction.
bolt is locked. would direc1 any escaping
powdergas,,sinmthelocl:inglugrc«ssin
thcnx:ci,·crandin10theleftlockinglugrace-
way.Thcreisnoventholeinthelcftsideof
thcnxei,'t'T,bu1noneisncededbecauscethc
bohslecvedfectivelysealsofTthcrcarcndof
thclockinglugracewaysoth.'ltgascscannol
rnchthcshoo1er'sfacc.
ThcMilOO)lacksthcs,:paratcsafeiylock-
inglugfoundonthcpn:W>U$HVAandM98
Maw:erbolts.lns1eadonthcM800lthebolt
handleisthesafetylug.andthetangofthe
Kttivcris nocchedforil.Thebohhandle.
madeasasepara1epar1,isexpertlywcldcd
intoasl<>1inthebolt.This,andothershort-
cutst.akcninmaking1hisaction.innoway
afToothestrcngth,perf.-=,•,P=""
orrcliabilityoflhisac1ion--oothingissacri-
f<°'
Thcboltis drillcdfrornthcrear10acccp1
thcfiringpinandcoilmainspring.Theone-
piccefiringpin,thrcadedin1olhecocking
piece. isprc,·cnlC<I fromtumingbyapin
throughthcundersideofthe,;,xkingpicce.A
camonthe1opof 1hecockingpicceridesa
cam surface on the rearofthebolland. on
raisingthcbolthandle.thefiringpinisdrawn
11· :111
backandcockcd.Onthefull riseoftheboh
handlethccamoothc,;,xkingpiccercs!Sina
shallownotch.whichp,l'vcntsthcboltslecve
and firing mechanism from being easily
tumedwhenthcbollisopen.
The bolt sleeve completely covers the
cocking piett. Made with a long stem which
fitsinsidetheboltbody.itisheldtothelaner
byaninsidegroovewhichcngageso,·cra
lugonthecndofthebollbody.Thisclevcr
ammgcmcnt allows the firing mechanism 10
beeasilyremcwcdandreplaccd. Thefrontof
thcboltslecvcisflaredoutwardtosealofT
lhe locking lug raceways. Behind these
flaresittapersback10aroundedmd.mak-
ingforclcansirnplelines. lntheroundcdcnd
thercisasmallholc.andwhcnlheactionis
cockcd,abrightspotootheendofthefiring
pincanbesecnandfelt.10scrvc asacock-
ingindicator
Th-ctrigger,searandsafetymechanism
arcbuih inroastcelsheet-metal housing
atta<:hcd1otheundersideofthereceiverby
asinglepin . Thesear.pivo1ingonapin
(Right) Floorplate engra~ng oo a Model
BOOOHusq;amalifle
Leltsideollhe~BOOO
Husqvamaaction,opeo.
253
Top view ol 1he rear par1 of the Model 8000 receiver wi1h boll
removed.Arrowpointstothetrigge<w&ight--ol-pulladjustmootscrew.
Tumingthisscreweoonterclod<wiseredueespuU.
throughthehousing.istcnsionedbyacoil
spring.Whennotcocked.thesearactsas
1hehoh-stop.Agroo,·eiscu1 intotheho1
tomoftheboltinwhichlhc scarrides.and
1heboh iss1oppedwhcn1he front of the
scarcontacts1hecndof1hegroove.Pulling
1hetriggerbackhardtipsthcseardownou1
ofthepathoftheboltsolhalthcbol!canbc
removed. The sear must also be tipped
down to replace the hoh. The sear is quite
wideandrugged,andlbclieveitwillstand
up under the punishment of opening the
actionsmar1ly,somcthingwhichcan001bc
ReareodoltheModel8000Husqvamabolt
showing:(A)bolt•sfeeve,etainerlugand(B)
cock;ng-camsurtace.
254
Underside view of the rear end of the Model 8000 bolt showing: (A)
tlaredboltsleeve,(B)cockingpiece.(C)tinng-pinretainerpin.(O)
bolthandle.(E)grooveforbolt-stop
saidofallactionshavingasimilarbolt-stop anywhere.Boftoperationisvcrysmoolhand
system casy.Theholihandleiswellpositionedfor
Thetriggcrispi,vtedooapininthebot- fas1opcra1ionoftheboltfromanyposition
tomof1hehousing.Anamtextendsstraight Theactioniscleanandsmoolhinootline.The
upfromthctriggc,justforwardofthefronl samcsoopemountswhi.:hfi1theearlierHVA
of the sear. where a shallow sear notch actionalsofotthisone
engages the 1riggcr when lhe action is
closed. Ano1hermnon the1riggcrexte-nds
backward;bctw«n1hecndofthisamtand Torcmo,·eth,hol1.raiscthebolthandle
thchousingthcreisacoilspringl»ckedbya andpullbackhardonthetrigger;nowpullthe
screw. Thisisthe1riggcradjustmentscrew, bo!tout.Torcplacethebolt,theboltheadand
anditsheadiscxposcdthrooghaholeinthe lockinglugsmustbecarefullyalignedwith
recei,·ertang. With the bolt removed this the bolt and locking lugguideways in the
screw can be turned clockwise with a small
screwdriver to increase the weigh1 of the
triggerpull.and,·iceversa.Thetotalrange
ofadjustmcm isfromabout3to6pounds
Thetriggcritself.wcllcurvedandgrooved,
isproperlypositionedintheguardforsood
control.Triggertravelisalongerthannec-
essary.andito,'=r-1ntvclsabitwhen1hescar
isreleased.bu1nei1h<:risobjectiooableona
hunting rifle
Thesafctypi,·otsonthesamepinaslhe
1riggcr. The deeply serrated lhumb-piccc.
extcndingjustovcrthestocklineon1heright
sideoftheroundedtang,iseasyandconvc-
nienttoopcra1e.ltisvir1uallynoiseless.
Pullingthesafc,ybacklocksthesearandholt.
Pushedforward,ayellowdolinthestockis
cxposcd.indicatingthcrifleisreadytobe
fired.
AIIM8000actionpansaremadeofs1eel
excep1thetriggerguard/magazincandfloor- ~-------
platc.Allexposedstcelpartsoftherecei,·cr
Model8000boltheadshowing:(A)guiderib
andbohareexpenlyfinishedandpolished.
onthebottomoomeroltherighth8ndlock-
Thesurfacesaretn.ie.lcveland,-crysmooth. ing lug. (B) extractor. (C) bo41·f~cti recess,
There arc no waves. dished-om holes or (0) left loclclng lug. (E) ejector. Note tante~
n>nndededges.fcwtoolmarkscanbefound shapeolbothlockinglugs
~eiver;againpullthetriggertolowerthc
sear.andpushthebolthornc:
To disassemble the boll, grasp the boll
bodyinonehandand1umtheboltsltt,·e
clockwiseone•halftum;thebol1sleeveand
firingpineannowbercmovedfromthcbolt.
Toreplacethcfiringrnechani&minthcboh,
alignthcopenbonornoftheboltslee,·e"ith
thclugonthen:arofthebolt,thrnpushthe
boltforwarduntilitcanbetumedone-half
tumclockwise.Thcfiringpin,threadedinto
thecockingpie<:e,ishddfromtum ingbya
rollpin.Althooghthereisnore.alnecdfor
e\'er removing the firing pin (except for
replacernentofpansorbluingthebol1
slee-·e),thcfiringpincanbetumedootafter
drivingtherollpininandthrooghthecocking
piccc,thenllllSCl'eWingthefiringpin
ThcextraClorcanbercmo,·edbydepress-
ingtheextractorplungerwithintheboh"itha
je"·elcr's screwdri,·er and lifting it out.
Rcplacetheex1rae10rbyinscr1ingthespring
andplungerinplace,theninserttheexlraCIOr
andbackilintoplace.Theejector,heldin
placebyahollowpin,canbedrivenoutafter
theexlraCIOrlwbecnrcmoved
To remove thebam:ledaclion from the
stocl<,tumootthefrontandrcarguanlscrews,
---
Weight
Length ..........
[:fd:?t : : : :. :i
40ozs.
9.00-
8olt tac.1'11011U:
~Slandardcalt>ers).
Magazlnelength .....
Guard-Krewlf)Klng
~=
3.390"
7.75"
thenliftootthebandandaction.Thenpull
thetriggerguard/maga.>!ine from the bottom
ofthestock.
Rcmo\'Cthelriggerrnechani&mbydriving
out1hepinintheverytopofthehousing
whichhokls1hehousing10therecei,·er.and
-
pullthemcchani&mfm:.Oo~disasscmble
thisrnechani&munlessabsolutclynecessary,
andthendoi1wi1hu1mostcare.
ThcHusq,·arnarifleismar1<edthrougha
rollstampingoothempmiddlcofthebarrel·
HUSOVAANA
VAPENFABRIKS AB.
Thisisfollo"-edbythecaliberdesigrnnioo
Thcsc-rialnumberisstampc,Jralhcrcardcss-
lyontheleftsideofthebarrelbreech.Thclast
fourdigitsoftheserialnwnberarealsoctchcd
on1hebot1omofthebol1.Aproofman:and
the"ffllN ITRO undcritareswnpc,Jonthe
breech-theprooflllaltisstampc,Jundcrthe
~eiveralso.Thcllu.sqvarnatradcmar1<and
the word SWEDEN are stamped on 1he lop
ofthen:«iverring.Thctrademar1cisalso
Ignition
=
,_.~
Magazine ..
Boh-s top
moldedintotheplasticbunplate. The model
dcsigna1ioois~stampc,Jon1heriflc.
T111 1970 lllffllawa..111111
lnthepreviouschaptcrdcscribingtheear-
ly Husqnma action. I poimcd out that the
Smith&Wcssonbol1actionriflcsinlroduced
in 1%8werebuillonthisaction.Afterthe
introduction of the improved HVA aclion
dcscribcdinthischaptcr,thel9701ineof
S&Wrifleswerebasedonthisnewac1ion.
8tctp1forthechangcintheac1ions.the1970
S&Wriflesrcmaincdaboutthesarne.Adop!-
ingthc new HVAaction improved the S&W
rifles.Asmentionedcar!ierinthischaptcr,
the HVA M8000 and M9000 rifles "-'Cre
inlroducedinabout1969,andasmcntioned
in the previous chapter. Husqvamaccased
manufacture of firearms in 1972. making
thesetwomodelsshon-li\'edones.lhaveno
knowledge that Smith & Wesson e,·er
importedthismodel.Jalsoha,·enoinforma-
tion as to how many ofthe,e HVA rifles
,.....,remadc.butsurcly1henumbermustbe
quitesmall
255
~ LATE 1969. lmeranns. Ltd.. announcfll
anewcommen:ialM98·typerumOOltaction.
whichlhi:ydesignared!heMukX.lobtained
one. and printed on the bo~ is M A RK X
CUSTOM MAUSER COMMERC I AL
ACTION.his made in YugoslaviabyZaver
diCrvenaZa.sra,·a.
ThcMarl<Xaction.basedon1hcoriginal
M98design.hasmostof!he features that
made the M98 famous. plus some modem cle-
ments, whith aci.:oonts for lnterarms descrit,.
ingi1asa ..eus1om·•acoon. Thcli1cratun:and
advcnisemcntsdescribi113thcMukXconrain
the following statements: .. A custom. com-
mm:iaJ Mauscr ac1ion. fOJged and machined
by1ruecrafl:smenfrom!hefmes1highcarbon
steel. .. 1bc Marl< X says "honest craftsman.
ship" ... lhatold-fashioncd.almostforgottcn
cooceptofrealvalueformoneyspem.··e1e.
Lct"sscewhat!heMart.:Xactionlooblike.
Basedon!hesaandazdlcngth(8.7S')large.ring
(approx. l.40"JM98Mauscrrtteiver.itis
threadedtoaccep1!hestandardM98-typclm-
rels. Thcbridgcismadewithoutaclip-charger
guideslOl.lheleflrecei,·erwallun-notched
Recei,·erringandbiidll"aretappedfor iop
1Copemounthascs.and!herii;htsidcof!he
bridgeistappcdforastandardrttei,-ersi,ght.
SixholesinaJl.6x48sizc.aJlholesfinedwith
plugscrt"ws. ThcOOltisiden1ical1o!hestan-
dardM9800h.cxceptforalowbolthandle
profiletoclear!helowesi-mountcdscopc.Thc
roondgraspingball is fla1undemcalhand
chcckm:d.Thcstreamlinedboltslce,1:.fuing
pin.mainspring.cockingpie«:andOOltslcevc
lock are like the modem FN M98 action
design.including!hesafctylugfeatureon!he
firingpinshoulder.Strikertravelis.500"
Cockingoccursoo!heuprumof!hebolthan-
dle.Thcbolt-stopandeje,:(ormM98copies.
Thclriggerguardlmagazineisaonc-piecc
stccluni~ !hestcel floorplateishingcdandits
la1chpositionedinlhefrontof!heguardbow
Thcfollowerismille,Jste,el
256
Two typcsoflriggers were available in
1969;astaodal'dsinglc-stagc.oon-adjustablc
lriggerno1unlikelheM98miliwylrigger,or
afullyadjustablesin,glc-stagelriggermecha-
nismatextracost.Aslidingsidetangsafctyis
standardwilhei!herlrigger.asafetywhich
lockslheboltandsearontheoon-adjustable
lriggerandlocklllheboltandlriggeron!he
adjus1ablctrigger.Thecomp!e1eaction
weighsal:>out46ox.J1ii;ofall-stcclconstn1C-
1ioo-ooalloyorplasticpartsan,used.
Marl:X11Ctionsan:madetohandlclhrcc
familylenglhsofcartridges;namely,for!he
long belted magnums lhemagazin<=box is
slii;htlyover3.600"1ong;for!he.l0-06class
1he box is about 3.385# long. and, for such
canridgesas!he22-250.243.e1al,!he3.385#
magazineismadeshortcrthroughlheuscofa
shect-tnC'lalspacer.
Like!heFNrecei,1:r.the Marl:Xaction
hasthecollarorshoulderinside!heri113s~-
ledootheleftsideaswcllasonthcrii;t,1side
forthc~traclor.lbclicve!he:seactionswould
bcstronSl""andsaferifthiscollar"-ereunslot•
ledoo!heleftside.
Myfirs1 Marl: Xactionwaspoorlypol-
ishcd. The 0oo,plate is 1101 level and
smooth-ithasse,-eral flat spots which can
bcfehandSttn.asifextrapolishingwasdone
toremovcdcq,toolmarlcsfrom!he:seplac:a
Thefloorplatcandtheguardwerepolished
separately insteadof10gether, le.avingthe
cdgesoflhehingejointrounded.Thebolt-
Slopand!heboh-s1opspri113werealsopol-
ishedseparatelyonasoftpolishingwheel.
and!he-irroundcdedgcscenainlylookoutof
plaoeooa ..CUSIOm"action.Asoftwhcelmust
alsohavcbcenuscdonthertteh-er.forthe
sii;ht-moumingscrewholcsan:dishedand
edgcsof!heleft..,.,,,ivcrwallan:roundcd.h
isnotthattheloolmarkshavenolallbcen
remo,1'dfrom!heme1ali;urfaccswhichshow
when!heactionisscockcd.orthat!he:sesur-
faces do 00! have a high polish. but !hat the
polishingW3$inexpertlydone.Allmajorpans
exccpttllcfol!ower,extraclorandtllcfront
panoflheboltan:blui.:d
Aside from that. the Marl< X action which l
~,"Cdin1969onlhew001cappcarsl0bc
"-ell made. Thcmainfunctionalandworking
pansaR:mcchanicallyinterdiangeablewith
partsfromotherM98actions.E,-enwith!hese
minorfaultslconsidereditagoodvaluefor
"'""""'·
ThcMarkXactionisserial-numbered.and
thcS1ampisoothcrightOOCofthc~vcrring.
Th: MarkX designationisstampcdonthck-1\
sideofthcring. Thorearealsorunbersstarrp,:l
on!hebouanofthcbohhandleSlattandooan
insideswfaceoflhelriggergt.ard,butonmy
1969MartXMauseractionthesenlmlbersdo
notmau:hthcserialnumberonthc=ivcr.
S1ampcdon1heleftreceiverwallintwo
lines is the following:
ALEXANDRIA INTERARMS
VIRGINWZASTAVA ·
YUGOSLAVIA
TheZCZtraderrwk(thelcttenwithina
cirt:lc)isalsostampcdonthclcfl=iverwall
SoonafterlheMarl<Xactions"-ereintro-
<b:cd.~lcdactionsalsobtcameavailable
Theactionsweresui1abletobcbam=led10
many modem calibers: one action forcar-
tridgcsof 30-06hcadsizeandtheolherfor"'
bcltedmagnwncanridges. Bam:ledactions
alsocamcinmanycalibers,andatthiswrit•
i113. l993.thcyaR:sti11available.Alsonot
_ _ _ _ _ _ __
(Above) The Malle X MauserWMworth R'"8
Thismodelcomesinavarietyolpopularcal•
lber$lromthe22·250to 1he30-06and7mm
Rem. Mag., 300 Winc1>8sl11rMag., 336 Mag.
and 458 Magnum. This model, as well as the
OlherMallc X Mausermodltla.OSbuiltonthe
Mauser Model 98 commercial ltdion. on& of
th1tbl!sttumbo!laclions11vardesignltdfor
militaryandsportiogriflfls
longaftcrlheMan:Xwasimroduced,cQffl-
pldt'.nflesbecame1va,lablc.
lnl98J lnrerarms~lhefolk!wing
11ylesandrypcsofMMl<Xnfles: M1rkX
S11ndard Ri~ k c r o d walnUI s&o,;11:
..'llhMomcC...~furmdupand
gnpcap...tiite-linespacenandshngswivd
studs.F~hing,:dfloorplaie,24'bam:l
withadjustablerearandrampfrontsight.in
calibcrs22-2S0,243,25.-06,7~57.270,7mm
Magnwn, 308, 30-06 and 300 Magnwn.
Weight is 7.5 paunch. Mark X Alaskan
Mapum----Aboialhc-•Slan<bniRillc
~11137SH&HMa&,unand458Mag-
runo;ahbcnonlyQ,.-ciglm,f:8.2Spuundl.
Mark X Centinent1I Mtnnlk:hff- Eun>
pcanwalnutst<xkw,thf\.ill•kngthforend.
wai&moombwithcheckpica.andchec-kcr-
mg.Featurcs20"bandw1thMljwtablcrear
andrampfromsights in calibcrs243.270.7x
57mm.30Sand30-06.Mton-n:leaschinged
floorpla1e,..Jj"5llble,ingle---stageordouble.
.tettngtnandbunnknifcbokhandle. Mark
X Cnallff-Aboullhc$3111<aslhcSw..-nl
Rillclbove~hasSICd:"1thm:cilpld.
roll..,-.'el"chenplcoea.mb._...wdfurmd
up and gnp. cap and na1-bottorned formd.
Mark X Marqub; Mannlk~r- Aboot lhc
samcaslheCorninentalMannlichereacept
,omcwhatdiffen:ntst<xkandincalibm24l,
270,308and30-06. Weigh1 7.Spounds.
MarkXVJKUun1-0assic-s!yk:chcc:kcn:d
,.-aJ11U1M()f;ltw1thcheel<pm.slingl"1nl$,
24•i.,,,1 ..,thadJUSlable1Urandrampfi'onl
sighls111,;alibcrs22-2S0,243,2S--06.270,7•
57mm. 7mm Magnum. 308. 30--06 and 300
Magnum W,:,ghl7.5pcund:s
.._..Mllt.lWllftwWIIIMIIIIIMII
lnl994.twen!yor90)U!Saftcrlpun:lwed
lheMark-Xacriondescribedearlicrinthls
diapter l purdiasedan lnterarm!tMarkXnfle.
ltiscalak.>gedaslheWhitwonhmodel.1"-a<!
qui1esurpnsed11whatlgo1bccauseit"ll!I
moreriflelhmlexpcacd10p l chedal11
o,.wcan:fultyandhcreiJ"ilUll"ound:Thc
$1Ddr.caugll:meoffpaani.1101beca&!ieofthe
qualityoflhe,.-at,ubut,uo,."tflllshapeand
appoinunents.ltis1plampieaofEurupean
"'J.lnutmaplamo,1-typeoffimsh.Nothing
fancyaboori1,althooghi1cou ldha,·ebcen
lrimmedbeneraroundtherriggerguardand
floorplatc.ltisOUler',O'i,eperfcctly$haptdand
finishcdwilhalllhell'IChccken:ds..-faccslev-
dandsmooch.Ablacklipproperlyfilledand
shaped~offlhefotmd.andathoc:k
smoodHidodnabba-padfmi,tcdofflhcbuL
Ablackwdkhapc,do,,-.lapfinishedoffthe
p,SIOlgrip.Nowhn~hnespacenspoillhe
looks.Atrendwhichlr.otoc:ed.thatistomy
!ikingbeginninsinttie·SOs,was!hat many
armsmarmfactw-er,haddiscontinucdlheU!lt
ofwhite•linespact't"SonmanyofthcSIOCb
Leff.- ol lnle<arm& Mar\ )(
lldionwilhbottapen.
257
 : I I

lheymade. andmoreandmoreofthcmuseJ pressure. I ha,-.:no1hing10complainabou1 Foraspo,tingriflcwi!h24#bam:lihcfore-

rubber pads ins!Cad of Sled or plasiic
bultplatcs.
TIie ""xl feature l noted was the large
amounl of cu! checkering on my Mark X
s1ock.Thefor,,annhadwrap-aroundchocker-
ing.sidcsandOOllom.andlargerlhana>·erage
panelsoothepistolgrip.Tohavclhisamount
ofchockeringdon<:oosc,=ilofthcriflesl
had made cost me S50 or more. and 1hc
chockeringonthe MarkXstockwastl()latalt
roncerningtheinlcning
Now I come 10 a feature on the Mark X
stockthatreallysurpriscdanddclightcdme.
andlhatwaslhccheekpioce. lfmyriflehad
costatbousanddollanormore.i!couldnol
havehadacheekpie<::emorepleasing1ome
Eventhoughihccheekpiececouldhavebeen
madeabit smallerorplacedabitfurtherfor-
ward. ne,·enheley; it pleased me no end.
What'smore.itwas~offwi!hashad-
anncouldha,-.:bcmmadcacoupleinche1
shoner. hcamefiucdnotonlywithquid-
de!achableslingswi,·elSludsbutalsowi!hthe
swi,·cls il\Cludro. N~l to be examined was
tbeactiooandthcbam:l.Thesponc,--,,:cighl
bam:lisnicelycon!oumlandfinishcd.and
attachcdtoitwithscrewsareanadjus!abte
rearopensight inarampbaseandal!(lktbead
frontsigh1onaramp."Thebam:l.rccei,-.:r.
lliggt.'1"guardandfloorplatearewcllpolishcd

--
carele$'llydon<: ow lincsop,:rfec1lydonc that an amateur andblucd.lnthcpolishing.thescrcwholei;
Onremovingthebam:!andaclionfrommy stockmakercouldleamfromil wereno1dishedoo1asootheMarkXac1ionl
MarkXS1ock.lfoundtha1then:oo;lshoulder

=~----~~==.::::i;:~=t:1'~
wasbcddcdinabcddingcompoundandthat

---
the forearm channel was romcd out deep
cnooghtofloatthcbam:lfreeofcon1aetwilh

---
thewoodexcep1foracouplcofinchcsa1the ~~~~~rewillug.driledandtaj)pedlof
tip.whichdidcontactthebam:lwithsome

·-·
lgnhkln ... .~firlngpin.coilmainspmganctcockingpiece.Cod<sman')'on
"~
. 8.750 ~ n e ..
1.410

"' '"""
,._«·
.4.500
2'5
,Z-. 2
0

""'~"' kd:inglug.
Ejector . . .Spring-toosionedlevermountedinbol!·S!O!)boxandslidesthroughslolin

~~,bll"'°'lhr,:iadedlighttyinton!C8iver.

258
 --. ,,
31F~
__
,, _,,..
''' 34 Floo!platePin
35 Floo!platelalCh
)BFloo,platel..atchPin
37 L.alChSpnno

! " '""
39 FrontS"'1ve!Screw

··-
4(1 F,ontSwlwllScrewNut
41 RMrSwiYelScrew

:1 =Pin
12 SakllyScrew
420etac:flable SlngS.........
43 F,ontSightAssentiJ,
44 FrontSightHood
13 SakllyOellJnl '5 RewSightAs:sentty
14 SlllelyL'.le!SllSp,ng

hadpurchucdmochcarlkr.norw=1h<:
cdjdofoih<Tpamroundcdoff.Allthcse
pa:tsYl-=blucd.Thc:onlynocioeahlcchangc
mthcac1,oosofmynflcandlhatoftheClll1y
Mart X wu the flooq,latc latch. ln my new
riflcthislatchisacross-boltaffair.anda~-
ryaoo,:lone11thai.
Allthcracofthel!ICliononmyncwriflcis
1 d11phca1eofthecarlierone;thcsamebol1-
saop.lbcAmCldjustabk-lriggc>'andthesame
..afcty. For conc,sc. complete and dm,led
,n~oothistriggerandhowlOJdjust
11readthecap11onforlheillusuatomofd11s
a,ger, This ,nfunnauon ,s ,-ay imponanl-
one ffllfOII bcmg Iha! ifw,y lldjuSlmCnlS .c
made1<11he1nggcr,anadjusoncmhasiobc
madcalsoonthesafcty
11,,,asthefiMncwriflcllla,·egonenma
loog11tncwiththcborcfilledwithgn:a$C.My
Mark X Mini-Mauser also came tha1 way.
My lntcnums Mark X in 22-250 cahbcr
weighs7.5pouods.Thcl994GW10igut lisis
only three models of the Marl< X Mauser: the
Whtt,,,'Cllthmodclassho:Mnhm:.theVisrount
modtlandthcWlurwonh&pRSSmodel.Thc:
Whll.,.'Oflhmodclcamein22-2S0.24J.25•
06. 270. 7x57. 308. 30-06. 7mm Rem. Mag..
l00Win.Mag,.all11,ithfo-e-$hotmagazme;
andMagnums,.1ththr't>C-sholmagarine. Thc
ViKQWllcamcm22-250,243.2S--06.270,
7x57. 308, 30-06. 7mm Rem Mag. and 300
Win. Mllj. ThitriflcdiffcnfromlheWh11-
"'onh1nlha1i1hasaMontcCarlocomb.1
somc"·hatdiffell:nllyshapcdpistolgrip.no
addc<lforcnd1ip.bu1with,.·hitcspaccna1ear,
andbutt.ThcWhit""OflhEl<prcssism.>dc1n
calibcrs37S H&Hand458Win.MIJl.. bu!
othcNise likcthell:gl!WWhitwonh.
ThcWluiv,"Oflhswekisaboolas''Clauoc:"
asanymadcandifi1,.-.:n:m1nuslhebbck
forendnp.andiftheshadowhneonlhe
~hadbemomincd11,."0U!dm11l
theROC:konthepos1-1994MOOd70Win-
eheslcr.OthcrlhanlhescrwofcatwUbolh
SIOClaan:almostt\Oins.MyMartXhasllOI

259
 : I 1

TheMarlcXadjustabletriggerandaafetymechanism,showing:(A)
slidingtllumbsa1ety:{B)rotarysa!etylockwhichbloci<slriggerwhen
Iha sa!ety is pulled back: (C) weight of pull adjus1men1 screw: (0)
aafetyadjustmentscrew:(E)lrigge1s1op01ove1•traveladjustmern
se<ew:(F)saareogagemen1adjustmen1screw.Thebo111ockisan
in1egrafpa11of1heheavyshee1-steelaafety.Notethatallth,ee1tig
ge1adjustmentscrewshavelocknutstopreven11hei1acciden1al
turning. To make adju811nents 1he lock outs must 1irsr be loosened,
thenllgh1&nedagalnaherward.Thes1ockmus1beremovedbe101e
any adjustments can be made. To decrease weight of !rigger pull,
1Um out (counteldockwise) scrt1wC. Abou11WO poullOS Is Ille lightest
pulllha1canbeobtainedwi1hsalery. Toadjus1forminimumover-
11avel:wilhbol1closedandstrika1in!iredposition,1umin(clockwise)
screw Ealltheway,and1hen back~out•lr 1um. To obtain minimum
saletrigge1take·UP01searangagement:wilhbo11closedandaciion
cocked,1Umln(clockwise)scrt1wFuntil1hesearisreleased,lhen
1Um it back one-QU11'1er tum. Altar any adjustments are made tas1
theactionbyslamming1hflbol1closedseveraftimes:i!1hes1riker
doesno!slaycocl<edwhilelhisisdonethenlhesearengagemenlis
rooshllllow,theweighlolpullistooHght,orboth. Thisl,iggeris
unusualintha1 ~ha$ an adjustment scraw101akeup wear in the
safetybol1.Thi$se<aw(D)islhraadedintolherolilrysafetybol1(B)
andpraventedfromaasilytumingbyasmallccilspringunderi\s
head. As wear develops (this would be lndica1ed ~ there is trigger
movemen1whenthesa1etyisangaged)!hi$SCr&wcanbetumadin
(clockwise)un1illriggermovemenlisgone

becntes!Cdforaccuracy.botlfttlconfo;lcm thenanormalscrew.Whoe'"erasscmbledlhis ALEXANDRIA VIRGINIA

lhatitmostlikclywillbeasaccuratcasany
22-250sponermade
Therearetwolhing~on myactioo which
~ho\rldnotha,·cbecnthere.bolhareminor
botinitating.Oncisthatlhcfrootcdgcoflhc
floorp!atcissharp,andashoolercouldeasily
skinafingcrooit.ltlhouldha\"ebeenlOW1d-
edoffabi1beforeleaving1hefactoiy.The
Olhcr i~ the head of the rear guard screw. It
wassobattcrcdlha1oolythelhinnestbladcd
screwdri\'erwouldfit.Afterfilingthehattered
ponioodown.polishingandbluingit.itwas
rifleatthefactorysurelyshouldhaveooiiced
1his. discarded the screw and rcplaoo:f it with
agoodone.Linlcthings,tobosure,andcor-
rectingthcmwouldnothavccwlhcmanu-
factureronecemmore.
Thecompletcdisassemblyand!l'asscm-
blyinstructionsgiveninthechap1eron1hc
~:!!,~ Mau;;cralso apply 10 the Marl< X
My lntcranns Marl< X Whitworth Mau,ier
rifleismarl.:cdasfollows
Leftsideofrcceiver:
INTERARMS
MANCHESTER ENGLAND
Leftsideofthetang:
MADE IN YUGOSLAVIA
Leftsideofrcceiverring:
MARKX
Th<:serialnumberisS1arnpedoorigluside
ofthercceiverring. There isalsoanumbor
starnpedon1heriglr1sideof1hcrccei,·er
bridgc.Th<:reareproofmarksS1arnpedoo1hc
barrelandootherccei,·er.Th<:caliberis
Slarnpedoothekftsideofthcbn=h

260
I NTRODUCED IN 1987, the lni=s
Mini-MarkX i11soundandeoonom,cally
priccdrif\c11,t,ichtheowncrcanbcproudof,
and which has accuracy equal mrinesof
higherpricc.MadcinBelgrade,Yugosla,·ia,
byZ..vodiCr=iaZasmva.andimponedand
dislribuledinlheU.S.byln1erarmS.theM1n1-
Marli:Xhascapturcdi1Sfullsharcofsalcsof
nflcsofirsdusandcalibcr.Originallydiam-
~onlyforlhe,"efYpopubrlliRem..11
"'ISlalcralsochambcrroforlhe7.62x39mm
~.ln22-calibcr,11'sanouimnd1n1
•'aRIIUllnfle.andonlhe30-calibcr,,ffY.,H·
ablcforW.,ngdeer-sittprnc.
Allhoupthe~Mm1Mauser"wasmade1n
Europciti1ncvfflhclcssallAmcriean,espe-
cially 11>c: Stock. The rinc in 223-i;aliber
.,,cips 6.J~ pounds. Madeoh.ilnut-smincd
hardwood,tl>c:stock basafullpistolgrip,
MorueCarlooomb,checkpiece,andablack
plasl1cbu11plateandpistolgripcaptha1are
bothd~ko:ml,TheforendiswdlWJXd,
rounded II lhe booomandwnh sides shahdy
llancned.Thtp,stolgripandthcsJOCSoflhe
forend$pOrllV<T)'lfflCJOU5lfflOllnlofcut
chcckmng. Unlike•~ of Ammcan bolt-
acuon nlks 1n the io.."ffprice rmigc,thc
Mm,-MartXstockisexpcnlysandcdhhas
"°"'l''",bumpsorhollowspocs.andno
sandinafflln<1.0n ll11salmosc perfcale,-el
surfacc,11lossyfinishha$bccnapphed
smoothlyandcvrnly.l"ooldpn,fcrtoscea
!IOmcwl1111un1llerbu11hickerchcckpiccc,
andabi1mon:wood~mo,'C<Jfrom11>c:tio.-
l0m oftl>c: stock over 1hc leng1h oftl>c:
action,Laslly,American-styleslingswh-el
S1udsha,·ebttnins1alled.Wi1h1heblued
barrclandactioninplacc,andwithapol-
1shedbolt1nthcac110n.theMini-Mar\X,s
-IJOOd-looln"iriflc.
Sepanitma;thcme1alpansfromtheS10Ck
onmyriflcrcvcaled1111hcrroughmachmc
mkuq111thell0d:.Tbm""Cttwoodsl1\'ffll
andsplllllfflllllCMr,andespcaa]lysomthe
actlOflinlctung.Afo-c-mmu1eJobofsandmg
casilyl'C1TIO\"Cdlhcm.Li1tlecarcwasused1n
tl>c:inlct11ng,butthiswasnottheca.$Cwiththc
final limng and bedding of the baml and
11CU001mothestock.Abeddingrompoondof
IOltlCkind"'aSustdmthclffl)illugarea.A
\l/l"in<;h-lon31ftS$1""poinlinthcrndofthc
baml chaMcl l"'CS some up11,,ard preS$W1:
apmstlhebaml.&t,-'ttflthispressuttpomt
andlheruoillugarca.woodwasroutcdOUI
sothailhcbam:l"-asnoo:muclungwoodm
d11ssca.lha,-crtttiYedS1C"1-cralrq,omlrom
OW!>Cf110fth,sriflctbatac:curxy11qu11c
attq)table-ncarminu1cofangleorbet1cr
ThcMin,.MartXrsa,ff)'good,..:Jucforthc:
mooey.
'rhc Mini-Mnrk X action !las a number of
Ma11ictM98fcamresandit'ssuc11:hmglhc
point, I su~. but 11 can be called I Mm,
Mauscr.DutifaM98Mausera.:tionilpla,;ed
be$idc lhc M1n1, It st..ws ~ is ccnamly a
lot ofdiffcrrnc:e bctwem lhc IWO. The '1siblc
M98 f~onthe Mini MIUSCf~: bolt•
S10p.boltsltt-.'C,cockmgp,e,c,,andlhegcn-
ct11lshapcoflhc1opoflhcrec-d,"ffblidlC
,mh HS UuactlOfl cam. W,th the boh
l'C1TIO\'Cd,lhedualopposedlockma;lugscan
1,e-,i. All ofthesc parts are smaller than
M98Mauserp.vU.
The!'Cttl''etmost likelysiartcdasan
inves1mcntcas1ingofasuitablestccl.his
1hreadcdupfron1to!'Cttivc1hcbaml,but
thcrcisnoiru.idccollarinthc:receivcrrin1as
the~isintheM98. Thc20"roundtapcfro
bam,l;s,.-ellpohshc:dandi!sliapedandcon•
IOW'N llmilar to the No. I Shilm barrel. Its
munledwncler is .s,w.11 is ncilhcrllottcd
nor~lkdand ~ lor in:,n sighlmoudlfll.
Therttc1,'Cr1Slllllonlhebooomlikcthaton
the M98, and lhc integ,al =oil lus i s ~
q,a1emWJeforlhecalibcrsthenlkismadc
m. Thefrontpaar<ls=w~intothlShJ&.
Fourthreadcdholcs.twuinthcrc,,:,:1\'trrina
_,,,_
and1"·oin1hcbridge,are1hereforscope
Thcbolt-stopandejectorattminiatw..,sof
thcM98Mauserunit.Thcyattmountcdona
Sludonlheleftrcars.idcofthcrecc,,'Cl'and
P"'Oted !hen: on a 5':m". The Mm,-Mn X
paruhS1callsthisthcejcctorhous1n1-Tht
bolt-SIOplSJlfO'ided"'ithaheavysprina;so
lha1tcanbepi\'O!Cd10~thebolt.Thc
CJ«IOrilalsop,\'OICdonlhis~.
Thttwoopposedlockinglugsonthcfront
of the boll engage in ma1chln1 rcccJfel ,n
lhercttl\'Crnng.Thcleftlug.likcthalofthe
M98,11slo11edforpassagcofthceJcctor
Thcextractorisinno"'3)'S1m11artolheM98
cx1,actor, Instead itisa small and simple
clawheldinplattinaslotinthcbollhcad,
andpwotsonapin ltrotates withthc:bolt,
Unhkc1ha1inthcM98,thcbohfacconthc
Mmi-Marl< X recess is not undrn,ut, thus
lcn1n1anmoh1cclcomplctcly$llffl)W\d-
111J1!hccarmdgchcad,"1ththeuceptionof
1narrowcutforthcutrac10r.Abaronthc
riptiideoftheboltscr,."CSuaboltpU:. h
filabct"'CC!lthcbolthandlcandthcri&J!t
loctinglugand isheldinplaccby anngand
pinmuchlikelhcbohguidctha!Sakouscs.
Th1sbarlw1kngth"·iscgroo,'Calon1its
lowerouts,dcedgc which rngagc:10,·tr1
ridgconthcmsidecdgcoflhcrigh1rccc1vcr
wan. Al first glarn:e this bar or gu,dc may
appe11rtosomcas1hccxtractor,andlhn·e
noti!X<ithatJOtnepcrsonshavecor,fusc<Ji1
assuch.Agascscapc,·cn11111heboltpro-
,.,dcssomc:safe1y10thcshootcrin,:vcn10fa
pnmer ruplure which might allow powder
gascstornttrthcbolt.Thisisdoncbyhav-
1naasmallholcncar!hcfi'on1ofthcboltanll
1nwch1ngholcmlheboltguKlc.
(Above) The 1n1e111rms Mini-Merl< X rffl9,
..,tlilblein223or7.62x39.
261
 AswiththeMauscrM98bolttherearcnd
is enlarged IO gi,-e added bearing surface for
1hecockingpi«e.Also1hclow-profilcbolt
handleisanachcdto,ormadcasanintcgrnl
panofthistargeportion.Thcbohhandle
holdthcbam:landactionsn:urelyinthe
siock.Guards.:rewspacersofproperlcngth
limi1howfarthemagazinecanbedrawnto
thcaC1ioo.Them-er:allquali1yofthetrigger
guardlmagazineisgood.cspcciallyoonsidcr-
saryscrews.pinsandSprings.ThcaMernbly
isfastenedtolhc~tomofthcreceiverbya
cross pin and held tighl by a s,;:rcw. The
wholeis1101unlikcmanyothcrtriggcrshav-
ingaside-mountedslidingsafety.Thetrigger

-
knobisrou11dbu1naucnedundcrnca1hand ;ngthcpriceoflheritle has a full range ofadjustmcms including
checkeredasYt·asthe-=ial FNMauser wcigh1ofpull.o,·er-travelandtal:c-up.The
safe1yc:amisa!sofinedwithascrewsotha1i1
A1thcrearofthebohandinsidei1.lhcre Buih within a steel housing the nigger canbeadjusted.Thisadjustmemisvital.and
arese,·cral M98innucnccs.Thebollslceve mcchanismiscomprisedofthesear.1riggcr. ifanyadjustmc'1tsaremadctothetriggcrthc
lhreadsin10thebol1andisfit1edwithaspring safe1yandsafetycam.alongwiththcneces- safc1ymus1alsobeadjusted. To make any
andplungerlOser.-elOkeepthesl,:e,.·efrom
n,mingwhcnthcbollisopcn,justaswiththe
M98.Thecockingp,eccandthefiringpinare
anachcdiogcthcrasintheM98.andthecock-
ingploceisplainlyvisible.hcanser.-easthc
cockingindicalOf.Theml,·clofthcfiringpin
islcss1hanhalf1hatofthe militaryM98
Mauserwiththeresuh1ha1locktirneofthe
Mmi-Marl,; Xis much faster.
Thetrigger~magarineboxandfloor-
pla!Careallmadcofsteel.Ofdoublecolumn
width. !he magazine bo, is merely a steel
shellfiued101hctriggcrguardandheldin
placebyascn:wa1therearofthebox.The
screwisthreadedatanang.leiniothetrigger
guard.Thefloorpla1Cishi~101hefrootof
thetriggerguardbyapin.Thefloorplateis
heldclosedbyara1berthickspring-tcnsioncd
crossbol1.Pushing1hecrossbo\11otheleft
releases the floorplatetoallow i11oswing
opcn. TheusualW-shapcdmagazinespringis
used with its lowercndslip-fitted in1othe
floo,plateandi1Suppercndintothepolishcd
steel follower. Canridge guide lips are
machined into the rccci•·cr magazine well
Screwsthroughthcfroo1andreareodsofthc
triggcrguardarethreadedintothcrcccivcr Thebo!lheadoltheM lni-Ma!'kXSOOMng:(A)extractor:(B)ejectorslotlntheleltlocklnglug:
andl>Dklthctriggerguardlmagazineassernbly (C)car1ndgeheadreoass:(D)an!i-bindg(QQV91nlherigh!locklnglug:(E)an1i•bindbo/1guide
inp~bclow1hcrecd,·er.Thcyalsoser.·e10 nb;and(F)gasventholesinbo!landguiderib

262
adjus1mcnt1,i!isfirs1n«cssarytomoovc
thcwxk.Acc:ort!,ngtoODCgunsmith«akr
" 'ho has sold I number of Min1·Mark Xs.
triggcrand sa fctyadjustmtntsha,·ctobc
madeonnewlille$ifthcshoolerfindsthc
fac10ryadjusunenisoot10his«hcrlikm,.I
found1his10bcuucwiththcnfklpur-
chased,,.fuchhad 1 aiggcrwnhfartoornudi
sllck.«iake-up.and1,.·c1ghtofpullo,,-er
li~pounds. lwhcrthandescribcth1sttigger
furthcr,lwillincludcherc.wordforword,
the factory directions·
WARNING;
INCORRECT TRIGGER ADJUSTMENT
CAN BE DANGEROUS!
The~triggerispr1H81atlhe
lactory !Of optimum performance. No
attemptshouldbemadebytheuserlOr&-
~thetriggefforpersonalpreferenoes
...... lheu:serfulyln;lerstandsthepur-
posear.dlunctionofalladjustment
screws. follows the instructions exactly
and oonfirms tMS WOik by thorou!t'Y test-
ing the lrlgger ar.d safety wifhthe,tn,,
!.l'lloildedbeforelurtheruse.
Failure10heedll-isW81TW1Qcenresull
in laullyadjustrnenl which rmghtperrn~
1herifletofirewi1houtlhetriggefbelng
piAed,orlOfirewithlhesafety"On".
Noalf«JJll'shcudbemadelO~
thewei{111olpulbelow3'l1pocxx;ls. Ths
shouldbecheckedwithatriggergauge.
Melnteinsufficienltrigger/searengag,e-
menttoprevent"jarringofrntherifleiS
droppedorlheboltdosedlorceluty.The
engagemenlisvisiblelhrooghthe"Win-
dt,H'onlheletlsideollhelriggernousing.
Scr-(l)shouldno(beloosenedand
mustalwaysbekeptlgll.Scr-{l)i&l'Kll
an adjustrnent screw; ~s purpose is 10
prevenlanyloosenessbe'-llhelrip-
gerhousingandlheriflereceiver.
Whenever any aq'vstment is made ro
thetrigger,itisabt;;oote/yessemiallOalso
nt,ag'ustscrew(E). Thsmustbedone
Jast~lhesafelyinlhe"On"po&ition,
~(E)muslbeb.medflriitsptllll
bearsagainslthetrig98r.lfthenttieaafely
is(iffiQ.llllornaripJate,screw(E)maybe
baclladoff\18ryslightlyuntillhesafety
moves easiy. Check this ~tment by
appfyin,glim'lfingerpressurelOthetrigger
with lhesafety"On' .Thereshouldbe
practically no movement ol the trigger.
Alllocknu1Sshouldbesecurel)'tlght-
enadwhlleholdinglheadjustmentsc:rews
lo prevent inadvertent turning. Adjust-
mentsshouldbesecuredwilhalhread
actl9Sivesuchasloctite.
Toensuresateoperation.-isstrongty
reconvnendadthetany~be
enlrustedlOaquaifiedgu,smith.
263
 -·
Type .....
ene ::
Triilger ....
Safely .... ··~=-~~'=,llousslg.kuslrigg&rand
~~dawlitledinsiolinlhebollhead.Exlraclofrota1es
::~. ···:~:::~~€~i~:~~-~
IMPORTANT:
ALL ADJUSTMENTS SHOULD BE
MADE WITH THE FIRING PIN IN
COCKED POSTION
Sear Engagement Adju stment
Engagement between sear (B) and
trigger(A) is adjusted with screw (C).
ThismaybeobseNedthroughaperture
(c).Alteradjustment, nut{b)shouldbe
tightened to set each screw. Prior 10
adjus1rnent, salety!ever(D)mustbein
rearposi1ionandnut(b)par1iallyun-
screwed.
Weight of Pull Adjustment
Screw {H) is turned 001.mterclockwise
to decrease weight--dockwise to in-
creaseweigh1ofpull. Alter adjustment,
nut (b) is ~ghtened to set screw (H) in
chosenpositioo. Theweighlolpullmay
beadjustedfrorn31/2to5pounds.
Back-Lash Adjustment
When the 1rigger is pu lled ii comes lo
restagains1screw(G).Back·lashcanbe
minimiiedbyturning screw{G) clock-
wise. It must not be turned so fartha1
sear(B)cannolslidefreely.Alteradjust-
ment, nut(b) mustbetighlenedtoset
screw(G).
264
"Mlhlimiledadjustmentslorweq,I
Safety Adjustment
The safety is adjusted by means of
screw (E), which should be advanced
untilitspointbearsonthelriggefsurfllce
In this position, safety (F) moves easily in
itsnotch insafetylever(O)-andinthe
safepositioofullyblockslhelnggef.Flll!II•
ty,screw(l)shouldbe1ightenedslightly1o
reduceverticalp!ay.
Orawing ottheMini-MarkX1ngg<'lf.
---
~=··
RKetverringdlameter ..
'.:'.5~.(~!
1.195·
Boltbodydlameter . . .546"
=~ravei :: ............. 3:6.25"
G......i-.c:nrwspac:lng .
~
1
~ ~ .~ . ~ : ••• 2 '1o"
Boltlllcepartlalreceu:
~ · .. .. ..... ... ... ·~
Guenl-lhrema.229x25{1.p.l.)
WARNING:
FAILURE TO READ. UNDERSTAND
AND FOLLOW THE ACCOMPANYING
WARN INGS AND INSTRUCTIONS
MAY DEFEAT THE DESIGN AND PUR-
POSE OF THE TRIGGER/SAFETY
FUNCTION AND RENDER THE
FIREARM UNSAFE! USE CALJTION
ANO COMMON SENSEi
lnlhcabov<"instructions)'Ollwillnolelhc
nwnherofrepeatedeautions. Mygunsmith-
dcalcrfiiendadjustcdlhclriggerinhi~Mini-
MarkX10acrisplhree-powldpu!l.andldid
lhcsamewithmyrifle
Thcfacto,yinslnlctionshavcmuchtosay
alxlullhcsafetyandiis-. Theverybeslsafety
isan unloodcdpwithiisactionopen.Factory
insanciinsncvcr1ellyouthis.oordomapzines
ocboob. lnmyhumbkopinionlhenextbesl
safetyootheMini-"'tart.:X,and"ithmanyolh-
crbohactiooshavingaoockingamngcrna,l
similarlOthisrifle,isthebolthioole.Ycs.lsaid
thebolthandle.CtithisrillcandmanyOl.ha-5,the
rearendoflhcbolthasadeepoockingcam
noo:handjUSlbeyonditashaJlowno(Chinto
,.hid,theax:kingpiea,mUSlp:W,Ofslipimo,
c,-aytimctheactionisopcnedoce~On
raisingthebolthandleinonorapidmotionaller
lheriflchasbecnlired.youhardlynotioethis
OC11Ch. Howes-er.oo~thebohyouo:r-
tainly,.illandyou,.illnotioeitooopeni,,gthe
 -- ~=..a,
3 Fole<sc:rewsscopetlases
4 E~boxser-
: E=:spmg
~ ~sq,!
~
22
=~holcle<spmg
Gualdscrew,rear
~ ~- ~
26 Rn',j
'Z1 Frtigpn
~ ~spmg
.,"
.""
.""
49 Tut>e
SO Triggerguard
9 Fron1sightbase 30 Bonsleeve<.:atch 51 Magazine
10 Fron1sigh1Da98screw
11 Front$qll
12 Frontsq>lhood
31 BonsieevecatehspmQ

~ ~ ~~==
52 Magazinescrew

~=
13 Aearsq,tbase 34 Magazineplate SliAd;.lstablelliggef&safely
14 Aearsightbasescrew rnechanism(comple1e !.OI}
15 Aearsigl!holdersupport ~ ~plateP.-,
16Aear sightholder 37 Folowerspmg
17 Aearsl!flt S8 Safefylevef
18 Aearsq,tsc:rews ~ ~~~catdl
19 A&arsightholderaxle 40 Magazineplatecatchspmg

actioniftheactionisalreadyoocli:ed.Fore.um-
ple,ifyoolowerthebolthandleslowlyyoocan-
nochclpFeelwhenthecockinghcadslipsinto
misnotdi.andagain1,1hentheactionis~
withtheactioncockod. lnlhispositionit~
anoliceabk:effooioeitherfullyraiseorlower
thebollhandlc,andinmisposi!Ultheboltcan-
11111bepullcdbidnorcantheriflebcfired.
No matter how cold or nwnb your trigger
handbc<:omC's,orifitis glovWormittcned
lhebol1handlecanbefcltandeasilylov.'Cn:d
whenyouwanttofin:theriflc.But~than
lhat,andlfoelthisisasimportam.islhatoth-
=cani;ecataglancethatyourriflecanoo1
bcfired.Again.thefactOl')'instroctioosdon't
tellyouthis.Thcysu-es,;thesafetybutton.As
formeJ,.•ouldrathcrha,'enosafctybunonat
-·-
Todisas.scmblc. firs1 open the bolt and
make 511,e the chamber and magazine are
em?'y,Ton:mo,'ethebol1.raii;ethebolthan.
dlc.and.whileholdingthcboh-Slopou1ward,
slidctheboltoutofthereceiver.Todisas-
semble1hcboh.insertasma!IAllcn".-en,;h
allonmyrifleandusclhebollhandle inslelld throughlhehoica1thebooomoflhecocking

265

pieceand,graspingthcboltwithth(,right
hand and with the thumb depressing 1he
sleeve lock plunger, 1um 1he bolt slee,·c
counterclockwiscuntilitandthcfiringpin
canbewithdrawn.Separatinglhefiringpin,
mainspringandcockingpiecefromtheboh
sleeveisnotcasilydoncandunlessabsoluto-
lynecessaryshouldnotbcanernptOO.How-
evcr,1odisassernblethcscpa!Ulheboh
sleeve must be mo,·ed forwardellO\lgh so
1ha11hccockingpiccecanbcro1ated10
unlockitfromthcfiringpin.Reassemblein
revcrscorder.Also,unlessabsolmelyneccs-
sary. do not remove the e~tractor or bolt
guidefromthebolt'fheseboltparuareheld
inplaccwithsmallpins.Ton:rnovethcboh-
s1opandcjectormerclyrernovcthc screw
holdingtheseparuinplace.Toremovebar-
relandactionfromthestock.firsttumoutthc
rearguardsc:rewandthcnthefiomooc.and
-
liflthisasscrnblyoutofthestock.Nowth(,
trigger guard/magazine assembly can be
withdrawnfromthescock.
Onthcleftreceiver"'all·
ALEXANDAIA INTEAAAMS MANCHESTER
ENGLAND
Onthcleflrecei"erring
MAflKX MZ
"'
: I I
Theserialnurnberisonthcrigh1sideofthe
receiva-ring
Thesamenun,berisstampedundemeath
thebolthandlc.Onmyriflethcreisalsothc
nurnbcr91stampedoothcrightsideofthe
recei,·crbridg<:.whichmayindicatetheyear
ofmanufac1urc
Ontheleftsideofthetang.hiddenbythe
stockis
MADE IN YUGOSLAVIA
Thccaliberisstampedonthcleftsideof
-
barrelbrecch.
Thcproofrnarbarestampedon1heright
sideofthcbarrelbrecch
!ha,·eahighregardfortheMini-MarkX
andthc223 Remington cartridge. You can
payal<>1rnorefora223bolt-actionriflebot
youprobablywon"1gC1oneanymorc11CCU·
rateordurablethanthisone,orrnorefunto
shoOI. Byrnodcmstandardsthisrifle isa
worl<ing man's rifle. lt"srnodcstly priced,
quitcgoodlool:ing.hasgoodhandlingquali•
tics and is a perl"cct low..:ost mate for the 223
canridge.So,ifyot1wantaligh1sponcrfor
crows.f°",woodchuocksandprairiedogsyot1
shouldtakealool:atthisonc.
Thereareanurnberoffearuresllikeabout
thisrille. I likethestockalo1.0fcowse.ifi1
wen:madcofwalnutlwouldlikeitmore.l
1ikcthebarrelsizeandcootour,andthcmag•
axinewithitshing..:lfloorplate l couldn'ta.$1<
forabenerooe.Locktimeisrigluthcrewith
thebcsl. l havcooquam:lwiththeboltguide
orth.efullyreceS!lOOboltfa.ce,oranypanof
theignitionsysiem. Thatthecntireactioo is
allS1eelisapluswithme.Anothcrplusisthc
generouschc<:kmngdonconthescocl:,and
the absence ofwhi1c spacers. The trigger
mec:hanismlfindlinlefaultwith;i1seemsto
be well made and 1 believe that time will
provelha1i1is.
lllcrcaret"·othingsldo1>0tmuchcare
for.One isthetinyextractor.Coulditoot
havebeenbeefedupabit?Theotherthingis
thesafety.Asmentionedcarlierlcandowith-
outit.Tobeginwith,lbelie,,-easafetySOOllld
lock the~trikcror fuingpin. Thesafetycam is
alsonot1omyliking- itshouldhavebeen
plattdtolockthcseuinstcadoflhetrigger.J
canforeseeshooterswhoalwaysrelyonit
having problems wi1h i1 if they do much
shooting.lalsodonotliketherathcrflanish
safetybunoo.Thisriflenecdsasafetybonon
asoothcRemingmnM700,onethatrota1es
and 1hat can be manipu1a1ed with cold or
glovedfingers,andoncthatalsolocksthc
scar or striker. I wouldalsoprefcramtary
safetyasontheWeatherbyVanguard.ltcan
beadjustedtominimurnbacklash . The bolt
handleonthisrifleisbyfarthebes!safety.as
explainedearlicrinthischaptcr
T HE ITHACA GUN Company of I ~
N.Y.,isbcstremcmben:dforlhcdoublcbar-
reledSOOlgunsthcyonccmanufactured.lfyour
falhcrorgrandfulhcf"'llSawaterfowlorupland
birdhumcrhemigh1havcl.lSOOonc.lfhea1so
c,Jioycdlhc,p;,r1oftrapshootinghemighlhave
staMllhcgamcwilhanlthacasingleoonclirap
gun.Andinrecen1ycarslhcSOOlgunthathas
kcptthclthacanamelalkedabootamong
oon!el'Sandusersofslide-actionshotgunsisthc
llhacaMode137Fcathc:•wcightUpumilabout
19581thacaneverbolhcred"ilhariflc.butin
lhalycarthcyinlrooJccdlhet>iodelXSLighl-
ning. a semi-automatic 22 rimfin: which
n:mainedinproductioooolyafcwyears.Thcn
lhcyinrroductdlhcModcl49singleN22.and
aftcrlhallhcModel721everactionrepeater.Bul
lhc!thacarif\clhalimeros(edmemost"'llSthc
LSA-55.aoemerlin:ooltoction-itisthisriflc
"iiichisthesubjectofthisch:qxcr.
While the LSA-55 has IT HAC,t, GU N
CO. stampedoni~itisreallynotan lthacaat
all.Ralher.itisagunthat"'llSmadcforthem
byaFinnishfirm.l'robablyhhacahadnopan
inthedesignanddeve!opmen1oftheLSA-S5
action.Anyway.thisriAc"'llSmanufactured
by Oy Tikkakoski AB. Tikkakoski. Finland
lthacapi,1itimothcirlincoffuearrnsin1969.
&,-cralmodelsorS1ylesofit"·m:madeand
they were as follows·
LSA-55 Standu<I Gradt -22' band in
calibers222,22-250.243,6mm.andJ08.l'lain
walnutSIOCk"ithraisedcomb.chcckcn:dgrip
andfomid.slingswi,-clstuds.adjustabk:open
sightsandblackplasticbuttplatcandgripcap.
LSA-55Deluu--SamcasStandanlGrado
cxcep1highlus1erpohshandbluc.noopc,,
sight:s.skip-lineched:ering.rosewoodforcnd
tipandgripcap,clteekpicce with roll-o,-cr
combandscopemounts.
LSA-55 Hca,·,· Sllrret- 2Yhcavy band,
bca,..,rtailfOfCfld,nosighis.andin222and
22-250calibcronly.
LSA'65 Standard Gnide-About the same
asthc:LSA-55SlandanlGradecxcq,chcavicr
stoCkandincalibers25-06.270and~ooly
LSA-65 Delu,f-Samc as LSA-65 Stan-
dard Grade bm with f = ofthc LSA-55
lkl11.<c
TllllU-66111111
lkriflcillustraledinlhischap(cristheSmn-
dardGradeLSA-55.lthasa22"sponcr"tight
tapcredbarrelwithamuzzlediamctcrof.643'.
ThcfionlsightisabeadsightOO\-ctailcdona
rampbascwhichhasadclach:iblehood.Two
SCl'C\>San:used10anachlhe"~ardcle,.1t-
tionrcaropcnsighl10thc:barn:l-----;i!iCl'l!"'>iiver
isncoocdwadjustitThcSIOCkisofplainwal
nu1"itharai!<!dcombandoocheckpiett.The
pislolgripis""llcurvedandplacedinn:lation-
shiptolhclrigger.andsiffllf'orana,<.nge-sizc
adultman"shand.On thcrighlsidcofit isa
palmswell.Handcutchcckcringan:asonthc
sidcsoflhegripandform1impro,-cthcappear-
an:.:eofthc:otherwiseplainS10Cl:. l1 isfitted"ith
quick,dctadiablesling5"-ivelsrudsandablack
plaslicbuttplatcandpistolgripcap.lksurface
ofthesrockissandalverylevelandsnn,th,and
aglossyvamishtypcfinishisgiventoit.
lkactionoftheLSA-55isamrnboltwith
dual-opposcdforwardlocking lugs,singlc-
stagctriggcranddetachablcsinglc-column
boxmagazinc.ltisanal\-stcclac!ionwithall
partsexccpt1hebol1andthefollowergivena
blue-blackfinish.Thebol1andthefollov,er
arehighlypolishedandletlbrigh1.MyLSA-
55in22-250calibcrwcighs7.25pounds.his
W1attracti,erifle,wellmadcandfinished.
""-
Therecei,·erisofone-picce consuuctioo
andcouldha,·ebecnmachinedfromasolid
bille1ormachinefinishedfrom311investmcnt
casting:lamnotswcwhich,ahhoughlsu..-
pec1itisthc:latter.l1isflatbooomcdandflat
sided with an in1cgral n:<,oil lug below the
recei,-crring and a box bclowthe1ang10
OCC<.'plthelriggerhousingandthehcadofthc
rcuguardscrew.Bolhthercceivernngand
the bridge arc also flat, with the surfaces
bctwcenthisflatandthc:rettiversidcsround-
ed. Thetopflatsaremauedandarethesame
hcightcwerthcboreline.Holesaredrilledand
tappedinthescflatsforAmcricanscopcbases
lnaddi1ion, groc,.·esarccutatthcsidcsof
thescflalSsothatthcybeoomeintegralbases
forthespecialLSA-55clamp-onmounts.Thc
rccci,'eris7.25-1ongandl.l80"'in",dth.Thc
recei,'erringisl .660"inlcngth.thetjcction
ro,12.880"',andthebridg<:l.160".
Anunusualfcatun:ofthisactionistha1lhc
magazincopeninginthereceiveris slightlyto
1hclcAofboreccnter.Whythis"'llSdoncl
amnotsure,butbydoingitthiswaythc:right
receiverrailisgreatlystrengd1cned. l1is,·ery
p:miblethatthisactionhasmoremctalinthe
rightrailthananyturnboltactionofitssize
and weight having dual-opposed forward
lockinglugs.ltisa,·erys1iffac1ion,andl
migh1add,a,·c,ynea1one.
Theboltappearstobeofone-pic«:con-
suuction.Dual-OppOSedlockinglugsonitsfilr-
wardcndlockinlronlofshooldersmachined
insidctherecei,'erring.Thcboltfaccis
re<:cs5edforlhccartridgchcadandonlhcootcr
edge ofit is the common plunger-type ejector.
A claw-iypec~tractorisfi"edinaslotinthc
headofthcOOltanditisheldinplaoi.,andtcn-
sioralbyaspring-ba.ckedplunger. ltspoimed
hookcxtendsforwardofthcfaccofthcbolt
lkbarrelislhreadcdin!Othcrccei,·er,andit
hasafaccthatisshapedtoaccommodatcthc
extcndedextractorhook.lnsteadofbeingflat.
reccsscdorconed,thcfaccofthcLSA-55bar-
n:1hasan:,=oone.hkethc:oot:sideofa,'()[.
canicconedmountain.ltisanoddamutgcmcnt
butaslongas1hccal1ridgcsan:fedpropcrly
intothcchambcrlscenothingwrongwithit
l'erhapsthemakcr.;warned1oavoidduphca1-
mgthcbroochinguscdbySako.
Thc5"-'-1)1,bockbolthandle"ithitsflattcned
ballispanofacollartha!SllnOID;kthcrearend
oflhcooltwithlheroocofthehandlcscrvingas
thesafeylughyfittinginanotdtinthei=,«.
lkcollarhasaoockingcamnou:hcutintoit
Betweenlhis rollarandthc:frontlockinglugs
theboltisastrelehofsmoothandpo!ishedSICd .
Toachic•·e abind-frttandsmoothbolt
operationthcLSA-55actionhasaboltguide
notunlike1ha1oftheSavagcllOC.ltisa
grooveinthcrightlockingluglhatcngagcs
(Above)W~ort,7.25po,x,ds,lheLSA-
55waslthaca'shrsten1ryin1othecenterfire
sportingnflelield.llis11Fmish-madeboll
IICliorlwithadelllchllblet>oxmagazine
267
 Military Rifles & Actmns

overamatchingrailmachinedthelengthof dletocamlheboltfullycloscdonlov,-eringlhe er. sinccthegaseswillescapethroughthc

thebol11n1,..,lontherightrecei,·errail.
Thcftringrna:hanisminlheLSA-55001tis
as simple as those in the Remington M722 and
Sakoboltswmprisinglarge!yofaooc-piccc
firingpinorstriker,ooil ~ boh sleeve
andcod.:ingcam.Thctmononthefrontofthe
boltslee\-.,whichfi1Sin10theOOlthasasmall
lip on it which fits in a grrxwe inMdc !he bolt,
andlhishoklstheslee,-eandthcrcstofthefir-
ingmochanisminplace.Thecockingcamii;
thn:adedtolhen:arofthcfiringpinandlockcd
byase,s=w.Withlhemainspringandbolt
sleevcinplaceonlhefiringpin,andthecock-
ingcaminplace,theen~assemblyishddin
thcbohbythebohsleeve.
Pmvi5'Cflismadc-inlhenolehfirlhebolthan-
bohhandle,.md10,,,.,wtyinitialextractionpov,•
eroothel.q)liftofthehandle.Thislasiisacccm--
plishedbyaball.arled.;13bQ(Wypinfincdinlhe
rocciveratapoimioeool3Cllhebolthandleasit
isswungupwardstocamlhcboltback..
Thebolt/41Qpi$asimplepivotalputwhich
ismountcdontheleftrearofthcreceiverona
pinintherecei,·crwall. Thcfrontcndofit
projoctsimothclockinglugraceway,andthis
stops the rearward movement of the bolt
whenthelockinglugoontactsit
Gas,·cn1holesareprovidedinthisaction
Then: is a small hole entirely lhrough the
upperpanofthelockinglugrecessinthc
rc,;eiverringsothataoygascscnteringin!ha1
areacaoescape.ThisdocslinlegooJhowev-
lockinglugracewaysfarcasier.Gasesgi,nU13
insidethebollcanes..:apethrooghaholcin
therightfromsideoftheboh
Thclriggermechanismisbuiltintoasteel
housinganditishcklinplia,inarecessinthc
recei,·erbytwocross-pins.Finedinsidethis
housingoopinsarethctriggerandthcsear.,.;lh
thce.-.lofthcsearpro;ectingintothccoclcing
C"'1lracewayinthcrea:iver.Ilothlhelle31"and
thetriggerarcpro..-idcd"ithsprings.Asingle
a,fiustmentscrewispn,videdtoadj.tstwcighlof
p.,.11.Thisscrewispositioncdinsidethelower
fromoflhehousingardisllO.'eSSiblelhroogha
holcinlhefromofthclK!u$mg.Unle:<slheSIOCI:
isrerTIO\"Wo)IOO"illnecdasmallratdletoffse1
scre,,,.-dri,,:rtotumitTirninglhisscn,wclock-

Righ!-sidttviewot the LSA-55ac1ion showing

t>ol!opttnandmagazfnepart!ywithdrawn

266
Y1,SCRTI2!1'$1hcw~iJ,lofpull,
Ofthep1vonngtype,the1afetyismoun!ed
onthcrearoFthelriggcrhousing.J1isprovid-
edOnandOff1cnsionby•SlifTSpnnjlmoun1.
edMlowitTippedlOlhcrearthcsaFetylocks
thclriggcrandbolt
Thetrigg,:rgwrdplalers•pica,ofsuap
...iwllhopcninpcu11110nforlhcmagazme.
cngg,erandtriggergua'dbowhismkaedlfW()
theSIOCl:aboul l/1•bdowtheP>Cksurface,
dusdoneioallowlhebottomoflhedcw::hable
boxmapzinctolicflushv,1ththcswcl:.Thc
maga,;inelatchandspringarcalsolocatedon
lhis$U'ap.Thelriggerguan:lbowisasqiararc
pa11.Withthctnggerguardpbrcinplacc.and
lhcmagwnc:lall:handlhcguan:lbowinplacc,
asmalllCl'CYl'atananglc,lhroughthetromof
thebow,andthrcadingintothebonomofthc
lriggerhousmg.holdsthefronlofthebowin
place. Then. v,1th the baml and m:ei•'CT
"5IC!nbly1nplacc,lhe1woguan:l s,:,nws dothe
1$;1helionloncdvwghlhefmmoflhestrap
andthrcadedmtolhercooillug.andlhemor
oncdlroughthe~llldtlftnncll'IIOtherN'
oflhcll<Cllng(pguatlbow.
Themagatircl:ox.is,,.oflh:clSll:Cliild-
cdinlolbox.AllaChed101hcboctanof11is a
tluckcrpicceoffl:itSlttl,andonlhcop:n10plhc
ed@csoflhcboxincur.u;Jinv,-..rdlOfamlip,;
ioholdc:mtnda,esinplace.Al'q!lllarW-wpc,J
~~i-o-'ideslho'4"'21.ilml>OOIO
Wflllllollowa". Thelit:n:oflhetnawerhout-
Elllln\fl M lhcguidclOlhclt:ll'oflhemap,
zinc.and.,!Ahapcd.-11:ndc!~IO
ihcm:c,-JCl'\flMlhcfi'ortguldc. The.-,ct:
JCl'\'CI M lhcsidi:pd,:$.As~..-lx:r.
lhe~is1et!lightly10lhclcftofc:all0'.
andlheholeinlhclriggcrguardpblethn:>ugh
lhc511ld: issimilar1yoffsct.Noarrangcmcn1 is
providedlCl&IIOmat.:ally~lhc~CU
v,-hmlhclalch 1S n:k:a.1ed.
Thcn:wtl1u&1111thebooomof1hertta,··
CTisvnysmall,bullhisiscanpcnsaledforby
lhc11SCof1 pieceofchannel,m,lhllfiuovcr
11andv,hochismlcc1edin101hcstod<. Thul
ltos poettofdlanntlJCl'\"CS M lhcreooilplarc
and 11Tord$ 1 WJl"areaforbononung.
Onmypart,cularriflcthefac10ryuscdthm
mclalshimsbr:tvo=ilhcreui,'CTandtheSIOd<;
twohalf..roinlonesundcrlheendoflhc1ar111,
andtwon:ctanglilitronesundcrlhcn:ooillug
plal,:, l ..,IICll:Slftofthenmonv,"hyshiml-
,,sc,d.bulbythe1rl111C ii is.,casymauerl0
C!UlbilSh • M"O-p}lll:beddingoflhcllC1IOO fl lhl:
-
iil<:,d:andl'la!leftt.n:IIOfrc:c.t\aL Thcls-
n:1 ,sa frc:c.lloeun&onc; nooe511C11:cono,;.,lhl,
b,nlchamdatlff'jpoinl.... go,.xlidm.
.....,,
The Jtt,,,,,c:1 I.SA·SS rifle I havf is nwkW
as follows: On the left side of
LSM5
the-•- is
Swnped 1111 the left silk of the 1:ianel 111
lt.a:lmes is:
CAL..22-250AEM .
ITHACAGUNCO., FTHACA, N.Y.
MADE IN FINLAND
On the right 111de of the baml is
BOFORS BARREL STEEL
ThcK'lialnumberisstampcdonthclcft
11deofthc-,vcrring.andthelastthroelha•
,11of11a-cswnped.undorthcboltharolle. Thc
thm:dia111111frontofthesnialnumbrran:
1hi:codeiuriJml'.or1hi:LSA·SSmodcl
Opcnthcboltandn:movethernaaaz,ncto
makcCCTWnthcnflcisunloadcd
269
 Remo,·cthebohbydcpre!ISingthebolt-
stopontheleftoftherecei,·erandpullingthe The!thacaLSA-55boU
boltout. showing: (A) gas vent
Toremovcthefiringmechanismfi-omthe hole, (B) ejector, (C) ex-
bolttumthebohslceveclock"'iseuntil ii tractor and, (0) g,oo"." A
pops out. Dono1a11emp1mdisas.semblethe tortheboltguiderib,n
firingpinpartsunlessitisabsolutclyneces- lherightlockin!) lug
sarytodoso.Thekeysfordoingthis arethe
t,..1>srnallse1screws(onelocksthe{l(hcr)
thrcadcdintoa!,olcinthethreadcdendofthe
firingpin.Bo1hse1screwsareaccessible
throoghtheholein1hecockingcarn.Rc-
asscmblethefiringmechanismintothebohin
revcrseorder.
Toremovcthebam:landrocei,"trasscmbly
lromthestockproc«<;iasfo!lowsc Rl'fflQ,·e
themagazino.Tumou1thesmallscrewloca!-
edinthelront0Fthetriggerguardbow. Tum
outthefron1guardscrewandliftoutthetrig-
gerguardplateandmagazinccatch. Lift the
bam,landmcei,"trfi-omthestock. Therecoil orthellancnedbolthandleball,roordidl like tha1s,.eell,butifthegripismadc"ithonc.l
lugplatcandshimwilllieloosieinthestock. thebolt•Stopandiliesafety.TI!erewasarnple wantittofitmc.hccptfortheproblcmoF
Reassembleinre,-erseorder cammingmotionontheinilialopeningand removing and replacing the magazine. the
Toremc,,.·ethetriggcrmechanismdri,eeOlll finalclosingofthebolt. l didnotmuc:hcarc LSA-55 rifle is well designed, appointed.
1hc two pins thatho!d it in place Do nol fortheoddshaj)Cof thebam:lface.Thetrig- madeand finished.

-
a11emp1todisas.lefflblethismechanismunless
you have had experience in this work.
Reassembleinre,·crseorder
l wasfavorablyimpresscdonsec:ingand
handlingthe lthac.aLSA-55rifkforthefirst
lime. ll ,.'llS well finished. Metal surfaces
weresmooch,,..eellpolishcdandblued:thc
bolt. which was bright. was perfectly
machinedandpolished.and itopenedand
closedwithvcrylinleefTon . l!ikedboththe
waythereceiverwasshapedandthemaning
ontopofthereceiverringandbridge.ldid
OOllikethegroo,"CSmadeforforeignmounts
gerpull"'llSgoodandldonotmindthatthc
triggeradjustmentscrewisabitdifficult10
getat.Thetriggcrpositionintheguardbowis
good. Ontakingtherineandaction apan !
waspleasedtofinde"S'crypartmadeofstttl
Themagazinewasoi;..but itwasnoteasy10
remo\"eand replac- his could have been
madebetter.
Asforthestock.forthemosipan l likcdi!
l lhought thattheforendcouldhavebcen
abou1 2"shorter.Ulebunsectioncouldhave
beenatrine fu ll.,-,and the raised comb left
ofT.llikcdthepiscolgripvcrymuc:hasitwas
thefirstoncmadewithapalmswclltha1fi Med
me.J ...oold soonerha, eeapistolgripwilhout
ln308-calibcrandusedasis.. or"ithak>v•·
po"'..:redscope.thel.SA•55,..ooldbeanidc--
alrineforthedccrhunter.ln222-caliberand
fittedwitha6xor8xscope.itwouldbeideal
for,'lllll\in1Supto200yardsorso.Forseii-
ous vannintshootinga1longerranges.the
LSA-55withheavybam:lwouldbeagood
chmce.
Accordingtothcinforma1ionlha,ee.hhaca
discontinucdtheLSA-55 rineabout 1976.
aboutthcsamctimetheybegan sellinganoih-
ercentcrfm:tumboltrine-------thelthac.aCf2.a
rine1nadcinEnglandbyBSA.ThcBSACf2
riflesandactionaredescrioodinanothcrpan
ofthisbook

Arrow ?<,lints lo the ac«iss hol9 for !he 1rlgger

weigtlt-ot•pull adjustm<'ln1serew. Tumi1>11ilclocJo•
wiseincreaseslheweighlolpuH.

270
 --
Bleochao.tAssembly
ffl1aca LSA-85 HIiia

r··
1
2 FfflQPinNutPin

fj)
""
""
"",,,.

,-
",,
""
""
""
.,""" '_
.. "
"
."
""
."~ ~~~~ 6"4>Cap&,uwCap

271
W HEN l SAW the first two five-shot
groups fired wi1h my Model 82 Kimber
SpecialGradeHornc1riflelknewimmcdi-
a1clytha1i1wasthernostaccurate2211or-
net!hadcvero"TIW. No1onlythat.butit
wasalsothebcs1lookingandhandlingllor-
netriflctha1hadevcrromemyway.The
rifle I am rcfemng 10 is the one shown here.
oneof300ofaspecialseries.1he··s··senes.
madebyKimberofOregoninClaekamas.
Oregon. It is thequalilyofthe stock wood
andworkmanshipexpcnd«lonitthatmakes
thisan·•S"orSpecialseriesrifle.anditis
notfarfrombeingaGriffin&Howecla.ssic
offiftyycarsago.Anyway.evenifthispar-
!icularriflehadbe<:nfinedwitharcgular
KimberClasskorCascadeslockofplainer
walnuti1woulds1illbeanidea! Hometin
size.shape.weight.e,c.
The assembled Kimber M82 Hornet bar-
reled action weighsclose104.75 pounds.
and ina Kimber stock the complete rifle
weighs7pounds.giveortakeafcwounces.
lconsiderthisidealforthellometealiber
Thefum-lis22•1ongand1hislcngthisalso
ideal. !1hasastraighttapermeasuring•. %2#
atthebrce<:hand.600"atthemuzzlc.andin
myestimationispcrf«iinsizeandweight.
The action is 7.187# jn length with the
nxei,·cr1.1Srindiametcr.andthis100isro
my hking. llle triggcr is as good as any
shoo(ereouldwant
Thereceiverisroundandofone-piece
cons1nictionwi1hthcbarrel threadedinlo
ilS front end. 1t ismachinedfromasolid
block ofchrome-moly steel. Its loading/
ejectionponisl.735•Jongandtherearend
ofthereceiverisnicelyslantedtoblend
smoolhlywithlhetoplineofthepismlgrip
Twodccps,;opemountini,groovesextcnd
ncarlythcfullleng1hofthcrcceiver10p.
andacrosspinbetween1hcgroovesnear
thefrontofthertteiverringprovidesastop
272
for the frontS<:Ope mount ring. This pre
vents the scope from sliding forward from
therttoil oftherifle. A roundrttoil lug is
doveiailedintothebam,]
lllebodyofthebol1isofone-pieceron•
suuctionanditisalmostaslongas1hedis-
tanccfrombam,lbreechtothcrearofthc
recei,·er.Thebohhandleandlockinglug
areinlcgralwiththeboltsleeve/cap.Adeep
notchintherigh1rearof1hcreceivcr10
acccpt1hebaseofthebohhandle,anda
machincdrecessatabou1eighto"clockto
aceeptthesecondlockinglug,s,;rvctolock
thcboltinthcreccivcrwhenlhebolthan-
dlc is turned down. Grooves milled length-
wise in the bouom front half of the
non-rotatingboltbodyovcrridcthcmaga-
zinelipstofeedcanridgesoutofthemaga-
zineandintothechamber.Oneithersidcof
thebol1hcadarcnarrowgroovestoaccept
the rightandleftextractors,withtherigh!
onchavingaclawmextrac1acasefromthe
chamber and the left one with a dull claw IO
assistinejec1ion.AflatC-shapespringfi1-
tedinagroo,·cinthcbohllOlon!ysupplics
tensiontothe1wocxtractorsbutalsoscrves
toholdthcminplacc.Thisisano,·eland
effective arrangement. although it does
spoilthelooksoftheboltandrcmindsmc
of1hespring-elipextraetorsys1cmusedon
sorncofthechcapes122rimfircriflesmadc
byMossbergandMarlin.Thefaccofthc
boltoftheKimberisrccessedfortherimof
the Hornet canridgc. al1hough the lower
halfofitiscu1away1oallowthcrim1oslip
behind thee~tractorclawsas i1 is fed out of
the magazine. Twosmallnoichescrn into
the flat face of the barrel breech allow
cn1ranccofthecxtraetorclawswhen the
boltisdoscd
Loeatedinasloteutintothcleftsideof
thereceiver.andpivotedonapinandten-
sionedbyasmal1coilspring.is1hcboh-
stop.Thetipofthispanprojectsintothc
receiverandridesinalengthwisegrocwccut
intolheboltbodytostop1hcboltwhcn1hc
stopcontactstheendofthegroo,·c.lllerear
end of the bolt body is turned down and over
this is finedthccombina1ion bolt sleeve/
cap/cocking cam.and the bolt handle. The
bolthandlchasalowprofilctoclcarthe
cyepieccofas,;ope.lnsidethemachined
chromc-ioolyboltbodyislheooe-piecefir-
ingpin.acoilmainspring.a1hreadedbush-
inga1thercarofthcbolttocomprcssthc
mainspringandacockingcamguideonthe
rcaroflhefiringpin.Apinwithasockct-
head panly smooth and panly thrcaded
servcs!Oholdthcfiringpinandcockingcam
guide1ogethcr.Atthesametime thisbe-
comesthcpanwhichcocksthefiringpin
andholdsthcbohhandlcslec,·e/caponlhe
bol!body. Thcthrcadsonthissmallpartare
lcft-handed!Opre,·entitfromlooseningand
rumingwhenthebolthandlcisliftcdtoopm
1heaction.Jtisaningeniowarrangement
usingaminimumofparts for the cocking
andfiringmechanism.Oncockingtheac-
1ion,thesearcngagesinfrontof theshoul-
dernearthceenterofthefiringpin.thesame
shoulderagainstwhichthemainspringpush-
cs.Thepurposeofthccoekingcamguideis
topre•,ent thefiringpinfromtumingasthe
bolthandleisraised.whenthefiringpinis
beingcocked
lnle11cdprttiselyintothebottomofthc
stockistheonc-pieccstecltriggcrguard
Thispartapr,earstohavebeenmachincdand
finished from an investment casting. as I
(Above) The Kimber centerfoe Model 82
~~•~~~ ~a=~da~:~
Home1,218Beeand25-20centerfif9.
t 2
suppo1Csomeoftheothcrpartsare.Thelrig-
gerguardbowisnicdyshaped.Ateachend
oftheguardthereareholesforthefron1and
n,aroval-headcdguardscrews.whichwhen
inpla,ccholdthebarrclandactionasscmbly
=urdy in the slQCk. The recoil lug is mcre-
ly a round s1Ud dovetailedin101he bonom
brccch-endofthebarrel.
P~i1ioncdbctwecnthem:dverandthe
trigger guard is the one-piece magazinc-
triggerhousing. Thispar1appears1obca
stcclinvestm...,1cas1ingofsubstantialron-
struction.andisheldinplaccatthebonom
ofthereceiverbyascrewatcachend.Of
course.thcundenideofthercceivcrhas
openingsmachinedintoitforthemagazine
well.ejector and scar. At the rear of the
magazinewellinthishousingisthemaga-
iinc catch, held in place and pi~o1ing on a
pinthroughthehousingwallsandtherctcn-
sione<I by a small coil spring.Just above
thiscatchandprojectingabovethehousing
isablockofmctalhc\dinplaceinthehous-
ingbyascrcw.wi1htheblockservingto
prcventtheboltbodyfromroming.and
withaprojectiononlheropleftsidcofitlo
serveastheejec1or.
Thetriggermechanismis anintricateand
well designed arrangement of precisely
machined parts. hstwomainpansarelhe
scarandtrigger,plusanassortmentofpins.
springs and adjustment screws. At the top
frontofthetriggerpartofthehousingisthe
sear.v.hi<:hpart!yprojectsoutofthehousing
10cootac1the!ltrikerinthebo!t.hisheldin
placeandpivotsonapinthroughthehous-
ingwalls.andistensionedbyacoi!spring
bclween the from end of it and the rtteiver.
Positionedbelowandtotherearofthescar
is 1he trigger with its ,,:ell-shaped linger
piece.anditpi,·otsonapin.
Thn:adcdimoashelfinsidethchousing
a1thefrontofthetriggeraretwoadjus11t1ent
screws:thconefarthcsttothen:arandrom-
binedwithaooilspringistheweight-of-pull
adjustment:theoncabeadandaboveitisthe
273
 The~licleollheKmJefM82K'lion. TheM828
=OUIWtlrdlyonl'JinthiltitsbollhrdeillWllpl

ov,:Mravcladjw,trncnt.Ascrewthroughthc necdtodoanyfurthcradjusting.llowcvcr. ofthertteivcrandrolatcsonascrcw.The

housingat1hispoin1loc:klbothofthcsc
adJw,11nC11tscrcw5.Th,eth1nimggeradJUS1·
men\ screw. lhat "'gula•cs lhc amoun1 of
Karengagcmcntortakc•up,1$l0<:atcdat
the"'arofthehoosmg.WhcnthcKimbc-r
riflcisasscmbkdandsluppn!fromthcfac-
tory.1111hrttof1hcscscrcwt ha,·cbccn
propc,rly adjusted 1og"·e m,n,mum safe
triaaer1ake-up.over-1ravd.andawcightof
pullofclosc1othf<'cpounds.The«'isno
-·
ifanyadJwtingistobedone.thc~land
acllonasscmblymuttbcmoo>'Cdfromlhe
There 1$S11l11no1hcradJustmentscrew
conncc1cd wuh the trigger mechamltll.
IOQtedattherearofthetriggeru.dbelow
1hcsearcngagementadjus1mmtscrew. his
<)fl(:••
an important we shall-· The ufe•
1ybu1ton.orwhccl,assomcwri1crshavc
,alledit,ismoun1edontherightrcar1idc
p.fe1yboltlspositioocdthroughholesin
thctriggcrhous,ng walls and ,srotatedto
loc:kthctrigger11,·hcnthcafe1y,spiw1ed
backbyap,n&ndspnngposu,ooed
bclwcmitandthcsafccy. ThislastadjtlSl-
men1scrcwistllrudcdthrooghthe.._fe1y
bol1.1hccndofwh1chcontactsashouldcr
on1hctriggcrwhcnthcafe1yisengagcd.
This screw is important ,nth.al il is the
adjustment lo lock the trigger when the

274
safetyiscngagcd.andshould,.•caroccuror
the trigger be abused, this screw can be
adjus1edsonomovcmcntofthctriggcris
possible when lhc safety is engaged. Of
course.thisscrewhasa!sobcenproperly
adjustedatthefactory.andundernonnal
usagcmayncverncedadjustingagain
Thcscarengagementadjusuncntscrew
m..,-1newrbetamperedwithasanyadjllSl-
ment1oitwill upsetlheadjustmcnttothc
safety. and ei1hcr make it inoperable or
W1safe.Thcsafe1ylocksonlythetriggerand
notthcscarorboh
The Kimber Home1 magazine is a heavy
shectmeialslampingfonnedintoabox"·ith
aslide-offbottom.Thcfollowerismadeof
aluminum.theonlypanof1hisac1ion nol
madeofsteel. hsfollowerspringisrheusual
zig-zagtypemadeofspringwire.ltisawell
madeandsturdymagazincofthrce-round
capac:ity,andwhcninplaccisflushwiththc
bonomofthestock
Thereismuchaboutlhcdcsignofthc
Kimber action that reminds me of the Win•
ehesterMode1S2ac1ion.likethcbohhan-
dle and the locking lug arrangement. As
with the M52 Winchester. the Kimber
lockinglugs.whichindudethebascofthe
bolthandle.lockupintothcr<,ccivcrthc
same way. I mightaddherethattheboh
handle.slccvcandlockinglugsofthe
Anschutz are also nearly identical to the
Kimbcrbohhandlesleevc. lam not sure
whichwasdesigncdfirs1.theAnschuuor
the Winchcs1crM52.butirscemshkely
thatthcdesigneroftheK.imbcrwasinflu-
cncedbyoneofthcm
TherearesomefeaturesaboutthisKim-
berHomet rifle I do not like. I would like
1hisriflcbe11erhadtheloading/ejectionpon
becnmadcabillongera11hcrearandthc
uppcrcdgeofitbcveledoff. lwouldhave
likeditbc11cr.too.hadKimberincorpon11cd
abolthandleslcevelocktokeepthcbolt
handlelockedwhenthcboltisopcn. I am
surethatsomcs.hooterswill finditannoy-
ingthatthcbolthandle,ifbumpedwhenthc
actionisopencd.caneasily tumdownand
preventtheboltfrombcingclosedunless
firs11urnedupintoposi1ionagain.Thisbolt
shouldha,·ebecnfittcdwi1haboltsleevc
locksimilartothatuscdontheColtSauer
Anotherminorannoyanccmayalsobe,
comecvidcntintime.andthatiswiththc
remo,·al of the magazine. As made. the
removalofthemagazincisS<llelydependcnt
on gravity and this works well . Ho,.•c,·cr,
what if the magazine becomes grimy or
slightly damaged, or a weed seed gets
jammed alongside of it and gravity is not
enough 1oremovci1? Kimber has closely
copicdthcgcncralshapeandfonnofthc
Model 52 Winches1er !rigger guard. lo
includethequ.aner-moondipsinitateach
side of1he magazine opening. Ho,.·evcr.
unlike1heM52 stock which has matching
concavccu1Satthescpoin1Stoprovidefin-
gerroom to grasp the magazine shouldi1
necdtobcpullcdorliftcdout,myKimbcr
stockdoesnothavcthesedips.Thismakcsit
allbutimpossiblelograspthemagazine
lalsohadaproblemw;th1hcrearsighton
myK.imbcrHomet.Thcfirs1thinglnoticNI
onhandlingtheriflcwastheveryshatpcor-
ncrs on the rear sight leaves on which I
scratchcdafingcr.Thcsefourcorncrsshould
ha\"cbccnrounde<loffsligh1ly.After1hat
incident a larger problem loomed when I
attcmptcdtomountaWeaver K6scopeon
therifle. Todothatre,quiredthcrcmovalof
thcrearsightandbaseandwouldhavcbttn
ancasyiaskhadthebasebeenaruichedwith
twoexposedscrews.suchasthcbasesmadc
bylymanandMarbles.Kimbcrchose1ousc
a base with one mouming screw. with that
screwunder1hedovetailoflhcleafsighC.
re,quiringthercmo,·aloflhesightbcforethc
base'8nbcremo,·ed.Withlhebaseprotect-
ed wi1hshectcopperandhcldinavisc. I
dro,·cthcsightout.ltwasaverylightfitand
I knew 1hat I would need to do some file
worl: beforebcingabletoreplaccitagain
Afterallthat.lfound1hattheWeaverK6
scopelookcdoutofplaceontherineand
decidcdtouseoocwithasmallcrobje<:tivc
lenswhichwouldnotintcrferewiththcrear
sight.
lha\·enoobj«tiontothereceiverbeing
grocwedforscopcmoonting.butlcan'1ful-
lyundcrstandwhythcscgro,weswcrenot
made ofs1andard width to accept lip-off
mounts. In the pictures I saw of Kimber
rifleswithscopesintheKimbcr-Browncll
moun1s.1hesemoun1Slooke<lverygoodto
me.Sincelhcywcn,lheonlyoncsavailable
tofitthegroovesintheKimbcrrecciver.l
ordcn:,Japair.lwouldmuchratherha,·ethe
recei,·crdrillcdandlappedforRedfieldor
Buchlcrmoumsinsteadofbeinggroo\"ed
Thcywouldha,·ebeenju1tasgood.ifno1
bcner. and cos1 less than the Kimber-
Brownell mounts. Just the same. the K-B
mountsprovcdtobcexm:mclylightand
nicclyfinished.Besidesthcsidc-lever.only
one screw showed. One of the side-lever
screwshadaright-handiwis1.,whilctheoth-
er1obcusedasthcrearringhadaleft•h.and
1hread. Both of these screws were a ve,y
sloppyfit.aslhoughanover-sizedtap""as
275
 II ri1 i11l111JBOl■iUIGJ:1%1111,t
l-110CU1thethrc:Jdsinlhehole.Apenon
w,th a more: po,,·erful thumb than l ha,·e
couldcas,lysmplhethtt:ad,,onlightmina:
thc mounts on the re«i,·cr. Other than lhc
sloppy thrc:ads. the mount rings ,,,ere well

"""'·
E,·enbyclosclyFollowingthcinsU\ICtions
whichcamewithlhesemounis.lhadSQme
diff11:ultyinstallingthemonthesoopc,andon
therifle.Onceins1allcd.ho""<''"tr•thismoun1
ttnainly appcam:I ,·erystunly. I disliked lhe
fac11ha11hebaseofthcfrontring~
""<'II ov,:r the load1nglejcctioo pon. This
couldha,"<"beeneliminatedbymachinina:•
recusinlhefrontofthcring"100\"etail10
ovffli<kthccrt1$1110ppininther«ci,·er.or
bybe-,"<"hnaotrtheio---errcarromcrofthc
bue111elf.
lfthele,·crs11rcpropcrlyadJuSledlh1s
mounta!10"·1casyandquick~ov1lof
lheKopc:fromlheriflc.Thisrequiresopcn·
1ngthebo1t.1umilll!thclcversl80degrttS.
andslidingthesi.:opctothcrear.llowc'."<'r,
reinst1llinathcscopeisanentirelydiffcren1
matter and you might even do a linlc
cu.ssinabeforcget1ingi1backinplace.Onc
thma11$Ure.andthatisthatyoucanoocdo
,twithonchand;evenwithbolhhandilyou
Qn"tdootnsilyorqwckly. And you prob.
ablycan'1doit111U,.·ithcoldhands.,.·h,le
,.-nnn, mmC'DII or glove,, or withouc look·
,n,11whatyou-doing.You,.•,1Lha,·e
scvcralprobkms,oncbeingtha1thelcnn
w1ll likelytumwofaronc,.,1yor1heOlher
andyouw1llha,·e10stfflallo,·eragam:the
bohwillclo$eandyoucan·1getthemounts
toslipm1oplacein1hcreceivergrooves:
youcan"tcasilygctbothringsst.1r1edinto
thea,-«>vesatthe,ame timc,andmorc. l Klrnber(Browoel)double-levefsoopemounts.ThereceMH'aolKimber
solvcdpartoflhcproblcmbyinsertinga actlor-eareg,OOll8dloaccep1thesemounts.NobasNare~
small coil spring (.1 IS" diarm:ter and .250"
Jona) ,nto the socket of the front damp
screwincachmountringtoholdthcfrorll er. Tobcgin.yooshoulduscthcNiedncr

end oflhc: mount clamps outward. Thispuc
somctcn1ionon 1he lcvcrs10kttpthcm
from turning usily. EVC11 so. the: mounts
lfC OOI easily guided inlo lhe recc ..·er
---
lw1c styles: the Classic. which has no
raised comb or checkpicce; the Ca sodc, chcckcmt steel butrplatcand piSIOI Jripap
""h1ch hu a chcckp1«c with r11sed comb;
andlhc:$uperGradcwith$U'aigh1comband
chcckp,ece.Thcbest"·oodandchcckmna
,,
and$1zethcbuttandp1SIOIB11paoxoni1na·

p-o()\'CI.
I bche..-e 1h11 mount would ha,·c been
muchbcttcrhad11beenm:ado-..ithknurlcd
dampsi.:rt"w,inSlcadoflC'\·crs.lfthishad
beendone.then:wouldhavcbeennonttd
forright-andlcft-handthreads.andiftwo
springs ..·creplaccdbel"·ccnthemountand
clampthemoun1Scooldbc:tippedoffandon
rathcrthanslidoffandon. Making the
mounts 1his way would .surely be cheaper
andbc:clcr
face-piforlhcsome"·h.a1longe-rac1100.
longcrboJ1tnvcl,andthclargo:rmap;:mc
andeject,onport.theK.imbcr M82Homct
a,;t,onandrine-thcsamcaslhe22Lona
Rifkand22WMRM82rifles.Esp«11lly
.i111tuve-lhc1tocks.Thcrcwm:thrcc
comcw11htheS..pcrGradc.bu1,·erysclcct
""alnul i1 also used for the Cascade and
Clanic models. along with a gcnerot1S
amountof"clldonecheckering. All the
s1ocklarenicclyshapedandfinishcd.and
fiucdwithchcckeredstcdbuuplatesand
pistolgripcaps.Allart"aduhsized.Onspe-
cial ordcr. barrcledac1ions in all calibers
available. "·ere available for lhosc who
wanted iomakethcs1ockands-avcsomc
money.or 1omake1hcstocksomc"·hatdif-
fcrcntthanthcfactory,"<'rsHXI.Ho"·evcr,10
makc111«kthatisbcttcrlookingthanthe
fac10ryunnwouldwill not be easy. Any•
W11y.for1hotc-..·howanttodupliutcthe
s,ze andd,mcnsoonsofthe Super Grade
1toek.l-..·1llhS11hc:guidingdimcnsionslal-
TodisasscmblcthcK,mbcrM82nflcpro-
cecdufolio---s:firslchccklhc:riflctomake
sure it 1s not loaded. Remove thc boll by
dcpreuingthebolt-$opatlhc:~ftrearofthc
rtteivo:r.raiscthcbo!thandlcandwilhdr3w
theboltfromrtteivcr.Rcmo..-ethcmagawie
bydrawingbacklhc:magninccatchaildlct-
tmg 1he magazine fall 0111. To remove the
l:lanTlcdactionfromlhestock,nunoutlhe
rearandfrontguan:lscrewsinthatordcrand
c-fullyliftbatfflandactionfromthc
SIOCk.Rcmovcthetriggcrguan:lfrontSIOCk.
Toremowthetriggcrandmap,;inchou$111f
fromlhc:action,tumoutthcrearscrewof
thltumtandthentumoutlhc:frontone.
"'hlth111hollow--headedscrtWinto"hKh

276
 Thisshow$a$(:.OJ)flmoun1adonaKimberactionusir,glhfl
Kimbe,ring,s.
the front guard screw is 1hrcaded. Both
thcsescrewsarcsupplicdwithlockwash-
ers.thethickone for the rear screw. The
magaiinecatchandboltguidecanthenbe
rcmovedfrom thchousingbydri•·ingou\a
pinandtumingoutascrcw.Unlessyouarc
skilledandcxpcrienccdwith triggerw(ITT(.
donotanempt1odisassemblethctriggcr
and safety mechanism. hisal,;oadvisablc
tone,·ermakeanyadjustmcntstothctrig•
gcr.Reas.semblcinrcverscorder
To disassemble the bolt. firs1rcmo,·cit
from the ac1ion and1um the bolt handle
downtolowerthefiringpin. Then use the
corrc<:1Allenwrcnchtorcmovethccocking
camscrcwfromthcrcarofthcfiringpin
assembly.Rcmcmber.1hisscrcwhasalcfl•
hand thread. When 1hii;scrcwhasbe<:n
rcmo,·cd.slidcthcbolthandle/slcevcoff
1he bolt body.and pull the cocking cam
guideoff1hefiringpin.Aspecialhollow
spannerwrcnchisrequircdtorcmovethe
1hrc&dedmainspringret.ainerbushing.and
withthebushingremovedthemainspring
andfiringpincanbewithdrawn.Toremove
theextrac1ors.slip1heC-spring from the
boltandhfloutthesepans.Reassemblein
re,·erscordcr.
-
To disassemble the magazine. merely
slidcoff1hebo1tomplatcandth<:followcr
springandfollowerca:,beremoved.
My Kimber M82 Hornet rifle is stamped
oothelcftsidcof1hercccivcr:
HS 88 KIMBER MODEL 82 •s• SER IES
Ontopofth<:barrcl is
KIMBER OF OREGON, INC., CLACKA·
MAS, OREGON. U.S.A.
"CALIBER 22 HORNIT" is stamped on
1heleftbarrclbreech. The'"Kimber'"on1he
-
rcceivcrisinscrip1andthe"'HS88""is1he
serial number. this rifle being lhecighty-
cighthof300madeinthisseries.
There arc many things abou1 the M82
KimbcrHornctriflethatllikc. lcouldnot
wishforaHomc1riflewithbencrbalance.
size and wcighlthan this one. The barrel
lcngth.sizeandwcigh1arealsosupcrb.Per-
fect.too.istheS1ock.althooghforsomcone
withsmallcrhandsthanmine1hepistolgrip
couldha,·cbeenmadeshoner.slimmerand
closerto1hetrigger.Jhavealwaysadmircd
thelinlc22Hometcartridgc.andinthisriflc
itiscomplctelyathomeandpcrformsinitas
innoothcrHometriflelhavecverused.l
ha,·cnoquarrclwiththetriggcrorsafcty.
andlpanicularlylikethc"'C!lconstructed
magazineandca1chand tha1 both are flush
with the bonom oflhc, s1ock. The lock 1imc
isveryfast.fccdingandejcctionareflaw-
lcss. WhatrTIOl"ecouldoncask?
As for me. I rou/Jasl: fora bencrmoum-
ingofth<:rcarsightorthat~benosights
onthebarrelatall. lwouldha,·elikcd1he
reccivcrdrilledandUlppedforscopcmounts.
and1hegroovcsominedorimprovcdalong
thclincsmcn!ionedcarlier.l"'°"ldalsolikc
myriflctohaveabolti;lccvelockandpcr·
hapsabolthandlcofdiffcrcntshapcto
reJUl'ethcnotchinthestockorrequiring
lcssuplifl.lsupposeloughttoronsidcr
1hcsedislikcsnotsomUl'hasfaultsbu1as
myo"11prejudicesordislikesofthcscfca-
1urcs.Still.myriflclookssogood.handles
sowellandshootssogoodthat l shouldbe
happyandsatisfiedwi1hi1.andtha1lsurely
KimberofOregon.lnc .. begantheirriflc
manufacturing business about 1930 with
highl,opcsofsucccss.Theymadctheirrifles
ona,·erycxccllcnta,ction.uscdthcbestbar-
relsavailableandstoekedthcrifleswithtop
gradesofClarowalnut.lncvcryrcspccttheir
rifles"'Crcthefinestobtainablc.Perhaps
they were over ambitious by offering so
manymodcls.andnodoublonlya,'Cf)'fcw
ofccrtainmodelsandcaliberswcl'Cmade.Jf
you have a Kimber rifle you can prize it
highly.Buttheirstorycndsinaboml990
whcnitwasannouoccdthat1hcyhadccased
manufacturing.
lnthcScptcmber.1994.issucofA111eri-
can Rifleman there isa HDope Bag'"rcport
ootheKimbcrModc182C22rimfil'CSport•
ingrifle.Therciniss1a1edtha1Kimberis
under new ownership and ntanagcmem with
thcnamcchangedtoKimberofAmcrica..
andthatth<:factoryislocatedinabuilding
ncx1doortothcformerKimberplan1.The
Kimber M82C has a few minor changes
277
 Skeleton pi$1ol grip cap-an
opt,OOofthe 19&6SuperAmeri-
ca,Kimber's!O!)of thelinesoper-
grademodel.

madctotherineandaction,butthatisno1
imponam here. What is important is 1hat the
firmhasnoplans1ocmerthecenterfln:mar-
ke1andsothischapterstandsaswrincn.lf
youhaveaKimberM82 Hometyouha~e
oneofthefinest22Homctse,·ermade
lncludedinthischap!cri safactoryehan
listingthespcdfica1ionsofallthedifferem
original Kimber rines made . This char1
shouldbcofgreatinterest1oall1hosewho

--
oollcctKimbers.lfintimcyouoollectallof
thedifferemmodels.calibcrsand,·ariations
youwillha,·coocveryfineandvaluablecol-
lcction

-~
:?er··
l."1.t'.
=..· ::
278
The!ollowiogchartlistsandgiv9sspecilicalionsollheKimbarriffesmade ThischartwillbevaluaDletotheKimbercotlac1or

Kinber Hilles: Tecllical SpecillcatiollS

t
l
828 .1:?LR Varmm1 R ,. 42½ 16
" '
'" ...
5

l2Hornt:1 Sponer R • J 21 6

'" ...
1•

828 22Homt:1 Spomr L • J

'" ...
ll 6 1•

82.11 2S·20 Sporter R N<A ll 6 1,

84 .223 Rem Varmin1 R 5 7¼ .,. " 6 1'

5 ,v. .,. " 6 1,

5 ,v. .,. ,. 6 1,

5 ,v.... ,. 6

...
1•

84 .22 1 Fireball Varm int R 5 ,v. ,. 6 1,

.17Rem Sporter R • 5 6¼ ... 22 6 10

...
... ,.
84 .17Rem Sportt:r L • 5 61/• ll 6 10

84 17 Mach IV Varmim R ,v.

"· ...
5 6 10

84 6a47 Sponcr 5 21 6 1,

84 6•47 Sporter ... 21 6 1,

84 lllRemMag Sporter R • 5 61/• .,. ll 6 1,

Trigg&r:Triggersonallmlesares,itt0<21/,.3½poundsofprassure;adjustabletorw&igh!ofpullandovartravtil

279
TOEXPAND THEIR line of centerfire
ritlcstoineludeafcwlongercamidga!han
thoscalreadymadefortheirM82riflc, Kim-
berof()regonhadtohavealongeracrion. To
accompli:;hlhis,theyrcdesignedlheM82
actiontomakeitlongerand!ilmngcr.andlhis
1heydid,·erys1>ecessfully. Kimber already
hadthreeoutstandingstockdesignsandlhese
1hcyuscdforlhisrifle. Excq>1fore<,n.ain
actionfeatures.theM84closelym.emblcsthe
M82.ThcM84wasintrodu«dinl985andit
rem:iinedinprodu,ctionuntiltheKirnberflffll
shutdov,11,aboutfiveycarslatcr.
The additional dwnberingswhi<;h Kimber
wanted1oincludcintheirline-upwerethe
five members of the 222 family. which by
lhenwerewellknownandmosiwen:popu-
lar.Thcywerethe 17Rem.. 221 Fireball,222
Rem., 222 Rem. Magnum and 223 Rem. ln
addition. their catalog listed lhree wildcat
chamberings,thefu47mm,6x45mmand 17
MrllV.Thc22lwasdevelopedasapistol
car1ridge for Remington"s XP-100 single
shol.bolt-action pistol The 222 Rem. Mag-
numne,·erbecameverypopularandwharfol-
lowingithadquick!ydissoh·edwhenthe22J
28-0
wasintroduced.acartridgeali0knov,-11asthe
5.56~45,asooop!edbytheU.Sannedfon;es
Here,briefly,iswhaltheKimberdesignen
did 103daP' or re-make the M82 IO handlelhe
222 familyofcanridges. The receiver was
madelongcr.includingalongerreceiverring
andaloogerloodingpon.Thcboltwascon-
sequentlyalsomadclonger,hu1i1alsowas
madewilhduallockinglugsonthelrontcnd_
aMauscr·typeextr2etorreplaccdthesmall
clawcxlractorandlaslly,thcmagazincwas,
ofrours,e,changed. The end result was an
actionnottoounlikctheoriginalM82,bm
strongerandsafer
Thcfollowingisamorcdetaileddescrip-
tionofthemainfeatwesoftbeM84:
Rttei,·u -l>-{achincdfromasolidblockof
chrome moly steel, the receiver is made
longer than the M82's with a longer ring.
loogerandwiderloadingpon,andadifferem-
lyshapedmagazinewellopening.lnsidethe
M84receivcrlhereare1hreadsupfronll0
receive the barrel, locking lug raceways
machincdoutlheentirelcngthoflhcrecciv«.
andir'sboredoutbehindthethreadstolcavc
plentyofmctalfor$Upponshouldersforthe
Al one time, Kimber made barreled acflons
availab4e,inc:ludingbolhlhllM82andM84
~~ various calibers and 1WO weights
twinlockinglugsonlhebolt.Thetopofthe
recciverisroundanddrilledandtappcdfor
scopemountbascs.
Bo11- Thconc-pic«boltisalsomachined
fromasolidblockofchmmcmolysteel,wilh
dual-opposcdsolidlockinglugsalitslronl
endandabolthandleatitsrear.Thcroo1of
thebolthandleser,esasasafctylug.
Eunctor- Thee:<1n1ctorispanemedafler
thefamedModel98Mall.$erexiractor.andin
theKimberli1eranuclhisactionissomctimes
refern:dtoasthe"Mini-Mauser."Thefi>ocof
thebohis~forthecarnidgeheadand.
asinlheMauserM98,therimisundcrcutto
allowlheheadofacarnidgetoslipunderlhe
extractorhookwbenitisbeingchambered.
Manyothcracti0115suchastheSpringfields
and Enfields hrn:thcsame feature. All the
same,thisextracrorismuchstrongerthanlhe
smallclawc~traclOrintheM82.
Dolt.slop-l'llncmcdaflerthebolt•SIOpSin
someMannlichcractions,lheM84'sisnearly
(Abov(l)KimberMo<lel84223CustomClas-
$i!;withvarmint·weightbar,el

id,:,nticaltothesamcpanintheM82,and00lt
tra-·elisscoppedwhcntheleftlockinglug
oontactslhebolt-stop.
Ejttlor-Thissmallbmimportampanis
pattcrnedafterlhcModel70Winchcstcrtjro-
tor.andispo,1itionedinaslolintherearlcft
undcrsidcoftherccciver.
T rigger a nd safety-The trigger/safely
unitislhcsameasu.ledinlhcM82Kimber.
Myn:rnarksonthistriggerandsafelyar•
rangemc,,1madcinthechapteron1heM82
~'::;~P view of Klmbefs MB4 223 Mini-
rillcapplyhen:aswell
M1g1u:iM--llnlikelhcdetachablesingle-
oolumn box magarinc used in the M82
action5. the M84 has B nondetachable maga-
zine very similar to that found in many bolt-
actionrepeatingriflessochasthcRemington
700series.
T rigger G uard-Made of stc<,l, the trig-
ger guard is finedwithahingedmaga.zine
floo,plate and catch. Guard screws 1hrough
holesinthefromandrearofthctriggerguard
I I' p
andthn:adedintothe=eiversecun:thebar-
reledacrioninthes10Ck.Thcrecoillugis
mcn:lyaroundSIUddovctaili:dintheboctom
bn:echendofthebarrel
ThcKimberchartinlhcM82chapterlists
thevariousspecifications.difforentca!ibers
and models in which 1he M84 Kimber was
oncc,made.hwasqui1eanarray.lnever
owncdoruscdone.butiflhadchoseonel
"u1ddhaveselc,;tedthevarmintsiylein223-
caliber"·ithaaaMicsmck.
281
h wouLD PLEASE me ifl could begin this
chaplcrwithad,:tailedhiSIOricaln.indownof
ootonlylheriflefuanuodhere.butofitsmanu.
fac1urcrandimpontras1,:cll.Forvariousrea-
sons I am notable to do this, the main one
beinglhatlinlchasbecn,,.Tinenaboutthcm
th.nlranrelyon.Anyway,itislherifleandits
actionlhat,,,eareinterestedin.Asthetitle
implies.theriflcandactioncoverodhereis
Klcingueruhcr's Improved KIS lnsta-Fire.
introdl>Ccdin1982,aqualityriflemadcinGer-
manybyVoereandimponcdanddisnibutcdin
theU.S.byKlcingueruhcr, lnc.lfyouhavc
ne\'crheatdoftherifleoroflhemanufacturcr
orimpontr.ilisootswprising.asallthreeare
moreorkssnewcornersoothescenc.Andin
19941canfindoo""idena:lhatVoereismal:-
inglhesamegunorth.nKJcinguemhcri11slill
handlingthcm.Thisproooblyindlcatcsth.nthc
lmpro,·cd K15 rifle has been discontinued
llowevcr,lamgoing10dc:scribetheriflcsand
actionsasiftheywereootdi,continued
Kleinguentl>crbeganimportingthcVoen,.
maderiflesin19n,lhefir.;torebcingtheKl4
Thismodelwasdroppedin l975andanew
mode1,lheKl5.wasintnxb:ed ThcKl5was
replaced in l982bythelruprovedKl51nsta-
Fire,thesubjec1ofllliscllaplcr.Theimprove-
mentconsistcdmostlyintheelimioationofa
curnbersomcco,."CJfurlhedt.uchablemaga,;ine
Thi,;isaboutlhesumtolaloflhebackgroundl
ha,-eabou;thcKlcingucruhcrriflcsandlhepeo.
plewhomal:candsellthem.Howc\.'cr,l"-as
abktobrnalolaboutthcrifleitselfbyn:ading
literatureonitput<llllbytheKlcinguenthcrpeo.
pleandbyha1ingarifle10study.
TIN_,.
Kleingucnther•s lmpro,·cd KIS rifle ii
madeinanwnberofstaoo.mlcen1erfirecal-
ibcrsandwi1hscverals1ylcsofs1ocks.Tbc
calibcrsarc243,25-06.257WcalhcroyMag-
num, 270,270 Wcalherby Magnum. 7X51,
7mmMagnurn, 308. 30-06.300 Magnum,
300WeatherbyMagnurn.308NormaMag•
nwn and 375 H&H Magnwn
TheSIOCkstybiarelheStardvd,asillllSb'at•
cd.lheClasslcsportcrwilhstraightcomband
regularforendtipandpistolgripcapwithoo
282
whitelinespaccrs.thcThwnbholesportcrand
lheTarD,1,;i,;d:withckisepistolgrip,highcomb
andlargefore,xl.Thestandardfinishonthcsc
stocl<sisavcrysmoothhighgla;s.,allhougha
dulloilfinsicao,alsobchad.TheSIOd:scanalso
beonlcredmadeofvariouswocidsof,'3rious
grades, ,·arious dieckcring panems and wilh
plainorskip,lircchedering.Roscwu<.Xlforend
tipsandgripcapsarefmed.sornc"ilhaidsornc
wilhoiawhite~andlhcsamegoesforlhc
reooilpads.Andifyouwantityoucangctulua-
fancyw,;,:,d"ithfancychocJ<(ring.runing.and
inlays..lfslikcordcringacu51om-maderifle.
Octachableslingswivclsndsarcalsostardani
Thesamebam:landactionisusedinallof
these stock lilylcs. On some of these srocksa
sicelcro;s])o[tisusedlhroughlhcstockjustto
lherearoflhcreooillug.lnallstocblhcbam:I
andactioniscarcfullybe<klediruolheSIOckwith
pressurepoioo111bothendsoflherocci,"CJand
lll!hcbarrclbrt«handfoo:ndtip.f.achrifleis
also1est<dfora.ccuracyoo1heKLcingucnthcr
~sothatacan::ycanbeguaranteed.Sock•
et-headguardscn:wsareusedtoholdlhcstock
andthcbarrelcdactionsocurely~."ith
lhes<,scrcwstumcdupwrylighl.
Standardbam:llengthsforthcKISriflcs
are24"forthestandardcalibcrsand26"for
themagnwncalibers. Thcbam:lsaresponcr
contouredandareonlhcslerdcrsidc.wilhthe
24" barrel having a rnuule diameter of
approximately.595". Rifling twists.groove
andboredimensionsarcstandan:lforallcal•
ibers.Thcbam:lsareextremelyW<'llmade
andfinishedinsideas,.-ellasoothcoutside,
andthcypcrformaswellastheylook
AmoogrumboltactionstheKlcinguen1her
Kl5isuniquc.Wi1hsc,·enty-fi,·eormon:bolt
actionsshownandde$cribedinthisbookyou
mightask,howunderthcsuncansiillanoihcr
boltactionbc:diffcrcnt?Wcll.lheKISisdif-
fcrcntinsomewaysfromall1heOO><Tsandit
hasafcwfeature:sfoundinnoOl!w:rrumbolt
actionOfcoursc,thcK15can'thelpbwhave
fca1urcsuscdbc:foreinolhcractions,andi1
alsohasfeat1.1ttsthatotheractionshave
alrcadytricdtooopy.Takeforcxarnplcthc
useofStelli1eforthelockingshouldcrinscr1;
itsusenotoolymak-eslockingandW\locking
thebolt!lmoothandeasy,bu1i1alsoguaran-
1tts.againS1theriflecvcrde·•elopingahead-
spaceproblemductoupsctoftheshouldm
orfromwear.Altogi:theritisauniqucac1ion.
itiscleaninOUlline.verystrongandsak.Few
olheractionshaveaboltwhichcanbcopcrat-
cdwilhsolinleeffonandsmoothne$$.
T111116 . . .vtllkllln
Thcmainpanofthe KleinguenthcrK15
receivcrisaroundpioceoflilc,elwithasmooth
holethroughitsccntcrtoaoceptthebolt.Up
frontthem:eivcrisboredandthreadedto
accq,tthelockingshouldcrinscrtandthcbar-
rd, with the na1 bn:ech end oflhe barrel
jammed tighl against the insert 10 hold it
sccwe.Bcginningashcndistaocctothcrearof
theinscrttwoopeningsaremachinedintothe
re«iver:ancje<:tionandloadingopcning
aboveand10wardstherigh~andthemagazine
ponbelow.Moremachiningisdonea1thebol-
10mtoa,ocep11hctriggermochanismandoow,,
tothintherecci,-erbridgeandtoangleitoffat
therear. Fourholcsaredrilledandtappedoo
lop for scope mounts. To provide a flat boc-
\OITU!li surfacc and a nxoil lug to lhc recciver.
anL-shapcdpieceofsteelisweldcdtotheboc-
1omofthcrecci,·crring.Thisisneatlydonc
Therecoillugisdrilledandtappedtoaocept
thcfronlguardscrew.Thcn:isamplesurl'ace
areaonbothannsofthcLtoprovidesolid
inlcuingiruoandagainststockwood.Onmost
K!5stockslhcwoodinthisarcaisbo1Slcredby
ahcavycrossboltthroughthcstod:.
TheK15boltappearstobcmadc:ofasin-
glcpicceofs1eel.Thefaceoftheboltis
rece!ISC<lforthecanridgeheadandthcouter
surface machined to leave threoe equally
spacedlockinglugs,.ithadiamclcrlhesame
asthebohbody.Thusnolockinglugrace-
waysarcneedcdinsidetherecei,-er.A~ess
(Al;iol,le)Th3Kleinguer#leflnl"(Ml(IK1SklS!a-
F'ffl.Ailhc,.q,fweMilhel<leir9J8l'llh!name,
thisrillHismi,deinGermanybylheVoerefinn.
However,Voereprot,ablymaooont,,lhemelal
partSIW'ldlhe~gurl$mlhsddlhe
Sl:d<.work. Thellle~isin30&ealhl<Md
weq,5825po,..rds..
 ismachincdin10the10prightlockinglug10
occep1thcclawc,cITT1C10r,whichisheldthere
andtensionedbyaspring-00<:kedplunger
This lug is weakened somewha1 by being
rttessedfortheexua<:torbmthereisstill
enoughrnctalatboths.idcsandlOtherearofit
sothatitcandoitsfullsharcofworl.1ohold
thcboltlockcdUlthertteiver
lbelicvcthcboltisaninvestmcntcasting.
Whilethcboltsofmostodx:rtumbohriflcsare
givenaverysmooth,le>'l:landhighpolishcd
finish,thcKlSbohhasanw,e,-ensurfaceof
staggercdrowsoflowbwnpsthcsizcofjcw-
elingswir1s.Theycanbcfchcasierthanthcy
can be seen. Each bump is jeweled. Even
thoughthcswf=isuneven,itisverySm<XlVL ingwhcnthebohisopm. ltdoesthisbyengag- Cootaincdinasicclhousing,thctriggcrand
One~n:sultofsuchafinishisthatthejcw- inginai=:ssintheendofthebolt When the safctymcchanismisanachedtotheunderside
elUlg"i!ID01wcaroffanditinnowayaffects actioniscloscd.thecntireboltsl=.'l:is"ilhin ofthereceivcrwilhtwosocket-headscrcws,
thcsmootho,,cratiooofthebolt thcrocciwr,withitscxpos,:dendflush"iththe oncateachend. lnthe10pfromofthehousing
Wbenthebohisclosedandthebolthandle angloorearendofthe=ei,-er. isthesear/0011-stopltisheldinplaceinthe
rumcddo,,.n,thetriplesetoflockinglugsonit Therockingcarnispinnedinplaceoothe housingbyapin,tensionedbyaspring,and
mg;ageintron1ofamatchUlgse1ofshoulders strikcr,andi1andtherearendofthestrikcrare the10ppartofitprojc,:tsthroughaslolin10the
ontheStclliteinseninsidethercceiver.asmcor finedin10thefiomoftheboltslee\'l:.Theboh n:ceiverThebol1bodyhasalcngthwise
tioncdinaprcviousparagraph.Stelli1eisan sleevetcnonissloocdfortherockingcarnso groovelOslideoverlhisprojectingpan,wilh
CJC1rel1lC!yhardspace-agemetalidcalforjust tha1 i1can~1Um.Onthcinsidcofthebolt thisgroovescrvingthreefunctions:l)IOscr."C
suchapwposc. Thelocking~isa ~'l:andlhreadcdonthestrikeristhestriker asabolt•stopwhcnthefromendoflhisgroove
suungonc.andexcq,1forthediffcn:ooeinthe head.Alevcrfittcdinagro,wcin1hcstriker coo1aetsthesear/boh-siop:2)astheboltguidc
number of locking lugs. the principle is the headpi,"<JlSonapin.tcn.sioncdbyaooilspring onope,,ingandclosingthebolt,topre·,en1it
sameasusedintheBfO'l>ningBBR.B'°"'ning andadjustablebyascts=w,whichserveslO frommming;and3)toopm apathattherear
adoptcdTiafterVocrehadbcgimusingit. holdthestrikerbock.Thelcvercontactsthesear sothestrikerheadcanbeeomeerigagcdwith
Althoughthebolthandleissweptbock,its inthetriggerrnechanism. Therearendofthe thesear/bolt-stopwhentheboltiscloeed
rnainS1emS1ickssiraightoo1fromthebolt; strikershowsthroughaholeinthercarfaceof Alsomoonledonapininthehousingisthe
thcreis oorollar or otherreinfon:ementwhcre thebollslcc,'l:andscr.-esasacockingindicator trigger wi!h its upper end coo1aeting the
therootofthebolthandlcjoinsthcboltbody Forwardoftherockingc.am is a short searlboh-stop. so thai ,..hen 1he ac1ion is
Jusithesame,thebo!thandleservcsasthe slee,·ewi1htwinrockingcamoocchesoni1 rockedthetriggerholdsthesear/bolt•stopin
fourthorsarctylugbymgaginginanL-shapcd whichlwillcallthcrockingcarn~. This engagement with the striker head and IO
not,;hmachinedin the rear of the l'C«'iver parthasasm.allu:.atonitsfrontswf=which relcaseitwhcnthetriggerispullcd. Thelrig.
Anglcdswfaccsoobothuppercorncnoflhis in1umfitsin1oamatchingno1chinashoulder gerisalsolinkcd10thesearibol1-stopsothat
~chprovideinitia]c,ctractioopoweronthc insidcthcbolt. Thcpurposcofthistca1and onpullingthcuiggcrbackfarenough1he
upliftofthebolth:sndlcandseatingJIO",'Cl"Dn notthistomakcthecockingcamslee,-ctum sear/boll•S!opwillbctippcddowntoallowthe
lowering the handle. hrequircsoolya60- with the bolt and to cock 1hc striker. Thc bolttobewi1hdrawnfromthen:cei,·er.11le
deg=liftoftheh.lndle1ounlockthebolt. mainspringis rom~bctweentherock- triggcris pro,·idcdwithaspringandasocket•
Sofarlhereisnodungunusualaoo.itthebol1 ingcamsleeve andaU-washcrinthefront headsetscrewdirectlyinfromofit10provide
body,handle.lockinglugs.cxtractororejeclor, cndofthesuikerrod. Thus,on1hcupliflof weight of pull adjustment in a range from
asthesamearefoundinolhcrmoderntwnboh thebolthandlcthecockingcam sleeverot.ites about2to7pounds.Behind!hcuiggeri11
ri fles. Hov,-c>"tf.thcrcmaindcroftheKISbolt " 'iththebolttocockthestriker,which"illbe anothcrSetScreWwi!hlocknU1sctatthefac;to.
assemblyandfiringrnechanismisdifferent, hcldbatkbythesearcngagingwiththestrik- iyand!hisscrewmUS1~bctamperedwi1h
qui1eunlikeanythinglhavceverscen . For er hcad. Whenthcstrikerisrclease<Jby Alsobuil1inandonlhetriggerhousingisthe
e1UU11ple,while1heslrikerisrockedbythe pullingthetrigger,thesuikermo-.-csforward safe,y. ltisrn:adcwilhalargesmatedlhwnt>.
upliftofthebol1handle,thebol1twoococl:ing IO~rikctheloosefiringpininfrontofit. pieecfor ~manipulation.Pivotingthesafe,y
camnoo:hi:$-----insteadthellCareona...,,,,.,,te
partinsidctheboltlwilltrytoexplain.
Thefiringrnechanismiscomposedofa
numberofpartsofwhichallbutoncarcat-
1aehcdtotheboltslee,-c.andthatpart is the
li'ontsectionofthefiringpin.whichlicsloose
imidcthebolthcad. Theboltslees,:hasalippcd
tcnon"·hichfitsinsidethcboh. withthetwo
lipsengaginginagr<m'l:10holdi1inplace. A
raisedponion oothcoutsideoftheboltslm'I:
rnatehcsthebolthandleskilinthem:ei,-erand
closestheslolwhcnthea,;1ioniscloscd.This
raiscdponioncorrtainsaspring-OOC-kcdplwtg,:r
whidtscr.-cs tolocklhebohslee\,:fromrum-

283
 AighHkle view of the actKI!\ showing the
:1U:: and the detachable box magazine
backmWesarowybof1101ock!hetriggerand,
a1!hesametimc.moveak>tttolockthebol!.
Eva)ihingabooil!hetriggerandsafetymc,;ha-
nismis••'eUbuihandlhereisliltk:likelihood
lhefunctionoflhesearwillbeaffcctoobocau.5e
lhebof!-stopiscombinedwithit.
The magazine assembly is comprised of
twomainpans,thedrotchablemagazinebox
and the magazine box holder. The magazine
bo:choklerisashoelmclalshcllanachcdtothe
receiverbytwosmalllipsa1iisfron1which
slipin1onoo:hesinthe=illug,anda1the
rearbyanotberlipwhichexiendsundcrthe
fron1oflhetrigg,:rhousing.A1therearofthis
holderismountedthemagazjnebox release
consistingoft,,.~leveis,twopinswxlaspring.
ThelOplC'\'erprojtt1Sin1olhcholderand
cngagcsina1100:hintherearofthemagazine
bo:cwhcnitisinscrted. Thclov.ttleverpro-
jectsintoaslolinthefrontofthetriggerguard
bowsotha1itcanbeeasilydepre,sc,;lto
n:leaselhemagazinebo:c.lnfrontofthemag-
azinehoklerisasmallspringdipwhichholds
thefrootofthemagazineboxinpl;M;e.Two
wirespringdips,oneoneachsidtoflhehold-
erwithlheir~projectinginsidethehokler.
ser.-etoejectthemagazineboxfromtherille
Tht~boxofstaggttedcohmnwidth
is"'elloonsbu:tedofsh:c!Slfd.Sl3mped.benl
andspotweld,:dinloaboxtoholdfivcSWK!ard
cartridgcsorlhnxbeltedmagruncanridges.lt
11&\aregularstiggered-a.,lmfollowerandflal
folk,;,,:rspring.aswcllasguidclipsooitsopen
end10holdcartridgcsin$ideandallowlhcm10
befedOULROU>dedndgcsarc!IWnpcdintolhe
sidesoflhe~allheshoolderjunctionof
thecanridgei1ismadcfor;lhcyholdthecar-
tridgetolherear"'+.cnlherifler=>ilsfi'omfir-
i,,g,andthi$hclpsprevembullelnosedamage.A
lillerblockintherearoflheboxisuscdlO~
cnitforcanridgcsoflheJ08cbss..
lnplaoeinlherifle.themagazinebouomis
flushwiththc.ltOCk.Cartndgescanbefedintoit
284
whetheri1isinlherilleorQUtofil.Thcrean:
alsocartridgt-guidelipsinthemagazinewell TIIIINWIIIIIII..._.,,
,;,peru1'iinthen:,,,ei,,:r.lftheowncrofaKl5 Firs1opcnthcbollandremovethemaga-
wantstodoso.hencedllC'\-crremo-.elhemaga- zinetomakcccrtaintherifleiswilooded.To
zinefi'omlheriflc.1-!llcanloadardunloadlhe remo,..,lhemagazine.deprtssthemagazine
maguine"'hileitisinplareand,insodoing. releasclatch!ocateda1thefron1ofthetrigger
avoidtheposs,bilityoflosingormisplacinglhe guard bow. Toremovclheboltaflcrithas
maga,ine. Thisla'llisanC"<-cr-prescrttpn.,blan beenopened.pullthetriggerbackuntilthe
withdetachable-mapzri!Q. boltcanbepulledfreeofthe=i,tt
Thetrigga-gwrdismadcofsiccl-lheOOW Disassemblethebohasfollow!:Withyour
panappearsiobeaninvestmer•<:asting."'ithlhe thwnbnail or a dull IOol, dcpn,ss the boll sleeve
othcrthreepansllwSlrn'Uldthe~hold- lockplungerinthefroo!edgcoftheboltsk,e,,1'
erwcldedtogelhcr.Sockel-hcad!a'e\•ISlhrough andtumthebohslce"cdockwiseafew
holesinthe~oftheguardthm,diruothe degrees wnil it pop,; out It can !hen be
lmMllugandrearmdofrooeiver.They=ly removtd.Whcnitis,...-nc,..ed.thetiomseetion
holdthenonandberrel~intheSIOCk. oflhefiringpinwilldropout.Theoockingcam
Asacclsleevepress,cdintotheholefortherear slcevcmigh1alsodropou1.butifi1doesno1.
gwnlscn:wregulaleslhe5Jlll'%bct-.,.ffl)lhetrig• taptherearcndoftheOOlta&ainstthebench
g,:.,-guan:landtherwei,...-.llprevemslhescn:w IOpandtheoockingcamsleevcwilldropout.
fi'ombeing1Umedl001ighlandpemlp&damag• Torcassernble.lirstdropinthelronlsectionof
inglhestocl<<.TaffeQingthebedding.ThcnJisno thefiringpin.makingceruiinlhatitfallsin
slce>~forlhefiorllguardscrew.bllltherearetwo placewiththetipprotrudingfn.ntheb=ch
pillars ofq:,o,<y orsooie other material 1mlllgh face,theninsertthefiringmcchanism"iththe
lheWO<:Klbct-.,.ffl!thefioocoflhelriggerguard lockplungerinlinc,.iththelowcredgcofthe
andrcttiva-lOmaintlinthisspaeing. bol1handlcrootandthenposhtheboltslcevc
Therearendolthebo11"'°""'1ng:(A)bol!
sleew!,(B)o:>d<ingk1dicalor.(C)bolllleeve
lockpb)ger.and(D)~ boll herde

agai1151thcbohandrumcountcrclock"iscuntil
theplungerslipsimolhelockposition.Next,
inscnthecockingcamslee\'ewithtca1forward
in linewuhtheholeintheboltbod)'. Donoc
31~furtherdisasscmlllyofthcfiringmed1-
anismaslhisisajobforaoompc1C1Ugunsmith.
Toremcwelhebam:1andactionfrorn1he
stockuscaCOIY0C1si>.emctricAllenwrench
andrcmo.-ethcramguardscrews,1herear
one firstaod1hcnthe front one. The trigger
guardcanthenberemovcdandthebarreland
actionliftcdoutoftheslOCk.Thcbigger
mechanismcanthenbercmovcdbyruming
ootthesocket-headscrew.Thiswillallowthe
magazincboxholdertoberemo\'ffl. Donoc
-
anemp11odisassemblethetriggerandsafety
mechanism.asthisisalsoajobforacompe-
tcntgunsmith.Rcasscmb!cinm't"TSCooicr.
TheKleinguc,nherlmpn:,vedK15riflcis
marl<cdasfollows. Stampedonleftsideof
Kleir.guenther,Seguin/Tex
Thcscrialnumberisstampedontherighi
sideofthcrecei,-erring.Themodelandcal-
iberdesignationsarestampedinonelineon
thcleftsideof1hebam:las
MOD K15 CAL. .306 WIN
-
Stampedonthcrigh1sideofthebam:lis
VOERE VOEHRENBACH MADE IN
GERMANY
I ha,'e had the chance to closely examine
only two KlcingucntherKl5 rifles and my
commcntsarebasooonthosc.Thcrifleswere
extremely'-''ellfinishedontheoulSide.Major
metalpanssuchasthcbam:l.rccci,-er,uiggcr
guardandbonomofmagllrincaregi,·cnamir-
rorpolishandthenblued Thcrnarlclllg'ionlhe
brumarecvidentlyputonaflerthelxlmlwas
polishedastheedgeofthelcnet'sarerai!ied
Thcstockisalsoexpenlyfmished.Thcsur-
fu,c;eissandedle,'elandsmoolh.Therearen::,
wnesorroundededgcs.The=oilpad.grip
capandtheform:lriparefinedwithoutgaps
and b'el ,..;m lhe wood Both stocks that I saw
hadahlghglossfinishappliede>=ly.wilhall
thegrainfilledandwithnoruns;thenthe!ilOCk
waschc<:keredbyaskillfulhand.Bothrifles
"""'$ho1,,pi.:a$.The_je-."ekdboithasabright
polishcdfinishandi1showsupwcllwiththe
p:,lishedblueftnishoftherettiver.
Alltheparuof1heactionaresteelexc,:pt
1heuiggerhousing.whichisalightweight
alloy. Thefollowerappearstobestainless
sie,.,landi1is!cftbright.All1hcscrewsareof
lhesockct-headtypewilhmctricthreadsand
younoedmetricAllenwrrnchestorumlhcm.
Some of the pans appear to be invcs1men1
cas1ings.suchas1he001t.boltsl='eanduig•
gerguardbow. lntident.ally.ononeofthe
rifles 1 cxamincd.thcinsideof1he bigger
guardwasnotpolished.bu!thiscouldha,'e
beenano,,-ersight.Thcmagazineholderand
1hemaguineboxaremostlyofshectmeta!
construction.
Asmcntioncdearlierinllrischaplcr.therecoil
lugiswekle,;lto then,:;,:iver.Thcreisabsoluicly
nothingv.rong,.iththis.butldidwl'llfflwhy
then,:;,:i,'et"properandthe=oil l'-'l!'-'=not
madeasoncpicce.Th=isalsosomc"'elding
OOl>eonthetriggerguardinitsmanufactutc.but
i1issoskillfullyOOl>elhate-ideooeofitOOCS001
showontheoutside.Mctalsurfaceslha!donot
showarenocpolished.excep11hemovingand
v.'Ol"kingpans.Ofcourse."'Ol"kingpartsthat
~h.mleningarehardened.
Thcinsideoftherccci,-erissmcx,thandpol-
ishcd,andtheboltrr,o,,-csbackandfonhinit
effortles.sly.Thcrearenoracewaysofanykind
insidctherccci,-er.noce,,ffloncforthestriker
head.Thecockingof!hesmkerisdonccn~
lyinsidethebolt.EVCl)fflingaboultheopera-
tionoftheactionissmoolhandeasy,including
285
 Adeluxacus1om Kleinguenlhar K15 lnsta•Fire wi1h ultra1ancy
wood,checi<tlring,intaysandengraving.Shown withleupold
variabl&-j>ower$(;0J>einBIJl)hl8rmounts
lheupliftandlo,.ffinsoflhcbohhandlc,safe-
l)'operation.Diggcrpull.boltreleasepulland
lheremo,'alandrep!accmentofthcmagazine
Eversir-.::eKlcingucnthcrbcganimpol'ling
andsellingtheirVocre-madcriflcsthcyha\'c
ah,·aysinsistOOtha11heirrifles~onlylook
goodandopera1esm<Xllhly.thcyalsodemand-
edtha1thcybeaccurateandsrayaccuratc.Thc
highc:stprioril)'isgiwnto..a:uracy--thathas
bt<:ntheirmainsdlinspoint.Thciraccwacy
star,d:ud,;archigh.andthcyhawtobeifthcy
guarantcelha1cachoncoflhcriflesthcysell
,.;ndcli\'craspe,::ifocdcgrceofa,ocuracy.And
KleinguemherdocsjllSllhat.Thcirguarantec
ofaccuracyisthm:shots"ithin •l,~ ccntcrto
ccrnerat100yard$withaselectedload.
Finebarrelsareroquired1obegin"ith.plus
a good ignition system. Voercbam:lsare
quality.and the lnsta-Fireignitionsys1cm is
hardtobea!.lnaddition1othebam:landigni-
1ionsys1cm.Klcingucntherhaswori<edouta
boodingsystemlhatworks.hwoiks~only
toproducetigh1lygroupedshots.butmain-
tainsoonsis1entaccuracyc,·enasthcbarrel
286
"'Umsup.anditmaintainszcroovcrapcriod
oftime.Allofthisis,·cryimportanttothe
huntcr.helikestoknowthathisncxtshotwill
s1rikc where he "'ants it to. Kleingue,,ther
tcstseachrifleandfumishestothcpun;hascr
proofofaccuracywithanacoompanying1ar-
ge1andtheloadthcyuse,;I
Thcirbeddingmethodutiliz.esthn:epoints:at
therearoftherooei,"',atthercooillugareaof
thcrec.::i>-crandbam:l.anda1apoiminthc
fortnd~whcn:thefiuotslingswivelstudis
loca!cd.Abeddingcompoondisusedatcachof
~points.lnaddition.the"oodinthercooil
iugshoolderareaissuppon,:dbytwovertk:al
pillansollwthefron1guanlscrewcanbe
tumed11Pve-rytigh1andst1y 1ight.Any..-ay,
or-.:eproperfysightedin.therifleislikelytostly
sighlatin.
The Kleinguemhcr K 15 is a mm-sized rifle
The JOS caliber Kl5 I had wdgh,:d 8.25
poundswilhoutscorcandmoum.Putascope
andmountooitandloodthemagazine. andit
willweighcloseto10pounds.lnamagnum
caliber,,.itha2'1ongt,rbam:landasliz,g,closc
toanolherpound,.1llbeaddedtoitThatisa
lotofrifletocany.That"ill~bolheralargc
man.butasmallermanmightchooi!ealightcr
andsmallerproportionooonc.Whilelhcbutt-
scockiq:,10therearoflhcpistolgripistrimmcd
to a ~ minimum. as is also lhc forend. the
pistolgripandthemiddle$eC!ionoflhc Kl5
siock isproponioocdforalargc-handcdman.
Th:pistolgriphasaflaredgripcapandapalm
swcll.feal\ll'esmanyrifleshooterslike.larn6
fect,4inchestall.handsofaveragesiie,and
withthcnigserplattdasitis.lhc K l5pistol
gripisioolarge,ioolonsandtoofarbackfor
me.Thcmiddk:se<:tionofthestockisdecp
andbo:<y"ithagirthlhatfitsalargchandthc
besl.Thislargcginhgocsalongwithallrurn-
boltrifleslha1M,-calargceapacil)'staggen:d-
columndctachablcmagazine,andifyoulike
thescfeal\ll'esyouwillhavctopu1up"itha
bulky middle section.
IF MY MEMORY serves me rigl,1. l bchc,·c
thatln111acrosslhcKriconamemanyycm
,go.pcrhapSinancarlyStocgcr·scatalog.
And. u litt:all.thcnflethalboretha1name
"''15 122rimflf'ttumbohrq,c31<:rwith1m.,c-
wnc:llw,oanedtomcrgc"'iththcfunof
lhcuigac:r&uard.Abo.11had11ypica[Gtr-
man-styled~"'3WXl<"'·ilhschnabeland
d,i:d:;pocce. (I may be IIllSW<Cn ~- for dus
nflerouldhlvebccn1 Bmo.)lrouldnot
affo!dRtth1nflethm,butmany~W..-
.,,l,cnlheard1halKnrohadbrough1ou1a
nflechambcmlforthcllOfflC'llordercdonc:.
This was inl994.Whcnitarrivcd.andoo
opcnint.thcbox. l "-assomev,hatsurpriscd10
see 1hal it was ~hing like lhc Kril:o in my
memory . Bu1 i1 is ■ Krico. and I have no
douhtbu1tha1,1wiltscrvcitsnc,;1own..-wdl.
TheKricoM300riflelreccindandwluch
,s thc1op,cof1h,schaptcristhcStandard
modcl-lhclc:Mt:Slprioolofthcthrcellomct
nlle,thcfomrn:IUS.Mynfleisman<cd as
"'"""
lnscnpcoothcbarTel,ahcadofthcll:ar
sight. is thcn■me ■ndlldons&ofthcirnpo!1ff
11 folk:,wf,·
-.AZ
Stampedbehindthell:arsigh1is1hecal-
iber. Onlhclcftsidcofthebr=:his1hescr-
,al nwnber.withthelastlhrcedigi!Salsoon
thc:shroud. S1ampcdootheleftsidcofthe
A.KriegeskorteGmbH FurthGetrnany
Ocrmanpmofmarbarcstampedoo1he
hrffl:hmdoflhcbamlandrm:i,-er.
Thcl9941ner■1W1:Jen11mebythc,mponcr
sholo"l ■nddcscribesthrcediffcrcntmodcbof
thcM.lOOmodels ,n22Hornn.Theyarcthc
Slandardmodcl.,,hochhasa23S~l.
groo,·cdunddrillcdandtappcdforscope
mount.• checkered plain Eun:,pean walnut
Slockandopcnsights.Thcseoondmodclos
lhcDdu.~c ....·luchisthcsameasthcStandard
cxocp1the$!0Ckis ofmuchfancocrwalnut.
ThcthmlmodclosthcSnrtzrnwh,chlw1
fuU-lcngthMannli.hcr~leAockand • l9.Sw
b■rm.b:hmodcloshigherpriccdthanthc
othcr.butallhavclhcsarncactionandit is thc
IICUOnin"luchwcan:mostin~.
TheKricoM300osabolt-actJOOrq,calCf
wnh 1 ~hlblc single-column box map-
:tinc. foruse pnmarity for hwoling the smaller
varminls. All M300modclsarcadult-si~cd
riflesandldonotdas.$anyofthemasn:al
lightwc,ghu.lffincd"ilhagoodsoop.,.any
of1hcthn.-cwou!dbcquiteidealforthescri-
ous,"1:nt1in1shoolcrfortakingcrows.prainc
dopandthclikcatshon1omodiumrange,.
Onnounglhcnamcofthcmanufacnu,,ron
my nfle. ,1 remmded me that l had wnuen
aboutanotherrifle~bylhatfirm.l
bcnmco;m1(JUlandcheckcdbadtoothc~
vicJUSchaplcnandcamcacrosstheTnrdc-
windsModel600.Therclllllledthattho$amC
name,soobothrif\esbut"·ithdilfcrcnt
add!ascs. AllhoughthcriflcinTTadcwmdl:,s
a Knco.lcallcdthalchaptcrthc"Tr1dewintls
........
M600""simplybccausethenameT,adc,,inds
\\U ltampedonthc~ei,-.r
,.,
Thcrece,Vffisastttltubemachincdoolhc
outside!O a diamctcrofl.062"andborcdand
reamed ,nside 10 flC«pl the .665" diameter
bolt. ltismachu>alupfronttoacccpcthcbar-
llel shank. II the boQom 10 leave a mapcinc
well ~"'I and the douhle-set lriucr. and
onthen&hludcforthetjectionpon. Thctop
oflhe~,-er,sgroo.·cdforup-offtoope
moums as .,,~11.sbcing(k;llcdandlllppel(lfor
screw-onmountbases.hhasnotang. From
endioendi1is7 .SO-loog.Therccc""CfnllJl1S
l . llrt'inlrngth.thcloadiJ11!ponl.78(f'and
themt"hat i!lnormallycallcdthebnda,:1
lengthy 4.61rt'.
Thebam:lis sponer,;onlOUfCd.23.s'",n
lena\handhasamuzzled,amctcrof.S90".
ForthcHOfflC'lthcborehas a rifl,ngrw111of
1;14ww,lh$lJ.ptlO\~"',thleft4iandn,,ltl. h
,sfas1cncdtothe~,...-1hesamcas
Anschuu ba=ls ue fined: tight but not
threaded- ugh! slip fn ,mothe1~cewcr"11h
a smglecross pin. r imagine that like lhe
Anschutz, the barn:! was. pcrliaps.c,·cn a
shnnkfilwilhlhcrecc:ivcrheatcd
Thcboltisof1wo-pica:construc1ioowi1ha
non-rota1mgbodyandrota1ingbol1 handle
slccvc 11then,ar.Thi1slcc,·cfi1SO\ffl
tumcd-downandpanlythn:aded5c.'Clionof
lhcboltbody. Atthcli'ontoflhisl"!lec>~is
the boh handle and it's near the two rear
Opp(li$Ul&b:kinglugs.Toacccpcdusput.lhc
rearof1hertta,-.risma,;hincdwilhrxo-
w11ysandkxkin&shouldcnforthelock,ng
lup.andasmgledccpnocchthrou&hthe"~I
forthebolthandlcwilhi1Sroot'"""1niUI
afcfylua.Thcrearoflhisnotchisanglcdto
f~lhcbol1fono.llfdzsthehandleostumed
OO'A-11. 11 has a similar camming surface at the
10pcomcrofth,snotchtofon:-:lhcbollrear-
wardonraisinglhehandlc.as;nmoslboh•
actionriflcs.
A simple spring-backed claw extractor
JIO'lloonedin a poo-,~atlhcfunoflhcboh
bodyprovidcsallthatis~10cx1111C1
loadtdorfiredcascs. Thcbr=:hendofthc
ban"elu:llatandlhisisbrokmootyby a nar-
(AbOYe)ThtKricoM300,Clliber22Hornel
287
rowslolintowhi..:hthetipofthecxtraciorfilS
whenthebol1isfullycloscd.Thefaceofthe
boltisrecesscd.wilhthcrimextendingon!y
overtheupperhalf.Thebolrbodybelowthe
frontpartismachincdflatsotha11hebolt
rideslowo,-erthernag;azine.Anarrowraiscd
portiona1thefron1oflhisflatcomactsthecar.
tridgerimtopushitootoflhcrnag;azineand
inrothechamber.
At the lefl side of this flal surface is a
lcngthwisegroovcforlheejector.A1themir
of the magazine opening in the receiver. a
flat-topped.half-moon,smallstcelpanishdd
inplacea!thebottomofthebolrraccwaybya
288
=.Thisscn:wisdccpinsidethefrontSlud
intowhichtheforwardrriggerguardscrew
thrtads.Araiscdridgeontheuppersurfaccof
thispanmatchesthelengthwisegroovcinlhc
bo!lomflatoftheboh.andthisbccomesthe
eje<:1or.Thisisavi1alpanbe<:ausei1does
mon:thanejcclcascs. ltalsopreventsthebolt
bodyfromrotating.apanno1wilikethesimi-
!ar part.i; in the Winehester Model 43 de-
scribcdelsewhereinthisbook.Forlhisreason
itisalsocallcdthebohguide
TheworkingpansinthebohoftheM300
arcfew,bulmon:compli..:alcdthanlwould
haveglJC5.SCdumil l disasscmblcdthebolt
Thcnldiscoveredthatherewasafiring
mechanismarrangementwhichlhadnever
seenbefore.ltremindcdmeoftheboltofthe
Kkingucnther rifle described elsewhere,
becauseithadafuingme,;hanismva.stlydif-
feren1fromothcrs.
Thebest waycodesaibelhcKricofiring
pansistotakethebohapan.Atlhcmiroflhe
boltislheshroud.whichisthreadedtothe
holthody.right-handthreads.Aheadoflhc
shroudthcreisaverythinlockwasherandit
takessomeeffontounscrewtheshroudldid
ilbywindingse•,erallayenofmaskingtape
arounditandusingpliers. Whcntumcdoff.l
 Lefl.aide..;ewollheKricoM:lCOactioo'Mlt\bollopenahowing:(A)bollshroud,(B)locilnglugs.(C)
8howingoneoltwo~900!)8mcu'llingi,oo,,es!Wld{D)tappedholeslor~m:u:1bases.
foundthemainspringandthecockingindica·
tofinsldc.Thecockingindicaloralsoserved
panlyasthemainspringguideandplunger.
Nextlrcrnovedthethinlockwashcrandthe
bolthandkslceve.Undcrtheslw.·ewasthe
cockingcam.Thi1wa,;asrnallpan.cu.-.'Cd
panwayaroundthetumcddownsectionof
theboh.Lastly.lrcmovedthellalfiringpin
A simple mechanism? Not =lly. Whoever
cameupwiththissystcmmusthaveworl:ed
hard at it. Most of i1 is easy to undersiand.
such as 1he flat firing pin. the mainspring
behindi1.theshroudandcockingindica1or,
buthowthcfiringpiniscockedisootsosiin-
plc.Hm,ishowthatwori:s:Thecocking
cam..asmallfrailpan.orsoitseemedtome.
liesinagroovcintheboltoody;whenthebolt
sleevchandleisinplacethislinlepanis
emircly hidden. This impor1an1 piece is
curvedtofittheboltandthincnoughtoallow
thebolthandlesleevetodropoverit.Atone
tnditisbentupsharply,wilhthem:in1ofthe
bolthandlesle,,,es1otted10slipoveritsotha1
thispiecerotateswiththesleeve.Attheother
tnd.thi,picccisangledoff1ohecomcthc
acrualcockingcamsurfucetoengagethefir-
ingpin.sothatonraisingthebohhandkthe
firing pin is drawn hack to cock it. At the
uppcrtndofthiscamsurfacethen:isashal-
low oou:h.jus1 as in mos1 turnbolt bolts.
When the filing pin is cocked, the sear in the
triggermechanismrisesinfrontofaprojec-
tioooothefllingpin.andoolo"'fflngthebolt
handlethefiringpinishcldcocked.Jwould
gu,esstha1the,"er)'fmtpanofthisac1ion10
breakor...,-earoutwouldbcthissrnallcock-
ingcam.
Thebolt-stopislikenoneo1he,-lhave
eve,-comeacross.ltisloca1edoothelcftof
thereceive,-,asarcmostothers,andismade
ofasinglcsmallpicceofspringsteel. lt"s
heldinplacebytheendofthcpinoowhich
thctrigge,-searismountcd.l1snapsinplace
andisOOlhcldonbyascrcw. lntegra\with
theinsidesurface.asrudprojcctSthrougha
holeinthcrcceive,-wallandthisisthcstop.
ThissrudprojcctSintoagroovcinthcsideof
theboltbody.thefrontendbccomingthe
Slopping point. A scmi1cd surf1tce on the
bolt·stopprojec1sabove1hcs10Cklinc.and
1hcbol1isrcleaseJbypushingi1Supperend
totheleft
Three different trigger mechanisms are
madefortheKricoM300oction:plainsinglc-
stage.double-setandamaK:huigger.Jha,-e
not had theopponunitytoexamincthefirst
and the last types so I will ootcommenton
than.Myrifle"''lllfittcd"''iththedoublc«t
uiggcrsandassuchtriggersgothisoneisa
dandy. hiswellmadeandfinishcdandpcr-
fonnsnawlessly.Myoolycriticismisthatthe
1riggersshouldheeloscrtothcrearoflhc
guardbowor.bene,-yet,thatthepiSlolgripbc
madeclosertothebow
Thistrigge,-mechanismishousedinastccl
shcllorbolcwhichisanachedtothebonom
rearoftheretti,·.,-byapairofthrcadedstuds
ateachend.Thescstudsarcthreadcdatthe
lowe,-end.andholdthehousingvianuts.ln
addition. bolh studs arc l,ollow and threaded
insidctoacttpttherwoscrcwsthatholdthe
triggerguardinpla.ce.
Twopinsthroughthelowerpanofthetrig-
gerhousingholdthetriggcrsofthismecha-
nism.Thereartrigge,-isthecockingtrigge,-
andthefrontonethefiringtrigger.Therear
triggerispoweredbya rather stiff spring.
whiletheftontonehasavcryweakone.To
""set""thefromtrigger.thereartriggerispullcd
backuntilitiscocked.Touchingthcfront
triggerrcleasesthecockcdniggertoitrikethe
sear(orrocke,-asitisoftcnealledjwhichthen
rcleasesthcfiringpin.Therinecanalsobc
fircdbyrn=lypullingthem;inttrigger.On
thisrincthereisconsiderableslacktolakeup
onthefromtrigger.butthepullthenisrall,er
shortandligln.whichissomcthingunusual
withmostdoublc:--scttriggers
Thesmal!screwbctv.-ecntheuiggersisto
adjUS1thelightnessofthepullofthefronttrig-
g.,-whenthedouble-se1 mechanism isused
Thcreisawholelocrnorctoknowandleam
onthesafeandproperuscofasct•trigger.asl
ha,·coutlineinmysmallboot.:.Mnnnging
AndMastfflngASet-triggeredRifle.
1 followedmyownadviceandldidoot
complctelydisasscmblctheset-triggermech-
anismoomyKricorifle.Howevf:1".having
disasscmbledmanyothersinthepast.lknow
fairlywelljustwha1thistrigge,-mechanismis
compriscdof.od1crthanwhatisvisiblcfrom
theoutside.Beside:sthetwotriggersandthe
adjusting screw. 1htre arc several pins.
springs,thesearandperhapsano!herlevf:1"in
theKricolrigge,-housing.
lfyoumustadjuSlthcsct-trigger.rhebar•
reled action must be removed from the
srock.Thisisnccessarytogainoccess1oa
smallblacksct-scrcwinthelowerleftside
ofthetriggerhousing.whichmustheloos-
~;~'!.i
before the adjustment screw can be
Thesafcty.withitsscrralcduppcrp::,nioo.
ismoun1cdontherearrightsidcofthetrigge,-
housing.andmthcrthansliding,i1pivruto
1hcS.afeandfircpositions.Pivoted1othc
rear.itlocksbolhthesearandbolt
289

The magazine holderisattached101he
rtteiverwithtwoscrews.happcarstobea
casting but it is well made and substantial
lntothelowerfron1ofit1hereisasenated
and pivoting catch to hold the magazine in
place.J1isallgood.ThereisalsoasmallL•
shapcJpiettofmc!althatfitsbe1weenlhis
rnagazineholderandthen:ceiver."'·hich
sen·estofilllhcgapbetweenthernagazine
andthechamber.
The single-column box magazine is well
constructedofshects!ed.lnsidcisaziJVL118
follo"-'eTspringandaflat·toppedfollo"-'eT
Bolhsidesofthemagazinebodyha,-cpressed-
290
Arrow points to the steal recoil lug in the
woodotlheKricoMJOOrifleforend
inguides;theoncsrutbereartoguidetherim
ofthecartridge.andthedeepcrforwaitloncsto
centerandguidethecartridgeintothechamber
The booom of the magazine has an easily
rcmovablcbaseplrucwhichprojec,sbelowthe
stocklineforeasyandco1wenicmgrosping.
Thestockandthebarreledactiooar,,held
togcthcrby1WOi;ctl!V,"SWhichlhrcadinlOthe
studsholdingthelriggerOOUSinginplace.and
byoncescutcheonscrew1hroughlhestock
andthreadingintothe/rontendoftherce<:iv-
er.Thisescutchcooiscombinedwilhasteel
bushing\Oohichextendsfromthebooomofthc
stock lO the n:cciYcr. Removing the two
The Krico M300 action minus the trigge,
guard and magazine showing the following
(A)seMriggeradjustmentsc,ewend(B)set-
trig,geradjuslmenls,::rewlocl<so-aw.
scrcwsa1theendsofthelriggcrguardallov,-s
thetriggerguardtoberemo,·ed.Removing
thefronlguardscrewallowsthestocktobe
separatedfromthebarrelcdac1ion
Thereisenooghinfonnatioointhepre=l-
ingchaplcrstoinstructyouoohowtodisa.s-
sembletheboltandhowton:,novethestock.
n.,-
ThestockonmyStandardMJOOKrico
rifle is made of plain but good European
walnut.ltisentirdystyledfortheAmerican
shooler- thereis001hingEuropeanorGer-
manic about it except the narrow. non-

detachable sl ing swivels attached to the
stockwith"·oodscrcws. t1isfinedwitha
han:lplas1icbu11platebutnopistolg:ripcap
llicrc is a MonteCarlo comb but no cha,k.
piece.Thefon:ndissemi-na1boltomedand
itsendiscmoffatanangle.Coarsechcckcr-
ingco,·crsmuchofthepismlg:ripandlessof
theforend.
Machinedinle!tingi$roughleavinga~of
IOOlmarksandsplinten.Thebam:lchannelis
decpcnoughsothebamlisf~floating.On
myriflc,thewoodontheleftsideofthetip
bcarsmoreheavilyagairutthebam:lthanthe
olhersidi:.Whatisnovelinthisstockistha1a
sieetblockisS1luglyinlenedandwt'dgedinto
theruroftheforendchannel.Thebooomof
thebarrel,justahcadofthcrtteivcr,hasa
- ,_,
grooveacn:>ssittoengagethesteelluginthe
stock.Thissm-esastherccoillug!Thechan-
ndforwanlofthislugisfrttoflhcbamL
Ther<,areafcwfcaturesofthc M300 I
thinkeouldhavebccnbener.Whiletheholl,
stopisofoncpiettandsccminglysimple,J
donotlikcit.ThecomersofitsSC1'111tedtop
aretoosharp-1hcyought1ohavcbeen
roundedoff.Onmyriflc,therearcndof the
m:civcrissmoothand polished but not so
theej,x,tionpon.Hcrelherearetoolrrwks.
sha,pedgcsthatCQUldcutthefingeronsin-
glc loading, and there are machine burrs at
eachcndandlinlcs.harppointsatthccndof
the scope mounting grooves. I in1cnd 10
smoo1h1hemoffand do some retouching
with a cold blue
lcerta.inlydoootlikcthc1>Aythcbam,l(s
fincdtothcreccivcr.Jwouldgreatlyprefcri1
bethreadedintoplaccaswithmostccnterfire
rincs.
Anotherfcaturewhichlbelicvecouldbe
greatly impro,·ed is the cocking cam. Some-
1hing similar101his arrangemcn1 was used
in the Tradcwinds M600 action. In 1his
action,thecockingcarnhastwocamrning
surfaccsandapin1ococ kthcfiringpin .
Withforethough1 l behcvc thisCO\lldhave
beendoneontheM300.lfthecockingcam
on the M300 was made that way it would
havcdoobledthccammingsurfaceandtherc
--
wouldbefarlesswcar,andlesschanccof
thecambreakingorgeninglost.Also,with
~ . :~=:--cons!fUG1ion.NonegaJreooillug
:5~~~;,:~td~
-~·
~lh,g ...
~
lgnttlon
Ejector ..
Bolt-Clop . . . .td
.. Noneprowjed
II I
morecamrningsurfaccareaagainstaheavy
pin,theactionwouldcockcasicrandmore
unoothly
lflhaddesignedandmadcthcM300Stan-
dard510Ck,thepistolgripwouldbecloserto
theniggersandi1wouldbeshor!erandsome-
what slimmer. lllat 1>wld have made using
thes.e1-biggerh:andicrtomanipula1eandusc
Thcpis«>lgriponthcRugcrM77/22Homet
iswhat l havcinmind.
Puningthcstttlreooilluginthcstockand
llllll:hingthcbarrelisanovelidea.llowcvcr,l
dislikethc!IOll:hiOJ!ofthcba~landlwould
havcdoneitdiffercntly,as l haveactually
doncin1hcpast. Mymethodwastodrilla
hole in the barrel about 11,~• dccpandofthat
diarnetcr,andthcngla.sli-bedarodaboot 1/ (
longintothcstockinlinewiththcholeinthc
ThcKricoactionisdifferembutlhavcmy
dooblsabootsomcofthcdifferences.J1>wld
m·crlook them if this Hornet rine proved
cxccp(ionally accurate, which ii ,·cry well
might be.Butumilitis1e,;1cdlwillS1ickwith
thcKimberM82,whichisthcfinestandmost
accuratc22Hornctrillelhavceverowned
291
As A RIGHT-HANDED~- 1 ni:,'Cf
WU much llllett$1cd III lcft-handcd boll-
a<:lion nflcs until the time came when I was
forccdtod1angcsides;lha1is.10begin$hoot-
ingfrorn1helcflshouldcrbecauseoffailing
,,gh1inmyngh1cye. l 1hcnbcgan10undcr-
Sland the problems JOUthpaw ~ faced,
andforthefirsthmc:,lrealiudtlwthm:"'"ti
1ruly1nml for kfl-handbolt-actionriflcs.
M~hadoomeout"'llhalineof22run-
fin,bolt-«tl0flrinnduringthelatc,l930l,
bu111apprarsnowtha1~"-unot100
muchdmltndforthem;lhey"ffl:IOOlldil-
conllnucd.PerliapsthcflrllJP«ialtygun-
malcrto1umou11h1gh-po,.,-en,dtumboh
nflewasR.F.ScdgleyofPhiladelphia.lkis
supposcdtohavemldcupafcwlcft-hand
nncson1hel903Springfield.allhough l
ha\'ellC\'crSttnoncorcvcrtalkcdtoanyor,,c
who ha$ 5ttfl one. In 1he Au81JS1, 1940. issue
ofAmeria,n Rijlcm(1n. a mention is made
tha1Stoc:acrcouldalsofurnishaleft-hand
Mause-ract1011,bu1Jfailtofindanyvcrifica-
1ionof1h11inanyofmyS1ocgcrcatalop.
... tuchdmbackiothemid-1930s.
In the August. 1949. issucofA...maln
R!flc-,,.~ittphoioohlcfl.flandM98
MaUSffcon-,'ffSOOndoneb)'RoyGradlc.Tlus
"'-uaccornph$hcdbyfimngagcarcdbol1
handleonlhcfronllcflPdi:ofdw:boh~-c.
piV011111&HOJ1lhebol1~"Ck:d.anclmesb-
,n31l"'1thprscu1in10lherearofthebolt
body.hprobablywori<ed.bul10me,11oob
likc a n1msyarnngemcn1.Anothcrgunsrnith,
st,ll,nbus,,_a1this...,Ti1ing.bcganspec,al-
i7.mginronvenin&72land722 Rcrning1on
acuonsforlcfl-handoperation. HeisOaleM .
GuilM:ofGardncrs.Pcnnsyl,11J1ia.
Allofthcsc:.uwcllasson>eOlhcfS. "'ffl:
ron,·cn,onsofex,shngngh1-haooac1ions;
they ....ffl:nothoncSl-to-goshlcfl-haoo
a<:lions.Th1JSIIU11lion...,-uchanged"·hcn
Mathieu Arms Co. ofOaldand. Califomi.a.
mtroducedaqualily""truc:Mlcf\-handl\llllboh
actlOllaround 19:SO. ltwasaCU$l0111-madt
aa1011.expmsi•~.anddeli•"t'f)'ori11"..s
292
51ow.butn•,,1S111Uelcflyacuon.andagood
11 ......sseldomad...enisedandtinlchubccn
....n11cnabouliloritsmakcr. l cannotfindi1
mcntioncdes·cnonceinanyofmymanygun
books.andonlyonceinAmnican Riflnnan.
andthalwastheSeplcmbcr.l9S2,issuc.BUI
"''Ofdl(llaroondtlwi1wasagoodaction.l1
probablyrece"·tdthemostpubh.::,tyfrom
Wcathc!by. who used it for building tho5e
fineWcathcrl,yMagnurnriflcsforlhctrlcf\-
handcdCUSIOmmbcforttheMarkVW,eadl-
ffll)'..:cion ...... imro,;bCal in 195&
Mathicu111Ct100S.ban-elcd..:c,onsanda:m-
pltlenflesstockedbyfajen ....ffl:listedinthe
l961Rcmhanhjcn.Jnc..C3WDg.Th:$W>-
dardlCl>Onfor30-061engthcartridgtshSICd
al $162.S0, the magnum al $17S.13amltd
a,;uons "ffl: $21 1.45. while the Fajen•
stockedrillc...,-asS277.S0. Those werelhe
goodolddays.
Thisi1allthcinfonru11iontha1 lhavcbcm
ablcrodigupontheMathieullClion.Alc11cr
ofinquiryiolhef.-tultieuArmsCornpanywa,
notanswcrtdpriorlocomplctingthisbook.
soldon'1knowaboutthcirprc$Clltstaillll,
uc,..'e'ow,"11crt"'Ofd11"0U1thatl,.adoong
1bookori~l(riiretumboltact1011S.IWU
loaned I magnum Mathieu action by Ill)' good
&if:ndOcanMillcr.HcrelollolO'S•<bcriptlOll
,fa
ThcMatlueurcoeivcrwurnachincdfrom
asolidpicceofstttl.Wbilcnotaoopyofany
othcrrtecivcr.ildoeshavefcaturesofsornc
othc:roc1ions, which indicale that Mathleu
""tithooroughlyfamiliarwith,"3rioustumbol1
a,;1,ons.Forcxamplc,lheham:lshanklhr'Cads
an:lhesa=asthoseinthe1917Enficld
..:11on:thebridgcisshapcdlikcthatofthe
721 Rcn11ng10n:thebol1-siophous,ngrc,an-
blc$1heai1-0ffhouscngorilhe l903Sprina-
f,cld;andthe0>~lgcncrall111C11ofthe
reccmir.,no:ludina;,isrecoillug.flatbonom
and wig. an, no1 unliU the 70 Win,:hcslef
re,:;c,,'Cf. The 1.s•Jongrcccivcrnng,sn:u,d
oritop.flatorithcbottom."iththcruoiltug
anin1cgralpanofthisring.Thcloadingpon
isabou1 ).640"1ong. iu right (unnotched)
wallcnclosingtherightlocking-lugraccway.
Thclcf\wall iscutdowntothebooornofthc
lefllo,;king-lugracc...,.iy.Thcbridgc,abou.1
l.625•1on11,.•i1halla11cned,bu1sligh1ly
roundcdtop.isaboul: 1/K; io,."crlhanthenng.
Thcrecei,·crend:l"'ithawell-roundcdlani,
Rcar,,-ardfromlheruoillugrolherearof
thebridge,thcbonornofthcrcoei,,:rislbt.
The mapzini:openingisrnillcdoutoflll,s
fbcsurfacc.lca-.-ingcanridgcguidchpson
cacht,de.Th:exuamccallcflonlhercoei,w
toformtheflalbonompro-.-idcslheneedcd
mclll below the recc1"cr walls tog,,..,
$U'Cll&ili and rig,ditytolhe middlcoflhe
action. Extra metal is lefi under the tang to
providewalls forthclrisgerandxarpam.
Anexlralumpofmeial.leftontheright
mlcofthebridgctoholdchebolt-stop,is
machincd10forrn1,·crygraccfulhousin&for
the very simple bolt-slop. I say MsimpleM
beauscitismcrclyathid:,notchedwuher.
Aslotitcutdwough1hehousing11110lhelod-
,ng-lug1XC•••ay.thcbolt-stopposcooncdm1t
oriapinJcn&thwiscthrou&hlhe~A
"""llset-KTCWholdsthispmmplacc,A
smatlspnn1andplungcr.posnl0ntd,nthe
rearofthehousi"&,oontlCl•&JOO'"Clnthe
bol1-siop.ThcOU1SKleedgeoflhebolt-R0p1S
knurled 10 that it ,;an be rolatcd With the
thumb,androwingitsoitsnolehisaligncd
withthclugraccwayallows1heboh10be
rcmoVW.Othcrwise,theboltisSloppedwhcn
1heri&lnlockinglugrontacistheunnot<:hcd
pan of the bolt-stop. Allhough not easily
made.1heMathicuboll-stop$ySlerniS$implc,
sirongandunobuusi>"C.
Tho: Maltueu boh body appears wbe
machinrofromasolidbuofSICC:l,withthc
bol1handlebuean1megralpanoflheboh;
iw.,,.,,..,u,dw:lolO·-profilcbohhandkit"'""ld-
cdonlOthosbue.Thehandlclme.byft11m&
intoa&q,nocchcucinrothctang,scn"CS••

safctylockjnglug.The1opJ>anofthe0011
handle base has an inclined surface which.
contactingasimilarcarnon1hercarof1he
bridgc,providesthcinitialcictractorcarnming
powerwbentheOOlthandleisraiscd
Thedual--opposedlockinglugsareonthe
ex1remcfor,,,'llfdefldofthel,olt.Nei1hcrlug
issloned or drilled. hence 1lOI weakened
the!l'by. Whe:l the 001! handle is turned
dmrn.theselugsengagebchindample-sized
lockingshou]defs,.•ithinlhcll'<:eiverring10
holdtheOO!tagains11hena1-facedbarrel
Approaches1othelocking-lugshouldersare
wcll-roundcdoffand.toalcsscrextent.so
arc the locking lugs, thus on lowering the
bolthandle1hebohisforttdfor,,,·ardabou1
20".Morconlhislater.
Thcboltfaccisdcq,lyr=<lforthecar-
lridgehead.Thebarrclisnormallyfi11cdso
lhai,whe,,lhebohisclosed.thefiontoflhe
boltcomcswilhin.004~ofthebarrel.th..sthe
cartridgeisentirclyseakdinlhechamberand
boltfaccrecess.
Theplunger-typeej«tor.springloadw.
fnsintoaholeinlheOOltheadandisheld
lhcrebyacross-pin. The simple hook-type
cictractorfi1Sintoagn.xwcin1hefion1siileof
1hebolthead;itishcldinplacc.and1cnsiooed
by,aspringandplungerseiintoaholcbehind
ii. The modem HusqvamaModcl8000ac.-non
hascopiedtheMalhieuloc~ing.brccching
ejeaorandcictractorsystems.Mathi""proba-
blywasno11hefirsttousetheseindividual
systcms.,buthcprobablywasoneofthefim
tobringthemalltogether.Hissys1emiswide-
lycopicdtoday.
Thercan:nogas-ventholcsinthen..:eiver
ring. butlhell' isa holeinlbe bolt about an
inchbackfromthebol1face.With1hebolt
clo,,ed,thisholeappearsnearthcfront-bonom
romeroftheloadingpon.Thusnogasesare
dirc,;1edintothcrightlocking-lugrace,,1ay.
OOldirectlyinlOtheopen
Mathi,:udesigncdandputtogcthcravcry
imC'l'e5tingfiringmcclianism,theOOltdrilled
fromthcrcartoacceptit.Thesquare-type
threadsoflheboltslce,-escrcwintothcrcar
of1heboh.Thecockingpieccslidesina
recessandslotinthercarpanofthcboh
slceve.Thll'arcndofthcone-piccefiring
pinex1enJs;n101heOOltslce,·eandcocking
picce.withlheooilmainspringcornprcsscd
o,·er !he tiring pin and bctwcen the 001!
slceveandashoolderonthefron1ofthetir-
ingpi11. Agroovciscutaroundlherearcnd
ofthcfiringpin.overwhichasplitcollaris
fincd.withthecollarintumreccsscdintothc
rearendofthccockingpiece.Thus..thecock-
ingpicceisno1S<Jlidlya1tachedtolhefiring
pm.andthetiringpinisfrcetotum.FOl'Ward
traveloflhetiringpinishaltedwhenashoul-
deronthefron1ofthepmcon1ac1Sashoulder
insidcthcbolt.thusmaintainingconstantfir-
ing-pinprotrusion.
Acamno1ehiscu1in1otherearofthebolt:
on 1hc 90-degrec up-tum of 1he 0011 handle.
thecamonthccockingpicce.whichcictends
imothisnotch.fon.:eslhecockingpicceand
firingpin(togethcrcalled thestriker)back
about.20".Then.afteropcningandclosing
the 0011 (at which time 1he cocking cam is
placcdbehindthesear).onloweringtheOOlt
againthestrikeriscockedanolher.l90"by
theactionoftheOOltbcingpullcdforu'lll'das
thelockinglugsengagethelockingsboulders
in1hereceiver.Thus.1he1otalstrikerfall
(travel)isabout.390".Althoughthemain-
springisverystrongandtheSlrikertra,·el
shon.ittakeslinleeffontoraiscorlowerthe
OOhhandle.atwhichtimecockingocan
Thekftsideoflheboltslce,·enarcsout-
""'lll'dtomatchthetoppanofthcbolthandlc
(remember.this is a left-handaetion).and
imothisthesafetyisbuilt.Tl,ewingedsafo-
1y-Jc,.-erpivotsonapinheldin1heOOl1sleeve
byan Allen head set-s.crcw. A spring and
plungcr.positionedinanothcrholeintheOOlt
s!eeve.provideONandOFF1ensiontolhe
safety.withtheplungcralsofuncrioningas
theboltlock;whenpushedforward,itgocs
intoaholeinthcrcarofthcbohwhenthe
safetyistippedup. Also,whcntippedup.a
carnonthebaseofthesafetyisearnmedin
frontof1hecockingpiccetofo!l'citback
slightlyandholditback.Tl,esafctyislow
enough to clear 1he lowest mounted scope.
andi1Sle,·erisloogenoughsoi1iseasyand
convenient to operate.
Therearpanoftheboltslceveisniccly
rounded.withi1Scndthrcaded_o,·erwhichis
screwedacap.Thus..theboltsleeveisentire-
ly closed exCCpl a1 thebonom. and no powder
gases can escape to the rear. A small sct-
scrcwis1hrcadedintothejoimbctwcen1he
OOltslce,-eandi1Scap.whichpn:,'Cl11Sthecap
fromtuming.
ThcroisnoscparatcOOlt-slw.-elock.ason
thel903Springfield.bu1withlhenoseofthe
cockingpiccerestinginashallownocchinthe
rearoftheOOlt,whentheboltisopcn.thcbolt
slee,·eis001casilytumcd
Sofarthisactionisall.ormostlyall
"Malhieu."Thel'CS!ismor,:orles.s"Spring-
ficld."'whichincl..desthetriggerguard/maga-
zineandprovisionsforatrigger.
Thebonomrcarofthercceiverisrnachined
acttp1thercgutart903Springfiddsearand
trigger.soanycommercialtriggermadefor
the "03 will also tit the Mathieu ac1ion. I
understmd1ha1Mathieurcgularlyuscdthc
Jaegersingle-stagetriggerinhisac1ions.as
!heoneillustraledhercwasoriginallyfined
wilhJaeger"striggcr. Thisactionnowhasa
double-sct1riggerofmodemOcrman(An-
schuiz)manufacture
I think1heSpringfieldtriggerguard/mag-
azine unit cannot bc bea1cn forfunc1ional
reliability or for looks. ProbablyMa1hieu
293

Ma1hieu bolt head showing; (A) gas•vem
hole,(B)dual-opposedloekiogfugs,(C)e• •
tractorand(O)ejeclor.
1hough11hesamc. Al anyra1e,1heseuni1s
havebeenreadilyavailableinthepas1.For
1hisreason. asv.1:llas1hefact 1ha1 making
suchaguardlmaga,:ineassemblywouldbc
about as difficult as making a recci,·cr,
Ma1hieudecided1ouse1hisuni1. ThcMath-
1cuactionshov.11herewasmadcfor1helong
H&HbchedWeatherbyMagnumcanridgc,
with areceiver-v.-etlopcningof3.750"in
length: theSpringficldmagai:ine box was
lengtheoo:laccordinglybysawingtheboxin
1woandweldinginshonwallscctions.as
required,tomakcitfi1.Mathieuthenmadca
r,cwfloorplate,followcrandfollowerspring
10fi1.Heprobablyre1ained1heoriginal
SpringfieldflOOl']lla1ela1ch.bmon1heac1ioo
shown.thelatchhadtobcdiscardc<Jwhen
thesct-uiggermedw1ismwasins1allcd. Thc
plateisnowheldinplaccbyaround-head
294
Since Mathini left-hand actions were more
or less custom made, they rnos1 ccnainly are
ootallalike.hwooldStt1T1highlyprobable
1hatifhernalleanactionforthe270or30-06
1ha1he'd=anunalteredSprillJ!fieldmaga-
zinc and a shoncraction. No doubt some
dcsignchangeswcremadcfromthefirstto
hislastac1ion.Thcac1ionshownhcreisscria\
numbered IJ(l3 (stampcdoothebridge),and
lbclie,·ei1isfairlyrepres.,ntativeofmostof
theactionshemade
Tlluldllwnllld.......,
Makesure1herifleisunloodcd.Tore-
movc 1hebol1.1ip1he safety-lc,·crdown,
rotatetheknurlNlbolt-stopclockwise,then
ra1sethebolthandleandpullthebohfrom
therecei,·er.
Torem<,...,anddismoumthefiringrnecha•
nism. unscrew (tum counlcrdockwise) the
bol1slcevefromthebolt.Tumoutthei;mall
set-screw from the joint between the bolt
sleev,,andtheboll-slecvecap. thcntumofT
lhccap. Rest1hc firingpin1iponasmooth
hardsurface.pres.sthcboltslec,·eandcock-
ingpiccedowituntiltherearofthefiringpin
projcctsoutofthebollslecve,thenremove
1hedivided firing pin collar. Thisallowsfir-
illJ!pin,mainspring.cockingpieceandboh
sk,,c,...,tobeseparated.Torerno,..,thesafety.
tum out !hcsct-screwunde-rthesafcty pin and
puslt1hepinou1thefront.Thesafetycanthcn
bcrerno,·cd TumootthcAllcnhcadbu5hing
-
fromlhelrontoftheboltslecveandremo,.-e
thespringandplungcr.Reassembleinrevcrse
To remove !he ejector, drive out i1s
cross-pin.Toremo,·ethecxtractor,depress
1heex1rac1orplungerwi1h 1hetipofajew-
ckr'sscrewdri,·cr.1henlifiou11hcextrac-
Tumootthesct-screwfromthercarofthe
lx,lt-S1oplugandremo,.l:thebolHi!opspring
and plunger. Rcmovcthese1-scrcwfromthe
side of the 0011-stop lug: 1h"1l pull ow the bolt
Slop pin and bolt-Slop. Reassemble in m'CTSC
order,inscningtheboh-stopsotheindent:sare
totherear
Remo>'clhctwoguardscrews,thcn1he
barreledactionandthetrigger guard/maga-
zine can be removNl from the stock. The
trigger mechanism can then be remo,·ed
Thebarre!is1hreaded(righ1.hand threads)
-
vcry1igh1lyimothereceiver;itisooteasily
removrounlessthepropcrtoolsarcavailable
mdothisriglu
lwishlcouldhavccxamincdmore1han
justoneMa1hieuaction,bu1iflmayjudgc
1heres1fromwha1 I leamedabou11hisone.
l'dsaytheyaregood.Thisonc,certainly.is
vetywellmadc,andfromtheverylinlerve
readaboutOlhcrMathieuactions.theywere
wellmadc.100. Thispanicularaction has
secnal01ofservice,andDcanMillcr.iu;
<m'ocr, told me hc·s worn oot two barrels on
itsinceheg01holdofi1. h wasban'e!Nlboth
times to one of the We.iuherby Magnum cal-
ibers, wi1h the Wea1herb~ shop installing thc
first barrel. I don'1knowhowmanytimes
theactionwasfired,butthcreareoosignsof
heavyuse.anditprobablywilloutlastafew
morebarrels.Thisough11oprtwetha11his
actioo,a1least.isastrongone.Millcr.alefi-
handshootcr.likesthisac1ionandne,·crhas
hadanytroublewithit.Onthisbasis.itis
also a reliable action
Although thcreisooguideriboranyocher
ami-bindclcviceonthebol1,iu;operationis
smoochandcasy.
OwnersofMathieulefi-handactions.or
riflesbuihoothisaction.ooghttohangoolO
thembc,.;auselhereisooocherecnterfiretum-
boltac1ionquitclikei1.Mathieuactions"·ere
never commercially made and have long
sincebecndiscontinucd,andmayne,·crbc
madeagain
--..
,
l Aeceiver(IOpW!W)

3 Maiospring
4 FnlQpin
~ ~,(~
7 ~
8 Boll·sleevecap
9 8:e,.sleevecapretainer
10 5af&ty
11 Sale(ypin

;~ ~~~

-
---
14 Bolllod<lsalety.pi.lnger

15 Boll~~ty-jlb1ger,
16 Boll·sl<Jp
17 8ol-.Sloppi11
18 Boll-stoppin-retainerscrew

__
19 ~p,.,ngor-spmg
20 Boll-stoppblgerspmg

~ ~~~~
am)
,,
2:3 Searpin
24 58ilrspMg
25 Triggerguard,lmagame

:" """""
=tespmg l":'. ::::mum;;;
~ rfiiS _©_•~-~------·"-"'·~
30 F ,d
3

2I

Mll1lillu Lelt-fflnl Action

~At111111111:11t111111·
Weight

~ ~~-·: :: : :ii
Deplh .. , . . , .. , . . . . .
G-...C:rew,apaclng
44oz

110"
8.00"
Ignition .
--
Tumbohrepeater(leh-hilnd)
.Qne.pieoa,ma,chinedlromasolid$toolbarSIOCl<wittlin1egralrecoil

~~sn!..ai:~:;:rsroMrdk)d,jfig
lugs.L.ow.proliebolthanc:18$81YOSas~lug.
-~n-,:,,..!~f:,'~redt>ao/:ffllll<ISPl"'"•C<.ld<Sooupand
M&gazlne ....~siaggereo-colunvlour-sholbox type. Oelachilble

~- -=.~~~=~ed~lheJaeger.
MagRl .... lenglh 3.750"
"Malhieuactionswe<erdviclualy
made---dmensoJo may vary. These Triilger
specificalioosweretal<enlroman Safely .. -~and~twebulllnloS<OOotboltsloove;wheneogaged.lockssllik-
actionmiid&lorbngbolloclmagnoo,
Extractor .....Hooktype,bulll.-i!Obolthead
~..":.,p· :: :=~ooin~bolt,=..wal,SIC,pSbolltravelbyconlaemg

295
N or TOO MANY ynrs ago, I panicipa1-
cd in ajackrabbi1 drive forlhe sole purpose
ofgcttingtirst-handinfonna1ionforamag·
azineanicle.ldon'trcmembcrmuchabout
1heactual hum except that a small truck
load of rabbits was killed by the seventy·
fiyeorsohumerswlloC<Jmpriscdthegroup
I remember clearly, ho"-cver, 1he wide vari-
ety of shotguns thcse hun1ers uscd. Mos1ly
farmcrs.theirsholgunswel'Cofevcrymake,
model,1ypc and gauge imaginable: from
singlcshois.doubles.pumpsandautomat·
icstothe"Mausertwo-shot"boltaction-
_,,,
astheyarereferredtoinmysectionofthe
Jgotthechanoe10seealloftheirgunsas
1hegroupassembl«tforahollunchon1he
groundsofarountryschoolhouse.Asnow
fencealongthecdgeofthegroundsaffonlcd
anexeellentswxlfco-themanyguns.Asthe
huntersgulp«ldo"11theholcoffeeand
douglmuts, I wentslowlydownthelineof
gunsand.tomyamw:mcnt.foundthatabout
oneofcveryeightorrenwasaGennan-madc
Gehaor01hermakcoftwo-shotbolt-aCTion
repca1er!ltalkcd10sorneoflheowncrsof
thescunusualsholguns.andtheyallinsisted
thcirgunswen:hardhiningandreliablc,and
thallheytllouglnalotofthcm.despitethe
dcrogatoryremarkssomenot«tguncdimrs
hadwrin.,,aboutlhem.Someofthescguns
--
"'Cl'C ma,\cd toassul'C the user they w=
indeed hard hiners. for the words IIEART
and IIARO IIIT wen: pressed into the bun•
,ock
Th<:rewel'ChardlimesinGennanyfora
fowyears,followinglheirdefealinWWI.
and thepeacetrcatyfo«:cdonthemcur
tailcdmuchofthem;litaryannsproduc1ion
on which much of their past e<:onomy had
becnbascdingoodpan.Theyw=allow«t
10 make sponingarms which, of course.
theycon1inuedtodo.Aslpie<:ethcstory
togcthcr,Germanyhadlargeqwmtitiesof
M98 Mauserriflesandforpansofthcse
riflesonhand.plusfacilitiestomakethcm
296
Whyno1makesllo1gunsfrom1hemanddis-
poseofthcmon1heworldmarl:etatcom-
petitivcpriccs?Thistheydid. during the
earlyl920s.andapparcntlyonagrand
scale, ifonecanjudgebythe number of
gunsstillarounda11hattime.
Briefly,thetwo-sholMauscrsholgun"'llS
madeasfollow-s:StartingwithanM98rnili-
tary rifle (or pans). the rifle bam:I was
rcmovcdanddiseardcd.TlicC<Jllarand1be
lockingsllouldcrsintherttei,·crringwel'C
thcnboredoutfromthefront,andasholgun
barrelfinedThefiontoftheboltwasbored,
andaspe,:ialbolthcadftned.Variousother
thingswcrcthcndonelotheactionandmag•
azineso ii would accept and handle shol·
shclls.suchasinstallingashellstopand
guide;replacingthemaglll!inefollowcrand
ejector:andalteringthcextractor,ma81ll!inc
andotherparts.iocludingremodelingthemil•
.....
-
itary stock. The result wasahandy. light-
"'eigh1 and low-cosl bolt-action repeating
I have seen many of these Gennan•madc
M98 rifle-to-shotgun conversions. and
while I've noted a number of variations.
thcy'reallaboutthesameastheGeha 12·
gauge model pictured here. Most were 12.
gauge. the weightabout6pounds. Some
were 16·gaugc.andavcryfewwere20s.
All were chambered for2l/[shells. The
steclbam:ls.usually26.5'1ong,werel'ull
chokcd.Then,aglll!inehcldoncshcll,thus
withacanridgcinlhecharnberonchada
two-shotrepea1er.Thefrontsightisabrass
bead threaded into the muulc; a small U-
groove millcd a\ong the top of1be receiYer
ringfonncdtherearsigh1.As1edbuttplate.
tumcd,downbohhandleandasinglc-stage
trigger pull were also common feamres
The stocks are usually solid walnut (not
laminatcdortwo-11ie<:e)cutdownfromthe
originalmili1arystockandoiltinisheJ,with
the metal pans polished and blued. The
b«:tthcndofthcbam:lisusuallystamp«I
with a prwfmark and the word NITRO,
indicating prwf testing for smokdess
loads. GERMANY in small rype is usually
stampedontbereceivcrring
Mostofthescl'vcscenwen:oftheGeha
brand.usuallyhavingtwolargebrassmcdal·
lionsmartcd GEII A(oneoncachside)inlet·
tedintothes;desofthebunstock.Th<'SC
replaced the original metal firing-pin disas-
sembly tool found in the original military
stock.Then:at'Csupposedlysimilarsholguns
marked GECO, a brand name of Gustav
Gensehow&Co .• A.G .. formerlyofBertin.
hutl',,eneverexaminedone.TlleonlyOlher
brandl'vcseen"'llStheRerno,discusscdlatcr
inthischapler.
Some Gcha-marl:cd guns have the word
BA\'ARDstampedwlderthebreechendof
thebam:I or rtteiver. Pieper of Belgium
made a Bayardautomaticpistol,bu1 sofarl
haYe noinfonnationwhichwouldconncCT
thisftnnwiththcGehaguns.orevenwhythe
word"Bayard''wasused
Thcregularlarge-ringM98Mausermili-
wyactionwasuscdinmakingthescsholgun
COfl''Crsions. Basicfearurcswhichareun,
changcdoronlyslightlysoarethetriggerand
fuingmechanism,safety,bolt•stopandtjcc-
tor,cxtractorandtriggcrguard.
Th<:frontof1heboltisfaccdoff,andthe
ftring-pinlloleboredouttoacccptlhenew
sllotsbellbolthead. The latter is machined
withastemtofnintotheboredombo!t,its
facconlyslightlylargerthantheheadoflhe
shotshell to be used. On 1he left of the
rcmovablebolthead.asligh1forwardcxren-
sionaidsinholdingtheshellinplaccfor
propercxrrac1ionandejection.Thcextractor
_ _ _ _ _ _ __
(Abov<I) German-mllde Geha IWO-shol shol·
guo,onceavailablein12,16and20gallg8S
ManyweraimpoltedandsoldinlheU.S.alter
WWI.Thesesholguosarabasedonacoo-
-
verted M98 Mauser militaryacbon. Those
mar\ted Geco are almost the same as lhe
Threeviews--righlllide,1opandlef1~
ota()()l'Mr1edM98actionusedlnmaklngup
11\eGeliatwo-aholsho!guo.

297
 The Remo 1wo-aho1 sho1gun hu a lypieul
Gemian111tra•alirnsporter1tocitwithschn•
abeHippedlo<end,p11ntltov.rlheaction
MCIIOn, ched<ered ocunded pi1101 grip, 1IWl
ooml>andsmalc::heel<i:-;e
hookisaltcttdandshortcnedtoadull v.
point"ilichmgagcsama1ehingV-groo>'cm
thcrighlorthebolthc-1. Thishokbthcbolt
head in the bolt. A shortexuacmr hook
ldlkdtothcf'ronto(theextractorengaga
thcshotshcllnm.
Thcrecc1verisborcdoutfrom1hefron1
101diamcterslightlylargerthanthcboh
head forwhatc,·craaugcitis made.and
bored rearward to• point about 11,~ into
1herecciverbridac.Whcnmadefor1l2•
gaugeshotshdl.thisboringrc:movual-
most all of the metal of the collar and
lockingshouldcrmthcrttci,·ernng,as
"·ell u ,;onsidc,.blc mc1al from the
rc~i,·c,,.ilsands1dcwall.Evenin1hcl6·
and20•gaugeconvcrsions.enoughmctal
is removed from 1hc locking shoulder
arc:assothatthcorigmalfooo•,mllockmg
lugonolongcrfunc:11on.Thisjob151akm
overbythcaux11iary,orsafe1y.lugonthc
rcarofthcboltbody,cngagingitsnolch1n
thcbonomofthcrccci,·crbridge. ln1he
20-gauge,thcrc:maybccnoughmctal lcfl
in1hcreceiverrin1forthclockin1lu1s10
gainalittlcpurc:hasc.butin1hel2sand
l6s,thcrc:1rsafc1ylugisthconlyth1ng
wh,ch locks and holds the bolt ,n the
recciverwhcnlhegunisfirc:d
Alongcrqcaorrcplacesthcoriginal,and
itfunctionsinthcsamemanner.
Ancwfla1-toppedshcc1mc1alm11aazine
followerisUKd,andprovisionismadc,othat
,1canno1hepushed100fardo,.,nornxlOO
lusf,toinlerfcrew11hthcbolt.ThetoplcA
cdgcofthcmagwncbo.'<iscut1wayfor1
298
longshell-Slor,attachcdtolheundcrsideof
thcm:ci,'Cf."hlChpivoisonascrc:wthrc:adcd
intothc reccwn-nns. The rc:armdofthe
shell-S10pextmdsthroughaholemdlcd1nthc
k-ftofthcrtt'ci'ICFbridgcandis.ctl\~b)'
an,nclmcdm1ll.aninthelcAlock111&lug
when1heboltisdra"11cn1irclyback.Only
oneshellcanbcprcssedintothcmag~ine,
anditisn:ta1nc:dthcrcinuntiln:lca$edbythc
shell-SIOp
Anothershell•stoporguidcispni,,,idcdio
hal11heup"-ardmo1ionof1shellbcing
ttie-d &om the magazine. This shell•llnp,
apieceofcun•cdsbec1mctalscre,.~10thc
leArecei,·crwall,e~tmdsovn-theiopof1hc
bolt.
Formanyyears.lwasn01awan:ofany
othttMaUSC1"n.v-shotshotguns,othttthan
the Gcha. bul !hen I WIS slio"11 the Remo
sholgunp1cturcdhcrc:.andoowinthcNRA
Gun Museum . his sodifferc:nl from the
usua1Gchasho1gunthatldon'tbelicveitto
bcmtirclyaconvcnion,butralhcr~lyor
mtirc:ly manufactured as a shotaun. As thc
photographs st.ow, thett's the distinctly
contmcntal•lyJ'lC:spor!i11&riflcJtockonthe
Remo, and the reccivn- does OOI appt"lr to
bcacon,·cr$ion,cithcr.Theshell-stopisan
in1cgralpar1of1herccci,·er.001apieccof
shcctmctalasontheGcha.Thcrc:$10fthc
Remo action 1s mon:orlessthe same as the
Gcha.excqi1for1featun:orN·otha1make
the action " "ori< belier. The Remo 1uns
""~ made by Remo Gc,.·ehrfabnk, Gcb-
Remotwo-shol 16-g&uge Mauserllhotgun.
~i:,,RemoGeweh!fabrik,WlSuhl.Ger·
meny. llhas a 26.5"chokedt>arreland
welgh15.7Spou,,dt.
ruderRcmplofSuhl.Gcnnany. lanume
-
thcy1•1ercalsomadeinthel920s.perhaps
mthe 1930.uwell,aod1n0$1likelyin 12,
16and20pugu.
lha,·el'IC\'t'l'hcanlagoodwon:lspokenfor
thctwo-shotMauscrshotgunscxcq,tbythcir
owncn.Mostcxpcnsgcnerallyhanalow
opinionofthtm.Mcn1ionisalwaysmadcthat
onlyth:sin&le:safc!ylugb;bthcbolt,and
thalifthashl&shouldfaillhesboolcr,.iUgci
thebohinhisface.
Formysdf,lha,-cllC\'Cl"hcanlof.norc,,'CI"
sccn.oneofthcscsholgunsin"ilichthclock•
ing lug failed-and I know men who han
uscdthemforyears.fuingmanyhcavyduck
andrilkdslugloadsinthem.ThlSISnol\O
say~Jadvisefiringthcxshot1unswith
heavyloldsorc,,-en"lthregularlolds.butl
cannollfflll,lncthcsafctylugshcaringof'f.l
bclicvethc~i,'Crs;dcrailswouldbreakor
p.vtlirs1.l",-calsoasl:cdmanypeor,lc"·ell
acquaintcdw11hthcsegwisifthcyc,,'C1"MW
..,,,..
oncthathadfailedorblownup.andnoncof
Thepoorfflfearun:ofth1sactwnisthe
scpararcboh'-1.ltsflangcisquitcthinand
eas1lybrotm.Thcr,,·othinex1ens1onson
thckftofthenangebrc:akoffeasily.and
withootthcmfircdcaseswillno1bccjectcd
properly , Thcbolthcadisnotpositi,·cly
anchor'Cdtothcboh,anditiscas,lylos!ifit
pop:sout.M0$1ofthcseshot&unsl",·csccn
forsalelackthcbolthead. ThcylJ'Cthcn
po,;;mvclydangcrousasthcy<:.nbclircdin
 --1 Rec:eMlo'(kll)Yiew)

;Boll~
2 Boll-S10p
ll)ring

i!
:;1e ~
0o1..,.,.
19 Bolls19eYelodc
20 Ballslawelr;dc9j:1111'1Q

~=-
: Fklo,plalecaleh~
29 FIOOl~IOW'
30F~-lod<
31 Rearpro-

,, ..._.
32 ~ - l o d c

34 ShekloJISCBW"
)5 Shelg,.ide"
36 Shelg,.ide1C19WS{2)'
37 Shel-slc)!lll)ring'
)II Shel-slol)llj'lmgtorew"

=~lo
'lheseM11hll)ltlalddad
loh:iM98~.:tior'I

lhis condition,which,inc11kntally,n:sultsin
considcrablefircworb$pul'lm1ou1ofthe
action!Thescllerofsoch a gunlwamoral
obligation1oadvisclheprwp«1ivcb,uycr
lha1theboltheadism,ss,n,.lbclie,,1:!l<'lffle
oflhestoricslhatba,1:bttnlOld~thncc
&\UIS "blowing up~ may ,.,dl ba,1: bttn

....,
abou1guns ..·,thou11hebolthead.001be-
a..seofsomcbasicf1ilurcoflheac11onor

l'romthcabo,·c,1hcrcadercansccthatl
1mnotin full accordwi th thcmanygun
c.:pcr1swhora1c1hcscgunsaspun:junk
l'mnotgoingouton ■ limb,tio,,.1:vcr,1nd
uytbatthesesllolguns arceufc1ofire-
bu1. as mcn1ioncdlN:fott, I ha,·c ~,·er
seenone1ha1 f1,led,norc,·erheardofan
1uthcnt1ccascwherconc failed. Thcrc-
forc,,fyouha,·concofthescshotguns,
youwil11ta,·ctom1kcupyourm1ndabou1
i1S safety, whc1hcr it is junk or not, or
whatever. Comparlson views of the Remo (top) sholguo with the commoo Gell&.

299
lNTHIS CHAPTER. I ..~11 bndly difCUSS
,'allationsoftheM98actionuscdtobuild
sponingrilles.andrcviewthevanou$SpOn-
ingriflesmadeinEuropcandGrealBritain
bew,centheintnxluctionofthis.ction1n
lS98 and the WWll ~ 1 "ill 100 des-
cribc, in mcn dcla1l, l"'o set triggn mttli.-
nismsoftai,-.lindoe,cnfla
Shonly11terMauserinObcmdorf(Gcr-
many)bcganmakingm.iliwyrillesonlhcM98
action.lheybcgar,makmgfmesix,n,narilles
onthcsameaction.Jnductimc.MallSCfal!io
madothr:sea:tions1vailablc1<1odaormsfirms
1r1Germanyandodiercoonlriesontheoon1i-
ncnt.•"dl•10~8riQin--.ltheUnncd
Smes.AsodaGmnanfirmsbop,mata.11'10-
1Unng M98 m,loury nllcs. tbey also suvtcd
ll!ilf'lltheirov,nM98actkln$forsp.,l1ingrillc$.
A~manyfums.besidesMa-,,madc
sponingrillnontheM98action.tn0cnnany,
thisincludcdsuchw,:ll-lmov.nfirmsuJ.P.
Sauer&: So1n. Remo. Kricghoff. Makel. C.G.
llal:rd.llldadll$c:l'bu.11firms• lblp:r,
Vcm Hofe. 8"mcke --.I Olhm. Many b~
knov,nindi\'ldualGcnnangunsrn1thsused
bodia.mrnemalandmilnaryM98aruons011
which1obuild1"ide11m1yofsponingriflcsin
manymndanland,.ildcalcalibm.Model98
sponen""ffl'lliobuiltinBelgium.fran,;c,
S"'itmland. Cadlcalo••akia and 0lher Etw-
pcan courln0$. In the Bnmh lsle$. pna,cally
11\'CI)' ..-di-known gurmaker made SJKWICl'S 011
11usaaxn .. ,lhnamcslikeGibbs.Rigby.lk>l-
land&:Holland, Westley Richards.Gm,,,er,
Vickenandothenoftcnappearingonthcse
fLn<rifles.Griffin&:Ho,...,,Hoffinan.l'Kh-
mayrlmotherAmericang,nnakenalsouscd
11,-actionsforbuilding~forltSI)'
)'ta'S. Sloeg,er AnnlCorp. ~ lheMm&-
11111~ Mauser Obemdorf IIClions ond nlle,,
"hile such firmsu Abcrerombie &: Fitch
irnpom-dOlhcn,tneludingsomcofthebi:m:r
Bri1ish-madeMau5erriflcs.Allinall.thcrc
nc-,·erwas an action men widely used for
,porUngrillesth3ntheM98Mauser.
300
ing rilln
---
M051oflhebettcrmakesofMa..scrspon-
wtrC bued on aclions usually ,;on-
s1den:d "commcn:1al" types. as opposed to
thosemadefor1mihtaryrifkorreworl,;cd
mJfflanulitary~fa=so.lhea,nvner,
cialsporunallCbOnwasessauiallythesarneu
thcmihtary,andmoM~""'"'imerchanao-
able.Thec;ommen:ialaction,howaw.wu
generallymadr:10closertolcrances.bcttcrfin-
ishcd,andsmootherinoperation.tn many
cases.theoommercllltctionsfcabftd1qwck-
relcasc floorplaic ora magazine floorplatc
lllngedtothefon,wtlpanofthclliucrpiard.
Mauser.-,m,.-crcmadefor1"''>de>'Jll-
ctyofcaMdges,andforthcmos1,-n,the
standard·lcnJthlCtioowasused-d11111'-an
oction8.7S~long.thcsamelcugthasthcstan-
d.lrd M98 military action made for the 8mm
Mausercartn<lji,,.Thisactionwumadefor,
ormodiflCdto~magv.incboxesof,-.-
KlllSlmgth$10lwidleartridge:sofd1ff'ffait
lmgllu.. The Mauser fumllloncliSICd"'fflt)t
different action numbers, mostofthcmthc
standard action w,th d1ffercrn mapzme
lengths.lnsomccases,thcmagaz1ncdcpth
,.'8Sincrcased10handlcfancrcartndgcs.
MallSCf, IIS.,,..,llusomeothcn..itomade
~shon••aoo~1ongMmap.,,nlCIIOOS. The true
short M1user ..:tionJ.ahootS.OO"long,are
fill«l,.1thamlpl!UICofproperlcnJthlortht
"8nOWI canndjCS of 6.5xS4mm length or
shoner.The"shonMmilitaryact,onuseJon
7mm Mc~1can Mauser rifles is abou1 8.SO"
long,butldon'1knowiflhisaction"'8Sever
madeCOOV!ll:l'Ciallyforsponerme.Themag-
num. or Iona action, about 9.25- long. is
immiedfor~longerthanlhe30-06.
Ofcounc,totheM"Slofmyknowkqe,at
leasroooc:ofthcseorigmalObcmdorforoth-
er sirnilar cornmercial Mauser act1ons are
a,-aiL:lblclOday.andtothe~ofmyknow!-
cdgc. ncnheran: the standard FN Mau5er
action(8.7S,andthe8m"CXM;ignum11C11011
(9.SO').Althoua:t, l ha,..,lle\'t'l'9CCllthcm.l
coupleofmore01hershonerMa115erM98
actions,.-=alsomadeaton,etimc
Spo,tingriflcsbuihoothcsca:tionsfolio..'Cd
SC'l"Craldisuoctstyk:sorl)'pes.lwoo'1dcscribe
ct,-ind,:wl,butbneftythey",.,aslolio.."S:
Europnn mMlf for Europnn ll"Mlt (u
ill~):Suchrifles""ffl'qu,tc:lia:t,t.w,lh
,·cry $1,m, llper'Cd ba=ls about 20" IO 24-
long. and had the l)'pical German~~
stock.Somebarrcls"..,,..,round,somcpan
ociagooalandround.somefullOClajplal.and
somcfluttd;aeyoflhcmmighlha,..,,raised
maned rib. Th: most rommon open tigt,t,s
"'"'"'""°"or~leafrearandabcadfionl
sightmoun1Cdon1ramp. Thewalnulstoi:k
carricd1$tcelorJl"'SSC(l•hombunplaieand
pislolgripcap(carlyoncsusuallyhad1round-
endcdgrip), a d,eckeredgrip,shonandslim
tap<"rN (usually W'IChecke=l) forend ,.·hich
ended in ascl'Nbcl ~p.small chcdpiettand
thincomb.Th:ltghtcstofthcsetlOCUhad
ra.5Cdr-,clsllongthereca-.-erAdcs.Narow
sJing5"Wds""ffl:finedtolhcbutlsl0cl;andto
thcbmtcl,sc,.•enlmchesahoadofthcfom,d
lip. Doublc-SC1 hlggefS"'CTCqu,tccommon.
buttheriflescouldalsobehadw1thalingle-
set, tingle-stage or dooblMtage lri&F", The
(Above)AclaulcGefT!lanlportingltllll
(maker LnUlOWI\J. Based on t h e ~ M96
smd•ringMauseraction,ijhuadistinctly
Gennan-t tytad stock ot minimum p,ropor-
tions.Thecheciceredbultplateandsunburst
pistol g,lp cap ,re made ol pressed buffalo
horn. Nole the paoetso.erlhe ICllon and
lhe ..... 9Chnebetlo<9Adt,p.Therecenl9f.
trig,gerguardandfloo<pltiteareluly
eng,11....:tWldeolo<~.Thellat
bolthandlelached(ered,1nd1heactlonis
fittedwllhadouble-set1flggermechalllsm.
Thevery1llm1aperedtlarret,24"1ong.car-
riesalull•leng1hralwd1n11ttedrlb!owhict1
lhetlghltarean.ehed.eti.mberedlorlhe
9x57nvncartrldge.•weigl'la61/1pounds.

Typical German spor1ing rifles made on 1he M98
MauseractionusuallyMYfllhflstockmadewilhdis-
tincirsisedpanel$1heleogthollhe8Clioo,checkered
andcal'l)tldpis1olgrips,anddouble-settrlggers.Many
alsohavafla1or"$pO<>n-shapec1'bohhandles.
carbinestyles ...=usuallymadewithaslim.
full-lcnpfomidfinishedoffwithas1celmuz-
zlccapandaclevis-typc,fiootslingswi,-el.
The rifle telescope sight (developed in
Europe)washcldinthetypicalandclassic
1,ook-" or'"claw-typc" two-pioce mounts
These. spanning the bridge and receiver, were
quickly detachable. These mounts usually
placethesoopew:ryhighoverthere«'i,-er.
butdespiiethesoope'sreadyremovability,
holesorrunnelsinthemountsalsoallo\.'Cdlhe
"5Coflheopmsightswiththesoopeinplacc
lnmanycascs.thefiootscopemournbasiewas
dovetailedimothereceiverringralhcrlhan
bcingattachedwithscrewsoranachedrothe
bn:ec:hendofthebam:l.
Europtan madeforBrltlshtndf:"These
•a,eresimilarlothcat>o,·eriflesexc"Ptlhc
stock was usually made a bil fuller, which did
awaywith1hesidcpancls:1hcfrontofthe
fon:nd was 1ipped wi1h ebony or oom and
rwrd;d;theforendwascheckcmi.andusu-
allyslingeyc-lcuorswi,'tlsrudswerefined
insteadofswivel,.TheBritishpn:fcrrodrifles
v,ithaplainlriggcrandroundb:lrrel,althoogh
theriflcs,;ooldbeordercdwithanyregularly
fumishcdattcSSO<')'.
[uropfllnmadl'for Arricansportsmen:
M~peihapssomeO!hers----fflad
suchrifleswith,-eryloogham:1s(lllx:iul29""")
and"ithaslim~fon:ndthal"'Clllncar-
lytothemuzzle.Thismoddisnolcornmon.
Ra,-.rian5Qk: Thissponcrvariation~dis-
tinguishcdbyalargcrandlongercbeckpiece.
made"ithapronounccdoomer.Thescsponers
usuallyhaveaslightlyfullerS10Ckthanmos1
GC'rman-madesporters.andalongerfon:nd
anddiffi:ren1lyshapcdschnabel.Thcscrifles
oftcnha,-casepar.1tcsholgun-1YJ)Ctrigger
guard.Thebolthandlesarcoftenflator
--spooned... ormadewithan:,undshankwitha
g:raspingballin1heshapcofanacom
Orltlshmadt : ThtclassicDritishMauser
Mauser Model 98 Sporters
boh..monsp:ringriflchasaroondbarrelupto
about24.k:.ig.fittcd"ithamulti-hlf'"~
l)lpC'"openn:arsightandabcadfromsightooa
rampbas:e;adart."'3lnutstockmodcralelyfull
~withashort.lQUOO-ffl(li:dfun:nd;
anda.iancbrdsingle-stlgetriggco-. Thtbolthan-
dlc is generally ron,,:ntional, with a !QIIOO
graspingball;thefon:ndisusuallyrippcd"itha
pica,ofbuffalohomorcbony. the grip and
formd ~ Galldy dr:o:Jnrims like white
spooersorcomraslingsaockinlaysarc.meanl
ofoothescriflcs.Thtfrontsliogs-,,.ivelsrud.or
cyelct.isalmostalwaysattachcdtotheham:I.
aheadoftheformdlip
Americanmade:Thiscategoryisendlcss.
bot 1"11 limit i1 to the better pre-1940 era .. ~las,.
sic.. typesasrepm,cntcdbythoseriflesmade
bysuchnotablegunm:,kcnasHoffinanand
Griffin&Howe.Thcscrilles"-cn:pattemcd
largc-lyaftertheBritish-niadc:Maus.ers,txcep!
thattheforendv.-a.susuallymadelonger,and
thefrontslingstudwasattachedtothcforend.
The general SIQCk lines followed British
~ghtcomb.small-tomediurn-sim:l
cheekpicce.diamond-shapedcheckeringpan-
cls.andadulloil-typcfinish.Becauseit"'BS
fullerandhadaloogerforend.theAmerican
classicsponcrSlockwcighsal:Kuapoundorso
morethanthelypica!Germ.lntootl1)icksponcr
SIQCk,andaboo1ahalf-poundmorcthanthe
British.ThtAmericanclassicMausersponer
"-asusuallyfittcd,.ithaband-typcrampfront
sigh1andarearrectiversigh1.and/orwitha
sl10!1hWlliJ1iscopeinacla.,sicdt:lachablcsidc
mourn like the Griffin& HO"-c or Jaeger.
lllelJllllt-SatTJWII'
Fortheg:reatmanyyeanthatsportingriHes
havebecnbuiltonM<Jl!ac1ions.i1hasbeen.
TheaameMause,actionasabovfl.ahowing
engravingdetailson thetriggerguardand
magazmflf\oorplate.
301

--
--
--
....., . . . Mall
anditillis.normalpractice10a.atitulcadiF-
fmnt trigger mewnism fur the double-stage
militarytrigger.ThcFavoritctriggermechacism
U$CdbyM..._-,andby1110$1Eun)JIWlgun-
makcrs.wastherommoo~aigger.
ThcfiringmcchanismoFtheM981e1ion
oonslSl:SoFN,-oasst"lt\blie:l)TheFlringpin.
mamspringand,;:o,;kingpic<:easscml>lcdin
thebohandbollsl«-.-e:2)thesear.sar-
spnng.lri.,-andpin.an.chcdrolhebooom
rearofthem:eivcr.OncloonJtheboh,the
s.ear. which has I proj«1ion extmding
upwardintothecockingpieoc,aceway,holds
lhccockingpica:backagainstthctcmionof
lhc~inspringonthcfiringpin,Normally,
the,-eilconsiderablcloo9c:nCSloftheboltin
the rece1vcrwhichcxtmds rothecock.ing
J)ICCC,andtomakeupfurdUJpby,sutr~
s.earenpgemeniism:iulffllontherockmg
piece to po$iti,~ty hold the IClion ,;ocl<ed.
Thcfirstsiageoflhemilnarydouble-stage
pullrr10VC$thescaralmoslalloFthe,.,.yoff
lhc rocking pie«. while the second-stage
pull,whichisshoncrandhcavicrthanthcfirst
sta&e,finally diKllgagesthc111:arfromthc
cockingpffltofiretherille.
The double-set triucr is merely • minia-
rurc hammer and lriggcr mtthanilffl-all
1ux1lwy kxk mccharusm •·h,ch can be
tdJUSICdto1,·crylightpull. Whenfincdto
1he1Ctionitprovides1meansoftrippinglhe
fully~searoffthe,;:o,;kingpie,ce.
lnlhcdouble-scttrigscrmechanism.which
ijCISitsnamebccauscofi ts"i..-otriggcr"
302
: I 1
Typical Gennan M96 sporMr (maker unknown) t ! ~ with I lull-
length "Mannlicner-lyl)9" ~ and &arfy·lyl)9 510(:k with uncapped
round-endpistolgrip, Th9..:tionil•mililaryM9&1, l h e ~ made
bylheSpandilu.,_,.ina..tin.ni. bam!lis2-''~hbollhan-
dl9illlat,andlhelriggtrila~type.
~ . t h c r e a r lri3FiSKtually1
"hammcr"andthcfrontlriggcristhc''trig-
ger"to1lla1"h11111mcr.""lusuallytll!llhcrear
lriggcrthc"ccx:king"trigger.foritm11.1tbe
cockcdif1hcscttriggmaretobeuscd.and
the front triue,- the "firing" tri3F, 11U1CC it
mu51bepulledtofire1herifle,.hetherthesct
mechani,milusedornot.Like•~on
1hammer-typefllt!ltm.thereartnggerhas,11
ow11maimpongtogi\"citpov,·cr. Wid!thc
regulartrigpinthescarrepbccdby • sl,on
lcvcr,1hcccx:kedreartriggcrwhrnreleased
strikes1hcsearlcv«andc.iU.1CSthc111:arto
discn~fromlhcccx:kingpictttofin,lhc
rine.Thedooblc-scttriggeris ccx:kedby
pullingtherearlrigacrbackw-.dertcrwonof
itimai~unulitiscaughtbylhefrmt
ttiger and hekl ba,;,k, and released spin by
pullingthefrontlrigga-.Thesmall-
bctwccnthe:trigg,:nisthelldj--..:rew,
-..·hich ron1rolt theamoun1 ofmgagcrnenl
bctwccnthefron1andrcartriggen.and11is
possibletoadjl>Sllhescttriggermechanismto
1vcrysoortandliat,tpul1.
Theuppcrarmsof1hcdooblctriggmare
soanangcdthateilhcronecancontactthe
sca,1..-,-cr,hcncctherillecanbel\m;lintwo
"11.)'S.Ooe,alreadydcscribed.islOrod<the
mcchani$mondlhfflrelease1hc:oockcdai&-
ger110itsirikeslhl:-l..-,-cr.Theio:,:;or,d,.-.y
isiomcretypullthe:frmtttiggcrbackuntolit
releaxsthe~. Bcca=of1hcfull,:npge-
mentoflhescarwilhtheccx:k.ingp;e«.and
beca11$Cthemllt1triggcrmustofne<;e$$itybe
placedi111poorlcvcr,g('po$lllonwilhthe
surle-.-cr.i1tfinngthcnncbythissccond
mcthodthelet-offisusuallylong,,;reepyand
heavy.Howcvcr,agooddooble-sctlriggcr.
properly tuned and adJustcd. can ha-.-c an
excellcnt.cmJllec-olTwhcnW1$Ct.
Onl1lOSloFtheM981pOft,ngrifles"-tuch
wcrcoriginlllyfinal,.11h adooble-set lrigger
mechanism.the1naacraiuart1wasmadc-..flh
111i11tcg:ralhousing10~thesctttiggcr
paru.MOSlothcrll""ff'lkcn."°"-c•,er,,.ia,
making spor1CfS OIi 1his Klion. usually in-
stalled a mechanism <;Ont.ained i11 its own
housing.finingthisunitintolhcregularlrig-
gcrguanl.Thescunitsaregcncrallyhcldin
placebyi..-osmallpw..
Oouble-scttriucrmcchanism:.madcfor
theM98action-still.--.ilable.111513lbl,on
isnotancasyjob.bulnotbeyondlheabihry
o(dlea,-cagc,home:gunsm.,th,.t,,;,canman-
&&e•file.(lnc1dent.1.Uy.1hcsemcchanisms
canalsobeinstallcd1nothcrboltactionsas
well. including the 1903 Springficld.1917
Enf,cldandM9JtoM96Mauscractions.)
TIII_..Tl'tlllr
A "single-set'" triagcr mechani$m is a
milliatun:firinamechan,smha'"inithesame
fin:uonasadouble-$Cl.1r1111P.bul11lmonly
one visible aiggcr. Thty"re usually hind on
oombinacionnfleishotg,,larms.bulthey"-crc
oftmusedonsinglcsholriflesmdpistolsas
,.-cll.Theirll$C011bolt-actionrineshasbccn
somewha1limitedbu1manyEuropcangun-
--.
,'
'
''~ ~~
nlax ol Rallli' ITIS tor MIIJa8r Sporlq HIiie
" """
~
__
27 FimgPin
28 FlmgPinSpmg

,,
29 Fn'lgPinNul

"" ""~~Trigger

33 TriggerPin
34 Searlever
:~:s:=:teFbnHeel
===
" """
57c M<)lalHee1PlatewilhTrap
58 HoolPlateScrew

~ =i%~
i
g BeadSg,! 60 GripGapScrew
" "-"'
35aMagaznelorSetTrigger

li =~~ ~BollomPlate
P9rtsNolShown :
Ae{µationlngger

:: Elowm~ ..,.
13 LowerS,,,,iv,t,IPin
~~::=:
.....
15b ReceiverwilhTeleso:.J!>II
.,
16 Boll-stop
BollomPla18Release

i! ..,
,.,
~
~~ ..
17 Boll-stopSpmg
18 Ejeclor

..,.,,
~Ring
~"'"""'
45 SetTriggerScrew
46 Pu1Trigger
47 PulTriggerPin
48 PulTriggerSpmg
49 PulTriggerSpmgScrew
Forar.:IGapScrew
SloelT,apBunplate

~akedown

"
24 Boll.PugStop
50 RegulalingScrew
51 SelTriggerSpring
52 SelTriggerSpring °'"""'""'
CourtesyStoogerArmsCorp.
25 Bollf'l,gStopSpring
" """
303
 : I I

Another example of an M98 Sporter. The thumb notch in the left wall
olthor1:10eiv(!r probablyindicateslhlt11hisGerman$p()rtingrilkl was
buikonamilitaryM98MaUS1!<8Cllon.MostGarmansportingrifles
likelhisonewe,eoflenlit!edwithhighmouotedSCO!)El;narrowcar-
ryingstrapslingswivflls.onelit!edtolhes1oekandlheolher tolhe
ba1rel(001shownlnlhispholo);andaschnabelforeod

Anamateu•ounsmithbuirtlhistinesponingrilleonashortModel98
MaU$8<aclion.ltisstocl<edwilhaAeinhartFajen'GennanClassic"
sporte,-stoekwithreshapedschnabelandfrtledwithapreasedhom
buttplataandpistolgripcapoltypica1Gennanpartem.Thelroo1sling
swivelisattachad toabandfilled1olhebarr~.Theritlehasa24"
barrelandGennandouble-se1triggers

Made from about 1970-1975. the Mause<-made rifles In convention•

altumbol!lomiw,m,lheModeis3000and4000.Therilleshowni$
lhe M3000.madeinseveralpopularsponingcalibers.Tha$imitar
M4000.avarmintri!le,waschamooredforthe222or223.

smilhsoffered1hecustomerachoiceofadoo- theshooterisfarniliarandpracticedintheir overcornbs,flaredpiscolgrips.lhwnb-holes.

ble- or singlc-se1 triggcr on M98-actioocd
sponers.lnmo:11ases,thesinglc-scttrigger
was built in a separa~ housing and installed
intolhetriggcrguardviatwopim.
The single-set trigger is powered by its
0"-11mainspring.themechanisrncockedand
released by this trigger. with the 1rigger
becoming1he4tammc-r."To"sei~orcockthe
mechanism. the trigger is pushed forward
withthetipofthelhumbwuilitiscocked;on
beingreleasedbypullingitback.thetriggc-r,
undcrmainspring1ension,snapsback1ostrikc
thesearte-,.•er.Asmallscrewbehindthetrig-
gc-rallowsadjustmcn1toave,ylightpu!I.Thc
riflccanalsobefirodinthenormalwaywilh-
ootsertingthetrigger.
11,e ~inglc-set trigger. more intricate and
lt>Ofl'difficuhtomakethantheDStrigger,is
gencnltyno1fullyasreliableorastrust"tt·
lhy.ThcSStriggcrcannotusuallybeadjustcd
toaslightapull as the DStypc. Both are
aboutcquallyeasytocock and u.,e-provided
use.TheSStriggcriseasierandlt>Ofl'safdy
uncockedaflcrhavingbc<mcocked. Rifles
withaSStriggcr119Wlyh:i,·eabcnerunse1
triggcrpull.Thisislarsclybe<:ausctheSS
trigger is placed fanhcrhack in the guard and
iseasiertoreach
Germansponersareinteresting101ookat
andhandlc.lnsuit.ablecalibers,they"refinc
forhuntinsbigsamc.British-s1ylcMauset'I
are excellem for huming, generally more
comfonable tofire,andcasiertocarry and
pointthanthcGmnan-styledsponer.The
Americanclassicsponerislt>Ofl'comfonable
toshoot1hanei1hcJofthcother$.andthis
stocks1ylcisfit'ltchoiceofthethrecifthe
rifleistobeusedforvarmintor1argctshoot·
ing.whenmanysholimaybefiredinashon
time.Aflcrwimessinsllrrcedecadesofstock
dcsignexpcrimema1ionbya1mostevcryon,e,
whichresul1cdinmanydcsignfadslikeroll-
spacct'l.slantedforendtipS,etc.,etc.,itis
refreshingtosceshootcrsbeginningtocome
backtothcclassicdesigns
ThcGennanspo,terwasaprizcdsouvertir
fortheGl stationcdinEuropedurinsWWH,
andmanysponcrsweresenlbomc.Manyare
chamberedfortheoommoo.&nmMausercar-
tridge.andwhenhandlooding1hiscartridge.
besun:tochockgroo·•ediamctcroflhebarrel,
asmanyGennangunsmithsprefcrredundcr-
siiodbores.ftmaybeneces.wy10usc.Jl8"
8mmbullctSratherthanthe.J2rorMS.. bul-
lets.Also,thoseriflcswhichhavethefront
soopcbascdceplydovetaikdimothem.:eivc-r
ringshouldnoibesub~edtohcavyloads.
~~=h receiven haYc definitely t,«-n
Origina!M98Mausc-rsportingriflcsrc-
gardlessofwhomadethemh:ivebcenprizcd
collcctori1ems.lha,-chadooopportunityto
doit.butanentirebookcouldbewritten
aboottheseriflcs.

304

1. Cenlll'IOn Mauler
Jr.~1%S, GOLDEN State Anns COfJ'I. (no
longerinbusi11e!i$)imroduced aoommcrcial
sportingbolt-actioonflcbuedonlheM98
llction~.M<nprtti,dy,lhcCemurion
ICl>Ollappears10bcldlffl:IODJl)'Ofthenow-
obsokte0011'1111CfCialfirnrmsln1nnationaJ
FNO.hw:Etion.accp1fur•.Jlo)'hmgcd
floorplall>'triggnguardand1sl,ghdyditfer-
cn1bolthandk.
TheCcnturionac11oni1readilyidcnrified.
butonlyifilisoomplclcandOllloflheSIOCk
IJllprinted oo lhe left wall of the mll8.lzinc, in
threelines.is:
CENTURION (11 ~ )
GOLDEN STATE ARMS COAP..
PASAOENA,CAUF.
The ,.'l.lffl S PAIN ,s lnCl,ln$plCIIOUy
llampcdonthekltsideofthe~vtrtang,
mdicatmgtheactioo-rrwiufacturfflin
Spain. The acoom - !lel1al nwnbcred. with
thenwnbcr,prettdcdbyalcuer,swnpedon
thelcftofthen:ceiverrin&-OntheCenturioo
bam:ledac1ions.thebam:li1markcdwiththe
o;alibcrdcsigna1ion,pl..,thc 1ingleline
PASA l>t.'li:A ARM S CORP~ INC.
Themxi•w~IObc...:hmedtmma
diebp,g.ThelitMnn<bcrit:qtheCm-
llnlnl<:UOll, ..-henil••••intn:Kb:cd.doe.snol
-lhctypcorrunbcroflhcsa:elthe~-
trandbolt=madcfrtim.bu1w,doubccdly
they-madeofasuilablcmodcmstttl.
Thcm:ei,..,.isoflhclar)[ICringtype.Thecol-
lar inside the recei•'n ring c~ln"ds entirely
IRJUrlditacq,1furlhce.>1-C.-.Minthe
M98miliwyllC1ion. Thisiswilil:elhel.WFN
Mau:,i:rac:oon."'-hole''"""""l'lllloollaris
mlllcdouionth:leflsi<kion-=tilhecm.:u
CUlonlhengj:LB«alleofdus,lheCffllmn
IU'.Cl\''Cfrirw;may"'CII bc_.,.-dmilhaof
theFN.TheCmr..loohasnollunbslotinlhe
Id! wall and nocJipd-i,:r aui<b, and lhc!Op
ofthebndgt,issmooch.FOU"oom::ctlysp,ccd
6x48taJ,pcdholcs,1wo111thebndFandtwoin
lherq.allowcdaUo(lhe~~mcul.'I
10bcusatonth11action.Then:oeiYCr"111wi:l1
rnaclurolwilhan,:,,-en,l1ll0Qlh~
ThebolliloflhestaooardM98pat1em.llo.it
thebolt'-ldkisshapedfurtheloweSl,rope
ITll'Ullq~ADboll~ftM98
copa.c:cccp:lhlllhcboll~l-.l•ll'OO"C
a.ln)lb-1k:,w-~$1R!ypos,oonodl)1$
lcftAdt.. Thesaielylodcsbollltheri«andboll
"h:nSl'o'llf"CUJl";,rd.The-1$madell!il
..1Ueasil)'snapo,...,..acartridgenm••1hcnlhc
bohisd,-.lonacanridge~imothe
dianb:r.Allboltpllr!Sarewellmade.
Thctriggcrispraccicallythesame11the
origiNIM98mihiarytypc:.nct'plithasonly
ooehumpfor1smgk-sragepullins1c.ior
twolunplforlhe~l",III.The1n1-
se,-pulliscp.i,ielongandhea,-y.
All=c1.-crandbohpartsareof5tttl.
propcrlymachinNforasmoolh limshand
closcli~andgivcn••~goodpoli5h.Thcrc:
isnoevidcnceofanyweldmg.lllepartswt'Rl
leftmlhe"while"onthcactions.bu1blucdon
thcbam,lcdaction
The tnue, guard. with its integral map-
;o,ie boJl, is an '11o)' C$Ul&- The 1llo)' floor·
pl.a1ei1hlJljCdtotheguard.itslatchmthe
frontoftheguanlbow.ltisrde1Kdbypr"55'
inc•bunoninsidethefrnnloftheauanlbow.
Thefollov,-crisofmillcdSICel,11s~,lllr1aoe
slopcdio-1lowclo5ingthcbohonanempcy
maga>linc.Thealloyparts(guard.floorplale
andlatch)areaoodizcdbl:w:k
Centurion actions were made lo handle
inoscpopuWU.S.cam:rfirccanridge$of)O..
06heads1Z11:lndtheshorlbellromagnums.
Thek"llOm"-crcallofthesarncJcnalh,but
tho9ciniendcdforshonttcamidgcshadthe
R1tofthe..-..guincblockcdoffandlincd
w,thashorta-folJo,.·er.Thus..a,;tionsmac.k
forlhc243.6mm.257and308ha,·eamap-
zincopcmng(lcngth)of3.00"".Ae1ionsforthe
longer canridp--30-06 and SOOl1 magnwn
lcngth---havc•fflll!W"CopcnmgofJ.3SO"
..tare unblocked.
Evidcntly,agn:atmanyCcnturionactions
..-crcmade.siratheactions.bam:lcdactions
andasscmbledriflcswm:numcruusandsold
bymanydealcr1. TIM:fcwlha,·ccummed
appcaredsoundandwellmadt-.btl.one243
wouldamolU1Cfynocfeedanycaruidgt,from
themagazincnct'plthelaslone.Anisolwd
msw,a:,pcrhap$,lorochen l handlcddi<ki't
ha,·cth,sproblem.laltofcarthatthel.atch
...-angementofthehin~lloo,platc11noc
good; the tiny lip on the floorplatc which
enpgesthelatc;hmayw~arquickl)'andlhcn
failtoholdthcflOOl'platccloscdwhcnthc
magwncisfullyloadCli.
TIM:Ccntunonact1011,.'C1ghsabou12
pounds,ll~ltsgenen.landdimcn-
iionalspcc1ficaoonslnllhesameaslho9eof
thescandardM98.md11dingbam:lshankand
thrcadspccS.di$wcrnblyandaMembly.
The lowest priccJ Centurion rifle, the
ModellOO,hadablindmagazincbox-thal
is.00001Sidemagazincfloorplatewasuscd,
thewoodoflhe"<)l;kwvcringtheboncmof
the magazine box. Cartridges ha,·c 10 be
unloadcdby-..-orkmgtheboh.
Somcomem1966orl967.theGoldcnSCIIIC
AnnsCorp.,.'Cl".(outofbusmm..11-.lalcG:r
fromone...., ..'hosaidhisO:nn.aionm>eiver
andbolt ..<tnlCSlt'd b-lwtlncssbefun::~
a 7mm Magnum bam:I fined The glfflSl!Uth
makingthclQ!wmtethatheconsidcredlhe
reui,·er100softforanymail)1umcamidgc
Tothebeslofmykoowlcdgc.thisaction
andthcriflcsbuiltonitarenolongerimport•
edimotheU.S
(,t,tx:M,)ThaobealMIDliklXll~•wi
2'3-<:albefu~~Puadena,.,,,_
C-orp,.lrc.Thea-optlt,au.tnllll3-9xBan-
nervariableWIW-IOp-(IIMaC:hatJIIIOI.WU.
305
2. Santa Barllara Mllll8r
ldon'tknow\\hlilconnc<:lion!hcrei5
bclwccn the Santa lbrbua Mauser action and
theCentunonMa"9eraction(Justdcscribcd),
tu:!hmmustbe500ll:lmk. lSTtlh15~
lhem:ei,'miandbolt!lofllieser,,oac1ionsan,
almos1cu,;1duplic,uesofeachothcr.Thc
Centurionlttci,·critsclfhasnoman::inpby
..111ch11,;;anbeidenbf~lheonlymark,ngsi1
1,asan,lhesmaliunbcr.prttedtdby•kttc
andthe,.'Ol'dSPAINswnpcdonlhesodeof
lhetang.TheSantallarbararc«i-uissimi-
larlyrrwkcd,irssmalnumbcrbegiMU\Jlwilh
the ~ '/_ There ue no nwlm1gs on the
acb(lnlO~TIISl'°Slnla8arlw11-action
oranyochcra:;tion.Whythename~IS
omincd"beyoodnll'.SantaBatbaraaclions l reccwcd it. 1..;11a11cmp11odescribe it llccauscthcsafceywasinoorporalcd"'ilhthc
"'C'refirstad,~i!iedshonlyaflcrGoklcnState Thcreccivcr.OOhandsomcofthc:01.hcr trigger mechanism. 1hc usual Mauser-type
Anns·,,cn1outofbusmcss.solsuspcctbolh Larger pans appear 10 me to be m,·cstmmt s;ifcty,.-..sclinu~fiomlheboltsle,e,.,cand
acoons"'Cl'Cmadcbythesamemanufacnror cast,np. although I am not sun: Thm: is. rnadesmoolher ,nowhnc byom,ttinglhc
inSp.in,Ahhoogt,lomnoi:sun:aboulth,s,l how~'CI", no valid oi,,«:non IO u:h castings holcforlhcsafe1y.Thc1oprnroflhcbol1
h:..-c1rqx,rtwhich1ndica1cslhebohand pn:wodcdsuitablcsieds1111:uscdandthecast- sk:evcextendsoverlheoockinap~whcn,1
recci,"l.'l"parlli wen: made by the Spamsh Mili- ingsan:finishedandproperlyhcal-ueated. isinthcfircdposition.formingasonof
wy Arscnal in La Coruna. Spain. Toc S..ta LikcthcCcmunonandFNactoons.lhcSanta shroudlO~i~
BatwallCIOl"'aSinl")'VdbySanur,Barban. Bafbarllisancartarbon,;opyoflheM?S Thcbolthandkiscuctlytikelheoncon
ofArnmca.Lld.(nolongffinbusincs5). 111;UOn.Thoad-."CIU$Ulililiel-allndescribesrtas lhcCentunonat1,on.witha,"ctylowprofilc
"''hcnlhes.-.aa.t,ena:aonwas1vail:ablc, lhc"'Tune-lCSlal.class,cObcmdorf"«5igi,cd todcaralow-""""'1cdSOOJ>C
itoouldbehad,.ithe11hcranaluminumalloyor l\ll!iffl M~ 11cuon." Like !he FN. it is az, Oflhand.lwouldsaythatlhisactionbas a
SICCltnl!llffguan.lnltloorplaM:,andmadek> ,mpro,.·cmmt o,'t'f lhc origmal M98. Tho sti1Tcrmainsprina11>arllhatuscdinanyoflhc
h;nflcellh:ra.danlca,ndgesofl0-06hcad lhumbno1Chisom1ncd,lca,•Ulllhelcft~v• othercanmcn:ilJM~-peacbonS.
sm,orshortbdl!dhcadn...-,,~AI erwallsoldThostllflpCr..:lippudenotch,s Thctnggcrmcchanismisoflhefam1lw
lhcsameume,banelcdactions-1vailablc al,olcfloffandlhcbndgcislcflsmooch. type such aa made by Timncy. 11 is fully
fromabarrclmakinjjfinninvarious,;alibcrl; Thcrccc,i,·erhaslhcnear-full,nsideoollar. adJ..stableandishousedinanalloycastil1ll-
Lastly. cx,n-.,lcle rifles abo """' a,'llilablc from thcbohhaslhc1wolar8C'gas-•"Clllhob.thc Thcrntthanismt11a113ChcdlOlhcbooomof
stillmothcrf~SIOCk........,~. Nci- Jloltcdlc,ftlockin1l1111andthcrnrsafcty lhem:ei,..,,byapmlhroujihlhe,,cgulartcar
dw:rthea;tic-.bmmcdac:oomora,mplelc lug-allbasM:Mauscrfcaturcs.Allrccc,i\",:r IOd:e1andtighlmcdbya11t1-cmo.•.Thcfin-
nfles,.l:l'eonthcrratcl,'tf'J'long. andbohpaMj;an:lheililmC"'iinlheCenrunon ger•p1ccc of rhc !rigger ,swell curved.
With1SantaBarban111cUonU1handJUS13S oct,oncxccplforastrcamhr.cdboltslcc,·c. groo,·edandplaccd"·ellbackmthctriggcr

TheSanlaBarbaraMaus&rmg(l&rmechanlsm.BuiltinacaatUJ-
minumhouling . .,.ltlggefilfiMyadjultablelol'..eigtllolpull.take-
up(affC)or&ea1engage,menl)andO\leMravel.locorpora1edWhh
thetrlggermechanlamlalhepivo11ng-1ypet.angaafa1Y:pul llnglt
b&cklocblhesaar.Therearelou<MH1crewslnttu11riggar.811Ch
ooelilledw.1hlocl<nu11,. Se1._andlocl<.n1A(A)areusedonty10
holdlhell'IOIChllni$maQIIU'ISl!hebottomol!he.-.-1ang.The
H1·9Cf9Willumedlntight.lhanlhelocl<nu(istighleoedso!heMl·
saawcanlloolen.The11ockmu11berernc,,edbeforeanyadju11•
men11 can be fflllde, 5eHsc,aw {8) adjusts weight ot pull. Tumlng It
ln(clOekwise)inae.... lheweight,andvialv1,rMSet-screw(C)
adjustttrlggeroYe<-travel.hilnoonalyM110&10pltig,gel'move-
mM11hemomentlhe-krelaued. Thebeslwey10adjust,or
se1 ~. ii u ~ ' WIit! 1h11 bolldOMd and the tlrill"1"' lheflrtd
?(>SifiOn, tumlhe screwinunrn~lsstopped, !hen back it off about
one-eigh1hlumandt>ghtenlhelocl<nut.Set-scraw(D)conlrolasear
engagement Tumlng MIn (clocl(w1M) reduces engagement. and
w;:e-. ltisnonnaly~ulolows:WlltllheactiondoMd
and llrll<ef In lhefnd poaitlon, and afte, lhe set-acrew(C} haa been
set,1umlhescrewlnuntiatopped,lhenbackHollaboulone-alghth
rum and lighten lhe lock nut. Now, IHI lhe 1rigger by closing lhe bol1
srrn,rtty a number or times , and It lhe 11riker doM not slay coclled
811ChlMMlhebol11sdOMd,thanilsnotenough...,engagemant,
and'orlheweighlolpulktoolighl.(E)lslheMtety.Theseinstruc-
lionaallol!J,pJylOlhe1rlgge<ol!heParker-Hala$upe<Mauserrllla.

306
 ....
S.nuiBarbarllMa~action.amodem!zed
~"9faionollhe61andam M98

auatdbow.h,sadjUSlablefor,.-c,ghtofpull.
Ulkc-uporcn:q,.andO\'CT·IT8•-cl.hha.samin-
1mwn ~ig)ll-<!f.pull adjustmem of11bo1n 2
""'"""·
Thesafctyisbuihintothclriggerme,:;ha-
n,sm. h1 sapivotingtypc,.its 1humb-pie«
pos,ll00Cdoothcrightsideoflheta11g.P1v~-
1ngthcsafctybl,;,klod<sthelriggerandboh.
ltisc,xwm,mttouseandqwelinoperation.
Sintt1tp,•"CltllllSICldofsliding,theSIQ<;'khas
iobc'1ighlly..,._OU110lheraroflhelhumb-
piea:10IJ>-CMroomto"ult.
The'"ffYlongtriggefhousingextends
-1ytothc:endofthewig,"1th1heiur
auard..cn:wpaMmgthroughahole1nthc:
hous1ng.Thislea='"ffYlinlearnforthe
mngtobesolidlybeddedintothcstock.r.ffl
,r a aJass-bcdding compound is used. For
mon:SttUl'Cbcdding.thebottomofthclria•
gerhous1naa1thispoin1shouldbcbcddcdor
''bonomctf"intothescockinstead
Thesccdoralloytriggcrguanl/magazme
wu11an:maoc ..,,th a hinged floo<pla1e. its
la1Chandn:lc:ascbu1100builtintothcfiomof
theail&"'"auatdbow.·. Thealumim.nnwutisa
one•pie«casc,na."1tilethesieduru1hu1
lllklflithcfinngme,:;hanismoutofthc:bolt.l
rouldhanllypulllhccockingpittebackor
rumtheboltslcc~.Theiruidcmetalsurfaccs.
unpolished.hadafrostyappcaranc:e.as
thoughnochinghadbcendonetothrmdler
manufacrurecxcq,tpicklingorsandbbsl,ng.
11aaues,.Tomakcthis11oC1ionwOfksmooch•
ly"·illtakc•lolofwort,.though.Thcll:l>On
bccamenouceablyeasiertoopmitcaller
working~afewtimes- Thektlinglug,-
ways.andthc:kicbngshouklen.,.illha,-clO
bcpol1shcdandlapixd;bol1slecvclhmods
,.;u111,-ciobelapped"-iththo5e,n,odcthe
bolt.Thccoclungcamnolchmtheboltand
thctaml'l«"''ayinthen:ce"-cTncedtobc
pol1shcd.Thcinsideofthebol1slee>·cnttds
tobcsmoothedout.anditwouldbeagood
idcatosmooththcinsideofthcbohalso.Thc
ou1si&:ofthcbohncedstobcmadcmuch
smoother.Thccx1rat1orcamsurbce!inccd10
bepolished. TOP view ol 1he Santa Balb.lra .etion
Earher. l m<:m,Orlro the seemingly very
s11ffmainspringuscdinthisaction:intheck- SantalbroaraMauseractionasasuitablconc
'"i the w,_kcr 1r2,·el. l found ,t to be .47S" oowhoch10bwldagoodspo,1ingriflc.
msicadoftheusual.500"formost M98- Then:tti,-crwillacc:q,tbarmsdRailcdio
<bg,,actions.WiththcmauupringasSl,ffas M98 ba.lRI shani: and dnad speaflCIIKllll.

---
shccl:..fflCQl~bm.!JIOl·"~lOthc: 1111.lbclor.-cthc:sarllOIChaiuldbe<;111bad Thcactoon,.,thalloyguard"'Cighsaboo,,:l",
aiucrl\Wdpla1e:.ThefollowcrisS1n:l1n .lOO""tomfliccsuiffl1nwclio.37S" Th,s pounds.,.1t,lethcstrtlguard,'CTS>On"'Clflhs

T h e ~ bm. opaung is about 3.JW'

lon&.IIOO(f,la~for30-06b,gthcartridg,:$and
lhonbel1cdmagnwns.Forthesltorter308
fa1mlyofcanndgcs.thc:magazineha.sashc,ct-
me11lspaccrfi11cdmtotherearofthc:boxto
couldcas,Jybcdoncsinccthesafctyfunctions

.....
oothea,gga-scarl'alherthanoothca11:iuna:

shorlcntheopcning toaboutJ.00"".Thcalloy
umti11n<>diudbla<:k.and1hcstttlunitis
polishcdandbll>Cd.
lordcrcdaSantaBarbania,c;tior,withthe
srei:la,11Fg,wd,magazincfrom1distribu•
1«.andthea,c;t,onlrccei\·edwasgencrally
•••di ,-ie. Althougj, the OUIS>de surfaces of
all,isibkpans"-cn:"-cllpolished.nollun&11
a11 ..-.11on<10thomsdcswfaccs.Thebolt
wassoS1:Jfflhat1twasonly"1thgn,atdiffi•
~iythll.urouldbcopmtdandck>Kd. In
lha--cnocSttntheSnntaBarbara alloy
a,sger~limagaz,,.. umt. but lhe Sled urut
oomyac:oonwaspoorlyshapcdbcforcbcma
pol1$hcdandblucd.Thctriggerguardbowis
slab-sidcdandheavy.and1heedgesarc
!1quaJCandsltarp.OnaUgh1rille,in270or
larger~libtt.thc:sh:lrp-edged bow could
n:altyhash..,lhemiddlcftngcroom:od.Thc
bowshouklbc""'ffl<ed.theedgcstapcfW
offandroundcd
Also. I doo'1 hkc the Ital-head gu.ml
ICl'CWlll5rooothisactM.llL
w,th..-guardtcmto-sandallercon5idier·
.iikpolislunghasbcendonc. l "-ouldraletho
~-
~)pounds.ltisCisasscmblcdandrc-
assanblcd like the Scries400 FN Mauser
.
11ic,...,11.1<no-,.11Parker-Halcftnnof8,rm..
1ngham. England. ,mroduc:ed a ,w:w h1gh-
po,.crcd spotting rifle in 1967. called the
Senes 1200Parke.--HalcSuperMauscr.Thc
m:c1vcrandbol1ofthisactionan:alsoof
Spanis.hmanufa<:lun!.aswcll m1gh1 be the
tri11&C"". Atanyra1c.thertte1ver.bolunda,g-
germ..:han,smoflheParter-lblcrifloappear
tobeidentialtothoscootheSantaBart.ni
actioo..andlsuspe,c,ttha!bodlan:,-ie,nthc
sam,:fXIOryonSpam.
S111cctheJ>arkcr-llaleMau.ser"-as1ntn>-
duccd.•-anousgunmaga>)IW!$rqw;,ncdfilvtt•
ablyoo11.

,07

3. Hertllr'1 Xll3 and JB
In lhc: mod•l960s. Hertcr'J. Inc .• began
imponina a ccnlerfire rumbol1 .crion which
appcarcdtobcavcrycl0$eropyof1hcFN
Mall.$Cl"Ckl11.uaction.cxcq,cfuritsboh-s&op.
CatalogeduthcMan;XXJ,1twatmadein
GcnnanysndHscbcrit,cdinthcirl966cal·
alogasbetna;an~'tdmodifiedMa-,-
iypeac1Klll.MActually,i1wasamodifiedver-
sionofthcregularM981&111cring11ction. l1
wasofall•stcelconstructionandromplclely
finishcd,wuhlhc:roa:i,"Crsndmapzi,,opa,ts
blunl..tthcbobpansldtbnafll.
TheMa:kXIObollh...ilhcusualM98
t\O,inloxkinglug,,boltsafctylug.long•!ype
extrac10randguidcrib.Thebolthandle
copied lhc fN lowprofilcmclcara lov,•-
mounled$COf!e. Thesafcty,.."Uinthcbolt
,,..mo
slcc\~.its,..ing..,.,,.,,ilhci.:1t,snd11 ...
lowmougl,ioelearalo,,·-rnounledsoope.
Th:JaraeM8roa:i'"Cr.iappcdfor!IJl),oopc
moun1S.hadlhc:wua.lM98rol!arinside.The
aiggcr ...,.acoo-'ffltional~miliwytrig.
f!'l'madc"'ilhoullhctwohlm,pS, .. itWl.lllld
ha.vca~pullinsleadofa~
sragelet-olf.ThemilledSl«l~trigger
~hadadolac:h3blefloorpbte.
TheusualM98bol(•stopWasnotus,:,;lon
thisac1ion;ins1ead.i1 wasfittcdwithanearly
nush romb111at,oobolt-stopandtjcc\Ol". lt
rcsanbkdthcboh-s&opu:scdonlhc:Bn,nr,ning
FNactiondeiaibed inll'IOlher-chapler.1 ha,~
oolysccnOl!fofthc:scllctlOnl.andthcboh·
Slop aswnbly differed from lhc Browning
typein1ha1thebol1-S1opspringwasanachcd
IOlhc:~'ltfbyascn:w
lllQlC Omnan-made Hcrm's XXJ actions
WffClmi•bci!v"'ailable"'illhrr-.rip;tincsb
JOJan<1J0-06a¥1icanridFf.« ...n111hcboll
faoeanda1n1Cttmadelor1hcshonbtllo:lmag-
runcartridgcs.This.don""dghcd2p,u-.ls,9
oan:cs.Thcy-markcd t>l ldelnQnnany.
l did9N10o:amine1~oflhc:flf:n.
cr·s Mark XXJll:blln111 IMei"dale, bul lhtl
IC!ionwasman:ed MD iaY..gosb,ia.Jt,.1111
also marl<od IIERT E R·s M -XK•J, h al3o
boreamonognun.lhc:overlappcdfig,ns U:Z
wilhinacin::le.lhc:trademarkof~O,."CRI
Zaslava.thclcadingannsm.,ufac1Um'in
Y~iL Thaspd,ablym:1r11thatHener's
mig!,11->~hadproblemsin~thcactions
madcinGcmw,y.TheYugoslal....-nadcXIO
actionlcxaminc:dhadthcoorm~mionalM98
bolt«ipandejec.'la",asmoochboh~madc
,.-mxu;safay.1sliding~sakly.and ..
alJ.slttl tngcr piard~ ,.111,.
hinp:d
floorplao..Theoollarimdcthcm:eM<mg11
slollt,,lonbodlsides.~maywcllha,.,~
othcrva'Sionsoflhc:XXJactioo.bu1lhe1wo l
cxaminedandde$cribcdabo\'Cappcarcd10bc
'"Cl"J"~Umadc.
ttencr·, 1967 cataJox h5te<I $llll anochcr
M98-l)'])CKt10n.CalledthcMarkJ9.Hffltt'1
308
: I I
saysitwasmadcf«lhcminYuplavia. This
-.tionappcar$10btcxxtlylikcthcla1CS1J9
ac1101'1.desaibcdbc1ow.cxcq,c11Dtlhc1opof
thcrcccivcrnngandbridgcarccqualin
hc1gh1, flat on top, and wi1h low do\.'ctail
iroovcsoncach1ide(abou1.770"widc)to
formintegra1$COpemowningba$cs.lha~c
DcVcruaminedthisac1ion.
Oltgun"TIICfrtpO!tedtomclhalbthada
nflc ...1th• $1m.Jllr IICIIOO and so marted
e,,cqi1forlhc:Hertcr'1J9S(alllf)ing. This was
oblainedinYugoslavia,in 30-06calibcr,IOO
withs.erialnwnbtr48521.Therroci'ltfrollar
issloc1cdonbolhsibllealsohadonc:of
t1cner·s XKJ nlles. q11i1e like the one: I
delcribedc,;cqi1thalthcrollarinlhenngis
<:U1oucoolyonthcngh1side.
Nowforthcmo,nreecntofthc Hertcr'sJ9
action.Theactionlltt<'i"cdisswnpcdonthe
leftroa:i,-erwall:
MADE 1N YUGOSLAVIA
ThisispRQ:dcdbythcZCZ. ..., ~ .
delrldemart. Thesmalnumbcr.stamr,cdon
Trigg,erandsalMymechanismolHerter'1J9
w;tion./Vrq#p(WUS101h91riog9,~
tertw.Turringlhiteerewdo,;:kwll,t,....._
-~tandlhottenllrigg.,~.
thelov,·crrightcomtTofthcrttci'ltfring,
wouldbt hidden if the action were ,nthe
s&o<;1<.Thelasl~di111soflheseri&lr,.m.
bcrareal11Dstampcdonlheborlomoflheboh
handleandonlhc:triggcrguard
Th, Hcner'scauiJo&listcdthreeJ9aclions:
thcSS Ml No. l forcanndgcsof3081ength,
SSM2No.2furthoiic30-061cngd,c:anndaff.
andSSMJNo.lfortha,1btlledmagnums.
J9ba!TclcdactionsandoornpletcJ9riflcs,n
variouscali~"'~alsolisled.
Bneny. Hertcr'sJ9ac1iooisamodificdand
modcrniud version of the large ring M98
actionl.madccruirclyofS&eel.llhaslhefull
ra:a,-erooUarlikcthcM98.anditislhradcd
thc-.JthaslheM98bollfined"i1h•low·
pr0filebollhandlc. l1 has190lidleftwallanda
M98bolt--stopandrjector.Theboltsloovcis
ofthemodcrnfNtypc,withootsafcty.The
a,i!P ~ 0011 is all-Sled and the
Sleellloorplaleislllng,ed.The~lllch
]ics,nlhc:nonloflhea,gg,:,-gwrdbow.Th:
aiucrfollo ..."SlhcM98milita,ytypc.bu1il
hasasingle-stagepull.Ashcc1:-mctalsloding
safcty,fincdrothcrigh11idcoflhc~ver
tang.locblhc:searandbolt,..·hrnpullcdt.di:.
llcn:-the~"'-onilofthcJ9acaon l
m:e.Yed.whichl-.nelObtlheSSMlNo.1:
W91ght .. .. . . 460l.
Length .. 8.50"
=:i:YBI~.~
~···········\~
Mapme-,glh C...ittl .... 3.2,s-
Bolllwlgth .............. &.115·
(Thellandan:IM9ebolil&.375"b'O-)
Fromlhcabo,·espooifi<=ations.ittaiibc
sccnthat thisactionhasthesarncappro,1,matc
dimcnsionsaslhc:M24 Yugoslaviaiiacuon
de9c:ribedinthec:hapt,crM~Uusel'Modcl98.M
lnlhlletiai,c,:r. l de9c:ribcdlhis11<;t1c,r1asOl!f
ha.,mg the odd MCChm&, Ill 1hat the pro,ecl·
inglipsonlheleftSldco(thccanridgeltt<'SS
nmareabsent.letti11jjthellanelbcbnlechcd
dOKrlOlhc:bolt. Thisalsoroquirwthct'w;e
oflhellarn,ltobcno1ehtdforthentrac10r.
All illuscr.tionsoflhe J9bolt head in Hcner's
callllopshowit,.,~1hcsoeliJ',s.andtheJ9

ltll·llii:le-..WoltheXKJIICliorlshoww>gthe~lkl8hfwe-pieceboll-S10p. TheMpa,U:
.,.,boll-ttQJ,wiltlilsMm1tedlto,ombpiec:e,ejeclorarmpilloted101heboll-stoponapinand
boll-~llj)ring.wtatflisheklag&Qilhef9011verbyaacrew.Thisboll-s10pilalrrloal
theumeUlhalU$1!1dontheFNSrowninglumbOllrff'llolcilon
IICIIOl'I I ha,·cal,o h.tsabolt withoul these lips,
I can only conclude, therefore. lhat the J9
1C11011has1bol1andareceh·crthatareropits
oflheM24Yugoi,lavianac1i<:,n.No1havi113
had1~toe:.ammcandmeasurelhe
SSM2 and SSM3 J9 actions. I can only
1SSUJ11elhallheyha,-c1longermapzincto
handlc30-061cngthcartridg,es..orm,madc
anlhelc.,npreplarM98actionandalsofi1.
led ..1th1l0-061engthmagazine.
ThcJ9act1011 llttci,"rohasanumba'of
faults.Thcbndge""aS!Opoorlymac:hinrd
4. Aekley Mauser
In about the mid-19605, P.O. Ackley
antlOUll«dthatM98actionsbcaringhisname
wouklsoonbe1vailablc.ThclaieMr.Ackley.
oneofAmcrica·s leading gunsmiths, had•
,·crylu&hrcpnlforthcM98actiondc5i&n.
Helladmranged ba fmn in Japan to make
hisact10R1,•"Cf)'d01secopyoflhelaieslf'N
Mauser The most 1111erest1ng partoflhe
announ,;emmt was lhi,t • INC left-hand
Mauser1COOn ..11110bem:adc,as""'llaslhc
nonnal nght-hand'YJ)C. Tothcbestofmy
lmo,,,lcdte,lrul-.."aSIObelhcfirsl1n1eoom-
mm:11lleft-handM981Ct!OOe-'Cfmadc.
AJ so fmiucntly happens. good lh111as
ofttnfail10last,andsuchwaslhc01SCwith
Ackley'1J~madcaccions.Toprcparc
• story on lhcseacti,..., I got twooflhcm for
lhllHwooklbe,,:,ydiflkulttoanachallOOJIC
mounl bas.eon n k:,-cl with the frontmoum
base. The top left side of the bridge i1 not
machmeddownfarcnough.andlhemachin-
mglhat"'Udonc1S001&1allaocurate.Such
poorand~wori,:isinexcusablc,
Thesurfaccs1N1 ..'m:polished.,.iuch
lltdudcalmoMalloutsidcsun'accs."'Cft'cato-
lesslydoncona!IC!ftpolishing ..+..d,lea.,,.
lhe alga rounded and holes diwd OUI.
[>ctp11cduslavybuff'u,gallcr1n1ualruugl,
pobsl11ng.lOOlandpolishingmarb1ttst1II
study,butlalsophoncdAckleyforll<ldilional
infonnat1011.llcamcd.sadly.lhalonlysome
lSOofthcrnhadbeenmadc,SOofthcrnlcft-
hand ones, before lhc Japanese firm maki111
BaHdontheAddeyMaUNflCtion,thisltllllNlseF.,....,_t9di.rgtt
8111Ck.enAddeyberrelchember9dlorlhe 17•250Qlrtridgaanda
1,1.•terget~.
pre$CIIIW>dcrlhchtghshttn.Parts"·hoch
should ha,·c been left ioaetherWllnglhcpol-
1slung. such 1111he bolt-stq:,sprina; inlhc bolt-
stop,,,,rn:polishcdsepa111tcly.and•ll1hcir
o:dj!CS"'Cl'Croundcdoff.Thcboll-SlopSpMj
1l,oappe.rs10h:iw,beenben~andthrnpar-
tilllystraigl11encdagain.
The ulJaCtor collar is damped so tighlly
aranlthcooltlhallhchollhamlecanonlybc
raisedandio..'ffl:d ..ithcoosidcrablceff'on.
TI!Mis ■ Rawiithcmctal~lhc­
oflhcboltlade---aftawlhllmakesitan--•
~1hcboltlwdeW111wdbi<d01hcbok.
l,,ewthD-..ithsuspicion.Thl:lnl&ffltllO
ughl1111hc5C:llf.andlhcsearsohghtonthe
n,cen'Cf,lhai"-henlhclriaaerispullodl,-;kit
Sllyslhrn:.Cfflainly,IIORleofthesefauhscan
be001TCC1cdbythcarn.ateurgunsm1tlt.but
lhcyshotoldooth:ivcbeenpresentintho:finl
plaoe.ltislhc~,;ommercial,;enttrflR'
tumboltactionlh:i,1:seen.PcrhapsnotallJ9
ac1ionllaresopoorlymadcaslhconclJIOl,
but in makingmyevalua1ionofthi1onc,I
couldne,'Cfrcoommcndedthisactioo.
lha,·cnoideaofhowmanyofthcsewriod
J91Ction:s,.....,soldbyHater"1beforcthcse
actionswettdiscontinucdorbefon=Hater"1
"'fflt ~ of business. B«ause they ,..ere
pnoc,dqu,tclowandbccau,elhcllcncr'1cat•
llofl;pnucd1hcm101hcsky,1hrn:mustha,1:
beenqu,1ea~.Somc~of1hlsboolt
,.,llprobablyha,,:onc.andlcanlellyouno
mc:ntboutlhemlhan"·hallha.,-clOldhcrc.
thcrn ..'Clllt.wupt!Tha!-..111alsolhcendof
lhcAckleyMauser.
Anyway,s1ncc: l hadtwoofh1sri~t-hood
actions(I IIC\'Cfhadlheopponuniiyiocxam-
Unertl 1••
309
 s & Actmns

inctheleft-hand,-crsion).l'llbncflydescribc
1hcm.Fi1'$10IT,theyaremark«l,on1lleleft
re«iverwall:
P.O.ACKLEY
SALT LAKE CITY.UTAH
The serial number, pm:edcd by No., is
stampcdontherigl,lsideoflhen=ivcrring.
Thewcwds MADEIJlo' J APAN-stamptd
onthellatarQ,mderthem:a,·crnng.My
r,,'()acuomh:a,-efuur..iig,1wrialnumbm..
TodescribctheA<:kl,:yMauser1e1ionin
detllilwouldbctorepeatwhath:asalready
been "Ti11tn about the FN,Ctnturionand
SaniaBamaraactions,butascanbcsernin
theillustrations.theAtkleydifTeninminor
rc,pcc:IS. While the FN 1w a Jona, slender.
swq,c-backbolthandlc,andtheCcnturion
and$ana,Barban,ha,-e$honer,hea,ierhan-
dles,lheAckleybollhandk11adoscc:q,yof
theModol70W~lwtdk.J1has1low
profile to clear the lo"'-estmoun1nl scopes,
with1siemthatisratherhe1vyand1wep1
backin1doublecun·c,endinginapcar-
shapcdgraspingbilll.Thisbolthandleshape
hasbeoomeirnrncMclypopular,rll05tshocil-
mprcferringilov,:ranyochcr. lfcdlhesame
qy_
Th:Adkyrtttiva-istappcdforthemany
populartop-rooun1soopcbasaandfora
,-iYCF sighl. Unlike~ FN tctions, the
ThcAcklcyMauscractionismadcm11rely
ofstcd.Thctriggcrguardandrnaga;,!inc:box
an:aonc.piccesicelunit.Thcfloorplatcis
hi~tothefron1ofthernap:dnc:box,the
latchposiu()nedjUS1forwanlofthe1riu<=r
giwdbow. Thelatchbunonisqu,iclargc,
makingnnsytoWllatchwithaling,:r. On
oneofmyAcklcyacoons.theguardbowis
neatlynarrov,'Cd.Oncofthc,1wohall1millcd
stttl folk,v.~ the Dlher an alloy one. The
magazincboxopcningis3JSS".loogmough
to IICCC'pl 1he siandard and belled maanum
cami~of30-061cngth.
Theniggcrhousingisali;omadeofSleel.
Oneoctionlw1triggeradJusiablconlyFor
"-aghtofpullM>dsc:arcngagemtllt.1•1hilcthe
od...-one ,sad_iusablc furll\...-•U-nd as well.
Thesafrty.panoflhcniggcrmcchan,sm.iJ
thepo"(J(ingiypew1thalarge~bu11on
1lonpide the 1311&. When npped back. the
xarandboharelotkcd.
l don't knowhowtl,c Ackley rcu,vcn
"'Cf'Cmadt:.orofwhatkindofstccl.bu1thcy TriggermechanlamoflheJapanese-maoje
Ackl1tYMause,acilon ; (A)aalery, (8)bolt
app,:arLObemachinc:dfromforgingsrathc,r lock(panollhesa'9ty),(C)lightoningscrew,
thanfromanm,'CSllllcntorod...-1yp,,0Fcas1- (D)weightol p u l l ~ screw,{E)trig-
ing.Allthc:par1$appearlobewdlmao.lf:M>d ge< stop or ov.r·tr1...t ..:ljustment screw ,
finoshcd.Thebohfitssnuglymthc:rem,·cr. a n d ( F ) s e a r ~ ~ --
and thcR"11 nurumum oh,"Clbble ,,,hen the
boh11opened.ltncdiopu1theAcklcybolu 17-250 caliber. Bodi ~ioncd well. a~
inod...-M98acoons.M>dtheboltsfromthc:se lhough1couplcofbuphad10bcworkcdout.

Ackleym:,ewerhaslhenear-fullinsidecollar,
slotledonly for1hecx1rac1or. The Ackley
1C1ionha.slhesmooih,sh,oudcdbollslc,e,,-eof
thelatcrFN
a.cuoos in the Ackley rcccl\·cr, but none
wouldinlm:han~.TheAcklcyboltbodyis
IIOOllt .70S" in diameter. Bolh ofmy Ackley
ac1ioos"'ffl:fittcdwi1hbam:lsbyAckleyin
--
ThcreareccrumlycnoughdiffmntM98-
1ypcactionsonthc:rn,n;:e110day,butthcrcis
roomforanolhcrgoodone.especiallyalcfl•

5.lll'evexMll,un,.,._.
Madeinfranceandonttin-.,c,nedimothe
Uruled$wC$byTruwinds,lnc~thc:Bm-cx
i1theonlytruemagnumMauseractionthat
hadbcmavailabletoAmcrkangunsmiths
suicebeforeWWII.
ThefirstMausermagnwnltlion"'llSprob-
ablydeveloped$honlyaflcrl900,andmost
hkdyitwasinitiallydevclopedmthc:Mauser
calibc:rsjvslmm1IOrlcdalsomdtcalesomeof
the pronuncnt Bnn5hgunma.kcn 11S1ng the
M98magnumMauserlClion.SomeOerman
canridgu abo reqmrcd the magnum action,
1Mtheyarenot110wellkncl\."11.
SuthcamidgesnotonlyhadlarKCdiamelcr
cues and bullels, butsomeof1hcm were
ncarly4#overnll.Thus.alongcr.larscrand
strongcractionthanlhestandardM98was
n«dcd.Thcong:inalMausiermagJIUfflaction
lnmanycases.themapz,neboxextcnded
bclowlhc~ockhnc. OthcrthanlbeseFea-
r=s.these"'"iJlllfflldionsv.ffll~ly
thesameasthercaularM981tlKJn.Afewof
these Mauser-made magnum ac1ions(they
wm:alsomadebyod...-firms)"-m:usedby
sorneAmcricansuns1noths,butno1manyof
'"""·
Thcbigswing10CUS10m•maderiflesdidn'1
bcginlDllilaflcrlhemdofWWll.andthcn

-
planlinOl:iemdo,f.Germany.l1camelhou1 ,.._9_25# long. made with• ,·ay heavy alffllllSla-nyamateurandprofessionalsur,-
as1raullofemployingthesundm!M98 ~ •·cr ring. and with a mapzine ~ sn11thgoti11101heact. ThcFrench-made
Mauser action forint1C1S1nglylartlfft:ar· mentapproJll'lale10thecartridgc:10bc:UKd. 9,.,.,-c,c Magnum Mlwcr Ktion was intro-

OermanandBritlshsportsmcnv.ffl:proba-
blyrcsponsible forthemaanum v.·hen.for
tt0n0myreuons. they warned boll-attion
rifles chambered for la~bore canridges
which. ordinarily. were available only in
hcavydouble-bam:kdriflcs.Thesclafl!Cdou-
bkriflec:araidgeswen:U$Uallyrimmcd.but
for11SCinabolt-ldionrifle,av.hokM'W
Sffles of similar rimlets cannJacs """'
bg,,ed.SomeoflhcBntuhcamidgcsb
v."hicb thc: magnum ~11usc:r action V.'aS use,!;
404R1mlcssNitro-&.press;4l6Rigby;425
Wesdey-ltichanlsMagnum;SOORimlcssJcf.
fcry,and50SGibbsRimlts1Magnum.Thc

310
oocedmlQthcU.S.m l9SSIQmtttadcmand
bsudlanllC!IOn.
Two B~"Cx magnum actions were on&i-
nally introcluc:ed; lhc MlOO bsudl common
bcl!«lmagnumcartridgesaslhc300and37S
H&ll Mawiums.and theM400forlhc416
Rigbyanditslike.Bothactioo!iwen: lhcsamc:
cwq:,iforlhcboltfacem:essandcxb'aeUJr.
Shorlly ■ ft"""=lbarrcledactionsin300
H& H Magm,m. 37S H&ll Magnum and 416
RlgbyWCl"Cmadeavailabk. ThcTIW"Winds
catalogofthelale1960slislcdootylheM400
111po,;cof5160.
Hcrciwlhc5PCCif1C1tionsforlhcM400
Bm-aMagrunMausc:raction:
Walghl .. 53oz.
t..,gch .................... 9.25.
= ~·:.:::: .i::
8oltT,.'41 . . . . . . . . . . 4.975.
Strik«T,.-..1. . . ...550"
Mf9IZIML.ength .......... :).925'
Mf9121--'lwktth ..
Solt·!- - . Al 1he 1ime I rccei,•cd my Bre,·e~ action,
(klf416~cartJldi;la)
Cli9me1er .590"
°'!)It!.. .rm'
==:::=.: · ~
(1 .141"ll~12.7V...,_.P91'inchl
C°"""'"nglhest-figu,awiththoscforlhc
M981111l,myai:oon,itisn'thanl10visuali,,e
lhcBmu•bringa,"')'larg,eandmassi,~
1Ct101LAc:wrding1Qlhcimponer,lhclmvex
reccwerandbohiwmadeofchrome••Vladi-
Uln stll<'I, hca1-trca!«I for maximum strmg1h
anddurat,il11y.Thercccivcrringt!lextnlruek
andlarge1Qg,,·cmax,mumsupport10thebol1
and101llowa largc-diamclcrbarrel shank10
beuscdThercceivcrringhasthere&ular
M98collar,extq11lhatitissloltedonbolh
kftandright.
ThcBre,·cxbol!.ncccssarilylongcrthan
lhc~M%bo11.iso1hcrwi~j11:11like1t
ltdoes.tic,,.'e\'er,hl•~aps,ffltholeinthe
kftskkoflhcrc,;eivcr.11,hi<;hreguW
lln<ler,-lhviewof1heBreveitmagnumboll
hNd: (A} e1<1ractor, (8) dual-opposed loclt·
ng~.encl(C)IWingas-ventholes,
Mauxndonol
Thelowsafcty.localed1nthempof1he
bohsl«vc,pennitslowsoopcmountm11,as
don Ille low-profile bolt handle. The ~vcr
rinaandbridgearelap\ledforsoopcmounts.
ThctriggcrlsofstandardM98panem,bu1has
only one hump for a single-stage let-off. Cus-
10m single--slag,c adjustabk triggers made for
lhcM98can be: fittcdtolhcBrevexactoon. A
dooole-scttnggerooo.ildalsobcinsralled.
Thetngg,:rpiard,'maga,ineasscmhlyisall
Attl. Thcmolledguardbowis11,"clded10thc
•"')'lhd:-11,..:iled~box.Thc11,~klinc
IS 11,~II done and donn't show 11,·hcn !he mq-
~ ,s m the swck. L,ke lhc mainum
Mausc:r-theBm-u~rocboxis
qu1tcdcep,andthis.comb1nedwnhaheavy
and t lightlyhollowcdoutfloorplalc.gi,'CSthe
actionadcfmi1ebclly.The,"CTystrmgmap·
~inc Ooorplatc is hinged 10 1he front of the
mall&lincbox.itslatchlyinginthefrontof
thelllllfdbow.
TheBre,-exMllllllumactionJ~ved"''llS
"'"Cl1made.Thcoolymarkingoni1waslhe
word FRANCE and lhc scnal number
Nmped on lhc bottom Oat of the m:Cl\'cr
"""PnnledonlhcboxinwhichthisllCIIOO"'"II
peckcdan:lhc "'ords Manufu tuttd b)'
BREVF.XSURESXES-Fn!IN'. ln bold lcl-
1mon bolh Sldesofthebox 11prulled Btt>'t~
Magnum Action. 1M onl)· ,...., fllll llud,
commcrcl1I MAGNUM ACTION btln K
bulUlnthttntlrt"'·orld101lly. Tlusisno
longertrueallhoughtheBn:vcxwaslhconly
true"Mausei" magnum action made.
lhc,mportcrtoldmellwthesielCUOOllwen:in
,-eryluni1ed5Upply.Sincetha11ime.lhtlllarge
actionJcemed10ha,"Cdisappeared.llJlll&IQC,
t'-&h,thatlhcrcarestillgnnsmithsmfrancc
,.,.ho ,.,,llbu11drn3jp1umriflcsonthisact,oo.
Sc,vm commen:-ial M98 MaUSff-lypC
ac110f1$an:de$cribedandshown.MOStof
Ihm,"'-= l\"lilable It the timcllu1book-
fn1 publishcd(l971). H°"'-e-."CF,IOlhcbc,to{
mykfl(lll,lcdge.oolytheMarltXacuonmaybc
.,.,,labkonalimi1cdba:sis~political
tunno,I inlhc former Yugoslavia husus-
penoojrommercialprodutlion. Thcrema1n-
dcrof1hcmareeilherootbcingmadcany
moreornotbcingiml)O!!OdintolhcUni1cd
S1a1cs. Th,sisalsotruefortheParl,;er- Hak
1umboltriflewhich11,'aSbuiltonaSpanish•
madc:M98MaU5CfactionsimilarlOlhcSanll
Barbar.■ action. AsfortheAckkykfl-hand
MaUSffact,onandd.:8revnM1user,ldo
no1bcl'"'"C"'"Cwille.-crseclhncac110n1
l\,Ulabk,ga,n.
311
T HEFJRM OFO.F. Mossberg& Sons of
Nonhl-b,-m,Q.,moa;cu..lmbccninlhi:.-ms
makq;busiiwslinc:e19l9.Mostshcic,lmarc
r.miliarwithlhewido,-.ictyoflow<ll5122
nrn!in:nflesandboll«tionsholgunstheyhl\-c
bccnrumingOU1formo,,:tmnahalf,ccnuy,
bul few people rcmembenhat Mossbcq; began
b)'maki"ll•four-shotpislol.lnrcccrutimc:$,
~hasbranchcdouttoproduccsomc
highc,r~g,.ris,in,;"-linganexcelknlsli<k-
actionshot;,rland1~ofcentemrerifles.
Thc1rftntventurcin10lhe,;enterlirerum-
boh hni:-lhe Modcl800announced m
1966.AtlhMlime.it lisrcdb-jUSlunokr SIOO.
C-,111.Bcnlon,m~ofd.:Mos,ibcrt
firm. dcsogncd !he M800 action. Since Mcm-
bcra had llJns produccd '°"·• IO mcdiwn-
pnoedguns.d.:ncwctNa"fin=nwnbohaction
andnfle"-.d$pcd1<1cnterimolhcsamc
marte1.Tous.ilwasdcsigned10bceasilypro-
du<;edw1lhnofnlls10jad:~lhepria:,.
The M800bolt-action repeating rifle was
originallyn!UQO]yinllw::243,n;[JOS,;a]ilxn,
tw0w,rypop.1laro;alibcrsatthatlimc.Theyslill
an=for~lmatter.lt"11Smade"ilha22"
,i,oner-weia:Jitbarrelthal"-ciglxdabout6J
pculdsandWll'!fined"uhOJl"lsiglu.hhada
fuuMholnon-deachahlemagazinc·,,ilha
tungedfloorplalt-.andlherccer.'tfwasmlled
mdlllppO(lb-~fflOIDSmdrccer.'tf.--
Toltiet.n=kdaction10vfiaed1~ldesip...:i
mdlinasla!SIC,ck,mda"Cr}'lhingaQidm:d.
ltieMSOO-..."-dlMrllltie~ ■shdforit.
In 1968.MOAffl"llbeganmabnglhcMSOO
fincd"nh ■ hcavystnigl,l~barrel.They
callcdlhtsrifletheM800Varmint-Ta,g,:1.h
..-.madeinlhe22-250and243calibm.Thc
Wl'Clwas<killcdandtappcdtoa,:x:qicw-get
~basesand1targctfrontsigh1basc.A
fullerd~st<xkwasalsomadeforit
Abootlh,stime,thc22-2S0caliberwasalso
a,;ldcd1<11hi:M800sponcrlinc.TheWl'Clon
1tie,'llrlllirarillcis24"1oogandtapcm:lfrom
l.1 2$" 11 lhe brftch IO .850" II lhe muuJc.
,.,,__
We,ghlofdusnlleis9.5pounds.
The n=ce"•croftheMossbcrgM80011
m■chanedfrom1singlepic,,:,eofcm,mc.moly
312
S1ttl.lcu;~~fmnt10 ■a:cp:lhefbt­
mdedban-elsllank"ithlhest'plf1l~reooil
luaposiuoocdberw-,thebam:landthe
m:ic,vcr.Thcra:em:rringisl.245"indwno-
1cr,l.625"1oogfromlhefi"ont0fthctjc,;tlon
pontothefron1ofthcn=ceiva-,andthclcfl
..-.111hickncssis.2JS".Tllcreasonf0t"thc
1onjringi1thataspaceofarou11dl.135"is
~intowhichthclockinglug~arc
madc. Thc=ci,-o-bridgcislhesamcdiame-
l<TUtherecci,·crring.Beneathlhereccivcr
rmg.thcrcis•lbl-bon<Jrnedn"b.t,,;,.u .450"
wideandasunilaronebenealhlhetang.Bolh
ofthncshoftribsprovideallatsurfaccof
<>,JIIIIClwMhthcaock,anclitislillDlhcscribs.
whichapp,eai-10beintcgral"i1hlherett1'-er.
thr,1thefron1andn:arguird~are
thn:adcd.lnaddition.lhefrontribpro,.idesan
ancho!ageforthcfront0flhelt1.'lgWnc.
Theboltbodyappean10bcof0ne-piece
oonscruc6on.Atlhefront0fthcbolt.SUlock-
in&lupan=machincdintoit.Th=an:lhrcc
rowsoflhcm.11>--oineachrow.withthcfront
thrceoonsidcrablylargcrthanthcrearthrce.
Tllcthrcerowsarc nolcvenlyspaccd.Only
1woofthtm,inlhen:artin:lc,arcthesamc
sm.Oneofthcfrontluphasbfflirab:edin
widthinonkr1<1r~lhec:<-.llldmcinlhe
n:ar,salmo$tdividodintwot,ylhcboll-ssop
slolltisno11ncatappeanlgmnng,e,nent
Thcf■a:ofthebollisreccsscdblhec■r•
lndw:hca<J.wilhthcdawcxlJloctOrfiuedm
OMsideofi1and1 plungcrcJ«U)rfittecl
Ul$idc:ofit.Bolhthec,;1n11;10randcj<:,:tora,,e
ICll\"l~t,ysmallooilsprings,
Thobolttwidleisofunmualshape.hisof
lowprofilctocleiu"alow-mountedsoope.bul
mdoingtoilSihar\k,.-asmadcq.iitctlunand
oddtyshape:d. Besideslhi~theshanki1al10
q.,itcJhort.anditisswcptforwanlralhcrthan
tackasarcthcbolthandles0fmostbolt«tion
rifles.NcvCfthcleu.thcrootoflhcbolthandle
<b=l1110,,idc1afctylugb)'being~in•
1101ehinthcn:cch-er"t.enthcboltisdcad.
Thcslrikerisli,ght m,.-cightmdmadcin
oncpocc,e.Thcn:arcndofitislalgrrlhanlhe
resc.ancllhisponionishollowmaa:cp:the
$h0nbullkl""'fflllrnain,;pmg.lfit",erel'IOI
tolong.lhlsstrikff"'-ouldresanble ■ saikcr
,n....-.etemi-■utomaticpistols. Onthcout•
"'-'cofthcn:arcndisapn.,jc,ajonwbidifiu
in1t1thecockingcamnolehcut1MOlhere■rof
lheboltbody,andonl'2isinglhebolthandlc
thesuikcrisoockcd.
TheM800boltslceve(Mossbe!J!callslhis
!ll"lthcboltc■f))isthread,dintothcn:arofthc
boltbody.Thispar,is~drillcdlhroughandis
mon:likeaplugthanac■f)orslea,e.Anyw11y,
lh1sparts.ervesaslhcbackingforlhemain-
spring.u1gasshicld,anduat.sc10l'TIOlll"ll
theslidingsafe!y.fromthcdftadodplug,thc
boltslcevec:<tends"-"""'afdinaplca,glc,
nlonthd.llrlacc,andin1slm<Ull'IIOll,1$
thcsafetywithalqeJel'l'lledtlunb-p«eor
tulon.ltismadcin1W0i-ts"ilh•,cm,ocon-
ntain11hi:bwon10mimdcrpmt"-bdiholds
lhesafccyinplace.Asmallspnna-tiacktd
pha..,,-pn'l',idcs0Nand0Fficnsion1011.
T0pm'tn11hebohsltt·•cfromtum1ng
whmtheboltisopen.alocl<isprovidc:dinthc
boltslea-c.Thislockisasmallspring-tiackcd
plungcrposi1ioncdinaholeinthcfrontoflhe
boltsl,c,evc10ca1ehintoa1101chinlhcrearof
lheboltbody"'hcnthcboltisopen.Whend.:
boltiscloscd.thislockplungcrisdo:pres,cdb)'
d.:n:cciveredgt,.lhusalk:rwingtheboltlObe
opcnltd.Thislotkisl'IOltoounlikcthebolt
sic,e,,elockusedmtheM98Mau$Cr ■1:11on.
onlylheM8001ockisl'IOlnearlyJOTU&Fd-
Thelrig,rrncdmi,ma,rm,Qmain1yof1
bl-=kpl■slichousing.triggcr.-.mdlheJ)lnJ
md5'1fings10hoklandputlensiononlhcsc
s-,s.TholSSCmblyisheldinplaceunokrd!I:
=ci,-ert,y1cross-pina1thcn:ai-andt,y1
hellvytcrcwlhroughltiefrontoflhehousing.
Then:areooadjustmmt!ICl"C"'Sforthctngger.
The sear doubles as the bolt-smp w,lh lhc
\llldersideofthcboltbodygroovcd10slidco-.-er
it.Thcfol'atal10servcsasaguidctothobolt.
Thetri&gcris,omadctohoklupltiescarwbcn
thtll:Ciooliscocked,toreloased!l:!m'"-henthe
lriqcrisi-d)cdbd::ashorldisrau,IOpullltie
9Cll"OOlofd.:p.uhofltiebolt"-henlhelnl&ff
11pullcdfirilerbd::,nl1<1bebb:bdbythc
....
(Above) The MoMber,;i Mo<:lel P#f,/ Vamwii

safety when it is slid bad: to thc ON or SAFE
positi<Jn. It is all a simple aming,,rnom suitable
forahuntingriflc.althoughmos1sbootm
wouldh:i~prefcrredsomethingbetter.The
triggerguardbowisanintcgralpar1ofthctrig-
gerhousing, and this is an unllSllal ~ in a
higti.pow=dholt.actior,riflc.
Thebarreledactionisheldin!hestockby
twoscrtws.Therearone,!hesmallerof!he
two.ispositionedinaholeaboutah:ilf-inch
bdlindthctriggcrhousing.Thestockisfined
11,ilhancscutchconforthcheadofthisscrew.
andthisescutdleonislhrcadedsothalthcscn:w
won'tfallootwbenthcrifleisdisa.ssemblcd.
ThelargerfiUU!ll::lCW.whichcanbccalledlhe
frontguard!IC!CW.isfinedlhn:,ughathreaded
holeinlhefrontof!hemagazineplatesothatil
"-OO'tbclostcither.Bodlscrcwsthreadinlolhe
ribonthcbottomofthen:cci,..,,..Themagazine
platcisinlenedintothestockandextendsrear-
wardtofi1imoagn>0\-cinfron10f!hetriggcr
homing.Tothi:Splaie,whichhasanoprningin
itthesiu:ofthemagarinebox.ishingedthc
floorplatc. Alatcha1therearofthemagazine
platcallowsthefloorplate1obcopenedand
lod;edc~Bodlthcmagazineplaleand!he
floo,platcarestcelstampings.
lktwrentheseplatesandthcrecci.-er.a
veryintertSlingmagazineispositioned.ltisa
OOxmagazinemadeofstc<:l.andlwouldclass
itasahybridbe!wemasingkxolumnanda
staggefflkolwnnmagazine.lwillexplain.As
mentioned, lhis magazine box is ma.de of
steel- 1wolaycrsofs.pring-temperedshtt1
strelformedandspoc-11,-cldedintoabox.The
ooterla)..,,.hasOOfunctiooexcep1tostrength-
enthcwholeunitandtopositionthcboxin!he
rnapineopeninginthcrecei,-cr.anopening
thalhasoocartridgc8',lidelipsasdomostoth-
erbol1-ac1ionrifles11,ilhooo--detachablestag-
gcn:d-oolumnmagazines.Theinnerboxisthc
functioningone,anditisthconelhathasthc
cartridgcguidelipsformedinitsupperedgc.
Aboutahalf-inchbclowlheselips.bolhsides
II ' :ti
oftheinnerboxarebentinwardsotha!thclips
areclosertogetherlhanthcdiametcrofthecar-
tridgecasc.mal:ingthelipsfunctionlikethosc
in a oormal single-<:Olumn box magazine. Jn
additioo.thcfollowerandthcW-$hapedfol-
lowerspringarealsoofthcsingle-column
type.wilhthcfollo11,-crnam:,wandfla1ootop
Thus,ontop,thcM800magazineisas~
column type. while below the tapered sides it
isastagger,:,l.columntype
When1becartridgesareinsertedintolhis
magarinc.cachoneispresseddmi.n.spread-
ingthcspringysidesofthcinncrboxapan
Whcnthcnextcanridgeispressedintothc
magazine.thcooebclowittbenl110\"CS\Oone
sidctostar1thestaggeredmode. What this
magazinedoesistoposi!ionthctopcartridge
inarentralandstntightlinewilhthcchamber.
Besidesallthis.roundedridgesprcsscdinto
!hesidesofthebo~atthcshoulderlocationof
thecartridgespreventthccartridgesfrom
mo.-ingforv..urlwhcnthcriflerecoilsfrom
313
 : I I

flrtflJ- The magazmc bole is also s«Un:ly

affixediotherc=,~thefronlbyahpoo
thcmapz,ncfin,ngomoagroo>-ccutinto1he
r=,vcrrib,andatthen:arbyalongcrlipfn•
1cdbcfwccnthetriggerhousingand1he
ffl:Cl''Cf.andtighlcncdinplacebythetrigger
housinglltTCW,
T....... lallblllllMY
ClpcnthcOOl1andmakc~thcchambcr
andmagaz,ncarccmpty.Rcrn,o\-c,theboltby
pulhnallw: mggcrback. The 0011 can be
rq,lacecl,nthcn!ttl\'Cf"itboutholdingthc
lrigcrbad,and1flhchar.tkisno1cona:dy
aJ,ped ■ lier the 00111w bttn insfflcd. llw:
boll:A111be1UUICdincitherdincti<.mw11illhl: unlcsfab!olurdync,casary.fkMT\'Cf,ifllis -...~inr.aseordor.
,wa,aaaes1ntheboh~g,oo-~ -,.10doso,rcmm-clhctjcclorbymi- TorffllO'\~themagaza,e.unouthelap
Todi5asscmbkthcbolt.~a:slollows: v1n1ou1 thcsmall cross-pmlha1 holdsit 1n 5Cmll'th.atholdsthetriggcrhousina1011w:
Rcmovc1hebohfromr=iYCr. Withyourfi,.. placc.Rcrn,o\-c,lheo:l!llCIOrbyU5Ulll 1 ,'Cf)' rc«ivcrandtipthctriggcrl>oosffi3back-lhc:
lfflWI or a small 1001. dqnss the bolt sleeve smalltcn:Yt·drivcrtodeprcsslhccxllX\Or m:aaazinccanthonbe,.fflcdn:arv.wdun1il
lockplung,:rallthc:waydo,,,nandwmtheboh plungcrandthenlif11hecx1rac1orou1.Rc- 1tsfrontmdsq,aratcsfromthcn!ttivcr11
slccvccoumcn::lockwise.Sincethclockph,n- asscmblcinrevcrfC'order whkh timcitcanbcentin:lyremo,·ed. To
llCf will noc pass the ~1rikcr slot in the 0011 To--,-thestockfromthcactionandhlr- r-cmcwcthccntiretriggcrhousingandmccha•
Ytilhoulitbc:inghclddol>ln.itisbesttoremovc rclpoo:cdasfollows:Turnthc:rcwguan:l.!CfCl>I nismatlhispoin1.slipofflhcspringthpfrom
,tcntirely~tthispoint WilhthclockpllfflllCI" llftlil ilis loo8r,,ed fromthc:i=:i,..,,., lfyou ",n thclri&Kffhousingpin.n:movcthcpin,and
rnnoved,Ull$CTCWtheboltske,·cfromlhc tlus,cn:wallthewaycu. illllUMbeuncdou. !he entire assembly can be removed Re,.
boltBcfiftn:rTI0\'1"11thcboltslcc',-c,cattful- Tumouthcfronlguan:l,cn:wallthc:wayand IISSef1lblc:in..,-.·CffC'ordi:r.lfyou,.._,ttodi.

ly-thcpog,tionofthclockphmg,:r.sollUI
Nanbemnser1edthcsame ...-ay ...-tienthcboh
1!1 mmcniblcd Wilt, 1he bolt slcc',-c, rano,.W.
rm>O\'Cthcll'IIIIR$prulgandlhcstrikcr. The
safetypanscanberm>O\"Cdfromthebolt
~byumngoulhescrewinlheoemerof
thcsaklybuacn.allov.lllithcsafctyiooomc
~Rcas.sembiein==ieonler.
Do noc rnnove the cxuactor or ejector
thcntumnbackinabou!',oUtwns.Gr.,spthe
lllfiiltm\',c.dullyrai,eth,:~plalc
ouofthellllld:andslideilb,,,-i..,~
- from1he~housq.Now1he5kdanbe
~fromlhelwm ■maction.Ron:no::r
th■tthe1n1F"Jladbowis1pa1ofthev,gg,:r
housing. ■mitsl1psouof1he510c1<"1thlhc
-
tiSffllblethetngaermechanismjusll'ffllO\~
thep1nsandsprings.beingcan:ru1tono1c
the!rp0511Klnand00111t1loeethem.
hhas bttnmygoodfon11nc1oha,·c
owntd.ustdand"'orkcdonag,-c,11many

Top viewol1heatllonahowlngtllelal'Qfl
We!ybuttonon1heboll..._.,

314
 49 Q4s
as1 ~
~---. 1 '

50

19 SafetyClickSpriog
" ,.. 36 S'MVUIL.o<.ipand8ushing

21

~ -~
FiringPin 39 S ~
40 MagazneFolower
41 MagameSpriog
42 MagameFloo(plate
43 Magazin&StockPlate
44 Magazinel.atc:h
45 Magame LatdlSpriog
46 MagazneLatdlRelamgR.i!j
47 MagazneFloolplatePin

" """
;~- ~ =
46 FrontSight
31 G.;:,Cap 49 FrontSightSaew
32 G,.:ICapSpacer
33 G,.:ICapSaew

" """'"
35 8urrplateScf9ws
36 8urrplate$pacer
37 1-lousrogPin

315

ccntcrfirc tumboh rincs. Each onc has
addcdto1hegunknowlcdgclha1lha,·c
Sloml 1v,11yc11her in my mind or on pafK'f
lndlilm.Andv,·hc1!1hadchanccsl0rcpair
oraltcrlhc,erinC$,l1lsopincdconsider-
lblc knowledge of the rinc. thus notmg
wha1c,·crv,·cakncnQand faulisi1 had. I
al10hstcn 101Mo"'·ncrtcllofhisupm-
cnc,cswithlha1pan,cularrinc.lf1hcn:uc
$C:,·cralriflcshoo1crsinmyan:awhousc
thcsamcmakcandmodclriflc,jusllistcn-
ingto1hcmcan1cllmcalmabou11ha1riflc.
Thepoin1 islhaluntiljustrecentlylkncw
ofnooi,c: inmycmin:an:awhoowncda
MO$Sbc,J M800.no,didlcvcrseconc,n
anysponm1&oodsor hardwaresteff, or1t
anyoflhf:manygunshowslattendcdinlhf:
75-milc radius of my home. Th11 means
thal [ ha,·c IO base the following commmlS
or,v,•hatlleamedfromcuminingJUSIOM
MBOO--theM800Vannin1-Targc1rillcpic•
tun:dhcre.Oh.ycs. l"vc read a number of
tCSlandcnluauonn:ponsonthisrifle,n
,·anousgunmagu1ncswhc1!1hcriflcwas
liJli!1n1roduccd.bu11hluwasno1thcnitty•
grittyinfom,a1ionthatlwaslookingfor
With no Mossberg M800 rifles for me to
lcamfrom, l wasnocsurewhatitsfaultsand
v,·cakncssnwcrc. HowcVCJ,byfotlowinglhf:
hiS1o,yofth1s rillc,iti$apparentthatitdid
ha,·cthcm.Thisisno1tofaultiudcsign<"r
1:,cauM:hehad10desipilwithlow<OS1pn>-
due1,on1nm1nd. Onen:asonlbclic~cth,s
rillchad$C:vcnlv,-cakpointsistha1only1
shoi111mcpasscdbcfon:Mossbn):in1ro-
ducallhf:Model8I0,1rillc,ofthcAmegcn-
m i l ~ as 11w: M800, but with•
316
: I I
numbcrofmaJorchangQinthclci,on.
AnolherrcuonisthalMossbcrgd1soon1m-
ucd nwwflctllnng thc M800, as wdl • thc
,....
M810 Ind RM7 models. after only I few
No,...ncr, thcreuc featurc$about th!$
1c11onthatllikcandOlhmthalld1slikc. l
lhmkthc~ncdesignisgood.atlcaSIII
ce11a1nly looks fine to me. I a]IO hkc the
dcsignofthcstrikcr,mainspringandthcbolt
t lC('VC, although I would much rather see it
shortcncdatlcast 1/(.Thcsafctyisoo.,butl
wooldmthcrhavci1anachcdtothertteivcr
tang.,hcnn:$hapingthebohsl"'"'ntO I
kn11rled1hrudcdplug.l"drigthesafcty10
abo~kthcbolt. l'dalsolikctosee111cast
oncgat,ffllholcncarthcfromoftheboh.l
donotthmkitisagoodklea10makcthc1ng-
1Fhouwlafmmplaslic,espcriallynotl'or1
IN& game hunllng rifle. On a bolt«tion cm-
icrfin, nflc, I do not likc 10 ha,1: thc SC1W al10
SC.-,1:Nthcboh-stop. Thc:inqui.pattcmof
thclockinalugsontheM800bol1tumsmc
off. Thcbolthandlcis anoddthing.ioo.
Olhcrw,s.e,lheM800tha1lobla1ncdfuoc..
1,oruwcll.Thc:magarincisea.sytoloadand
cartridgcsfecdfromitsmoothly.Abitmorc
<;11ru11ingrnovcmcn1couldhavcbecnprovid•
cdoncloaingthcbolt.allhoughitissufficicnl
onopmU1jthcbol1. l hadnoproblcmopcn1•
Ulllthcbolt. Thc:triggcrpotlwasjUSlundcr4
poundsandtha1su1tcdme. Thc:53fctyfunc.
tlOnf:dNllshoold,anditwassilcnt.
EarberlmentionedthcMoubcr]Modols
810ar>d RM7. Thc:actionsoftlw:sc1worilles
an, spm-<Jtfs from thc M800, butyet,odiff<:r•
en1insKlelhlt l canno1inc:ludothcmasi-1of
ThtMosst:>e,gM800bol1showing:(AJex-
tr.c:to,,(B)ejeclor,(C)twootlhesixlockJng
1,,,gt,and(D)b<>ll-stopgroovewhichalrnos1
<IMd<Moneotlheloc:kiogl,,,gt.
tluschaptcr.Theywillha,1:iow.utfuranoth-
crt,me.
lnlddition tothc M800Slarw.daponcrar,d
thcMSOOVamn-Tq,:irillc,,Moi!lb:.&allO
bncftypl'O(b:ed1womorcmodelsonthc-
..-uon.Theywcn,lhcM800C.t,inc,.id,'1Jf'
bam,] and1 full-length Mannlicher-lfyled
SIOCkmcalibcrs22-2S0.243and30S,plulllhc
M800 DclllXC sponcrwith 24~1:,un,l and1
11ock~up--itharoscwoodforend11p
andgripaipincalibers22-2S0.243and308.
Tlw:sctworilleswen,onlyrnadcashontime
bciYl'tal1969andl972.Forashon1imc.thc
sWldardsponcr,Varmint-Targctandthc
DclwtcM800modelswereabomao:leinthc
222-calibcr.Allweredisconlinuedinl972.
Thc:MossbcrgMode1800v,'IS.fromthc
stan,faadv,1lh10mCsriffc0mpchbonfiom
thcRcmingronModel788.lnalmostcvcry
v,11y,lheModel7ll8v,'U1benernllc,thanthc
M~M800indosign,oonsaucuon.and
pcrfonnance-itlSOOYl"Ofldcrthmthatthc
-
MSOOwasdiscontinucd Thc:odatwoMcm-
bcriccruafin:bol1-actionriflestha1 followed
n. namely the 810 and the RM7. had no
chancec1thcr
Thc:MossbcrgM800riflethatlcxam,ncd
ismarudasfollows:
Onmpofthcbam:li.\stampcd:
MOSSSEAG
MADEINU.SA
NORTH HAVEN, CONN.
The scnal number is 5lamped on thc ien
sidcofthc~,,:rring.
AN ENTIRE BOOK cooldbe written about
Oiarks Ne"1on and his adult lifeiime int=
Uldesigning.,deYelopingandproducingnew
cartridges and rifles. Perhaps someone has
donei1.Muchhasbttnwrincnabou1hiscar-
tridges. but we really do not know much
aboutthctwotumboltrifleshedesignedand
produccd,andevenlessaboutthcmanhim-
selfandthedelailsofhiscffonstogethis
designsmanufacturtd.ltisastoryye11obe
toldaboutamanfaraheadofhistimeinthc
canridgeshedesigned.andofhisfowsuc-
cnscsandofhismanyfailum.lnlhischap-
rer.lamgoingtolimitmydiscussionstrictly
rothcfirstfireannsac1iontha1hedesigned
and manufactured. an action that is now
knownaslhc0rigina1New1onacrion
Before describing the Original Newton
action.abriefintroductionisneeded.Charies
Newlonfimhecameimerestedinhigh-ve!oo-
ityrillecarnidgcs.andhiswortalongthisline
ledhirntodeYcloplhc22SnageHi-Power
andthc2S0-3000cartridges,.tiichthcSavage
AnnsCompanyadoptcdandmadefarnous
Newll)nthenwentontodesignanddevelop
muchmorepo,.'effulcarnidgcs.thetwoprin-
cipalonesbeingthc2S6NewtonandtheJ.0
Nrn1on. Thisalltookplaa:priorto1914.He
e-identlywasnocsarisfJOOwiththcoonuncr-
cialandmilita,yrumboltactionsbeingmade
atthalti~thcresuttwastha!hedesigned
hisowna.ction.onethatwasstrongandsafe
eooughtohandlehisnewlydesignedhigh-
powered cartridges. Thus "'as born the New-
ton rumbolt action. Thisdone.Newton1hen
organ~andeslablishcdacornpanytomake
thcacrions.andrillcsbuiltoolhem.andissucd
ac.atalogtoopenaman.etfurthem.Thisv.'3!1
in 1914. ThefinnwasnamedTheNrn100
Anns Company.and it was esiablishcd in
T>o--
Nrn,oo"shomcro,,11of8ulfalo.N.Y.
Charles Newton"soriginal action was a
wellthoughtoutanddesigned1umbohwitha
staggcn,<k:ohurmboxmagazine.lt"'3Sbuill
espc,:iallytohandlethcp::,werfulrimlessbot-
tle-nccked c.anridgcs that he had designed and
waspromocing.Theac1ionfea1uredaone-
picceboltwithinterruptedloxkingslugsonthe
fronlofit.abolthandleandsafctythatneeded
noaltenuioosfura lo\o.~mountedscopeoothe
rifle,double-settrigg~ahingedlloorpla1e
andacle-'Crtakedo,.11sys1em.
OthcrlllantheMauscr-typec:<tractor.New-
100"sa.c1ion had,1:rylinlc mechanicallyin
common with any of the existing tumbolt
octionsofthat!"'riod.lhcchiefonesatthat
time being the Mauser M98. Springfield
Ml903.andthcPl7fnfiek!As"-eshallsce.i1
wasllOlanacrionthat"'aseasilymade.lcan
imagincthatthegreaterpanofthemanufactur-
ingplant.mo51ofthcrnadtineryinit,andmo51
ofthclaborandmemaleffon,.-cregi,-enm..,,-
toproducinglhcactionasromparedtothe
makll'lgoflhcharrelsandstocks.Thcaction
"'3StheheanoftheNe,,,"tonritk,and l can
imagincthatitsinventorwantedi1maderighL
Therecei,'tl""oftheNev-100actionisno1100
unlikethaloflheModel98Ma,,isa-.11secmsto
havebeenmachincdfi-omaono-piea,forging
andisflal-bottoolede:«:epiforasho.-tsectionar
thcfromofthereceivtrring.Thereisaheavy
n=illugunderlhen:ceiverring.Bothlheright
andlcftreceivcr"allsaresubstantial.mochas
"iththcModel70Win::hesteracti<.:nThe
recei=ringis 1'4 Nloog.andthereceivcrbridge
ll/,.N.Thelronloflherecei,'Crringislhreaded
withsquarc-typethreadstoao;:eptthcharrel
shank.Thcreisnoberrclabutmcnlringinsidcthe
rro.,i,'CrringasintheM98Mauserrro.,iver,
ralhcrthebreechendofthebaneliseooed.The
ex-cutinlhebarrelbreechextendsclear
acro&itsrac:cratherthanjUS1onlherightside
wherelhec:<lnlCIOrisposinooed_,.ithagas
...
cscapeholeintheleftreceiverwallinlinewilhit.
,.,
Thebohisofone-piecemachincdcon-
suuetioo.probablymadefromaforging.Up
from.ithasadualsetofopposedlocking
lugs; foor narrow lugs on the left which
engageinamatchingsetofshouldcrsinlhc
topofthcreceivcrring.andthreesimilulugs
ootherightwhichengageinshouldersinthc
bottornofthcrecei,..,,-.Eachsctoflugspro-
jectbcyondlhebohbody,andlhisrequires
thatracewaysbcmadeinthereceivcrforthc
bolttomovereao--an:landforward.
Theextractorisofthestandan:lono-piea,
Mauscrtypethatdoesno1rocareastheboltis
openedandclo6ed.anditisheldinplaoeoolhe
boltbyacollar.AlipjUS1tother=ofthehook
engagesinaJ900'-einlheedgeoflhebolthead.
Then:asonwhythereareoolylhreclodinglugs
oolherightOOl:istomakeroomforthislip.
ThebolthastheusualMauserr-ecesscd
face,withpanoflhcrirnoflhcrecesscu1
away.Astheboltfecdsacartridgeftomthe
maga.:inc, the head of lhc canridge rises
din:cdyimothereccssandbeoornesengaged
with the extractor hook at 1hesame time.
Todaythi,iscalledcootrolledfeeding.This
featurepre,·entsdoublcloading,whichmeans
thattheboltcanno1feedlll\Olhcrcanridge
ftomthemagazincwilessi1hasg01tenridof
theprevioosone.Thisisamightygoodfea-
nm:onahwitingrifte
CharlesNe,,,,ooprovidedthc bolt of this
actionwith~safetyrug-1. Theselugs
areralhersmall.buttheydoprovideanadc,quale
~ofsaferyshouldthefimllockinglugs
orlhen:cei,'tl""ringfailforsomen:ason.These
safctylugsarelocatedaboutaninchforwardof
thebolthandlecollarandareinline"-ithlhereg-
ularlockinglugs.Eachofthesc-lugsareonty
about.w:f'inheighlabovethcbolthodyand
eng;igelhecn,ei-andlowerfromcdgcsofthe
receiverbndgewhenthcoctionisclosed
Asquare-cdgedcollarsurroundstherear
endofthcboltwilhthebolthandlemadeasan
Ulieg,alpanofit.Therearcndofthcn:cei,'Cr
bridgeisiwessedforlhcenuanceofthisrollar.
andthisafTordsagoodsealaroundthcbolt.all
c:<oeplforthclcftlockinglugraceway.He!'e.
Mr. Ne""IOO woold ha,·c bttn wise, to ha,-e
providedaflangcootheleftsidcofthebolt
sle,e,.~toclo<scofTtheentin:11•.••'"'ay.Thebol1
- - - - - - --
(Abc,,,e)AnoriginalNewtonrilee,ccepClhal1he
openeiglllSh!webeenrern::M!dffomlhebamt
Thisrifleboorssena!No.3541andischam-
beredforlhe256Newtoncartridge
317
 Th&OtiginalCharlesNewtontumboltactlon. Most
partsarestampedwllhlheserialnumb&rof354I.
indicatinglaklmanufacture,probablyin 1918. This
pholoclear1yshows there&rhaHo1 the Newton
takooownsys1&m,sook1<1 lordetails.

handleh.lsaverylowprofilc,althollghldoubl scrvesastheboltslecvclock.althollghnotasa ispi,~ooapininagroo,.cinthcbonomof

•-.?l)'muchifNc-o.1onhadlowscopemouming
inmindwhcnhedesigncdit.Theroolofthe
bohhandleandthenoo:hfori1intherccei,..,..
alsoserveasanadditionalsafctylug.lnitial
cxtractioo camming JIOY.1'1' is prm•idoo when
theboltisopmedbytheroo1ofthebolthandlc
comingimocontac1withanangk,dsurfaceoo
therearoftherccei,-erbridg,I,.
Thcovcralldesignofthestrikcrmechanism
isgood.Thestrikcr.orfiringpinifyouv.ishto
callittha~isofsimplcooe-picccconstructioo
hhasaoollarncariu;frontendtoretainlhe
mainspring.anditisthreadcdin101herearend
foranut.Theboltslecveisthreadc,,Jintothe
rcarofthebollbodywi1hleft-handthrcads.
ThercistheusualcockingcamwhichfilSpM·
lyinsidetheboltslec,-eand"'1:l'therearofthe
strikerandtheassembly:1hatis.thes1riker.
mainspring. bohslecvcandcockingcam an:
heldtogcthcrbythethreadcdnutontherearof
thestrikcr.Provisionsareprovidootokecpthe
slrikerfromtuminginthecockingcamand
thenutfronttumingonthestrikcr. lnsidethe
bol!slec,1:,thereisa,;pring-backedplungcr
tha1cngagcsthecollaron1hebolt.andi1
positi~lock.Thesafctyandtheboltlockare
conibined.andthesc:pansaroalsodeverly
buil1intothebolts)eeve.Wb,,nengagedinthe
ONorSAFEposilion.thesafc!ylocksthe
cockingcamandstriker,.·hilcatthesametimc
thebol!isalsolockedandcannotb<:opened
Thesafcryisabi1oothesmallsidctoopera1e
easilyimotheSAFE position,butolherwiseit
isplaccdrightforscopeuseandiscoo,·enient
toputquicklyintoFIREposition
Allinall,thisNcv.100strikerandsafctysy5"
remislighlcr,faSICt'.oea1er,handicrardbetter
thanthatofcithcrtheModcl981"1aus<,rorMod-
dl903Springfocld.!tisootdiffJCU1110di,;as
semblecither,andnotoolsan:n,q.rircd10doit.
Nogasescapeoolcsarepn'.l\i<blinlhebolt.lf
l'\...-acanriJgccaseshould~we10cx~
sivchi=:hprcssure$,thefailurc"illpn:,bably
OCN"""hm:therimisW'lSl4lJIOltCdattheundcr,
rutoftheboltf.acc.WN:ntheactionisclcJse<land
theboltlocked.thisunde=lareaisfacingrothe
leAandtowardthelockinglugraccwayandthe
\1'1ltholeintherecei,...-ailhalpoint
TheOriginalNcv.tooactionisfin.edwithan
=:ellentde.u:>k>-seltriggcrm:chanism Thcsear
thereceiverbridgeandtang.anda~oo
itpn-;.as11pwardtbwghahole10engage"ith
lheoockingcam.The9eal'isfined"ithtwoshon
le\-en.Theoneinfrontsen-csaslhelct-offfor
thcfrontuiggcrtofin:theriO.inthcnormal-.wy
Of"it!wtcmploringthe!leltriggcrrncrlianism.
Thorearle\1'1'islheknock-offforthereartriggcr
10strike"henthc!leltrigga-mcchanismisused
10firetheriO..The,c1trigga-moclmismitselfis
mountcdi,,thcuiggerguanlbow.Excq:,1that
lhemcchanismisofrather~design.itis
typical of lhe common European dout,lc-sc,
mechanisms used in Mausa- sp:xting rifles and
fuoctionsinlhesamcway.
Thebolt•sropandthecjectoraremountedoo
acmss-pininthebonomccnterofthem:eiver
bridgcinlhesmncslotwilhthescar.Theyare
providedtcnsionbyasmallcoilspringlll,'llalso
pro,·idcs1CnSiontothescar.Thebol!isSIOpped
onilsrearwardtra,1:lwhcntheSIOp~imo
adccpnolehnearthefrontofthebol!.Althe
same time, the eje<:lor pan of the boll-SlOfl
slidesupwardinroanarmwslotcutinrotbe
boltfacc1otjectthecartridgcorcasebeing
e,uracted.Thebolt-stopishnkedtothefron1

318

lc,·erinthesearsothat,onpulhngthefront
lriggerbackasfaras,twillgo,theboh~is
""'llflidc:AA11toallowmnovalofthebol1.
Thc111ggerguardbowisanimegralpanof
thetriggcrguanilmagazincpla1e"iththeplatc
formingthebonornpanoflhemaga;cincbo~.
In lhe froolofthisplate.there i,a female
thre:>dedlugthatishddinplacebyapin.yel
allowing the lug 10 rewh-e. Thc lower end of
thislugissl011ed,andherethefloorpl,ucis
hingcdwithapin.Aplungcrc,11ch,similarto
tha1usedbyWinchesterintheirModcl70
rifle.builtimothefromofthetriggerguard
bowser-.-esasthelloorplatccatch.Adouble-
threadedstudabow 11tloogand1/,#indiam-
ct...-,thrcaded32T.PJ. atone end and 24
T.P.l.aitheO!hcr,islh=dedintotherec:oil
lugofthcrecciver,1heholchavinglhefincr
lhread_Byopeningthelloorpl:uc,itisuscdas
thewrcnchorle•,er10tumtheluginthellig-
gerguardplace--totumi1offoronthethread-
edstud.Thiscombinaiionthusbttomesthe
frontguardsrn:wtoholdthebarrelandrccci,•.
erasscmblyinthestock,andthefronthalfofa
,-erygoodtakedo,..nsystcmtoallowthebam:I
andrecci,·ertobequicklydismoumedfrom
thcstock.Thcthrcoocdstud"ithrwopitchcs
isslottedf...-ascre,,.Jriveratthecoarsethread
end,andthisallowsittobeadjuS1edsolhlllthe
lugisrurneduptighlwhcnthefloorplatcisin
correct alignment for closing. A small SCI·
screwthreadedinthesideofthenxoillugpn:-
.-cntsthestudfromtuming
Topvillwolth@OriginalNewlonaction
cteartyshowingtt,ewid<:lribonthere·
eeiverringandbrldge.
TheolherhalfoflheNew1ontakOOO'-'-nsys--
temismorcoomplcxandisa1tberearofthe
action.ltccntersonapanthatisinlctledinto
thetopofthegripofthesrod:.apanwhichl
willcallthetakcdo,,ntang.his.1eeUrelyhcld
inplacebytwoscrews:attherearbyalong
sc.nwthatpassesthroughthe5tcclpistolgrip
capandpislotgrip.anda1thefi"ontbythcrear
guardscrewthatpa.s.sc:sthroughtherearofthe
triggcrguantandstocktothreadin1oaninte.
gral luginthetang.A lip011thccndof1hc
~•-e-rtangengagesunderamatchinglipon
thcfrontoftheral:c<.lo,.ntangwhcnthebam::I
andrecciveras.semblyareinthcstock.etfcc-
ti,-clyanchoringthcrearoftheacrioninplace
and (when the trigger guard plate lug is
unscrew<:dfrom1hcfrontguardscrewsrud)
allowingthebam::ltobetippcdupandremo,.·ed
fmmthestock.Thcfrornendofthetake,;lo\<n
tang issloctcdand fined "ithadrawscrew so
thatanadju.,uncntcanbemadctooblainand
maintainalightfitofthcn:arofthcrecciverin
thcsrod:.Then.-arguardscrewholdsthclrig-
gcrguardplatcinlhestockwhcntherilleistak-
cno:io,,11. ThcNc"1011stockismadcwi1ha
ratherslinlpiSlolgrip,OO!itisrcinfom:dbythe
longscrewthatpa.s.sc:sthroughi~aswellasby
thetangandn:arguantscrew
Onthe1wooriginalriflestha1lhave,thcreis
aU-shapedmagazincboxlincrorshicldmadc
ofthinstcelthatfitsbclwc,.:ntherc,,xiverand
thelriggcrguardplate.lfthcrecciverandthe
lriggcrguantplatewen:properiyinlenedifito
I I
thcstock.thislincr"wldno1bcnccdedasthc
stockwoodrouldscr,.-casthemagazine"'lllls
Allio. !hes,, actions have stamped-steel maga-
zinc followers which appcar robe original. and
thcfloorplatesareno1providcd"ithanymcans
10anchorthcfollowerspring10thcm.Thclack
ofthislaslprovisionrouldcasilyresultinlhe
lo:ssofthefollowerandspring
Todisa.sscmbletheOriginalNewtonboh.
pnxttdasfollows:Rcmovcthccxtrac10rby
liftingi1Sfiuitenda".iyfromtheboltl.lllUlthe
retainerlipisfrtcofitsr=,and~slideil
forward.Donolremo\"ctbee.~tractorcol!ar
unlessabsolutelyne.:cs.wy.asthatmayspringil
OU1ofroondRCl110\-ethcstrikcrandboltsioe,.e
aMcrnblyby~ingthebol1bodyinonehand
andtumingtheboltsltt>-cwilhtheodlcr.!Um-
ingi1ckdwiseasthethreadsonil~left-hand.
ltlakcsaboutthreeandahalfturm.
Thestrikerheadwillfallinrothecocking
camnc111choncachtwn.bulthisisoi:asthebolt
sleevccanbecasilytumedonpast.Withthc
strikerassemblyre,nm-edfmmthebol~place
1hcfirinspin1iponahardsurface.graspthc
boltsleevcfumlyanddcpressiler,oughsothat
thesafetycanbeengagt.'d.Rq,c.uthislaststcp.
bu1this1imeunscn:wthcstrikernut(ichasa
right-handthread).Withthisnutremo,·ed,
slowlyletuppres.sure0111hebol1slee,-<=witil
the mai115(1rtng is relaxed. The niain stri~er
partscannowbedisassembled.Todisassembk
319
thcsaFctyandbollslw:eplungerparts.roiate
thesafctysothatiti;wingisaboota45-0cgn,e
angle~10thcre:v--<l!ornearlhisposi-
1iooitcanbcpullcd10therightandootof1he
boltsleeve.Whendoingmis.bcsuretohold
yourdnunbowrthcsmallholesinthercarof
thebol1sk:c•,e10prn•entlhelossofthesmall
plungmandspringsllwan:inlhoseholes.
Toreas,;emblethebolt. follow1hercver$C
order. A small drifl puochcanbc used 10
dcpressthebol1lockandboltsl=.-cplungers
whenreinsertingthesafeiy.Withthcsafctyin
theOFFposition,grasp1hebohsleevefirmly,
pla«thestrikerwithitsfiringpintipona
hardi;urfocewiththemainspringinplace,slip
thebohslceveinlhestriker,dcpressthemain-
springwith the boltslee,·e,slipthecocking
caminploceandrotatethesoikerasneeded
toallowthccoekingcam\Oslipintoplace,
andthenscrewonthesuikernutacoupleof
tums.Nextcngagcthesafety101heONposi-
1ionandthenrumonthestrikernu1,leavingi1
flush with 1hc rear end of1he striker and
engage,;! with the cocking cam. Now inscn
thcassembledstrikerintotheboltandtheboh
Thelh,eadedbarrelshankofaN(iw!onban-el.ltisalmostioonlicalto
thatoftheM1903U.S.Spriogfield
320
sleevein10ploce,tumingitcounten:lockwii;e
-
Onthelastrurn.discngagethesafetysothat
theboltslees-ccanbctumodhome.Thcnback
itupto1hecockedposition.
ThcOriginaJNe,,100riflesan:markedwith
thcnameandaddn:ssofthcNe,,100firmand
areserialnwnbcrcd. Themarxingsan:USl>:llly
asfollows.On10pofthcbamlisstampcd:
NEWTON ARMS CO. INC
-
BUFFALO, N.Y.
256NEWTON(orothercal.)
On topofthe breech end of the barrel is
PATENTS PENDING
Most of the pans of Newton rifles are
stamped with the serial number, the same
numberbcingputonthebottomofthercceiv-
erring,underthebolthandle,triggcrguani,
tang,pis10lgripcap,s10Ck.ctc
locidentally.tothebcstofmyknowledgc,
theNewt0nactioowas1>e,·erpmented
·-
In the shon lime that the Original New!On
riflewasmade,itsactionundcrn"Cfllie•-eral
changes. It is 00( k!"IO"n al what serial num-
ber these changes occurred. but Newton rifle
collectorsseparatethcchangeoccwrenceby
dcscribingorrcferringtolheoctionsaseariy-
orlov.·-nwnbcredriflesandlate-orhigh-num-
bcrcd rines. Pmlaps the change occumd
whenCii:lr1e,;Ne1>'\0lllOSlcontrolofthefac..
tory.Anyv,:ay,thepholosoflhetwoactions
showsomeofthechangesthat1>·c-rcmadc
Thechangesrnaynotha,·ebcenadoptedallat
once.and they may not have bc,:nconsistmt
Atsomepoint,however,thecockingknob
waschanged.andsowasthcsafe1yandlhe
bol1handle.Therightrailoftherccciverwas
strengthcnedoothelate-1TW1ufacturedones.
Themarkingsprobably1>·c-rcchangedalso
Undoobledly.olherchangesoccmm:lsuchas
inthestockandfinings
VariationsalsoexistbcawscNewtonrifles
wc-rcoffcrcdwithspecial-onlerextras.This
includcdbam:lsofwriOU!ilengths.different
f!Qlltsightandacockingknobaperturcsigh1,
cngravingandspecialwood Then.100.many
oftheNcwtonrillesthalstillexist1odayha,-c
bcengunsmi1hcdandaltercdinsomeway.
and sometimes i1 takes a knowledgeable
Nev,100riflecollcctortoSPQ'thcserifles.All
inall,ofthe40000rigina1Newtonriflesthat
-
1>"C1"Ctumedoutandsold. l doubtthat,·ery
fcwarearoundtodaythatan:100-pen:entf.lc-
toryoriginal.
Nev,100riflesaKvcryscan:e.lhavencver
ownedoneore,·erfin:done.lnfact.lha~
neveri;ecnmon:thanfourorliveofthemin
all my life. The only two original Newmn
riflesthatlhaveclOS<'lyexaminedarethe
ones shown herewhichbclong\Omyson.
--!""'~
~ =~

'
'''
19 Fror>I

----- 321

Tbcrd~, my oommerus oo the ..:iron uc
bascdonwtwlsawmthescrwoeumples.
MyO\'C!allopini,onoftluu c:uon,s lhMitis
1goodonc:andlhatNc>o.10ndcsigncdit""'ll.l
likelhcMauser-typecx-andthelUldcr-
c:utbolt f..,,e =asthesc fcaturt!ldiminate
the double-loading problem. J like the inler-
n-l)ledlock. . ~sysim,andthelargeamount
ofJodin&.-ealheyprovidc10locktheboll1n
lhcrm:m:r.labolitetherahc:r~nni,...-
l:lndae, thebohsltt>-e,saktymr:dranmi.fir-
,ngmte~ismandthelfrln&ffl'Clllofthe
hingcdfloorplatc.le5!)CCiallylikcthe....,.tity
ofthe1e111iggcrm<cli:inism. l1 wasfarsrglt1cd
ofNewtontomakethebolthandlcandsafe!y
thewayhcdidsothata91,opecouldhcmount-
cdlowontherecci,·erwithoutaltcnngany-
111111&. I also like the looksoftheribonthe
reca,-crnngandbridge.
~sese-."fflllfcalwuofthcOrigiml
Ne,.,onactionthatldonotlilerwrnuclican:
for. Th::bolthandle is iooshonandsnrt,t,yfor
makmafaslrepcatshou.. Thesafe!ybuttonis
1 b11oothesmall sideforquickmampulation.
ThelliperguardbowistoobigandheavylO
beara«ful.althoughonahumm11riflci1is
bcmrtohu-eitthiswaythantoosmalland
thrn. Thepunyrwinsafciyluponthebolt
LehakleoflheOrigioalNewtonllllelhowlng
tt-..<:hffkpiecedesign.lhelongtoeoflhe
slOdrandlNlslimprslolgrlp.
322
: I I
couldJw;tas"·ellhavcbtttlomrucdforthe
hulclrelp1hcywouldbr:ifthefrontlocking
lugsfailcdandfrwalltheworki1rcquircdio
putthemtherc.
Thefll'Stlcltcrslr~,"""fflaftertheprcviou&
cditionoftlusbook"'aSfirsr:ptt,lisl-..dinl971
wen: from rifle fans who wm1cd IO know
"trylhadnotrncludedNcv.ionnflcsm11.
Thosc ..-troknowtheNcv.10nriflesthoughll
hadlcftoutthelincstn.nboltnfleof1ll. How
oookl l ha,..,~cdthem?Then,"-asno
<llhcrnllequ,tehke it,lheyallsard. Well.the
truthisthatartha1111nclkncwnothingli,s1-
handabouttheNcv.1onrifle.andsoloould
not"Titeaboutitthen. Secondly.thepublish-
ersaid'"v.hoa""·henhcrttti,"fflmynw,u-
"""Pl- ~lt's mooghfor a book."Hc:ioldmcto
sa,.., any extra material I might ha>'C Qr
assernbklaleronb-anenlargcdcdiuonand
lhatis"-hatldid.
The May. 1971. ISSUC of Ammctln R,jl~
man camcd a linr: aniclc by M.D. Warlc on
thcNe"1onnflesandcanridges. ln11110mc
imerestingsta1istk1aregfren. Forexarnplc.
thcfollowingdaiesandligurc1an:g1venas
ttbraliothcOrrginalNcw1onrifk:Thc:Nev.·-
1011ArmlCotni-nYwase:llablishcd111 l914
10n-..nul'a,;tuN:lheNev.100rifle. Producuon
mncd in 1917. Th:: Ncv.100ArmsCompany
""llSorpni>Jl:drnl914.and11took1ycarlO
gettheplantcqu1ppodandoperating.But11
was not until c.ty m 1918 !hat !he lirst all-
Ne"10n-lha1 rs. a Nev.too rifle: with Ncv.100
actioo- --·asshippedoutoftheplant. By
Aprilofl9l8,2400Ne--1onntleshadbec!l
made.butbythenthefinnwentintorue,.,:r-
slup. Atlhatwne.tlo=wtTeenoughpaf!Son
har-.lioauemblclOOlhcrl200riflcs.plus400
with l'Cj«tcd pans. After the l"KCWcrship
changc.thclirmnamr:wasc:hang,cd10New-
lOIIArmsCorporaU011.and1heyassembledall
oflhem.rncludmgthc~andsoldlhem.
ln Ill. around 4000 of the Ongmal Ncv.10n
nfleswm:madc.Allofthis.ho•,,:•,er.didno1
51"" Charles Nev.ion-he bounced back.
dcsignodanewnrmboh..:iroo.andinl921
51anedm'Cragam.Thestoryofthes«ond
Nev.·tonritlc.whichwasl'IIU!lcdtheBufTalo
Ncwton.willhavc1obr:10ldclsewhen:
Four thousand of the Original Ncv-100
nllc:s"-en:notvcrymany,.•hcnfClllcrodall
o,·er the Unncd StalCS and Canada. Few as
111ey,.-en:_1hey ..,:rego,;.!nflcs.Thcy"'-m,
51ocLcdandba=lcdinthelypicalGerman
spornngpancm. MOSl"-en:chamberedfrw
thc2l6and30Ne"1oncanridgcs.asthcsc
two"-en:the1110S1popularNe1S10t1-designr:d
cahbcrs.Somcofthc4000riflesmayhavc
beenchamberedfor,omcofthcothcrcar-
uidgcsthatNev.1ondevcloped.suchasthe
280Nev.10n.llNcv.'IOll.)5Nev.ionandlhc
400Newu.nN01onlysethcorigmalNcv.·-
1011nflcsrarc.bul,osethcgmuineNev.10rt
camdgc:s io.dcd in the Ncv-1011 plant.
Owics Ncv-100 doed in 193-4. Hardly any-
one "tro has r:um,ncd and 51udicd the Ncv.·-
10n multi-tugacuon q..estionslha! it isof
$Uperiordesign.Bythccxpenditurcofwhat
m1.151ha,-ebec!lanun1oldamountofent'l'!IY.
timc,moneyandpcrhaps"'0ff)'.Ncwtonhad
dcsrgnedandputtogcthcranoutsW>ding
hrgh-pov,m:dsport1nanfk.andgoncn10-
gethermenandmachinery10rnaoofactureiL
Whata g,-cal disappointment itmu.uha,..,
been10him10secthr:entrrc•'ffl1Ufl:failand
thcrem:ainstakenO\,:rbyOlher1,.Wecanbr:
ccnainllwitwasnofa11l1ofthenllc:thatthe
pro)CClfailcd.Thc,·enlllf'Cmrghtha,·eended
insuxesshadNc"1onwaitcduntilaftcrthe
"'lll"IObr:ginmanufacnrnng,t.Anyv,-ay.my
questioo now is why ILas no1 somebody
=i,ffltheNew100rilk?Maybr:somrl>ody
willdojUSllhal~Andiftlus ise-.-crdone.
the =i,"111 ~Id becc:rmplcte: action with
set-tnggers.stoc:kdcsignandincalihersDng-
rnallydesigncdbyNev.1011101ncludcthe2SO-
300.256Ni:1''1011,30Ncv.10nandlSNev.100.
R EADING THIS BOOK is like looking
throughakaleidoscope,slowlytumingthc
pagesandvicwingancvercndingarray of
bolt-ac1ionrifledesigns.l!ike10thinktha1
Pau1Mauserstarteditallbackinl871when
be designed the Model 1871rifle.lliketo
thinkofhimasthcfathcrofthctWTibohrifle
becauscinlhemanyyearssincethaltime
manymanufacturersofrifleshavcused,and
sti!!areusing.someofhisbasicdesigns. A
greatmanyannsdcsignersandmakersha,·e
followed in his footsteps. Many of1heir
namesaremcmionedinthisbook.PCTSOns
intercs1cdinthctumboltmcchanismwon-
duwhenthisinventingtirnewillend. He
may wonder.too, if1he«:is stillanything
new under the sun. But I wonder if new
bolt-actiondesignswillevcrccase. Homer
Koon, who designed the Omega. perhaps
thoughlthathisactiondescribedherewoold
bethelastwordingundesigns.hencethc
name Omega which in Greek means last
So,areyoulookingforsornethingdiffcrem?
lfso,thcnreadonbccauscthcrearesomc
new feaiures in the action I am about to
describe
"Have you ever sem an Omega rifle?" the
,'Oiceonmy tdcphoneasked
''No,"lansw~.
"Wouldyouliketos«onc?"Bynowl
wasdov.nrightcurioos.
"Sure,,;ould."
111enl'llsend)wone"
Then he imroduced himself. He was
Randall Bauman from Minnesota. He told
mc 1hathehadnotlongbeforepurchascd
anOmegarifleatanesta1csalc. Hccould•
n'1resistit,hcsaid.Aftertakingtherifle
hornehesooght infonna1iononit.Hehun1•
edthroughmybolt-attionriflebookand
could nOI even find the Omega name men-
tioned. Next he looked thl'Ollgh many Gun
Diges1sandfounddopeontheOmegariflc
inthel972andl973issues.llcfoundwhat
he was looking for-data on thcs1rangc
riflchchadjustbooght.Thescshonpie<:es
wm,,.•rit1cnbyJohnAmberandl-anyS
Sterct1
TheOmegarifleacoompaniedbythetv.'O
G,m Digest pieces arrived al my home in
shonooler. lwas1ednotimeinexarniningthe
rilleandrcadingtheGDpicces.Onca11icle
indica1ed that this rifle was introdoccd in
about1971.
Afterlhadta.kcnagoodlooka1theOmega
riflclrccalledsccingoncycarsbackonmy
telcvisionscrccn.Jdonocrccalljustwhatthe
oocasion"'aSforthclargcgalhcringofpcople
intha1room.bmthercwasthatgoodlooking
gemlcmanJohnConnally.righ1intheccnter
ofthegoingson Pc1hapsitwasbccausehe
had"'·onanelectiooorwasnamedtoacabi-
nctposl.Anyway.withmachadohe"'aSJlfC"
scnteda,·eryfancyengravedandstocked
Omega rifle. h sho"11 brightly under the
lights. Therifleandthemanguulotofexpo-
sureandlsuppc,semorethanamillioopeo-
plcsawthcmasldid.Thcnafcwycarslaterl
againsawCoonally andtheriflcontheTV
scm:n.bmthistimeitwasnoeelebration
lnstcad,he"'aSbeingimervicwedpriortohis
bankrup1cyaactionsak:"'·hcnhesho"-edhis
Dmegariflcandtoldusthatit,too.wouldbe
ontheaoctionblock
Thetitleofonca11iclejnthcGu11Diges1
"'aS "Firearm Dc,-ek,prnem, Inc." I llS,SlllllW
therefore !hat the rifles wm, made by this
finn. Theaniclcalsostatedthat HomerE
Koon.Jr .• designedit.Hea!sodesignedthe
TexasMagnwnaction described elsewhere in
thisbook.lha,·enofunhcrinformatiooon
thi s finn oroo Mr. Koon. There was no
address and no date when the lasi()mcga rifle
wasmade.Theriflelhaveismarl(edasfol-
luws:Ontheleftsideofthereccivcris:
OMEGA l!I
BYHKOON
Ontherightsideoftherettivcristhescri-
al nwnber592. Onthc lcftsideofthebarrel
breechthccaliberisstamped.
The Omega rifle I had is chambered for the
300WinchesterMagnum.sostampedonthe
barrelbreech. Theroundtaperedsponerbar-
relis24~long. Thebalrclhasnosightsandno
provisiootoacccp1any.Thestockandforend
are laminated with dark and light layers of
whatappcarstobewalnu!andmaplc.Both
arefinishedwithah:lrdcoatingofarc:sinor
plastic material smoothlyappliedandorigi•
nallypolished1oahighluster. Neither are
chcckcrcdand l foondthatwiuswloosuchan
01hcrv,•iscqualitygun.Thef<lf"Cndisfined
withanangledpicceofrose,.-oodOflitsend
andattachedtotheban-elbythefrontsling
swivelstud,whichintWTithreadsintoalug
anachedtothebarrel.Withsa,peandmounts
itweighs9.5pounds.
Thebuttstock is fitted with a ,-entilated
rcroilpad.ltappcarsthatthepad"'aSorigi•
nal,and !omysurpriscwasstillresilient.lt
hasaraisedrombandchcckpieccandhasan
engra,·edsterlingsilverpistolgripcap
Theunusual1hingaboutthe buttstocki1
!hewayi1isfinedanda1tachedtothem:eiv.
er.Whenlremovedtheriflefrornthcbox
thebut!was,·erylooselyattached.lthought
thisodd.lfiguredtha1thestockwasanached
byathrough-boltbutfoundnoevidcncethal
thereeoilpadhadevcrb«nremoved.l
thoughtthiswasalsounusual. I then took
timctoreadthelcttersrntwiththerifle,and
found out that there was no through-boll.
lnstcad,thcrewasasinglctangscrewand
Baumanhadpurposely looseneditforship-
ment. Curioos, 1 rem<wed this screw and the
smck and found !ha! the trigger guard
fom>edashorllowcrtang,thcreaiendofthe
receiverscrvedasanuppertang.andthaC!hc
stockhadbeenperfcctlyinlcttedandfinedto
theaction.ltalso"'aS1enooedintothchol-
lowrearofthcreceiversothatontightening
the tang screws the stock was securely
attached.Regardlessofwhatllhoughtabout
such an arrangement it must have proved
satisfact0<y.
llaumanalsostatedinhislrnerthatbefore
sh001ingthis rinche 1igh1enedthctang
(Above) The Omega III Ame. It tias a lam~
nated wa lnut and mapla butts1ock and
furend. Waigh1is9.Spoundswilhl3vsh'lell
Spc,,tviflwsoopeinConelrolmounts
323
 Commerc,al Rifles & Actmns

Ck>se-lJ!lviewollhe()megaaction.Thisacilonhastwo
saf01ies,()Of!lnlhe trlggerguan:landtheoth&rinthebolt
s.leeve.Notalheoetag,Onalsl>aptlolthebol!body,adis-
tinctivefea!ureollh1$rill&.

screwandafterwardloosenedi1again.This, front; I am IIOlsurchowit is fastened at the rcmovedfrom1hebo11om1olcavecithcran

hcsaid.kep11hcwoodfromhcingsqueczed rcar.Thelriggerguardisacloscmo1tisedfi! octagonalorroundedshape
orotherwiseshrunkifthelangscrewwas into this oonom pan. On dose examination The Omega boh is impressive. Although
alwayskepttjghtTheforcndistcnonedinto thetwomainpansappeartobeinvestmcnt thebolthandlemayhavebccnwddcdoo,the
1hefrontho!lowofthcrecciver.Anyway, castings. bol1canheconsideredtoheofone-pi~oon-
this stock fastening ammgemcm was ad<,.. Thererei,,.,,.isboredclearthrooghforlhc s1ruc1ion.Twofea1urcsof 1hisboltmakci1
quatebut lwondcTwhyKoonchoseOOlto holt,itismachinedtoaccq,tlhcthreadedbar- diff=ntfromallothermakcsaodmodelsof
uscthcthrough-bol1system rdshank,alooding/eje<:1ionpor1,magazioo boh-ac,ionrif\eswhichlhaveseenorknow
Alllhcsamc,lhcforrndiswcU!ihapedand opening, and the rear end i, fashioned
v.'e!l abou~aodtheyaretheshapeoftheboltbody
proponioncdforarifleofthis"'eigh1andcal- intoanuppcrtmgofsorts.lnadditioo,thi, andtheevcnmoreunllSltalbol!hcadToeboh
ihcr.!canno1say1hisahomthcbuttstock. mppanofthercceiveri,machincdundcr- body is of octagonal shape with sl igh1ly
bccauscforarillethatpnxh.>ecscoosiderablc neath and half hollowed om for the rotary roundcdedgcswhcretwotlatsrneet.aodi1is
m:oilthcpistolgripisroodosctotbeaction. magarinespool.Thebonomhalfisalsohol- thescedgeswhichoontactonlytheinsldeof
triggc-rguardandsafe1yonlhcrcaroflhcOOlt lowcd ou1 for the magazine ,pool, and thcreccivcr. Koonoouldha,·elcfl1h.cbolt
sleev,:.Althoughlhaveno1firedthisrille,l machincdtoattep(thelriggerguardMctalis bodyrow>dandeu1groovcsinitlikcWeath-
amsun:thatonmyfirstshotthclriggerguard
wooldjam against my middle finger and per-
haps bruise or cut it.
TIIIOIIIII ■~
Thedis1inc1panoftheOmegarifleisiis
actionwhichrequircsatwo-piecesio,;k. To
lxgin,i1islong.thickandl>ea,ywithalarge
amow11ofcxposedmetal. lfalltha1exposcd
receiver metal is to he engraved il would
m;ioircqui1eanout!ayofmooey.Theaction
is9.2.50"long,andlherecciverproper,tha1is
themetalbetweentheforcndaodthebutt,is
5. lrinlcngth.11isalsol.2.50"thick. h isan

...,,
all-steclrc<:civer,aodalthoughitisholio-.-ed
outfortherowymagazineandbolt,itisstill

TheOmcgarecciveri$of1wo-picceron-
structioo with the boctom made as a separale
pkce.Thispi~exlmdsthefulllengthoflhe
ac1ionandthefi1ofi110therecei,'el'propcrso '-------------------
clooeastohedifficull mdc1cct. This piece is ThisviewotlhefronJotlheOmegabollshow$,(A)squa,ebollhead,
attachedtothemainpanbyascrcwat ilS (B) fl jector,(C)ertraciorand(O)boll-stopgroove

324

erbydoeston:ducefiiction,buthcdK>sethc
octagOllalshapelOachievcthcabsolutemini-
mwnoffriclionbetweenbohandrcceiver.
Thcoctagonalboltisdiflh"ntandunusu-
al, butthelockinglugsareevenmoreso
This1,:asdoncbymakingthefrontendof
theboltsq1.Lm,makingtheareabehindthe
squares«tionroundmadiamctcrthcsamc
asrhewidlhof!hesquare,andthcfourcor-
nersofthesquarebecomethelockinglugs.
Thesquareboltfaceis.670"wide,mal.ing
thcarea.4Osquareinchcs:1h<:roundscc-
tioo behind1he square is .675~in diameter
withanareaof.358squan:inchcs.Sublract-
ingthisareafromthesquarcarealea,·es.091
TherearoftheClmeg.abottshowing(A)t>ollslf!f!Vfl.(B)s.a!etyaod
(C)cocking~.
squaremches.ora1otalofthatmuchminus
somemachiningtokrancesasthc locking
lugarca.ThclockinglugareaoftheWi11-
ches1er M70 boll is approximately .208
square inches. While the Omega locking
lugsappcartobesufficicnttolockandhold
the firing oftbc belted magnwn canridges, I
behc,·cl"'OUldrathcrhavcamorecon,·cn-
1ionallugsys1em
The cxtraetor ,s of the claw type mounted
inthebolthcadandjspivotedonapinand
teft'lioncdhyasmallspring. Thedawofthe
e~1rac1or is flush wilh the face of the boh
which, when !he boll is dosed, fils ,·cry
closc1olhcfla1faceof1hebaml.Thetjec1or
I , '
is1ooncsidcofthecartridgeheadrecessand
it is ofihe common spring-back plunger
""·Bccauselhcboltheadhasfourlockingsur•
facesorlockinglugs.aslhatiswhattheycan
bccalled.thebollhandlcmovememisonly
50dcgrces.Althoughthcbolthandk:fitsinto
aslotinlhcrecciverwhentheactionisclosed
itcanhardlyserveasaneffo:icnlsafetylug.
The firing mechanism of the Omega boll
consistsoftheusualone.piecefuingpin.ooil
mainspring.cockingpieccandboltsltt\"C
There is the usual deep cocking cam noich
andashallo"•ernocch10kceplhcbol1sl«vc
fi'omrumingwhcntheboltisopen.Theboh
slee,·e.whichhasitsmddosedbyarotating
safety.islhreadcdintolherearofthebolt
body.Thefiringpinlhmldsin10thccocking
-·
pieccandi1iskcptfromrumingbyasmall
socke1-headscrewthreadedinto1hecocking
The Omega has IW<l safeties. one fi!IOO ,n
thcmdoftheboltslee,.-cforlockinglhcfiring
pin.and1heotherintherearoflhetrigger
guard.Onthcriflcthad.ncilhcroncworl.s
perfectly.andtheyneedv.'00<.Anyway.the
firstsafetyfitsinaOOleinlhcrearofthebolt
sltt"o·c.andhasmeans10blockthcfallofthc
cockingpieccwithi1sconnec1edfiringpin.
When stniight up and dov,n i1 is in the fuing
position;SV.'Wlgtithcr10lhcrightork:ft,lhc
frontmdofit,:ngagesinfrontofaflareon
themdofthc:cockingpiocc.Thissafetyisin
suchalocationthatwithasoopeonthcrifleit
isdiffo:ult10manipulatc.A!i;o.thesafetypro,
jectsi;ofarbacktha1i1migh1bcahazard10
some~ersintha1i1couldinjurcahand
whenthcriflcisfired
325
ThisphotoshowslhereareodoitheQmega,-i,,erand1heb•.J1t·
s1ocklnlettir,g. Onlyonescrewanchorslhestockto!heaction
Rear view of the trigger mechanism in lhe Omega action. Arrow
p<)Ontstotriggeradju$tmen!screw
326
Thesecondsafetyisasimplecross-bolt
alfairbuiltintotherearofthetriggerguard.
Pu5hedtotherightitisontheSafcposi1ion
andblocks1hetrigger.Perhapsthissafetyis
rc,-ersible fora left-handed hunter.but I am
Thc1riggcrmechanism is the usual and
common system used on many modem rifles
consistingofthelriggcr.searandthepins.
springsandscrcws mountedinahousing.his
asingle-s1agetriggerwithoneadjustmen1.
thatofwcightofpull .
The Omega bolt-siop is somewhat similar
totheoncuscdintheWC11thcroyriflc.!1isa
simpleroundplungerprojoctingupintothe
boltraceway.Theboltbodyisgroovedto
slideoveritwiththestopalsose,,.ingasthe
bol!guide.Oepressingasma!lplungerinthe
triggerguardpullsthestopdowntorclease
theboh.
The maga,ine in the Omega is of the rowy
typc.ltss:poolispositionedinthecenterofthc
=i•·erbelowtheboh.hroia\e:Sonanaxis
andisspringten<ioncdtofoedcartridgesout
ofthemaga,::ine. Theccntcrofthespool is
hollowtoacecp1 the spring. Unlike the
Mannlicher-Schocnaucr and Savage M99
spoolswhichhavcdividcrsbetweeneachcar-
lridgc. theOmega'shason!yone flap. As the
cartridgcsarcloadcdintothemagazine.each
oncpushcsagains1theonek>adedbeforeit
Andwharisalsouniquethcrcisaratchelat
thercarrndofthespool-aseachcanridgcis
insertedale\-erengageslheratchettoholdthe
spoolagainstspringtcnsiorruntilanothercar-
tridgcisinserted.Themagazinewillholdlh'C
standard cartridges and four magnums. The
lc\'Cfthalholdsthespoolisconr,ected1othe
bol1-s10pand"•hatfollowstellsusthatMr
Koonwasa,'Cr)'cleverin,'Cnt<Y
To load the rowy maga,:ine, the bolt musl
beopen. Alleroncormorecanridgcsha,·c
~~~~lhembea:~1:i:~r::!~
Magnum. The rifle was also chambered 101'
O!herpopularcaliberssuchas1he270,30-
06,7nvnRemlnglonMagnum,338Winches•
--
terMagnumandolhers
Type 0oll·lldiOl'1"'1)8alar,operatedb')lbolll'\.r,"dtt.
Recel- ..... Twopiecesteelconstruction.
Stock lastenlng Byasingletangsc«rw{saetext)
Bon . . Onepiecewilhoctagon.shapudbod)'ardsqua,eld:headwithklur
lgnRlon
Exffllctor ..
Ejector ......
Bon ... top ..
t,ee,,i115e11edintothemagazineoothinghap-
penswbenthebohisclosed.Howe,'Cr,Whcn
the bolt handle is !Urned all the way down
therei,anangled,urfaceattheendofthe
bolt•st0pgroo,:e"''hich.asi1moveso"erthe
top of the bolt-$top, ~ it todi$00ruleCt
thcratchetlcverfiomthcratchetontlr,esp::,ol
hallowsthcspoollopushthccanridgeinto
thepathoftheboltandintothechamber.
Thcn.asthebolthandleisturnoddov,11,thc
next cartridge is released and the process
rcpemed.Cle,"Cr1Yes.
Whenoncormorecanridgcsareinthe
m.1garinethctopmOS1canridgcislo.:tt.lfthc
rifleis1ippedfartooncsideorentirelyover.
thecartridge"'·oolddropootifitwereno1foc
thelightsiecl.'t)ring-typecartridgestopfittcd
imoareccssinlherightretti,·errail. When
thcbol1iscloseditpushcsthisscopdownlcv·
clwiththerccci,·er.andspringsoo1 again
"'henthcboltisopcn.Thcspringisligh1
enoughnoltointerferewhenthecanridgcs
are inse.1ed in10 the magv.ine. but strong
enoughtohoklasinglecartridgefiomdrop,
pingout.ltisallquitecle'<'Cr
Butthccle'<"ere$1pani,scill10come.lfthc
magarineisloodedandyouwanttounloadit
withoutfeedingeachcartridgcinandou1of
lhechamber.you~lydq,ressthcboh-stop
bunon and the cartridges will fly oot. When
thisi,doneyooshou!dholdyourhandm'Cr
thcactiontoca1chthccartridgcs.Also,ifthc
maga,:ineisunloodedinthismatterandifthe
muzzleiseJe,.,ated,theboltwilla!sodropout
Withcartridgcsinlhemagazine,thcfirsttime
theboltisclosedi1willno1pickupacar-
tridge.Thisfcaturemightbehandytom:,ke
therifleasix•sholrepea1crinstandardcal•
ibcrsandative-s!totrq,ea1erinmagnumcal-
ibc1"s. Whenever the bolt is opened wilh
cartridges inthemagazine,onlhe uptumof
thebolthandle1herstchctmechanismwill
releaseonccartridgcbythcactionoflheboh
against the bolt-slop. When the ratchet is
released in this manner the bolt-stop is
deprc:ssedon!yenoughtorelease!heratchet.
-
butno1enoughtoallow1hcbolttofallOU1.lf
youca:imakcsenscoutofallofthislwill
giveyou"A"foreffon.
Mr.Baumaninfonnedmethathehasfired
several boxes ofammuni1ion through his
Omega. Hcfoundtheriflcquiteplcasantto
shool.probablyasaresuhthatwiththcscope
itwcighs9.5pounds Butmorethanthatbe
---
Actlonlenglh 9.250"
Actlonwldth . 1.250"
Et:::t~~~-- 4
:~
-~·
foondittobemuchmoreae<:uratcthanhe
C\'Crcxpccted,givingclosetoMOAtive-M
Whoever made the stock and forend for
thisriflcdidavcrygoodjobofmatingthe
woodtothemetal,sandingibewood,·ery
smoothandJe,.-elandapplyingthcfinishonit
Howc,·er.tomy wayofthinking.hedida
poorjobwithlhepistolgrip.J"'"OUldwantit
abou1 l/t furtherbacksoasto1101crowdthc
triggerhandorbnriscafingcrfromthereooil
offiring.lwouldalsohavc,shapcditsentire
lengthto1hc!i3ffiCdimensionsandshapeof
thepistolgripcap.Lastly,Jwouldwantboth
1befom>dandpistolgriptobecheckcreda
generousamount,twenl)'lincspcrinehprc-
fom,1
I amabitdubiousaboutthesquan:boh
head and 1he minimum amount of locking
surfacethc:scfourromersprovide
lwoulJalsoinsistthatthcbu11S10Ckbcfas-
tcnedoo"'ithathrough•bolt.lhavcr.oinfor-
mation as to how many Omega rines were
rnadc,orwbertlasimadi.:,oraboutitsdesign-
er.HomerE. KoonJr. Ho ...-ever.thosewho
o,,,11oncofhisrineswillrememberhimfor
hiscontribu!iontothefieldofbolH•c•ion
ritles.
327
T ooFFERTIIEsponsmanalineoflo,,,_
costriflesbasedonasingletumbollat!ion,
Remingtondesignedandmginemdasystem
thatoouldbel>Srofor22rimfirccarui<Jgcsas
we!! as for various cemerfirc cartridges
Doingthisooconlyfacilita«:dlhclTUUlufac-
rurcoflhe:leriflcsandhelddown=ufactur-
ingcosts,italsomabledlhcsponsman10buy
arimfircsrn.allgamerifleandacenterfirc
vannintandlorbiggameriflchavingsimilar
ac1ions.TheentirclynewactionRemington
developedfeaturcdmulliplerearlockinglugs
lntro<hiccdin 1967,lhenewoentcrfircrifle
was designated Model 788. A! first it was
chambered only forthe222 Remington.22-
2S0.30-30and44MagIJwncanridgcs, wilh
lhe223.243.6mmand308addcdla1eron.ln
1969Remingl0nmadethe788availab!e for
left-handoperlltion.butonlyin308and6mm.
TherifleshadaverylrirnpislolgripSIOCk
madeofahardwoodfinishod101ooklikcwal-
nut.Thebarn:lsarc24wlongin222and22-
250,22"!onginlhc01hcrcalibers.A po!it
frontsightooararnpisscrewe,;!10thebarn:I.
wilhascrew-adjustablcopenn:arsightfined
overa009:rib,thetwoscrewcJ10thebarrel.
Theriflesweighabout7poundsin44M.ig-
nwn.about7.5poundsin222and22-2SO.
Allhoughldooot"an110induderirnfm:boh
ac1ionsinlhisbook,i1iswell10mcntioothe
Remington rimfirc counlelp,UtS IO !he 788
Thescarelhe580singkshot.lhe581clip
n,pea1er.lhe582withlubularrnagam-,:,andthe
540-X~SOOl13rEC1rifle.{N<:¢:AllRcrn-
ingtonseries580rifleswcrcdiscootinuedand
lhe581 reimroducedin 1986.)Allarecham-
ben:dforthe22LongRiflerirnfm:carlridge.bul
lhey"llabohandle22Shortsandl.oogsaswell
Allhoughlightcrinweighl(excq,clhe540-X)
andsrnalk:rinsi:lle,the580riflcshaveabouthe
sarncbalanoeandfeelasthe788."iththe581
diprepcatcrtheonernostlikcilManyhuntcrs
flllditverydcsirable10ha~theiroenrerfircand
rirnfin:riflesbasedoosirnilaraclionsandrnade
nearlyalikc.WhenRerningtoointroo.icedthe
788itdidootreplaceanyothercxistingriflein
theirlirw,.up,OOl"ilhtheadventofthe580,irn.
fireslhcoldcr510and510-Xseries{Modds
510,511,512arxl513)weredisroMru.lOO.
328
Rcponspublishedonthe788inlhe,.uious
gunrnaga,ineswcrcenlhusiastic. (Nore:AII
model 788rifleswerediscontinuedbefore
1984.)Mostofthemthatl read were very
fa,·orable. Almost all of those who rested
thcmfoundtheriflcsreliabkandaccuralC
The 788 isundoub1edly!he mos1 accurate
rifle chambered forlhe44 Magnume,..,,
madc.The788,inothercalibcrs,including
the6mm,ha,·calsoprovedhighlyaccurate
Whilethe788wasoocmuchforlooks.i1pcr-
formslikearnuchhigher-pricedrifle
Tlll788Act1Dn
Therccciver,machinedfromaroundstecl
forging.appcars10bcq.iiteslirn,t..ui1iswry
hcavyandrigid.Main"allthiclmessissliglllly
over.300".Decall5Cthernagazincisas.ingle-
co1urnntype,andbe.:ausctheejecti<;.iponis
quirenarmw,therecci,'Cfisootwcakcnedm..:h
bytheseopcning,. Thcn:ismuchmoremetalin
lhewallsoflhisrccei•'Cl'.oocilhcrsideoflhe
tjecoor,pon.lhanthercisinthe700Rernington
rcreiver.ThewallopposI!Clhcejedionponis
unusuallyrigid.Therecciveris1325"indiarno-
terover its cn1in: lertglh. The maiiazine weU of
the7&8in6mmandW!isaboul .635"widc,n:I
aboutJ.OO"!ong.Theojec,ionponisaboul
2.725"longand.w:/'"idc. Thc~begin
atapointaboutl.5'behindthefionlalgcofthe
rcreiver.Thereo:-i,'Cfbridge.whichbcginsat
thercarof&,:seop,:nings.isaboul2.425"1ong.
hslcng,hprovidesagooddealof<;001ac1arca
withlhebohlOguidcitltalsoprovidcsrocm
forlhelocking-lugreoesscs.Therecci,'Cl'Soflhe
7&8inolbercalibers•'al)'slightlyfromthe
&IO\'Cfigt.uU,.
Theboltlodinglugsarelocatcdjll.'lloveran
inchforwardoftherearcndofthebolt.Then:
areninelugsinall.threesetsofthrcccqually
spa=laroundtheboltbody.Eachlockinglug
isabou1.0lWhighandaboo1.lSO"thid:.T",:,
setsareabout.2SO"inwidlh,wllilethelhirdsei
ofthtttisaboul.3SO-wide.Theselastthree
lugsha,-cthcapproacllingi;ornersangkdoffso
Iha~ on lowcrin~ the bolt handle. the bolt is
fon:edfullyforwanilltreecir.ulargrooves,
insidethehcavy-,.'alkdbridge.aredi,idedby
millingthreelongimdinalgnxwes10formthe
ninelocking-lugshouklers.Allofthisisdonc
"·ithsochprc,;isionlhatallofthelugsbear
evenJyagain5tlheshouklers.Wilhlhebridgea
solidri!liOf!ilttlatlhispoinl.withtwovery
heavywallsoonncctinglhebridgc101hering.
and"ilhthercreivt,randbohmadcofqualiry
alloy~cel andpropcrlyhea1-treared.the 788
bohislockedinthem;eiververy~ly
Then:ismore1hanenoughstmtglh1t>IK:>klcar-
nidgeswhichdevelophighbrttchprcssurcin
lhecharnbcr.l.ockingstn:ngthofthe788:ri.m
cornparesfavorably10thatoflhcModel700
Rcrning10n.oneofthestrmgcstdual,q:,posed
foiwardlockinglugactionsmadc.Thcn:islittlc
chaoceoftheninelockifl&lugsorlhelocking
shouldersevershearingoffundernormalron-
ditions.lnciJenrally.lhetotllareaoflhenine
lugsisaboot.338squan:inch,withalocking
rouae1wrfaceofalx:iut.l9lsq.ian,indi.The98
Mauserfiguresare.493and.l09rcspecti,'cly
Thethittsetsoflockingluw,arcspc,c,;cil20"
apart.whichrcsultsinabohrowionof68".
Thebascofthebolthandlcisbram;IIO!he
boltbody. Whenlhebol1isclo.!.!dpar1ofthis
bascc~IOOdsimoadeepootchinthesideofthe
n,,:;ei,-er,arxlthiscou1Jac1asasafctylug.The
tapcra:lbolthandlcstemendsinapear-shap(d
hollowgraspingball.Thebolthandle"iUcleara
low-mountcdsi:opeoronewilhaverylarge
eyepiece.Prirnarycxtractionpov,'Cl'isoblained
wbenthebohhandlcisraiscd.itsbascnx,ving
O\ffaninclinedsurfuceootherearofthebridgc
Jnrirnlesscalibers.the788bol1isofone-
pioo:corutn.1C1ion.lhefrontcndcoun1erbored
forlhccartridgehead. TheC-springexlraCIOI'
occupies a groove cut into the rim of this
countc-rbore.andisheldinplacebyari""t
Theeje<:ior,aspring-loodcdplungcrinthe
bolthead,ishclJinplacebyasmallcrosspin.
Bohsforrimrncdca!ibersha~ascpar.1re
non-ro131ingbolthcad.Atenonoothercarof
lhisflat-facedbolthcadfitsin101heboltbody.
heldtherebyacross-pinwhichinlersectsa
grooveinlhctcnon. Thespring-Loadedcjec-
tor,locaredinthebonornoflhcbolthead,is
heldinplacebyaeross-pin.Thisejocloralso
(Above)RemingtonMooe17B8rlfle.

K"'o:s lO hold lhe empty canridgc case
&.&ai~t lhe extractor when lhe a,;1ion is
opcncd.Thecxtr.tctor.alongone-p,«e
'I'""&, fitsinl01lk:il in1hc001thead,i1SSlcm
exlendinamtolheOOhbody.Thesepan.u:
OOlthcadllsohasaguidc pmoo its left.
..tuchpn:,jccu:mio1narrowgmov,:cut1NO
the,nsidelcft,.-allofthe~,·n . Th,s pm
pm-enttlhebolthcadfromtuming,.'hcnthe
bohhandlc11~andk,,.fftd.
The ltpll"IIC m:oil lug is dan-.,ed t,ct,.'Cffl
lhe~andlhem:ei,"<'".Theq>ofWSJua
nll.'ndsslighllyabo,.-c lherettwn."·hm,11
functionlas1510porreooillugforthc!ICq)C
moun1base.Thefaoeofthebam:lisfla1for
both rimmed and rimless calibers. although
~ i s 1 notchtu1intothefaoeofthe~lfor
thecx-oftherimmcdcartridgebohhead.
Thefinngmcchanismissimpleandwdl
d,:$,gn,:,111 ~ o f a one--pic,ce firing pm
o,.-cr,.•hich11~1ooilm1mSf111na
Ri!tot-tldllviewollheReminglon788tum-
'°'-
bct,.-«ntheshouldcronthefromofthefuin&
pinandawashcrposirioncdahcadofthef,ring-
pmhead(llus panis-,allycalk:dtheco:king
p,c,cc)."'hichisfastc:ned10therearofthefinng
p,nbyaCIQ55.Pin.Thebohisdrilk:dfromthc:
rcar10accq,1thefinngmedlarusmAhollow
ap (,;alkd the bolt plug by the f""'°')',
•lthouahllOmWlycalledthebol1slce,.1:by
IIDtC\.'Cf)'Olltri!lt'),stm:adedinlothercarof
lheboLThefn.nc::ndofitstm:aded..,,ai&
1actSthe"-asherp01111Kffdbcf,.'ffl1thearl-
,ngpiettandmainspring.Thisbolt--plug.M
cic-la1therear,wouldproiecttheshooler1f
anypcMllcrgascsgocinlothebolt.Thcftan:
oops-,~holc:sintheboltorm:ei,-cr. Thcft
,s a smallholcdrilledthroughthesideofthe
bol1slcc,-c,andamatchingholethrougblhe
miroftheoockingpiecefortheinscrtionofa
lhinrodwhcnlheactionisoocko;ltoF.i,;,ihtarc
mno,...Jofthefinngrnccharusmfromtheboh.
Thestrib:riscockedootheopcningofthebolt.
Theboltslee\1:ispn,\-cntcdfromrumingwhcn
thebolt,sopcnbylheooseoflhecockina
p,m,rcstmginashallownotcllinthemirof
thebolt.Thcfinngpinandcoclan&p,ece1re
vcryhght;oooplcdwilh a verystiffmain-
spnng.lockllmeisc-<iranelyfast.
The1ngga/safcry'bolt-S10prnechan1smis
built mm an 1lummwn houson&, lhe lalu:r
111aehtdtolhebonomoflhe=a,-crby1
mup,nandt1ghlmodby 1 ~ o n l h e
fronlofthchousing.lnsidetheioprarof!M
houslfll Ill lM sear. which proj«tl J)"lially
111tothecodunJ!1)1Cttraceway111the~•-
n . Pivotingonapininlhcbottomofthe
hou:lingi$theDigger.whichha.1anarmcon-
tactongthesear. Asinglesmallroilipllng
t,,,,1w«nlhcsearandtheaiggerprovidc$1m-
s,ootobothparts.Noadjustmcntsarcprovid•
cd,butthellOmWtriggcrp11llis veryshon,
and1,,e,gh1ofpull1sabout4pounds.The
smooth. ""Cll<llf\'Cd finger-pic,cc of CM a,g.
329
BQllheadollhe788madetorrimleMcar-
tfk1ge1 showing: (A) Htractof lip. (BJ bolt-
f-recesa.(C)ejeclof.
gc-rispropc-rlyposirioocdintherearofthe
maac-rauardbow
ThesafctypiVO(Son1pinthroughthebol:-
tom of the triggerhousiOJ- The lartc safety
button.posi1ioocd101henghtofthetang
IOO',-.,lheJ10Ckline.iscasyandconvaucnlio
oix,nte.Asping-loacledplwgerinthetrig-
gcrhousinggi',utheONandOFFpositionlO
theafcty-.Theplm,g,:rabolockstheaia:,:r
""hmlhesafctyistippedback,,.hichalso
loc:ksthelx:,lt.ThtR1fctymak<:1vaylinle
ooiscasitispushedfor,,'&rdtotheOFfor
FIREposition.andthesafctybultonisl.vge
enoughandsoshapedth.atitcanbereadily
movodwithacoldor1glovatthumb.
ThepU'lgl:l"-l)pCboll~buillllllOlhefn:n
ptrtoflhetrigg,cr~is•l'Ollldpinwith
~q,..lt~~-lher=::n--cr
""""-.yandd01,arowslotmlhebolt.Acoil
~---.llheboll--saopkcqlfn-. Theboll-
SIOJI0011mlyhallslhe--..-.dnfflofthebolt
•~con1a<:1Slhemdoflheslot.llllalsoguides
thc:bohandpreventliitfromtuminginthe
n:,oeh'c-r Mn is w,:rl;cd lack aro1 fOIUI. Pan of
the$hecl-mculsafayisberuovc-rl0~•
RM.,conlheboaomoflhebolt~F'ulhing
lheafftyr....-.d•far•ilwill.,deprcsse:s
lheboll-11llpsolheboltaribcl'CITIO\W.
The mgger guard bow IS I shttl-meuJ
~nta!lycurvodioshlipc.Abcnthponits
frontmd fasicns m1hole intheswnped
sh<cl-mculniggcr/mlg,,weplale,whichthe
factocy calls the floorpla!C . Guard screws
goingthroughthefrontmdofthisplatcand
throughtherearoftheguardbowholdthe
barrelandaclKlnin!heJ10Ck..Therear1CJeW.
$honcrthanlhefrontonc.wadsintoastud
111Xhed10theboaomoftherecei,-a-1a11&-
The~boxlllllpllllC,ofheavy-
puge$hec!Sled.isfoldcdtofonnabox..llli
~topcdp.bcllllsligtwlyirr,,-.d,bmlipsto
holdlhecarmdgesandfolio»"ffinlhebox.The
$hecl-rnc.,a]lollowcrhas11licndben:down10fit
insidclhebox.&:lowitisaconvcntionaJW.
330
Flearendol~788boltlhowing:(A)boltlll&$Wl(~bollpk,gbylhelactoryJ,(B)
hole used l o , ~ the limg ~ Imm the bolt, (C) loc;l(lng klgl.
shapeidfollowcrspirg.MagmnesfornmlcsiS
cartridgeshaveridgesprcsscdinlOlheSIOCSof
lhebox.attheshoukkrlocationoflhe~
ttisrna(Efor.10holdthecartridges10the1ftl".
th11Spm1'111li13thebulletpointsfrombc1ng
damaplwhentherifle=oik.Rlrnmedca-,
tndg,e~ha,-.,aridg,erarthelal"md
lorlh=Mloflhe,;a,e.. Thisldkallblathetop
c::anridalefirm~b-,,,-.d-..h:nthcnfleis
fim1 All magRIIICS b- the six diffcmu CW·
lridgesan:dilfcma,llldead!oncis,-kcdon
therightsideforlheaatridgeilhandlct.
Ahmrystoelbar,s=v,'Cdtothebonomof
thercccivcr.cxtcndsdow.nbchindthemap--
zinc"'"ll.Themu-cndofthemaguinchllllits
wall,bcn1ovc-rsiotha1i1willshpo=thi1
guidtbar.Aspringrel~.anachedtolhe
rearwallofthernap,;inebox,enpgawith
thebollomofthegu,debarioholdtheboxin
place.Themapzincboxisalsoguidcdand
heldinp05monbytheopcningintbcmg•
sc-rlmapzine plate and ooc in the stock.
Enoughofthc:boxprojectsbclowtheJtock
line1olc1itbecasilyremo,.1'dandreplaccd
withtwofrngcrsofonchand
lwouklmuchrathcre>'aluateanlCbOllor
rifleaflcrlha,-.,IQCl','CdilinUKforarc-..,
)'Cll'S,.llllinthlsC1111elha>oeoohinclsight10hclp
me.hrra1$tben:mc:mb:ndthalhe788is1low•
C011COll1'Cllbveprowct.lnmyopm,oo.how-
e-...,,..ilisalotof~rifleforthemoncy.
Theonlythingldidn'tlikeaboutthe788
rifle l received was that the liwttVreceiva-
_.,,bly was J10I properly or sulT,e,cntly
rinscdaftc-rbeingblued.Blllingsaltstrapped
bctwemlherecei,w,barrelandrocoillug
bcpn ~FO"ln@:~OUI ofthe,e_joints.. A ,.ffl
1llc-rwip,n&thedncdsaltsoffthe6r$1Ume,
theyhadgrov,nsigain•rnuch•bcfore.,cq)-
,ngOUloflheJOffll:5111dthefiom,oope-mount
plllgscrew. Thef"Car,: twono!Chc:sacroathe
frootfila:oftherecei,-er.forwhatpwposcldo
no1know.bute-1dcntlythesallsmtmdin10
lhebarrel-weadarealhroughthe,enotches.11
wooldtakeconsi<.lcmblc:rin$ingtoremc,,.-.,the
saltmtirelyfromthescconfincdspaces.The
lacl<ofathoroughrinscisalsoeviderubythe
tackyfedofalloftheblucdpartsoftherifle.
Aside firm this, llldconsldmng ils pritt. l
lil<cdalmoste-.-.,rythi111aboulthisrifle.For
hunbngpmelil<edce,-11ranaes..,10IOOlll
150yardsorso.lbclie>-.,thcfactory•installcd
tightsarcmurelyldeqlll.te.Tha1theyarc
attachedwithscr-.,wsosagoodidea.forthis
makesi1easytomnovethesightllihscopc:
istobeused.orioinstallotheropcnsightsof
IIOOlhertypcormakc. Theideaofproxiding1
m:oil lug for the seopc mown base. via lhe
reroill11g.is1lsoagoodfeature.Drilling
8x40holesinthetopoftherecei,-erlorseope
moumm:sa..-iof!heusualandsmallcr
6x48holtsis1lso1goodidca.ldothinl:
anolherholewghttoha,-.,bccnpn;r.idedin
thebridg,eforafour-9CreWbasemounting.or
fortheinst.allationofareartarget-,oopcbase
lthini:the788ailJIFWillpro,.-.,reliable.
andlimagineitwillsatisfymostbuyc-rsof
thisrifle.Thisisoocrillclhathasasafetyof
ldequatesiu.and1f1wpedthati1canbc
positwelyopcralCd.ThelC!IOllhasD09ep1•
niecotungindicalor.tutheNfft)"eanscn-.,
,n,,sptacesinoencanonlybcmo,,'Cdifthe
ac1ioniscotko:d.Hanimi111thi:boll-stop10
theafayi11lso1gooddcs,gnidea.Alfor
!hebolt-S1op,l"dlikei1bcnc-rifi1werclargc-r
in diameter.or preferably flattened. 1>1hich
would pn,""nl more: COlltacl are.a with the
bolt-stopslotinlhebolt.ltwouldn'thut1if
tl11sslolwen:al$01bi1dc,eper.
The rimless cartridge extractor doesn't
s«m~crys11bswmaJ.lth,nl:Rem.ington
mi&htha,-.,done:~~bycopyingthe
Model 700 cxlflCIOf. The nmmed cartridge
CXlrlCIOr!CCmSgood..
lhavenoobjcclion10thi:788" slftl"•lock-
ing-1118"Y'lcm.lseenochanccofthi:thick-
walled 788 rttCivcrMSCl't'lehllli''whrnthc
nflcisfiml:lhatoomplaintaboutsu,,:hactions
isoflrnvoiccdbu1hasli11levalidi1y.ldon't
1lunkthchandloaderwillbcinany"11ylimi1-
cdhea.11S1eoflherurlockin&lugt.
The magazine is "l:JI made, and the
arrangffllfflll10gwdeMandhold11inplaceis
good.ltisaboulaseasyl01115fftlndmno,,-e
asanydNchlblc-boxlnllgRinerillc[know
of,and11canbcdone"11honehand.Theonly
dr.,"'bed:islhatmagalU1CSW1llbclost.and
lherc"illbeademandforthcmlongaftcrlhe
788isobsole!e.ldoo'tpa,ticularlylikcthe
shcc1-mcralll'iggcrguanlandpla1c,bulforthc
pnceonecan'taskforrno,e.
-
lwouldlikc10ha,-cs«11oneortwosmall
ps.,-,-mtholesinthcboh,c1tlw:rcxposcdin
thce,ectionponord,m:m:ldov.11,.-ardimo
thcmagarineopcnuig.
Theamateurgunsmilhwilllindthc788a
pruneobjcclforremodelmaandrcfonishing.
llcrearcsomeofthclhingslhatcanbcdooe:
thcowidc:mctalsurfaccscanbcgfrcnahigh-
erpolisltandrcblucd;thcbollcanbcpolisbcd
and.JC""lcd:lheSCt'C'A-c,;l.onlightscanbe
rcplaoed"'idlodas,glu.oroneorboltoenore-
lyrcrno'l"Cd:a~'ersigtlcanbcinstalkdA
iop.moum lumng-type!OOpe can be in,talled,
ora~-l)'J)C•1lll11intscope.lnlhiscasc,thc
fi'on! WJ!Ct«opcbasecanbcplaccdonthc
barrc!instcadofthcoriginalrcarsight.uthc
sc-holesarcromxtlyspaocd.Oncortwo
holes.hc,,o,e,.1:r.,.,llhavc10belappcdtnthc
bridgc:lorthcrcar~-scc,pebtie. Thellam
anbcihoncncdtomaleacabn:outofthc
rillc. ThefaclOfy~kcanbcdolledup.
rcshapcdandrcfinishtdioird••w.,l-.lf
opcns,ghisarctobcuscd.thcMontcCarlo
rombshouldbccutOO'A11.lFlhcbam:lisshor1-
rncd.1hefon:ndfanalsobcshor1,'1>cdand
thinncd.Otherwiseaplasticordan...x,lorcd
woodfortndtipoooklbcaddcd..as"""llasa
poSIOlffc:11).ThefilmidandpUIOlncan
bcchcckcmlorelll''Cd.Sc>"aalSIOCtlinns
make leYmll diffcraa 51ylcsofiiffl11•flnl$hed
~ksforlhisnflcsothatncanbceas,ly
rcsiodcdv.1lhaP1'"ofwood10yo,.rliking.
Whclhtrlhcongmalfactorysa:x:tisU9Cdor1
newSIOCkfit!ro. l rccomrnendgLus-bcdding
-
lhearcaar<)Undthcrccoillug.1ncludmgthe
=i•ttan:afo,wan:lofthcmagazinctoapoin1
ahwt2"forv.Wofthebam:llug.
Starnpnlonlherccei,'er,.'llll111twolmc,
OJ)()Olitclhec.,ect,onponis:
REMINGTON
MODEL788
~oneline.thcfollowmg,sswnpcdonlhe
REMINGTON ARMS CO. INC.,
IUON, N,Y, MADE IN U.SA
Thecalib:rdeslgnlllon•abo~onlhe
lam.Vaiamrispe,:!lonnwks..,~on
boctisidcsofthcbrcedlcndoflhebrand,,nclt,d,
in&thcRmungionproofnwk---lheleat:rs Rl::P
"ithinanO'o'al.Thesc:rialnlfflbcr,s~oo
lhclcflsideofthcrecchl:Tnng.
RCfflO\"Cthcmapl!lnebypmpinglhebol,
tom of ii bctwttn thumb and fon:fill&tT,
depress the mapune ~lnx and pull the
magazir,efromlheac11on.lflhcrnapz,ne,s
loaded,mno,,"C~byslidingeachonc
f""''3rd.Ra1sethcbol1handk:.pullthebolt
backasfarasitwillJIO,pushthesafctyfully
forwanlandlheboltca,,bcpullcdfromthe
m:ci,·er. Theboltfornmlesscanridgcscan
bcrcpla=lbymcrclypushingitb.>cl:UUOthc
rccc,,1:r. Torqilaoelheboltfornmmcdcar-
111dgc:s.forst 1lign1hee,cc1«withlhebolt-
51(,psloland,hokl,nglhcbolt$0thcgwdeptn
331
RighlllndlettwtwaolaModal788Renw,glonremodeledbylhll
&ulhor. Theremodelinginclud8dlhelolofflng:inM&lll!lgachec:kef9d
steelpislolgrip~.reshap.->glhepislolgrip10allmmer..,__f911'1CJV-
inglhlllrootslk,gtwlvell1Ud.plugginglheholeleflbyltllndreln-
ltalinglhllltUdonabandaroondlhebarf91.gi'wlglhlllorendmore
l&pef.refflOllinglhllraisodCOIT'b,S&fldjnglheentlre11ockeurlace
~.,taNlinglhllWOOdandgiving~anoilfirish.andChecl<eringlhll
1)1Stolgrip1no1or,nc1.

--- .......... 400,:

::·::·:1~
........... 700"
·:·: .... 3g
,.,.

boh from rec,:i,'Cf, thenunscm,,• bolt sl«,.·e poeoearedov.11(inthefimdposition).lnlh,s

mthebolthtad,stolheleft.in-icnthebolt
lnlOthe~,u.
Todtsassanbltthebobpnx«d,..follows:
,mhlhr::boltmthe~•w.locked,.'ithlhe
hlr,dledcM11andcocked.lRSlef1acbic-fiwng
J>111,driftorAllen,.nnchthrooghbolhholes
mtheboltlkc\-r.Radltbohhandlc.,...,..,...-r
frombol1.Tod1sassc-mblelhefiringmccha-
n,sm further. rcst the firing pin1ipon the
wortbrnch,prcssOO'A11onthcboltslee,..,and
pullout1hepinfiomtheboltsleeve.Wilha
driftpunch,dn,..,outlhepinfromthcoodlflll
p,ca,. Thcmainspringisquitestrong.sobc
carefulwhcnpullingoutthepunchafterlhe
pm ,s removed. ReaMemble in re>'CfX order.
lnre-,biinglhefiringmcchamsminthe
boh.tum,tm,..firas11willgo.rcmo,-rlhe
pm, then turn the bolt slee~e back ID'ltal !he
cod:,ngcammu111thesha1Jowno1ehonlhe
~ofthebolt.Theboltcanlhcnbc,119C11ed
INO!herccei,'Cf iflhe flfingp,n andcockina
case, use • squarc<dged cool and pull the
cockmgpieceback.turninglhebol1slee,..,.i
Lhesametime,untillheoockingpi-cttrcstsin
Lhe!hallownotch
Thcboltheadoftherimrncdcanridgcbolt
canbcremovedbydrivingowlhebohbody
CfflM-ptnandpuHinglheboltheadfiomlhe
bohbody.This ...,11re~thelonjex111M;1or.
Thetjcaorofbolhbolttypncanbcrernoved
bydn,·,ngoutlhetjcaorpin.Dono1rerno',-r
therimlessatnctorc:xo:p:tortplaceabro-
kcnonc. Rano>-rotbyoi,,ng<JU1theexnc-
n,.,_
ToltfflO\-'et.relandactaonfiomtheSIOCk.

332
firsttakeoutthcmagazine,thenrumoutthc
from and rearguard screws. Tumoul thc
wood screw from lriggC'I' guardlmaga,:ine
plateandthcpla1ecanbc"'"'°'-edfromstock.
Toreroo,·ethettiggcrmechanism.loosenthc
lockscrewinfrontofthehousinganddri,1:
outthclrigger-housingpin.Donotdisassem-
blethelriggermechanism unless ii's rcally
necessary.andthenwilhcare.Thel>arrclis
scrcwedvaytightlyintothcrctti•1'1,andit
shouldnocbcrcmovedunlessyouhavethe
properharrelviseandactionwrenchtodoi!
Todisassemblethemagazir,e.pressthen:ar
ofthc follov,..,.,.&:r.,.11 farcnoughsothcfront
cndslipsout,thenpullthefollowC'l'ootln
reas.sembling.theendsofthefollov.1'1spring
shouldbctowardthefrontofthemagazir,ebox.
CIIIIIIIIIIIMM788
Nosignifican1changcshavcbccnmadein
thcRcming!OnMode1788actionsinceitwas
introdUCOO.Themos!IIOliccablcchangemade
wasinthesmck.lhistakingpla«:inl980
Thechangeinthcstockwasaminorone-
itwasmadeabitfullcrinthcpismlgriparea
andarouJldthcactionandmagazine.!nmy
,·icwthcfullcrpistolgripwasnoimprove-
men!,butbymakinglheswckdecperbelow
thcaction Remingtooputthemagazineplate
flushinthestock.andlhis.,.-asanimprovc-
!nl980.anewc:aliberwasaddedandsome
c:alibersdroppcd.ThenewRemingionccnter-
firccalibc-rforwhichthe M788 wascham-
beredwasthe7mm-08. ltsoriginisthe308
caseneckeddownmholdaslal\dard7mm
(.2841bullt1.Thismakesfoorstandardfac-
,orycanridgesthatarebasedonthc308case.
theO!hcrsbeingthe24J.308and358
When last made, the RC111ingion 788 "-as
chambered for the following: 223,22-250,
243.7mm--08and308.TheliS1ofcahbersfor
the 788 was a1 one time longer than lhis,
includingfourchambcringslha1havebeen
dropped.Theyarethe222,222Magnum,30-
30and44Magnum.
AnO!hcrchangeinthcM788lha1occumd
in 1980was in1hebarrcl length. The 788
madeinthe22Jand22-2:50c:alibershasa24N
bam,l,whilethcbam!lisonlyl8.5Nlongf<lf
theothcrcalibers.Thesborl-barreledmodel
rouldbecalledthccatbinemodel
TheReming1onM788in223-caliberis
wrypopularinmysectionofthccountry
with varrnin! and peh hunters. For !hiJ
work,theM788andthc223isafinccom-
bination
Abou! 19S4.Remingtonannouncedthcy
wcrcdroppinglhcMode1788fromproduc-
tion.
333
1.~
Model seven
IF vouHUITT,.·hitclaildttrwhcrcthcrov-
crislhicl:andthcgoingroughandsnapshots
an:lherule,andifyoulike)tlllrrifletobca
bolt.cb011.lhrnyouprobllblywilllikeRcm-
"'gton'5 Modo:l Sa·en carbine. Youmi&t,1
eo.'ffldC'cldeaflcrhandlingillol'lhcfirsttimc
Qrv,~1110your$1nild,:rand.sighting
1~that11islheidealgunfurdtisspon. ltslig!W-
ncssand~v,illimpr=y<1U,and10
"'-·
,.iJ],is~.becausieilisave,yneatlil-
Rerninglonhasbeenmakingsponingrifles
fora ,·cry long 1irne. and throughout these
y=sthcyhavcproduccdmanycarbinesfor
thcdccrandblackbcarhuntcr.Oneofthccar-
liestwas ■ 44-40singlcshotha.scdonarolli"i
block1c11on.O!hcnfollo"'edonOlhertypes
o f ~ Thcn=w=a,;oupleofrncdium-
andhi~slidellC00'1carbincs,oncof
lhnn~furthc35Rcming1on.a,-cry
popularcartndgewithdttrhunterS11one
1~. A1 tunes Rcrning10n also made some
shon-blrrelednflesonboltllCUORS,bulmaa
334
oftlw:mw=~lylheregularsponingrifk
wilhtheblrrclshonentd.andlhcSJelheycallcd
catbines. Noc1oolongago Remi11JjtOnmadc
twoboh...aK)llcarbinesofunusualdesijpland
appcarance.Theywm:thcModels600,and
660andlhcirlook!ltool:alotofgeninauscd
to.lnev..rdidaeiU5edwlhem.lthougl,llhey
wcreugly. l'mlajls10didalotofochcrshool-
en,,bccauselheydidno1suni,selor,-crylon&,
ThmCllllCtheModelSc>mRffltin&lon'slll-
cst,and,nmyopinion.theirbe:st,:-,'Cf,ThtS
11mclheydesip,editiobcacutnn..and
dcslgncditlOkdandfcdlikcarif\e.R,:m.
mp.,ndidafinejobofiL
In 1948Remmgtoointroduccdarumboh
,w;uon11,·hichpn>•ocdsoSUC<:c$0ifuli1i$51i11
bcingw.ed1oday.ThcfirstrineRemington
builtonit"1lllthcModcl72LWJwfollo""Cd
wasasuocessionofmanydiffercntcalibcr,,
stylc&,andtypesofriHesbuil1oni1,including
theM722,700,600.660andlhe4()..Xse,in,
~ac1ionsYBricdinminordetailsbul1hc:
basic; m.:ci>'CI', boll and trigger design
remained almosc the same. Some nil ii the
stronacstlumbohac1ion ~ Anyway, it 11
th:buicarnondesia,,lha1Rcminp,ndM)fe
IOUICforthcirModclSe-,"fflcarbine.
HerelheModelSWer'lcarbineill.i,own
.,.,_
littedwilhaleupoldhuoting~ln
Leupoldmounts,andwrthalea1hefcar-
........
The Rcming1<m Model Seven is an
cx1rcmclycompac1andligh1wcigh1hun1ing
carbinc. 11 has a roond ~ bam:I IU" in
lc:np, wilha muzzle iliameterofonly .560".
S=wedtothcbam:lisaramp from sight
(imo,.hic;hisoovttailcdabeadsight)..d_,
open rear si&ti1 ,,,hich is adJustabk for
"'indagcillidcle>'lliM.Opensighl~is
12.'15".Ernpyand ..,lhoul,Jing.11 .."agh,
IJJPl'OXomalCly6.2Spounds.O,.ffllllc:np,is
)7,625".Thc~~has
• h,nged floorplatdtrigger guard made of
Sl«l.Thcsafctyisloc:atedbchindthcbolt
handleanditlocksoolythesear.hhasas.u,.
gk-51aFadjust1bletrigger,andthem.:ci\'Ct'
isdrill<:d and tapped forso;opcmounlS, All
cxposcdmctalpartsarcpolishcdandblucd
cxccpithcbol~whi<:hisbrighl.
MlltlcofAmcricanwalnut.thc5IOCll:isfi1-
IC'tlwilh1tolidrubbttbuttpad.blackplaslic
pi$&Olpipcap..t~dctadiablcslingsvi1v•
clsiuds..Lengthofpullisl3.375"and~
of~&omtriggeris 15.75".AIUboMd
JChnabc:lfuushcsoffthcnpofth:mnd.A
1"""""4lffllllllllloflascr.aachecbrinflisCU1
inlolhcgnwingarcas. ThcSl0Ctlllll1scmi-
pl$11finish.and1hc:=·=·~dimcnsionsof
the-.:kan:ink«pingwilhthcmu11rrundi-
lllCIISIORIOfthcbam:I.Rerninp.mmokcstlus
carbine in calibm 17 Rem., 6mm Rem .. 223,
243,7mmand308.
.__
As mentioned earlier. the Remington
ModelSevcnactionisahybridbetwecntM
M600 and IM M700. It could 111') ~
dcscribcdas1oompadM700BDLh11u
compac1ui1canbcmadcand$lillKCcp1
('-l>ow)TlleRemingtonModelSevenca.-
t.ne. llhuanl8.5"barrelandweigt'laonly
IIOOJl8.25pot.nds.

the308cartridgeandhavcitlookthewaya
tumbol!acrionisexpcc1edtolook.l1hasall
thegoodlooksoftheM700BDL.andoone
of the pushed-in-from-behind look of the
M600
TherecciveroftheSe,·enisapproximate-
ly7.62S"longand l.360"indiametcr,being
ma.::hinedfiomasinglepieceofsteeltubing
Al first glance it appears 10 be a M600
reccivcrwithatangaddedtoit.Upfi-ont,1hc
barrelisthreadedintothem:civer,a11dthe
scparaten:roillugisheldbetweenthcharrel
andthereceiver.Thcfaceofthebarrelis
reccssedtoac:cq,tthehcadofthebolt.lnsidc
th<, m:eiver, twin locking shoulders and
lockinglugracewaysaremachinedforpas-
sagcofthedualopposedsolidlockinglugs
onthebolt.Allofthis-rceoillug,reccssed
bre«hinganddualopposedlockinglugs------
wasusedoriginallyontheM72l.Theload-
inglcjectionponrescmblcstha1oftheM600
TheMooelSevtlnaction-lightinweight,
compactstroogandsa!a
recei,..,r,beingnarrowerthantheponinthe
M700recciver.
At the rear of the rc,:eiver a notch is
machinedtoac:Ccp11hcrootofthebohhan-
dk.and rhisscrvcsas 111<, safo1yorthird
lockinglugforthebolt.Thclopofthc
receiverringisroundwhilcthe1opof1hc
bridgeisflanened.thisbeingsimilar1othe
M722wi1htheonlydifTerenccbeingtha1the
Model Seven bridge is very shon. Two
scopc-mountingholcsaredri!ledandtapped
intherecei,·erring.bu1onlyoncisprovided
inthebridge
Exccptthatilisshoncr,thcbohoflhe
Sevcniscsscntiallythcsameasoriginally
usedinthcM722,withrcccssedboltfacc,
intcmalringc,rractor,plunger-lypecjecror.
1winopposcdlockinglugs,boltsleevc.eock-
ingpiece,strikerandmainspring. Thcbolt
sleeveisflaltenedonthcrightsidetoclear
1hesafety,andthebo!thandlcshankwi1hi1S
off-roundbohhandlcknobissweplbatk
Thereisagas,"Cfllholcbeiwecnthelocking
lugsontheleftsideoftheboltlOcmitgas
intotheleftlockinglugracewayshouldany
gascse-n1ertheboltdue1oarupturedprimer.
Aholcintherightsidcofthereceivcrring
willtakccan:ofanygasesthatesc.apcinthal
direction.
The trigg<"rmechanism is probably the
same one Remington uses in their M700-il
isamechanism!hathasprovedtobereliablc
incveryway. ltisanachedtothebottomof
1here~ivcrby1wocrosspins.Therearc
threeadjustmcn1scrcwsforthe1riggcr.but
thescha,·cbcenpropcrlysctandsealedat
1hefac1ory.MyModclSe,·enhasatriggcr
pullof4.5-5pounds.
Thcsafetyonthecarbine isbuiltintolhc
triggermechanism.Thebunontoopera1ci1is
wellpositionedabo\.'Cthestocklinesothatit
iseasilymanipulated,andthcreiscnough
335

movemen110telllhethooterlhatitlwbeen
movcd.Tippedback.tht-safdylocl<sonlythc-
--NoprovisionismadcfortheAfetyto
lockthc-bollanditisno11silmlafe1y.
The boh-SU>p iia lc,·cr fined imo 1
groo,·cintherearkftoftheroccwcr.llis
${1n11ilfflS1oncdandp1vouon1p1n.w1th
it1frontmdpro~ting1n1olhclcftlocking
lugraccway.Avcrticalslid,naarmmoun1-
336
edonlhc1nggcrhousinghasabu11onloc•1-
edin fron1ofthc:lriggcrthatprov1des1hc
mnns t o ~ " the bolt-stop to =vc
thebolt.
n,,:map,:me,.l'llopcningin1hcbooon>
of1hcrtcc1,-cr11mac:funed.lcavuiicartrid&e
gu1(kllpsonbodi1idel1ohold1Nggcrw
columnofcartndacsmthemaganne.andto
guidethemsinglyintothechambcr.
l'olitiontd111thebonomoftherccei,-eris1
tlunshcdsieel hoxo,shcl!tocomaindiccar-
lridgcs. J1 hassmooth sides. whi<:h means it
lwnoprovisionstoholdlhecaroidgesrear-
wardstopm'ffltbullct110i1C'damagcwhmlhc
rif\cisfircd.&lowthisboxandinlcmdinto
1hcbonomoflheS10Ck1slhetnggerguard
,.,thhingedlloo!plalc.Thescp11<t5arelight-
weight we1....i .....,..., ,.-id, the !leJllr3IC
tngg,erguardbowbanalhehca\'icstpal1ofit.
TwoguardKl'C"'S1hroupholc:smeac:hcnd
of,tandthroughlhestock.andthrcadinginto
thercccivcr.holdthebarrclandacrioninthc-
""''
Thcfollowcris1bright11c<:1s1amping.l1
fiuo,·cr~endof1n:gularW-shapcdfol-
lowcr spring. and the other end ofttus
springisfittedingroo,,nmthelloofplatc.
Thcf\oorplatc.,.·hich11hin&cdtolhe,·cry
frontendofthclriagcrguard.islocked
dOSNlbyaspring-attuatedlatchbuiltinlO
1heguard.Thcfron1cndof1hcfloorplatc
covcrsthcfronlguanlscn:w.Thefrontmd
-
of the trigger guard rcsu against a steel
blockinlcttedintolhcstock.Allpansofthc
actionare mlldeofsicclandmadeaslight
,nwcightaspractic1blc.
MyRemingtonSc,·cn iimarltcdasfol-
lows:Slampcdortthekftsidcoftherccciv-
cr,s:
MODEL SEVEN
Thcserialnwnbcri1stampcdonthclcft
sideofthen:cci=ring.e«,hl:donthebonom
of1hcholtbodyandon1hclriggerhousing.h
ispn:fi."<edby1hcdi&Jts76.0ntheleftsideof
lhcbarn:li,-..pcd:
WARNING-READ INSTAUCTION
BOOK FOR SAFE OPERATION-
FREE FROM ..... REMINGTON ARMS
COOP ANY, INC. IUON, N.Y. U.SA ·••··
Thecalibcrdcsigna1,on1sstampcdto1hc
rigl11oflhe abovctw0linc:1.
 -
Ovcrthcyearslhavccnjoyronopastimc
morclhanthconcofremodelingnflcs.ln
m:allingsomc:ofthemanynflcslmnod-
ckd, it KffllS l g01 thc ffll)Sl .sa11sfaction
fiunain,'fflingaclumsymilrlar)'rilkmtoa
h&Jtr,,~ghtsponer. l oftcn ..'ffltlOCXtt=ICS
m1n1m1,1111 proportions. Although l nc,·er
huntedbtap,r,e.lne>·erthdcssmadcup
fincMl903Sprinaficld111:1KN1.andafcath..
erwcight2HRobcruonaMauseraction,
10oomeup,.•ithlhiswc1ghtttduct1011.To lightv,'C'lghtrillaforlhis$p011. ~ ....,, foranielopc. Never once did I makconclO
.,;hlC\l'l•;hatJ.,...,ucd,loflmmrnmcdmet- hghtweightrnooniamritlein270cahbcnlw hghl, trim and com~t as the: Remington
llfi'omtMac:tion,1umcddownandsh0!1- I though• idf:al forthcgoatand5/ieephwm:r. Model 5e>'Ul.althou&h I came close. In this
medthebam:l,andlhens1ockcdthcriflcm a 7-pound, open-sighted 338 Magnum on a rifle Remington did what I often strived for,

337
 LelHlde Yiewol l;l,e ~ Model Seven Clllbine
d'l311s.1doerriflefu-thedoerhuntt,r,1nfle
ofminimumwcightandsize,andarifled'l31
looksandhandleslikearifleshoold.lnthc
Mode! &\'Cfl, ReminglOO has come very
closetornaki111theidealbolt-11Ctiondcer
rifle.
llikcthenfle,bullwouldlikc:itevmbcl:-
!erifitwouldbemade1botd1fferemly.To
me, an 18.5" ban-el looks AWcd off; I would
lla,-emadeitwitha2f1'bam=l,orperhapsan
inchorKJlonger.Nu~lwouldhaveplaccd
them.,nl$l1"1$Wivelonthe~laheadof
thefortnd1,p11,'hefeitbelonp,fitisnoll0
inlcrfcrc",lhtheshooler.lhaYCneverbccn
tookcoiaboldhingedfloorplaccs,butmaybe
I would chan111= my mind if I were a deer
hunter. JI.ISl.thesanw:,thetrigg("fguan:land
theh,ngcdfloorplaleontheSe,.ffllookablt
onlhcpuny$idetome.Thcf\onrplalepro-
j«tsbelowlhcsurfaceofthestocke,·m
lhough1hestockcouldha,·ebccnmadcs.>
tha1i1wouklbeflu,;h.La,;ki1111ha1,Jwould
~'alltcdtheedgffofthetloorpbuc
Olberthantheabo>-e.l,;erymuchlikethe
Model&vm.llikelhecompxtn,e5$oflhc
•ction,thcuseandsmoolhncssbywhich
thcboltcanbeoperatcd,the$hapeandstylc
ofthebolthandle,thcplacanentandlllO\-e-
mmtoflheAfery.thcsitcandix,n1ourof
thcJJ.m:landlhcslghtsmountcdon,1.
338
Abo,.-eall.llikethe"'llnutstodr.,especially
1heshapc,si1.eands1yli111ofit.Thcpistol
&fipisperfec1,andlheruhberbu11pad,pis1ol
gripcapandthef°"'ndschnabel1rt1omy
liking.Thed•cck~gisabogood.lwould
bke10ha,'l:theswfaa:oftheSIOcltsanded
IOll>C"hatmon:levclandadullcrlin,sh,but
01her11Lan1h11.1ndtheplaccmentofthe
fro111sli111swivclstud,lthink1h1tstockisa
pcrfec1onefor1shon-barrelcdligh1Weight
carl>ine.
My Rcm1ngton Model &,·,m II cham-
bered for the 7mm-08 cannd&e, "·hich
Remington introduced in 1979. As 1he
namesuggests.lhiscartridgeisof7mmcal-
1ber(.283~bulle1 diameter) and is based on
thc 308 cartnd~ case. It thus b«omcs the
founh commercial canridge ba~ on ibc
casc,theothenbemgthc2<13,308,andlhc
358.Ballistic11ly,1he7mm-08ishnledif-
fcren1fro1111hc9().year-old7x57mmMau-
ltshouklpro,·ctobeancxccllentchoice
forthcdeerhunter.ll>tdcerhun1nw,llcer-
wnlyfindthcModelSe,.fflallandygun10
tal:cin101hef1eld,andthe7mm-08should
prm·eidealto1akedeer-,izegamc:.B«ausc
thiscarbinchas averyshol-lbarrclandis
•·l'f)'light.youcanupectittohl,·eoonsid-
enble recoil and muulc: blast m calibers
7mm-08and30&. Youprobably,."On"lno.
11«1h.Jstoomuchwhmlinn1a1game,butl
canassureyou1hatyouwi!!takenotcofi1
whcn sighting-inthiscarbinc.Acouplcof
cxpcriencedshoolcrsleslcdmycarbUle.Fir-
ins Remington ammumtion loaded wnh
140-p,un. sofl-pmn1bullets,anddespne
,·cryunpleasantmuzzlcblaslandreooil,thcy
oouldkeepmostshotsw1thina1.5"circleat
---
100yards.That'svcry11oodaccuracy,but
ahootinglhiscarbine fromabmchrest was
rofim.
Dcsigning and inlroducing the walnu1-
stockcdMO<lel&,'Cllcarl>inewasRcming-
ton'scntryimothe lonJ-dormant field of
cm1erfiretumboltcarbinc:s. Theydidagood
j0bofrttoo.,.,,ththcresuhsbe1nglhllthcy
introduccdfourmoreoflhcselightand
shon-barrckJ rincs. I have a ,·cry high
reJIMdforwalnutasastockwood. Forthi•
purposcithasnocqual.l1islllld11ionalandl
like trad,t,onal nfle,. Bui olhen ics, u.di-
uon11l-mindcd tlian l sccm lured to I ncw
stock m.a1erial.and1hreeof1headdmonal
cropofModel&vcnshavcstocboflhis
ma1crial. The material'/ Why it's the so-
Clllledhigh-techmanufactun:dsynthcticthat
IS mostly fibcTpast. ,nphitc and Olher $UCh
non-wood material.
 Seven Carbine & Model 700 Mountain R1lle

An11tractiv9albeil&Ubduedschnabellorend
!ipacloml 1h11 Model Seven slock, gMng 1he
gunaracylook.Checkeringlaculbyalaser.

AllO lrldmonal with me an: blued steel
nw:uilpans,b\ltintwoorlh=ofthelaier
ModelScvengW1SRemingt0nusesilainlcss
stccl.Mos1of1hcriflcmanufac1urcrsh.avc
on.ormcnoftheirrifleswithharrclsmade
ofstainlcssstecl,somchavcthcrecciven
andboltsal110madeofthissiccl,andsome
cvenhlvcallthomct.alpansmadeof itA
nflemadempartormtirelyofsaainlcssscccl
"llhlhcsepamkftbright appea.lstoalolof
nl\c:buyers.lh:m,noquarrel"ithsu,inless
Sl«linrillcs.butlwouklmuchprcferitbe
finishc:d to We away ill! brilliance. Some
nnes an: bemg finished this ,.,.,.y. But sc-i-
cncc is wicd 10 find I prac1ital mcthod 10
putanhoncSMo,aosJtgunblucfmishduecl-
lyonstamlcssSlccl.
Follow1ng1n:thefO\lraddi1ional Model
Scvcnnflcsaslis1cdinthc 1995G111<D,-
Thc lowest cost Model Seven is the
YoulhRlfle.l1hashardwoodstockstaiocd
tolookhkewalnutandisnotchcckcrcd,
bu1i1fincdwi1harubber bunpadandsling
s"wclilllds.llismadewithablindrnaga-
zjn,:andhasalengthofpullof l 21/,0~.0th-
erv.'1sc:,1111hesarroeastheoriginatModel
Sc,·cnp1ctum:l,tthcbegiMingofth1s
chap1er. h,sdcs1gncdespeci11lyforthc-
you1hful hunter. A•·ailablc in 243. 6mm
Rem, •nd 7mm-08 c•libers, it was intro-
duud ,n 1993.
Anotherrifleisthc- Modtl Sc, ·uSS.ln
1994, Remington<;Qmbinedthea,a:uracyand
<;QmpactnessoftheModelSevcnwilhtheall-
wcathcrdurabilityofa416-gradc:stainlcss
510elt.uKlcdactionandsyntheuestock.Thc:
ncw20"t.uKJkecps1hcO\lft'IJl"'Cightof1hc
guna1just61/•lbs.Thc:unbluedmetolwork
hu1AtinfirushthalW()fl'treflectlight.and
theMotkhasadassitfon:ndprofilew,tha
black. lellual finish. A,olilable m 243 Wm..
7mm-08 Rem. and 308 Win. lnlJ'Odu,ml m
'"'·
Thc:d11ninfkisthc Modt1 ~·tn CYs!om
KS. Similar to the standard Model Seven
Heep:itha$1CU$Wn1finishcdstockoflight-
wcigh1Kevlararamidfiber,andischambeml
for 223 Rem., 7mm--08 . 308. 35 Rem. and
3S0 Rcm.Mag.Bam:11engthis20"',"'<:ight
5lf,lb6. lt oomes"ithironsightsandiiidrilkd
and tapped for ,cope mounting. The: 35 Rem·
ington11anoldandonce,'n)'popular"'l111e-
taildc,:rcartridge.hisaseffcctivcl0day11111
"'urea,sa,o. Manydc,:rhun1tJS"'illwcl-
C0111Cthis~inthisrifle.lnln)dJCC!d
1111987.
ThclucModclSc'"cn.andthconel
wouldcboos.e ,fl "'aJ'ltedaoolhc-r Model
Seven, is thc Modtl Sen n C u,iom M S
Rln t. 11 isusembledin Remington's Cus-
tom Gun Shop. Thiscompactrifleisbuilt
arounda20"'CustomShopbarrel fitted to
theModclSc,·enaction.andbcddedina
da"ic, satin.finished, full-length Mann-
lichcr-style st0ek. The sclect hani"'oods
havebcenchosenforthcirdear~n,and
P"=Siun:•lamin.aied for the Wfflilh and
d11ncns1onalsubilil)'deman<ledofthi1
cks1gn.Thcbunstockfea1ures1$U1Ughl
comb,.·,thnisedchttkpieccand lMblack
l\lbber=oilP"d.ChcckcringOQthcplStOI
p,pandfon:ndisan201mesiothcinchl"or
goodcontrol.Thefi'ontofthccarbincisfi,..
ishcdoffwithastcelMannhcher-Sl)'le~
endcap,andslingswivelsiudsan:1upplied
fon:andaf\.ThcMod<ISevenMSitfur•
nishcdwithahoodedbladefioolsighi.alld
anadjustableramprearsight.Them:eivcri1
drill~ and tapped for scope mounlJ. Metal
finishisRemingeoo·straditionalhigh•pOlish
bluc.TheModelSevenisavailablcinelevcn
short-actioncalibersincluding222 Rem.,
223. 22-250, 243, 6mm Rem., 7mm-08
Rem., 308. 3SO Rem. Mag. Calibers 2SO
Sa,-.ge.257Robcrts.and35 Rem.av&llable
oospccialorder.Jtwasinll'Oduc:edinl993.

stylesofsport1ngriflesbasedoo1h<basic Gencnl "'IS talking about thc Remington

2. llllnqlon's Model
700 Mtlll1lllln Rllle
Tho RcmingtonM700Moumainriflc is
jusl oneofthcmanymodels.typesand
M700 ac11on. Like all lhe others. it hu an
action pro,·en by time. General Julian
flaichcr.inanarticlcintheAmericunRijlc•
man, de$Cribed 1hisactionasperhapslhc
strongel! and safest one ever made. The
Mode1721.anditislhatac-tionlhat111he
granddaddyofcheMode1700accion. lnall
1ha11imetheonlymajorchangcmadcfrorn
1hcM72li1inlhecrigger1[111rdand floor-
plateuni1. Thcboh.firingm«hanismand

TlleModel700Rerrw,glOnMountuoRilleit$hownherereadylObe..::oped,
Wl\hMsoope~weq>IIS.75bl.h-~oll8f9dort,/in270,280and
30.(l6caliber$. lnoneollheseealiben,andlinedwi!halightweighl!Sxor!Sx
soope.~itanidullflletorlheaheepandll()llthun\or.

339
tteei .. eran, li11lechanac,i fromthconJinal
M72l.
lfyouhaYe1101forg0t!Cflfromrcading
1booltheM72l.!hebolt,asinalliheOthers.
,,ofthrcc•piecc rons=ion, The three
pitcuan:!hebolthandk,bollbodyandthc
bol1hud.andtheya11:10prccisclymade.
finedandsih·er~togeth,:rtha1unless
youdidootknowthisfact.youvrouldha,·ea
difficulttimefindingthejo1n11. The only
340
-nlhatilp111on!hesejoin1Sislhatofthe
bohllandlc:.and,nmyguramithmsexl'ffl•
mcc ,..,Jrlung on I large number of these
Rcmi11&1onrifkslha,-eonlye,-er11tt11one
inwhichihebolthandlecameoff.Theonly
rcasontha1ihebolthandledidcomc:offwas
1hatatoo-ho1handloadfroicthcbol1,and
thcowncruscdasizablestickohtovewood
oniheboltinhiseffontoopcnit
Aboutiheonlyoihercriticismlha,-.,~
aboutthcactionisofthcextrac:1or.Tolx
S111"C.iti11nthersmallishprantoplaysuch
animp0111ntrole.butbyCicorEe,11""1fb.l
ha,-eonly,:,,-er11:placedone.andtha1was
b«:auselbroketheoriginaloneonremovu,g
itli'omthebolt
The M721 anditsoffspringh1vcbcen
used.andslillan:beingusedforcverything
fromthc222toihelafgerpower-packslikc
!he300WeatherbyMagnum.45&Winc:ha-
tcr Magnum and the latC'SI rage. the 416
Rcmon&10n.
Whm I acquired my M700 Mountain
nfle1twu1vailablc:only inthc25-06.270
Winchestcr.280 Rcmingtonandlhcever•
popular 30·06. Later. additional calil,ers
wcn:llddcdincludingthc243.257Robcrts,
7d7, 7mm--03 and 308. My Mountain Rine
ischamberedfor1hc30-06. Thisrinehasa
slender22"'bam:lhavingamuzzledi.ameler
of.590". lt hasnoopcnsighlS-itismadc
for!COpCiueonly.Thilriflehasthcusual
and l1n,e.provm fflgger and Afety m«ha•
n1un ....·hic:hdid001nocdanyfunhcrldjust-
rncntthanthcfactof)'adjustmcn1jOb.The
safety locks the scar l3lhcr than the trigger,
andthi1i1,si1shouldbe.Mynnchasa
walnul ~lock, and i,s forend is 1x<kLc:d to put
SOIIXllp"'8fdtcn5tononthebam,1.]dollOI
muchliketheatam~Slceltriggerguanl
andlloorplatc,butthcywilldci.
I acquired my Mountain Rifle llOl long
aftergeuingmyMo,,kl~andonelhingl
001iced"'UiheMounta111Rinchasananli•
bindbohfcatun:"hilc:thcMoo.klSe>ffldid
nDlhavc it. A numberofmodemboh•action
riflesha,·cthisfeatun:.andJOmCha,-eu,e,dit
mu,chlongerlhanRcmington.Whatthisanti•
bindfeatun:a.insi5t!lofisanailonlhcinsidc
ofthcrightrtaiver,...Jlthllextcndsalrm$
!he length of the =ewer. To oompkte the
anli~featun:.1pocr.-e11cutimo!he,w,I
lockinglugioslidco..-erandalongthisrail.
Tiusfearun:is1smallthUl3andlomnD1surc
justhowmuchgooditdocs.butitseems1obe
afcall!ll:thatshoOtmbelic,·cabolt-actioo
riflcshouldhavc
Of roursc. the stock oo my Mountain Rifle
IS"'alnut.lwauldha,-enoothcr. lnkecpu,g
with the slmder baml. the stock is 1l10 of
ban:minimumdlltlC'IISiontforahigh-pow·
~rifle. Thilmdudcsthcbuttstock.p,5101
gnpandformd. l ratherlikciLThccombhas
almostnodrop.andlfwilgoodbecausclhat
willA:ducetheeffcctofrccoilonlhcshoot-
er·sfacc.ltisfiltcdwith a roond-«lged..Eng•
lish-siylerubberbuttpadthatrescmblcsa
lcathcrco-."tmione.Thcreisasmallishchcck·
piccc,butqui1c1bltofl(IO(lchederingon
bod!thepiSIOlgnpandformd.halsofeatun:s
1bbckforcndtip.,.;lpillolpipcap.ltisalso
lil!CdwithslingrwwelJIUdl.. Fortl>09e ..m
drmandthestronp.,.;lmostWQ!hcr.f'CSis..
tantstocks.Rcmingtonhaslhisrifleavailable
withasynthericS1ock. Rcrningtondcsignated
thisri0castheMode1700CustomKSMour,.
tain Rifle. 11 has a stock finished with a
Kcvlar-reinfocoo:lrcsinsyntheric.lthasa24~
~l.Weightis6!bs.6oz.l1isalsoavail-
ablcinright-orlcft-handvcrsions..Thismod-
clhasagrea1arrayofcaliberstod10000from.
including 270 Win., 280 Rem., 30-06, 7mm
Rem. Mag.. 300 Win. Mag., 300 Weatherby
Mag .. 35 Whi:len. 338 Win. Mag., 8mm Rem.
Mag., and ns H&H. This model was intro-
du«d in !986. I would choose 1hissmck
myselfiflevcrwenlonancxpcnsi,·e big
gamehun1 in !he far north country, and I
""O\l.ldalsochoosethattheriflcbcchambcrcd
forthe30-06cartridge.
I moun1eda WeaverK.ti scope on my
M700Mountain Rifle using Redfield Jr.
mounts. Then. using some old military Na-
tional Match ammunitioo. I had two shoot·
ers1cs11heriflefrombcnchrestoveral00-
yardrange. Thcriflceminedaverysharp
reponandasharperrecoil,butbeingsea•
sonedshootcrs,theyobjcctedonlyrni!dly.
Andthere$Ults?Afterthetwentyshotswe1'C
fired.cachshooterpresentcdmcwilhtwo
five-shotgroupsofwelllcssthanminute-of-
anglc.Tha1,myfricnd,speakswclloflheri-
fle.calibcrandshoolcrs
341
A FTER MAKING A grea1 many P-14
EnfieldsforGrcatBritain.andover a half-
million 1917 Enficldsforthe U.S .. from
1915 lO 1!J!8. it may be uid that Reming-
ton knew how to make these rifles. for by
theendof l9181hcywen:rumingthcmout
atarateofabow4000perday. Whcnthe
cootrac1tforthcserifles,.·erccanceled-
the Brmsh ,;onuxt in June. 1917, and the
U.S. con1rac1 ,n No,·emtM:r, 191S-thc
many mach1nc,s Remington had mak1na
thesenfleswercleflidle.Theywen:also
lcflholding1hu&('in,-.ntoryofcomple1ely
andsem,-finishedpans,probablyenoughto
mal:cupmanymorethousandsofrifles.To
rccoupsomethingfromthisvas1opcr.1tion.
lhcy appm:ntlyde<:idcdtoke<:psomeof
thcsem11chinc$andtoolsand.withthcvas1
s1ockofparuonhand.toproduccaspon-
ingmodc:lbasedonthcl917Enf,cldaction.
Thus it,..'Uthat in 1921 Remington intro-
du«dthcModclJ0high-po-,,-Tn:dsponina
nflc.
What Rcm1ng1on did "-as 10 modify the
1917bam:1andacuonassemblyforspon•
,n,115c:1nd 1henfit1convcntiOR1llight-
"l:1gh1sponcrSlocktoi1.Thcbarrcl.likc
the miln.uy '""" barrel but shoncncd. wu
polishcdandfittcdwithaband-typcfront
siah1basemrc11i nado,·etailbudfrom
sight.
Theaelionwasslimmcdand lightened
bymi llinfithebridgc1othcf.'lmcdiametcr
as the m:civcr rings and straightenina the
fron1tan1ofd,ctriggcrguard.Fincdwith1
simple=c:ivcrsigh1andsponerSlock.thi1
riflewas1ntrodl>CedutheModcll0 11igh
Po,.·cr,BoltAetion.Spocting Riflc.
ThcM30nfle,..'Ufirstmade,n30--06
only.ltsfirstbarrcl,24"1ong.wasron-
m11rcdandllpeffilJUS1likethem1hwybar,
rd, although ii probably was somewhat
smallcr,ndiamc1crbecauseofpolishm1.
342
Thcstock,ofplainAmericanblackwalnut.
was fined with a curved s1«I buuplatc,
grooved1oprcvemslipping.andhadarc,n.
forcedl0Ctopreventthestockfromsplo1-
1,ng.Thesto<:khad1111 uncappcdhalf•p1SIOI
v,p1nd1slimtapm:dforcnd...·1thfingcr
groovcs,thatendcdinaschnabeltip.ltwas
fittedw,thshn&sW1,·cleymngs,thefront
ooc:\hroughthcl'orcndandlhfeadro,nto1
barrel band. These fint rifles,......, fur•
n,shcd,.·1th1Kcrrscrvi«-typccam-asor
"-c:bslingandopcn-endl"i,·cl boob. The
nflc,..·e1ghcdabout8poundsand,..-as45•
o,·crall,
When first made. thc M30 was also
available in Remington's F Grade. Thi s
riflchadancngravcdaction.finclycheck-
ercJ fancy walnut stock. and a forcign-
mwc: scope in special mounts
ThcMlOactionis.inevcryway,practi-
callyidenticalmthemilitary 1917acnon.
uccptunoccdabovc.Thcdouble-sla&('
m•htarymggcrrno:chanism"-asrcuintd.u
..elluthcbent•backbol!andthc1111fcty.
TIICKt1on.ofro..rse,,.-asmade1ocloscr
10lcrancesthen1hcmihtary1ct1on.and11
,..u,.·cllfin1~.polishcdandbllled.
Rcmmgtonmostlikelymadcthebam:land
actt0nofthewrw:steclsuscdinmakinithe
Ml917nflcs.uwellasgivmgthcsl«ls
the same hcat-trcatmcm. Remington proof-
tcs1cd 1hcsc barrcls and actions wi1h loads
dcvcloping70.000psibreechpressurc.
Thercusiglnusedonthcorigina1M30
ismos1in1crcs1in1. llsbasc.doveta1lcdmto
the1opofthcbridgc.1111glcsupward101he
rcarandisgrocwcdtoac.:ep11shde"·,1h111
intcgralpcepdisc. Elcva1ionchangcsar-c:
made by movmg the slide 10 the rear. A
spnnfi•loaded scr-c:wplungerlhrough the
basceng1ges1nnotc:hesinthebottomof
theslide;bydepress1nglhispl11111cr10thc
nght,thcshde,;anbemovcd.An~monal
lockscrcwin1hcslidccantM:tigh1cncd10
Jc:curc1heslidee,·enif1heplungerisdc•
preued.Windageadjusunentwuobtamcd
bydrivmg!hect1tircsighttoc1thcrsidein
11$do,·e11ilslot.Thissightwusoond1s-
con1mucd,1flcrwhich1hcnflcs"·ercfittcJ
,.,th111open s1ghtdm-c:tailedinmthebarrcl
"'""
After making the MlO for a few years,
Rcm,nam,,madcsomechanges.lisonginal
Pampystockwasimpro-,·edbyon11u1ngthc
fingcrgroo,·cs1nthcforcndandmak1ngthe
combab1thighcrandthickcr. Thev,pand
rorcooofthcncwstotkwen:chttkcrcdand
acrossboltaddcdthroughthet1ockto
strengthen the wood around 1he m:oil
shoulder area. By1his1ime. thcnflewas
dubbcdthcModclJ0Express.AModclJ0
Expn,ssCarbinc.with20"bam:l.wasalSQ
introduccd.Upl01'132.bothwerca,-ailablc
only1n30-06caliber
Around 1930.Rcming1onmtroduccdthe
Model lOS.a spec,al 0<tdelu~c ,•crs,onof
the MlO. h ,.·as grca1ly ,mprovcd lhc
Stock was much better designed and
5hapcd.w,th1Sleclshotgun-typt:INUpl1tc.
1fullp1siolgrip withcap, afu llcrandh1gh•
crcombbettcrsu1tcd fortclcscopcs1gh!
use.1ndafullcrforcndwi1harounded11p.
Gripandforcndwcrcchcckercd.Sigh1ton
thc30Swcrethc fine Lyman48recc1vcr
sightandagoldbeadonabandramp basc.
Noforcndbarrclband ....,..uscdonthe24•
bam:1 . Uptol932.thcactionwasthesa.mc
as 1hatontheM30.chambmniWllSOOly
fo,,theJ0-06,andthcdouble-stagemilitary
(Ab<1J9) Remington Model 30fl E~pf9H
"""'"·

triggerandthe .. cock--0n--closing"fcatures
" ·erekcp1.
'"'"-'
Somcimponan1changcswcrcmadcin
the Model 30S from 193210 1933. The
Modcl30riflcwasdesignatcdlhcModcl
JOA Standard. the carbine became 1he
Model30RCarbineandtheModc130Shad
thcword ..Speciar'tackcdtoit.Thcmost
imponamchanges1,,erein1hca<:tions.for
theywerenowmadelocockonlheuplit\or
oprningmotionofthebol1,andthetriggcr
wasaltcn:d1oashon.sing!e-stagepull.
On1h<=J0Aandl0R,thcbam:lbandwas
!l'tained,thcopcnrearsightfinedintoa
do,·ctailslmcutimothcband.Thcf<>Knd-
to-barrcl-band Fastening was eliminated,
ll11dRcmingtondcscribedthisasa"floating
barrel to give maximum accuracy." Finally,
several newcaliberswercaddcd:the30A
ll!ldl0Rwercofferedin25Rcm.,30Rcm,
32 Rem" 35 Rem, 7mm Mauser (7x57)
and30.(16;thcModel30S••,asmadeonly
in 25 Rem., 7mm Mauser and 30-06--------the
25Rem.witha22#barrcl.lnl934,thc257
Robens--·asaddc<ltothe30Slincupofcal-
ibers.11isbehcvedtha1afewofthescrincs
were also chambered forlhe7.65Mauscr
canridg<"ManyofthcMJOrineshadbar·
relswi1havcryshonshouldC1'or!l'inforce-
scction;thatis,theshou!dercon1ourofthe
barrel stancd a i;hon distance from 1hc
receiver.
By 1939.the30Aand30R were avail•
ableonlyin30-06andagainhadabarrcl
bandforanchoringtheopen!l'arsight.The
forendwasnowmadefollerand without
the s,:hnabel tip. All receivers were now
beingtappedforare<:eiversigh1,andthe
30Swasnowlistcdasthe30SL,30SRor
30SX,depcndingonwhethertherinewas
fumishedwitha Lyman,Redfieldorno!l'ar
Remington Model
sighta1 all . The25 Rem.caliber was also
droppedinthcModelJOS
Modcl30and30Sbarrels"·creusual!y
marked thus, in two lines: REMINGTON
ARMS CO., INC., REM INGTON ILION
\\'ORl<S, !LION, N.V. MADt: IN U.S.A.
Or: REMINGTON ARM S COM PAN Y,
INC., SUCCESSOk TO kEMI NGTON
AkMS U.M.C. CO. INC~ kEMI NGTON
!LION WORl<S,N.V. U.S.A.
Theleflsidcoflhere<:eiverringmaybe
marked thus. in two lines: MODEL JOIEX-
PRESS, and 1hc right side 1hus, also in 1"·0
lines: REM INC TONffRADE MARK.
The serial number is stamped on the
receiverring,andthccaliberdesignationis
stampedonthebreechendofthcbarrel.
Jha,·enoideahowmanyofthescrincs
were made, but they were fairly common in
tMJ930s.Mos1ofthcscl'vesccnwerein
30--06or257Robensuliber.!doubtvcry
muchifmanyweremadein30,32or35
Rem.ln1hcpastmanyofthescrineswere
f<'Chambe..,d. For example, the 25 Rem
rincs--·ell'oflenrechambered for the 250.
3000Savageor257Robens,the257
Robens to the 25 Nicdner (25-06) or to
some wildcat 25 Magnum, the JO Rem. to
300Savageor30-06.1he35 Rcm.1035
Whelen.and the 30-%tothe300H&H
Magnum . lnmos1ofthescrechambcrings.
somemagazineandbol1•headahcra1ions
""C«'alsooecessarytocffectproperconvcr·
ModclJOandlOS Reming1onrinesare
nottoocornmon1oday,andcollec1orsare
beginningto1akenoteofthem.llowever,
onlyrinesincntirclyorisinaland,·cry
good condi1ion will have any presem or
future collector value. Those rines 1ha1
don'tmtttsochcondi1ioru;willcontinue10
bebought,sold,!radedand!l'modcleduntil
tbey'll'n.iinedorwomou1.
I I 'I
AllModelJOReming1onrinesweredis-
con1inucdby 1941.replacedby1hcModcl
720Remington
Tlll .......... 720
ThcM720 Remington rine is notwe!I
known today. ln1roduccd al the sum of
WWIL it was continuously listed umil
1947, but was probably made in limited
numbers1hcfirstycarorso. h was, most
likely.notavailableatallduringlhcwar
years.AsthelOShadbecnanimpro,·=nt
over 1he early M30, the 720 was an
improved30S. The"improvemcms""·e«'
no1iceablcandReming1onad,•enisedthese
tobe:l)Superiorstockdesignofdense
walnut having a nuted comb, full pistol
grip. slimmer middle section, and semi-
beavcnai! forend, with grip and forend
checkered:2)Guidcribonthcbolt10pll'-
vembinding.forsmoo1hcrandeasierbol1
opcration:l)lmpro,·edbolthandlcshapc:
4) Shon,fastfiring-pintra,·el:and5)
Quick-releascnoorplate
Uptothetimeofthiswriting,lha,·eyel
to see a specimen of the Model 720 Rem-
ington rinc, i;o I can'1 dcscribe aetion
detai!s,howtheguideribismade,c1c.The
recciverbridgeistappedtoacceptarecciv-
er sight, bu1 not for scope mount bases.
Wea,·crScopcslistsdctaehabletop-mount
bascsfor1hc720(36rearandll fronl),
indicating1ha11hebridgeisofthesarne
contourandhcightasthatof thc721,722
and 700 Remington rines, which require
the same rear base.
Themainou1warddifferencesoftbe720
overitspredecessorsaretwo:Thcbohhan-
dleshankisstraight,andthcbridgeisnat-
tcrandlowerthanthereccivcrring
Bolh fcaturesimprove1he!ooksofthc
action.Theothcrreadilys«nchangcsare
in1heshapcofthes1ock- itsnutedcomb
343
 RemingtooModel720r1flfl-lhafinest oflheRemingtoonflesbased
oolheModel 1917Eofieldaction(pholocourtesyReming1onAnns
Co.)

andlongcr,fullerforend-whichseisi1apan
fromthe30S.Firing-pintni,'Clwasreduced.
butoolya,'Crysmallamount The standard
1riggeron 1he720wasthesameasonthc
la1eModc130S,butanop1ionalmili1arydou.
ble-5tageniggcrwasa,·ailablc.
This,thelastRemingmnrifletobemade
on the basic 1~l7Enfieldac1ion,wasavail•
ableincalibers30-06.257Robertsand270
Winchester. Thm: basic models were list-
ed : the 720A with 2rbarre!. the 720S with
24Nbarrel,andthe720Rwith20Nbarrel
All Wet'C available with open sights. or
withoutthcopenrearsightbu1finedwitha
Lyman. RedfieldorMarblc-GossrecciYer
sight,inwhichcas.::thelencrL,RorMfol-
101,,edtheregularmodeldcsignation.
AccordingtoReming1onAmulnA11reri-
canJlis1,:,,y,byAldcnHatch.thebarrelmarlc-
ings an: as follows: Remington Anns Co.,
Inc~ Ilion, N.\'. Made In U.S.A. Pa t. No.
2,437,373-Z,514,981 - otMrp,nding.The
caliber is stamped on the left side ofilie
bre«hs«1ioo.Hatchalsosaidilieriflewas
made in 300 H&H Magnwn caliber.
The720Remingtonriflesarenowcollcc-
tor'sitems, although they may not become
rcallyvaluableuntilmanyycanhcnce.Om:
riflcmanwhohadsecnandhandledilie720
calleditthe"Cadillac"oftheEnfields.

344
T HE MODEL 721 Remington high-pow-
ered bolt-ac1ion rifle was introduced in
!948.lndescribinglhisnewrifleandac1ion
intheMan:h,1948,issucofA111ericonRijle-
111on, thelateJulianS.Ha1cherfla1lysta1ed
1hatitwasby far the strongest and safest
boltactionproducedup10tha11ime.[!>dttd
it was! In this n:pon, General Hatcher
describcsthetorturetes\.'l1owhichtheMod-
el 721 was subjecled. At the lime the same
!eSISWC'll'doncon a high-numbcred 1903
Springfield, 1917 Enfield and a military
!898MauseT.Thc721wasstillgoingstrong
long after the Springfield, Mauser and
Enfield gave up, in thal order. Time has
provenHa1chertohavebcenrigh1.forinthe
more than fony-five years following his
statement,Reming1onactionsbascdonthe
Mode1721 designarestillconsideredby
manyfin:annse~pensasbcinglhesafes1. if
notthestr00gcst,actionsmade.
Mostshoolman:familiarwilhthe72land
722Remingtor,rifles.Thc721 wasthe"long"
action (8.75~ lcnglh), used for calibers 270,
280, 30-06 and 300 H&H Magnum. Oflhe
se,·eral 8f00es made, the lowest was the
721A. Thc722actionwasthe"short"one
(7.8rlong),usedforriflesin222(introduced
-
l950),222Magnum(l958),244(l955),243
(1961).257Robcns.300Savage,and308
(1957).
The721and722riflcshavethenameand
modeldesignationstampedontheleftrettiv-
erwall,lhusly·
REMINGTON
MOOEL721(or722)
Theserialnwnbcris stampedon lheleft
sideofthen:ttiverringwilhthesamcnum-
bcr etched on the underside ofthe bolt
body:thccalibcrdesignationisstampedon
lheleftsideoflhcbarn:l;alsostampcdon
theleftsideof1hebarn:l,aheadofthen:ar
sight.is·
REMINGTON ARMS CO. INC
ILION,N.Y
MADE IN U.S.A
PATENTS PENDING
REMINGTON ARMS CO., INC
ILION,N.Y
MAOEINU.S.A
PATENT NO. 2,473,373
2,514,981 OTHERS PENDING
_,The Remington proof mark. the lencrs
R.E. P. withinanoval,andvariousinspeclor's
marks.arestampedonthebn:oc:hendofthe
The721and722riflcsbe<:ameverypop-
ular shonly after !hey were introduced.
There were a numberofreasonsforlhis:
notleascwasthefinereviewstheygoifrom
gunwritcrs.Wordg01aroundquicklytha1
thisReminglonactionwasve,ystrongand
safe. The price was also right for sales
appcal;forcsample,in1950,listpriceof
the 722 was $74.95,compan:d10 the 70
Winchesterstandardgradea1 $ 109.50. 0f
cowse, the 70s had some features the Rem-
ington lacked, bu1 the diffcrence in price
favon:JRcmington. lhavealwaysconsid•
en:dthe 721 and 722asexcellent values for
the money. In addition 10 the free and
favorable publicity tile Remingtons re-
ceived, Remington's two new canridges
(222and244),whichwen:firslintroduccd
inthe722,didmon:lhananythingclseto
popularizelherifle.Fewcanridgesbe<:amc
soinstan11ypopularasthe222,andthe722
riflegainedthemostfromthis. Hindsigh1
alsoindicateslhatifRemingionhadintro-
ducedthe244canridgewilhthesamebul-
letweightsandriflingtwistasWinchester
used with thcir243 canridge,andlorhad
chambered tlie 722 for lhe 243 immedia1e-
ly, the Remington rifle would have gained
anevenwideracceptance.lamno1goingto
gc1in!othe243vs.244con1roversyhen:,
but for reasons which are qui1e hard to
undcrstand.Rcmingtonwaslhelosc:rinthc
6mmcartridgerace
"""""'
The721and722actionsarealikccxcepc
for length. The n:,,:eiverismachined from
round-barstockofthehighestqualitysteel.
Then:ooillugisasepara1epan,hddbetwcen
lhen:cei,-erandtheshoulderon1hebarn:I
whenthebarrelistlin:adedtightlyin1othe
receiver. The lug area is ample to hold the
barrelandactionfromscuingbackinthe
stockfrornrecoil.
Thcrettiver,tlireadcdatthefi'on1toococp1
!hebarn:lshank,ispn:ciselyboredandrnil!ed
1oacccp1theboltwithitsforwarddual-
opposedlockinglugs.Theapproachestothe
lockingshouldcrsinthen:,,:eiverringare
be,·cled,sothatontumingtlie bolthandle
downthebo!tisforcedforwanlashondis-
tancc.ThcrounJreceiverhasthesamediam-
eteritsentin:length.Thc1opofthelong
bridgeismachinedncarlyfla!ton:duce
weight.Twoholesan:tappedintothe!opof
therins and bridge for scope mount bases
Two1110reholesare in the leflsidcofthe
~forareceiversight.Thebridgeisquitc
long.andtheclosemachiningoftheiMdeof
!hen:ceivcrandlheool.'lideof!hebolt, plus
(AboV9)Remington722rifle. ltwasaplaln
workingrnan'srillebulagoodone
345
theirwell-f1111shed,smoothsurlxe:s.makes
for1woo1h-opcn1mgboh."'ilh1=·=· -
ofmd"''Obbk"'"hend>eboltisoprn.llal!o
dmunatcdpol$iblcboltbirding"'+.::nlh:bolt
11opmi!Cd.Tberiglll~,-a- ..-a11,s low
enco.aghiob,-.::ampleroomfurio.dingand
unloedingthemapz111c.
Topreven1thebol1frombindin&-theright
Sldeofthel:ridi,cexlcndifora.'3rdofthemag•
azine-,.-.::llopcning.yetisbockfarenough110
tha1lhecmptycasesorloadcdcanridgcscan
bccjtttedproperty.l.l«au9:thebridgeis110
-ff.
long,aequ=notchismillcdinitstopfron1
fureasyiruenionofcartridgesintolhemaga•
rinc.Th1snotchisno11strippertlipgu1dc,
The main part oflhc bolt body is 1
math1nedsi«lcylindcr.Thebolthcad,
wilhthclock1nalugs,ismadeas1sepamc
panandthcnpcrmanentlybnzcdontolhe
boltbody. Thetwolockinglugsai-.::unslol•
ted.unno«:hcdandundrillcd;inothcr
word$, they a,-.: Jolid. The ,·c,y low-profile
bohhandk.al110madcasascpara1cpar1,11
1hcnbrazcd101hcrcarofthcboltbody.
This bluing is so well done tha11hc brazed
1incs 1realmos1impossiblctodetect.Fabri-
cationoflhcboltin this manner in noway
dc:trattsfromi1s1ppcaranccoraffec1sit1
1trcngth.Thc1hortrcclllngular-to-round
stemmed boh h.andlc. ending in a solid
roundpaspingball,i1lowC'QOUghtockar
thccyq11cceofthclo"'ntmoun1ed1eopc.
Thcria),1 11dcoflhewigi1dccplyno1chcd
for1hebast"ofthcbolthandk,thobohhan•
dlelhus h«onnn11hc5afecylockin&lu1.
P1rtof1hcbohhandlcbascalsofoons a
346
collarpartwayaroundlhetopofthcbolt.
Th,s col1art.as1ninclined surfaccwh1ch
l""csin,1,alcxtractionpo,t,-erwhenthcbolt
handlcisraiJCd.
The qualuy of steel used III makillJ the
bol1 1nd=civcr(plus thepropcrhca1-
1rc1tmcma"·cnto1hcscpar1s1ftcrw1rd),
lhchuvysolidlockinglugsandthebolt•
handfc p fetylugproduceaverymong
actmn. h1111-.::ng1hiscomplemcntedbya
brecchinasys1cmwhichpn,cticallyscalsa
eartridgeinthechambcr- rnaking1hese
, c1ionsaboutthesafcs1c,·crcons1ruc1ed.
Theboltcx1endsabou1.150"aheadofthc
lockinglug1,,ndthcbrcechf1ccof1he
barrelis rccesscdtoreceivci1"·ith1mini-
mum of tlnraocc around its circumfer•
en,cc . Furthcr,thcfaccof1hcbolthcadi1
reccsscdfor1hecanridgchcad. Thc-rci1
• bout .005wclean.nce between thefronl
cndofthcboltand1hebarrel"hcnthcbol1
11 locked.Th1s i1nccdcdtopre,·cn11he
bol1frombinding and1ofat1li1atcobtain•
inacorrccthcadspaccwhcnthc barrel is
chambered
Thec~lractorisathin C-1ypc flat spring
cllpwhichhasahppress«linloitsinsidt
curve. hfiulnashallowgroovecutinto
thcinsi<kofthcrimwhithfonnslhcboh•
facerecc11. Thccjcc1or.aspring-loaded
plungcrfiuedintoaholealonglhefXrintc•
1crofthcbohf1ttreccss,isheldinplace
t,y1.s.mallcnna-pin.Tbcejcctorprevcnts
1hccx1ractorfrom1uminginiis=en.
When • cartridge is fed from the magnmc
101hcchambtrt,ythcbol1orif1canndgc
is dropped intothechambtr,ontlosin&
1heboll,thccxtrattorsn.apsovcr1hec1r•
1ndgcrimandthecjcctorisdcpresscdas
thcboh,sfon::cdforwardwhcnlhchandk
is lo"·cml.
Althoughthccxtn.ctoris .s.mall,and11S
hpfXdhook"·hichengages1hec1rtndgc
r,m iJ n1rrow,i1gecsagoodbi1conthc
nm:i1scldomfailstopull1fircdcanridac
fromthcchambcrwhcnlhcbolthandlcis
ra1!1Cd.Whcnthcbol1is pullcdback,no
maucr how slowly, 1he spring-loaded CJCC·
tor will nipthccascsto1hcrightclcarof
thcrif1c.Since1hecx1ractori s cn1irely
within the boh-head recess, there is no
cx1BC1ortu1incilhcrthcbohheadorf1ce
ofthcbarreltobreakthcscalbecweenbolt
""'""''
lnthcc,.•cmof1cartridgcbcadfailure.11
11unlikelyanypo""dcrgascstouldcseapc
liombec\\-.::cnthcboltandthobarrel,bul if
anydiditwooldbcdim;tcdimothcloc:king-
lugreccssin1herecci,·crrinaandcsc1pc
lhrouat, 1 ,-cntholcinthcrigh1sidcoflhe
receivcr.Shouldanygasescn1crthcfinna·
pin l,ole from a pierced primcr, this gu
wouldlargclyescapclhroughaventholcon
1heleft1idcofthcbohhcad,bcinsdirected
intothclocking-lugreccs.sandinlhelcfl
lockina•lu1raceway.
TIie firing mechanism is a simple one.
The,-cry11iffcoilmaul5JITU1giscomprnscd
overthc lightweight one-piece finn& pin
becWttnashoukleronthopinandthcboll
slee\~. Thernrmdofthcfiringpmutcnds
throuahtheboltllcc,-.::(listcd ai thc'"bolt
plua~ by the factory)whcrethc finng-pin
headi1111aChcdto11by1cmss-pin. Thebolt
slec,-ethreadsinto1hcrcarofihcbolt. An
extension on the firing-pinheadex1cnds for-
wardthroughaslo1 inthebohsleeve1ocon-
iac11herearofthebolt.Here.thereisadeep
cocking-<amno(chintowhichthcfiring-pin
hcadcanmove whentherifleisfired.l11c:n.
itis forced back tocock1heac1ionwhcn
boh1hcbol1handleisrais«I.Thcrcisalsoa
shallowno(chin1owhich1heendofihcfir-
ing-pinheadrestswhenthebohisopencd.
pre\"en1ing 1hc bolt sleeve from turning
when!hcbohisopenasthereisnosepara!C
bolHl«velock.l11c:extensiononthefir-
ing-pinheadalsoprojectsdcw,11intoarace-
i,,aycutin1othebo1tomoftherecd,·er1ang.
soitcancontactthesearlevertoholdthe
firingpinbackwhcnthcactionisopcrated.
Lock time is utremdy fast. as the total fir-
ingpin tra,-el is less than .300-. lllc: ignition
isalso,·eryposilive.and lha,·ene,·crheard
ofanyonecomplainingaboutmisfireswith
theserifles
l11c:bolt-stopisaf1a1s1eclS1ampingfit-
tcdinaslotcutunder1hclefllocking-lug
raceway.with i1sfron1cndprojectinginto
this raceway 10 comact the locking lug
whenthcboltisopened. !leldinplaceand
pi,·otingonapin.itis1cnsionedbyasmall
coilspring.Theboh-stoprelcaseisabcnt
spring-steclwipofmetalslidingon1he
triggcrandsafotypiv01pinson1hclef\sid<:
ofthetriggerhousing,andcxtcndsfrom1hc
topinsideofthetriggcrguard!olhcrearof
lhcbolt-s1op.Pushingituppivotsthcboh-
stopdownsotheboltcanbcremo,·cdfrom
thcaction .
The trigger and safety mechanism are
housedinastampcdshcct-metalboxattachcd
totheundersideofthereceivcrbythebol1-
Slopandscarpins.l11c:scarisalhinpicccof
hardene,dm,:ulpositionedinthctoprightside
ofthetriggcrhousingandinthetriggcr-hous-
ingopeningin1hcre,:ei,·er.hpi,·otsonthe
searpininthcfrontofthehousingandisten-
sionedbyacoilspring.
The1riggcr.posi1ioncdinthcbonomof
thchousing,pivotsonapin. A hardened,
carefullygroundpieceofmetalcalledthe
triggcrconnectorfitso,·erthetopfron1of
thctriggcr.Thctopsquareedgcoflhis
piecc.contac1ing1hcbonomofthesearto
holdi1 up.releases itwhcn1he1riggeris
pullctl.Aset-screw.1hreadcdintothefront
ofthetriggerhousingandcontactingthe
topofihctriggcrconnector.canbeadjUSled
tos1op or limit lriggcrover-tra,·cl. Just
belowthisscrewisthe1riggerweight--0f-
pu!ladjustmentscrew.andovcri1Sendis
thelriggerspring.Tumingthisscrewinor
outputsmoreorlesstcnsiononthespring,
varying the pull weigh1. Another screw
threadedintothcrcarofthetriggerhousing
adjusts the trigger-sear engagemcm. All
threeoflhesescrewsarenormallyadjusted
at the factory for minimum triggerm·cr-
travcl. minimum sear engagement 10
rcmo,·ecrecp.andatriggerlet--0fTofabout
3.5104pounds.and1hensealed.Morcon
howtoadjustthetriggcrlater
l11c:safe1y.abcntsieclstampingposi1ioned
largclyontherightsideofthctriggerhousing.
pivolsooapinthroughthehousmg.hhasa
serratcdbunonprojectingupwardalongthe
righ1 side ofihc receivcriang. conveniently
posi1ionedfor!humboperation.Thefrontof
thcsafe1yextcndsalongsidethetriggcrhous-
ing;whcnthcsafctyispullcdback.thefront
ofthcsafe1ymovesuptoengageano(chin
thcrearofthebohbodytolockthcbolt.The
safetyeam.aoothcrSlripofmctalsimilarto
thcscar,liestotheleflofthcscarandpivOIS
onthcscarpin.
Ashonarm.doubledbackontherearof
thesafe1y,reachesinlothetriggerhousing
uoderthcsafe1ycam. When the safety button
ispullcdback(whichcanbcdoneoolywhcn
thcactioni!icocked).!hii;armcam!ithesafcty
camup,forcingthefiring-pinheadbacksoit
isotTofthesear.Thus.wilhthcsafctypullcd
backtotheSafeposi1ion,thefiringpinand
boltan:lockcd.Asmallballbearingliesina
holeinthesideofthesafety:anatspringf&>-
tC'Ocdoolhcsafetypintensionsihcballto
hoklthesafetyineithertheSafo(bock)orFiri:
(fo1ward)posi1ioo
ThetriggcrguardbowandthemagaziJ\C
f1oorplatcarefonnedfromasinglepieceof
hea,·y sheetmetal. Thetopof1hebowis
cnclosedbyanarrowplatethroughwhich
che trigger ex1cndi;. Three guard screws
throughholuinthetriggerguard/noor-
plate.thrcadinginlotherccciver.holdthe
barrclandactionsccurelyinthes1ock.The
frontandrearguardscrewsarehcavy.bu1
lhe center one. in front of 1he bow. is
ligh1er. The magazine box.of light sheet
metal. ispositioncdbetwecnthcreceivcr
magazine-wellopcningandthenoorplate
Thecanridgeguidelipsarcmilledin the
sidcsofthcreceivcr•"'cllopcning.The
ridgcdfollowcrisalsoashec1-mctals1amp-
347
Remingt0n722(222Reming1oncaliber)bol!headshowing;{A)gas- The721fl22tri{Xjermec:hani$m,$howingthelocationol:(A)weigh1-
vent t-Qle, (8) twin solid locking lugs, (c) e~lrac\01, {OJ recessed bolt o1-pull adjus1ment screw, {8) 1rioger-stop (over-travel) screw, {C)
ta<.:e, (E) ajeclor. sear,eogagement adjustmen1 SCfew (sea text for detail$) . Arrow {O)
poiotstobolt-stopre1ease

ing,whikthefollowerspringisof1heusu- lridgcheadcntirelyre.:cssedwithinthebolt wilhthelancrsystem.lockedbctweenthe

al W-shape . Magazinehoxesfor222and
222Magnumcartridgesha,·eashcet-metal
inscniniherearofthehoxtoholdthese
shortercar,ridgesforward; ashonerfollow·
erandfollowerspringarealsouseJ,of
lillll-PwfabNI
ForRemingtontogetimothecemerfire
bolt-act:ionrillcmarl:<:tsuc«sslully,andstay
there.theyhad1ocomcupwithanewand
impro,~actiondesign.andtoholditsmanu-
facruringcostdownsoitoouldbcsolda1a
1o,,:erpri~thananyofitsoornpe1itors.They
did just that with their721 and 722rilles.
Theywere,andstill are, truly reliable and
accuraterilles. Theactionwaswellthought
ou1anddesigned.the entirerille wellcon-
structed Thebam:landactionwcreasgood.
andinsome,,,aysbcner.thanthatofanyolh-
crrifleonthemarkct,whilclherestofthc
rillewasrnadewithoutfrillstokceplbecost
»=
The 72J n 22 breeching system- the car-
facear,dthehcadofthebolt~inthe
bree.:h faceof1hebarrel- wasthemos1
001cworthyfea1urethatmadctheseactions
safe.Makingthereceiverandhohoutof
qualitysteel,andmakingthclockinglugs
largeandsohd.providedlhcstrengthfor
which these actions became noted. The
simplcfirin~mcchanism.withitsveryfas1
andpositiveignition.isanothercxccllenl
fealure.Thebolt-stopis,·erygoodandsois
1hc cjector.
Although made of steel stampings.the
lriggerandsafetyme.:hanisrnshaveprvven
goodandreliablc,anes1edtoby1hcfact
1hat essentially the same mechanisms are
used in1he la1er600and 700Remington
rillo. A more simplified trigger mecha-
nis m might ha,·c been belier. bu1 l can
rernemberrepairingonlyone722triggcrin
1heyearsl was in 1hegunsmi1hingbusi-
Whiksomegunsmithsandshoo1crsdid
notlike1hervund-bonomcdreeciverand
1heseparatcrtt0illug.lsccoo1hingwrong
rcuiverandbam:1.itperfonnsitsfunction
justaswellasifitwerepartofthere.:ei,·cr.
thoughl"dratherhavcitasa separa1cpiecc
weldedonto1herecciverasintheModel
2000 Mauser. A round-bottomed m:civer
does1cnd1ocausestockspli11ingifthe
guardserews aretightenedtoomuch,bu1
theuseofaglass-beddingoompoundinthc
slocktakescareofthisminorcomplaint
ManyshootCTSalsodislikc1he s1amped
triggerguard.lfloorplateandfollower.bul
lhcywcre ne.:essaryifRemingtonwas10
kcepthepricedown.lnevermindedlhese
stamped pans myself: the trigger guard/
floorplateisheavyenoughandisshapcdso
astobebothasruggedandasgoodlooking
as can beupecte<I from a stamping. Nm
longaflertheseriflescamcout,demandfor
ahingednoorpla1emagazineinduccdGrif-
fin & Howe to make SUl:h a guardlmaguinc
fora number of years. Later Remington
madeadeluxcversionofthc721 n 22,des-
ignated1he 725. "'·hieh was made with a
hingedfloorplatemagarine.Thisrnagazine

At ona Ume. Remlr,gton made a Deluxe~ ol lhe 722 and 721

The721 Deluxe is shown here. Theydiffared!romlhestandardmod
elsin1hat0011erQOOli!ywalnotwasusedand1hatlhelorendandpis-
lOlgriparecheekered

348
--- --
RenQton Models 721 & 722. Actions

~ WW :::·::~~':;.,·stoci<$11.11)1.~CQnSll\,;tioneX08!)1roooi
lug is asaparalepartheldbelW88nthebarrelandreceiller.Jllor>.slol·
led Tapped si!1'I,

349

could be installed in the 7211722 with a
minimumoftrouble
Thcrcareaooupleofthingsthisaction
docsoochavcwhichlthinkitshould.Thcrc
isonegas-vcmholcinthebohheadand
one1hroughtherightsideoftherccci,·er
ring, but when the action is dosed and
Jocked, theventholeinthcboltistoward
theleft,whcrcthereisnoholeintherecciv•
er.!'dlikeagas-vemholcthroughthclcft
ofthcreccivcr,in!inewith1heholeinthe
boltlwouldalsohaveinsistedthatthcbolt
slcevchavcasmallflangeonitsleftsideto
coverthelocking-lugrac,,way,c,·cnwith
1hcadditional,·cn1holcintheleftsideof
thering
lneverreallyliked1he,·erysmallspring
clip ex1rac1or, although J never experi-
enccdanytrouble with itin anyofthe 72ls
and722slowrn:dorfircd. lhavehadcus-
tomers bring 1hese rifles in with a fired
cases1uckinthcchambcrandchunks bit
outof1herim by1he extrac1orwhen the
bohwasforccdopen.lnmostinstances.il
was a rusted chamber which caused the
case1ostick,andfewextractorsinsuchsit-
uationswouldhavcpullcdthecasesout
The pointlwantlomake,howevcr.isthat
while 1he bolt head is recessed 10 fully
rndosethchcadofthccanridgecase.the
rimofthecaseisnotac1uallysupponedin
anyway.Thisisbccausetheinsidcofthe
rimoftheboltfaC<:recessiscutomforthc
extractor.andcutoutdceperthanthclhick-
ncn of 1he extrac1or, so tha11hcrc is
enoughroomforthccx1ractor1omo,·c as
itsnapsoveracaserimonclosingtheboh
Withthistypcofex1ractordesign,thercis
nowayinwhichthecariridgerimeanbc
suppor1cd.
lrecall1woinstances1ha1i!lustratewhat
this means. thadfittedaheavyHanstain
lcssstcclbarrelona722aetionforafriend
of mine, chambering it for the 222 Reming-
1on cartridgc. My fricnd 1hcn slecved 1he
actionandbuiltabenehrcs1riflc. He was
veryfussyandavcrycarefulhandloader.
weighing the powder charges out and
puningeltl'hchargeinasmallglassvialso
hecouldquicklyandeasi!yreloadcases
duringamatch.Hismostaecuraleloodwas
no1ahotonc.ande,·crythingwen1along
normally.Aflerfiringacoupleofhundred
roundsofthisload,whiehga,·elcssthan 111
minutc-of-angleaccuracy.onc:caseletgo;
alotofpowdergaseseseapcd!hroughthc
rearoftheaetion.spcwinghisfacewithgas
and brass Opening the bolt e~1rae1cd the
casecasilycnough,bu1itwou!dnotejcct-
norcould1hecaseberemovedfrom1heboh
head. Hctriedtwistingthe caseou1witha
pairofpliers,andwhenthisdidn'1worl<.hc
used a vise. Failingwiththis.hebrough1
thebohtomc;lhadtousealatheandbor-
350
• : I I
ing1ooltotumtheheadof 1hecaseoutof
theboltfaeerecess. Expansionofthceasc
against theextrac1orhadbrokrnit,butoth•
erthanthisandthc1roubleinvoh·ed,1hc
actionwasnothanncd
!nthesecoodinciden1,theshootcrdairned
thatthecanridgcwhichpulhis722ou1of
orderwasafactoryload.Againitwasa222.
andhetoldmeitwasmightyfoctwta!Chc'd
bccnwearingshoolingglasscs. Thetrouble
mayhavebccndue1oafaultycase,butthe
headofthatcasehadcxpandedsotightlyinto
the extractor groove that the entire rim
aroundthereccsswascxpandcd,so1hathe
couldhanllytumtheboltandopenit.Agun.
smith hadboredou1 theremainsofthecase
hcad,bultheheadofthebohhadexpandcd
1osuchadegreethatancwextmctorWQUld
oocfitproperly.ln1hisinstance,hadtheboh
headoocbcenrcees.scdwi1hinthefltl'eofthe
barrel,therimofthebohheadmigh1have
split. Theov.-11eroftheriflc then returned it
tothefactory.wheretheyfittedanewboltat
oocharge.
[havcneverobservedorheaniofthishap-
pcningwithanyofthelargcrcalibers.Appar-
enllythelargercascsarestrongerandcan
lake mon:prcssure.ltisalsoagoodthingthat
thehcadsofthebeltedmagnumcasesare
strong and seldom expand, for in 1he721
thcn:isverylinlemeulintherimofthebol1-
h<od=
A mechanical aspect of this action tha1
l've alwaysbecnskep1icalaboutisthefas-
1eningofthecockingp~tothefiringpin
byasinglesmallpirtltmustbe<1<.though,
forl'veneverscer,orhcardofthispinshear•
ing.l'vcnevcrhesitatcdtosnapordryfirc
anyofthemanycenterlireboh-actionriflcsl
have owned. including these R,:mingtons,
andlha,·eye11osectha11hishasdoneany
harm.
T11111'12.111a..atktlln
Almos1 immediately after the 222 Rem-
ington cartridge was introduced, it became
afa,•oritcwi1hthe"benchrcstcrs"- 1arge1
shooters who pit rifles and ammunition
againstthcircompeiitor'sbyfiringfroma
solidbenchandholdingtheriflesonarcst
Thisli11lccanridgesooncoppledmanypre·
viousrecords.Theseshooterssoondiscov-
ered.100,that!he722actionwasanideal usua!lymadefromapieceofseamlesssieel
oneonwhichtobuildabenchrestrifle.So 1ubingorheavy-wallcds1eelpipeuptoa
popularwerethescactionsthat, fora few foot or so in leng1h. wasboredorrcamed
years.Rcmingtonwouldse!lscpara1c 722 outsothatthe722recciverwasasnuglit
actionstoqualifiedgunsmiths,whowould inside.Theou1sideof1hereccivcrand the
accep11heresponsibilityoffiuingabarrcl insidcof1hcslce,·cwercthcntinncdwith
101hem. Many bench!l'st target shooters solder.andthcrecciver,uptotheboh•han·
were amateur or professional gunsmiths. dlcnotch.wasi;"•catedinsideoneendof
andtheysoonfoundthattogelthebestou! !hc slcevc . Atsomepoim,ofcoursc,aslot
oflhisaetiona"s!ecve"wasneeded.This waseutin1othcslcevcforthctriggcrhous-
eouldreadilybedonewiththe722action ing,andanoblongopeningmade forthe
bccauseofits roundrecciver. The sleeve, loading pori. The barrel was made a bit

5.mallcrindiamcterthantherecei,·er,orthc
from pan of the sleeve (which projccied
forwardofthereceiver)wasboredoutlarg-
crthanthcbarrelso1ha1thcrewouldbeno
comactbelwecnthem.Thcslccvewaslhen
inle1tedandglassedimothchcavy bench-
reststock,beinghclddown with Three or
more screws. S<:opc mount bases were
attachedtothc1opofthcslecvc.A sleeve
with a wall lhickness from 11, 6~ to •!,~. with
the receiver swca1ed inside, made the
recci,·eramorerigidsupponforaheavy
barrel. l1alsoafTordedapcrfectmcansof
se<:uring1heactionandbarreltoastock,
andofattachingascopc1otherine
Although the n1n22 trigger mechanism
isa ra1hercheaply made, mass-produced
affairwithastampedsheetmetalhousing,
itisnonc1helcssreliable. ltsthreescrews
permitadjustmentsforW<'ight-of-pull,trig-
gtrtakc-up (creeporscarengagement),and
o,·er-travcl.lbcscscrewsallowfaslfactory
assembly, so the trigger can be adjusted
wi1hou!anyspecialhandfit1ing,andalso
providesomeadjustmentifthcowncrwants
a lighter or heavier pull. To make any
adjustment, 1he barreled action must be
removedfromthes1ock.Asshownin1he
photoonpagel48. (A)locatesthcweight-
of-pulladjustmcn1screw,oormallyfactory-
set for abou1 4 pounds. This is usually
satisfactoryformostshooting,bu1alighter
pullcanbehadbytumingthisscrewcoun-
tcrdockwisc. The minimum safe pull that
canbcsctii abou12pounds. Screw( B) is
thctriggcr-stoporover-travcladjustment
screw,alsonormallysctat1hefac1ory10
stop the trigger the moment 1he sear is
released.Howe,·cr,i1canbere-adjusted
thus:Wi1htheactioncocked,turnthisscrew
inaboutonetumorso,until pulling the
triggerwon'treleasethcscar;thcn. whilc
pullingbackonthetriggcr,lumthesercw
counterclockwise slowlyumil the sear is
released:itshouldthenbetumedfunhcr,
eversosligh1ly.so 1hereisampleclearance
betweensearandtrigserwhenthe1riggeris
pulled:ifthereisnoclearance,thesearmay
notalways bereleaseddeanlyonpulling
thetrigger.Screw(C)isa!soadjuslcdand
se1a11hefactorytogiveaminimumtrigger-
to-searcngagcmcntforacreep-freelet-off,
and s1i!I have a safe trigger. This screw
shouldnevabc1ampcredwi1h.Todiscour-
ageownersfromtamperingwi1hthisscrew
thefactorysealsitwithwax.!lowever,ifit
has been tampered with. or the Trigger
mechanism has been completely lakcn
apan.thenormaladjustrncntisasfollows·
Tum the screw back (counterclockwise)
scvcral1umsandclosethebolt,leaving1he
actioncocked;thcnslowly!umthisscrew
inuntilthcsearisreleascd:now1umilback
¼ -tum: adjunthe fronl s,;rewso1hat it
requires a weight of about 3 pounds 10
relcasethetriggcrandtes1theac1ionas
dcs,;ribed elsewhere. Jf 1he sear is not
release<lwhenthebo!t is slammed home.
1hen it maybcp0'lsibletoadjustlherccar
screwtoprovidelesssearengagemem:but
ifthesearisreleascd. i1mustbebackedoff
funhcrandlorthcweighH1f-pullincreascd
Aflcrmakinganyadjustmen1,tcst!hctrig-
gerthoroughlytomakesure i1 will function
properlyandthatitissafc.Forcxample,if
thetrigscr-s10pscrewisadj11sted.theac1ion
should be dry-fired several times to make
sure1hetrigscrclcanlyreleascs1hescar. lfit
Sectioned&e11onviewoflheAem-
ing1on Models 721, 722and 725
Thela1erModel700,600and660
actionsareessentiatrysimilar.
docsnot.lhestopscrew (B) shouldbetumed
OUl a bil more, Aflcrscrew(A)has been
adjustedtoob1ainaligh1crpull.1est the
actionbyclosingthebolt,-erysnianlyscver-
al limes, checking lo see if the striker
remainscocked.lftheslrikcrdocs~stay
roeked.thelriggerpullistoolightandmusl
be made heavier
Onccthefactorysealantontheadjustmem
scrcwshasbeenbroken.theyusuallybecome
quiteeasyto1um. Therefore.after making
any adjUStrnents or after n=iernbling the trig-
ger, these screws should be sealed again with
adroportwoofsealingwaxorLoclite
Finally, ifyoudislikethe Rcmingtontrig-
gerorwanttoreplaceit,getaCanjarlrigger
f'nxisionmadc.withafullrangcofadjust-
meots,thcCanjarcanalsobchadwithasin-
gle«ilrigscrattachment
TalullllwllnlAIIIIIWY
Makcsurctherifleisunlooded.Tomt>O\-e
thebolt,raiseitshandleandpullitrearward
Thcnpressupwardonthebolt-stopreleasc,
locatcdjus1infrontofthctrigscr.andlakethc
bolt from the receiver.
Todisassemblethebolt.proceedasfol-
lows:Grasptheboltfirmlyandcngagelhe
notchinthefiring-pinheadoveranedgeof
theworkbench; pulltheboltdownunlila
coincanbeplacedbet"·eentheboltsleeve
andthe firing-pinhcad •oholdlhefiringpin
back:theboltsleevecanthenbetumedom
ofthebolt. lfitisnecessary1odisassemblc
thefiringmechanismfunher,driveout the
smallcross-pinfrom1hefiring-pinhcadso
itcanbesep3r.11cdfromthefiringpin. In
driving this pin out, the drift punch will
holdthefiring-pinheadon101hefiringpin
until thepunchiswitl>drawn.Thismustbc
351

donewithcautionas1hemainspringisvery
strong.RussembleinrevC'l'SCorder.Toaid
inreassembling,drilla•l,.~holcinthesidc
oftheworkben<:hinwhichtoinsenthclir-
ing•pin 1ip. Finally push the boh slee,·e
over the firingpintocompressthemain-
springandsliponthefiring-pinhead.using
1hedriflpunch1oho!dtheheadinplace
whentheholesarcaligned. Then drive in
thecross-pin,which will push the punch
out.Remo,·etheeje<:torbydrivingoutthc
smallcron-pinfromthebolt
Aspccialbcnt,rolll\d-pointedlw=is
rcquircdtorcm0Yetheexuactorwithoo1dam-
aging it. However. a new e~tractor can be
installcdwithouttheuseoflhistoolby~
fullypinchingtheendsofthecuractortogcth-
erumili1ca,,bcprcsscdimothebolt-face
recess.Bc~toinsentheexuactorwiththe
slopingsidcoftheexlraCIOrl,ooktowardthe
'='
Removethebarre!andaction from the
SIOl:kbyl\Ullingouttherear.ccntcrandlront
guardscrews;liftofftheguard.removing
352
Actmns
Reming1on Mohawk M600 Rifle. This was the lowtlst priood t.4600
made wi1hoo1 Vtintilated rib and with a plastic trigge< guard. Made in
someo1thecalibersllstedlorlheStanclaltlModel600.Disoon1JllUl.ld
lo1967.
followerspring,followerandtriggerplate:
thcnliftbarrclandactionfromthescock
'Themaga:i:inebox,whichllOiuallyremainsin
thcre<:eiver.canthenbepulledfree.On
doingthis.notethepositionoftheboxinthc
re<:eivcrsolhat it can be returned in1hat
position.lfthemagazineboxhasaspacer,
also note its position
Toremovethetriggermechani,;manddis,.
assembleit,procttdasfollows:(Caulion-
this trigger mechanism should not be
disassernbledunlessithastoberepairedor
cleaned,andthenonlyifyouknowhowto
goaboutit)Oisassernblyshouldbedoncon
acleanworkbench.preferablyonawhi1c
clochorinacray:aseachp:,nisremovedit
shouldbelaiddowninordorlysequcncc,so
itcanberepla-:edinitspropcrorderand
position.Oriveout1hereartrigger-housing
pin. which is also the bolt-stop pin; drop
down lhe «ear of1he trigger housing. and
rernovethebolt-stopandbolt-stopspring:
driveou11hefronttrigger-housingpin.
whichiulsothesearpin,andchecntiretrig-
ger mechanism can be removed from the
receiver.
Liftou1 the sear, safetycamandthesear
spring.Pushoffthesafetysnap ...-asherfrom
thesafetypinandremovethcsafety-detcnt
spring,safety.detcntball,safety-pivotpin,
bolt-stopreleaseandthesafecy.Becarefulnot
toloscthcsafety-<lttcnlballbearing.Rcrnove
thefi'ontandreartrigger-adjustmentscrews.
trigger§J)ringandtrigger-stopscrew.Orive
outthetriggerpinandremo,..,thctriggerand
triggcrconnector.
Toreassemble:Atiernblethctriggcrcon--
ncctortothetriggcr:insenthetriggerinthe
housing,anddriveinthetriggerpinuntili1
is even with the right side of the trigger
housing;assemblethetriggerspring. front
trigger-adjustment screw. rear trigger-ad-
jusmtentscrewandtrigger-stopscrew(See
thepreviouslymentionedcommentsontrig-
geradjus1mentsforproperlyadjus1ingthese
screwsafterthetriggermechanisrnhasbecn
comple1cly assembled and fitted 10 the re.
cci,·cr.): assemble the safety. bolt-slop
 II ,II .. , ' I q

-~ ••
L--fz !zs
20

211

353
... "
RemingtonM700BDL.lelt-hend
releasc,safety-piYOlpin,safcty-dctentball.
safciy-dcten1spring,andsafety-pinsnap
washer;assemblcthesearspring,scarand
safe1ycam;assemblctriggcrhousingtothe
rc.:ch·crwiththcsurpin;inscnthcbolt-
stopspringandbolt-s10pinlheretti>"crand
drivctheboh-stoppininpanway;miseup
therearendofthetriggcrhousingunlilthc
hole aligns.compress the scar and safety
cam.anddri,·einthcbolt-s!oppin
Rcasscmblctherestoftherifleinrcverse
ordcr.Tumthefrontandrc:arguardsc«:ws
,·crytight.lftheboltdoesnotclosccasily
after the riflchasbccndisasscmblcdand
reasscmblcdafewtimcs.and/orifthcfrom
guardscrewhas~ntightenedovcraperi-
odoftime,thismayindicatethatlhccndof
thisscrewisprojectingintothereceiYerand
contacting the lower locking lug. In this
case, shonen the front guard screw as
required.
The barrel isthreadcdverytigh1ly into
thereceivcr,andaspe.:ial actionwrc:nch,
as well a'! a barrel vise, are nccde<I to
rcmo,·ci1 without damaging the receiver
andbarrcl
354
-
Pre•l982RemingtooM700ADl..
A1983YflrsioooftheReming1ooModel700ADL
Remlr,gtooM700Classic
--
TheRemington721.722.thcdeluxcvcr-
sionoftheserifles,andthe725wercal!dis-
continucdin 1962. Agreatmanyofthcse
riflcswercmadc. lnyearstocome,many
willbcofferedforsaleonthcscrondhand
gunmarkct.andtheywill bc<:omcancver
readysourceofactionsfortheama1curand
profession.algunsmith.1fyouwama72lor
722action,don'twastctimelookingfora
scpal'llleaction;justlookforauscdrifleand
1henS1riptheriflefor1heaction.Aslhavc
mentionedbcforeinthisbook,itisusually
possible1obuyacomplcteriflcforonlya
linlcmorethanthecostofascparate ac1ion
alone.
,..__,
When the 721. m and 725 were discon-
1inucd in 1962,Remingtonbroughtoulthe
700scri~ofhigh-powcrcdrifles.Although
1hc700shavcchangcdsomcwhatsinccthat
time.theiractions.cxceplforthelriggcrguard
andmagaiinc,arcstilla!mostideflticaltothe
original721n22actioffi.The700saremadc
...
in two different lengths. for medium- and
loog-lengthcanridges
The 700 AOL is made with a blind mag-
azine bo~. thcbo~ inlcttcd into the stock. A
blackalloyornylontriggerguardisused.
bmthereisnomagazinefloorplatebc<:ausc
the magazinebo~ is within the stock . Thc
700BDLandanumbcrofother700mod-
cls ha,·c a combination trigger guardlmaga
zinc box made ofan alloy which has a
hinged floorplatc, with the shee1.me1al
rnagazineboxfincdbetv,·eenthcguardand
!he receiver. Thereareanurnberofother
700 models made wilh all stamped steel
triggerguardsandfloorplatesandmher
minor change'!. Some of these will be
dcscribcdinthecaptionsofsomeof1hc
riflcsillus1ra1cdhcre.Othcr1han1his.the
700actionsarejust like the earlier
121n 22s.and1ogivcadctailcddescrip1ion
ofthe700actiOflSWOUldbctorepeatwhat
1 havcalrc:adywriuenaboutthe72l and
m
Since 1962. Remington has introduced
other rifles and a pistol built on a modified
722action. Thcywcremodifie<! in such a
Remington Models 721, 72

Reming1on M700 Cus1om Rifle.

RemlngtonModel700Varmin1SynthetieS!aJnlessFlutedRifle.A
416slainlesss1eelbamtl,receiv<lrandbol!;26"heavyvatTTVn1barrel
withsixlongltudina l !lu1es:syntheticstockolliberglass,elntorced
with Kevlar, calibers: 223 Rem., 220 Swill, 22-250 Ram. , 308 Won
Weightat>ou191bs. lntroduced1992.

ThemuuleandollheM700VarmintSy11-
thetieStainlessAutedbarrelcleartyshowlng
lw0oflhesixftutes.Thesefl\!1oslightenthe
barr&lwilhoulatloctingthestat,ility

Thispholoshowswheretheftu1esl>egina1
1hebr&eehendollhebarr&I.

355
 Commer•cral Rrlles & Actrons

Remlngton700Varrnin1SynlheticRme.SimHar1olhflRamington
M700VStainlessStootlncalibars220Swift,223,22·250and308.
Weightal:>oo\91bs. lntroduood1992.

Reming1onModel700BOLSSRifl9.Stainlll$$$teelactionandbal-
,al,24"bilrrellength,synlhe1icstoek,availablewlttlloog0<short
actions in fourteen calibers including magnums. Weight abou! 7 lbs.
lntrodl.lC9d1993

ReminglonModEN700AlaskanWildemes&Aille(AWR).Customron-
tour,24.barrel:stainlesssteelbarrel,rtlCeiYe!andboll;maltefnsh;no
sights. F ~ e stock. Calibefs: 7mm Rem. Mag., 300Win
Mag.,300Wealhe!byMag.,338W111.Mag.and375H&H.Wliq:ol.6.75
lbs.StJ"aii1llcombS10Ck,ctwel<pieceand1"11-.ckr900ilpild

Remington Model 700 African Plains Rifle (APR). Magnum con-

1oored carbon stool 26' barn,l, blood satin-lini$h&d barrel; lamiriated
hardwoodstocl<,straighlcombwithci-kpi&oe,1"reooi!pad;aclion
gla,;.s..beddedinstocl<.Wo,ighlabout 7.751bs.lntroduced1993.

wayth;ulsometime,idescribcditasa"push- forothers.Thecunentlistingofcalibersis: chcckeringandrubbcrbunpad(recoilpadon

in-from-behind.. carbine.Onthismodcl,the
bolthandlcisdog-legshapedlikcthcP-17
Enficldbutin~veTSe. lnaddition,thetrig-
8Cf mechanism is placed funher for,,ard,
aboutthcsameamountasrhcboh handle
kn<lbwasplacedforward.Anyv,'lly.1hisca,-
binelookcdtomehkeitwaspushcdinfrom
behind.Theseincludcthe600and660car-
bines,andlheXP-100single-sholpistoLAII
arebascdon1hebasic722=eivcr,boltand
Newer 700 Models
Thefollowingdescriptioosshowsomeof
the many different models of the 700 Rern-
ington. Following tha1 are someofthe newcr
700models listed in the 19'94 Remington
caialQ8.
Pu-1982 Model 700 AOL-This is the
lowCSl priced M700. Impressed checkering in
walnutsrock, ll'harrcl insomecaliben..24"
222, 22-250,243,6mm, 25-06,270, 7mm
Expn:ss,308and30--06.
Model 700 ADL-lnlroduced in 1983,
aboutsaineaspre-1982modelexceptstock
hascu1chcckering,i;emi-glossfinish,de-
tachable sling swivel s1uds, smoolh boh
knob,andincahbers222 ,22-250.6mm,
243, 25-06, 270, 308, 30-06 and 7mm Mag-
Model 700 DD L-Watnul stock wi1h
skiplinechcckering.blackforend1ipand
pistolgripcapandwhitcspacen. Raised
comb and chcekpicce, 22' or 24" barrel
depending on caliber with hooded ramp
fromsightandadjusiablerearsigh1,and
hingcdfloorplate.Caliberssameasforthe
new ADL model plus 17 Rcmingion, 7mm-
08, 300 Magnum and 8mm Rem. Magnum
Right-orleft-handmodels.Lcft-handin270
and30-06only.
Model 700 Classic-Similar to the BDL
excepthasstraightcombstock,24-linccut
7mm Magnum). Calibers are 22-250, 243.
6mm, 270, 30-06 and 7mm Magnum. Limit-
cd prodUoCtion in 257 Roberts, 7x57mm and
300 H&H Mag. Chambering in 250-3000
announ,ccdin1984
Modcl 700Custom- Thisisaspccial-
order, custom -made Model 700available
with anumberofoptions.Choiceofca!-
ibers,20",22"or24"handlappedbarre1,
wi1horwithou1sigh1S.jewcledbolt,withor
without hinged maguinc floorplate, fancy
handchcckeredwa!nutstockwithrosewood
forendtipandgripcap.
Model 700 Safari-Same as M700
BDLcxcep1tha1stockhasanoil finish.is
handchcckeredwithrecoilpad,andinl75
H&H Magnum and 458 Magnum calibers
only
Model 700 Varmln1- Same as M700
BDLcxceptha!24"hcavyharrcl.oosights.
slightlyfullersrockandincalibers222.223.
22-250. 243. 6mm. 7mm-08 and 308.

356

The 40-X Series
Remingloo also makes ~cen1erfire w-
based oo the M700 action. or rather
gei riAe:s
oo a modificatiooof1hisaction.Thcyare:
Model 40-XC /l,'1ti<lnal Match Courw----
Made in 308 (7.62 NATO) caliber only.
Thisisaspecial-ordcrtargetriAcforboth
slow-andrapid-fireNationalMatchcours-
es.hlwa23.25"heavystainlesssl«IOOr-
rel.tliploadingslotforrapidloadingofthe
magazine.and special anti-bind feature for
lhereceiverandbolT.Weightisl0pounds
without sights.
=:-ngtonMooe44().XB8A8enchreslMatdl
Model 40-XBBR &11chrt1t Match
RiAt-Made~iallyforbcnchrest targei
shoolcrs.thisisasingleshotwithai;olidbot-
mrnedrc«:ivcr.Thchcavystainlffssteelbar-
rel of 20"' or 26~ length comes in the
followingcalibcrs:222.223.243.6mm.22
BR Rem .. 6nurur.47, 6mm BR and 308 (7.62
NATO)
---
Dick Dietz of Remington Arms supplied
thefollowingscrialnumberinginformatioo
ootheRcmingtonrilleslislrobclow.Thcscr-
ialnumbcrsgivenaretheswtingnlllllbcrsfor
thescmodels
Mode1720 40.000
Model 40-XB Rangcm asttr Tugel- A Model72land722 1.100
single shot targe1 rine with heavy 27.25" Model725 700.000
stainle$ssteel~lincalibcrs222.223,243. Modcl600 1.000
6mm. 25--06. 7mm M3'"um. 308. 30-06. 30- Model66() 6.200.000
338 (30 Rem. Magnum). 300 Win. Magnum. Thisinformauonmayirn=oollea<nseck-
308and30-06 inglowsmalnumbcn:dmodclsof lheserifles.
357
B ILL RUGER IS a wel!•known modem
gundcsigner"·hosccrea1ionsincludcthe
Ruger22Automaticpis1ol.theSingleSix
andBlackha"·ksingle-actionre,·ohws,1he
Model lon2 22 automatic rifle. lhe Ruger
44 Magnwn Carbine and 1he Number l sin-
gle~ rifle. All are or were successful. and
allarecurrcntlymanufacnuedinlargenum-
bersbylhcfinnhcheaded:Sturn,.Ruger&
Co .• Southport,Conn.06490.Nodoublthat
his most popular fireann is a veiy modem-
i1,ed Mauscr-type 1umbolt centerfire oction.
aroundwhichhisfinnisbuildingfine"clas-
sk .. bolt-action sponingrifles. like 1hose
originallypopularizedbyS1ewan Edward
WhitcandE.C.Crossmaninthcearlydays
ofthe'03Springfield.TheRugerbo1t-aclion
riflcistheModcl77.andwithootqucstionit
willbcoornealcadingnumberinthee,·er-
growingRugcrlineup
TlllMDOllnllUlll'Rhl
lntrodUCNlinl%S,theM 77Rugerrifle
was initially offered in one grade and a
number of popular caliberf. Weighing
about6.5pounds.the M77hasa nicely
con toured2Y sponcr-wcightbarrel.anda
classic-pancmed American walnut stock
thatishandcheckeredandnicclyfinishcd
Thcs1ockcarricsanibberbut1pad.apistol
gripcapcontainingtheRugeremblcm.and
slingswi,·elstud. From the beginning. all
M77 rifles ,,,ere fumishe<l wi1h Ruger
scoperings.whichfittedtheintegralbascs
machincdontherecei,·erringandbridge.
Rugcralsomadesomemodels"·itharound
receivcr1op.drilledandtappedforregular
scope mount bases.
The line was quickly expanded to
indudcashor1andalongaccion.Theshon
actioncouldha,ecbecnbettercalledamedi-
um-lengthactionandthelongac1ionwas
sooncalle<lthemagnum aclion .lntimethe
Rugeriineexpanded1oinclu<lenewmodels
and caliberf such as the Model 77V
Vannimer. the 71M Magnum in most of the
magnum calibers, the 77 International wilh
358
fu!l-leng1hforend.M77UltraLightandM-
77 Express. Bythetimcyouread1hisall
thescmodelswillbedroppcdandrcplaced
by new models on an improved action
called1hc Ruger Model 77 Mark !l. You
canreadaboutthescMarkllmodcl11inthe
following chapter. Someone has already
wri1tenabook on Ruger handguns and a
book on the Ruger No. I single shot rifle.
andsomconeisbound1owriteabookon
Rugertumboltriflcs
The 77 Ruger has received many rave
n:viewsfrommostofthegunauthoritiesand
edi1orssincei1simroduction.Praisedarethe
excellent lines, ba!anccand .. fed""ofthe
rifle.anditsfinehandlingqllalities. Theuim
andunadomedclassicstockisgi\'enmuch
praisc.faeciyoneremarkedupontheexcep-
1ionallyfincaccuracyoftheirtcstrifles.Fcw
reponerffoundanyfaultwiththerine.or
desiredanychangcstobemadeonitorany-
thingaddedorremo,·ed.Asformc.lthink
the Rugcr 77isqui1earifle.butthepuqx,sc
ofthisbookisnottoputdownmyc,·allla-
tionofanyriflc.justtodiscuss.describeand
cval'1alClhc1JC1ion.
TlleOl'tllllllMDOllnActlan
Just as Bill Ruger is a modem gun
designcr.soisheaproponentof1hemost
modcmmanufacturingmethodsandtech-
niques.Hisaimi11toprodl><:ethebestpossi-
blcsponingfireanns.ofsuperiordesign.a1
the!owestpossiblccos1.yet"·ithoutsacri-
llcing strength, rdiabi!i1y and accuracy.
This he has done. Therefore, one of the
manufacturingme1hodshehasadoptedis
thefabricatingoflhemajorstcelactionparts
by the invcstmem casting process. This
pro,;essistoooomplicatedtodescribehere.
but the net resuh is tha1 many parts can Ile
castloextremelyclosetolerances.withonly
a minimum amount of machining and pol-
islting nceded tocompletc cach cas1ing. lltc
processalsoallowsthefincststec!alloysto
beuscd.1husthepansaremadeof1hebest
steelsforstrengthanddurabili1y.Bcforeor
afterfinishing.1hesteelinvestmemcas1ings
canbehealtreatedasrequired.thcsameas
if1heindivid-.alpansweremachinedfrom
solids1ock.Toproducethein,·estmcntcast-
ings. Ruger built a new facility in New
Hampshire
Castingsaregenerallyregaroedwi1hsuspi-
cionbyshooters,astheword ..casting~prol:>-
ablyremindsthemofcastironorsomeother
form of cheap casting. Years ago the making
ofprecisioncastingsofaq-.alityalloystcel
wascoosidcredaboutasimpossiblcastaking
awalkonlhemoon-\\ecl:nowbetternow!
Partsofthc Ruger77aciionwhicharemadc
frominvestmentcastingsincludethereceivcr.
bol!andexlraCIOr.allofchrome-molybdenwn
stecl{AISI 4140).withcach pan properly
heatm:ated.Othersmallsieelactionpartsare
alsoinvestmcn1castings.includingthescope-
mountring:s. Theonlynon-steclpartsarethe
trigg<"rguartlandHoorpla!e.bothmadeofa
lightweight alloy
The77aciionlwscvcralwiusualandnote-
worthy design and conSlruction features
foundinnoothermmbo\tcenterfireaction
Thisincludcstherocciverwhich.unlikcmost
sochactions.isslab.sidedThatis.thereceiv-
ersidesareflat.andlheefT«cispleasing.The
recei,1'1"booomisalsoflat.althooghthefla1S
arenotinthcsameplanc.Therecei,1'1"ring
bottomiscntirelyflatcx~forthcareatak-
enupbythcrecoillug.Thi,;afTordsalarge
"bom,ming'"areaforthero:ci,1'1"againstthc
stock.anareawhich.ifproperlybedded.con-
tributeslotheaccuracyoflhefinishcdriflc
Thcrecoillugisampleindepthandwidthto
preven1sct-backofthebarrelandoctioninthc
stockfromn:coil
Totherearofthercceiver-ringflatthe
bonom plane of the recei,·cr mo,·cs up
about.250"".withthcmagazine"·cllopen-
inginit.Extra-widcguidelip,;oneachsidc
{Above) Standard Ruger Mode\ 77 short-
ac1ionriflewi1hopensigh1s.

ofthis~llholdthccanridgesinthemaga•
z,11e.p1d,ngthemin10thcchamberasthc:
bohisd05Cd.Alongloading-guideramp,
1nthefroruoflh<wcll,leadsoverthcbot-
lOIDloc:kJJ1&•lua;shoulder10guidethccar-
tndgesoul ofthemagaiinc andupw•rd
,n1olhcd1amber.
Them:ei,wrin,g,saboutl.72S#long.The
lotdmgandc~ionpon.berA-ttnthenng
and the bndae- is about 2.1w 1on8: 111c:
bridgclcngthi1aboutl.OO".Thetopofthc
bridgeisabout.125#1owerlhanthc,ring10p.
andoncach1hcn:isanintcgralfla1-1oppcd
~moonling base. In the middle of each
sideofthe,ebascsthcreis1cin:ularnotch
ThcspecialRuger-madesoope-mountrings
arcmadetodampvery...:urelyontothc!c
basc:s.To~'ffltthcmountringsfrom!Jid-
rn&OOthcbascsfrom~l.1smatlpro:jtt-
QOft.u,qn],mhandrisingliorneachrin&,
fits111101ma1ehmanotchcutintothc10pof
thcbascs.TheRugcrmounts,,-c:ryrugged
indml.an:raidi lydetachablc.
The f11$1 Model TTIICtions ,,,=made only
inonelcngthand"ilharigN-handboll The
lcft~•-n-wallisaboot.775#hi&h,but
lhoughu11channc!NOU110formthcleft
lock,ng-lugn«•••ay,itisqui1chearyand
npl The rucwer "'llll is unlike 1111,1$1 Olho:r
ccnterfi~ tumboh actions. "'-hich 1111,·c the
n&ilt"''lllnohighcrthanthcbonomofthc
riglulockinJ-lug.-...1y.Thcright"-allon
thcRugcractionC!Ctendsabout.2SO"highcr
lhanthis.Thccxtn1ridgeofme1aladdsgrea1-
ly10theSlmlgthandrigidityofthercccivcr.
~,.
The Sav~ l 10 rc,;ei,~r is nuidc the same
The 77 bolt-stopisalsollOICwonhy. It is
ofllw:98 Mausc:rtype,inthatitisanac:hedw
llw:lcftrearofthereceiver.hasaproject,oo
ukndnlJ mlO !he left locking•lug ra,;C\0,-.y
lti.haltslhebol11nw~lbycontac\Uli!helcft
I ' '
lockinglug.andlhatil isswungoutWfflllO
~lea:;e1hebolt. It is shaped like che 98
MausnbolHtop.bulisfarsimplcrandmon:
rugg«t. ltisasmal lrectangularbloi:kof
Steelwim1~oblongholclhroughits11W
md. Fitctd inlO this hole is• heavy ..:n:w
andbltshing.withthe$C~wthrcaded1nto
thettcel\'er. lnll10lherhok-.lcngthwl5C
throughlhebolt-stop,aplungerand1,·cry
M1ffcoilspringarefincd.Hddinpl-by1
smallpinthroughthefrontof!heboli.siop,
theplungerconiaruthebolt•S1opscrewand
bushing.providingthe1ensionneedtdto
hold1heboh-s1opforward.againstthe
rc,;eiver;ita\~allowsthefrontofthebolt-
stop10bcswungawayftQ1111lw:rc,;eiver10
removethebolt.Whilellw:springholdsthe
bolt-stopforwud,theoblongholcallowslhe
bolt-stop 10 move back I slight amounl
ap,lnSI $pring 1fflSion. Thispmide, 1bu1Ter
orshock1bsocbcrtothebolt11,·heni1is
359

opened and drawn back. This lessens the
abn.ip1shockwhen1hebolt is hailed, and
mayhelplhcshoolcrinspecdyoperationof
·-·
lhcbollbystaningitfo,wardagainaflcritis
The77boltisofone,pieccconstruetion,
thebolthandlcmadeasanintegralpan.Dual-
opposedforwardlockinglugs,engaging
shouldcrsinsidethereceivcrring,holdthc
bohlockedinthereceivcr.Bothlockinglugs
aresolid.Thelefl(upper)lockinglug,brger
lhantherightone,extcndswlhcforwanledgc
,~-
ofthebolt.fonningpartoflhcrimoflhcbolt
TheexlraC!Or,alongone-pieccMauser
typc.isanached10theboltbyaoollar,which
fitsintoagroow,aroundlhcboltbody.The
exll3CIOrdoesn'troottewiththebolt.Longitu-
dinalmovementoftheextmctorispreYented
byalip,lllldcrthefrontendoftheextractor,
engagingagroovecutpanwayroundthebolt
head.The.,.-.,11,bcveledextractorhookslips
easilyo,..crachambcrcdcartridgcrimontlos-
inglhcbolt.
Thebol1headisrecessedfortheheadof
thecartridge.Abouthalfofthisrecessis .120"
dec-p.whilctheotherhalf(ovcrwhichthe
cxtractorhookcxtends)isonlyabout.030"
decp.Thu.s,unlikcthecascwith98Mauser
andpre-'64Winchcster70bol1S,1hecar-
lridgcsare fed in10thechambtraheadofthe
bol1andextractor,anddoubkloadingispos-
siblc if the bolt handle is not turned down
afleracartridgeischambcrcd.
Theejector.aspring-loadcdplungcrinthe
boltface,isheldinplacebyacrosspin.
Thebohhandlchasaverylowprofileto
clcarthceyepicccofalow-mountedSl:Ope
ThesxleofthereceivcrisdecplyOOIChedfor
thcheavybascof1hebolthandlc,andthis
formsthesafetylug.Thefla1,buttapered.
s1emofthcbolthandleanglessharplybockto
360
: I I
Apairot 1·sp1~-type scope mount rings are
staodardequiprnenlwithlheModel77Ruge<,
inclucledinthepriceoftherillesandbarreled
actions.Oesignedandmad6byR"ll8r,they
clampsacurelyonlheintegralbasesrniUed
rll<ltheklpofthe~ringandbrid!)e
placethegr,L$Pingballwithineasyreachof
theshootcr'shand.Thegr,L$PingbaUisnei-
therroundnorpearshapc,d--i1hasashapeall
itsov.11.Whilethisgraspingballrnaybcsatis-
fac1orygrncrally.ldon'1likcthesharp1op--
rearcomcrofthestcm.oritssharprcarwanl
anglc.N01longaflertherifle'sintrodue1ion,
thisbolthandlewa.sreplacedbyamorecon-
ventionalonewitharoundtapcn:dshankand
aroundcdgraspingball
Anangledsurfaceonthebascofthcboll
handlemeetsamatdtiogsurfacconthclefl
rearofthcreceivcrbridg('.andgivestheini-
1ialcan,rningpo""r1otheextractorasthe
bolthandleisraised.Angledcorncrsonthe
approaehesofthelocking-lugshoulderspro-
videthcpowertofom:theboltentirelyfor-
wardwhenthebolthandleislowered.
Ashor1projcctionontheou1Sidecenterof
thc77bolt.whichtheycalltheboltguide,is
noiunliketheguideonthepre-'64Winchcs-
1er70bolt. Onfullyraisingthcbolthandle.
lhecdgeofthis guide contacts the lower
edgeoftheleft!ocking-1ugraccway.stop-
pingfur1herrotationofthebolt.Then.asthe
boltisopened,irslidesalongtheraceway
-·
untilitisoutofthereccivercntirely.Ho,,:-
evcr,thisbohguidedocslinlctoguidethe
bolt,anddocsnothingwhentheboltisfully
Thcboltisdrillcdfromlherearforthe
firingmechanism;thelatterconsistsofbolt
sleevc,onc-pieccfiringpin,oockingpicce
andooilmainspring.Theoockingpicccfits
intotherearoftheboltslecve;thcfiringpin
fostigh1lyin10thcoockingpicce,securul
byaheavypin. Therearendofthecocking
piecccanbcseenandfeltatall1irncsto
dc1cnninewhelhcrthcac1ion isoockedor
not.lllereisadeepoockingcamnotchon
thcrcaroftheboh intowhich1henoseof
1hccockingpieccengages,andonopening
thebohlhestrikeriscocked.Whenthebolt
isopcn,thenoseofthecockingpiccercsts
inashallownotchon1hcrearofthebolt.
whichpre,-.,ntsthebohsleevcfrornbcing
ea.silytumedwhcntheboltisopen.Striker
travel is very shon and fast. which is
always desirable.
Rugerhasmadethisave,ysafeactiooby
providingrncansforpowdcrgasestocscapc
harmlesslyoutofthcactioninthce,..,,,tofa
Left•&~ view of the Ruge,
Mooe177actk>n.opened.Note
the receiver marl<ings and
angledlrootguardscrew.
Ruger Model n bolt head showing; (A) e,1,actor, (B) ejector, (C)
dual-opp()Sed locking lugs, (D) extractor collar.
rupmredcase head or pierced primer. The
,·cntholethroughtherigh1sidcoftherocciv-
crring,oppositethccxtrac10rhoot:,should
lakecan:ofmos1ofthepo"1iergas,esresult-
ingfromacascheadfailU11!.0nelargeround
holeandtwolongs!Olsintheboltbody,
directeddown"'ard into1he magazine box,
i;houldtakecan:ofgase:'lenteringthebo!t
bodythroughthefiring-pinhole.Thercislit-
tlcchancetha1anygasescouldeve,-escape
backthroughthebohsleeve.lfanygasesgot
intothelefllocking-lugracev.'ay1heywoold
bedcflectedoutwan:lbytheflangeonthelcfl
sidcoftheboltslee,·c.lthinkRuger'sideaof
having,·cntholcsinthcboltdirectinggascs
Ruger Model 77 trigg,ermechilnis.mshowing; (A) kx:alionofwe,ghl-
ol·P,.,11 adjustment screw, {B) sear-4!1ngagement adjustment screw,
(C)O\ler•trave!adjustmentscrew
downwardintothcmagaiincisbener!han
havingthcmopcnintothe!efllocking-lug
~,.
The simple trigger mechanism is fully
adjustablefor"·eightofpull,take-upand
over-travel. The wciglr1-of-pull adjusiment
se1-screwcanbeadjus1edwithomrernoving
thellam,landactionfromthestock(seeillus-
lrlllion).lbetalr:c-upandover-uavelscrews
an:properlyadjustcd:uthefacto,y,sothereis
noneedtoadjUS1lhcmfurther.
1netriggermechanism is contained in a
steelhousing.whichisfiltcdintheoottomof
1hem:ch·erand hcldinphu;ebya rolled
crosspin. Tnesearpivo1Sonapm1hrough
wallsin1hebouomofthcrecciver.andis
tensioned by a small coil spring. TIM: long
lligge,-,\ocateddirectlybclowthesear,piv-
Olsonapinthroughthebouomoftheoig-
gerhousing.Thctriggeristcnsioncdbya
small coil spring positioned be11,,een a
sctscrewinthebouomofthetriggeranda
scal(Klabracke1a1therearofthehousing.
This set-screw.an Allen-head type, is the
"·eight-of-pulladjus1mentscrew;tumingit
counterdock"·isereduccsthcweigh1ofpull
toaslightastwopounds.Tnescrewcanbe
reachedwithabentAllen,,.,TCnch1hrough
the trigger guard bow
1netoppanoftheoiggerisintwopans.;
thefrontpanorarniengagcsthesafety,the
reararmengagcsthescar.Thisreararniis
quitethinandspringtcmpered.Thctopofit
ishooedsquareandsmoothwhcrei1oontacts
asimilarsurfaceontheoottomofthcsear.
Thcreisaholctlu-ough1hisseararmfora
slottcd-hcadadjustmcnts,;n,w,whichthreads
intothesafetyarm.Tnebottomofthisscrew
hcadisnotchedtomatchaslightridgeacross
1hctdgcsoftheholeintheseararni;thispro-
videsasortofclickeffcctforthcadjusuneru
ofthiss,;rcw,andpreventsit from turning
after adju,unent. Turning this screw in
(clockwise)reducesscarengagement. This
s,;rcw is factoryadjustedforminimalsafc
searengagemcm.TIICrl:isanAllcn-headsel-
screwinfrontoflheholeinwhichthesear-
engagemen1 screw is threaded; afler the
factoryadjustmentismadc.thissei-screwis
tumedagains1thcscar-adjustmcntscrewso
361
 Ruge,-MTTValfflintrille,caliber22-250,24"
haavybarrel.The r<:K:eiveristappedtortar•
getscopeblocks.Theritleisshippedwith1"
Ruger steel scope ring$.
tha!ilcannotbelumedinfanher,asdoingso
10decreasesearengagcmen1,,:ould tea-·ethe
actionunsafe.Aholeinthefrontofthehous-
ing,locatcddirtttlyinfron1ofthislocking
SCl•screw,istheAllm-headtriggcrovcr-rrav-
cl adjustmmt screw. It is also corn:ctly
adj11$tedatthefactory.Thisovcr-rra,·el.or
trigger-stop,screwisnormallyadjustedas
follows:wilhtheboltclosedandthestrikCf
down,rum\hcse,.s,;rewinasfarasitwillgo,
thenbackitofTabout•/. -rum
TheTThasatrueslidingtangsafcty.The
rtteivcrtangismadelongenough,andslot-
ted, sotlwashotgun-typesafetybuttoncan
bepositionedinit.Therowysafetyshaft{or
lock)islocatedinaholethroughthewallsin
thcbonomofthertteivcr.Onthclcftsideof
thissafetyshaftaleverisrive-ted.Apiettof
be,,t wire conntt1S the manual safety bunon
withthislevcr.sotha1slidingthebuttonback
and fonh rotates the safety shaft. A small
looped-wirespring,hitchedtothele,·cr,pro-
vidcstheOnandOITtensiontoth<:safe,y.
Ano!herleverisattachedtotherightsideof
thcsafctyshaft,andwhenthesafetybunonis
pulledback,theendofthisleverrolalCSup
intoaslotinthcrtteivcr,engaginganotchin
thcbohtolockit.Thccenterpoctionofthe
safety shaft has a Oar spot where it f,u;
betwccnforkedannsontopofthetrigger
Thetriggercanonlybereleasedwhcnlhcflat
sideisalignedwiththcrearfork.butislocked
when the safety shaft is rotated ''••tum
Dcsignandconstructionofthe,-arioustrigger
andsafctypartsareallgood,andwh<:nlhc
safetyispulledback,thetriggerandboltare
sccurclylocked.ThesafetyonmyRugcrwas
s1i1Tandqui tedifficul11omgagcordisen-
gagc.andit1,1ouldbecvenmoredifficultto
move wi1h a cold or glo,·ed thumb. I would
muchratherhavcalarge-buttonedside-tang
362
safctyorabolc-slee,-csafe,y-onethatcanbe
positi\'elyandnoiselcsslydisengaged
Foldcdhcavyshce1steelformsthemaga-
iinebo~;itiswddedtogetherattherear,and
therereinforccdbyah,:aviers1eels1tap.The
uppcrsidesoftheboxarecurvedslightly
in"im.tsothattheboxwillfi1intothemaga-
2inewdlinthercceiver.lntcgralprojections
undcrth<:recei,-cr,foo:andaftofthcmaga-
zine well, securely and accurately position
andholdthemagarineboxinplaee.
Thclriggerguardbowisaveryneatlight-
w,:ightalloyrasting.Scrcwsthroughholesin
each rod of the lxiw. threading in10 the bo(.
!omoftherw:i,·er.hold i1 in place in the
stockandh,:lpholdtheban'clandactionin
thestock.Thefrontcndoftheguardbowpro-
jeclsfarcnooghforwardtoholdtherearofthe
magaiineboxinplace.
The from of the magazine box ish<ld in
plaeebythefl<X11pla1chingcplatc.Thefront
guard screw, passing through this plate,
threadsin1othertt0illugoothebonornofthe
receiver.Moreonthislatcr.Thc!loorplateis
o:.:,ru,e,:tcdtothishingeplatebyapin,withthe
hingejointonthcfrontendofthisplate.Thus
th<:Hghtalloyfloorplateco,·erstheheadof
thcfrontguardscrew.Alatchinlhcfronttop
partofthebowholdsthefloorplateclosed
Pressingthcserratedbuttoninsideth,:bow
allows the floorplatc to be swung down for
quick unloading. "ThestainlessStcclfolkw=
isattachcdtooneendofthcW-shapedfol-
lowerspring,andthcspring'sotherendfits
inroamortisein1he 0oorplate. The Ruger
PansListindicaresthatastceltriggerguard
bowandmagaiinefloorplatecanbeonlered
ARuger-patcntedfearureofthe77actioo
istheangledfronrguardscrew.whichmter$
therccoilluga1abouta62-degreeangle.This
canbecleartyseeninthcpho(ographsandin
theS<:<:6onalvicwdrawing."Thehingcplate,
throughwhichthisscrewpasscs.hasafla1
surfaeea1rightangles1othescrew;on1ight·
eninglhcscrewtherecciverisnoconlypulled
down into the stock.but is pulled back as
wdl.bringingthcrearofthereo:>i!luginclos-
estcontactwiththestock.Theareawxlerthe
recciverring.whichincludesthen:,:oillug,is
amostvitalareainthebeddingoftheaction.
Sincei1isawell-establisliedfactthatacon-
stantcon1aetbetwecntherearofthen:,:oillug
andthcstockisafactorinoblainingconsii;-
ten1topaccuracy.theRug"'angledguard-
screwprincipleisasoundonc.Thati1fulfills
thisfunctionsecmse,·idcnt,forall!estreports
onlh<:77ir.dicatehighac.:uracy.ldon"t
lhink,really,thatanyindividual77rifle
wouldbeanylcssaccurateifitwerefitted
witharight-angledfrontguardscrew(asall
olhercenterfiretumboltactionsha,-c),bulif
theRugerrearward-angledscrewhelpshold
then:coillugbackagainstthcwood_whichit
doc:sifit's kepttightened.thcnl'mal!forit
-
Theheadofthescrewiscovcn:dbythefronl
endofthefloorplatesolhereisnothing
WISightlyaboutit
Thereareseveralthingsln:allylikeabou1
thc77action,andoolyoneortwothingsl
don"t."Thefirstthingldislikedwastheorigi-
nalbo!thandle,bu1thissoonwaschanged.
"Thesc..:ondthingisthcsafeiy.Thebohhan-
dlcstemistooangularformytas1c.andl
thinksomewillcomplainaboutthesharJ)1op
rearedgcofthc!item. The sliding tang safety
isinaconvenientplaeeandi11ooksniee,butl
belie>.·eit"ooldbemorefunctionalunderall
conditionsifitwaslocateda1thesideofthe
tang.likethesafctyofthe788Rcmington.
Whatllikcmos1abou1the77actionisthe
Mauser-typcextra<:tor. loonsidcrthistype
muchbetterthanthepunyclaw,hook.sliding
orclip-typcextractorsfoundinrrtOSlothCf
modem centerfire mmbolt actions made
today.lalsolikctheruggedandbufTcml
Rugcrbolt-swpverymuch.Thetriggermcch-
anism is to my liking in that it is simple,
roggcdandadjustablcfromthcoou;ide. l like
theideaofhavingthesoopcmowitingbascs
madein1cgralwiththcreceiver,andRugcr"s
systemofsecuringandanchoringthcringsto
therecciveriswithoutfault.Morethanample
provisionsaremade10,1'111gasesharmlessly
001oftheaction.andtli keRuger' sideaof
havingthevcntholesintheboltdirectedinto
themagarineratherthanintotheleftlocking-
!ugraceway.asisdonewilhmanyodicrbolt
aclioorifles.lthinktheflat-sidedreceivCfis
pleasing.andlliketheideaofnotcuningthe
righ1sideoftheloadingandejcctionpoT1
down1othebottomofthelocking-lugrace-
way.astheex1raridgeofmetallcfth<:re
makcstherecci,'C'l'morerigid.

111'111111,_..MNll n Mlrldlll
Thcserialnumberisstampcdonthclcft
fla1ofthereceiverring.Stampcdon!heleft
sideofthere.:ci,...,,.,,,allis
ThcRugerfinnnamcandaddressismll-
stampcdontopofthebarrelasfollows
STURM, RUGER & CO ..
SOUTHPORT. CONN. U.S.A
Thccaliberdesignationisstampcdonthc
breechofthcbarrel
When the 1968 Gun Control Act went into
cffoxt.Rugeradoplcdanewserialnumbering
systcmforallRugergun!l. Ruger Model 77
riflesmadeafterthischangcinscrialnumbcr-
ingwillhavethenumber70prefixed1othe
regular serial number. When this new digit•
prefixsystcm"-uinstituted.scrialnumbers
followingthepreftxnumberswererestarted
withnumberl.thus:(as exampletheModel
77rilk:)70-00Xl1.
Makcsurclhcchambcrandmaga,:ineare
unloaded.Toremo•,cthebolt.raisethebolt
1880 Models
Thefollowingisalistandbriefdcscriptioo
oftheprineiplemodelsofthe RugerM77
whichwerea,·ailableprior1oandaftcrthe
introduction of the RugerM 77 Mark II in
about1989.(ThcMarkllisdeseribedina
nearbychapter.)
lnl982Rugerintroducedancwmodelto
theirModel771iocup.Asillustratcdhere.lhis
modelisacarbinewilhl8.5'barrelandfi11ed
wilhaclassic-styledfull-lcngthMannlicher
stock.RugcrcallsthisriftctheModel77
International Carbine. It was available in
either243or308caliber.
TheM77Carbineisha5Cdontheregular
handleandpullthcboltback.atthcsamctimc
swingingthefrontofthcOOh-Slopawayfi'om
therecc,jvcr;insertasmallpinornailinthe
l>olcinthebo1tomofthccockingpieceand
unscrewtheOOl1s]e,,,·cfromtheOOlt.To
reassemblc.tumtheOOlts!ee,,..,imothcOOh
asfarasitwillgo.thcnbac-kitoffuntilthc•
cocking-piea:nosercstsintbeshallownotch
a1thcrearoftheOOlt.thenremovcthepin.
ltisnotne«s.sarytodisassemblcthcfiring
mechanism unless some pan has to be
rq,lattd.lnthiscaseitmightbebesttosend
thcentireasscmblytothefactory.llowa·er.
it can be disassembled as follows: Rig up
somcmcans(aviseorclamp)tocomprcssthe
mainspringsothepininthccockingpieccis
exposedbeyoodthecndof1hcOOltsleeve.
then dri,·c the pinou1. Because the main-
Springisverystrong.uscgreatcareinrelcas-
ing1hc clamp lest you be injuml by flyins
pans. or the pans be lost. Reassemble in
,..,....,,seorder.anditisabsolutelynecessary
tha1youuscaclampingarrangcment
Toremo,..,tbeextractor.raiseitsfrunend
highcnoughsoitcanbepushedforwatdand
slippcdoffthcbolt.Donotremovetheextrac--
torcollarunlessne«s.sarybecauseitmaybe
sprungou1ofshapcinsodoing.Thctjector
M71 action with integral scope mourn bases
Rugcrspli1ringsarcfurnishcdwiththeril1c
Thcstock,madeofqualityblackwalnu~will
beappreciau:dbythoseshoolersandhun1CrS
wl>oha\'eadmin:dtheobsoletcMannlicher-
Schoenauercarbine.lbelieYcmostofthem
willprefcrtheRugcr-designedstockwithfull
CUIVedpistolgrip.muchlessbellyandthe
absence of a cbeekpicce which. on !he
Mannlicher-Schocnaueratlcast."--asauseless
adornment. The Ruger stock is fined with
stingswi,·ds.andthefrontoncisavcryclose
copyoftheoldM/Ssiimipdcsign.
lnadditiontotheswivcls.thcRugerCar-
binestockisalsofinedwithaSleelforendtip.
asolidrubbern:coilpadandtheRugerpiSIOI
TopviewotlheRugerM77actionwllhlnte-
gralsoopemountbases.
andtjectorSpringcanberemo>'Cdbydriving
oot1hecjectorpin.
Toremovcthcbarrelandactionfromthc
stock.openthemagazinefloorplatc.rurnou1
thcfror11guardscrew.removethcfloorplate
andhingeplatefromthcstock. Turnou1the
rearandcenterguardscrews.thcnpullthe
guardbowandmagazineboxfi'omthestock
Lift 001 the barrel and action assembly.
Reusembleinrc,-erscorder.bu1 tighten the
anglcdfromguardscn:wbeforetighteningthe
centcrandrearguardscn:ws.
Toremo,-ctheOOlt-s1op.rumouttheOOlt-
stop screw stud. h can be rcatlaehed by
dcpn:5.1;ingthe00h-Slopplungcrwithasrnall
scn:wdriYcrwhileruminginthescrewstud.
Torcmovc1he safctybutton. liftoutthe
rearendofthesafctylinlc.thenthesafctylink
can be removed from1hcsafctyshaft. To
removethcsafctyshaft.firstremo>'Cthcsafe-
ty-sltaftspring.thenpryoutthenylon".isher
from lheOOlt lock witharoundtool,then
slideofftheOOltlock.Toremovcthelriggcr
housing(aftcrthesafctyspringisremo,·MJ.
dri,·coutthctriggcr-housingcrosspin
Rcmovethesearandspringbydrivingout
the sear pivoc pin from left to right. Re-
asscmbleinn:,·crseordcr
gripcap.lnall.i1isa,..,ryneatpackagefor
thcdeerhunter
In 1983. Ruger introducedanolhcr··ncw~
M77- the""Ultralight."ThcUltraLight
hasaslim.20"barrclwitheithertheround-
toporintegralscopc-baserecci,..,,.ltweigl>s
sixpounds.llleentin:riftc,tomymind.is
nothing more 1han a slimmed-down Model
77--4hc "-"llnutstock having a block,com,
positeforcndtip.Hunterswillwelcomethe
weight savings. ll"schambered for243 or
308only
Thcfollowingissomcadditiona!informa-
tionaboottheother RugerM77models.
BesidcsthclntematiooalCarbincandtheUltra
Ligh~~arcthreebasicmodels.Theyare
363
 Thi) Rui;er M77 Magnum hfle wes availatlle In 264
Winch8ster Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, 300
Wineheste, Magnum, 338 Wlnches1er Magnum and
458 Winchester Magnum. TIiis one has the round
reeeiverlorstandardscopemoonts

This Is Roger's lightes1-weight big game hunting rifle. It

is1heM77Ultral.lght. lt 1eaturesa20'1ightweightbar-
retwithadjus1ableopensights,awalnulstock,rubber
buttpad,slingswiY~studs,aslidingtangsafety,and
weighsabout6poundsincaWl>ers223,243Win,257
Roberts, 270, 30-06and308.

=ne
... --
·····:~ ~ c a s l i n g o f ~ s t e e t . ~ -
,ledbridge. lnteg:afscopemountbilsesonringandbridge,adal)ledto
~
On&-pieoedvome-mllyl.xleffi9S1Inelllcasling'Mlhsolidwal-
opposedfofwardlcx:mg~.8aseollow-prr,Hebolthande$8M.OS

::::: ~ ~ ~ = ~ . . : i ~ ·
wei{t11.of1)Ul,tak&-upandOlltH'-travet
= ~: :: .. mechanismandboltwhenPl.aedbad<.
Mauser·typofastenedtoboltboo,'bya

EJec:lor ...
Bolt..lop .

364
 I ' ,

15

33

59
19 58

~I ·~~-..1r,
''
29 ..

16
31 27.i

rs 'ss u 32

30 Receto'91MountingScrew 61 Trigger0verTravelScrew

i
62 TriggerOverTravelSe1
So,w

17
16
19
20
Floo<plate!-lin{le
Floo<pla\ePMJIPin
MagazineBox
MagazneFolower
""
,,
""
:~==en-Pin
66TriggerRetumSpring
67 T~RerumSpring
21 Magaznel.ald1 68 RearSigh1Blade
22
23
Magaznel.alChPil
Magaznel.a1ChSpmg
"
38 SearPivo!Pin
39 SearSpmg ,...,_
Part.Nol$hown

~ ~~
. , ScopeRingAsserrt,!y
26 Pis1ol~CepMedit5iln
41 ScopeRing~
42 SoopeRingNul
43 ScopeRingScrew
~=~g:Nul
StookReillorcemenl
~ ='1)CepScrew
44 FrontSig,IPlunge<
29 ~Mou:'llingScrew. 45 Fron1 Sig,!; Plunge< Spmg s~
46 Fron1Sig,1Base So,w

365
 1) Model 77 Sporter. with 22~bam:I,
wdgh17pounds.incalibcrs220Swift,22·
250.243.6mm,257Roberts,25..Q6,270.280,
7x57mm. 7mm-08. l08and 30-06. (Note: 24#
bam:lfortbc220Swifland25-06).
2)Modt l 77Magnum .with24#barrel,
366
wcight8.75pow,ds,incalibcrs264Magnum.
7mm Magnum. 300 Magnum. 338 magnum
and458Magnum
3) ~lodt l 77Varmi nt.with 26#bam:1.
weight 9 pounds, in calibers. 22-250. 220
Swift,243,6mm.25..Q6,280and308
A limi1ed number of the sponers were
madein250-3000calibcr
In 1994,$0meofthesemodclswerestill
availableandallueavailableinonevariation
orano1herbascdontheMarl:llaction(see
followingdiapter)
E AR LY IN 1994. J rccei,·cd word from
DBl.thepublisher,thattheyhadd<:<:idcdto
doaneweditionofthisbook.Tenye.ushad
passed since the rcviscdedilion waspub-
lishedin l984.lnthcinu,rirn,Rugerintn,.
duccdtheirM77MarklJ.
I had become a1>'ate !hat Ruger was mod-
ifying t~ original M77 action, and carlie1'
AmericanRiflemancarriedshoni1crnson
anM77Markll.Thisdidno1intcres1rnea1
that time. Then w~n the magazine pub-
lisheda"Dope Bag"rcpo11on the Ruger
M77VTMarkll,ltooknoticcandligurcd
thatbythent~transitionalperiodoft~
Markllwaso,·er.andbccausclhadabook
10 enlarge. I obtained a Ruger M77 VT
Mark. II and• new Ruger catalog . My
descrip1ionandcommcntsonthisrifleand
action follow. If you wanttoleamsomc-
thingaboutthe1wo 1ransitionalvariations,
you can find the rcpons in the January,
1994,andJu!yandAugiu;t.1992.issuesof
AmericanRiflema~.
......... ,884~
Thefollowingisalistoft~Markllrifles
which arc identified as such in the 1994
Ruger catalog:
Ruger M77 Mark 11 [Jprt'H Rine--
Features: Frcnch walnm stoek: mctal pistol
gripeap;stecl1riggcrguardandfloorpla1e;
2room:1;cxprcss-typefrornandrcarsights:
rear sight mounted on exprcss-1ypc ramp;
integralscopebasesonthcrcccivcr; Ruger
scoperings:four·shotcapaciiyinsumdard
calibers. three-shot for magnums: cham·
hcrcd for 270. 30--06. 7mm Rem. Mag., 300
Win.Mag.and338Win.Mag.
Ruger ,\1 77 ,\l ark II Magnu m Rine-
Feamrcs, 5.ame as the &.prcss rifle cxcepl
for1he following:calibcrs375 H&ll,404
Jeffery.416Rigby;stockischcckercdCir-
cU'lian walnut; w"igh1 in 375 H&H and 404
JetTcryabout9.25pounds..416Rigbyabout
10.25 pounds: magazine capacity: four
rouodsin375H&Hand404JctTery,chrccin
416Rigby.
Ruger M77 Mark II AII-Wu lher
Rifle-Features: All-wea1her sponcr with
compositionstock:allmetalpartsstainless
steel:right-orlcft-handcd:scopcrings:"'·ith
orwithoutopcnsights;slingswivclloops;in
calibers22),24),270.308, 30.-06. 7mm
Rem. Mag., 300 Win. Mag. and 338 Win
Mag.
Ruger M77 Mark II ln1u na1iona l Car•
bin e-Features: 18.5" barre!: full•lcnglh
Mannlicher-scylcstock:opensights;scope
rings:incalibcrs243,270,308,30-06;
wdght7pouods.
Rn gtr 1\177 RS Mark II Rifl e--Stan-
dard sponcr. features: walnu1 Slock; 22" and
24"barrels; scope rings: with or without
opensighcs;incalibers243Win.. 25-06,
270, 7mm Rem. Mag., 30-06, 308. 300 Win
Mag .• 338 Win. Mag and 458 Win. Mag.
Ruger M77 Ma rk ll Ull n Light
Rine-Fea1ures: 20" barrel; w"ight 6
pounds; scoperings;walnutstock;in cal·
ibers223.243Win .. 257Roberts.270.Jo.
06and308
Ru ger M77 VT Mark II Targel Rlfle-
Fcatures: 26"heary bam:l; no sights; scope
moum rings; laminated hardwood s1ock:
weight about I0pounds;bea\'crtailforcnd;
stainlesssteelbarrcl,rcceivcr&ndbolt:two-
stagetriggcr: in calibers 223. 22 PPC, 22-
250.220Swift,6mmPPC.243Win.25.-06
and308.
Allthcres1ofRugcr'shigh-powercdrum•
bohrifleshavebam:ls.rccciversandbohs
madeofachrome-molys1ed
My rifle is th" Rugcr M77 VT Marl< II.
Purchased in 1994,itisthisactionwhich I
TIII .... PKnVTMll'ttlAl:tlll
lbercceiveroftheRugerMark ll action
isas1ainlesss1eel in\'CStmcntcasling.his
very similar co the receiver made for the
standan!M77riflcinthatithasaflatbonom.
integral recoillug,racewaysforthelocking
lugs.thesamcbolt-stop.anditismachined
ontoptoacceptthestandardRugcrscope
mount rings. However. it differs from tile
standardM77recei,·crinthm:rcspects.Turo
ofthescarethatithasanarrowslotinthe
leftbonomofthebridgearea1oaceep1the
"jcctor.oncnocunlikctha1inthcWinchester
pre-·64M70action.Thesecondno1iccable
diffcreneeisthattherightsidcofthctangis
flauenedontopandhasavenicalholeco
accep1the$11fety.ThethirdditTen:ncc,&nda
promincntonc.canbesccnonlywhcnth"
bam:ledactionisremovedfromthestock.
ThisditTerenceis l~triggerhousing.his
nocasepara1epan.asinmostalloiherrum-
bolt actions, but an imcgral pan of1he
rccci,·crcasting.Jtlooksabitodd.butwhat
bencrwaytodoit?Thercccivcralsodiffers
in1hatthcrtteivcrringismade.500"1onger
toprovidemorcchrcadsinsidcforalongcr
barrclshankandismadefromstainlesssiecl.
ThislongcrrccdvcrisusedonlyontheVT
model&ndnotontheolherMarkllmodcls.
The bolt of the Mark II VT is made of
stainlcsssteel.Aboutallchat thcoldand
new bolts have in common is the dual op-
posed forward locking lugs, low.profile
handle, anti -bind feature. cocking cam
notches and firing mechanism. The striker
orfiringpinpansarealsoditTercm,asarc
theboltslecvcandbollsleevelock.St.art-
ingatth.,bohhcad.andasshowninthe
pho1oncarby,theMarkllbolthasthecar-
tridgeheadrtte"SS undercut1oallowacar-
1ridge fed from the maga.;iine into the
chambcrtoslipundcrthccx1ractorhood,as
inth.,M'18Mauscr. As explained several
1irnesbeforcinthisbook,thisfea1urcprc-
"cntsdoublcloadingintha1ifthebollisno1
entirelyelosed.thccartridg.,willbc.,xtract-
{Abovfl)ThisislheAuger M77VTMK IIT&r·
ge1nfle. 11hasah11avy2(l"stainlesss1ee1
barral,withstainleSSrl)(:eiver,boll,trigger
guardllloorpla!efinished"1naturalg,aymat•
te!inis h.Thetarg&Htylestocklso!laminllt·
ed hardwood. The gun also has a
free•Jloatedbarret,three·posilionsa!aty&nd
doobl&-slage taroet-qualitytrigger.lt'saval~
abl<.I in calibers 223, 22·250, 22 PPC, 6mm
PPC,220S-..tlt,243wtn,25-06and306.
367

edandejeeted whenthebollisopcncd.
Morere<:ently.thisfeaturehasbeende-
scribedascontrollcdFeeding.lha,·cnever
used this term before. but it is apt. Ncxl in
thcphotoofthcbohhead.youwillnotie<:
thereisnocjec1orplungerasin1hcoldbolt.
butyouwiUseethenarrows!otcutintothe
boll face for the WinchcstcrM70-slyle
ejector.This typeofcontrolledfeedingpro-
hibitstheustofthcplungcr-typeeje<:tor.
Jnthepho!ooftheMarkllbollhead.you
can see the narrow eje<:!Or slot. 11 is an
angledslotwiththeanglest.ar1ingnear1he
rearoflheleftlockinglug.hili110diffcrent
thantheeje<:torslotontheWinchC'slerpte-
'64M70boh.Thisslotistherc!Oromplete
368
: I I
Rlgh1sideoftheR.igerM77VTMKllacllon
withopenboll
thccje<:!Orsystcm.whichisalsoacopyof
theWinches1er.Thiseje<:torissimplyathin
spring-tensionedlcverpositionedinthe
grooveinthebottomrearandleftsideofthe
At this time. r m..si mcmion and <b<:ribe
thesafe1yandthebohlock. Both are new
features.andlknowofnoothertumbol!
a<Olion having these parts the way Ruger
makesthem.11,esafetyl'Olatesina,'Cflical
holeinlherightsidcofthe1ang.Swungas
farforwardasitwillgo.thesaFetyisonthe
Fireposition.Swungtotherearasfarasit
willgo.itisintheSafoposition."·hichlocks
boththebo!tandthetrigger.Wheninthc
intermediateposition.itlocksonlythetrig-
gcr.butallowsthebolttobeoperated.When
thcboltisclosed.thesafe1y-leverlies
between the boll sleeve and the receiver
tang.andatfirs1glane<:itappearscithercon-
nectedtotheboltslee,·eorreceivcr1ang.
Thcbol1lockisaslcnderspring-1cn-
sionedplungerpositionedinaholelength-
wisethroughtheexlremerightsideofthe
bo!tsleeve.lnitsnonnalposiTion.pa"oF
1hisplungerprojec1sfromtherearof1he
boh sleeve where. when the saFety is
pushedasfarbackasitwillgo,itpushes
lheplungerahcad. This.intum.causesthe
frvmcndoftheplungertoproje<:tbeyond
thcsleeveandimoaholcinthcreareridof
thebolt.thuslockingit.lfthesafctyis
 Thtberrtlandaction ollheMTTMarkll AII-
Wealher rille ere madeofeo<roalon- resl1-
tanl,400-Mrlesstainlesssteel. Tht slockls
olflber{llaM-<einlon:edOuPont Zytel

mo-•edtotheintermcdiatepoSitioo,theboll
loc:kplungcrmo,-c,backandthebolti1
unlocked.
Jnstdethelngermec:harusm.thelower
mdofthe111fttyp1V01stcmblocbthc1ng-
acr"'hcnn-crthe '"-fctyiainthe S.fcor

-··
mtenncd,atepos,tion. h 1sallqu1tc1,c»·cl.
andlknowofnoothcrriflcwithasim11af

McntioocJbcforcasoncof1hcd,ffemi1
fnnmiofthcMarli: llaction,ascompaml
totheon1U\3] Modcl77.thclriggcrhoosmg
iscastintcgnlwiththcrecciver.Thcscar,
criggerlOOthe1rQJO<;ia1edspringsandp•ns
areronta111Nbctweenthe"'.illsofthisstecl
hous>ng. A steel bar partly between the front
ofth,1ho1111ngistac:k,wcldcdinplaccto
mclosethcwalls.andllwttholcsaremlllcd

::usc1ar'1n;;;hfor~;.1':fs;..~~
cnpgcmcntandO\er-tta,"d.lllrn.toensure
apermlncrlt~ustmentaflerthefxtoryhias
propcrlymadctheadjustmems,threccross
holc,drillcdandlappcdthrougheachofthe
adJustmcmscrcwholcs.andfittcdwiths,x
11111all set-screws. lock each adjustment
screw in place. Thcas-cas1 surfaccof1his
housmg.lhcspouofwelding.aswcllasthe
~ - -- - - - -- - -- -=-
TheRuge,ln7Marl<IM-Wllllltt«nlaillihowr'linlllll)aclioni.,,gtlt:asholtadlOnb-223Rtm.,
~Wln.andXIBWln.,andalDngaclionb-270Wln.,30-05,7mmAem.Mag.andXICIWln.Meg.
l"C$toflheWKfflKlc:oflhe=ei,-crsccma theorguns.ltsccmsthatmostoftoday's
bit crude. but everything functions as ii nflcshavcfuheavierlriggerpullsthanwere
should. foundonriflesmadcbcforuboutl970.h,s
Rifle manu facturers of late have a,vcn notunusiilll tofinda5-poundpull.Oflen,
mUl'hlhooghtto thetriggc-rme,;hanismsfor too,thcsearengagcmentortake-upisfarin

Right and left views o! the Ruger M77 Marlt II

Sponar. lnmostcalibers. ~is an idealhun11ng lffle

369
 tmns

T11• lri119f!r guard on the M77 Marl< II houses a beautnully The Ruoer Mn Marl< II haa a whole new triQgtf talety meehanism
redesl{lnedlloo<plalelatchwhidllanushwithlhecon1ouraollhetrig- whidlallowethethootertounloadlherlllt withlhe.afetyon.Fully
g&rguard. lorwan:l,lhertne lsinlhe Fireposilion.

CJ<cnsofwhatmo61cxpcricnc:<driflcshoot-
cTS"'3RI. Thi$isalldonc forsafetyandlO
l''Oid Lawsuits. Anyway, Ruger has done
somethingncw.oratleastdiffncnt.v.iththe
M 77VTMarl: IL Thcniggerissomethirtj
equi,'llen1101mod1ficddouble-siagcpull.
Tl>efirs1nageofthe1riggerpullisrathcr
longandliglu,andv"')'noliceablc.Thatfirst
s111gcissoligh11hatpuUingi1back1othe
~stageisdoncalmostcffonkssly. h' s
very appa=t " ·hen the JeOODd stage i$
rcachcd.andsucbadoublc-~pullis•·ery
eQylOgel~to.OnmyMan: IIVTrilk,
thes«ond~pull-ashonandcmp
J .S-poundpull.lcanlivew1thlhat.llikcthe
ideaofha,·ingk>ngandligh1initialnigger
1ravel,andiftha1adds 101hcsafetyofthc
riflcinth<:handsofanoviccorcarcle.ss
shootcr,somuchthebc:ucr.[fitwillprcven1
a liability suit, !hat's great, On all other
Ruga-Markllrilles.thisdouble-su.gepull
isclimina1cdandthewc1gl11ofpullisin-
=ascdtoSpounds.
ThcremaindcroftheMarkllaction.lM
magazincbox,triggc-rsuard,hin~noor-
n.. Rugi9, ~77MiU1<11lelt-Hand ,._(libo'o'e plate and floorplatcca1ch 11re1lmos1 idcnt1-
MWll)r irn9ge ol o. Ruger
lelt and below)i$ a cal to prcviou, Ruger model,. It even has
MTTMalkllAight-Handrtlle(~righl). lheanglcdfrontguardscrcwasonthecarli-

370
 Ruger Model 77 Marl, II

Auger's M77 Marl< II ~u,e rifle has a medium-quality walnu1 stock,

integral solid steel sighting rib, end ex1ra anention tor~ ar.d fioish.
11'sollaredinawioevarietyo!U.S.andEuropeancalibers.

Manydeerhuntersp,eferalighl.shorl•batreledriflesuchastheM77
Marl< II International Mannlicher•stockedcarbine. ltweighsonly
abou17po,mdsandisavailablein243,270,308and30-06.

Thi$i$thebasicmodelRugerM77Markllrifla.lt hasmanyoptional
teatures,suehasstainlessorbluedsteel,opensightsornoneata1,
and achoiceormanycahbers. It has.of course, integral scope
mountbasesforRugerrifl{IS:checkeredwa1nuts1ock;20",22'and
24•(magnum}barrel1;and01he,stand.lrdMarklltea1ures.

{Abovfl and below) Ruger Mn Mark H Magnum rifle. This is the first
BoodS1reetqualily,Alriclln$al&ri,biggamehuntingrifleproduoad
by a major American fa..arms manufacturer. Calibers are 375 H&H,
404Jeff9ry,(four-!lholmagazine),416Rigb)',(lhree-aholmagazine);
barrellenglhis26•,withintegralsl&81rib;we<ghtat>oot9.25pounds
(375,404),10.25pounds(416.);lengthis40.5"overall.Tholstockis
o1Circassianwatnutwi1hhand-<:U1checkering,swivels!uds.steel
gnpcap,rubbetbuttpad.Thenflehasa ramptront sightand th,ee-
'8a1exp,essrearonasarratedinteg,alsteelrib,whichalsoserves
asabasaforlhelrontsoopering.ThisgunusasanenlargedMal1<11
actionwilhlhree-positionsafe!y,stainlessbolt,ordnanoosteeltrigger
~ ~ : ~ingedfloorpla1e.ltlsof con1rolledfeeddesign.lntro-
9

371
 s & Actmns

-
er models. On the VT model, the tngger
~andfloorplatearemadeofstainless
lleel.
I can only oommcm about the acuon on
my M17 VT MK ll nnc, which,, IIOffle•
whatditT=tllwtlhcMKllact10RSonlhc
ocherRugcrnncs.Thc=e,-·ernng,s
longcr1hanon1rcgularM77ac1ion,1nd
one reviewer wrote that th,s provides 1
moresccure1ndposi1ivcfitbetweenbam,I
and=iver,andthusboldsaheavyfrtt.
floatingbamlstcadicrldoubt""hethnth,s
,sm,e. Suppose.then, forcumple.ifthc
rcceivcrringwcretwi«aslongormon:,
would thi~ make lhl:: barrel steadier~? If
thcbam,landrt"«1vc-rarepropcrlylhread-

372
t?,37 3~38

3~~
~ 12
11

13

25

373
 : I I

cd.machincdandsetup,thereisnoreal
nttd 1ohavcalongcrrcceiverrin1andbar-
1clshank1hanthcregularM77. l donot
objcct101hclongcr rcceivcrHSUCh.but
doublthc:claimsmade1boulit
ldon"tlikclhe..,-aythcVTn=iverringis
tapnro.as i(it were poli$hednc:usively. l
think nshouldbeneatlysquamloff. I am
not apinst in,utmmtcasunp, but I like: lhe
pansrnadeandfini~sothcydonotlook
likcc1Stings.Thisca11be1ehicvcd,of
coorsc,butitaddsgreatlytothc:costofman-
ufacture. lhavcalwayscoosidcrcdall Ruge,-
firearm5cxccllcntvalucsforthc:moncy,and
lllatthcyare. Howcvcr,myVTMK lls«ms
to lack proper finishing.
Thatthc:VTMKllttigtthouslJlllisan
1n1cgnlpanofthc:rcct'We1'Stt111Stobea
,-cry&OOdidc:a.andahhoughldono1likc10
sceC"Yiden<;eofpans..,..,ldedtoae(her.lcan
pu1upwithit.
Onmypanitul.vMK 11 VTrifle,thc:saf~
tydidnotcasily sl ip ove,-thc:mdofthcbolt
lockplunge,-oncngagingit, Jbelicveacou..

-·
plcoffilcdragsundcrthc:!lafctybuuon.
whcrecootact is ma.de with the bolt lock
plllflgcr,..,l.>Uld,iufficctoronttlthisliule

lhavegivenli1tlcspK<01nthisbookto
,;ommcntmuc:hona11yil0Ck.lnd I ..,'OIi.i
doi1hcre. l likcbestuiockrnadcofwalnut
anddcsignsonthc:conserv11ivcside.This
Rui,:cr Matk llriflcisc1llcdatargctriflc,
andit sure lyis. Havinglon1cxpc ricncc Tile Auge, Magnum barrel and 1lgh!lng rib with cr0$$·Mrralion1 II
withfour-positiontari,:Clshooting,andaller JIIIChlr>ed trom a eingl,e bar ol a!MI. Thl1 1e.ture Ms customerily been
ttying avarictyofstockdcsigns, l couldnot avaffabl9onlyonthemoste~,euttom-buil1,bigoamtrillellradi·
askfor1bcncr$hapcd.11zedlndpropor- lionllyall0Cilltedwi1hthe8rtlish,8ond5treel,Alrieansatarirlllel.
11on.edstock 1hanon 1h11 Ruger. h comes
close tothc:old W1ncheste,- Mark,iman
siock, which has 1la·1y1 bec:n my firsc
choicefor1arge1work.lrthc:ti.relisfull- hornconedayhcsponcdthcRuge,-M77V owned a factorynflc as1ccuratcasthi1

·--
floatcd,lscenocarthlyreHOnforha,·inga
lami1111cdstock.
Somctimeinthtearlyl970s,andshortly
1ftcrthc:fimcdi1ionofthi1bookwaspub-
hshed,I rcccivcdalcnerfromthc:Rugcr
company. hbricfly statcdthattMywere
sending me a Model 77 V V1rmin1 rifle in
22-2S0calibertodowithH I pleased. I
thankcdlhcm.ofcow,e.Atthetimc.l " "U
busilycngagcdinanotherpn,jcct andfor-
gotaboutmygift.Somc timepa!;SC<Jbcfore
lcou ld spend1imca1mynn1,:c. I had a
yollflgmanwho iovWtoshoot,and loften
lcthim1hootmyriflc$. He soon became
very proficknt at the bcnchrest. At my
andtook1k«nin1ercstinit. llewantcd
badly to shoo! it and did $0 the ncx11ime
we wenl to the range. Shooting ammuni-
tion loaded with my long-1imc fa,ori1c
powd(r and bullet, and after about five
shouwiththc:riflc(lhadmountcdachcap
scopconit).Mfircdafive•shot,onc-hole
group at 100 yards that mcuurcd .225~
ccn1er-to-<:enter. He and I measured that
grwp•·crycarefullysc,·cn,I timc$bcfore
se11lingon1M.22Sfigure.Thi1wasfrom1
brand-new rifle. I had done nolhin1,:toi1
cxccptwipcoutthcboreandchambcrwith
adrypatch.Aftcrthcshockatsccingtrnl1
first small 1roup. my young friend fired
severalrroorefivc-shotgroupswithalmost
cqualretulu.l havcncvcrbcforeors1nu
was.ldonotbehcvetha1thcRugcrfacto,y
tcstcdthisrincforaccuracybcforescnding
i1tomc.lhadnopn:siousreason1010'ri1e
abou1thisrinccxccp1forthisbook,bu1r
hope ii is not 100 late to let my readers
knowwhata ...1>ndcrful rifle I had gotten
from Ruger. So,thank)'(HJ. you folks at
Ru&crforlha1tack-dnv,ngnflc.Myyoung
friendwho1cstcdit11QW0..,·nsn. l1 isin
good-.
lff..,uestdl avamun1andtargctshoolcr.
and if[ had 10 make a choice between
Rugcr'sfirstvannin1rillcandthcM77VT
Mart.:11,lwouldc~thcformcr.lnmy
opinion, the M77 VT Mart.: II is just loo
bulkyandhcavy.Forworkor,,.umintsthc
oldM77Vishardtobeal.

374
IN 1968. THE Smrm, Ruger firm imro-
due<.'d a high-powered bolt-aclion rifle which
hassincegainedconsiderablerenowninthe
United States and Canada. Ruger called i1
lhe Model 77. llwasa well planned rifle
with a very strong, well made and safe
action.andinmyeycsa,-erygood-looking
one. Soon after it came on the marl.:et, I
obtainedoneandllikcdeveryfeaturcabout
it.especially the stock.
The mosl remarkable thing about \he
Ruger M77 Wlli that its action was almost
entirelyassemblcdwithpansmadebythe
investmen1castingprocess.Makingguns
1his way was by then nothing new 10
Ruger,fortheyhaduscditinlhemanufac-
1ureoftheirrevol,·ersforalongtime.The
Rugerpeopleknew1hatan from A to 2.
ThedaylreceivedmyM77, [looked it
overwithacriticaleyeandoutwardlysaw
noevidcncctha11hereceiver,boh,andtrig-
gerguardpanswereany1hingo1her1han
machinings
lreal!ylikedthestockonmyrifle.ltwas
justplainclassic,andshapcdtoperiection
lthadnowhitelines,noflaredpis10lgrip,
noraisedcomborcheckpicceandnosur-
pluswood.Whatitdidhav,:wasaplainrub--
berbunpad,thenea1cstcappcdpistolgrip
onanycommereialriflethatl knewof,a
simple rounded forcnd with a smoolhly
rounded1ip.aperfectlysandedlevelsur-
face,superbnon-glarefinish.amplehand-
checkeredpanelsongripandforend,and
straight lines
lamsurctheM 77sold ,..-ellfrornthestan,
anditsoonbecameavailableinawidevari-
etyofcalibers and a few different stock
styles.suchastarget-varmim.lighN,eight
andMannlichcr. A!lslocksweremadeof
walnmandllikedallofthem
Then,inl983,Rugerintroduc:edarimfirc
hoh-actionrifleca!ledtheMode177/22,
made with a lotofinvestment-<:ast pans
Again lbough1oneandagain I liked it. It
hasafownovclfeatures,suchasaplastic
rotarymagal!inebo~andanewwayoffas-
tening1heband10ther«eiver.Bes1ofall,
ithadaRugerstock.Abouttheonlyfeature
ldidno1muchcareforwasthat.becauscof
theten-sholrotarymagazinebeingaswide
as it was, the middle section ofthcslock
waswidcrlhanl liked. BUl i1Wa!iBWUnd
22rimfire.Nosoonerhadi1hi11hcmarl.:et
than J bcganget1ing inquiresahou1 it One
was,"lsthisactions1rongenough,orlong
cnough,orsuitablcforrechamberingtothe
22Homet'>"
lnshon.i1wasn't. Ruger must also ha,..,
g011eninquiresonthis.and1heydidsome-
thingaboutit.Thisbringsui;tothetopicof
thischapler.Rugcrintroduccdtheirnewrifle
as the Model 77/22 Homet in 1994. Aller a
longwaitlob!ainedonc
Chambered for the 22 Hornet and so
mark«lon1hebarrel.1hislightandspony
bolt-action rine weighs only six pounds
withoul scope,hasaround.slim tapered
20-barrel,andaclassic-stylewalnutstock
The s1ock is fined with a black rubber
bunpad,anovalblackpistolgripcapwilh
theRugerBlackhawkmedallionin it,and
studs for detachable sling swivels. Like
01herRugerbol1-actionriflestocks,this
oneisminustheraisedcombandchcck•
piccc,butwithaperfccllyshaped,sized
andplacedpis10lgrip,andarounded,
taperedandround-endedforendtip.Both
thegripandthcforendarcchedered.As
withmostotherRugerstocks,1hes1oekon
myriflchasaverysmoothandlevelsur-
facc1hat isgivcn a1hin,non-glarefinish
thatcomplementsthewood.Theactiontop
has inlegral S<:Ope mount bases for the
cxcellentRugerS<:operings.Theriflcfea-
tures twin locking lugs on the bolt, fast
locktime,anexcellentsingle-s1agetrigger,
andafive-sh01rotarymagazine.bceptfor
theblackplasticmagazinc,theactionisall
steelinvestmen1castings.Thcac1ionfunc-
1ionssmoothly.lhe1riggerpullisgoodand
~ah~:!gcs feed out of the magazine without
Thereissomethingimriguingaboutthe
linle22Hometcartridgcandlcannotplace
my finger on it. Perhaps it is its small si~e
Anyway.I fellunderitsspelllongagoand
whythatwa!iandstillisso,ldonolknow
A grea1 many olher shooters feel the same
way.Thercha\'ebccnmanydiffcrcnlmakes
andmodelsofrifleschamberedforit,andl
samplcdanumberofthem. l had to wait
months before my new M77/22 Hornet ar-
riv«l, and J was1ednotime ingeningac-
quaint«lwithi1.
TIIIRllll'M17rlZllorMIAc1111
Tobegin.there,;civer,boltandprai:1ical-
lyal!oftheothcrpans(exceptthepins,
springsandscrews)areinvcstmemcastings
ofsteel.Aootherexceptionisthemagazine,
whichismos1lyplas1ic.ltappeantomethat
hcreisastrongac1ion,one1ha1functionsas
itshould,iscasytooperateandreliablc
Withtheexceptionofthcplasticmagal!ine,
llikee,·cl)'lhingaboutilandthatindudes
1hestock
Thereceivcrisofone-picceconstruclion
ofchrome-molys1eel. The ring and bridge
have integral mounl bases to accept the
quick.OCtachableRugerscoperings. Unlike
1hcRugerM77/22rimfireaction.whichhas
ashp-inbarrel.theHornetbarrel1hreads
1ightlyintothereceiver.The20"'bamlhasa
muzzlediamc1erofonly.540",makingfora
lightandwdl-balanc«lsporter.Thcr«ei,-er
(AbOve) The Auger '-177122 Hornet rifle.
We'9hingonly6.25pounds, fil\edwllha
slender20""barral and a well proportioned
watnuts1ock,thislsoneof!hanealest22
~ : ;:esevertobeproduel)dinlheUn~•
1
375

has the usual loadin&fejccting port and mag-
azine well opening, and a tang of sons.
Belowthcbridgearea.anin1tgralpanofthc
receiverfonnsthehousingforthetrigger
andsafctyparts.hissonofanabbrevia1ed
versionof1hehousingusedintheRuger
Markllaccion.
lbeboltonthisrineiscomprisedoftwo
pans,thcnoo•rota1ingpanupfront,whith
Rugertallslhtbree.:hblock.andtherear
pan.or!hebohbody.Therearponion
rota1esandhasduallockinglugsonitsfor-
wardtnd,andthcbolthandleon1hcrear.
These1wopansareheld1ogetherby1wo
pins. Tht raceways for the locking lugs
extendallthewaythroughthebridgeand
along1heful!leng1hofthe!eftreceiver
wall. TI>ec-ross-sectionofthebreechblock
isthesamcastheboltbody.Thiseffective-
lygivesthebree<:hb!ockopposingribs
whichnotonlyprcvencitfromrotating,but
alsoserveasbollguidesandasananti-bind
fcalure .
Anoblongslotncarthe frontof the boh
bodyprovidesavemforpowdergasesinthc
rarccascofapiercedprirnerorsplitinthc
cartridgehtad.Whenthebohisclosed,lhis
,·emisdirecdyoverthcmasazjnt"
The simple spring•tensioned claw ex-
1rac1or is fitted in101he front endofthe
righcribwhiletheleflribisdeeplygro,wed
10s!ideo~ertheejcctorlug. 'Theeje,:cor!ug
is made integral with the trigger guard
plate.TI>ebonomofthcbreechblockisnat.
andthefrontisrecesscdforthecanridge
rim. This rim is undercut 10 allow car-
tridgestoriseupandunder1heex1ractor
whenftdfromlhcmagazine.Thisiscalled
376
RightsideollhedosedWml'l2Hom8taction
controlledfccding.
The opposinglockinglugsonthefront
cndof1hcbohbodyaresolid.andtheylock
upinacircularrectssinthereceiverbridge.
These lug,1 are more than adequate in
strength for the Home! cartridge or for any
other similar canridge for which Ruger
mightsomcdaychambcrthisrifle. TI>eboh
handlecanhardlybecalledthesafetylug
becausethcsafety,builtintotherightside
of1hereceiver.leavesonlyasmallarnount
ofsupponmetalbcllindthcbolthandleTOOI.
lnconnectionwilhthis.thereisonlya!Oken
amount of extraction camming on the
up1umofthebohhandle.Thefiringme.:ha-
nism iscomposedofthcbo!t slcc,·e,cock-
ingcam. firingpinandcoilmainspring.As
in mos! bolt-action rifles. there isa detp
cockingcamn01chandash.allowcrno1ch
thatservestoholdtheOOltsle,:vcfromlum-
ingwhentheactionisopen.TI>eboltsleeve
isthreadedimothel>oltbodyasinmany
othtrrines
The trigger assembly iscont.ained in a
housingwhichappcarstobeanimegralpan
of1herccciver.Likcmo,;tsingle-st.agctrig-
gcrsmadeinrecentycars,thismechanismis
comprisedofthctriggerandsear,pluslhe
twopinsonwhichtheypiv01,andthetwo
springswhichsupply1ensiontothem. But
unlikemosttriggers,therearenoadjustment
screws.whichmakesitverydifficul1for1in-
kererstotinke-rwithittomakeanadjus1-
mcnt. The weighl of pull of the trigger on my
Ruger Hornet is 4.5 pounds. with a shon,
crisppull
TI>esafe1yRugerusesonlhisrif1eislikc
thatondicirMark!tM77.hisalhree-posi•
1ionsafe1y:swungforwarditisinFireposi-
1ion; swung back it is in the Safe position
wherei1 locksboththetriggerandboltln
theimennediateposicionitlocksonlythe
trigger.yetallowsthcbo!tt0beopcnedand
closed.This safe1yisuniqucinlhati1hasa
vertical stem fitted into the rightsidcofdic
rectivertang,andlhisstemextendsdownro
contac1thctrigger.l1Stndissoshapedlha1i1
blocksthctriggerexceptwhenthesafe1yis
inthcFireposition.Attheuppcrcndoflhis
stem,asermtedwinglyingbctWtt!lthetang
andboltsleeveprovidesthemcanstooper-
atethcsafety.
TI>eboltlockonthcRugerflornetisa!so
the same ason the Mark II Ruger as de•
scribedinanolherchap1er.ltisaspring-ten-
sionedplungerorpinpositionedinthcright
sideoftheboltsleeve.TI>esafctywingde-
presses this plunger when the safety is
swung to the Safe position. Its front end
engagestheboht0lockitdosed
Thestecltriggerguardisanunusualcom-
binationofthetriggerguardbowitself.thc
nuigazinc release and lhe rear magazine
wall. After first removing the maiµ.rint" and
thcrearguardscrew,thctriggerguardcanbe
removed by swinging it forward. At the
upperendofthiswallthereisahookofsons
whichcngagesaprojcctiononthcbottomof
thereceiver,andonswingingtheguardfor-
warditisreleasedfromtherecciverandcan
belifledout.lneffe.:1.thispansecuresthe
stock to the receiver when 1hc rearguard
screwistightent"d ltmuschavetakcnalot
offiguringandtrialanderrorworkromake
itv.·ork.Butitworks. l!isquiteanin,·csl-
mentcasting,tosaythelcas!
 Aprojcctionbclowtherc,:civcrring,thc
width of1hc m,civerandcxtendingabou1
halfwayinlothcmagazincopeninginlhe
stock, forms a wall for the front of this
opening.Ahcadofthiswal! is a piece of
slccl wi1hahole in ilforlhc front guard
screw.Thispiec<:isdisbcd011t10SC1Vell'Sa
buihin101hetriil!Crguard.Thisca1chisa
spring-backedplungcrwi1haholeini1s1ip
tohold1hero1arymagazineinplace. The
relcaselcvcrfonnspartof1hcbo11omof1hc
1riggerguard.Ocpressingitsforwardend
drawsthcca1chinwanl1on:lcase1hcmaga-
zinc.While1hcfron1andrearof 1hcmaga-
as follows: -
My Ruger Model 77/22 Hornet is marted

RUGER n/'12.

slidewhenthemagazineisinsened,andto
providcfingcniproomtorcmovethcmaga-
zincifi1doesno1 fallou1freclywhen1hc
magazine catch is depressed. This piece,
combined with the rear guard screw,
sccurc!yanchorsthestockto1hcbam:land
action
As memioned, the magazine catch is
..,.,.
zincfilbe1wecnwallsofS1ccl,1hesidesof
the magazine are walled in by 1hc stock
Thcmagazincismadeofblackplas1icand
sted.Thcmainbox isplll'Sti<:,butthchut,,ia1
eachendandthecarnidgcguidelipsa1either
sidcof1hcopeningareofs1ccl.Thcrotary
spool is plastic.
Thcserialnumberissttmpedonthelcft
sideof1herccciverring.Thecalibcris
~~ on the left side of 1he barrel
.22 HORNET
Thctopof1hebarre! is marked as fol-
lows:

377
 0

mf
ThllbOltol1heRu(le,MTTl'l2.Homet$hOwing: (A)oneoltwoe>C!rac- Untlersideolh~MTT/UHometbolls/loWlng: (A)tjtetol"
-.(B)lhot~(C)oneoltwolockingUQS. .-.d(DJlheboll 1Jf00¥9.(8)oneolrwolockinglugsand(C)holeforlhebr..eh
handlt.....,,.andatblg(IBSVMlhole. blod<,__,..psl.

boll.andhowtoscparat.elhcstock fi'omlhc that a small Allen "-rcnch lhatjustcntcnth11

Beloreusinggu'l--l'eadwamingsin
bamlandacUQn holc11 1hcvcryhcslpinforthis.Withthis
inslruction manual available free 1rom-
To mnovc the boh. raise the boll handle Allenwrcnchinplace,rumlheboltsleeve

-·-
S11.1rm, Ruger & Co. Inc. Southport,
Conn. U.S.A.
Each and c,·cry M77/22 Hornet rifle
Rugershipsis1CC0111paninlbyanowncr' s
manual . lnthismanu.alareromp!Neinstn.lC-
uons,,.,th,IJU$11'2l>ORS.onhowl0disa$$em-
blelndrea.u.embletherifle. l,,,illnot~
fullyandopcn1hcbol1.Thisuposcs1hc
bol1>S1Qpbu11on.Ocprcssi1andrernovc1he
boltFollowlhcdim:tionsinthemanualand
scparatcthebroechblockfromlhcboltbody.
Torcmcwethcboltsleeveandfiringpm u-
Kmbly, tum the, boltslttvecountm:lock-
wiseQnlycnoughiornm'Clhocodcingcun
ootolhehumpbetwttr11heshallawnocch,1
was in and the dttpc'r cocking cam notch.
c:oontm:lockwisc while drawing back IIOlU·
lyoolheAllenwrcnch.Th.cbohslccvecan
1hcnbeuni;crcwedallthewayou1.Asthc
manualwg([CSIS,donotancmpttorcmove
lhefirina;pinfi'omtbeslttve.
ToKparate the stock fromtheM:tion,
firstremovethemagazineandthentbercar
guardltffw.Thisallowstbe~rguard
1obe1""llllgdov.'llandfOl"Wafd rromthe

--
llw:mhcre, although l "illgi,-c a bricfou1- llus1llowslllSffll0nOf1pin1ntOtheholoat 1tockuntilitbecomesunhookedfi'omthe
lmcofhowl0mno»'Canddi~bkthe thekN,~,-endofthea.,,:;king,;am, l find rcce,.·erandwithdni"'ll.Tllt"n~·ethc

~ Bol-a,;tion_11!J1811let.operal8dbyboll_l\9ntl9
... : · ~~--conetruclion,ITl9dlnedwithnegralacope

378
,_
--,_
·-
2 TrlggerGuardAssembfy

' """
5 Magazine Well...oef

: ~~-
l~' f~Pw,
""
l~ ~~PieceAssembfy
14C&rtridge5l4'f)O<t
15 Exttaclorf'k.nge,
l~ ~~s..w:,nPlunger
1: ~Spmg
20 =SelectorRetainer
" ""
~ ~,Sea~
24 Magazine~

379

-
front guard screw and separate the wood
fromthcaction.Re,·crsethcproct'SS1ore-
assemblcthem
Thereisreallyonlyonething 1h.at l dono1
like11bouttheRugc,-M77/22Homccandthat
isthemiddlcscctionofthcstock. h istoo
widcand.formeatlcast.itspoilsthcother·
wisemostexcellentstock.[realiuthallhis
wid1h is l\e(:Cssary because of the rotary
magazine. l commented about 1his in the
ch.ap1erontheSteyr-Mannlicl>errillc.Atany
380
rate. 1 would prefer a single-column box
magazine like th.al in the KimberM82 or
WinchcstcrM43ovcrtha1ofthcl'Olarymag-
azine.JftheM77/22RugerHomethadbecn
madewi1hsuchamagazinc,thcstockwould
h.a,•eam111:hnarrowcrmiddle section. 11
wouldthcnlookbetterandbeeasiertocany.
lknowthemarkcttrendwell.andlbeHeve
the reaoon Ruger adopted therotarymaga-
zineforthisrille isthatmostshooterswant
Going one step funher. I would much
prder that my Ruger Hornet had no maga-
zine at al! . I have used with gn:at succcss
andpleasureseveralbolt-actionvarmint
rifles made up as single loaders. One ofmy
long-time favorites is chambered for the
219Wasp.andwiththiscanridgc lha,·e
takcnagrca1manyprairicdogs.andcrows
Theothcrisa244withwhichmysooandl
have taken many larger varmints. In 1he
manyyear.i l usedthcserilles l neveronce
wishcdthatlheywercrepeaters.Buttellthe
youngandaverageshootcrthatandhcwill
onlyspoofit.Still,lknowthatifRugc,-had
made1hisrifleasasingleshot.i1"·ouldnot
sell.Maybelamoldfashionedorsetinmy
ways. but throughout the many years I
enjoycdvarmintinglalwaysusedasingle
shol.oriftherillewasarepcaterluseditas
a single loader. Nomagazinestolo.ador
unload. no magazines to gel damaged or
becomelost,ju,1pun=enjoyrncntinshoot-
inglherifleandmakingeveryshotcount
PerhapsthencxtversionoftheRuger
M77/22Hornctwillhaveaheavierbarrcl,
andthcnlwouldsurelywantittobeasin-
e,..,
S AKO JS A rela1ivdy new name in the
firearmsfleld.espcci.ally!OAmerkanshool-
en.butiti.sanamewhichhasbecomehighly
respectedsincetheintroductionofSakorifles
intheUniledSr.aies.ThcSakoflrmwasfiM
knownas()ySakoAB,andla1erch:mged10
Sako.ltd.ThecompanyislocatooinRiihi-
maki.FinlandAninten:slingcvrothappencd
tolheearlySakofirm. TMBooko/Rijll'.f,by
W.H.B. Smith and J.E. Smith. relates a tale
about i1.Acoording101hisbook, the Sako
firmwasonceownedourrightby the Red
Cross of Finland. It ii;saidtha1 this came
aboutshortlyaflerWWll.whenR11SSiabegan
appropriatingarmsfactoriesinthecounlries
theyhadoccupiw_RathcrthanhavetheSako
plantfallirnoRussianhands,lhefinnsr.alked
theFinnishRedCrossintotakingcomplcie
O"nmltipoftheplant.Aflerward.theO"Tier·
ship was changed to Oy Nokia Ab. Whate•,er
thecircumstances.theSakopeoplcdesigned
andJ)lllintoproductiooaminiarureMauscr-
typeboh-ac1ion repeater for the American
market, knownastheSakoL.46.lntroduced
lateinl949,itwasimp;,nedintothiscounuy
byFirearmslntcmatiooalCorp.
Whenshootcnbeganreadingaooulthelinle
L46Sakorifle.it soonbecamepopular.When
gwismithsleamedtheycouldbuytheL.46
ac:tionsepara1elyi1n:al!ycaughlon.Then."ith
alinlenudgingfromtheimpcwler.Sakotooli:
hced,makingafewchangcsintheactionand
rifletobcnersatisfyAmericanlaS!es.Other
ch.anges""CTemadefromtimetotimc,and
additioMlactionsandriflesinln.><hired!Ohan-
dlcawidcrvariciyofcartridgesthanthctwo
originallyintrodu::cdintheL.46.Theendresult
is the modem Sako action, which MS n::, peer.
ThcSakoactionissynonymouswithhigh-
qualiiymatcrialandworbnanship
Sincc1heirintroductionaftcrWWU.thc
Sakofirmh.lsscveral1imeschangedthe~
ignationsandnamcsgiventothcdifferent
i:enterfirerumlx,ltactionsandrillcstheyhm,
made. Theybegan"iththcL46ViJ<en.L57
Forester.andtheL6l Finnbear.Anumberof
ycanlater,the L46VixcnbccamctheAI.
U7 Forester became the A2 and L61
Finnbearbecame1heA3. During this time
thcyalsomadesomcchangesandadopted
ncwmodels$UChastheL579,L61R,L46l
andBcnchRCSlsingleshoL Then.tofwther
oonfuse1hings,in1he1994S10egerca1alog
theylistthefollowing:Hunterlightweigh1on
theshort.mediumandlongactions:Classic
onthcmediumandlongactions:TRG-Son
thelongaction:Delw:elightweightonthe
shon, medium and long ac1ions; PPC USA
BR/Varmin1. Heavy-Barrel-Single Shol;
Mannlicher-Sl)'leCarl,ineon the mediwn and
longactions:Varmin1(HcavyBarrel)onthc
shonandmediumactions;TRG-21 in308
cal.:SafariGradconthelongaction:Super
Oelw:e(s~ialorder); laminated stock on
mediwnandlongactions:fibcrClassonlong
actions. and finally. left-hand models on
Hunter,ClassicandDelw:e
Tllllall1 L48Acllll
When the Sako L4(i action was fim intro--
ducedit"'asuniversallydcscribedasaminia-
ture Mauser. lllough IIOI a very accurate
desaiption.itwasa"'minialure"actioninthat
itwasmadeespcci.allyforthc22Hornetand
218Bcccanridges.anda"'Mauser"bccause
it had a one-piece bolt wi1hdualopposed
lockinglugsupfront. llO"'-""',lhislhumi>,
nailsketehdoe:s001fullydcscribethisaction.
Thcl4(ione-picccm:eiverisllOlunlike
lhatofthe MauserModel98action,butitis,
of course. shorter and smaller and thus
bccamctheSakoShortaction. Thenxeiver
ringandbridgearethesamediamcter,each
with in1cgral male tapered-dover.ail scope
moumbasesontop.Thescbascu,ps..flatand
maued, Laper narrower to lhe rear. The
bridgedcwetail,lesswidethanthcfronlonc,
isalsousedtoanachthcSakoadjustable
receivcrrearsigh1.Thcscintegn,.ldover.ail
bases. providing the very best means of
anach,ngscopcmountrings.areavcrycom-
mcndablefearure.AHSakoOOltac1ionsaflcr
thel4(iha,·ethisfcature.Sakomadescopc
rnoun1ingringstofittheirac!ions,andthe
rings are available in three heights (low.
r
medium and high) for scopes of or 26mm
diame1er,includinganex1ensionring. Sako
ringsareofspli1or1wo-piccetypc.madeof
stccl.andhighlypolishedandblued!Omatch
thefinishoftheacti00$
Tbc bottom of the receiver is flat, with a
recoillugat1hefron1end.Therepea1ing
actionbonomsan:opentoac,:;cpcamagatine
box.Theloadingponontheorigina]L.46
actionmadeforthc22Hornetand2188ecis
J.812"long.Therearof1herecei,"CTcndsina
narrow1ang1hatisgrooved10attep11hcboh
s!ee,·eandthecoo;kingcamlugonthecock-
ingpiece.
Thefrontendofthcreceiveristhn:adedfor
thebandshank.Onlheoriginalactionsthe
1hread"'llslis1edasbeing"Whitworthstan-
dard.080-l6."Thebrecchendoftheb.vrelis
flat cxceptforaslopedextractorcu1.(Scc
Sakobarrelshankspccifleationdrawingsat
therearofthisbook)
Theom-pieccboltismaehincd"ithunnost
pm;isionandhighlypohshed,andhasdual
O!]p)Sedlockinglugsonthecxlremefrontend.
These lugsengagcbehindshouldersmilled
insidetherecei,,:rring,se<:un:lylocking1he
boltagainstthebreechendoflhcb.vrel.Thc
right(boaom)lugissolid,while1heleft(top)
lugisslonoolc,,gth~!Oallowpa.ssageoflhe
ejector.Thcreccss<:dOOltface(about.(l(W
deep on mo$1models)en:loses1hecntircrim
ofthecartridgecxccptforthcnarrowspacc,
,.t,ichlhecxtractorhookoccupies
TheSpring-st«lcxiractor,longandnarrow.
fitsinagroovemilk:Jlcngthwiseinthefront
endoftheOOllPanof1hisgrom..,isadovetail
tohoklthecxtractorinthebolt.Alip!Dlderthe
cxtractorcngagesaholeinthelx,llhead.
whichprevcntsthecxtractorfrompullinsout.
unlessthehookendoftheexirac1orispur-
posdyraised
Thcbohhandlc.atthccxtremerearcndof
theOOlt.ismadeasanintegralpanofthebolt.
The base of the boh handle funnsa heavycol-
lar around thc mirend oflhe OOlt. This thick
collararound1heslenderboltprovidcsextra
(Abolle)UsinglheSakoL46HeilvyBiirrel
actior1in222cali:>e<lheaulhormadeastoc:k
for ~loraCUSIOmflr. Thiswasinlheearfy 1950s
VIN01..tiitalinespacerswereinvogue.
381
rnctalforse,U1lfunclJ0flS: l)10pronde1
wide surface for 1he rocking am notch.
whi<:hpreva,11..urandmakescockmgand
r&l$lfli1hebol1handlccasicrandsmoodw:r,2)
topro,·klcmcul110thalpartofthiscvllarcan
bcformedlfl101Clfflmatchingtheslopeoo
1hcrcarof1hcbridge1osupplythcprimaiy
C>.lractionpowcr.3)topro,·idemoughmctal
toK11loffthelc:fllockinglugraoeway.
AOOICh.cutinto1hercai,'n'langfor1he
rootoflhebohhandlc,funnslhethirdorsil'e-
ryluJ.Thc:bol1handlt-isatarighcangk10thc
boh.iuiapertdsti:mendinginaholkiwn.,und
pa$pH11i..lLThisi..tlhas1nam,wbandof
chockcringlr0Ulldi1forbcmrgmping. The
10J1of1he-ispos11ioncd-anddimcd
.,.._--t0thali1w,llcleartheeyrp~ofthc
lowesl-mounleds,;,ope
Thc:Sakobohhas1guide-ribsu,puw,de
1nd1hickas1herightlockinglug. l11s
1n1ehro10thcbol1bodybyasmallspring•
51oeloollarwithhookcdcnds,thesecngagmg
1moniseinthcundersideof1heguiderib,A
pin through the &Uidc, behind the hooks, pre-
vt'llts the guidc from slipping offlhe ring. Thc:
11uideribhcs1nthc~bc1wcenthchol1
handlc:andnJlulockinglug.lnanoblong
millcdhokncarthc:cerucrofthcUl'odnsideof
1heguiderib1s1smallsieel~and•
small bent lc:afspring. Whm 1he bolt is
cloled,lhegwderiba!CndsadU'ldi5URCC
mtotherightlockmalugracev,ay.tnbolhthe
rccavcrnngand bridge; whm thcboll 11
n')Uled0flell,ln0!0:h.m11lcdinlhemdcrside
ofthcbol1body,IIIO\'eSunder1hesropv.-rojlC
tnthc:1Uidcribooh:abbohm1ation.Thisaa:u-
ra1cly1ligns1hcrigh1locking lugwi1h1hc
guideribsothatthelugcanno1h:mgupoo1he
rcce"'n'whcn1hebol1isoper.11ed.hal!!0pre-
vcnulhcbol1frombindingduringi1srcar•
ward and forward travel if undue upv.'lll"d
~ is cxer!N oo the bolt handle-. When
1hebol1isclolc,d,1heiJUideriballlOcffC<."li,-o.
lyclose:s1heopc111npof1herigh1lugrxo-
""'Y· AlmoSI all Olhrr Sako actions ha•~ bolts
ofsumllroonsuucuonandallarcmadewnh
382
SMOU61flgge<lhclwng:(A)-.(B)ltlg·
ger,(CJ1flgge<llopscrew,(0Jlriggerllop,
acrewlocknut, (E)trigger-adjvslmentjam
nlllt,(F)trlggerspring.Thistriggerltad•
)u11lblelo<weightolpuliandOY<1r·1rl"91.
lhc&Uiderib.
Twoaas-escapcvcnlholesarcprovidedin
lhcl.A6a,c;tion.Oneisinlhclt-ftsidcoflhc
rctt1,·crring1t1heJWlCtionOf1hehcadof1he
bol1tndbrccchfaceof1hebarrcl.lnthc~
C'o"Ctllof1ruprural=hcadorprirncr,much
ofthcpseswouldcscapealthispomtlRSliead
offlowing----ido\1.nthekftlockinglug
mcn.-ay.Thcolherholoisinthebodyoflhe
bol1.forw.-doftheshouldcroothcfinngp,n.
When1hebohiscloscdthisholoispo,1,11ioncd
under1hefrontcndof1hegutderib.v.tuchm
1umhas,ma1Chingholcthroughitlil01hal.any
psesa,:t1inginoo1he bol1through1hefin"i
pinholcwillbcvcntcdouttotherighl.AII
OlherSakoactionsfollowlhissystcm
Thcbol1i1drillcdfromtherearforlhc~
p,c,,;cfiringpin.afiring-pindc:signrclaincdin
alllalcrSakoactionmodels.Thcfl.mcncd"'81'
cndofthcfiringpinlitsamatchillghokmthc
boltslcie\~.This~tsthcfiringpinrn:ffl
UIUJll. Thc:matnS?UIQ.s..1tU!dtnglht: firina
pll\.tsCUTfRSll'Cdbctv.ttnlhebollslccveand
1colllroo1hefrontofthcpin.Thc:oock,ng
p1Caisfiocdio1herearcndoflhefinn&p111on
asinaJc:m~lugorcvlla-.Thcbol1
sleevehas1S1C1t1"1lichliuinsidethcboll
body;italii0hasahooko1cndingforward
whichcngll&CSovcrlheoolbronthercarofthe
bohbooylOooldtheesxirefiringm«hanism
tnthcbolt.CockingOCCW"Sooopeningthcbolt.
Thcrcisnoscpanucboltsltt,'Clock,bu1
the bolt slttvc is prevented from turning
whcnlhebol1i1opcnbylheoo,i,eof1herock•
inapiccccamrcstinginthcshallow~in
thcrearof1hebolt.ThisS)'$ICl'llisuscdinall
""'""~
Thc:l'QUl)',afctyisftucd11anghtqlc
lmll.lglllhef131q,oftheboltskr.-e:rowcdl0
the1ear111ocksbothsmkcr(lhestrikc:rcom-
bn:sfumgpinanda.dingpieoe)andboL
Accmbinaoon~codcd"indic:alol-andboll
lock.fincdintoaleng1hwischokinlhebolt
slccvc, isconncctcdwilhthcsafery;withthe
a,c;tioncloscd.whcnthesafetyisn')Uledback
1othc:Safcposition.lhesafctyS1cn1locksthc:
1trikcrbackandmovcsthebohlockforwarrl
tolock1hcbol1.Wi1hthesafcty Jwungfor•
v.wdintothc:Fircposition.thcrearcndofthe
boltlock,v.•hicbhasaredbandaroundit.
cxtcndtfromthcrearofthcboltsltt,'Cto
mdteliclhesaferyisintheFircpoSioon.
Thcboll·S10phousing,1mach1Mdstttl
~morti9roiNoanopcninginthekftlPdc
oftherctt1,,c,-bridg,e,ishcldmplaceby1,...
,crcwlhrcadedthroughthehousmgandmto
lhcrctt1vcrwalL
Thc:one,pieceoombinedboll~is
hcldinplaceinthcboh--stc,phousingby----1
P,'IOIS-pindwoughlhis~lt islffl.
sionedby1smallcoilspring.Thcbol1i1
Slllppedinitsrcarwan,ltra\'Clwhcnlhelt-fllock•
in&lug<:001atUthcboh--S1Qp.Thcfircdca,eor
autridgcistjectedtothcrightwhcnthccJCC-
ll)l'-rnCrclyalhincxlen5ionofthc:bolt-s&op-
proj«tsin101hebohfacerecessthrougha
groove ~ for ~ tt.oogh the locbtg tug.
Pr$tng111ffl1Kdbuaonoothe<U$deofthe
boll40phousqallowstheboll10bclffllCMd.
~thesameibipofboll-51Qp'qcaorts
U$CdooalllalermodelsofthcSako~
lA6ICUOI\SWffl:fiaed,.11hab,ggcrand!IClr'
whidtn,a!y~nl!ICoftheM70W',,..
~action.Thc:!IClr',posirionedlrllpocr,e
inthc:bonomoftherctti....,,.tang.ishcldm
placeby.andpivocsoo.apin.ltislfflAOnedby
acoilspringcomprcs.iedbe!v.,,.,.thc=i,'n'
andlhcfn;wcndoflhcsear.Thetriggcr,posi-
lioncdinlhcn::aroflhciang~IUIDpivois
on•pin.A~sping.plungcrandlodcru
~bcfv,ttntbcaigg,:randthecndof
thciangprcn•icb;lht-tmsion10cr..,thcin,-
gc,rwilh1he9ear.ilalsoprovidos1mcansl0
rcplylqU!ltheaiggcrforweipofpulland
CM7.ft•'tl.LikclheM70aiggcr,lhrsSakotn&·
.,-i.prcwcnn:tiable.
WhmlirS1introduccd.andfor1fcw)'Ql'I
1flcn.'IRl.lhcL46triggcrguard,o-asmadc
Salm Rifles

383
 l'll'lll.llllllllllllll l481¥tlllll
201-30 Receive<
-~ ---·

1:
;,;.C,.~
~.~·:::-
··- ~-
l~~i:~~
5=SCl9W 4411-!12 Folower

---
~::'~~ "( ': I -•

I: ~~ ~02====· ····~:=-~,---·-
44.22-94~lloorplate
443--95 Floolplateht,geprl

44&-100 FronlguardSC19W 445-97 Floorplatecatctipr,

--
Type ....... .
--
ensionedbya
Bolt•top. ~-~~lnahousinganachedtolellsideolRlOOMl<.Bollis
Sakoboltheadshowing:(A)guiderib,(8) Ejector .... 1=:t..%.':n~lugco-lla<;tinglheboll~
rightlockinglug.(C)exlrac!O!'.(O)lehlocic- lgnlUon .On&-piecefiringprlpoweredbyooilmansp,'ng.Coci<sooopeni",g.
inglug.wNchisslottedlO!'theejector.

metal filledthCSpal'Cin the bottom of the

fromaJ»CCCofstrap-ironben1intoshape.ll
wassuitablymachincdandpolishedtoma1ch
theexccllentftnishonthenposedpartsofthe
moeiver. Slot1ed. oval-head. countersunk
stockaroundthetrigger.A longr<:<:1MgUlar
holceu1intothefromoftheguardallowedthe
boxmaga,:inctobtillSC'Medand=-io-."Cd:the
thinsiderailsoftheopeninsintheguardan:
inden1edcnough1opcnnitgraspingthemaga-
zincwith1humbandforefinger. Aftcracou•
plcofyan,thisstrap-ironguardwassli&)ltly
modifiedtoimprovcitslookssomewhat.A
realimprovcrnen1intheL46guardcamesev-
eralyear.ilater.aboutwhenthcSal<oForester
wasinll'Oduced(l958). intheformofama-
chincds1eel guard.Atthesamctime.these
machincdguardswcrcmadeavailabksep.,-
ratelysolhatov.ncrsoftheolder!A6Vixen
screws.goinsthroughholesintheendsofthe rille$cou!dreplacetheirstrap-ironguards
guardandthreaded jntotllemooillugand Thedttachablcsheetmetalsinglc-oolwnn
tangoFthereceivcr.holdthea.ctionandharrel boxmagazinesusedinthe!A6Vixenac1ion
securclyinthesiock.Apioccofsloncdshcc1 wcrccxtremelywellmade.Theselleldthree

384
 1 Triggerhousng

""'
' ""-
!"" L.atemodelSakotriggefmechanis.mshowlng:(A)mechanism-
tigh!en<ngsc,ewendloci<nut,(B)weight-ol-puHadjustment
screw and Ioele nul , (C) trigger StOI) adjustment screw, (0)
sa!ety,(E)sear,(F)triggerlevelingsc,ew,iG)boltlock(pal1ol
safety). Limited weigh14-pull adjustment can be had by tum-
iog screw (B) coun1erciockwise lor lighter ~I. and vice veraa.

canridgcs.andcouklbereadilydisassemhlcd thc222Magnwn-itisn'1practicable. guardbow. ltwasmilledcntirelyfromsiecl.

forclcaningbyslidingoffthelloorplatc:
Ast-.rr..iallx»::-100:ooldi:r,attao::h:dtoth:
mdcrsideofth:recci,-erandcx~do:N-nto
thebiggcrguard.guidedandpo,siticnedthe
magazineinth:action.Asping-kladcdmaga-
zinccatchinthcrearofthemagazinehokltr,
widith:endofth:la!dicx!cminginloth:froo!
ofth:guanlbow,holdsth:maga;:incinplace
andallowsittobercmoved
Asnoted.SakoL46rifles"-erefirstmadc
only in 22 Homctand 218 Be,e. When Rcm-
ington introduccd the 222 in 1950, Sako
quicklyadapledthcL46aciiontohandleit
Theymadealoogcr111.1gazine,lcngthenodthc
magazine port to 2.12S~. and changed 1hc
bolt,facerecessandextractorasrcqu~.The
Sako222wasannouncedin1951,intheorig-
inalactionwithleft-handsafety. Shol1lyaftn-
ward. the bolt sleeve wa., modified and the
safctyplattdonthcrightsidc,whcremos1
shooter.rlike10hav,:it
BeforerheSakoL46actions,barrcled
ac1ionsandrifleswerediscontinued(abou1
l963).andreplac«lbylhcL461modtls,they
werealsoofferodin222Magnwn.
Ad:tptingtheL46ac1ion10handlethc222
Magnum crowded things a bi~ to the degree
thataloadcdcanridgecouldnotnormallybc
cjttledlncidentally,ownersofl.46riflesin
222shouldn01havethcmrechambcredfor
TheL46riflcswcremadeinlhm:Slylcs·
Sporter, Mannlichcr-stocked si,oner and
hcavy-barreled,·annintriflc.TheSporterwas
alsomadeinaDeluxevenion.withextra-fan-
cystockandengravingonthctriggcrguard.
Theywerepopularrifles,andmanyshooten
hated10scethcL46,withitshandydetach-
ablemagazine,discontinoo:!
T111hllll57f9'11tr
In 1955WinchcsterandRemingtoneach
inmxlu<:ed new rombina1ion vannintldeer
canridgcswhichw=tobehcra!ded,praised
and accepted by rifle shooters the world
o,·cr. Remington's new canridge was the
244,"·hileWinchestcrcalledtheirsthc243.
Thcrcwasgreatinterestinthesecanridges
fromthcbeginning.andinl958Sakoof-
fcredanewriflerohandlethem.Thiswas
thcL57Fores1er,theac1ionmadejUS1long
enoughtohandlethcsemediwn-lcngth(up
to2.80"')canridges.
TheL57nxeivcrandboh"-erecssentially
thcsameasthoscofthcL46aaionbutloogcr,
withamagazincport2.81Ylongandanon-
detachablefive-sholstaggered-.:olwnnmaga-
:tincbox.TheL57alsohadadifferemtrigger
mechanism.
TheL'i7Sakotriggcrguardhadahinged
lloorplale,thclatchlocaledinlhcfrontofthe
the exposed pans highly polished. As firs1
made.thetriggerguardlmagazine~wasof
ooc-picceconstruction.bottaicrthcmagazinc
box was made as a separate pan. 1t "'IS
expcnlymadefromshee1mctal,itsboltom
pan.Jyrecessedinthcfrontpanofthcguard;
itstop,imothcreceivCfmagazincwellThe
follower.also milled from steel. was well pol-
ished and had an offset rib to stagger the car-
tridges in the magazine-for maximum
capacity in minimum space. The magazine
wcllinthcrecciver"1tSmilledtolea,'Cguide
railsorlipsatthe1opsidestoholdthccar•
tridgcsinthemagazinc.andtogu;dccachcar-
lridgc intothcchamber,onclosingtheboh
This same magazine system is used in all
Sakoaaionsmadcsinccthen.
There "'Cl'COlhcr minor differen1:es be-
1wecn1heL46andlhcl57ac1ionsbcsides
thosejustlistcd.Thebol1sk:a'Cwasslightly
changed.andthefiringpinwasthreadedinto
thccockingpieceandpreventedfromruming
byasma!lsct-screwthroughthcbonomofthc
cockingcarn. Thissamemcthodisusedinthc
latestversionsofallthreeSakoactionsde-
scribedlateron.OneFirearmslntemational
calalogdescribedthisthreadedftringpin-to-
cockingpieccammgementasprovidinga
meanstoadjustlhcfiringpinprotnisionto
obtainpositi"(:ignition

3ll5

lnreadingthefiringpinintothecocking
picccisaneasyandgoodwaytofastenthcsc
twoparutogethcr;thcSC'l-screwisasuitablc
means for preveming the firing pin from
turning in1hecocking pic,;e to prevent a
changcinthcpinprotrusion.anditprovides
aconvenientwayforthefaclol)'tosclthe
firing pin forcorre<:lprotrusioninassem-
b\inglhebolt.Thcproperfiring-pintippro-
trusionforlheSakoriflcis.OSS#andthis
shouldbecarefullymeasuredwhenreasscm-
bhngtheSakos
The1riggermechanisminlheSakoLS7
actionwascssentiallylikelhatwhichSako
firstmadcfor1heFNMauseractionsexccp1
tha1itlackedthesafety. l1wasattachcdto
theundersideoflherc.:eivertangbyasingle
crosspinand1ightenedinplaccbyaSC'l-
screw through 1he front of lhe housing.
which tigh1cncdagains11hc receiver. The
searisinthefonnofafla1plungerposi-
1ioned,·erticallyinaholeintherearofthe
uiggerhousing,withi1$uppercndextcnding
throughaholeinthe1ang1ocontactthc
cockingpicce.Acoilspringunderthissear
plunger keeps the scar up. white a small
crosspinkeepsi1fromgoingtoohigh.The
triggcrispive>1edatthebottomoflhehous-
ingon a pin. The upperpanof1he1riggcr
engagesamatchingnotchinlhesear. There
aretwosmallse1-screwsinthefron1of1he
lowertriggerhousing.Theupperonehol<b
lhetriggerspring,andrumingitin{forheav-
ierweightofpull)oroutprovidcsalimited
weigh1-of-pulllldjustrnen1.fromabou1310S
pow,ds. Thcbo11omscrew.forovcr-1ra,·cl
stopadjustmcnt.canbesettostopthetrig-
gerthe moment the trigger is disengaged
fromthesear.
LS7Sakobarreledactionsandrifleswere
firstmadcin243.244and308only.Theriflcs
weremadcinthesamethrecstyle:saslhelA6
andinaDeluxeSponergradeaswcll.
Tllll.67911111.lcllll
lnl960SakodiscontinuedtheL57action.
introducingamodifiedversionofil"·hich
they,;alledtheLS79.Themajorchangcwas
386
: I I
inthcbollsleeve.bccauseSakohadadapled
thisac1iontoaccepttheSakoNo.4trigger
me.::hanismwithi!Sbuilt-inslidingsafety
The L579 bolt ~lecve is rounded and
smoo!h.withanarrowflatmancdwrfaceon
1op.ltisfi1tedandanchoredtotheboltbya
smallre,;tangularlugontheothcrwisesmooth
extensiononi1Sforwardend.whichfi1Sintoa
matchingmilledholcintherearoflhebolt.
Thisisa,'Cl)'goodandsimplean-angcment
forfiningtheboltslcevetothebolt.affording
easydiS3$SCmb!y. yet morelhanample in
srrengih. Of course. this rcquim.l some
changestobemlldeintheboltandrecciver.
butal1erationsinooway<:hangedanythingin
thefunc1ioning.safetyandopcra1ionofthcsc
parts,;omparedwiththediscontinueddesign.
Theboh-stophousing.,.-asalsodifferenl.
lnsteadofbeingmonisedinlhesideofthe
bridge,asontheL46action_thenewhousing
"-asaffixedbytwoS<:re"WSTheboh-stop'tje,c-
torremainedaboutthesarne.butwasten'lioned
byabent-wirespringinstcadofacoilspring.
ThelA61 actionalsousedthisnewsystem
Ataboutthistirne.Sakoin1roducedadif-
feren1c,aractor-closecopyofoneusedby
Savage/S1en,nsinsomeoflheirpopu!ar22
rimfire bo!l-actionandau1oma1icrifles. A
simplehooktypefinedinagrooveinthebol1
head.i!"sheldinplaceandtensioncdbya
spring-loadedplungersetintoaholebehind
theun-actor. Thesarnesystem.butwitha
heavierandwidcrex1ractor.isusedintheL6l
Sako. The LA61. however. has the same
exll"3C1orasuscdinthelA6.
TheNo.41rigger.similartotheL57trig-
ger.,.-asimpro,"OOandmllde10includeaslid-
ingside-tangsafetywhich,whenpulledback.
locks1hebol1anduigger.Sincetherearea
grea1manyofthesctriggersinusc.1"!1de-
scribeitindctai!.
Thehousingisamaduned1teel,;asting.The
flatsearplwiger.positionedina,'ttticalholein
thcrearofthehousing.ishcldinplacebya
smallcrosspin.ltisheldupwardbyacoil
springfrornbelow.whichishcldinplaceby
anothcrsmallcrosspirLThelriggerpiV01Sin
thebottomofthehousingonamuchheavier
crosspin.Thelopofthctriggercngagesa
notchintheupperpanofthesearwhenthe
action is cocked. Thelriggeris1er1Sionedbya
small.butstiff.coilspringhekldownbyaset-
screwandlocknutpositionedinthe10pfrornof
thelowerpanofthelriggcrhousing.Alimiled
weighl-of-pulladjustmcntcanbehadbytum-
ingthisscrewin(forheavierpull)orow.bul
onlytoasafeminimumofabout2.Spounds.
Theset-screwjUSlbelowthcweight-of-pull
adjustmcntscrewisthctriggcroyer-travelstop.
whic:hcanbcadjustedlostopthetriggerthc
rnornentthelrigg,:rrelease:sthesear.
The mtarysafetybol~ posilioned lhrough
thchousing1ointersectthc1opoftheuigger
and effectively block trigger movcmen1
whenilisrotaledtoagivenspot.isretained
inplacebyaC-springcliponitslcfiend.
Thesafetyslideisfastcnedontherighlside
oflhe trigger housing by two shouldered
screws going through elongated holes at
each end of the safety, allowing it lobe
moved back and fonh. The front slot is
angledsothefrontendofthesafetyalsori~
csasthesafetymovesback.Ashortprojec-
tion on the fmntofthe safety. extending
throughanarrowgrocwecu1throughthebol-
!omof1herccciver.mgagesaootchcu1into
thebaseofthebolthandle1olockthebolt
whenthcsafetyispulledback.Aball-ended
lever.rivetedontherightofthesafetybolt
andengaginganotchinthebonomofthe
slide.uuses1hcsafe1ybol11orota1ewhen
thesafetyslideispushedforwardorpulled
back. A scmted but1onon1he10pof1he
safetymakesitconvmienttooperale.Ten-
sion fortheOffandOnpoi;itionsfor1he
safetyslideisprovidedbyaspring-loadcd
ballbcaring.intheuiggerhousing.pressing
against and fallingintoshallowl>olesinthe
safety.Thisballisre1ainedini1Sl>olebya
se1-screw,andi1 ispossib!eto,hangethc
lensionon thesafclyslidehylumingthis
scrcwinoroul
Theentirelriggermechanisrnisanached10
therccciverbyasinglecrosspin1hrough
holesinlheupperpanofthehousingand
through a lug on the receiver. A longset-
SCR:wwithlocknu1.passingthroughthefron1
oflhehowing.isusedonly1otightenthe
me.::hanism1othereceiver.Anotherse1-screw
inthetopofthehousing.usedtoadjwtthe
lriggcrme.::hanismle,-elwiththere.:ei,tt.can
alsobeused10adjUS1theamountthcsearpro.-
jce1Sthroughtherecciver.andthchcightof
thesafetybunono,ttthecdgeofthestock.
Nonnally.thisset-screwshouldbcadjUSledto
leavethetopofthelriggerhousingnearlypar-
allclwiththebottomofthere.:eiverwhenthe
fiontscrewisrighiened.
When first introduced.the L579barreled
actionsandriflcsweremadcin243.244and
308calibers.The244,;aliber"'aSSOOn
dropped.La1eron.thcL579Sakobecarnc

a,-ailal>lcin22-250,243and308.andinthe
same1hr«stylcs:Spor1er,Marmlichcrcar-
bineandheavy-bam:ledVarminte1"
Tlltllkol81 Balar'Aclllll
Fircarmslmcma6onalannouocedthencw
Sakol61 Finnbearriflcamoothorsoaflcr
introducinglheL579rifleslateinl%1.The
---------------#
longestactionin1heSakoli11CUp,ithandles
standard30-06-lcngthandshortbcltedmag-
nurn canridges. When originally introduced.
it,,,asalsomadetohandlcthclongcr300
ll&l!Magnurncanridge.Lateroo,Finnbear
rillcsand~ledactionswcrcavailablc in
270, 30.06. 264 Magnum, 7mm Magnum,
300 Magnum and 338 Magnum. The rifles.
.
availableinstandardSponcrorDchlXe
Spor1crgradcs,wcighslightlyover7pounds
andhavcstandard-wcight24"sporter-ron•
tourcdbarrels
Thefinnbearactionis8.375•Jong,lwa
map%inebox3.312"1ongand•••eighsaboot
2.75 pounds. Although longer than the L579
action (and as can be i;ccn if the exploded
387
,·i<:wdnwingsoftheseattionsan:srudied).it
di!Tersfrom!heL579onlyasfollows:!)The
bolthasthm:lockinglugs,and!hebascofthe
bolthandlcscn"dasthcsafctylug.Asonthe
M98MaUSC'Tboh.thcL61Finnbcarbolthas
itsthirdlugootherearpanofthcboltbody,
whichengagesalockingshoulderrecnscut
intothcbonomof!hebridge.Again.asonthc
M98,thisthirdlugisonlyasafctylugandis
not in contact with itslockingshouldcr.2)
TheboltguideribontheL6lishcldinpla,cc
bytwooo1la,sinsteadofone.and1hestop
walgeisloca!cdber,,·eenthcoolla,s.Thisrib
extendsbetwccnthefrorulockinglugandthc
rearsafctylockinglug
Tllll481Vbl■ Actlon
ln1963-64,Sakon:designcdthciroriginal
L46 Vixen action. lnbolH1ctionrepeating
rilles.thetrendwasdcfinitely1owardthestag-
gered=IU1llllmaga,-.inewithahingalfioor-
plate,sothcL46actioo""asfittcdwithsucha
sysccm.At!hesametimetheyfincdtheaction
withtheNo.4Sakotriggermechanismand
safety. and replaced 1he box-like bolt slee~c
withtheroundoncuscdontheLS79andL6l
actions.
SakoL46loorTCkdactionsandrillcs"'tTI!
madeonlyin222,222 Magnwnandll3. By
goingtothcstaggrn,d-ooiWT111.noo-dctach:lble
ooxrnagwneoothisshortoction.moreroom
""3Savailableforthe222Magnwnand22J
Thismean1Sakohad.andstillhas.thrttdis-
tinctsizesandlcngthsoftwnbol1actionsmade
forthrttdiff'cn:rufamilicsofcartridgcs.Eiccq,c
firlengthanddiameler,1heL461, LS79and
L6lactionsaruessen1iallyalikc.al!h:l,-ingthe
sametrigger,bol1-stopiejector.bohslceveand
magazinesystems.(Seelheactionspecifica-
tionchartforthcdimensiooaldi!Terenccs.)
SakoL46l rifles\\·e~madcinStandard
Sporter, Deluxe Sporter, Mannlichcr-type
CarbineandHeavyBan"dmodels
388
T111S-1l488
lbanks to the infommion sent me by
M1msRCOO,whoisaSakos1udcntandcol-
lector, I can fillyooin onthisra~ model
Sako.MimsRcedhasalsogi,·enmeaddition
alinfonnationabouttheSakofinnanda
thurnbnaillistingofthcvarioosSakobolt-
actionriflcstheyprodl>Ced,alongwithpnr
ductiondatcs(scetheendofthischapter)
Andfortho5eofyouwhocollcctSakoguns.
thereisanorpnizmionfirSakocollecrors.
Yes.Sakodidprodo,ccamodelk00\\11as
theL469anditwassomarked.TheSakoL46
actionwasoriginallymadcforthc22Homet
andthe218Bcecartridgcs. Then.when the
222 was introduced in 1950. Sako simply
altered this action to handle it. crowding this
smallactioninsodoing.Thenalongcamethe
222Magnum.alongercartridgethanthe222.
andSakofoundthattheL46actionwasjust
tooshon1ohandleit.Sowhatdidlhcydo?
TheyreworkcdthcL46actionagain.but1his
time changed it enough solhat 1hcy we~
obligedtogi,1:thcae1ionanewmodeldesig-
na1ion,namelylheL469.AcoordingtoMims,
theL469in222Magnwncahberwasmadc
from l959to l967,inwhiehtimeapproxi-
mmelyl1,185"'Cremanufacturcd Theywcrc
madeintheSponerand Heavy Barrel mod-
els,aodprobablyalsoinlhcCart>inc mcxlel
withMannlichcrstock
._llllllla::INll:Actlln
lnl956-57.10mee1thedemandsofthctar-
gccs.J\oo1er.Sakoannoul\Ced1ha1thelinlc
L46actionwoold be available as a single
shot- 11131 is, without the magazine-well
opening-leavingthcbonomoflhereceiver
solid.Theycall«lthislhe"Benchresl"action
bccausei1wasbench~s1shooterswhohad
p~ssured them the most fora mon:rigid
aciion.
Themorerigidactionwasbeuersuitcdto
supponingaheavy,fn:e.floatingoorTCl,hencc
suchariflewouklprobablyshowbetteraccu-
racythanonesobuiltonthercpeateraelion.
T11cfla1-bonomedreceiveralsoo!Tercda
greatcrbeddingarea.andlcavingoutthe
magazineo,:,cninginthestoekmadethcstock
morerigidaroundtheaction
Shortlyafterthcmediurn-1engthSakoLS7
wasinttoduced.aBenchrcs1L57ae1ionwas
madeavailabk. ltalsohadasolid-bonom
Onbothactionsthctriggerguardwasmade
with a long forward tang extension. long
enoughsothatlhcfronlguardscrewcould
passthroughaholeinir.send.Thescactions
-·=
weighcdaboutthesam<:asthcir~pcating
Later,when the L461 and L579actions
wereinrroducoo.theywerea!somadcinthe
Benchrcst version. Tomy knowlcd~e. the
L6l Finnbearactionwasneverniadeinsin-
gleshotbenchreslstyle
lnbuildingafirstclass,-annintrifleona
Sakoaction,manyshool-includ:ingmyself,
prefertous.elhesinglesholaction.Forrea-
sonsalrcadymemiooed,thesingleshotrifle
willprobablybcconsistentlymoreaccurate
fromonchuntingtriptothcnext.especially
soifthebarrelisf=-flooting
IID ...... Umllll
1884111NWI . . . IIDClfllll
Sometimeinthe1970sSakoadoptedanew
<bignationsystcn,firtheirtm:eactions.Th:
shortactionbecametheAl,themedium.A2.
andtheloogactionbecametheA3.Thisdesig-
nationsystemlastedafewycarsandthenwas
droppcdlnthe1994Sltooter:.Bibk(aftt:rGar-
ei.<iCorp.• Stoegerbecamethesoleimporterof
Sakoriflcs.andthenSakoboughtc,.,tStoeger)
listingalloftheSakoriflcs.barrelcdacuonsand
actionsthcreisnomentionatallofaVixen,
 Salm

............ -i,

389
Fo,aic:rorF"mbcar.andnomrttionofA1,A2 ,-anetyofcalibcn.
orA3. 1nlhit~lhe1hm:acuonsbecamc \ 'annlnll'PPC Modd-Sakodocsnot sam-
lhe$1"oin.mediumandlonga::tions.Ho\o.,e,.,:r, ply 1CTCW oo I hcavicr ba=l and cal1 it 1
bcg,nnmg_,,,,.aflcrlhenameandnum- Varm1111nfle. Thc:tnrirerifleisdcsigncdand
berdesignations",:rcdn,ppcd_Sakoga,.., t:..,illa!!IVarm,ntrifle.Thcbeavcnail formdis
namcs10thcir differcmS1ylesofrifles.Somc l'l(lfa-widf:andpn)Videsaddcdsteadiness"'hcn
51ylcswcn:t:..,ilt ooallthrocactions,odicrson usilljlsandbagsormakcshifl field rests. I! is
oolytwoactionsandOlhersstiUononlyonc m3dcma11popularcalibminthesbonand
actiorLl"1llliSl!hescdiffcrmc51:ylcsswting medium Klion lengw. Both the 6 l'PC USA
"'llhlhelo-A-'l'Sl"f"X(lcrcinlh:1994~ and22 PPCUSAcnjo)'thcrq-,.,tationofbe111&
aio.w11hlh:caialogdesaiptmofcach: lheworld', rnos1aa:ur.11e~da,m
T RG-S Modri- Thc: - TRG-S v...s m.tenorby-lhefaclory.butby-lhemanyshool-
clc:sijp>ed arwnd Salm's highly Jopl11S1ocaced minlhe"-·1c,rrk!hism.teonlhe._.,
andnlrtmdyacan1eTRG,21 T'"llC'- Rillc:. -.:oonmbolhs.,gleandmulapleshot•ffSIOOS.
Thc:-----f=~boltandl'f=""balanoe DflllH L.Jcht"rig~I Model-All the fine
oflhl:TRG-S-onlythcfintleallircsNI•· feaaftf;youcxpeaoftheDttuxeGradeSako
tr11C11he-.-oflhl:shoolcr.Closcrinspc,;:- -herc----1:adifullygrained~ .......
l>OO=eal$1he1hm:massi,-elockinglugsand dqpnlugh-p)ssfinish.hanckl.lch.denna,
1 1hort60-dcgrc,c-boltlift.l'Nhapsunnotical fincdpllm5"'tllandf0St"oodforcndlip.-.d
butofamcal,mponan;:t,islh:coldhamm«- gnptaf!.Cornpl,:mcnlinglh:!ie fear=s is thc
for)l«lrecc,,-cr- 11111)Mlllcledforstrcngthand high-1-=r,docprichblUIDgofbolhthebwrel
durabih1y. Thc:dela<.:hablcfi,"«OUOOmagazinc andrctti,,:r.And.ofcourse.theaccuracy.n:li-
fi1S.sccun:ly1ntothcpolyurethanc:S10Ck.Thc: llbiliiyand~fieldp<Tformanceforwllic:h
s1(d,inturn,ismouldedaroundasyntbeuc Sakoil,ojustlyfamousan:t:..,iltintocachrifle.
skclelontlwprov;.badditionalsupportand lf , allherc-j11$twhaloneexpeasffl)fflSako.
maxlll'Ullnplity.Sako"snewTRQ.Ssponc,r M:Kleinthn:,e,cl,onlengthsandav.lde,'allCI)'
modcl,;,;mbino$1heotcdsofloday"sshpoler ofcalibm, •wdl a,sa kfl-hand model
w11hSako'supntisc. Thc:m.uhissupcrior ~1Mrdau Model-Thc: fiben:lass IS I
.,;an,;y,rdiabihtyandYWC---j!S"t.ai:you h1ghlyac:al!lllleo:n&crfin:rifleforthcierious
hr.1:amc,IOnpcctli'omSal.o.Madeonlyin htner"'hounimtandsth:alanflemustn'13111-
thclong,cl,onm,....,..calibcn. wn11Sffl'Owderroughusageandexposun:IO
llunttt/llodd-Thc:Hinermodcl is ideal thelll\'agCSOftheelemenls.Thc:fiben:lass
forlheshootcr"'hodcmandsallofthcSal,:o SIOCkwon'1stnnk.5"'eUor,.-arp.,o,tdoesn"t
q,at11yfcalure:111 1 ~ p n a ,: lhe CNl18Cffl'0"1thlhewailhcr.AndHISlighlcr
chooceofthrcediffcmttactionlengths.oold- andfar.suoogerlhanwood.Thc:fihcn::lass's
hammcredbwrel,and1European".ilnutS10Ck bam:lcdactioocarricsaoon-n:flccti,-emauc
pn11tcttdwithasoR.manclacqUCTCdfinish. blucfimshtocornplementtbeSIOCk"sblack,
Thc:adjustablcuiggerisariflcman'ulelight- criJlkl«lfinish.Madcina,.,de,"arictyofcal-
smood,andcrisp.Mr.dcinthrocactioolmgths ibminthelongoction.
andwidcvanctyofcaliben,kfl-haniledfflod. Suptrl)t-[uu Model-Thc:SuperDcluxe
elsal$0 matle. Made in lhe follo-A-ing calibers: iscrafttdby-Sakoanisanswhodesignandcrc- TR& U/llodri-Sako.kno,,.11fotmanu-
onlhesbonaction. 17Rcm.• 222Rcm.and aica riflc: foroolylh:mot11 di!Cnmu\aling ~thcfiricst.-.d-aa;tr.11eprt.GEIIOII
22) Rem.; oo the medium action, 22-250 shooler. The flawless woil<manship of the SpOrtqjnllcsmade.iakesgreati-dc91J'IIC!M·
Rcm .. 24JWin.. J08Win.and7mm-08:and Finru,hlCChnicW1$ise.idcnccd001oolyby- qthcllbnalein 1 slwpshoocingsysacm; lh:
onlh:lons-.tior1,~Rcrn..270Win..280 theengrr,-edMOCk_butalsothcdec,:,bluei.. TR0-21TqoiRifle.Toi,,~.,,,.._
Rem .. 30-06. 7mm !l(m Mag.. 300 Win. tcrofthemealsurfacesandtheembellislt- nllehasbtcn<bignr:dlor-"licn~
/lta&,.338Win.M1&,.300Wtathert,yMag.. mmrsonthcrifle:ttsdf.F"=-rnsofthrs<pb,y lcssllwltotalprecisiooisdmmdcd. Thc:aild
37Sll&ll/11-g.and416!l(m/llag. arclhou&htofasim--smce!radillOO· Jwnmcr-forgcdruci,.,.,lhe~tn..~
OIAK' Gndt Modtl- Dcsigned forthc allylheyinc:n=iemnluc0'11'1'1heyan_Thc bolt.theSIMllcss5IOCl~lndfullyad,-,stable
know1edpblc $hDOtcr whodcmaNk Sako ~Dcluxetruly~ifiesFinnishcralb- ~SllOd<an:onlyafewofthcfi:alftl
quahty,.1thlheclc:an.19l"Xfullinesofthccla5- manshipandismadeinyo..-choioeofactions lhatbnllj!thisrifle"'otkll>idea,;,claim. Abo
sic:Style.Mr.dcmrwo1Ctionlengthsand- andcalibmonspecialorder. madt:Wlthappropriateoptionalacx:t'SllOllCS.l!IS
popularcaliben.Lcll-lm><lrnodclalsomadc Safar1 G radt ,',1odel - Thc:mitialcxam,na- niadeonthemediurnactionin~caliber.
Ma~nlkhtr St)' lt C arbine Modi-I- This tionofthisSafari0radernodclconjurcsup
Sako has an 18'/J~bwrel and issrockcdin the visionsoffar-<iffplacuandthcfumoo:shunlCf!I
/llam.Jichcr5t}llewithlh:furendexlendingl0 "horoamc:dtbesafariregions.Sp«ially SomcthangcshadbtcnmadcontheSako
thcmuzde l1hasa1oil-finishedwahuSIOd: !IClccttdl:UfO()Ql'l"-alnut.thcexpn::ssquancr .ction1 11ncethcfirstpublic111onof1h,s
and~sighl$.andismadeonthemcdium rib,nlutffldedrnagazine.fullhoodcdfront book. Acan:ful romparison of the 1llusllll•
ll'ldlongact,orainc:alibm243.308.270.30- s,ghl:nltheSJICCW'"manc~bluing..,only• hOOS"'11lpomtOU1S001tOftbcsc. M1norll-
06,3l8W"m.Mag.and37511&11Mag. lewofthemanybnffSfcu,donthasprob- lelllllOOS"'C'l'Cmadeinlhenigerma:hanwn
U mlna1fd Modd-Thc: S.o rifle has• sionallystyloiritlc.Rdiablea>daa:wae.lhl: and 10 thc tngger housing. Olber m,nor
$IOC'kmadeof361ayasof •116 bardv,ood SafanQaclemoddismadeinlhelongaction chanacs,.,:rc,nadeiolh:u,gerguardand
•mccrs.rcstn-bondcdundtthiglt~. lt,s lffl&th b belied magnum caliben 338 Win. map;,!>nc assembly. ont of whi<:h was the
madeooenhtrmediumorloogac11onsm1 Mag.,37Sll&IIMag.n1416!l(mMag. adopl,on of1 new floofvla1t rckast. The

390

extractor was modified and improved to
makcitstrongcr.Themostno1iccablcchangc
wasinthedcsignandconstructionofthebolt
slccve.ltsadoptionalsocausedsomechanges
lObcmadelOsomc:pansofthefiringmed>-
anism . This was to enclose the boll sleeve.
or.inotherwords.tomakeitashroudthal
fuUycnclosesthccockingpiece.Thisncw
andimpro,1:dshroudprovide:sbcncrprotee-
tionlOtheshootershouldanypowdcrgases
cnlcrtheboltthroughthefiringpinholc.A
tai!onthccockingpicccser.-esasaeocking
indicator.
Anothcrmodificationno1secnonaclo!ied
actionistheabsenceofthcthirdlockinglugon
thcA3ac1ion.Asshowninanill\lSU1ltion.lhis
lug-..1tslocaredonthcrearofthebol1and-..1ts
nolmowilikethethirdlugontheModcl98
Mauserbol1.Thislugservedasasafetylug,
alongwiththeroo1ofthcbolthandle.asi1did
no1actuallymakcOOl"llac1"iththcrttcivcrlO
helplockthebohforward.JusiwhySako
decidcd10doawaywiththislugonthcirA3
ac1ionissomethinglcanonlygucssa1.bu1,
bttausci1ser.,:donlyasasafetylug.s:orne-
lhinglhatthcroo10fthcbobhandledidas1>t:II.
andpechapsbttauscmachiningtheboltand
thc=i,~toincludei1-..1tsdifficult.thcSako
peoplcfigw-edit,.1tsno1nccdcdor-..·Olththe
cffontomakc it. Anyway. lalwaysthooght
thatthisextnlug,.1tsagoodideainriflcs
chambcredforthclatgemagnwncartridg<:s.
Althoughthisillno1achangcasyte1foral1
Sakoac1ions,inthel994catalogthen:isone
actioodescribedashavingtluttlockinglugs
""itharo-degn:eupliftofthebolthandleon
o,,eningtheaction.Aoothcrcvcnl11M'inter-
eslingbi1ofinformatiooistha1ontw00fthe
-
modcls..thercccivcrisallarnmeredforgi113.
Willthe:sctwofearurcsbttomestandatdon
=oratltheSakoactionsinthefu1un:?
AIISakorif\esl"vcexamined-..-ereparticu-
larly wdl made and finished. Somelimes the
woodwasno1ofbe,,-iquality.butwoodand
mctalwcrealwayswcllfinishedandclosely
joined.AlloftheSakoriflesl"vetcstcdfor
accwacywcrealsohighlyaccuratc.andthis
includedmos1oftheearlymodelsand.1e·,eral
calibefs.Allrccci,·crandbohpansareprc-
cisclymachinedfromstcelandclosclyfined.
thc0111Sidcsurfaccssmoothlyandc,:enlypol-
ishcd Exposed trigger guard/magazine pans
arealsohighlypolished
lha,-enevcrsecnaSakoacoonthatfaikdin
anyway.or,J,;,,.-elopcdexres:shead.spaccafter
1ongusc.llL$SUlllethatthebo!tandrccci,<er.as
wellasmostoftheothcrc=tialwort:ing
pans,arcmadeofthefincstStcelsavailable
anywhere.andlhatallpartsan::propcrlyheat-
trt:atedforrniuimumstn:ngthanddurability.l
1,a,..,secnafcwSakorifleswhich.subj«tedlO
firinshearyhandloads..1ookthisbeatingas
,,.dlasifnotbctterthananyolhcractionsl"vc
,;eeninthesamecaliben.lha,·ene,·erwit-
nes.!edacascofprimcrfail=intheseactions.
bullbclie\-etheshoolerwouklbeasful!ypro-
tectedfromescapinggasesbehindtheSako
actionasbehiodmostolhcractions
Therean::alolofthingsllikeaboutthcSako
actionsbcsidetheirbeingsowcllmadoe.fin-
ishcd.~andsafe.llikethe,;malldiameter
ofthcbo!tandrttciver.sffllsocnoadvan-
tagcinanactionhavingaboltandreceiver
large and long enough forabeltedmagnwn
cartridgeifitisusedforamachsmallercar-
mdgc.lil:cthelll.Theshonocrionisnolaqi:
erlhanitnee<Jbeforthe222familyof
canridges.Themt'diwnisal~justrightforthe
308family.andthelongisjus1right for the
standardla,gercanridges..andthatisthe-..11yit
sbouldbe.
lalsolikesuchSakofeatun,sasthebolt
guidcrib.one-picccfiringpinandfastlock
time. boh-stop sysiem and integral scope
mountingbascsontherccciver.lncidcntally.l
don"tbclicvctherean::anybcttermountsmadc
forSakorifleslhanthcirOl>nmountrings
Thercan::.howe,·er.afewthings l"d like
changcJ.1-..·ouldhketoseeanotl!erejecror
sysiernused.onethalwouldnot~ireaslol
cutintothclocl:inglug.AplwigcMypeej,oo-
torbuiltintheboltheadwouldbcpn:ferrcd
'I' •
Evcnso.thcSakoisafirsirateaction.andone
ofmyfa,'Oritcs
llllllrlllla•llkllAdllal
Somecommen:ialamtsmakersotherlhan
Sakoha,-ebuiltriflcsbcaringtheir""'1lbrand
nameonSakoaaiom.1'1arlin\Va'l<n:ofthefir.,i
lOdothis.TheyintrowcedthcirModcl322in
19S4.Thismedium--....,ightrifle,designedfor
•'llllllintshooting.wasbuiltontheSakoL46
Vixenaction.lhenfitredwilhasrockandl:il=I
byMarlin.Marlinmadctheseriflesforon!ya
fcwye.us..~11Cf[al(rthanl957
TheModelS2J.C.Higginsin222cahber
(soldbyScarsRocbuc\:)wasbasedonthe
SakoL46action
Fromaboutl957tol961.Coltalsomadc
riflcsontheSakoaction.Theirrifle.theCol&
man. was based on the Sako LS7 Forester
actioo.andwaschambcredfor243or308
Winchester. Three grades were available.
CUs!Om.DelwicandStandatd
Browningwasthefi~1comrnercialarms
makertochamberarifleforthe22-250car-
lridgt".lhedaleaboutl964.Theactionandl:m-
rel used was the Sako l.579. The action
Browninguseddiffertdfromthestandatd
Sakomodelonlyinthatthetopoftherttci,~
ringandbridg,ewcrelcftrourd,lhentappedfor
scopcmounts.Bro,,,ningalsousedthel.579
fortheirfine!yftnishedbolt-acoonriflesin22-
2S0.243and308.ThcyalsousctheL46!
actionforthcir222andll2Magnumrifles.
Harrington& RichanlsonusedtheL461
SakoactionfortheirModel3l7Uluariflcs
Thissemi-<:usioniriflewaschambercdforthe
-
223. 17/223 wildcatorlhc 17 Remington
ThatthesefirmschoseSakoactionscenainly
spe3Q,,...,uforthebrand.
Thc:words M a<le ln n nland.in,-erysmall
1cners,an::stampedonalloftheSakorttci,-ers
lha,-eseen.usuallyootheflatoothck,\,,<erlcft
sidcoftherccci,-crring. The serial number is
usuallystampedootheleftreceiverv.11llas
weUasonthcbottomofthebolthandle.On
someSakoactions,theactionnumberandthe
cicy,,.t.crei1wasmadean::stampedoothclcft
rccci,<erv.11l1. thus: SA KO Rithimald
On Sako barreled actions and rifles. the
name SA KO is usually siamped on the
brecchendofthebam:l.alongwith M aMln
Fi nland andthecalibermarking.
1--..-AIIIIIMY
Firsimakesurethechamberandmagazine
arc empty. Remove the magazine from the
L46models.Ona11Sakos.,removctheboltby
raisingthcbolthandleanddrawingthebolt
bocl:untilitstopS.Thendeprcssthebolt-srop
ootheleftrearsideoftheactionandpullthc
boll free.OnallSakos.mremovcthcbarrel
andactionfromthestock.tumootthcrearand
391

Sakohaslongmadelhreelengthso!actions:theshortonalorlhfl2221amity;amedium
lflogth one for eartrioges s,xt, as the 22·250, 243, 7mm-08: and the long action to< eartridQes
of30-061eog1handlonger. These~weraonc91<nownas1heVixan,Foreslerand
FlnnbearaodA1,A2andA3.ln1994,lhesalM;tiorl$weresmlavaileble
Sakoorlginal,scopemounts.Theyareofall
staelconS1ructionaodmade1ofi11hein1egra1
basasotlheSakoactions.
frontguardscrewsintha1ooler.Thencareful-
lyremovcthelriggcrguardm:,mthebottomof
theSlockandliftbarrelandactiooowofthe
10pofthesiock.Rea,;.sembleinrevcrseonler.
On all Salm models. to remove the bolt
guiderib.driveoutthesniallpinm:,mtherib
justto1herearoftheguideribcollar.then.
withtheribn,medontheboltbetwe<,nthe
lockinglugs,pushorp,yitforwardaboul
,,,.-. Now,withtheboh heldsotheribis
down,carefu!lyputltheribawayfromthe
392
bolt,be-inglllOISlcarefulllOltolo5etheribSlop
andspring.Thespring-guideribcollarcan
thenhespn:adapanandremovcdfromthe
bolt.Reassembletheguidcribparuinrevene
ooler,procecdingasfollows:Holdingthebot·
tomoftheribup.inscntherib--stopspring,
curvedendsdown,intherib-Sloprccess;then
inserttheribstop,groovesidedcmn.overthe
spring. Placetheboltontheriband,while
carefullyholdingthefrontendoftherib
agairutthebolt,withequalcareraisetherear
endandtumthehookcdrndsoftheribcollar
under the rib. Use narrow-jawed pliers 10
pinchthecollar1ogethersotheribcanbe
pressedentire!yagainsttheboltbody.Now
slidetheribbackandre-insertthen:taincrpin.
DollOlforceanything
For Sakoi with the long spring extractor,
theextrac:1orcanberemovcdasfollows·
Grasptheboltfinnlyinlhclefthand.bohhead
up,exlnlt1ortothelefl_Usinganam:,w-oladcd
screwdriverintherighthand.plaa:theblade
undertheexlraetorhook.Applypressureto
pushthehookendoftheextrac:torawaylmm
theboltbodyand,a1thesametime,gen!lypry
thescrewdriverhandledo"-11.Whenlhchook
hasbeenraisedenoughtodisenpgcthelip
undertheextractorm:,milSnxessintheboh.
theextractorwillslipforwardootofilSnxess
Rcassembleinrevcrseooler.
ForSal:oshavingthelatcstshonextractor,
theexlrae10risremovedasfollows:Usinga
small jcwdcr's screwdriver with sha,pened
bbde,in5Cflthcbladebetwecntheplungerand
theextractorandpuShtheplungerback.While
holdingthcplungcrback.thcextractorprobl-
blycanbcjiggled<.YJ10fthebolt,orifyouhave
afrecfingcronlhchandholdinglhcbohilcan
bc~totiporflipootthcc~trac:tor.Re-
asscmblebyinsertingthespringandplwiger
withthcnotchedsideofthepl~IOWan:lthe
bottomoftheexiracrorrccess.depress the
plungcrfullyintoilSholewiththcsametool
andthenpuShthcextractorintoplaa:.Make
SUl'Ctheplungerhaspropcrlyengagedo•,crthe
norchoftheextractor.lncverysmallexO'llctor
pal't'l8"'easilylo5t,sowOO(can:fullyandina
oonfintdarea.sothatifsomethinggoesamiss
you'Ubeabletofmdlhcparu
Torat10\-cthefuingmeclmismmll1lei1hcr
thcSakolA6onLS7bolt.pn,oc,e,.lasfollows·
Puttheboltintherecciverandclo!ieil;placethc
safcly~(inthcintennediateposition)and
carefullyrcmo,-cthcboltfiomthcrettivcr,
neitt,1i.anlhebohslce>'Cooun1en;loct.wiseasfar
asitwillgo,andthcfiringmcchanisrncanbe
pulled from the bolt. Todisassemblethcfuing
mcchanismfunher,restthefiringpintipona
hardwoodsurfaceand.,.ithafinngra.1ponthe
bohslecve.~themamspringasfarasi1
wiUgo,thentumthccoclcingpiccc•/,-tumin
eithcrdim:tionandtiftiloft~thc
mamspringisatwo-handedjob,soi1isbestl0
h:m:somo::ineclsehandytoratlO\'C(andlater

IO,q,bce)lhc~pi,:,c:c.Tu:mainpirtsof
lhcmcchanismcanlhenbescparated.
LatemodcllofthcSakoacrionshavc1
!lhmudodbohslcevc.Thoshrtwodbohsleevc
makcsitcasicr10disassnnbkthefilffl8mocb-
aru5111fromthebol1, Todolhisyouni:ed110
tumtheboltslee-.-.:clockwueonly1fc:w
-·
ThelongSakoaclionwithboltandlloorplata
SakoHunlllrrtllt.8'n912'2"'.II024"dlpendingoncaliblr:W'light,$1i,k
(lhorl),6 11,lba.(medum), 7'1.lbs.(long);ltoclcilhano-ched(efedE~
wa1rutoo~lurriehed.1tf&IIIIJresadjuslatlielfW8(,hingedlloof;llate.
The calbersa,. 17 Rem., 222,223 (short action); 22·250, 243, 7rnm-08. 308
(maoium action): 25-06, 270. 30-06, 7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win, Mag .. 338
Win. Mag.. 375 H&H Hag.. 300Waa. Mag., 416 Ram. Mag. (long aciion)
SekoOooKa~rile.Ti.illheMf119ac:tiorlas1helb'llerGOl!Pllor
sele<::l.......:xl.r-..oodp.g.a,pardlorendlip.Therllet'esfnedl8tt<arngonlhe
tll)tutaoear:J'i'llti'lltgrtlOO'>"!llllilbeisea,bol..,,..,bolhllrd9IOOlardbol
llnob.lhasarm:il_.,llkiphct.acilamgardlmllf-nlhbli.q.The°""91'
chaic:eil1he-•tor--lb'ller~lorllhorl.mllCUTlardlong~
TheSakolaml~ttdriflalllhtlsameg,un u lheSiikoHunt•••••otptlthas
a lamina\8d .ioek with, dull lini$h. It ii ehambe<odforlha ume c:aliber$,
andilatsoav~nalelt-lwlndversion. hwasinboducedln1967.
~andouiwillpopthct..lrJlc,c•,rand dop,$1hcboitslca-.:dow.t1•flrasit"illp,
striker. Younml1f11mgripcnlhcbollslcc',-.: withthelhumbandquidlytum ilcoun!Cl'-
todolhis.lnd10obain1firmerprpp,stwn:I clockwi,r. Wnhthccoekin&:p,ec,:~in
aoouplelaymofmasking1apearomdit.To thcshallowfull<0eknotcll.thcbohisready
l'cas!iClllblrit,thclapCisnotneedcdlns<:nthc tobeinsen,:dintothc=civer,
strikerassernblyinlothcbohandtum,1,othe Tofl'l'llO>,,ethesafecyoolheMode1L46and
lugonlhet..lt~lnO\-.:SinlOthcfCQCSS l.57. proc;«d as followo: depn:u the ifflolll
madcfor11.Now.Wllhthcbohhead1p1n51 plunacrinlheafd)lc:o>-crpbte("'hich,s
JOl\'lCChinglOlid.lndwhilc~thcbolt. opposiiclhc-sa(dybunon)and!.lidcthef;O\,'CI'
393
 : I I

5akoFoberdassrille.Toisilein'iarl01heHl..nler1txoop!itl\lllllbladc~Axk
inthed&ssicsr,18,v.fll\W!Wdefnsh.rubblfbull;)ed.Barrltllengtt\is23".Wllllt,t7
lbe:.2o.z.,andilwaslnlroducedin1985.Calibn:2$-06.270,280Aan.,30-06,7mm
Rltrn.Mlg.,300WnMlg.,338WnMlg..375H&Hand•1&Rtrn.Mag.

5akos.tarirille.Similarlo1heHUlll&l.1h8~actionSala,lil•vailablltin338Wn
Mag .• 375H&HMag.or•16Aem.Msig.odj.~ilslod<edinfr..-dlwi:nA,~
201p1,i..a801idll.tlbertulpad.~cap.lorrd1ip.cr-w-rt1e>p111SSrwlllght,
ardal'OOdedrar'1)fror1. Thetn:n--.i...i111t1bardismco.r19donhlblural.

plalcdo,onandou1ofthcbohtleevc:;rmxM this.1wn thcbol! slccvecountcn:lockwisc alllhelriggerparucanbcliftcdfrtt.R~

thesafctyOO\'tl"-plateplungcrandlpring;dri-
"<'OUtthesmallcrosspinwhkhholdsthe
safelybuttonon!Msafctystt,n.lhcndri~the
safttystcmlld;lhecodin&nlicalorcanlhcn
bemnc,,,-ed.Rcasscmbleutnl'"fflleonier.
TormxMthefiringmc:dilrusmfmmthe
L461.U79andl61Sakobolts.proceedas
follows:Rcmo\-cthebollfmmtherille:grasp
thebol1firmlyinonehandand,,.ithancqual.
lyfumgriponthebol1~.1Umthebol1
site\~ tloctwt,c until it 111>aJ15 loo.c from the
boh.Thtfinngmcchanismcanlhcnbelakm
apanhylooseningthcfuiJla-pinlocks=win
thebonomofthecockingpicccandrumina
thefiringpinoutofthecockingpiccc.This
canbedoncbyhar-.lwilhouliools.ahlnitlh•
a::rcwdri•-.:rcanbcusedoothc:hcldofthcflr-
ingpin.Reassemblcinn:vmcordcr.Reas-
scmbli113thefiringmcchanismisno1ca.ity
doncbecauscthe•'Cl)'SUITrnainspringmust
be~.After1RSC11inaWbollsl=-,:
partlyinthc:boll,gr.t5J11heboll.fmnlyinone
har-.llndthebohsltc\-c~ttnlhethumb
andcrookcdfoKfingcroftheoll.:rhand.and
bcrcady101Umilo:ountcn:loctwise; ..'iththc
edgeofthcbol1sltt-.-eheld~r1S1theedgeof
1Wl.lfkbcnchorhardwoodbkrlheldinavisc.
dq",m:lthcbohsltt>"CinlOthebolltofull
deplh,orunril11canbctumal10krlil.Aftcr
untilthecockingpk,;cfallsin1otheshallow
full..::ocknou:hinthcrearofthebolLUnder
nodmimstancnshooldthebol1bcrumcd
au,ion:locn,'i9c111~1~ordod.-
wisc""hmas:scmbhngil;in01hcr"'Ol'ds,nev-
er1Umtheboh5icevcsothatthec:ockm&piecc
fallsinthcdecpc:ockingno«:h,for,1is1hm
ve,ydifl"iculltOIWTI theboltsl"vc to the
oockedposition ..ilhoullOOls.Dlringlheas-
!ffllblyofthcliringnttdlanismllllOthcboll,
ifthearlingi-,cshouldfallinlothccod;-
ingnoleh,thcnilisbc:stlOmakc1simplclOOI
10tumthcbol1sleew:1othec:ockcdposition.
Orillas.nu1'tt holeinapicceofhard-
wood,andnot;,hthisholcforthc:cantoothc
cockingp,cce. Holding this tool in1 vise.
,,_itheboll~mlOthehole,andmi,clhe
bollhandlc1.0t1ilthec:ockingp,cce1sc:ocked
andfallsimothcshallowoockingnotch.
ToremoV<:thcbolt.stophousingonthc
L.46action.tumout!Msc:rewinthc:frontof
thc:hoo.asingandt.hdethehousingiotherear.
Ontheothermodcls..llA'lloutthctwolCfC\lo'S
bclowthellou$&n&and lift i1 fromthcm::ci,-.:r.
Aflcrthchousingisremo,·ed.thebolt-siop
pincanbedriVfl!outtoremoVllthcbolt-stop
andiu$pring.R5$1Cmblcin=erteortler
Tort'll"IO',l: lhe triggerpa,u on the L46,
~ly,k;,-coutthctnggcrand-pins,and
thelriggcrrnech:lllismfrontalltheOlhcrmod-
clsbyfirsllooserungthcltl-scrcwinthcfron1
ofthetriggcrhousingandthentk;,-coutlhe
lrillffhousingpin.
Thtbam:listhl'Cldedimotherm:ivo-
(rigln,lwidthrcad$)andisusually1ffixed
vcry1igh1ly.Thcn:foo:,unlcssyouhaveabar-
rdviscandaction""Kl1Ch,dono1attemp1to
n:rncM:thebam:lfromthc~l:f.
..... ....., ... l'nlllldlllll
ThcSakofirmwascsublishcdinl921and
thcfinnnamc,tmn5latcJintoEnglish,"11i1
Anns&.fnginccrinaWorohopOfThcCivil
Ouard. llWll'IJ,x:atc,dinRiihirmfci.f""lllland.ln
1931,dusnane",aschangecllOOySakoAB,
lnddus....,.isstillinu,c.AocordingtoMms
Rtod,Sakoiscom,ctly~"Socko.~
The followingisabriefnmdownofthc
various«ntcrfi~, bol1-11ction rifles which
bon:thcSakonamefrom1942to1972:
1'4l-Sai<oLAl:TheIA2wasSako's
finlnflc:,only1pro101ypeorl\\u"-m:madc.
andthcwarstoppcdliatherwor1<0011.Madc
in7x3Jmmcaliber,lhi s"-as•dip-10lding,
lightspo,1er.
l 'J46. 1961-Sako L46: This was the firsl
prock,ctionSakomodcl,flrslmadcin7x33mm
aliberandthenin221kxnet.22Vicr\ing,21&

394
 '1' .

5akoTRG-Srifle.Hereisanolher5akorifleofwhichlknowMnleaboule,cceplwhalis
wrtl9nrllhe1 994S.0Cll~Theyd89crbe~asberig,-, Moll~aboul
·•-.-.slore""'1plt.~11M,001t111trrfnet-torVl'd""""'-New.,islhe,.._
locmg-lugbollwhictl..,,...o,M,/•80-degn,eboll'-'ldlelill.Ai.o,-isfledeladt-
.... ~~bor.mJlll,lffll:l,whd'lllti-1 ... ~$11X:1<.
Thelll0el<.i-lUT1,is~~-synln9bc~11'111~~1l4)-
porl.-.:IITllmm..ffl~lor ... ,,...b1inglxmll. The,..:,oil*apace,-sysllrti
alowshSIOd<IObe . . . . . . l0""1ual)'t111ysizeshooler

8'vwrw,galsol,l$0d~llhor1•~"'9dium-ll,ngl5ako~on..tioel'IIO
buildS.tllfi-9adlrltlnin~~lmm222!0309 Thilis•fine
•xampleofoneoftt-.!lllet.

B«and25-20.Lateron,bynowcallcdthc 19S9- 1972- IS7'J •·or,;,;1rr: With sorne stockofvcryfancy,.·a!nutandcngra,-.:dand

Vixcn.wi1haslightmodifoca1iooof1hcaction.
~ was made in 222 caliber. h had I dclachablc
boo:.magarincand,,.-umadcinSponrr.
Dduxe,Hea,y&n-elalldCartoineMyles..
1'59-J%1---S.l<oU6f;ThlswaslheL46
=~iohandlelhelli"-hpun. ltcamc
Ill Sponier and He:,ry Baml styles, perhaps
Cubinoabo.
1961-IIJ72-U61: Thi11,,...,anintpro-,-.:d
\'t'DIOl1of!hcl.469madcwith1non-dctact,.
able. ltinge,i.floorplau:magazincand in cal·
ibm 222, 222 Magnum and 223. Made in
Sp;,na-,Heavy&n-elalldC'art,,r,emQdrb.Th,
rancVixtn,.-asg,-'ClllOalllheL46Models.
sh&h1impnn·emcntso,.-ertheL57ac:tion.thc
L579,,.-umadcin22•250,24Jand308cal-
ibcrs,nSponrr,O.,lwic.HeavyBam:1md
Carl>ulemodels.
1950-1957---S.ke llig~ Po"u Rlllt:
Tiu1Sakonlle ...-.hw1tonlheoonwen:u,I
F.N. Mlll'KfllClooninpopularU.S.,;alibcrs
such as 1he 270. 30-06, 300 H&::11 Magnum
and375 11&11Magnum.
1%1 -1972-S1 koUi1 R Flnn~1r.Tl11s
Sakont1cwasbuihonalongcrandstronacr
v,:rsionofthcL579a,c;tionlllld wascham-
beredforthe2S-06,270,30-06,26'1 Mag-
num. 7mm Magnum. 300 Magnum, Jl8
gold-inlaidrncuil,OnlylOOO,,..,.,,,made,and
in 7mm Mag,,um only.
197l-l974-Sal<oModel72:Tlris,,.11Sthe
cc:onomyVfflUl1nthcS.Olinc.andil ■ppliod
ua1111r,:,:i...::acoonlengrhs.nluSponm.
HeavyBarrclandC'arb,ncmodcls. ThcMTI
nlles,,.-crenotpoli$hcdandblual .. rucdyas
!hcregularhnc.nor,,.•the"ood.-.dchockcr•
mga\gocdExcq,cforthellea,yBandfflOd.
d5,lheM72:$"=:funushed,.,thopensighrs.
The M72 wasrcplat'rob)'1hc:M74, which gm•
crallyhadbcnerwoodandchcckering.
Thcl994hncupofS.kocentcrfircboh
actoonriflcsan:lwedelr,,,ilcrc.Oneccnra-•

1957-195,-......Saiio l.57: Called the For-
C51Crandusingamedium•lrnglhllCl10n,,.ith
nor>-<,INchable,Jungcd-floorplMernapzme,
dusmodcl,,.-asrnadein24l,244and308cal-
,bersandinSponrr,0.:1wic.lleavyBarrel
andCarllincmodcb.
--·
Maa,,wn.)7SH&.HMagnum.-.14S8Maa-
num. J1 ...111m,,,icmSponrr,~.-.!Car-
197l-197.)-81koP.--n11rlonL61R.
Bu1hrocc:ldn1cSako'sSOthanmvcrsary,
thi 5riflcfca1urcdacarvcdandchc:ckered
fircboltacuonnothSlcdhcrc:istheSako
Model22Hometmadefioml97910l980.
ltshouldbcnoledtl.-Sakohasrnade • .-.1
isi!lillmakm&.od'ICl'firearmsnotmcntiontd
hcrc:bttausc:,,.-cdealonlyw11hccnterfue11111-
bollrif\es.

395
W 11ENTHE250-3000S.,-agccartridgc
-ldl'l:dx:ed1111915,rt ..'&Sthefintoorr..
mcn;,111 canridgc that achicvc:d • muuk
wlootyof3000fps.ltdiddusmnarbblebal-
hstic rea1 (rmwkable for 1ha1 umc) ..;man
87,grainbulle1.0w-lcsNew1011dc$ignedthi~
cartridgcforSavagcforuscinlhepopular
S."'FModel99~...:lionnfle. Newton
~lhiscanndgearowd1shor1tnedand
nc,;l<cd-down30-06,;:a,candhcdid 1 good
Jobof11bcauoc111100nbcclmopopular
Whilelhis"<aslal<ingpllce.lheModcll903
Spnng~klandModi:11917Enf1tldrillesin
thehandsofourlOldicr$dunn&WorldWarl
madelhebolH1ctionriflepopular.Soi1"-as
ontynanuallhala11heendofth,sCQnAie11ha1
Amcricangunmakmstark'dthinkingabout
pullingup-tO-<bleboh«lionsportingrifleson
themarlcet.Sr.-agehad1r1aocllcnlsponing
ainndgcinthcir250-3000.and1•"'Mlogjcal
thatdityM'ltlldW1111110pn:,m,a:,1bolt.-ction
sponn10handleillt,.v!luthattheModel
1920 S.Yall" ,.._ born. S.•"age must ha,-.:
Sllldicdlheexisringbol1«1,oonfle$,puning
ideas icscther~ new and some bor-
rowed-and in 1920 introduced !heir firs!
!umbolt. repeating. h,gh-poweredSpOMing
nfle,theModel1920.Theyprobablydesigned
n..,thontythe250-JOOOS.,-agecartndgein
rrund, and~ I N S ~ ~ littk
~l.therifle,."UICOOl'dlllglymadc,-.:ry
llpland,pony. And9011,.-.bccomingonc-
orthcsponieslbolt«1,on. h,gh•p0"-m:d
hunt,na;nfles~i:rprOduood.
TlllflrlYV..... MlBZO(lazo.m
Weighingonlyaboo16pounds,theModel
1920Sa,-.wasv:lmfltlyli&f,tforah.ign.
powcredrifle.Theround.laperroandnicdy
OOl1Ullndbumwas,"Cf}' $11ffl.llappearsio
ha,·ebeenthesamcban-.:l as uKdontheir
llghN,-.:,glw:Modd991e>w.-ctionnfle. Bar-
n,1s"-.:remadeofh.ighpn,:591rCSl«landlhe
bl,,dc-rypemctalbeadfrontSip ..'ISmourrt·
edon1smal!studrampmade1niqn.lwilh
theharrel.Theelevalion•lldJustablcsponing
396
open.-sight,...sdcl'l-.:tailed1J110theban-.:I.
NoprovisioN"-.:remadcforlll)'odltrl)'JltS
ofJighl$10bc..sed. Theone.p,cceAmcn;an
walnutstoc:k"'ISmadconveryslendcTlincs.
Sl.lrlingwnh • semitedandslightlycurved
steel buttplatconly~• /2~ long and 111,~widc,
theslcndcmcsscontinuedthroughthebun
5e<'OOnwith1thincomb,akmgfull-curvcd,
but•-cryslmdcrpislolgrip.101graccl'ulJWC:ll
aroundthe1<:1ion,andthcn10 a lasliapeong
and,"Cf}'IJe,lllerforcnd,.-tuchendcd,n1,·ery
dis!Ulctl•-.:!ChNble-it""ISl>ff'{tnmllOCk.
J1,.'1S gi,·cn1......,shfini5handsmalll)Mltlt
ofooarsechcckerin&"-.:repu1onthea:npand
fomid:thcp,stolgrip"-ascapped.
TheMauscr•typetumboltac1iontha1Sav-
agedcsignedfor1hisriflewasshol'!and!ight
ltfeatw-eddual~lockinglugsonthc
frontoflhebolt.alongnoo-rotaunaMaUKT-
typcutn,;tor, fi,-.:-5holnon«llthablescag•
gen,drolurMII0.1mapzinclha!-1-k,,I
through the opened l<:lion, double-suae ln&-
ger pull, $1,d"'i w,g safe,y lhat lod:cd scar
andbolt.and a strib:rlhalc:ocl<cdontheuplift
ofthcbolthandlc. Therootofthebolthandlc
servcdasthesafe,ylockinglug
No IOOr1Cr had the Model !920 been
annount-.:din250-300lcaliber.thanSavage
alsoannouncaltheimroductionofthetrl'ltW
JOOSa,...,cartn<Jee... hichtheyaidhadthc
balhSl>Clofthe30-06cartndgt,. Thus."·hcn
theModel1920bccamc1>"1ilablc11was
offcrcdineithcrlhe250orJOOSa,...,cal-
ibers.TheModell920inthe250,aliberhada
barrflll"lc)r,g.w,th a munlcdiamclcrofonty
.5SO".makinatlt.isrilk41J/,~inovmiJllenj¢,.
A24"~1wasuscdforthe3QO.calibfr.
lnhisb,gbooll'T'lulRif/eUIA/llm<'Q,f'll1hp
B.SharpcstatcslhatafcwMl920swtnll!SO
made1nl0-06calibfr. ilowa·er.lhan111,11
been able: IO ,-.:,rify lhis, Ind IICCOrolng IO all
thc111lonnat,onlcanfindonllusnflei1"•
madc<N11y,nthe250andJOOS.,...,c1l-
ibm. Col. TCMTISmd Whelen Ill h,s booll TM
Alffffl<'anRiflr,,.·luchwaswrincnthesamc
ycarthatlheM1920cameout.hadh,ghpraisc
forlhisrifle. Hernenuonslhatitwaslined
wilh an alummum buttpWe !hat had a trap.
Olhcfwise,theM1920riflc1hathcdcscribes,
andthcearly,'ffl1001ha1Sharpcdescribcd.li1
thedescrip1ion l ha,..,gh-enhel-.:.
TilllltlV.... M1fi1ffl(1fiH)
lnaboutl925S.••changedtheModel
1920rifleandbroughtoucwllllditycallcdan
,mpro,-.:dM1920.thcMl920-1926.lldif-
femifn.milhe-')',-.:rfioninSC\-.:nl<klails,
bulthemos1not>oeablll:chan&e"''Mintherear
sightandthe"'ClilhtTobegin.thellllmlsin
bolhcalibcrs~madc: shghtlyhcavierand
then:ars,glddo·oetailslolwasomincd Then
Sa,11gc:inst1lledapcq,sigh1onthcrille.Sev-
eralrefcn:ncesl~llus $igh1asthcLymanNo.
54,andalthoughPhilipSharpcdcscribeditas
l=ci\'Cl'Slght.myinformationhasilmourrt•
edontheboltslceve-lhusi1"-.s1boh
!iea'Csighl.Theforcndofthisrifle""ISmade
sl1gl,dyhca,1erlb:anbcfcn,andsling5"1'"<:I
eydelSweremscalkd
SharpcS1ato:slha1theche(,kerings,,.um1
"..salsochangcdA1anyr111e,thencwrifle
wasncarlyapoundhcavierthanthcfirstmoJ..
el.andhadimpm-.:dsi&f,ts.lnl921therille
--
mailedforSSl .50,,.•luc:h,.,isslightlyhigher
thanthcbcSlsaandardModi:199Sr.¥1e>-.:r-
.,;tion made at the Slfflll' time.
Theone.poccen:ocwerortheMl920S.v-
ageappcarstobe a machinodstttlforging
Thebanelis~,mo,isfiontend.with
the shank tlu-.:~ds being of the square type.
Thebreechfaceoflhebanelistla!.andlhfre
is noinsilkcollarinsidethereceiverring.The
brffl:hingismuchhkethaloftheModel93
Mauscr.Thercca,wong11aboutl.75#kmg
andlherecoillug11par1of1rings,epame
fromlhcrcca,-.:rd,at11clampcdbetwttnthc
(Abow)TheMoc'-11mSavage(earty--
8ionJhiQhpo,wwtumbollspcringri11e.
 'I

Thelale"8rsionollhe$avageM<:>del1920
l1,11nbo1tspot1iogritle.Th11riflelss.lig,htly
hN'n8fttianlheea,tyvwliona1areautola
'--blllT9IINlklg~.~.ilsmain
distingui$hing1Nt1Jfalalheapef!Urellghl
mauntedonlhebolt .........

ba=IWlllllklerandlherw:,,..-,muchlikeon
lheRffl1DlglOOModel700.ltowr...-,,.,mthe
Ml920.lhem:oillug11ffimldtod10acttp1thc
frontguards=w.
The cylinmi,cal part of the~'"'· or 1he
oodyP'ff,isato:,,.,(5.YJ'lon&,.,.,lhthcloading
port being about .25" and the bridge about
1.25".Thm:isastrippcrclipslolinthebridgc,
as 11,dlasall0ll:honthcrcarrigllsidcofthc
m:a,;ermg.a,dlhisincrcascslho-=tmlbd- The IIUe Savage Model 1920 action. No1e
... and~port. Thcm:a"ermdg,eisalso 11>11 bolt 5leevtl ,penu,a sight which is
ckq,1)-ootchodou:onq,an;liolhl:rigl"lb" adjustablebr~ano~
thelOOloflheboilhnlleandlh,sler,,sonlya
YC!)'...,,,.,,.t.xlofmttallObridgetht"bok. ~---------------~
Thcboltappean10bcaa-p,c,,elorwng
which is pm:iscty machir.cd and finished. saw:,ofthec:FU,ThcboltfaceisrccallCdfur collar located magroovem 1hebolt. The
~wallockilljjluponthcfrontofthe thecartndaehoad.butpanofdusm:dliseu1 cjccrorisa1unplc1ffau-pl\vtcdona~in
boltcngagema1chinglockin11lugre«sses awayasinthcM98Mauscraction10allowa aslO(cutintolhelcftsidcoflhem::civcr
v,ilhinthen:cei,-crringandllfflll'Clyholdthe ~ to slip inlO lru$ reo:ss. and under the bridge.lti1not1oounlikcthcModel 1903
bohv.bencngagcdThchaml,:onthcrcarof cxtrac10rhool:,.t,ma~isfcdllll0thc Springfield'J«IOf.
thcboltmgagcsthcnotth mthe~,... dwnberfromthc~.Thtsfcawrt;pro- Thcinsideofdw:bohisdrilkd.borcdand
bridgelm,.,..,..sasthellun:lorsa~kding Vfflllldoulie-loadin&- thmtdedfiomlherear10aocq,1dw:finngp,n.
111&- The nght or 10,ow locbna lug is solKI, ThculfaCIOfisoftheor,e..ptettMauscr mainspringMldthcthrtadcdmdoflhl:bolt
whikthcleftoriwcrll'&isslollcdforlhepas,, stylcand15hcklonthebohby11wo.p,ccc slce,·e. Thccockm&p1cccfil'!mto1hcbol1

397
1lee~andthefiringp,nisthreadcdintoi1
fromlhefionL withlhe<;OilrnAin$pringa,m.
press,ed befv.«n the forward end of tho bolt
sl«veandthecollaron the firing pin. Both
ends of1hc mainspring are bent straight; a
.honcndontherearcnpgesin•Jinglc:no11:h
1nlhefiontoflhelx>l1sffl1:,andalongerone
.i the frontendcngagesinoneofthe four
nolChosdwan:~'Cllly~aroundd,c,col-
laronthefiringpin. Thepurposehc-re islO
"9C1$light ...~!m$ionoflhemam,ping
IOkeepthofiringpinfromlW'Nll&IOmainlain
cons1an1firingpinpn:,cn.ision,
11'1Misadcepcockingnotth mlherearof
lheboltandacockirlJlcamandxarbui lton
lhecockingpie,:e.sotha1onn.isir1J11hehoh
handlclhecocking piettandanachcdfiring
pman:cammcdbackwmd10neulythefull-
cockpocition. Thcn:it1sha.llov.•ft01Choolhe
ruroftheboltneartheendofthe,;o,;king
notchsurface.andwhenthebolthlndleisful•
lyrusedthecndofthcrotking,..,,rtSISin
lh11nou:h. Whcntheboh ,spu]ledback.lhe
398
cocking am m this ~llow nocch pm-ents
theOOl1$lca1:fromruming.Therc,s100a
stigh1anglcdllopeonthcuppcrpanofthc
f01WardOOlthandlcnotch intherec(:iver
bridgesothat onopcning thcbolt,asthcroot
of the ha11dle,;o,,1.1tuandmovesoverthis
slope.11M:lx>hisammedback1shortd1s--
1anCC to provide ,;amming po•••er for iM1al
alnCU(ln. Thecockingpica,has .. ,mqp,11
hollowandknumd head.and it tw nornl
purpoKorfunctionotherthantoprovidc:
somc:thinglOpaspindisus,embhngthebotL
Thelriggcra-w11oorp1a1cisaone-piece
hoavystoelstampingandit isinlcnalflU5hin
thcboltomofthcstock. lkt"-ccnitandthc
bonomoflherec(:iverisashcetJtcdmag.a•
zincboic.ThcreislhellSUalmagazinefotlow-
erandW•$hapcdfollowcrspring.withthe
io..wendoflhisspnngfinedinaslocCUIIIIIO
thefloorpi.ic. Thetriggerguw'floo!pbteis
held1nthestockby~san.1;1wood
sm:w•t the rear of the guard bow. and "'v
machine~-sffRandaftoflhe~
boo:andthrcaded mtoescutchcoospm.sod
1mothestock.Thcn:is1lso1sloncdtriager
platehcldundcrthetngacrguardOOw.The
bam,landrca:i-11r11tis$CC\Klyhcklinthe
stockbythroescrcws:l)aforcnds=wwhich
1hn:a(lsintoablock00\-'Ctailedintothebarrel:
2)ahoa,ysc=vwfuchl"le$throughaholcin
thefromofthclloo!pbteandlhrcadsiMOthe
~lug;andl)•shon~...dertheing-
ga-plale"tuchtlnadsintolheboaomoflhc
sn-.llhalp,mdcsgutdln'elOlhcsafctyt..
The rear 3.lS~i-tofthe recewa· is bmcd
il'JIOasonoftang.andbuiltinlOitandfaSlened
IOHistheJafi:tyrni:charusm.Theshocgun-type
slidillj!tangsafctyisfincdlhroughastotcul
intothc13n&end.Amundsrudwekbl10thc
bouomoftherecet-pro,.ideslherearanchor•
ag,:b-lhereara-d~inlisslolled,:w,q,
10ldnil.lhesafctyba-. Therearendofd:usba-
isplllnedtolhesafdybl.aon.Thcreisaboap,n
dwoogj,the,;1\.11\0-t.:h.-lMlllgh•slol: ..
lhcsafctyba-.pmn,11. . theb.-tomc,,l:for•
",irdandti.,ck\0-.d.

Thcsearisposi1ioncdin1grooveinlhc
boclomoflherl!Ceiverandishcldinplaceby
andpiV01Sonapin1hrough1hcrecci,·er.The
triggerispivoiedonWIO!hcrpinlhroughthc
sear.Apro:jeclionontherearendofthesear
~up,.'llfdthroughaholcinthe~v-
ertocnpgcwilhthe&caronthcrocking
pica:. Tensionis&i,-mtothcscar,lriggcr
andafctyby1sin&kU-shaptddoublcior-
slon,..ircsping. Thcreisanannonthefroo1
ofthe$afctybarwhichproj«ts1hrougha
holeinlhcrecci'"erand,.•llen1hc$afct)'is
pulledbal:k.1hisprojec1ioncngages ina
jp'OOVCinlhcrearoflhebolttolod:ilwhen
it is closed When the action is rocked and
the'3fctypulledback,thcfroruendofthc
u.fcty bar oomacu the rear end of the 5ear
andblocksil
Thcttaralsofunctionsastheboll-stop
Thcrnr,..ard1r1,·elof1hcbohishahed
,..hcn1hcsearmo,·csupmtoandoontac:1S
lhesquarcendofa groove milled in the
boltomfo,,..ardponionof1hcboh.Thercis
alsoaholeat1hefron1,quaredcndof1his
groon,servingas1guvcn1q,..e!Jasto
providelddi1ionalabutuncnt$Urfaccforthc
boll-stop.
-
Thctjcaa-isasimplc:alfairpivotcdooa
screwmaslotintheretti,-er,.-aJl.hfune..
tionsju.stlikcthc Modcl l903Springfickl
"'""
The early Model 1920 Savage rifle is
marked as follows: On1hc1opcentcrof1hc
t.m,lin1WOIU>C$is·
MANUFACTURED BY SAVAGE ARMS
COSP.
VTICA,NY. U.SA
-MARCH 28, 1916, DEC. 26, 1916,
JUNE17, 1917-
Onlhe1opleftsodcoflhcrecei,-errin&I$:
SAVAGE 1920 MODEL
OnlheleftsKleoflhebarrelbn:«his:
SAVAGE HI PRESSURE STEEL
.250-3000
ThcSa,-aacuadcinark(lndian in feathered
headdresswilhlhc,..onlsSAVAGEQUAL.-
ITY) is stamped on the toe of\M Jteel
bunplaie.Thcterialnmnberissun'()Cdoolhc
lefllideoflherecei,,:rring.andonthenlle
illustrlltedhn"etlnsnumlxris724J.
TomtlO\'Clhebolt.rai!ielhebohhandleand
pu!llhcbohbackasfarasitwillgo,pullthc
lrig&erback(wilhsafctyforward)asfarasit
willgo,andlhcnwithdrawtheboh.11,;anbc
rtplaoed-aaa, ..itlnapullingthelrigerbaclc..
Thclmgm«hnsmismtlO\"tdfromlheboll
bypullin&lhe~piccebackand~tt
OOW!lffl:lockwi!iCand~theboh
~fromtheboll.To~lhefiring
n1C1:hanism.placctherockingpieceonthe
, ,,, 11' 'I
,.ffi<benc:h. and ,.~th lhumb and forefin,er
fmllygrasplheli'onlcndofthe~and
pullitn-ay&nmthenoldxdcoll:arW~
$0the"l'fflllisdearcl11. Thm~lhefir.
mg pin &nm the coding piece. The firing
me,;,hanismthencornes-ixizt.Rca.ssemblc:in
re-.-aseorder.TumlhefuingpininWllililbol-
torns,andrhenlldjUS11hcbc:nttipoflhefron1
cndoflhcrnainspqinoncoflherachesin
thecollar$0thatlhe,pririgholdsthefiringpin
fiumrumingDU1.The~,urK1(1'",;:ait,emtlO\'Cld
b)'romuc"10thetiaac.nofthebollanc1m
pushing~ forwanl offlhc: boll Rcmo,'C\hc:
mrxtorcoll:arby~115i..uhah'CS.
Remcr.'l:lhcbam:landreceiverfromthc
scockbytumingou1andrcmovingthctwo
frontlriggerguard tcrews.thecemerguard
tcrew(justaheadof1hcguan:lbow)andlhc
rearguardwoodtcrew. Remove the trigger
guard/floorpbte.magazineboxandthelrig-
gerplate.TumOOltheforcnds=wandthe
screw&nmbchmdtheuia,:r(this"-asccr,-
=dbythelriggerp!Me)andrhenthet-rm
andn:cci,,:ranbctq,,ntcdfiumtheSIOdc..
Rea.uembleinm.·meOl'der.
399

The1nggerinlsafdyJSt5,...bemRO','al
by~-...<UlhelWOpmS.,..hichholdlhesafe.
1ybuaonandbw.irilookif'81heafctytngg,:r
spnnainlrem(>\-ingllie,ei-n,,.Then~,,e-
thosearandmnovelhesearandmggcr.The
tjeclorcanbemno,'alby~n()',Ulji1$screw
&oo,below.~inn:vtffl:order
The bam:I is scrc"'cd vay ughtly into the
-
ru-ci>'Cl"andi1shouldno1bemnovcdunless
necessary.andlhenonlyiFpropcrlOOlsan:
..-.il,bktodolhejob.
lha,1:nevcrov,,w,daMo,;lell920Sa,-.ge
nfle.andmF8Cl.uplOth1s"TIIUIJllha,1:only
Sttf!IWOoflhem.Qflhe,,:,lhadlheoppc.,rtu•
nitylOkttplheoneshov.nhen,inmydcnfor
afcwweo:lcs.,..hithga,1:mc a dww;ctolook
aiit.handlc:it.study11.andlc,."ffllOIIOf1":11
1Fcwtuncs.ltook,tallapanandcxamined
c,.,erypan,.ith a crmcalcyc. Tlutga,,eme1
chana:ioe-.-.luau:11111my1ei51ft.
WhmlheSa..-agcfinn~IObuildifs
f11$1lugh-p>\o,'Cl"tumooltnfle(theyprobahly
swtcdonn,naboutl915).theyfffltltoha,,e
inswctcdthcirdesigr,cnandenginecn,tom.11:e
its,mplc.!hcwl.ligh1 andtrim.tomakelhe
8Cllonsttongandsafc.and10makctheaction
nolargcrorlon,gerthan11Ca$$a')'tohandlc:
s.,,.·s1wohigh-p:M'Cl"nmlesscanridgcs
Judpia &an !he rcsuh of thew pis and
efbts.itsec,nstomcd,eydidjust:thlll.Abo-,,e
LtlHidt-~ollheModel19205'v1ge
lllle(Utfyvwaion)
400
aD.d,eymadcthenfle,'Cl}"hgll:..dnn.inl
t!IOllearcthcnnt~,ettm.isaboll:11.lf
itisno11hehgl,lctthigh-pmo'Cl".aimmcn:ial.
tumboltnflee-.1:rmadc.1tcertainlyis1closc
!ll:Wlld.ltlunl.Sa,.o..-erdiditinthisn:sp,:,,;t.
Alifor1nmnc:ss,almos1evcrythingaboutitis
trim.althotogltmydcfmitionof"'trim""asoon-
ocminganflemaydifferfmm)'QIQ.By"lnm"
lamno1onlyrcfmlnstolhelightness.,tiaro.
nessand-fccrofthcrifleas a "'hok,tumon,
spec,fically am rcffflmg IO !he rrunmun
chmms,onsoflhe..-ariousmamcornponrnu:
thalmalcuplhcp>.
Forcumplc: Abarr,elnolon,gerorheav,cr
thanr.cc<lcdtoprovidcadcquatcaoc\lfllC)'and
full,·cloc11yforthocanridgci1ischambercd
for:and111ocklOOJ!cnoughforanaduh
.shoolcr,SU'ongmoughtobefullyxrviceablc,
y,:tminimummmostofiisdirnmsKins.espe,
cially for I small•handtd pn-son. l foe~ how-
e-,·~. lh:at pcrhaps Sa,-.ge ""CN • bH IOO r.- m
lnmmln&;lh11nfle.esp«iallyso,ntho300
s.,,.caliber,.t,ichproc.t,.,ocsconsidcrably
mon,rca>1lthanlhe250anndg,,.ThcSav.
age dcs,gnm d,d a l'fCl1Y good job .,..;111 the
ac1ion.100;11"snoloogerthanr.cc<lcdtohan•
dlelhc300Sa,.agccartridge;itisquitcs,m•
plc.suoogandsafe.andrcliablcinopcration.
Excq,1 perhaps forthescantyand«IIU$C
dw:o:kenr,g.lhccnnn:rillewas"'dlmadeand
firushod.Witlttheexcq,t,onofthep,SIOl;np
"31'andtheS1<1Ck.c,·crythingclsc:isstccl.
,.-,ththemaJOfpansallmachincd.
Severalfc;uuresoftheModell920Savagc
actionindicatcthatilS~"-'ffl:acquaint•
cdwilh.andmayha,1:becrtinnucncedt,y.the
MawierandSpringficldtwnbohlCUOOS.For
~thcrecei,,ernna,llatbarrdface.bolt
head.lockinglugsandextnottorarcmon,or
lcsloftheMooel93Mauserdes,gn. Theqec-
lOrisofModel 1903Spnngflclddcsign. The
rockingknobisaboSpringfteld.Thctestof
lheactionismottorlcslorigmal"1t1tSa,-..
The doubiMlagc tngg,:r ,s a military leflo,1:r.
buttbesafetycertainlyisn't13w.,fSawgc"t
dcsigncrshom:,,.,."roafewfcatw"CS&oo,ochcr
IICtions.sodidlhcdcstgr,maiWmche:stcbor-
rowsomething(bolt-$10p) fmmthoSa>-.ge
action ""hen theydt•~lopcdlhe Model 54
Windoc:steraaion11119ll.
faidcntly~mustha,,ebecrt1number
oftlungsaboottheModell920Sa..-agerille
andactionthathunteriandnncmendidn't
tike.ForwhythcndidSavaaediscontmueit
atjustaboutthetimcthebolt-actionhigh-
po,.1:r nne "'as b«ormng popular with
Amcricansporumcn?Pcrhapstherincwa:s
100ligh1orlhc,;aliberchota:"'alllOOlimitcd.
Or maybe "ith Rcmlf,alOII m the boh-amon
businessinlWinchcsttrgctttngstartcdin1t.
competitionwqjustt0ornuc:hforlhchnle
Sa,-.. PemapsSa,-aa,e"SO"'-Tlhighlypopu-
larModtl991c\'Cf«uonnflein250andJOO
Sa, -agecalibcn.,..ast0omucbcompctinonfor
theMl920tobuc:k.andforla.ckofsalcsit
wqjusttakcnoffthemarkct. At any rate.
,-,hcnSa,-agcdroppedtheaw,inl929.a,-ery
1nterntingrinc~tobe. Th,eyan:nov,-
mostlycollcctor1tcm,..cspcciallythosc,n
ongmal and accllcm oondmon. The 1aie
modclSttmStobcextrmlcly«artt.
 II' • I

~
=-- ;._
- · -- . . a:11 '1 __
--~
..... ~ !11::~•]:t:::::mr
1

~,\
-- :--~~=
,,_, ,_
20-2 ~
119-11 8arre1Slud
20-21 Bol-slOpPU'lgef
20-22Bol~PU'lgef
...,
...,
,.,.
20-n
20-99
20-142
20-143
20-158
FlringPin
Triggtro.."1d
Mlg&zine&o>
MaglzwlllFolowe!
Mlg&zin&Folc:Mw

20-113 5-lyBuaDn
:~ ~
(Fronl)(Long)
20-268RTakedownSc:iaw
{RNrl(Short)
:i!!,27'9Tngg,11'
...., ,.,.,....,_
20-285 Tlp'Pin
9!M2I F""1ndSO,..,
9M22 Pillol~C-.i
,,_,,.
20-1118 ,_
5-ly~Rod 99-423 l'lllalo,_,e-.i~
,,_.,,, ,..
~
20-522 RKl:llUIQPin
20-21111 S..Pln

---
Savage Model 1820

=-~·· : : : :·.':~
Welghl (esbmated) ... . . . 43oz.
I.Angth . . ......... . .. . .. 8.750"
~rtngdlarnet. . . 1.425·
B o l t ~ .. . .70(1'

Dilmellr ............... 480"

o.pe, ................. 150"
~ 1 9 n g ! h •••.•..•. 2.70"

401
S AVAGE ARMS CORPORATION inlro-
du,;ed thcir fi~ man-,iic, 22 nmfire nun-
boltnfkin 1919.Styledasamihtaryriflc
w11hncarlyfulllcngthforcnd,i1sintcndcd
uscwasfor targe1shooling-i1hadthchcfl
andfeelofthcModcl l903Springficldmil•
1tary rifle. I very popular rifle II that time
NamcdbySa,-agcasthcModel 1919NRA
Targec Rifk. i1wasfi11cd"'·1th1 receiver
sightand12s·tiam1andfedby11i>-e-shol
detad11bk box m.ogarine. Like the Sa,-agc
Models03.04.and0Snmfircnflesthalpre-
«dt<I i1 a number ofycan cul,.,-. the Mod-
c11919 had I rca:i,·.,- tha1 was in1egral with
"""""'
The Model 1919bcc1mequi1cpopular.
andthiiikdSavagetodc,·clopitfw'lhcrand
to bn11& out• spo,1e1" version ofi1. This was
doneinl923andthcrifkdcsi,natedthe
Modf:123Sporter.ln22Lon&Rillecaliber.
""''1ScalledthcModel2JA.
At the s.amc time. Sa,-agc also brought
out the Model 2JB and 2JC. which were
ccntcrfirc,·cnionsofthcModel2JA. ltis
thescccntcrlircrifles1hat"'l'•n:imercsted
in hen:. The B andCmodcls were alike
cxteptforcaliber,thcUchambcmlforthe
2S,20WCFcartridgcandtheCforthc:32-
20WCF. Thcywcrcnotmarkt<lwiththcsc
modcldcsigna1ions;theurlyonc1"'·ere
mcrelymarkedModcl 23 Sponer. These
ccnterfire sponcn "'·ere made almost as
ropicsoftheModcl23A22nmf1rcSpon.,-
excep1for1longe,-a,c1ion1ohandlctheccn-
tcrfirecanridgcs. The UandCnflcshad
25"roundtape,-edbam:lsfittt<lwi thplain
opcnsigltts.
A11Modcl23 Savagcsponcrswcrcdis-
t1nc1ivc nflcs. One distinc11vc feature was
the one-piece bamUrecci\·cr unn. Another
wasthcrathcrlongbohhandlcthat "'"llto
posmoncdthatitwouldnotmtcrfcrcwitha
n:,;ci,·ersightorlowmountedsoopeonthc
n:,;c,.-cr.Perh:apsthcmos1disunct1vcfcarurc
of1llwasthcstockw1thitslape,-edforcnd
tha1mdcdinaschnablc.1styletha1Sa,·1gc
402
hadpopularmdonthcirfamousModel99
b-cr-act,onh1gll-po-,.·crcdrifles.Some'A-·hat
similarlOthcovcrslloutlineoftheModcl
99.thcModcl23Sponerhad1smallishb1nt•
stock. 1gcnerousbcllyaround1hcactionand
a quick tapcrimoaslimforend. My very
firstrcallygoodriflewasaModcl23A.and
thcrewasnothingaboutitthatldidnotlike.
1twas 1ruaae,ihe-nwt"sriflc.cxcccdinaly
"'"Cllmadeandfinishcd.rcliablcandac:cu-
t111e.lU$Cdi1foryears.l.atcron.ldldmuch
shooting"'ith1ModelllDin22Homc1cal-
ibcr. and many y-,ar,; later owned an ell"ly
Model 238.
lnl93J,thc22Home1cartridg('Watin-
troduccd.andSavagequicklyrealized1ha1
thislittlccanridgewouldbc<::omeastar. lt
d1d.t00. l11ookthccountrybystormwith
Savagchelpingitalong.Thcydidth,1by
modernizing the Model 23 (Cnterfire to
handletheHornet. Thcylcfl&lhenedtht:
10Ningpor1,maprine"'-cl1.andm.opztne
co1ttommoda1e1he22 Hornc1canndge.
which was I bil longer than the 25-20 and
32-20.Thcyspeededupthclocktimcofthc
strikcr.andchangcdthelookandfttlof1hc
entireriflcbymakingthcforcndlongerand
fullcranddoingawaywiththcschnablelip.
From the: moment the Hornet chambering
w.sintrodu«dinthcModcl23.thc11lnof
theKriflcs,ntheOlhertw0CCfllCmreealib-
ersweo1intoadeclinc.lnthciatl'ley<,ll"
(193J)Sav1gealsodroppcd1hem1htary•
srylcdModcl 1919targetrineand,ntro-
dutcdagrca1lyimpro,·cdvcnion.Thi1was
followedbylhcModel 19H in 22llome,
caliber. T he Models 238, C and D were
tnadcwith25"b1mclsandwcighedina1just
ov.,-6poundswhilethcModc119ll hada
29"ban-cl...,;l-,,-.,ighcdaboul9.25poundl..
Thcac:11onsof1hcseriReswereidenucal.
"'-
Asmcntionedpreviously.thcrccci,·crof
thisnflei1anintegra!panofthcbarrcl
Thatis.thcre11"1ndth1ckcs1p111ofthc
l,an-.,J"',..mach1nedouttoaccep1thcbolt
1ndothcr1c1ion pans. A ra1hernarrow.
oval loadinglcjeetionponwasmachincd
oulonthcrights1dejust101hercarofthe
thambcr. and another opening. this one
rcctangu!ar.wasffll1dcl1thebonomforthe
magazinc.Tothcrearofthcmapzineopcn•
ing,11WTOw11otprov1de1anopeningfor
thctriggcr.
Theboltasscmblyi11bout7.25•1ong.lt
is IIOrl•rotanng.Only the short sl«ve lO
whichthcbolthandlci11ttachcdrou1cson
thcboh.Thissl«,·eisonthcrcaroftht:
bolt and it not only holds the turned-down
bohhandlebutanindepcndcmlockinglug
as well. Therccciverismi!ledoutonthe
rightsidcforpassageof1hebohhandlc.
1ndl-shapcdso1h.a11hebohhandl-,roo1
IICl","CSasoncofthcloctinalug1.Thelock-
;n&lug isonthcrearlcftofthcsleal'.and
anochcrL~mach1ned1nsidetherccci,-cr
wall accq,1$ ii. More than ample locking
engagemem is thus provided to hold1hc
boltinthcl'CC('ive,-.
Thercarpartof1hcone-pieccstrikerlfir•
ing pin i5hollow 1orontain1hccoil main•
spring.Acronpinthrou11hacollarand
lhroughtheboltbodyandthrougltaslotin
thcstrike,-holdsthcstrikerinthebolt.and
holds the mauupnng under 1C11Sion. Anoth-
er pin holds thc cock111& knob in thc rear of
thestrikcr.Bcfore1933.thccockingknob
wasknurlt<landcooldbcusedcomanually
r«0ekthestrikerfromthcfircdposition.A
srnall projectionon1hcbotl0mofthe strik-
erengagcsanangledslotin1hcbolt1iltt,·e.
andontheuptumofthebohhandlcthe
strikcrisdrawn"-cklOthcnearlyfull-<ock
position. Post-1933 models had I shoncr
(AboYe)TheeattyMooet238SavageSport-
er2!r20.

andspttd,crscnkermo,·ementthanlMpre-
·33 models. In bothmodds igni1ion "''as
p(l:$1!1\'C
Thctnggerismountedonapin inaslOI
inthebonomoftherccei,'Cl".Ahookedpro-
je,:11onon11sforwardcndprojectsinloaslot
inthcbonomoflheboltandcngagesw!!h
anod,c,-proJe,;tiononthcbonomofthe$1nk•
erlOholdthcSlrikeroockedwhcntheboh,s
open11ed.. It is the simplesl of anwlgm>e111$
bwllOl_,,lyanidealone.TbeAfety
,s1p~ofstrapsteelhalf-cncirchng1hc
rnrofthc rm:-m:r t,,:r,..-.:,:n it and 1M tt1g-
1er. A IJ>n"i and hollow phmgff bd,.·em
the lnggff and lhc afcty prmides 1m5,10n lO
bolh. R11 s1n11heocmitedliponthen&ht
sodcofthcsafdylocksthelliggcr.Thisioo
iu simplcanangemen1andquitcgood.Pre-
·33modc!slladnoprovisions10adjustany-
thingabou1thctri&11er.Onp:m-'33modclsa
smal! M:rcw1hrcadedimo1hefroo1of1hc
tnggcrpmndcd 1 scarengagemen1adju!i1-
mmlonly.
The1nueralsoser,edas 1hebol!-smp.
Thel'CIN'ard1ra.-clofthebolt·••ashal1ed
"hen the front ,:nd of the trigger mgqcd
" "llhlproj«l1ononthcfrontpanofthe
1,1rtker Tomno,·c thebolta.s5efflbly.lM
lnl&ff1$pullcdbaekandheldbackasthe
bolllS"''>thdra"ll.
T"·ocxtractonarcfinedintoslots1nthe
fron1oflhobolt.Theyarchcldmplaceby.
andpivOI on small piru, and are provided
tcns1onby spnng•backcdplungcrs. Thc
cm11ctor1ntlw:rightsidcisac1uallytlw:
onlycx1rac1orwhilc1hco1>eoothcleflsidc
has 1 blumhook1ndscrvcsonlytoguidc
1he c1nridgcs from the maga:einc intolhc
chamhcr.1nd 10 assist m cjc.:ting lhcm
whcnthcboltisopcnc4.0nthcpn,•·H
Modcl2Jccntcrfircnflesthccjectorisan
1ntcg:n,l pan of the rear magazine guule,
mcn:ly I hcn1•up proJe<:1100 protniding
throughaslolmlhe=ei,"ff.
Thcln11ffauard1sahcavy11ripofllrap
iT011hcn11oform1nca1guardbow.and
withanopcmnginitforthcmaga:einc. Jtis
inlcncdm101hcstockandheldinplaccby
twowoodscrcws.onca1cachcnd.Thcbar-
relandaction uni1isheld inplacc in 1hc
stockbyh•'Omachincscrcws.Thcrc:aronc
JUSlahcadofthctriggcrguardbowthrc:ads
,mo astudthatisinrumthreadcdinmthe
rcc:c1''cr,and1hatholdsthc1UTmagwnc
1u1dc1nplacc;lhcforward1<:rcwgocs
1hrouit,thcrcarpanof1hcforcndand1i
1hrcadcdm101bamlstud.Thcreisnofla1
re1r$11rfaccanywhen:bcn,,·cenmc1al1nd
wood101bs«brecoil. Tbcfrontmagaz,nc
l"ideorholdtrinthepn,-'33model,san
L-shapNi.prmgsc,...,.-cdin1othcS1ock.
Thcpre•'JJ andthcpos1.·3JMO<k12J
cmu:.rf1renfleshaddiffercntmagaz1ncs,noc
interchangeable. and diffcrcn1 magazine
rcl.llincrpans. Theprc-'JJmagazinchada
roundfrontandaknwiedknobbclow,and
bothretaincrpanswercinsidethcstock.Thc
post•'JJ maga:e1ncwasarectangularbox,
and,t,.'l!lrct11nedinthcriflcandrclcued
frooi1tby 1 migazinccatch"'hichprojCCted
bclow!hc$10Ck.
T..__...._..,
ToOOffl!)lclclydisasscmblcthcModcl23
Sa,-.gcproccedasfolio..-s:
TofCTTIO\·c!hcbolt.pulltholriggerback.
raiscthcbohhandlcandthcboltcanhc
withdra,.·n.
Todisasscmblcthcbolt.drivcoutthcpin
frooi1hecollaratthcll:arofthcbohbody
The s1rikcr. bolt sleeve and mainsprin11can
1hcnbcll:moved. Thcutractorscanbc
ll:mo,·edbydrivingou1tMsmallex1rac1or
p1n.Rcasscmblcinrc,~order
Torcmo>·cthebarul andrcce"·er11mt
from the stock. first mno,·cthc magaz,nc
andthenurucrcwthct><'Oscrcwsfromthc
boltomofthcriflc.onetha1 isposn,oncd
JustaheadoftMtnggerguanlbowandthc
ocher at the ll:arofthc formd,and then hfl
Savage Models 23B, C& D
1hcbarul from the stock. Toll:movc!hc
1riucr guard pla1e. mnovc the '""' wood
scrcwsfrom,t.
Toremovcthetriggerandsafcty pans.
dn,·c011tthc:pinthatholdsthetrigger1othe
rc«1vcr. Aflcrthetriggcrisll:moved,thc
safctycanbcmno,·ed.Th.cmagaz,ncauidcs
-
andlatchcanhcremo>'edbyrcmovingthc
!Cll:WSlnd studs that hold them 1n pllCC
Rcti$Cmblcmrc,·~order.
Tbcfacrorymart.ingsonthcModct23
Sa•..,cccntcrfill:rilk5!hatlhllve,!0$Cr,ed
an:asfollows:
On1hcpn,-'JJmodclsthcmark1ngson
thebarKlan:·
MANUFACTVRED BY SAVIIGE IIRMS CORP
-
Tbcscrialnwnber,sstampcdoothe~I
hlttch..andthccalibcronthcrecc""ffncar
thcsa,fcty.
Th.cSavagcModc12Jccn1crfiresponcrs.
IS "'CllasthcModcl 19H,en,oyodawidc
pop111aritydunngthcycarstha1thcy,.·eft
made, and for some years 1ftcrwardJ. Of
thcm,thcModcl23DHQfflC1"'asbyf1r1hc
most popular. Wi1houtdoubt,thcJCCond
rnos1pop11tarcahbermth1smodclwas1he
25-20. The Model 1911 is quite rare and
almos1as hardtofindas1hcMoJclC32-
20. ManyofthcModcl23D riflcsarcst,II
hc1nguscd. Thccntireriflcwas ofrathcr
51mplc and atraightforwud des,g:n and man•
ufaclurcd with carc-it pro,·ed to he rch•
1blc.ruggedandaccuratc. 11 ..·u noc1
fancynflc.butagood.shootablcnflc;n
hadno 1lloyorpl1s11cparts.andonly ,.'ll-
n11twasuscd forthcstock.Thcac11onwas
dnllcdandllJll>c:dlOacttpl l fttClVCl'llght.
4-03

and,n latcryearsit,bo·,,:ast:apped forc,:r-
t:a,n scope mounts. It was also one of the
lirttbolt-actionriOesi<kallysuitcdfor
1eope us.e. and it ...-., laracly !he 1eope on
!he Model 230 tha! mack ,1. as wdl as lM
llometcanridg<:,sopopular
Savagcc:v1dentlysaw1hctrend10wards
lheuscoflhctckscop1csightwM'l11hc'30s
rollcdaround,andwisclydosiJIICdabc:ner
Slockfor1hcModc123forsropcusc.
But the: Model 23 cc:n1c:rfirc: had its
404
: I I
sh.ircofundc:s1r:ablc:fc:a1Urcs.Adctachablc
maa,azine fc:a,ure ,s liked by J(NnC shoo1-
crt 1nd cusscd loodly by othcn. The trou-
blc:i51ha1mapz1ne1arcc:asilylost,The
vc:rysmallc:jc:ctionpon hualsooftcn
bttncussed.l1issosmallthati1cam101bc
cons1dored1loadmgpon,r:a1hc:ri1isonly
ancjc:wonpon. Loscthc:magaz,nc:,and
1heriOeisno11ooc:uy1oloadu a1i nglc
shot
Many Modc:123 shoolc:rshavc wished
fora bcttcr1ngc:r, bul ooone 10 my
knowledge: t\"C'I' came "'1' with a good rom-
im:rtial ~laccmml for 11. The Model 2J
"'-asalsopronctodc,'Clopexcessi.-c:Mad-
spacc,andlbc:hcvethiswud~largc:ly10
thc:facttha1nc11hc:r1herecc:"·eroorthc
boll skc:vc: were hard enough to resist
--·car.Ho"·c:v,:r,ld1sro,·c:red1ha11hisprub-
lcm.whcnitdc:vc:lops.isquitc:c:asily1akcn
carcofbymakingandplatingawashc:rof
corrc:c11hicknc:,sbc1ween1hcbohslee>'C
U ~ . . . olh-Mlllldll'h.
SaYage bollahowlng;(A)IDcklnglug.(8)
cockiflgcamalll(C)twlnntrldDrl

Theaulhor'srastoclcedSavag,eModel238rifle.The walnut semi-inlfltted

and&emi-finiahedstockwasobtainedtromFajen's, lnc.,andeomple1efy
reshapedandreworked.Thsincludedremovinglherai$edoomb,reducing
the size and lhicknessol the ~k,)iece. il'IS1lllling II sunburst-panem horn
pis1olgripcap,1rimmingandreshapinglhepistolgrip, taperinglhet01'end
andshapingaSavageModel4S$Chnllbleonilsend,linishlnglhes1oci<
wi1hUn-$peed , remollingthebuttpl11te11ndahapingandcheckering1he
buttend,andcheekeringlhel01'end11ndpis1ojgrip.

Savage '-1230 22 Hornet rifle minus the original rear s-ight

Back when the M230riflewas!irs1 used, a very popular scope

d,oice1ouseon~was thelymanA5,aspicturedonthisrifle.

405
 Savage M23 Ac1lon
(Early Models B& Cl

406
 23
,30, 3J 2~ 1,
""
i20 ~ 1132u .s 19

m
9 39 liil
F
- -
Oas 122 12 1
21 10
n3
,., 120
131

~7 18 ~ ~ 13 '
Bl 035 i/b n~
7 12 1
'I - ii

:'f~F~·
rcJ A• i 2• !• 40

--..
'''
''
'
"'
""

,_
""15 Trigge<Goon:I
16 Magaa18Relainer,Front
:~ ~Relasler,Rear
19 ~

407
andthcbohbody
Muchtoth(,dismayofmanyModel23
ccnlcrfircownersthcse rines wereabou1
impossible1orebarrel.About1Monlyway
ou1was1ohave1heSavagefactoryinstalla
new barrel. What made custom rebarrcling
impracticablewastheone-piecedesignof
the barrel and rttdverunit. Thisfea1ure
alsomadcgunsmithsthatdidbarrclrelining
andrc:boringshyawayfromthisrine . And
aboutth(,onlyrtthamberingthatcouldbe
,.
donewasthatofrtthamberinglhc22Hor-
ne1101heK-Homc1.and the25-20tothe
2550ean. TI1atwasnotmuchofachoicc.
Forlhcmostpan shootcrsofthcserines
hadtobecon1cntwiththcmasthcycame
fromthefac1ory.except.thatis.formount-
mgascopc
1 ha~ no infOJTnlltion as to !,ow many of
theModel23Sa~agcccntcrlircrincswere
made. or how many of the old prc:-33 or
post-"33 models were made. or how many
were made ineachoftkthrcecalibers
AcwrdingtovariousSa,·ageoomponemcat-
alogsthcoldcrModel 2JBand23C were
serial numbered below 204.048-lhis may
indicateaboutllowmanyoftheoldermodels
wen:madc
In 19311h<:Models238andCrctailcd
forS22.50.andin 1947 thcModelsCand
DwerepricedatS52.65.whichwasjustpri-
ortothcirdiscootinuance.111eModelBhad
apparc:nllybttnsoldoutaycarorsobefore.
F oR WHATEVER REASON the Su.ige
fomdecidedtodiscontinuetheirModel20
high-powerboh-ac1ionrifle,theysoonre-
platcditwithanotherbol1-actionhigh-pow-
=drifleofanentirelydifTerentdesign.This
was in about 1928. Two models were intro-
dw:cd, a standard modcl designalcd the
Modc140SponcrandtheModel45Supcr
Sponer. The M45difTered from 1hc M40
onlyinthatbe1tcr-qua!itywoodwasusedfor
the stock. the grip and forend "·ere check-
eta1, and the rifle was liucd with a Lyman
No. 48ree<,iversight.Perhapsbecausethe
companywasexperiencingsuccesswithlhc
Model23rim-andccnterfiresponer$.they
designcdandbui!ttheirnewhigh-powerrifle
alongitslines.Esscntially,thatiswha1the
Model40is,alongcrandbcefcd-upversion
oftheModel23
Shooterswhohavcownedanduscdboth
the Model l920and1he Model 40or45
haveeveraAerwondered,.·hytheSa,·age
people replaced the one with 1he other,
mos1ofthcmarguingtha1theMl920was
the superior rifle. Be that as it may, the
M40actionwas1heeasieronc1omanufac-
1Ure,andlhatmaybe1heso!ereasonwhyit
was adopted.
TheSavageModcl40Sponerisatum-
boltrepeatingriflefeaturingasingle-col-
umn detachable bo~ magaiine. It has a
one-pieces1ockwith fullpistolgripanda
slim1aperedforendtha1cndsintheSavage-
styledschnablc. ltwasmadeinfourpopu-
larcalibers:250-3000,30-30.300Savage
and30-06. lnthe2S0and30-30calibers.
both the M40 and M45 were made only
with2rbarrclli.while24"barrds"·ere
standardfortheothcrtwoca!ibers. Therifle
weighedabou17 .Spounds
llrieflystated.theM40hasalongerand
strongerac1ion1hantheM23centerfireto
handlemorepowerfulcanridges. Outward-
ly,otherthanthenoticeablylongeraction,
1hedistinctivedifTeren=betwcentheM40
and11M:M23arethelargerreceiverdiame-
1erand1hes1epbetwttntherecei,·erand
the barrel. The"s1ep"stemsfrom1hefact
thatthcbarrelislhreadedinlolheree<,iver.
unlike the M23 which has the receiver
intregalwiththebarrel.lnwardly.themain
differenccisthcstrongcrlockingammgc-
menttolockthcboltinlhcre.:civer. The
M40boltsleevchasopposingduallocking
lugswhichengageinmatchingrecessesin
therearofthere.:ci,·cr.asopposedtoonly
onclugonth<:M2Jboltsleevc.lnaddition,
thebaseofthcbolthandlescrvcsasan
extralockingorsafetylug
TodcscribetheModel40~vagcaction
funherwooldbemorcorlessofarcpeatof
mydescrip1ionoftheM2Jccntcrlireaetion
intheprccedingchaptcr.Thepansaredif-
ferentinsizeandshape.andtheM40hasthe
greatcrnurnbcrofpans,withonlyoneaddi-
tionalactioofearure.Thisis11M:bolllock-
409
whenlhesafe1yiscngagedthebolthaodlcis
lockedclosed
The Savage component pans ca1aloss
poim out that rome changes were made
sometime during the period lhat the M40 and
M45wcreinproduction.Thisisil'ldicaledby
romepansbeinglisted for the "old model"
andothcrpartsforthe"ncwmodcl."Noscr-
ialnumberbreak-0ffpointisgi,·entoscpa-
rmethetwo.Oncofthechangeswasinthc
triggcrguardandanollicrwasin1hcmaga-
zinccatch.
Duringthcmanyycars1ha1lhavc~n
interestedinrifles,lhaveseenonlyt\O.·oor
thrttofthescSavagcsportingrifles.lha,·e L-----==--------------
neverownedone and neYerfired one, nor
TheSavageM40i45SwerSporteraction.
ha•"<"lcvaulkcdtoapcrsonthalhasowncd
and used one. Thusmyknowlcdgeof1his
rif1eanditsac1ionis>'c,ylimited.lhavc Anundersideviewo1 The Savage M40/45 bolt showing: {A)dual-
brieflyhaodledandexaminedacouplcof opposed locking lugs; (B) twinextractors, e<>d (C)1he grooves10
O\leniclelhemagazinelips.

410
 I ' q 11 • : l

I .-~ .. o ;:.,.J
~--
I .! '.. .!...
t..·I } .,
0
.l
.l

r-

...,_
40-2 Receiver
99R-! Bu!IPlate
.........,.,,,.,.
40-279 T

...,.,
...,.,
40-19 Boltl-l8ild
,.,, ,...n
,...,,
............
,,_,,
..... ....,
..,.
..., ...,,
,...,
I 40-20710$
...,,...
40-99NS Trigge< Guard (New $¥e)
40-142 Magazr,e8ox
40-143 Magzr,e Folower
40-156 ~ ~ ~

,,i, -~
40-166 Manspring
"""""'

-~.......
Ignition ...

~ -
--
.. Boltactionrepeater
.. Round.ooe-piececonsuuction

E)eclor ..

n!:
 ThttMooel45SavageSoperSportarhaaan
8XC<1llf!ntfyshaped,chocker8dandcapped
pislOlg,ip

thcmandha,·en:adalmostc,·crythingthat lionally,theywen:oneofthelirstbiggame ofthceounlry,thenumbermustnothave

hasbeenpublishe<laboutthcm,butthatis
al!. In my hands the rifles fe!tgood,thcy
shoulderedwell.and l hadnoproblemopcr-
aringthcbolt.They"-ereverywe!lrnadeand
linishro;thoughabitlonginthcactioosec-
1ion,tometherifless1illlooke<lgood.Addi-
bolt-acliooriflesonwhichas.:opecouldbe
moume<l,..,rylowo,·erthcn:<:eiverwithoo!
modifyingtheactioninanyway.
I have no informatiooas to how many
SavageM40andM45rifles"-eremade,bm
judgingft'omlhcsearcityofthcminmypan
beenlarge.Theyrouldnotrompetewiththc
high-poweredbolt-actioohlllltingrifleslhat
WinchestcrandRemington"1'n:makingat
thetime.lnl936theModel40mailedat
S40andthcModcl45atS4K50.Savagedis-
continuedthemaroundl947

412
T ttESAI/AGEARMSCorp., fonncrlyof
Utica,N.Y.produoodsevemlccnterfirerum.
boltriflesbefor,:theyimroducedthcModcl
IIOSa,'lgCearlyinl958.
These early rifles were the Model 120;
Modcls40and4S;Models23B,CandD;and
Model:J.40.Thescriflesaredescribcdfullyin
otherchaplers
TheModelllOisnolanunusualriflcas
farasthccntirerifleistonc~.butinside
thisac1ionareseveralfea1uresneverused
before in a boll ac1ioo, demcnlS which make
thisac1ionquitediffcrcntfrornanyother
describedinthisbook.Asidefromthesev-
eral new features. the action is i;till a
"Mauscr-typc."havingaboltwilhforward
dual-opposc,:llockinglugsandastaggcrcl-
oolumnboxmagarine
TheSa,'lgCllOactiooisofnovcldesign
andeoostr\llC!ionandbccausetheywerelong
availableasbam:ledactionstothegun-
smilhingtradcwasmyinccnti,'Ctocovcritin
dctailherc.8ocausethell0bam,ledaction
wassoreasonablypriced.lo.-dercdoncshort-
lyafteritwasintrodt>ced!llthcrthanacom-
ple1erifle.
Around 1962, when Savage announced
tha1they'dmakethcactionsavailablescpa-
ratcly,itv.11Sgoodnewsforthcamatcw-and
professionalgunsmilh.Bu1whatrcallymade
thisheadlinencwswastheofferingofMo
lengWofactions,andthatbam:ledactions.in
bothlcngths,wooldbeavailable. Hov...,,·cr.
the biggesi news was that they would be
a,-ailableinright-orleft-handl/emon5.Noth-
inglikclhishade-.1'1'beforcbttnoffcrcda1a
moderateprice.Thcl994Sangeca1alogsiill
listcdscvcralstylesandmodelsofbarrcled
actionsin,11riouscalibers.
Sincc1958,Savagehasoffercdvarious
modelsandstylesofspor1ingriflesbascdoo
theoriginal110action. Thescandthechanges
theyha,..,madearetoonumerousformclo
menrionhcrc.
Interestingly, the German firm of J.G.
Anschutzonccmadea"Contincntal"style
sportingriflcbasedontheAmerican-made
Sange!lOaction.Thesewereoncclisted
inthcWaffen-Frankoniacatalog(alarge
GermanSpOrtinggoodsootletandmanufac-
turerinWucrzburg)asthcAnschutt-Sa,·-
agerepeatingriflc . MadcfortheEuropean
sporuman,ithuiheregular,long,right-
hand llOaction,bu1fittedwi!haGconan-
stykdstockanddouble-scttriggcrs. The
siock has a slighlly raised Monte Carlo
comb.full pistol grip,andaslimtapeml
forcndcndingwithaschnabeltip.hhasa
thick white-line recoil pad.piscolgripcap
withawhitespacer,andnarrowGerman-
!ypeslingswi,·clsscrcwcdin!othcstock
Thisrincwasavailablcinthencw5.6x57
andintheolder7x64calibers.
Thismldou~cd!yrneanstha1thebarrcls
wen:madeinGcrmanyandtrotAnscrnnu,,w
oolythe llOaction,substiru11ngtheirwcll-
madedoublo-!iCltriggcrmcchanismandtriggcr
guanlforthesamepansmadebySa,.ige.
Tllllll'IIIIIIMNlll110Actlll
The Savage 110actionwasdesigncdby
thelatcNicholasBrewcr.whoaisodesigned
theSavage340action. There were several
high-powcrbo!tactionriflesonthemar\:ct
tbcn.butaliwerequjtedifficul1tomanufa,c:-
1urcandthercforcratherhigh priccd. For
Sa,-agctoachie,·esucccssinlhisficld,itwas
nei:cs.sarythattheirriflebcmadc:eoonorni-
callyenoughtolc1 its sale price be lower
thansimilarrinesalrcadyas·ailabk,andyct
designanactioncqualto,orbettcrthan,
lhoscofotherrifles.ltisassumedthatBrcw-
crwasinstructedtodesignlhellOactionso
1ha1differentactionlengthsoouldbemade
easily;itoouldbemadewithaleft-handbolt
aswell,andbeasstrongandassafe,ormore
so.than anyboltactionrincon themarke1.
Brcwcrdidallthesclhings,intheopinionof
manyfircarmscxpcrts.lnaddi1ion.Brev.1'1'"s
actionisrcliable,easytooperateandeasyto
disassemble.
The rc,;ei,..,,. of chrome-molybdenum
sceel.probablyst:trtedootai;apicceofscam-
lcssrubing.ltsfrontisthreadcdforthebarrcl
shank,thcccntermillcdoottoac,;cptthebol!
and openings made for the magazine and
loodingport.Thetopofthcrcceiverringand
bridgearetappcdforscopcmoumbascs.the
sideofthcbridgetappedforarccei,·crsighi.
Therc,;ei,·erringisaboutl.6Nlong.The
ll0bridge,aboutl.5Nlong.islongerthanin
mostccmerfirelumboltactions.Thiscxtra
lengthgivesgoodsupporttotheboltwhenit
isdniwnback,solhen:isaminimwnofpl.ay
orv."Obbleattherndofthcboltstrokc.Thc
loadinglejectionponisslighllyovcr3.25N
longonthcmediumaction.about3.75Nonthe
longaction.
ThcloadingponofmoscMauscr-rypeTUm-
boltac1ionshastherigh1 rc,;civcrwallcut
downtothebonomofthelocking-lugrac~
"'3Y,"-'Cllbclowthcccntcrlineoftllcbolt.
Thisleaveslinlcmetalalongtherightsideof
thercceivcr,ncxttotheloadingpon.Howcy-
cr. fla1-00!tom receivers such as the M98
Mauscr,thcOJSpringfieldandtheM70Wir,.
chestcr,ha,'Cthelo,,,..cutrighiwallreinforttd
atthebonombytheex1n1metalwhichforms
theflatbo!iomandmagazincsupportbox.
Rttcivcrsmadefromroundstocklackthis
extra metal at the bottom. and cenain
rccei,·m(likcthe721 and 722 Rcmingtons)
haveoolyaverythinrightv.-all.iflhisareais
cu1clo,,.11tothebonomof1h,elusraccway.
On the IIOSa,-age,hov.'Cver, thev.-alloppo-
sitethchighwallii;cutdownonlytothecen-
tcrlincoftheboltThis!ea,'CSareinfoo:ing
scripofmetalalongthclockinglug"""'""Y·
grcatlystrenglheningtheaclion,andmakes
thereccivermorerigidandl!elpsguidethe
bolt.Thisextrastripofmetalonthelowv.<111
isanexcellentidea.lncidentally,thclowrighi
wall of the Ruger77 rcceiYerismadethe
sameway.
Thebrea:hsystcmisuniqucandgood.The
llObarn,lhasnoreinforccdshouklcr.instead.
aboutl.S#ofthebarn,lbre«histhrcadcd.and
sct·ewtdontolhisisaoontouredlocknu1.The
broechfaceofthebarrcliscoontcrboredfor
about.250".andintolhisjJl.lCSthehcadofthe
bollThebolthcadisalsorecessedaboul.135"
d,ecpforthccanridgehead.Therecoillug,a
lSO"lhickSl<Xlstampingisp::,sili,one,;lo,..,,thc
barn,lsh:mk,betweenthcrecei,'Crandbarn,l
(Abo.,.,)Savage110Crifle.
413
Boltl>eadofl!leSavage 110showing: (A) Topviewol1herearendoltheSavage110receivershowing:(A)$&ilr(lhispar1alsotuno-
ori!jinalC·springex1racto,,(B)ejecto,slot, tionsaslheboti.s1opandcocklnglndicator,seetex1),(B)bolt·lod<.stud(par1oltl>esalaty),
(C) rig,! loci<ino lug, (0) ffonl ooltte. (C) trigger-adjustment-screw cover, (0) salaty button

lockmrt.Aflcrlhcbarrellmbeenchambered manypans.A1fintglano:itall~verycom, intothefrontf=ofthebo!tomlockinglug;

andfini5hcdi1istumcJinrolhcroocivcr.With
lhcroltinplaceinlherooci,'Cl',andaminimum
headspaccgaugcinthechambcr,thebarrelis
tumcdintolhereceivcruntilsnug.andlhcnthe
locknu1istumedright.Thissecuresthebam:I
inthcn:oeivcrandthercooillugbctwttnthe
n:cci,·crandcollar.Thisrypeofbam:lfining
providesancasyandpositi,-ewayloob!ain
minimum hcadspace. and the ~ 0011
he:adandbarrelbreochcompletelysealthecar•
tridgeinlhechambcr.Thercooiltugisampleto
prcventbam:landactionsct-backinlhe~
fromn:ooil.Thcbooomftootofthcreoeis-cris
no1ehcdforapro;ecooripresse<1intoonesidcof
thcreooillug;thisaligrolhclug";ththeroociv•
plicated,buttheboltandstrikcran:ma<lethis
wayforcasymassproductionandasscmbly.
Allpansan:ofstet,l,manyoftheminvest-
mentcaslings. Theboltbodyisatubc with
thecocking-<;llfflnolchr=millcdintoit
ThescparatcOOlthcad.withi1Ssolidopposed
lockinglugs.fil!iintothcfrontmdoftheOOlt
body.TheC-1ypespring--dipextra,;1orisfot-
tedove-rthcrimoftheOOl1headrecessonthe
extremcfrontendoftheOOl1head.Lipson
theinsidccndsofthecxtractorcngage
groovescu1intocac:hsideof1heOOl111ead;
thcsepreYenttheextra,;torfrombcingpulled
olfoflhe0011headonex1ractingacartridge
When the 0011 is close,;! the extractor is fully
itisalmostanexaetcopyofthepost-1964
Model70Winchesterextrac1or.)Theejcctor
isalsoaspring-loadedplungerbuiliimolhe
bolt head. The llOClockinglugsextcnd!o
1he very face of the bolt head. which is
reces.sedfor1hecanridgehea,!nocessitating
lhatthebrecchendoflhebarrelbcmadeflal
nolrecessai Thisextracloc/ejectorsystemis
bcnerthanthecarlierC-springsystem.The
oewOOhhead'srctainer-pinholeismilledat
a9Ckkgreeaogle from theoldOOlt. I have
bc,entoldbySangelhattheynowintmdlO
rnakeall llOactionswith1hisncv.·es1lock•
ing-lugextra,;torandejector
A clever gas-escape baffle is used on the

.....
cr,pn:venringitftomtuming"·henthcbarrel
lockmnislightcned
TheOOltand!ilrikcrasscmhlyismadcof
wi1hinther=inlhebarrelfa.ce,although
thercisenooghroomforthehookffldofthe
extractortosnapcweracartridgerimonclos-
ingtheOOl1.(ln l966Sa,·ageintroducedlhe
Model IIOC.whiehhas1heextrac1orbuill
110bolt.Astttlpic,:c.shapedmuchlikethe
lockinglugs.ispositionedatthcrearofthe
bolthead.bct"'cenitandthcOOh body.A
spring-steelfrictionwashcr,bctwcenlhisbaf-
fleandtheboltbody,tensionsthebaffie.The

414

Savage110trlggermechanismshowing:(A)
sear,(B)searengagement~screw.
(C}searendoltrigger,(D)trlWer-S10pac:t;,sl·
menlscn:iw,(E}trigger~l)Ulgel'(clfeclfy
un,,ler'i,e~weg:,l~SClflW.aslrd-
ca1t)dbyam,w),(F)S!lfetystop.See1extlor
~ootaison~10!q.151tnstngger
boltheadandbafllearehcldinplaceonthe
bohbyaretainerpinrunningthroughthe
frontoftheboltbody.Aholethroughthi.!pin
allowsthefiringpintopass;withthefiring
pinasscmbledintheboltthi.!pincannotbe
removed. Whcnthebol!isdosedandlocked,
thebaflevinuallysealsoffthelockinglug
racewaysintherecciverringsotha1escaping
~canoocrushrearwanl.Alargegas-ven1
holeinthesideofthebohhead.andtwoholes
{oneineochsidcoftherccei\'erring).oneof
themoppositetheboltheadhole,allowall
gasestoescapeha,mlessly.Thebaffiealso
prcvemsdinfromenteringtheopcnlocking-
lugraceway.andalsose"-csasaboltguide
whentheboltisopcned.Thisbafflearrang~
Savage \10 actloo. Savage made tt In ieh- (&hown here) and right-
hand versions. and in two dilferent leng!hs for the 308 and 30-06
1ammesolcartridges
mrntcanbeusedbecau,;.ethcbolthcadis
dctachable.lseenodisadvantageinthede-
tachablebolthead.
Thebolthandlcisalsomadeasasepan,tc
pan.i1Sb.1seencirclingthen:arcndoftheboh
body.Twoprojedionsoothecndoflhebolt
body,finingma1chinggrocwesinsidethebolt
collar,pre-,'tll1theOOlthandlefromtumingon
thebol1.Asolidknurled-headedscn:w.called
theOOltass-emblyscrew,lhn:adsintothcrcar
rndofthcbolt,holdingthebolthandlein
placcandsealingtheboltThreeball-bearing
plungmundertheheadoflhisOOlt-asscmbly
screw,andnotchcsinthercarofthebolthan-
dleh.1se,kccpthcscrewfromlooseningooce
it has bttn nimed tigh1 . The low profile 0011
handle will dear the cyc-piccc ofa low-
mountedscope.Theslightlyhollowedgrasp-
ingballhasaknurledringaroundit.
Anotherbafleisfincdonthercarofabolt
body.ltisasieclcollar,whichpanlyer,,;ircles
theboltbody,positionedjUS1forwanlofthe
bohhandleb.1se.Aball-bearingplungcrholds
i1inplaceduringtheoperationofthebol1.l1is
imendcdtosealofflhetwolocking-lugrace-
waysatthcrearoftherecei=.pre"'-"'lingthe
entranceofforcignma1crialanddeflecting
anygascsthatmigh1enterthelockinglug
raceway.Aninclinedprojec1ionononerndof
thebaffie.andamatchinginclincdsurfaceon
thebolthandleb.1se,imparutheinirialex1ra<;-
torcamming p::,wcr to the bolt as the handle is
raised.
Thetwolugs.cngagingbehindshoulders
insidetheheavyrccei,'Cl"ring,securclylock
thecartridgeinsidethechambcr.Theroo1of
thebolthandle,engagingadcepnocchcut
intothetang.servesasthethirdorauxiliary
safctylug.
lfthebolt~unique.soisthestrikerass-em-
bly.Theooc-pie,:efiringpin~,'"'Ylight.The
threadedfrontandrcarmdsofthc firing pin
body are milled flat for the length of the
threads. Thefiringpinstopnut~lhreadcdO\'CI"
thefrontend;inas:scmbli~thcfiringpininthe
boltatthefactorylhestopnutisro1aledun1il.
wheni1is=ingontherearofthebol1head.
the fuing-pintippronudes,Of:ff'. There.vend
oflhisnu1isooiched.andatoothedwashcrfi!-
ringovertheflancnedfuingpinbody,andheld
againslthestopnwbythetensionofthemain-
spring.k,:q:,sthcfiringpinfromnuningand
maintainsa=i,1adjustmcnt
Ontherearofthefiringpintlim:isanolh-
erioothcdwa.sher,whichcanno11umonthe
firing pin.and a cocking piece nut which
threadsonthefiringpin;theseholdthecoil
mainspringcapiiveoverthefiringpin. The
firingpinisgi,'tnfo,v,·anJ1cnsionbyathin
steelsleeve,calledthecockingpinsleeve,
heldintherearofthebohbodybctw""'1the
bollasse-mblyscrewandlhccockingpiece
lock"'8Sherforwardofthecockingpiecenut.
This sleeve, notched at front to match the
tcethonthewasher.isslotledsothecocking
pic,:cpincanbeinsenedimothecocking
pi«e. Once assembled, the cocking piece
cannoltumonthefiringpin.lnassembly,the
cockingpic,:emUS1beadjustedsothatthe
cockingpincleanthebonomoflhecocking
camabo\1111,,.~whcnthefiringpin is in the
firedposition.lflhecockingpindoesnoc
clearthebonomofthecam,itorthecocking
piocenu1arelikdytobedamagcdwhcnthe
rifleisfired;ifgi,'ffltoomuchclearnn«,the
rillemightfin:beforethcboltisfullyclosed
and locked. When the boltisintherccci,·er,
lhclargeroundhcadofthecockingpinlies
and moves within the locking lug raceway
opposi1ctheholthandle.
ThellOlliggerasscmbly,alsoquitcun..sual
andclever,doesooipenniientirelysarisfactory
adjUSlments.Thelliggermechanism.housalin
a heavy folded shecl metal bo~. isauachcd to
thebonomofthen:eeivertaf'8byalongpin.
thesamepinwhichholdsthescarinplace.The
415

triggeri,;pi,"Oledonapininthebonomofthe
triggerhousing. Aslonedscrew,threading
inrothefrontendofthetrigger.canbeadjust-
edtolimitsearengagement.Thesafetyis
abovcthelliggo",slidingintheniggerhous-
ingandagrooYecutimolhetang.Threeholes
aret.appcdvcnicallyinthcsafety.Thcrear
holc,;ontainslhesct-screwwhich,;ontactl;the
biggerwher,thesafetyispu\ledbacktothe
Safcposirion.ltisnormallysarisfactorily
adjustedatthefacrory,bur1oreadjus1itthe
biggcrmustberemovcdfirst.Thcccn!crhole
contains a plunger. spring and set-screw,
whichprovidetcnsion10bothsaktyandbig•
ger,andlimitedadjustmen1forniggerwcighl·
of•pull.Thchole,cxposedinthesafeiyslolin
thetang.isoonnallyclosedbyasmallspring
cover, which must be lifted off before an
adjustrncn1canbemade.Thcfrootholcoon-
tainstwoset-screws.onctolockthcothcr:
thesearesupposcdtobethelriggerstopor
OVCf•1raVtladjustmcntscrcws.Tiies,cscrcws,
usually,areadjustableonlyfrontthebonom
afterrcmovinglhebigger,butoosomerifles
thisholcisaccessiblcfrontthetop.Aprojcc-
tionontheupperfrontpanoflhesafcry
exrcndsintotheboltway;whcnthesafecyis
pulledbackorcngagcd.thisprojcclionrno-."'5
backintoanotchinthebaseofthebolthandle
andloc:ksthebolr.Forinstruc1ionsonhowto
adjus1thistriggersee1heheading'"Trigger
Adjustment"
In 1966, Savageintrod..cedtheModel
IIOCriflewithadetachablcboxmaga;dne.A
new and improYed trigger mechanism was
alsointroduccth•iththe!lOC,v.ith~pre-
cise adjustments [set, the exploded view
drawings).
Thc110sear.amarvdofingcnuity,serves
athree-foldfuoction:assear,bohstopand
coc:kingiDdicaror.ltisafoldeJpieccoftool
steelpositionedaroundthefrontofthetrig-
gcrhousing, pivoting on the pin which holds
thehousinginplacc.ltistcnsionedbyawire
416
' : I I
springtokeepitforward.Oneendofthis
sear,projeetingrhroughaslotcutintothe
bonomoftherightloc:kinglugraccwayinthe
bridge,Mopstherearwardtravclofthebol!
by,;ontactingthelugonthefrontbaffic:on
closing,theboltholdsthecockingpinback
tococktheaction.Thcfrontendoflhetrig•
ger,contactingthebo1tomofthcU-shapcd
sear,holdsthesearfrompivotingwhenthe
actioniscocked.Pullingthetriggerrelcases
thesearfrom1hepressurepu1onitbythe
cockingpin,allowingthclattertomovcfor•
ward.Anadjustmcntscrcwonthcfrontend
ofthetriggerlimirsthebigger/searengage•
ment Turning 1his screw in (clockwise)
rcducesthesearengagement.Thcstockhas
toberemovedtomakethisadjusunent. A
scrra.tedthumbpieec,orbuuonontherigh1
sideofthesearprojeersoverthestockline,
alongthesideoflhebridgc.Afterpullingthe
niggffanddepres.singthisbutton,thesearis
pivOledbacksothebohcanberenx,,,edfrom
rhcre,xi,·er.Cockingthcactionraiscsthis
button:onfiringtheriflethebunonpivots
dov,11wan:l.soitalsoservesasacockingindi•
catorwhichcanbeseenandli:lt
Tileejeetorisaplwigerfittedtotherearof
themaga,:inebox,irsfla11cnedendprojccling
inrotherecci,"CT.Tcnsiooedbyasmallcoil
spring,it'skepcinplaccbyasheetmctalcov-
erheldagainslthemagazinebox. This cover
iscallcdlhemagazinelatchsinceitalsoholds
themagazineboxforwardandinplaecinthe
recci•"CT.Anatrowangledgroovciscurinro
theundemdcofthebolthcad:onopcningthe
bolt,theejectorrno-."CSintoi110ftipthecar-
1ridgcorcartridgccaseou1,upandtoone
side. TIie ej«tor can be easily removed,
whichmaybe,;onvcnient forthehandloader
ifhepref=topil:ktheemptycasesfromthc
ac1ion
Thcnon«laehablemagazineboxismade
ofaheavygaugesheetmctal.lrs10pfron1and
rearedgcsarebcn1outward;theboxisposi•
--
rionedandheldinthemaga,;inewcllopcning
~ ::::::~~-~~~~pan.Noo-slo!led
-
~lta,
"~or
""' ·: ::
Solt..tap
Ejector . •
.. · - · ~: b o f t s e r = = ~ = : : :
~~~~boftar>d~.(Seetextkwnoteonnew
<:lxlraclt:M".)
.....ThesearadSastheboft-s10p,corcac:tingri1111k.ogolthefnlnlboftbaffle
··=po,sitionedatr<:1arolmagazineboll.{See t<:1Xl kwnoteon
bythesclip,iengagingslorscu1intothebol-
tomofthereceivcr.Cartridgcsareheldin1be
maga,:ine and guided into the chamber by
guidelipsmilledalongsidelhemagazinewdl
opcning5intherecci•"CT.
Tilecartridgesareheldinastaggeredposi-
tioninlhemagazineboxbythestampedSteel
magazinefolkM"CT,whichhasaribooitsleft
side.11le5W>dardrypeofW-shapedmaga-
zine spring is used. Small venical ridges,
prcsscdin1othesidesofthemagazinejuscfor-
wardofthecartridgeshoulder,holdthecar-
tridgesfromslidingforwardastherifle
reeoils,prevenringbatteringofthcbullet
poinrs.Thisisagoodfearure.Tilemagazines
ineitherlcnglhactionan:alsomadeslightly
longcrthannccessary(uptol/ 10}, sothe
handloadercanloadcartridgestoagrcarer
overalllengththanfactory-loadcdcartridgcs.
Tilebottomofthemagazinc:i,;covercdbya
roundedst«ltloorplate.
Tilebarrelandactionassemblyisheldin
thestockbyTWOtloorplaiescrew,.Thesepa.$8
throughholcsinthecndsoflhetloorplate,the
floorplaie insertandSIOCk,threadingintothe
recciverinfromandrearoflhemagazinebox.
Thcniggerguardbow,madeofaligh1weight
alloy,isanodiudblack.Thcrearfloorpla1e
-
screwgoesthroughaholeinthefrontendof
thetriggerguard,whileawoodscrewholds
therearendinplaec.
It should be remembered that the ll0
actionismadeinTWOlengths,andforeithera
right-orlcft•handedshooler.Savagcde-
scribes1hescac1ionlengthsasShon,Long
and Magnum, butthereareonlytwodiffen:nr
lengths,bcsldescribedasmediumandlong
Thc110isnotmadeinauueHshon"length,
say,ascomparcdwiththeshonSakoaction
Thcmcdiumactionhandlescanridgc$of30-
06headsize,whoscovera!llcng1hislessthan
2.80".11lelongl!0action,jllSl.750"longcr
thanthemediumlength,hasamagazineloog
 --.
''
''
''
'"'
""
" "' "''
enoogh1oaccommoda1ecartridgesof30-06
length. Thcso-cal!ed''Magnum .. ac1ion.of
!he same 11'11g1h,handlcs the shon belted
magnumcartridgcsof30-061ength,suchas
.,
the 264 Win. Magnum, 7mm Magnum, et
Thescactionsan:madcforright-orleft,hand
operntion.Theldl.-llandactionisnoraro,wi:r-
Snloftheright-llandaction,butwasoriginally
madctha1way.Bolhactionsarcalikee:<cepl
-.... " """"'
34 Recoillug
~.,' ~.~
.....
":; ~~~
"""'
46 Magamelald1
47 MagazineBolC
: t:~
dwsomepans.suchaslhereoeivcrandsome Thcus»alcriticisms I heard concern the
boltpans.an:madcasmirrorimages. magazine,floorpla1e,triggcrgua,d.trigger
No action, ofooun.e, will saiisfyeveryone. andbam:llocknutMostpe,;,plewantingto
andalolofpe,;,plefoundfaultswiththellO boildariflcaroundlhisaction,orthosewho
Some gunsmiths r,•c1alked101ikcoothing
abootit.lnmyopiniooi1'sasoor.dac1ionand
good,·alucforthcmon,:y,espcciallyforthc
,,,am1ofitaswcktothebam:ledaction,dis-
likemostthealloylriggerguardandthethin
stampc<I floorplare. Some trigger conscious
lcfl-handcdshootcr.ltccrtainlyisoocofthe sboolersconsiderthellOtriggcrnogood.
safestrumbol1actionstofire,andthercisno Th,:llOtriggermechanismisgoodanditsat-
questioolhatitisalsoaSlrollgaction. isficslhcdemandsofmostshoolcrs.
 : I I

Asforthebarrellocknm,iisuscbythefac. 1yscopscn:,,•.Afterreassembling.1es11hettig- developmachhigherpressures1hanlhecom-

to,y enables them to kcqi manufacturing
cosisdown. ldislike tbeawearan.:eof1his
sleeveonthebarrelofaCUS10mriflc. Jnfitting
anewcu!ilombarrel to the l!Oaction,the
locknulcanbcdiscankd.thebarrelmade
"ilhashoulderandfittedwthen:.:eiwrinlhe
same way Remington filS barrels to1he 721
and722actions.Thisgivesamoreplcasing
line. The..seofthecollaralsolimiisthesize
(diamc1er)ofbarrelwhichcanbcuscd. lfa
barrellargerlhanl~indiamctera1thebreech
istobeu,,ied,asinbui!dingatargetorvannint
gerandsafecytomakesurethetriggercannot
bcpulledhackwhenlhesafecyisengaged.
AllhoughattiggerStopadjustmentispro-
vided(twose=wsa1 D).i1willbcfound
lh:itthesafetyStopalsofunctionsasthettig•
gerstop.llispossible.however.toadjustthe
ttiggerstopscrewsmhaltttiggermcwement
the moment the scar breaks. On some l lOs
lhiscanbedonefromlhetopofthesafety
aflerremovingtheadjustmentscrewco,·er.
providedtwoholesarevisible. lfonlyone
hole is visible, adjustment has to be made
lllldernealh.aflerremovingthettigger.lnany
mcreial loadsforanyoflhecaruidges for
whichlhisrif\eischamberoo
, . . . . . . . . AlllaMy
Chccktoseelhatlhechamberandtnagwne
arecmp1y.Toremm-ethebolt,raisethebolt
handleardpullthebolthackwhileholdinglhe
triggerhackanddepn:ssinglheoockingindira•
torbutton.Toreplaoethebolt.thetriggermUSl
bchcldhackasthebohisinserted
Disasscmbletheboltasfollows:Usinga
coin,unscrewtherearboltassemblyscrew
Thecockingpiecesl=.-e""iUcomeoutwitli

-
riflc.thelocknutcannotbcuscd:theban'd
mUSlbefinedasintheRemingron72l. case,i1ishardlyworlhthebothertomakclhis it.anditocedootbcremovtdfromlhisscrew.
Amioorobjtttion istheuscofawood adjusuncn1sincethesafe1ystopscrewdoes althoughitcanbespreadapanwilhascrcw·
screwwholdlherearendoflheguardbowin thesamcthing driverbladcandrctt10\·ed.Thcbohhandle
the Slock. Some stockmakm discard this andtherearbaffiecanbepulledofflhebolt's
screw, using instead a regular long guard rear end. f'llllowlheoockingpieccpin. The
screw,!appingaholeforitintherearcndof Mode-I !l0scrialnumbmarestampedon firingpinandmainspringassemblycanlhen
lhe~eiver.behindthesafety.hx:idemally, thercceiverringande1chedonlhebotlomof bcdroppedoutoflhebolt.Thcoockingpiecc
the01herguanlscre"'Sare.2Windiameter. the bolt. The word SAVAGE.and the model cannowbcunscrewedfrom1hefiringpin,
thelhreadpitch28perinch designation, e.g .• MODEL l l0L,are also and the cocking piece lock washer, main-
stampedonthercceivcrring.Stampedonthe springandfiringpinStoplockwashercanbc
receiverwallis remo,·edfromlhefiringpin.Thefiringpin
ThenearbyphOloshowsthe,-ariouspans stopcanalsobcunscrewedfromthefroo1of
-SAVAGE ARMS--
ofthetriggermechanism.Asi;hippedfrom thefiringpin.Unlessnecessary,thefiringpin
WESTFIELD. MASS. U.S.A
lhe facto,ythe trigger pull isusuallyquile Slop lock washer and the firing pin stop
heavy,oflcnat five pounds or more. The On ll0riflesandbarreledoctionsthecal- shouldootbcremoved.lflhefirin&--pinstop
loc.ationoflhetriggcrwcight-of-pulladjus1- iber dcsignation is stamped on thc barrel, isremovedortwlled.theStopmUSlbcadjust•
mcntscrewisindicaledbylhearrow.jUS1for- alongwilhtheSavageproofinart:,theleltcrs edonreassemblysothatlhefiringpinpro,
wardofthesafetybunon. The thin spring SPwilhinanoval uudesabout .oss~10.00Y"fromlhe face of
stcelcovercanbclifledoutwithasmal!wire The words PROOF TESTED are also thebolthcad.Reasscmbletheotherpansin
hookorwilllapenknife.Beforedoinglllis, stampedonlhebarrel,whichmeansthatthe rev=order. ln reassemblinglllecocking
remove the bolt and pull thesafotyback . riflcwasprooftcstedafterlhebarrelwasfit• picce,itmUS1beadjustcdsotha1whenlhefir•
Tumingtheadjusnnentscrewcountcn;lock- ledwilhregularproofloads(blue-pills)which ingpin isdown(in the fired position)the
wise reduces the pull weight Only limi1ed
adjustmentispossiblc.for1umingthescrew
ou1toofarinterfereswilllopera1ionofthe
safcty.Af\cradjustment.replaccthespring
=·erandtestthesafety.lfi1ishardmmovc
forward the adjustment screw has been
tumedouttoofar.
Even with the screw turned out as far as
possible.triggcrpullmayscillbetooheavyto
suitmanyshoolen.Ho,....,,..er,thepullcanbc
madeligluerandshoncrbyadjusringthescar
engagcmcntscrew (B).Todolhis,thebarreled
actionmus1bcremovedfromlhes1ock. To
further lighten the pull. tum Ulisscrcw in
(clockwise).Thisisbcsldoncwilhapenknifc.
Thelightestpullobtainablcisaround3.5
pounds.AftermakingtheseadjustmcnlS.the
actionmUS1bcteSled10makesurelhetrigger
willholdthesuikerhackeveryrime1heboltis
clo5ed.Make1hetestbyclosinglhebolt,'Ct)'
sm:anlysevmltimes:ifthestrikerfallsatany
time there is oot enough scar engagement or
lheweighl-of-pulladjustmentistoolight.
lfscrew(B)hasbcenturncdin1oomach
thesafctyStopscrew (•) maybc100faroutto
allowthesafecytobcpulledback.lntluscase,
itisnoccssarytorcmovclhetriggerbydri,ing
ou11hetriggerpin.andthenruminginthesafe. SpecilicationslormakingabarrellocknutwrenclllorlheSavage110.

418
 ·---
2T,lggerPul~
3 Sa!9!y0eten1Spriog
4 $alely0elen1Spriog
5TW,8rad<el
8T=t~ Aq,:Jsting
7 T,lgoe,N~

:aF~
r~
w-
10Frurdlllffle

oockina;p,ea,pu,clearstho001Chinthooock- oockcdpos,1ion.lhmtumingtheboltf.SSCffl- beslippcdoffoftheboltbeadby~ftmgupthe

mgcam by 11.,t. Bc~thebohcan bcinscn-
cd rnio tho rece"-a lhe firing pin mUSI Ix
cocked. This can 1,,: ~ by prcwng the:
oocktn& J1U1 apu151 the edge ofa worl<bmch
andmovinaittolhe,;,x,kcdpo,5iuon,orby
unsa-ev.qlhebohassanblyscm,,,and~
posmorung the ,;od::ing pica: p,n to 1hc
bly~beckimoplace.
Withlhefinngpinassctnblymno-,-edfrom
lhebolt.thebohheadasscmblycanbc
mnovedbypushlngouttheboltheadn:wncr
pm,mhthefinn&p111np.Thcboltheadcan
lhmbcpulledoffandlhem,mlt,afllefncoon
,.-asheJIJldbaflleffll'IO\"Cd ThcCllttw:IOfcan
mdopposicethehookunlil11canbcsl1ppcd
pastllw:bolthcad.Rca.ssemblc1nn:~enc
onltr.lnrcasscmblingthebohheadthetjec•
10rslolmuRbc11theboaom.
RCfflO\·cl'rontandrearfloorplatcscre,o'I.
lhml'ffll0\-~floorplale.Ooo:wpla1eifflffl.....,..
•W~""1ftllandfoli.,..,:rln:,mlheboc1Clmof

419

thestock,andliftootbarrelandaction.Re-
movethetriggcrguardbowscn,wandthc
bowcanben,mo,·edfromthcstoek.llo-
a.sscmbleinre,.-e,-seordtt.
R=·ethemagazioeby~iogitslatch
(thisp:lltalsoco,,mthcejectorandspring)
to"'Udthcll'Cei,·cr,1ippingitawayfrom1he
magazine box; itand1heejectOJcantheobe
remo•,ed.Slidethemagazineboxtotherear.
liftingitsfh::in1endawayfromthell'«ivcrso
itcanbepulledforwardagainandmno,·cd.
Reasscmbltinn,,·erseorder
Remo,..,theuiggerasscmblybypushing
outthcsearpin,fromrighttoltft,1heopull
thefrontoftheuiggcrhousingawayfromthc
recei,-eruntil1tsrearendisunlockcd,lening
thecntireassemblybeliftedfree.lndoing
this.andiftheres1of1hcuiggcrmochanism
istobedisassemblod,carefullyno1etheposi-
tionofallpanssothcyca,,becorrec1ly
asscmblcdagain.
Thtbarrellocknu1,v,rytightagains1the
~llugandrecei,-er.holdsthebarrellocked
intherecei,-er.Toremovethebarrel.aspecial
wrer,ch(i;eeaccompanyingdrawing)isnced-
edtoloosenthelocknul,ifthenutisllOltobe
damagcd(')nc('thelocknutislooscthebarrel
iseasilymnoved.
BIVIIIMlllll11Uo,ratlln
Tolood:opcntheboltandplaccacanridge
onthefollower;withthethumbpushitdoWII
andtotherear.intothcmagazine.untilitis
rctaincd1hcre;insertadditionalramidgesin
thesamemanner:withthemagazinefull.a
singlccartridgecanbeslippcdintothecham-
berand.whileholdingthccanridgesdown
in1othcmagazinesothebol1ca,,passo,·cr
thcm,theboltdosed Theriflcisnowreadyto
befircdbypullingthetrigger
Safe1yopcration:toengagethesafe1y,
slide it bad with the thumb: in this posilion
thetriggerandboltarclocked.Tofin,therifle
420
: I I
slidethcsafetyforwardasfarasitwillgo.
whenthelencr f willshowbehindthesaf,:ty
00,00
Unloading: the chamber and magazine can
beunloadedwiththesaf,:tyOn. To do this.
fi~slidethcsaf,:iyforwardandraisethebolt
handle:nowslidethesaf,:tybacktotheSafe
position:openandfullyclosethcbohmuilthe
lulramidgehasbeenejec1edfromthemaga-
zinc. Always kttp the muule pointed in a
safedin:,;tionwhcnloadingandunloadingthe
rill<
TIIIIIVIIIMlllll 110C
In l966SavageintroducedthcirModel
llOC with the '•C"to indicate a clip or a
detachablemagazioebwc.Thismodelandthe
changesmadeonitfromthatoftheregular
MllO will be described a bit furlhcr on.
BeforedcscribingtheMIIOClwouldliketo
re,·iewsomeoftheeventsthat ux>kplaceat
theSa,.1gepla1t1bctwecn1heoand1984.Sur-
prisingly.howcver,somcofthemodelsjus1
mentionedhavebeenreinlrOducedandtheliSl
ofmodelslistcdinthe !994Savageca1alog
nurnberedwelloverthirtyandthisincludcs
the left-hand models.
Forexamplc.up10 !984a11Model 110
riflesandtheirvariatioru..excq:,tthoscliSled
below.have been dropped
Model l lOC- ThisisthetopofthcSav-
age l!O sporicrcrop. It has a 24N bam,I,
WilliamsGuideopenrearsightadjUS1ablefor
windageandclcvation.bcadfrontsighlon
Williams ramp base, n:cei,·erdrilled and
1appedforscopemounts.dctachablebox
magazinc.walnutstoc:kwithraisedoomband
cheekpiec,.,.checkering.andquick--detachable
slingswivels1uds.Weightis7.Spounds:in
cahbers22-250,243,25-06.270.7mmMag•
numand30-06.
Model ll OE-Thisistheecon::,mymodel
oftheMIIO.lthasa24Nbarrelwi1hWilliams
ThefighM,andversionoftheSavag,eModel110Chigh,powered
sportingrifle
adjustlblercarandfiuntsighls.mppedrecciv-
cr.non--detachablemagazine,"-,1lnut-finished
han:l"'OodSlockwithraisedoomb.Weightis
abou17pounds;incabben243,308.and30-06.
Model llOES--SameasMIIOEexcep1it
issuppliedwith4x~andmounts
Model I IOCL-Sameas Ml IOCexcq:,t ii
hasalefl-handactionandisavailableonlyin
calibers 243. 270. 7mm Magnum and 30-06
Model I \ OS-This is Sa,-age·s Ml 10 tar-
gct rifle for thc silhouel!e shooting sport. It
hasatarget-styledstoekwithflutedcomb.
Ww-.dharnmcrswcll,stippledgripareas.and
ama.<imurnweightof8pounds IOounces.
22""bam:l,incalibers308and7mm--08.
Sinccthefirsteditionofthisbookanum-
berofchangeshaveoccum:dwiththcMod-
cl 110. To begin.several model variations
ha\'ebeendropped,othermodelvariations
introduced,aswellaschangesandimpro,·e-
mcn1Smadeintheexistingmodclsofboth
the standard 110 and I lOC. Two new mod-
els. the Model !12VarmintandtheModel
Ill were inlroduc«l and dropped. Both
were based on the 110 action. wi1h the
actionoftheModcl lllmadeasasingk
shotwithsolidn,ceiverbonom.TheModel
112wasonthenwketfromabout 1975to
1981. and the Model Ill from 1974 to
1981.lnaddition,then:werechangesmade
in both the llOEandthe llOC.aswcllas
changesmadetoofre<.Juen11ytokeeptrack
of. Some of the changes were of minor
na1ureandnotwonhmentioning.while01h-
ers""'rerealimprovementsthatlwillmen-
tion.ThebasicdifferenccbetweenthcEand
Cmodelsisinthcmagazine.buttherearc
OlhersOOlreadilyseenunlessonehasboth
riflestocompan,
TIIIM110CIIIII
Originallymadeincalibers22-250,243.
25-06. 270. 7mm Magnum. and 30-06. the

Mll0Chasa24"13peredsponerban'elfitted
with a Williams Guide open rear sigh1
adjustableforwindageandelevation.anda
beadfrontsighlmoumcdonascrew-ooramp
Thebli.m,lisfullf1oa1ingintheforendandthe
stockismadeofwalnlll.Grippingarca,;ofthe
stockha,<eagcnerousamoun1ofchcckcnng.
andithasaraiscdcombandchcckpiccc.Fi1-
tcd on this stoek are an aluminum bullJllatc.
blackplasticpistolgripcapandstudsfor
quick-<letachableslingswivels.Ahard,semi-
glossyfinish,:o,.-erslhestock.f'ushingabut-
tonontherigh1sideofthest0<:kunla1ehesthe
detaehablcboxmagazine.underspring1en-
sion,fromtheaction.Thcac1ionhasathrre-
Jl(ll!itioosafety.andiniiscenterpmitionthe
boh can be operated while the trigger is
lockedbythcsafety.El<ccptforthcboh
whichisbright.allmetalpansareblucd
Avcragcwcightisaround7.5pounds.
Tlll110CActlll
Therttciverisroood,1.3S5"indiameler
and8.750"long.TherecoilplatcissecW'ed
bclween11lebam:lcollarandthc=i,·er.Thc
brce,;hendofthebam,lisflat
ThellOCbollisronstructcdmuchlikethc
carlyl10bohcxcq,1forthcfollov,ing:l)Thc
dual-opp<)l'lCdfrontlodinglugsareevenwith
thefrootendoflhcbolt.andi1isbecausieof
thisthatthebre<x:hcndofthebarrelismade
flat.2)Thecxtrac1orisasmallflatp3nth:u
I ••
slide$inamortisecutin10thefaccoftheright
locking lug.his provided tension1ogripa
cartridgeheadb)laspring-backodballbcar-
ing.Aspring-backedplwigerinaholea1the
ootcredgeofthccanridgeheadn,;cssinthe
bollfaceservesastheejector.Thisentirc
arrangcmcnt-tha1ofthelockinglugsbeing
Aushwilhlheboltface.theslidingexuactor,
recessedbohfaceandejc.:tor- isalmost
identical10theheadofthep::,st-64Modc170
Winchcstcrbol1.3)Aribonthelo,.1:l"001cr
edgeoftherighllugoftheboltbafficslidcs
inama1chinggroovecutintolherightrcceiv-
crrail.andthisarransemcnthclps81Jidethe
boltandpn:,-entsbindinsastheboltisoperat-
ed.4)Acoin-slottedboltasscmblyscrewis
421
 M111G Classic Hunter Ril!&-Calibera 223 Rem., 22·250 Rem., 243 Win ..
250Sav,2S--06Rem.,270Win.,300Sav .. 30-06Springfiald,308Win.,
7mm Rem Mag .• 7mm-08 Rem., 300 Win. Mag.: weight 6.75 lbs.; 22" bar•
rel: walnut·stainedcheckenxl hardw«>d $lock, recoil pad and blind or
detachableboxmagazine.right·orlelt·handmodels.

M111F Classic Hunter Rill-Cal ibers same as Ml 110: has fibergtassl

~~estock;blindordetachablet>oxmagazineandright•orlelt·hand

M111FCXP3 Packa!lfl R~I-Calibers 270 Win., 30-06 Springfield, 7mm

Rem.Mao.and300Win.Mag.;22•to24'barrellength;7.51bs.;tiber·
gta$$1gra?tiitestock;detachablet>oxmagazine:rlgh1-orlel!-handmodels.
with3x9x soope.q.d.mounts;lflalhe,sling;q.d.swingswivffls.

M112BT Competition Target Rnle--Cahbera 223 Rem .. 308 Win.: weight

10'1olbs.;26"stalnlesssteelheavybarrel:laminatedtarget-styledwood
stock:cheel\pieceadjostabletorheightrubberbuttpad:torendacces&01Y
rail; black finish on barrel and ,-iver

uscdinsteoooraknwied-headedone,andthe inwhKhthetriggerislockedbutnottheboll, blyis~ofas1celshetlwithcurved-in

haltbearingplungerandnou:hesintheboh
handlehavebecnomined.5)Thebolthandk
issweptbackataslightangleandthcboh
handleknobisnolongerholloworknurled
Thescar.whi\,haOOfunctionsasthebolt-
s1opandcocking indicator. is thesame as
thusallowing1hcbolttobcoperatedwith1he
rifleonSafe
Thebigdiffercnccbct"-ecnthe llOCand
1hellOEisthemagazinc--theCmodclhasa
de1achablemagazinebox. "The assembly is
composedofthesemajorparts:triggerguard.
madeofanaluminumalloyandheld1othe
lipstoholdastaggeredcolwnnofcartridges
in place.a foll0"'Cl"madeofaluminum, fol-
lowerspring,andstcelbottomplate.
Twomagazinelcngthsaremadc,oneto
handleJ0-061cngthcartridgesandtheo1her
for3081ength."Theboxhasbuilt-inridgesto
hold1hecanridgesinthercarofthebox10

just behind the boll. and lhis was all but
imJ105Siblc1odo.Anyway.i1wasnotasafis-
fac1oryarrangemen1.lntheMllOCtrigger.
theadjustments,;rewsareonthehousingand
inthetriggeritsclrwhcrethereisroomfor
them . The trigger lake-up and over-travel
adjustmentsareproperlymadeatthefactory
andr,cc,;lnotbetouched.llowever,toadjust
thetriggerwcigh1orpullitisnec.:ssary10
remo-.1:thestock.butthisisnoreal problem
asyounecddoitonlyonce.Anyway.the
adjustmentsarepositive.Thesafotyisalso
improvedintha1besideshavingaSafcand
Fireposi1oon.1thasanintcrmedia1cposition
stockbyawoodscrcw: magaiincplate.also
madeofaluminum.wilhOOlesineachendfor
theffl.lll1and"'31"guardscrewswhi\,hthread
imothereccivertoholdthebarrelandreceiv-
erinthestock. The=endoflhisplatealso
holds1he ffl.llltof1he1riggerguardbowin
place.ThemagazincguideboxisaS!celshell
finedbetwecntherecci,'Cl"andthemagwne
plate.On itsriglusideisalhin la1ehpi,·OIOO
on a pin and tensioned by a spring which
holds1he magazine box in place. A small
roundbunonfincdlhroughahok:intheside
oftheS!ockalio....'Sthelatchtobedepresscdto
release the magazine box. A torsion spring
attachcdtothelcftsidcofthemagazincguide
box.whi\,hengageswilhahponthemaga
~ne. ejects the magazine when the release
bunonisdepresscd.Themagazineboxasscm-
-
prcventdantagetobulletpointsfromreroil
Whenthemagazincboxisinplaceintherifle.
itsbottomisflushwilhthestock
The Savage Model l lOC is a well-made
rifle.andwcllproponioned.hhasa,..1:llpro-
ponionedstocklhatwillfi1mostadultshoot-
ers;ooitooskimpyforarifleinthe22-250
caliberforvarmin1shootingorin7mmMag-
numcaliber,andnotto0bulkyforahunting
riflcinthcothercalibers. lt is not a showy
rifleandtheabscnceofwhitelinesandthe
likcwillapp,:altomostoldcrshoolers.The
detachablcmagazinefcatuR:willalsoapp:al
to many shooters. The magazine can be
loodedthroughtheopencdactionorremo,·ed
fromtheactionandloaded.Theriflecanbe

422
 Savage Model 11 OSerres

M112FVSSVam1>'11Aifle--Calibers223Rem. , 22·250Rem,220Swih:26"
medium heavy stainless steel barrel: stainless stool boll handle and !rigger
11uard: varmint•styleliberglass/graphitestock:weight8>II 1bs.:tive•shol
magazi.,.,orsinglesho1

M114CU Clas.sic U~ra Rifle--Calibers 270 Win. , 30-06 Spri"!lf'8kl, 7mm

R&m. Mag., 300 Win. Mag.: 22" to 24" barrels: classic-style $elect grade
Am<:incan walnut s1ock; highly polished and blued ste~; d<ltachablebox
magazioo;W(lightabout71bs

M116SE Salat1 Express Ri11$--Calibers 458 Won. Mag., JOO Win. Mag.. 338
WO'l. Mag.;24"stainlesssteelbarrel;Savageadjustablernuwebrake;Wfl9'1
8.51bs.;three-lea!adjustableexpre$$rear$igh1; selec!Americanwalnut
stock:faocycheckeJing:recoil!)adaodet>onylofendlip;lov<·sholmaga.ti-le

M116FSSStandardWeatherWarrio<Rille-Calibers223,24JWjn.,270
Win., 30-06 Springfield, 7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win. Mag., 338 Win. Mag.:
22"to24"stainlesssteelbarr&l;weigh16.751bs.;fobe<glass/grapt,i1estock;
right-orlelt-handmodel$;fiv&-$h(ltmaga>:ine

quicklyunloadedbyopcningtheboltand mochas r . Onthe 110.lhctriggerisdi~tly toprovideme1al foraholefortheguard

removing the maga:tine. A spare ma~inc
canbecaniedinyoorpocke1forQUid:reload-
ingorfilk:,;lwithcartridgesofadifTercn1load.
Thconlytrouble isthardctachablemagazines
dog,:tlost
Havingopcnsighrsavailable onthebar-
rel couldcomeinveryhandy for the big
game hunter. I would suggest that if you
thinkyouwi11everwan11ousclhescsigh1s
rharyoudonotgothcwayof··sce-undcr"
or··sce-through"mounts.Thosemounts
placethescopetoohighforquickand
steady aiming. I believe lhe best mount
choice, if you wam 1he use of the open
sights.istheWeavertopdeuchablemounr
Thescmountsplaccthescopelowonthe
rifle.allowthcscopctobequicklyremo,•ed
llfldreplacedwithoutlossoficro.andthey
are sturdy and reliable .
ThereisathingaboutthellOdcsigntlwl
like,·erymuch.somelh.ingthatlhavenever
heardoforscc-nmentioncdbyothcrs.Tha1is
therelationshipbclwcentheniggerandthc
rearendofthebolt.Looka1almOS1llflyrille
picturedinthisbookandyouwillno1ethatif
youdrawa,fflicallinedo,.nfi'omtherearof
thecloscdboltthatthetriggcrwillbewcll
aheadof1hatline.insorneins1ancesbyas
belowtherearendofthcbolt. This comes
aboutastheresuhofthcfarrearwardpla.ce--
mentofthebolt handle on theboltandlhe
abscnceofashroud,boltsleeveorcocking
pi«e. And what this docs is to make the
uppergriplinelonger.withtheresultlhatl
cangripthisrifleinthcnormalshootingposi-
tionwilhthesewndjointofmytriggerfinger
onthetriggcr. Thispuismythurnbinpcrfect
position1oopen11cthesafcty-l neitherhave
tocrvokmythurnb,norshiftmygrip.his
pcrf«1:anidealpistolgripplacemem,safety
placemc-ntbolthaodlcplacmlcnt.nocrowd-
ingandnoshifting.Thiscanno1besaidabout
the Browning BBR which also has a sliding
tangsafcty,oorisittrueformOSlothertum-
boltrifles"ithothersafetytype:;andplace-
~,
Asl mentionedinmycornmemson1he
ModelllOregardingtheabscnceofaguard
screwatthe rearofthercceiver,lfeellha1
this screw is n«de,d e,-en more on the Mod-
ell lOC, in that this stock has lcsswood over
the sides of the maga:iine than does the
llOE. and that the C stock would be
strengthened with this addiiional guard
screw.A!litwould1akeislhatasmalllugbe
silverbrazedtotherearendoftherceeiver
screw. I believeitwouldbea,·erywonh-
whileimprovcmcnt
As was done with many other rifles
describedinthisbook.theModel llOCSav-
agerif\ehadafewchangesmadeini1s~it
wasintroduccd.Perhapsthemostno1iceable
changewasthatsomewherealongtheline
Savagcbeganwimpresscheckeringinwthc
s1ockratherthancuningi1.Thcimpressed
checkeringonmyriflewasso11,-elldonertw
itwasdifficult1orecognizeasimpressod
checkering.lbelievethismethodofcheckcr-
inghasbeendroppedonallmodels,andby
lhctimcyoureadthisthecheckeringwillbe
donewithalaserbeam.Sa,-agealsoaddcda
fewmorccaliberstotheirllOC.
Accordingtothcinformation[have,the
Mll0Cmadeas l havcdescribedi1here"-as
discontinuedinl988andreplacedbyother
modelswithadctach.ableclipmagazine.
Thcneaib)'illusttationsshowafewofthe
modelvariationsandstylesofSa,-ag<=twnbolt
riflessho"nanddescribedinthcir1994cata-
log. All are buihon the basic Model 110
action. ln$0D1Cmodelslhereisachoice
betwecnablindmagazineandadctachable
boxmagazineand.inaddition.somemodels
havenomagazineandaresingJeshots

423
I NTRODUCED in 1947. the Savagc-
Ste,·ens Model 340 b«amc a popular riflc
becauscitv.-asthelowestpricedholt-acrion
centcrfircrcpeatingriflcavail.ableintheUnit-
edStatesfurquitealongtime. hstancdou1
astheStevcnsM32S,bo1soonaflerwardi1
v.-asdesign:,tcdastheSavage.ltalsour.der-
wcm many changes and improvements and
hasbeensoldundermanymodcldesignations
and trade names.. The Savage component
partscalalogliststhisrilleashavingbeengiv-
enthefollowingmodeldesignations:Stevens
Modcl322.andMode132S,SpringftektMO<J.
etS40,SavageModc1340,Modcl342and
Model 34() Smes B,C. D,and V. hwasalso
mait:cdandsoldundertheWard'sWestcrn
Ficldtradenamc.onebcingtheWestemField
Model 712.Alanyratc,allwen:thesame
havc1WT1boltaction
Whcnlastmade(thismodclwasdiscontin-
uedin l985)itwaS3''3ilableincalibcrs22
Hornet 222 Rem .• 223 Rem. and 30-30. Al
onetin1e.itwualsornadeinthc225Win-
chcstercalibcr. Depcndingoncalibcrand
style.barrel lengthsare20".22~and24~,with
thebarrelbeingroundandtapc~.Open
sightsonthcbarrelwen:alwa)'Ssumdardand
fora longtimethcreceiverwasdrilled and
tapped foras,;opcmount. The Model 340
fcaluresaone-piecestockmadcofwa!nut,a
detachable single-wlumn magazine, side
safctythallocksthctriggcrandbolt,anda
bam:lhandtha1holds1heham:landforend
togethcr.ltsactionisarathcrsintplconewith
onlyonclockinglugupfrontandthclOOlof
thebolthandlcscrvingastheOlher
""-
Asnol<deariier,andasshowninthecom-
poocnl partsdrawingandlist.theSavage-
StcvensModel34()actionsarenotallalikc
Manychangesandimprovemcntsweri:made,
someduetoamodelchangeorv.·henanew
calibcrwasaddcd.orforothcrreasons.!havc
norccordofwhenthcchanges.wcremade
andlherearetoomanyformetodescribein
thisbook.Mostofthechangcswen:madein
424
connection with thebo!t.withsomebeing
made with a separate bolt head, difTc!l'n\
extrac10rSandeje<:ton,andsoforth.Sincel
cannotcovcrlhcmall.lwilllimi1mycovcr•
agetoalaternodelSa,-ageM340ofthelctter
scries.arillein222caliber.lfoundthispar-
ticular model and caliber to be quite common.
andi1isforthatreasonlchoseittodescribe
""'The recei,·crappears toha,·e been
machincdfromapieceofscamlcssstccl1ub-
ing.Theejectionponismachinedouionthe
righlsidcandthemagazincwellinthebot-
torn.Moremachiningisdoneonthebridge;
a1tbebottomfurthelriggermechanism;and
ontopilissloncdtoallowpassagcofthefor-
ward!ockinglug.Thefrontendofthereceiv-
crislhreadedinsidctoaccep11hcbam:l
shank. Gas vent holes are provided in the
reccivcrring,oneoncachsidcatthejunctull'
wherethebarrelandboltheadmc,et.Novent
holes.areproVMicdinthebolt.Thegassh,cld
closesthecntranccofthefrontlockingl11g
ractv.':ly.sothatifanygasesdoes.:apeinto
thatareatheyv.illbedcflcctedupward.The
cockingpiecccapwi!ldeflectanygasesout-
wardshouldanygctintotheboltthroughthe
ftringpinholc
I! was in this rit1e that Savage-Stevens
introduccdthc11niquemc1oodof1ightening
thcham:ltothereceivcr,·iaa!ocknut
anangcme,,tThebarrelisthreadcdtoamuch
greaterlengththanthereceivcr1oallowalock
n111tobethrcadedoni1.Thebam:lii;astraight
taperfroml>ll'cchend10muz:zlc-i1hasno
shouldcrabomnenrorreinforcedbrcechs,x,.
rion.Thelocknutisshapedina,,,ayrogivc
theham:lbreechthcappearanceofacon-
tow'tdshouldcrse<:lion.Theham:lisfaced
ofTflatatthebrccch.chambered.thelocknut
thrcadcdon,thescparatercooi!lugslippedon
theshank,thebam:lthreadedin10thereceiv-
crtoapoimwhenproperheadspacchasbcen
oblained,andthenthelocknuttightenedto
holdbam:l,n:ccivcrandrecoillug-=elyin
thatposition.
Theboltismadeintwopans. The from
partiscalledthebol!headandhasthelocking
lugonitsfrontcnd.Therearpan,orthebolt
handle,slipspanlyintothe!l'arofthebolt
headBothareheldtogelhcrwithacrosspin.
Thetwopartsthusheldtogetherbecomethe
bol1body.andthebasc.orroo1,ofthcboh
Mndlcbecomesthe~lockinglug.The
receiver is machined to form an L-shaped
rcccssinsidethe,-iverringtoa.ctep!the
frontlockinglug,andthebridgcisnotchedto
acccptlhchohhandlctoformthesccond
lockingarea.Whenthcboltiscloscdand
locked the front locking lug is toward the
right
The fromofthebolthead is flat and is
rcccssedforthccartridgeheadorrim. The
ejcctor,aphrngcrandspring,isftncdinthe
frontoftheboltheadatthecdgeofthereccss
andtheyareheldinplac,;byacrosspin.The
cxtractorisasimplepiw>1edhookfinedimoa
grooveinthesidcofthebohheadandheld
the!l'onacrosspin.Asmallcoilspringpl°'
vi<lesthetensiontothec:<tractor.Apar!ofthe
bohthat1hcfac1orycallsagasshield,bo1
which mighl be mon, properly called a boh
guide,isfas1encdinplacewithtwobandsand
pins.thusallowingthepantorota1eon1he
bolt.Awill'springundemcaththefrontcnd
oflhispartscr,.-cstolocktheboltwheni!isin
thcopcnposition10pre,'Cflt itfrom1uming.
The firing mechanism is composed of a
ooo-piecefuingpin.coilm.ainspringandthe
cockingpiece.Theco,;kingpic,,,eitsclfis
composcdoffourpans: co,;kingcam,cock-
ingcam cap, a pin to hold thesc twoparts
together.andacockingcamkey.Thenmain•
springiscompresscdbetwcentbeshoulderon
thefrontofthefiringpinandthercarpanof
thebolt.withthe!l'arendoftheftringpin,
whichis1hreadc,;l,extendingthroughtheccn-
teroftherearhalfoftheholt Thccocking
camisthreadedonthemirofthefiringpin.A
smallU-shapedpartcalledakeyisftncdina
(,.t.tx,:,,e)The&,v~Ste-vensModet340rifle

TheM340bOi'IShowing:{A)gasshiekl,(8)
lronlloet<lng lug, {C) extlaclor .-.:I (D) ejecior,
slot111theooclongcam10PfC"mlthefirin&
P"' from111min1on,;,etheprupertipprom.,-
sionhasbc,enobla....d. lnplaoe,t!u1keyfiu
over•squ.arcdSCClionontheverycndofthe
firingpin.Thm:isadeepnotchmachincd
intotheruroftheboltto scrveasthccamto
c«k the firint1 pin when the bolt handle is
raised.
Thclriggcrmcc:hanismiscompo!iedofa
foldedsheelsccelhlusing,ingg,er,sear,sar
lc\,:r,ndlhepins.springsandStl'CWSIOhold
11£tes-,s111~11!d10mab:lmnfuncaon..
Two Kmo"S inside the housing fulcn !he
mi:c1unl511110lhcbollornofllll:rtttivcr.Thc
,ar,sffl(ll.-linlhcrurofthehousuJ&and
proJeCQ:upwardllllOlhcrttti,wandinlothc
pathoflheoodingcam.Theuiggcrismount•
edbclowlhcJCaJ,andboththelriggerandthe
sew~ provided wilh small !Onion springs.
Moumcdinthefrontpanoflhchousingisthc
iearlcvcrwhichcxtcndsrcarwanltothescar.
Thcseardoubksasthebolt-su,p,haltingthc
rearward tra--el oflhe boll whm it rises illlO 1
no1thintheb;:,ltbodyprovi<b.lfortlwpur-
pc!M:.Thcpurros,eofthe5earlcveris10dum-
paclheKVfromtheboltbypullingthe
1ngerbacl: as&rasitwiUgo. TheR-11()
adJustmml 5Cfnl,'S p,tn'ided IO make Ill)'
lldjll5U11CnlSIOlhe11'iaga-pull
Thc$1fetymcc:hanismoonsisumlllllyof
twoparts1111Chedtotherighlsidcofthemg-
Fhcu:smg.onetheoutside~
ufccy-kvttandtheothatheinsidl'safoty-
le,.·erthatlochthe1ngger"'henthesafe,yis
~ . Thcoul3id,Je,,,:ra[solocbthebolt
when lhe action is closed and the safety
coa,oacd.Asmallspringandplungcrprovidc
tensiootothesafcty-levm.
ThcSa,-.gc-StevensM340magarini:box
i11liJhtshodrnclllaffairtlwishcldin~
mthc~byn.-ol-shapedmeulgwdosor
bnckeu. one at each cnd of 1M magazme
-nopcrung1111he~,-cr.Thefmlllhrxk•
t111anachcd10lhc~,-crby1SCft"W ...itile
therarone,,.·h1ehis1~1s1nached
bcl\o"ffl!thetngg,crhoo.lsing..,.;llhcrc,;:,:,,-cr
by lhc housing scmo-s. This rcar brxktl
uicndsbdowlhesro<;kandispulkidbad::IO
rclelsethemagazino.
Thelriggerguardisasreelstampingwith
thcfror,1panofi1surrounding1heopenin11
in!he 11ock forthemagaiinc. ltisheldin
pla<;c:.ilhercarbyawood:;c~,and•rlhe
fron1by1hefrontgua,dscrcw1ha11hrcads
1n101hcrtt0illug.Thercisnorcugu.ard
scrcw10holdlhercaroflhcactioninpla<;c:.
ToaulSClhcsingleguardscrcwinholding
-·
lhcSIOClcmdlhcbarmcd-.actiontoeed,er,an
IIISldebarrclbandisuKdntarlhcformdhp
th;i1holdslhcfon:ndandthel:,a,ffl ugh1ly
Makcsurclhcnflcisunloaded.Rc-movc
lhernaguinc.{Placethcsafe1yinthefirc
posi!ioo.) To=-etheboh.openlhc11ct,oo,
pullthelriggcrbackasfarasitwillgoand
withdrawthebolt.
To diSNCmble the boll proceed as follows:
Dri.,..,outthecrosspinnearthecmterofthe
boltthatholdsthetwobohhah-estogelher,
andstpan11cthe1woparts..Rcmovcthegu
$1ueldribbyoiivingoutthe1wopinsfmmlhe
sh,cldandnngs.Rmlo\~theextractorand
q:ctorbycki,-inf:outlhcpinslhatholdlhe,,::
pansinpba,.TomT10\..,thcfinngput.fol.
lowlhcseS1tpS: finnlygrasplhcboltt.ndlc:
halfofthebol1,andwiththefinngpmnp
placedon1hanlsurfacc.dcprcssthcbollhalf
10cxposcthekeyinthcoockingpic«and
rcmovclhekey. Relcasctheprcss.urcand
unscrcwthcfiringpinfromthecoc:kingpi«c.
Theoockingpiccccapcanbescpan.1cdfrom
thcoockingpicccbydrivingOU1thccrosspin.
R~bkinl'CVCl$Coroef.lnthen:a.ucm,
bly,1,s,;cryimponantthalthcCO!TCClfmng
pin pn:,uusion be oblained. With the coc:kin&
p1KCrumcdtothati1isinthefullfoor•1nl
pOS1u.on.lheopoflhcfiringp111shouldpro,
tnidie from .OSO" IO .O!W fmm lhe bolt 6cc.
l"hcffforc.111rcaucmblmg1hefinnap1n,
bcforclhecoc:kingpi,akeyispu1mtopba,.
.,
tumthcfinngpinsothat"·,thlhcfromhalfof
thcboltheklinplaa:thcpmlrUSlonJIC(lfm:I.
Thcninsenlhekey.
Rcmo.,..,the barrel andm:civerfrom the
SIOCkbyn:movingthebarrclbandalld!he
frooclriggcrguardscrcwsandliftthebaml
andm:civerfromtheSIOCk.Torcmo.,..,thc
tngg<.'l"mechanismprottedasfollo>o,-,:Dm-e
wtthctwosmallpm'iinthefromcodoflhc
lng,erhousingandfffilO\'Cthcmap:anc§IOJI
andthesnrle\·er.Dri.,..,DU11helliggerpm
andmn111..,thelriggcr.Thc:two!ICm'l'Sthal
archoldingthehousingtothe""ivcr.c
now~xpli5Cd;tumthemldandlhehous.in&
andthc.urmagazmccatchcanbemnoval.
Theran.mderofthctriggcrandsafe1yma:t,.
11USmcanthcnbcmoondfmmthehoustn&-
Rmwmbleinrcvcrscoroef.
Thc:blarrelandlock11111arescrewedt1aJitly
-
in101hcrecci"crandnoa1tcmp11houldbe
nuidc1orerno,·cthebam:I unlcssyou.ha" c
lhepn:,pcrtoolsandknow·how.
Wilm the SIC\"CllS Model 325, w~h "1111
thefomunneroflheprcsen1Sa,-agcModcl
340, W1111 1ouoducal in 1947. ,t retaikd It
SJ&.li.lt,.1111theic:,..utprim:1c:emcrfin:bolt
~repeanngrifka,"ailablc.lnthc22-
tmirecalibers(22 Homct.222and223)il
makcs11111t:ablcrifkfor~,wmmu:
andp,:su:IJld,n30-lOcahber11is1aooJ
nfkforlhcdecrhuntcr.Thcrcisnodunaf"an.
cyabouttheM340.andunlcss1ti1your"C"T)'
fintcmtcrftrcrifk.youwon'1,,,anttoshowi1
10yourmcnds. lt isaplaine,-erydayrifktha1
scrvcslhcnccdsofmanyhuntersquitcsau1-
factorily.
Thcrcucmanythingsthatldono!likcm
thedcsignandoonstrurnonoflheM)4(),but
oonsidcrin&1Upri«andthcfactllwitwu
dcslllll('dtobcalow-costrifk,l",Jlhl.-eto
mi:nook11o!of1hesoe11CmS. lcould pou,1out
1numbcrofctiangcsthal l "1lUJd"'"lnlRID
tu,,•c.bul,fSa..-.gcincorpontcdthem,tho
nflewoukllu,,.,costmuchmoretomanufac..
425
 : I I

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31 Sllle!y5'nlg

426

nn.ThcO"o'ffaildcs,gnisnotgoodfflOU81110
makc111noutstandingarm.ncniflhcse
dlangcswm:1IIOOlp()r.lled.Latcron. l "1II
SU.g&CSIIIOfflewaysbywhichthcamatcur
(IUl'ISrhilhcanmakc,omeimpro•,cmentsonir.
I havcsccnaodcxamincdquiteafewof
thcseriflessin«:lheyfirstappcarcdon1hc
mart.et,soldafcwofthcminmygunsbop,
and !lll1JIC teslcd I number of them. Of1hosoe I
IC'S1ed,rnost~inthc221lometand222
calibcrsand.rightoutofthebox.sightcdwith
• ~and fmng faclOl)'ammunition.all had
sun: 100-yutl cro ...·-hming and 200.yutl
v.ooddnitk-h,nmgacancy.Withjustab,t
ofllnkmfltl with the bedding, alongw,th
!Oll"IC npmmmtation IO find out the bt'SI
bcddlfll~ofeachriflc:.pcrl>apsW1
acancya:iuldbc"""""-ul
ldonatmuch=ftttheuseofabam:I
bandonavannintriflc,b«auscitusually
1ff«t1thc1Ccurac:yandthczerorctcruionof
therifle.lbclie,·cthcdcsignmofthisrifle
shouldhavcmadethcoiggermedw,ismdif•
fcrcndysothatthcusualrcartriggcrguard
s;rcwoauldhll,'Cbeenu9:daod thusdoaway
,.,ththcbam:lband.lfthishadbeendonethc
b;un:loauldbcmadefrtt.floating
lta""'iJl$mentionedthclriggcrmccha-
msm.lwouldbkcioaddthatforsuch1k)w
,;(ISlrif'lc:11 is1goodonc.Thc,lriggcrpullis
1m,teonthchcavysidcand1b11longcrlhan
aloloflhootcn~fer.butlhiscanbcror-
rectcd. My main complaint is1hatthcde-
llgncT1made it verydiffieuh torcmo,·cthc
trigger mcdwnism by hjding the scn:w
hcadsi11$ideorunderotherparu.lfindno
f•uhw11hthcsafe1y.
A$forthcbolt.thesinglcforwan.lloxking
lu1combincdwiththebohhandles«m10be
rnan:!hanadequatcinstrength1oholdthc
action locked. When thit rifle "-as lim
~d1ambcr..dforthelliWinchc5-
lffcartndge.l"'••bitdoubdi.Jloflhe ..;s.
dorn of this chambering. Hcr,1,-c,-cr. I ha,·c
ncvcr"-dofabohorm:ci,-cr&ilurconthrs
nflemanyof,ischamberings.
I am noc in favor ofa 1wo.piccc bolt. hue
lhcwaylheM340bol1isconstnx:ICd.andlhc
waythcfinngpinanditspartsai-carrangcd
andmado:,lcan"tfindmuchwrongwithir.
lknowtha1mos1bolH1C1ionriflcshoo!crs
donoclikeasloncdn,,cei,-crbridgeandsidc
--
1C011Cmounts.bu1.wiles.sthecn1iredcsia:nof
theboltwasc~thespli1bridgccould
~ .· ::Se:Er=~~-eeparatereooiUJ
8olt .•.•.• Two-p8Ceocnstruclionwilhw,glllorwanllodci'lgl.lg,rt:X.llolboll
·==~=:=i.~~-oot
hancle--•MOCfldlocldllglug .
.Qne.jliecellringpin.c:ollmainlpring.ax:l<aoooperw'lglhetd.
.Plungertypeinboll1ace'9C811.
Searservesasboll..stoP.
Delachable~bOl<magazine
Sauage Steuens Model 340
hardlybe1,"0lded.A1anyrare.1ha,-.,nodwic
-,aIR51agoodsidemouM.and l C'OIISldtrlhc
Wea,·eragoodonc.
E,-.,,ypfflofmylatcmodelSa,-ag,eM340
uccptthe$!0Ckanditsf1111ng,iismadcof
sl«I. and the stock is Alllmcan " "llnul.
~hnyofthesteel pansarestampings,but
1hcyareS1ccljustthesame.Fewoftheparu.
or1hcs1ockfortha1maner.are"-cllfinishcd.
AllthismakcstheM340agoodfiJSlccmer•
lirerifleforthebcginncranwcurgunsm,th
10prwc11ccon. And what can the amateur
gwismithdo10impl'O'-cit?Wcll.mostlyhe
can 1mprm-.,11sappcarmcc.buthccan-1fo
,mpro,-.,thetnggerpullandtheactionofthe
bohandpcrhap$11Saccurxy.Somcsuap,
t10J11: C&rcfullypolishalllhepans.Rebl11e
mostofthcmandlea,-cothcrsbnghror;,:..-.,1
lheTn;mo--orkthescarand1nggerfor1shor1•
crandhghterpul1:inle11he1nil!crguani:
rebcd1hcl,arrclandac1ion1nthcs1ock:
c~penmcnl with the bedding and don"l be
hcsi1an1aboutusingaglanbcddingcom•
pound: refinish the s1ock. or helter !111ll.
reworl( it entirely. trimming it down 10
rcmovctheoriginalchcckcrinaand1hcn
refinishandr«httkerit
427
Ri rLEMAN. SHOOTER. ~loader Ind
writcr,Ph,hpB.S~wasallofthrmand
mo~. He ii probably bc:st lmo,.-n for the
two large books he authored and for the
eannd;chchcl~dcvclop.Thcbooh.
ThcComple1eGaldetoilandloodingand
TlieRifleinAmerica.areclassiesandthe
canridgc.the7~61S~&Hanisallbut
obtole1c. ltw1tSharpo•swritingandthis
cartn.dgethatbroughtthcnarrM:ofSchullZ
& Lancniolhc1ttentionoflhcAmcri<:an
hlu,tcr•nfleman.becaU$Cil"'-aslhcDan1$h
finnthatmadctheriflcsthatfirsieham-
~•LThcttforc.if)'(lllwantafirst•hand
accountoflhch,sto,yofth,s~.and
lhc Schultt & lar$m linn. )'(Ill Jhould ,-1
wha, Sharp< llu. "Tincn about 1hem ,n
1huctwoboob.lk51dcs PhilipSha,pc,thc
othcrtwomcnassoc,a1cdinthcdc:,·clop•
men1ofth11rif1c/canridgewm,Richardf.
llanandNiclSlal'$Cn.
lnthclalel940sandcarly'SOs.Sharp<
began experimental workona7mm,:,r.
mdgc of the magnum class that he though!
American hunters nmkd. By !hen he was
1wcll-known1111homyonarmsandamrnu•
n,hon and had tonn.tttions with ,·arious
Ewvpun arms and ammunition. man11fac-
tums.. Whm1hc~showcdprom,sc.
Normabccamcm=cd,nlhcprojeaand
bc:pn making and furnishing the sp,xial
eaK1Sllarp<nccdcd. Whenthcnewear-
tridgcJhov,·cdfllM<'l"progress,thcSchullZ
&Larscnfinnb«amemteres!cdandcamc
in101heproJCC1 bydcsigningandmanufac-
tunng an cnti~ new rinc for the new tar-
tridge. whith by then "-as gi,·en thc namc
7x61 Sharpe& Han . llanhadliulctodo
with ,ts dcvclopmcm. ahhough he was a
strong to.tkcr. Thus, thccanridgc came
firS1.m1t111lyu1"·ildc11.1nd1hcnua
commercial numbc:r when Norma bc:gan
load,na ,t Afterth,seamc lhccomrnen:lll
nf\cchambcrcdfor1tandafirm,Sharpc&
HanAuoc,a1cs. lne .• 1omarket bolhthe
amrnum11onandnflc,nlhr:Un11cdStates
428
andCanada Th1stookplaceinl9S4-55
PhihpB.Sharpodicdinl%l.,1illinh1s
pnmc.l1sccmsfrom1ha1pointontheh6l
S& II canridgc went into a decline, and
wnhi11hcSchultz&Larsensponingrif1c
Whilclhiscanridgcwasagoodoneitdid
no1h,cup101hcbalhs1icsclaimedfori1. It
was no bc:ucr1han any numbcrof7mm
magnum wildcat canridgcs worked out by
othcrsofmuthlessrcno"·n. WhcnRem-
inatonintroduc:cdtheir7mm Magnum in
1%2,11,.-.,,,thcbcginnmgofthccndforall
the wildtausimil,rtoit,and for1hc7x61
S&llaswcll
ldlft.t.i..s.MIII
Aeoord1ng10 Ph1I Sharpo"sbook.R,jla
/,,A..,tr/cQ.Schultz&Larscnmadclhcor
1ir.,1nflc,a1abou1thc1umofth15ecnrury,
andwh.:nthcymadc•••crcta,gelnflcs.By
rhe 1950s- bcfo~ rhey made a ecntcrfi~
bolt-attionrifle-thcyhades1abhshcda11
cnviablerccordofmal:ingthcmos1acc11-
ntc rar1et rifles that money could buy.
Thcsc,,,crcmosllybolt-action22nmlircs
l1oc:kcdand 11gh1cdforintemational f=-
llylematchshoolmg.looccsaw1Schul1Z
& lal'$C'II i,poning rifle built on I line
fal11n&blotkact1on,andth1smayind1tllc
1ha1 1hcy probably used falling bloc:k
1ctionsbc:forcdc,·elopmgatumbolt. from
,,,ha1lha.·crcadandsccnofthcirurly
nflcs.andwhatlha,·csccnofthc,rmodcm
boh•1e11on ccmcrfi~s. 1he Schultz &
Larscnpcoplewc~mas1crmachin15'sand
rifleenflsmcn.
"Thc:fit1ilCCIIICrfi~tumboltsportingriflc
thatSchultt&Larscnmadt"-asclwnbercd
for the 7x61 S&H cartridge, a,coon;l,ng ro
Sharpc.Thcydcsigncdi1fromtheground11p
ond,t .."11qui1eunlikcmostolherhigh-pow-
crcd tumbolt nfles of1hat tune. Thcydmg-
naled II lhr: Model S4J.lhr:MS4Mio,ndicalc
lhcyewl954,andlhcMf'forHIIPltforSpon-
ma,.hwasdusnflcthatSharpc&HanM$0,
tlalCSbtgansclhngm\955
h rsmyundi:ntandingthalSharpc&.Han
,old lhc Model S4J only in h61 S&H caliber.
Howc,,cr. aeoonlmg to Shatpc. lhr: S&L finn
1bomadclhismodclin244 Rcmmgwn,270
Winchcilcr.J0-06and6.5x55calibcn.ln
addi1ion,lheyalsomade1hisrilltas1slnjk:
,hol.Thisgwi.designalcdthc Mode1S4JSS.
hadnomagarinewellopcnU!l!inlhcfl!m,w,
no~operunginlhr:siock,nomap-
zlM floorplatcand a med,um-hcavy barrel
c"-nbc!roforthc244.or7x61S&tlcalib:n.
TheS&Llinnalsouscdlhr:MS4ICIJ(lnon
"ilich10buildfmcfitt.styktarg,etnllcs.
Th.e Model :'i4J "'35 an cxt=nely -..'ell
madcandfuushednfle. lnplamc-.'Klenceof
lhisyw nm! only to glanccll ore: a line
plffl:OfwoodfurtheSIOd,cxpcrtlyshaped.
sandcdandlinlshed:perfixlfrtbctwernrnctal
and wood: metal panshighlypoli$hcdlnd
blucdlndap~is,onclose•tolcrancelitbc-
1wernthemctalpans,Theboltopensanddos-
esaseas,lyandassmood,Jyasthcsmoothcsl
Krag-Jorgensen,
fea~oftheModelS4Jllttionme:four
lockingtugsonlhcrcaroflhcboh,shonbolt
tni•'Cl,fi.illycntloscdbohhead.s;ifctyloc.icd
onlhcbohslec,.'CIOlocklhr:suikcr.~
111ge trigger. 5,nglc column mag,.rine ,..,th
lun,cd~andeasydosasse,nblyoflhc
boh.Sharpr:~thcad-."lntage$oflhc
rcarpos,tionoflhclockinglugs.~""l!lcor-
m:1mclaiminglhatlmllalknllulfurlhoncr
boltlfa,'ClandlhoncrO\'CflllactlOnkn&lh,u
C<llnplmltolhr:uswlfromlocl<inglu&poA•
tion,andthat1he~arlocki113lugsmadcfora
strongcrandsafcrac:tionlhatislC$$hkclylo
dcvclope~eessive hcadspace. In the Schultt
&.Larscndcsignlcanagtttwithhim.
11.adthcopportunitytosight-lnaModel
54Jootlongaflcr11wasintroduoed.andnght
(AboY9)TheModel54J.Schultz&t.ara.i·•
lint rifle buih for 1h11 7.Sl Sharpe & Hal1
Ma!J,umurtrltlge.J,- . . isfilledwilhl
4xl-.,poldtoepe.-,8uehle<mounlt

1waydise<wcrcdonc1hingldidnoclike-
lha1itwasroodifficult10load. Tobcgin,tbe
cjcctionpo.1~lylet11oadcdcartridgepass
lhrooghit-1,withgloveson,theriflewas
noteasilyloadedasasingkshoc.Loadingthe
map,.mrmUSlbedonethroughthebonom,
andlOdoduslheriflehastobel'lmedboftom
up,thelloOfplateopmedandlhecwidgcs
can:fully~111onebyone.Wilh1,oc,pe
onthenfle.lUfllingilboaomupisana"·k-
,.wd~lsuppo,sc l couldhavctllll•
1tn11Kd10it,bulasmuchasllil(cdtheriflein
m<)tlOIJw:rrcspect$,ldidno1caref,..-th,:
loadina;arrangement.Then,to10J1myfirst
.shoo11ngcxpcrientcwilhlhisriflcand~-
ingi1w,1hthemagazinefilled.onthe,1rry
fin.1sholthelloorplateopmedupandthecar-
uidpSpillcdontheground.Thesamelh1na
haf'pcncd1,1hcntheowncroflhcriflcllrcdii
AsSharpcrcponsinhisbook, i1wuthema1-
annethalp,<etheira,,,TOmthcmoslll'Oublt-
,.,._.,
NotlonaafterlheModelS4JS&.Lrillc-
lfUIIXluttd, the&hultt&Lancn fumllMed
de·ocloping impro-.·ements for it, rnakin1
changcstomakeirmoreac.:cptablcforthe
Amcricanbiggamchwncr.fil"Slontheli$10f
changes was the magazine-it was c ~
fiom1singlccolwnnto151aggcrcdcolwnn
amngancm. Doing this made the rifle easier
101oad,but,1naddilion.llllowedlhcnfle10bc
S10c:kcd"1thlcssof1bclly-animpro','emcnl
mthelooboflherif\e.TheSIOCkwasabo
madeandshapeclmon:10lhe5f)'leprefffled
by ,\rncri,;an rifkmcn, -..·ith a !Witt formd
lll'ldamb.OllacharqiesmlhellCIMXlwa.:
asfollows:Themxi•-nwasmadeab,t
lonat'rupfmnt.makingtheaa,or,aboiilllt~
klnjcr. tbesafctywass"itchcd tolhcrigln
side and made inm a ~•p<>Sition affair•
wilhtheccn1crpositionallowinglhebol11obe
opened with the strikcr locked. Aoo1hcr
changew1Sinthestrikcrtravd.wtoich"111in-
aeascdabo\11111•0·•crthatoflheModelS4J,
makmg1he1ravclabout.4SO•.cockingoc-
C\l!Tcd mostly on the upl\lffl oflhc boll han-
Schultz & Larsen Rifles
dlc.themnaindcronthedosm11ofthebol1.
Thcshotgw,-siyledaiggerguardoflheMS4J
wasn:placedintheM60""ilhamillcdoneon
thesiylcoftheM70Winc:hcs1cr.MOStof
these thangc:s Wffl' im:pro..-cmcnts bul, u ~
shallJce.theM60,.-assoooioberq,laoodby
lhcModel65.ThcM60-..-asm,deonlyfiom
IOOllll9S7iol960.ThcM60-..-asmadconly
1nlhc7~6lSharpc&Haflcalibcr.
ThcModel65S&L-..-asinlroducedinl960
andlOOllllheonly~madclOnfiomlhe
M60-..-asinlhcsufu:rn,-clandoodmg.ln
thencwnflcthesuilr.ern,-cl,.-as~IO
1bou1.290",andthecockingofthesaikcr
occum:dootheupnunofthebohhandle.This
wuade<:ish-cimprm"CltlCltlo,-crlhcnflclhc
M65n:pl.aood.Thencwriflc,.-as1lsooffi:fed
111thencw358NormaMag:nume11libcr.and
probablyin308Norm1Ma&,un.lftrryllq,
thefirushandwooon.v,shiponllusriflc-..111
..,.._.,lhaluftheMS4.JlndM60.
The Model 65 rifle -..-. -..-ell IOOCplCd by
manyb1gpmohurttcRandbyrno$1p
experts. For~lhcNRAledlnalsu,ff
mlhe'll"lf:Stttp.Wloflhisriflcfoundltnlefault
...-,lhit.AstheyhaddoneearloCJwhmlhey
ICSICdtheM60,lheycornmcrucd~fl..-or-
ablyon theactiondcsign.theovcrallco,,-
stnKtionandfinishoflhcmctalandwood
parts and the good fil between 111 pa111.
Rcgardinglhcaction,lhcypoin1cdoutthe
heary-conwuctionoftherecciYCf-..ilhawall
lhkl<ncssofncarfyl/ "••whic:hpvclhea,,:-
uonrnu.unurnng,d,tyandstrength.Plac:ina
429
the four evenly-spaced lotking lugs on the
rcarofthebohprovidcdexiralockingpowcr
and~theamoontofbolthandlclift,as
compaml101bohwi!honlyiwooppo:scd
lup.Compaml to the design of the M98
Mauscr,Ml9Cl)Springf,eld.andM70Win•
chcslcr111mbollnlk5-inwhichlheinsidcof
then:,;c1>·crnng1$~10IICccplthe
locl:inglup."-mmin&lherttei,'ffringand
lhusmatmcuthel\ntpattofail-melhick-
,.'IJledand~retti,uringoflhc
~&Lan,mactioncanncvcrfaiLShoot-
ma,encraUyhad1good"-on:lforlhcSIOCk
det:ignoftlM:M65aswcll.Thi•include41
highoomband1choc-kpiecclhatslopedfor-
,....,_ianddowr,tominimizcm:oil10thefacc,
and1Wundhammcrswellonthcrightsidcof
thepistolgrip.
ThcModel65.likcits~isno!
1light"'eight;wi!h1scopernountedlherotal
wcigh1migh1nu,1enpounds.Thi1wasge11er-
allyregard,dasbeingdesirablebecausecvcn
in the 7x61 S&Htaliber, recoil would be
"""""""· ,..,_ ...
quitc1CVtteifthcnflcweighed1woortlme
ln1%7,lhcM65,o'tirq,lac:cdbythi:Mod-
d68Dl.Sdalltt&L,ncn.BylhislimcSlwpc
&tianAnociacslmlbccndmolvcdandlhc
CahfomaafITTllofR.C.Fcsskr&Company
boarnetheU.S.drsuimaxslorlhc:Sclaila:&
Lanmlmc.Wi!hthechangcofmodclsand
dll;tribulorslhencwModel68DL~fully
Amc.-ricanizc,,i Not only was a new fcatun:
addcdtotheacrionandlhcSIOd:dn::ssc(lup1
bi1morc.butitnowcamein1v,cntycalibcrs,
manyofthembein3themostpopularinthe
American lineup.
Thedw,geintheactionronsistcdofa
~•1P1ofthebol1sleevcandwckingcam.
Thebol1sJoe,.'Cwasmade10encloscthcoock-
in11c""'-majorsafety improvc:mcn1be-
tau!loe wnh the cocking cam enclosed. no
powdcrpscscouklescapcimothcshootier"1
C)"Clinthce-'ffltpsescntcn:diniolhehob.ln
lddiuon.thcoocl<Ul&camnowhadahplhal
cxiendod.-..-.dinlc:rlhebolt$1ee\..,.and
tlulKfV«l•1oodingindalorthllc:ouldbe
,c,enandfcll,ohmthcacrion,o-.sc;odcd.
S.nttthtaction"'ti"°"'bemgusiedforlllOl'C
daiju$tthe7x61S&Hand358Norma~1aJ-
numcanndgcs.50lllechangeweremadc,n
thcn,iga,:,ncandrtm,-ertohandlcthcvari-
OldJenathsandsiz,esofcanridgcs.
Thcll>OSlnoticcablcchangelha1came"ith
thtM68DL wasinthcst0ck.ltwasnowfur-
nishcdwi!haslantedroscwoodForcnd11pand
ani.,ewoodpisrolgripcap"i!hplaslicinscrt.
w1!hbothpittcsst1offbywhitespacen.The
n:coi)padwasalsosepara!edfromthestock ~---------------~
wi1hawhile5P3Cer.Thcstocknowlooked
muchlikeaWcathe!bystock.
TheM680Lwasorigina!lyoffercdinthe
follcn-ing calibers: 22-250. 243. 6mm Rem .•
264Win.Magnum.6.SxSS.270.7nun Rem.
Magnum. 7x61 S&H Magnum. 308. 30-06,

-
300 Win. Magnum. 308 Norma Magnum.
338 Win. Magnum. 358 Norma Magnum and
458 Win. Magnum. A fewOlhercalibers were
addtdla1erandsomeof1heorigina\ooe5
l ncidentally.allmodelsoftheSchultz&
Larsenspol1ingrifles. which include the
M54J. M60. M65 and M68DL. were fur-
nished with fac1ory-fined recoil pads and
~~ad~:~n~:~:~~~C:U:~:'crta~!:.
field
S&Lbo/1.Theth,ooholesinlhefl)rwan:lpartollhe
bo/1areg3ll~nts.Should~ t1~rocetfl'lhut gases
dofl<llerlheinlerioroflhebo/1onMoglheriffe,lhe
{IS.88SwillbeV<1nted!h,oughlheejection!)O!t.Also
shownis1helocationolthelockloglugs(an-ow).
There a relourolthemeV<1nlyspacedaround1he
bollbody.TherootollhebollhandleseNesasan
additional safety lug.
~------------------"
~---------------~

TN .... M.-MliU
When Weatherby introduced their firs1
super magnum cartridge in 1953, the 378
WcatherlryMagnum,theyhadnoactionbig
andstrongenoughmhandleit- lheirvery
strongMarkVactionwasstillfi•-eyearsinthe
future.happears.thercf=. thatRoyWeather•
by. worlcing on the West Coast and Phil
Sharpc1,:ortingOU1cast_arrivedatthe-irfinal
d,e-.-elopment5tageson1wonewcanridgesat
about the same lime. There were lumboll
actionsaplmtytha\Sharpeoouldchoscfrom
to handle his 7x61 S&H canridge. bw l sup-
posehechoscSchultz& Larsentodcsignand
buildtheactionbruiu.sehewasBCquainted
wilhNiclsl.arsen.Justwhatthecirturnstan=
werebctwecn WcalhcrbyandLarscnthat
promptedlhem1og,:tl0gl:lber,ldonotknow.
Anyway.Wcatherbynciededanactionand
Schultz&larscncameup"ilhitAsSharpe
1ellsit.theMWactionwase:speciallydesigncd
andbuihforhiscaJtridgeandSchultz&larscn
OOihitC!Ctrastrong-largcrandmochsmJonF
lhanacrually......:led.Then,bymaJunsilslighl-
lylooger.aswasdoncwilhlhcM60action,it
waslongenough.SU'l.lflgeoough,andsafe
erKl<lgl,10handleWealhcrl,y"sSuperMagnum
Eitceptforlengthandmaguinechangesthe
twoactionsarealnx$.alike.Theresult-..3Stha1
forse-.'tr'alycars,unrilWealhcrl,yhadhisov,n
Marl<Vaction,Wealherbyhadlhcirriflesinlhe
378 Magnum caliber built by Schulu & Larsen
inDenmarlc.Becauselhislargcactic.iisseldom
soen,andsinccbolhoflhescactionsaresosim-
ilar.lha,-echosenlhcSuperMagnumactionto
describcindclail
TN .... M.-Actlll
The receiver appears 1oha,-e been
ma,chinedfromapieceofseamlesssteclrul>--
ingorfromasolidbar.ltisroundexceptfor
therecoillugwhichi;ecmstohavebccnfused
totheroundrecei>-crringinsomcway. The
barrelisthn:adedintolhefromoflhen:a:iver
1--■"'~
~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
andS.e1up,·erytigh1lyintoi1. Toe magazine
andtheejcctionponaremachinedimothc
n:a:i,·er,andtheseopcningsarenolongcror
widerthantopmnittheentranceandpassage
ofthecanridge therifleischamberedfor.
Wilhlhescopcningssomade.alo(ofmetalis
leftbctw«nthen:a:i,-erbridgeandring,mc1•
althatisneedcdbecausethelockinglugsare
ontherearoflheboll
Thcbohappearstobeofone-piececon•
struc1ion. The bolt handle. with its hollow
pear-shapedgraspinglrnob,isattheextreme
rearendofit,anditislowinprofileforthe
loweslscopemoonling.Ashonwayforward
ofthebolthandkarefourequally•Spaeed
locking lugs which engage into locking
rettSSeSmachincdinsidetherearoflhe
r,:,xiver.Theroo1oflhebolthandlccmersa
notchinlherecciverwhentheboltisc~
andlockcdandlhusbcoomesthcsafctylug
Forwardofthclockinglugsthcbohisa
straightsmoothcylindcrthatfitsratherclose-
lyinthe~eiver.Thefaceofthebol1is
recessedforthecanridgehead,andlhereisa
minimum space between it and the bre<:chend
ofthebarrel.Thccjcctofisaspring-backed
plungerlhatisfinedinthebolthead.The
extractor.anarrowpi~ingpiecefinedintoa
slotinthebolthead,isheldinplacebyapin
and powered by a small coil spring. It is
enlirelyflushwilhtheboltbody.
~
Thcbolt-stopismountcdimoarecessin
thelcftoflhereceiverandpivotsonapin
Thcreisasturdypinonitsfrontendtha!pro-
jectslhroughthen:a:i,-erwallintotheopm-
ingforthebol!. Whenlheboltisoperied,lhis
pinengagcsinagroovccutlengthwiseinto
thcbol1bodyandcndsnearthebol1head
Thus.lhebol1-swpnotonlyservestoS10plhe
boltattheendofilStravel.butalsoscrvcsasa
guidctopreventthcbohfromtumingwbilei1
'"'""
Thefiringmechanismiscomprisedoflhe
firingpin.oockingcamandboltsleevc,with
themainspringcompres.sedbetweentheboh
s!c,e,.-eandashouldcronthefrontofthefuing
pin.Thcboltslccveislhrcadcdimolherear
oftheboltandtheoockingpiecethrt:adedto
thefiringpin.Abevclednotchinlherearof
theboltcochthefiringmechanismonthe
uptumoflhebolthandle.Firingpintravelis
,·eryshonandsoisthelocktime.
Thesafetyismountcdina,·eiiical hole
in the boll sluvc and engages with the
cockingcamwheni1isintheSafcposi1ion.
1trotatcsfromfton11oback;forwarditisin
thefircposition.andlockslheboh.Thc
safctycanalsobeplacedintothehalfway
position. and !his allows !he boll 10 be
opencdwhilethesafetyisstillengagedwith
the cocking piece.
11le trigger mechanism appears to bca

431

commercially manufactured unit. perhaps a
Ja,eger.ltisbuiltwithinaoalloyhousingand
oontainsascar,biggerspringsandocljusuneru
screws.ltisheldinpla,c,:initsrttCSSinthe
boltomofthereccin.-byacrwspinanda
tightcningscn:w.ThrccadjllStnlentSarepro-
vided.alllocatedinthefrontofthehousing.
andallan:horizon!al. Thc!wolowerones
withlocknutsan:fattoryadjus1cdformini-
mum tri~r travel {searengagemcnt and
O\'el"•tra\'d).whilclheupperonewithoutthe
locknut is the -..·eight-of-pull adjustmcn1
scrcw;1umingi1rounter-clockwisercduces
the weight of pull. The stock mus! be re-
movcd10gainacce$!1othesescrcws
Thcmagazineisofthesingle-<:olwnntype
withahingcdfloorplate.hismadeofshect
steclandinlencdimothebooomofthestock.
Twoguardscrews.onef°"'-an:landoneaftof
themagazine(throughthemagazineplateand
thrcaJcdintothercccivcr)holdthebarreland
actioninthestock.Thcfollowerisaflatpkce
ofsteelhingcdatitsfront10theshallow~
azinebox.Twoflatsprinp.onerivetcd10the
floorplateandtheother10thefollo-.."e1"liftthe
canridgesimothemagazine-..,:llinthenxeiv-
er.Thclriggcrguanlisofthelhinshotgw,typc
thrcadcdin101hemagazinepla1e.anda1the
rearsecurcd10thestockwithawoodscrcw.
ShatpemcntionsinTheRifleinAmerico
thatatone1imcSchul12&Larsertsingleshot
actions"'=availablefortbosewhowaotcd10
buiklabeochresttargetrifl<:.ldonolknowof
abettcractionforthispurposcandonlywish
that this action was S1ill a,-ailablc. Do yoo
mncmbcr the time when beochrest shooters
had thick sleeves lincdo,·crthereceivenof
theModel722Reming10nactiontomakei1
432
The M54J aeloon wl!h bolt and magaiina
opanad.Themagazlnecanonlyl>l!llo!tde<:1
lhroughltsbonom.
stiffandrigidenoughforabenchm.trifle?
Well.theSchul12&I.JlfsenSSactionisbuilt
likethattostartwilh,butinamuchbirnrner
package.Havingthelockinglug'lattherear.
alongwithathick-,.-alledrecen'el"wilhonlya
n.umwloadingport.makesforanidcaldcsign
foraWgetrifl<:action.
When the R.C. Fessler finn first started
importing the Schuliz& I.Jlfsen M68 sporting
rifle.theiradvertisingfolderstatedthatS&L
barreledactionswereavailableoospccialoKler
fromthefaclory.Whe!hi:rorno1sepamteS&L
actionsorbarrelcdactionswilleverbecorne
a,.iilableagainisopentoquestionandtothe
beslofmyknowledgeno1eventhespo,1ing
rifleisavailableintheUnitedStatestoday.
Aflerwriringthischapter,lnowaskmysclf
some questions: lsthe7x61 Sharpe&llan
canridgeasoccessfulonc?Wastheentirc
ventureofSharpe&Hanwiththiscanridge
andwiththeSchullZ&Larsensponingrifles
chambcrcdfori1asuccess?WastheS&L
spo,,ereveratccptedon equal terniswith
such American-made high-powefW sponers
astheMode170WinchestcrandRemingtoo's
Modc1721-700?Myanswertotheseques-
1ionshastobcMNo.""Asforthecanridge.had
Sharpcapracticalknowlcdgeofgunsmithing.
had he put his own ballis,ic and common
sense knowledge into use, and had henoc
insis1cdonprovingcverythingoverandover
againwithlengthytesisandcomcupwitha
$1raigh1-forwardcanridgesuch asooe Rem·
ingtonadoptcd.thestorymighrwellbcdiffer-
ent.AsfortheSchuhz&Larsenrifle.noone
madeamoreprecisioncraftedriflcthanthc
S&L finn. The design of the attion is as
soundasthatofanyotherac1ion1ha1lcan
name. Perhaps its downfall was because it
wasadifferen1actionthanAm,:ricaoriflemen
wereaccuslomedto.AlltheirlivesAmerican
riflemenhavebeenreadingandhearingthata
1umbohactionwithlockinglugsonthefron1
oftheboltistheonlydesignwonhwhilc,all
ofwhx:hisafallacy.TheAmericanbiggam,:
hunteralsolikedhisrifl<:tobcabitlighterin
weighithanS&Lmadetheirrifles.Lasl.the
earlypas.singofSharpefromthescenesurely
wasalosstotheentirevcnture,as-..>:llasa
-
greatloss1oallril1erncntheworldover.His
legacyisOO!inthecanridgethatbor,:his
namc,butinhismanywri1ingsandinhis1wo
massivcgunbooks
TheMS4JSchultz&Larsenrifleshown
hereismarlcedasfollows:Ontheleflsideof
thereceiveristheserialnumber.modeldesig-
nation,maker'snamcandaddressasfollows
1866 SCHULTZ & LARSEN M•S4J
OTTERUP DENMARK
Thecalibcr7x6 l S&llisstampedonthe
bam:lbreech.Excep1forthec~in1he
serial and model numbel'S.themodels60.65
and6SDLarerruukcdinaboulthesamcman-
TheM56AriflesmadeforWeathemyarc
rruukcdinthismaoner.Thcname WEATII-
ERBYisboldlystampedontheleflsidcofthe
rcccivcr.Theserialnumberandmodeldesig-
na1ionarealsostampedonthem:ei,·cr,the
serial numbcrontherifleshownbcingS149.
Belowthem:civerandcovercdbythestock
is:MA OE IN0£NMARK. Thecaliberdcs-
ignationiistampedonthebarrelbreechas:

-
WEATHERBY .378 MAGNUM
Onthtngh!Mdeoflhcbarrd,s~
MADE IN OF,.- .MA RK
"There ate many features l likcabootthc:
S<;hul~& Larsen sponing cenlfflln: rifle
dcscribedh=.Firsiandforemost,llilrctht
finc,;n_f\smansh,pthalwmtincolheserifles
This,n,:ludeslhcprcc,sefmisftin&andlin'"i
ofallthtmt1alpans.Thesurfac:uoflhcse
pansan:levclond.smoolh.mdarnxturu,.
1oolmllkcanhardlybefound.Therean:no
lmlTak,ffoommorcdgc:sandl~how
hard 111s101voidthem. The fi1ofwood10
nw:u,li1abovcrycloseand,Cl<cq,lforthc:
SIOClr of thc: MS4J. thc: SIOCks an: well
designed forthc:utmoMoomfort10lheshool-
.,._ The$10CkoftheM54Jiubnooihll,mh
llsunusualtaJ)Cfflk,utplSIOlgnpandsbarply
tapeted form<! wnh 1<:hnabel up. Its wont
faultilthtplactmcntofthtfioolsh!lj!:SWl\'CI
onthcforend,~ofontht~lahcadof
lheforend11p.Evenlhechoiceofs,.welson
thi1rnodf:li1uofortuna1e.beingfartooligh1
andrwrowfor1UCh1heavynfle.Ho,,'CVCJ.
alllhcS10C:kswm,,...,llrnade.sandedandfin-
ished.andthosclh:a1"-m:checlre.ed"-m:
""llcx«ultd
I like mmy lhanp abou1 the o•,enll des.p
and COIISIIUChonoflhe Schultz & Larsen
ac1ion.Mldc:•thi1ac:1ionis.w11ha,·cry
thick-walledn:cei,·erandalargediamcler
bolt,thereis•bsolu1elynothing"n,ngw1th
lherurplacementoflhekx:kingtugs.This
pla,;erner,tinnoway,...,akmslhcn:ceiver
nna, whtc:h SU1Wnsthegrea1 lmOWl1 ofsm,ss
&hould1heriflcevcrbefimdwilhafaul1ycar-
mdjie. l likclheanangemmtoflhefourc,-en-
ly-spaccdkx:kinalugsaroundthebol1.This
re,ulism1,-cryshonbolthandlel1l0\"Cll'lffl1
10opcn1cthc:bol!andprovides1largc
,moun1ofcbnncebetwemlhe bolt handle
andtht,c,:,pe.Thasisespeciallyaprncu,led
byaool<l-w~lherhunier"-eanngglovcsor
m1llffll.Someof<Ubesthigh-p:,,,'ffld1Um-
boltnllcslUCh•lhcRcminglooModd700
andlheR ..... M77ha,..,fartoolmlcclear-
ancebc1wtt111hebotthandlcandscopc
Thcrurplacemcn1oflhclockinglugsaho
pn,vKblhcshonrsiboltm""I.Thepm:ise
The trigger mechanls.m of the M56A lhow-
lng; (A) welllht ol puH adjusunenr acrew. (B)
ove,-tr&V9111d1ustmentsc,owand. (C) Har
tn;,,l)Gmenllldjustmentsc"'w.
f"oflhcboltmlhcn:ttivcroflhcS&.Lac!ion
makcsfor$ffl00fflopcnuonandm1111mum
,.-obble,.·hmlheboltisopm. Thisdoscand
smooth r,, aboprc,-·cnts possible bind,na.
Evmlhtfinc:in-"64Winchwcrcanbc
fiwhedonlmllO"l.lbcanciorandCJCCIDr
an:l(IOd.andso,slhtlriggrrmcchanism.
~bolt-stopsccms10beadoqualc.allhou&h
l"wldlikt10ha,...,ahea,'icr510ppinuscd.
Therean:somc,lhingsldono1likcab,;,w
theS&.Lnflc.ExccpcforthcModclS6A
SupcrMagnum,allthtoth,crrnod,:l,arctoo
hcavyandbullry.l1canoo1bedcnicd1ha1
1hcscnflcswouldbemoch!YIM'uopleasan1
mshoolwcrclhcymadconclOTWOpounds
hgh1cr.but1hea-cragcbiggamehuntcr
prefcrsalighterriflccvcnifitdocsreoo,I
morc.TheModc1S4Jthat llil't'd"-asplclsanl
10shoot.butnis100bullry10canywilhca11:
andlOOhcavylOcaryforhounonml.As
furtheMS6A,IILSflQOCIOOheavyfurlhca,.
inci,,,11rrrcs.
Asmm1iontdbeforc.andas1t,.,...beti:cn
mlhcdimmsionchart.thc:MS6Aac1,on,thal
,s,usn:ce"-a-andbolt,isnolargcrorhc:liv,.,-
thananyof1heothcn.lcanonlyconcludc
d.-1fdusactionissnongandsafemouglt10
handlclhe37flWcacherbyMagnum~,
lhcnlhcactionsofthc:OWl"S&.Lrnodf:lsarc
hc:l,,,erandmong,:rthanlhcynccdbe.
hisuucthatthe7x61 S&.HClllridg,,u
looadctlbyNormadc\..,k:,pedextmnelyh1gh
brttchprcssun,s.andlhusrcquimdanextra-
onl1rwilystrongandsafcaction,bu1nced 1t
1ta,·cbecnmadcashearyasi1,.-as?Linlcwas
done mkccp iuwcightdown. Thcac:uon
couldha,..,becnmadeshorter,shmmcrand
cutsmadcmlherccci,,,,.andbolt1011kc:ofT
ounca s.fcly. I belie>.., lhis acuon would
ha,·cbeerilfflmfflSClymorcpopularhadn
bffllsmallcr'"1dlighler.Certainlyanyact1on
lhllislargcandsuongmougJiiohancllcthc
37SWcacherbyMagnurncamidgeisJU51100
,mmmsc for canndgcs such as the 22-250.
24Jandlhclikc.Mldc:as•llfl&lcsi!O(W11h
nomapzu.,wcl1.dus1C0011,.-ouldbe1>JCrY
goodoncfurbuildingabcnchmt~rillc.
~facti1thatforafcwycarsshonlybefon:
and after 1960, s,pan,!eS&. L ac:tionl with
sohdbottomn.uivcrs.,,'CTCa,-ailablcforlhis
pul1)05C, and a better ready-made bcr><:hmr
action would be hard IO find. Hov.·c,·cr. I
wouldmuchprefrrcoha,..,hadarcgularM65
or M68 magazmc action !Clled dov.11 to 22-
2SOsittinstead.
Toco,-a-lhc,-crydc,cpsu,glccohamffll&-
az,nc: lhal Schultz & Lancn used forthcir
Modcb:S4JandS6A.alolofsrodt.,.c,od-
rlCC'dcd. Thiscausedlhesrodt:s10ha,..,1argc
bell,cslhatcouldno1behiddmbylhebestof
guns10ek dcs,gnm.. Later on, ,..hen S&L
sw,r,:hcd 10 the shallowerstaagcml column
mapzinc:,lhebulgingbellydisappcamtand
themnaindcrofthesiockwasshapc,Jmorc
orlessmthcS1yleprefcmdt,ymanyAmcri-
canriflcmcn.Evcnso.t'-SIOCksC(ln111inod
1lolofwoodto;(l)co,,,,.awt1Cac1ion.(2)
matchthclargcrewilpad~scd,(3)forma
lughMon1eCariooombandched:piece.and
for1handfuloffortnd.and(4)for•Wund-
hamm..-S'A,..,llandflan:dpistolgnp.Wllllil
allllnounledlO-ahcavytndrml,a-bullry
he-man"s$IOCX.AllmallitwasaSlOdt!hal
p,·c thc: shoolcr maximum oomfon from
,_,jJ,bul,.-hocaralaboutdusmlhchwiuna
fic:ld"·hcnapoundl,ghtcrSIOCkwouldtir,..,
llff',..,.Jll""llandmadctherifle!YIM'a:im-
fonabletocanyonaday'shunl?
lnaoothcrchaptcrldcscribetheGoldcn
Ea3lcnfle,andlmade1similars1a1erner,t•
Thenflcisonthcmassivesideformanyof
thecanridge$i1ischambcredfor. h JOhap-
pensthallheGoldcnEaglcriflci1morcor
......
lC$$,dosccopyoflheM68DLSchultt&
Tolhcbestofmylrnowledgc.noSchul~
&1-rillc:,ha,,..,bcen,mp:,ned11110lhc
U.S. smtt lhc mid-1980s, and perhapll c.."ffl
,...,11 befon:lhal. Theettnpanyoeasedopci.
Oonlfll'l':M.
433
T IIE SMITH & WESSON firm has long
bttnknovi11forlhcirt'lltensivehneofqual-
ityhandguns.lnl%8theytx-ganmmketing
■ qualityhigh-power,bolt-¥tionnlletx-ar­
;ng the famous S&W t~mark emblem. h
wasno1arilleoftheirowndesiJp1ormanu-
fac1urc,butwasm■deforthembythcflVA
Husq,·amatirminS,.·edcn.Jnf■ct.1tsac-
1ion was ■ spiniog1mageoftheone 1ha1
llusq,...,..,.,-asus1ngonthe1rnlles..bu1
With the H.V.A. IICIII in plKC of the S&W
emblem. This ICIIOO "defcritx-d in dcu.il
elsewhere in this book. Smith& Wesson
markctedthisrifleonlyfrom ■bout 1970to
197l.and1hcndroppcJi1forrcasonsun-
kno"111ome.
Abi1mon:backgroundh1stoeyi:sinordcr.
The llowafirminJapantx-gan producing
theirfirsthigh-po,.ffedtumbohsporting
nfle,n 1967.llw:nllc:wastheDickson-
HOllo-aGoldmBear.lt,snotco,·e.Ninllus
book,butthen:""1Sh1tlc1bou1th1sac1ion
lhal"-asoriginal.Muchofots«medtoha\'C
bttnwpieddi=tlyfromthcSakoFiMbear
action.iocludingthcintei)'al.uipeTC<l,dove-
u,i lKOJ"'basesonthertte:ivcr,bolt-1topand
tJector,bohguiderib,ctC.Anyway.itwas
morcSakothananythinaelsc. Thcn,amund
1970. Weatherby m ~ lht,r«onomy
rillc,thcV■nguard.manuf■cturcdbyll°"'L
Later on, ■bout 1979, Smith & Wesson
mtroducedtheirll°"'a-m■denfle,.-hich
they designated the Model 1500.Dcspite
"'hathasbeenprt"Viously,.·nttc-naboutthc
Howa-madcSm1th&Weuon1urnbol1.ithas
nodis1inctSakofca111rcsandi1quitew,like
theOoldenBear,but,·ery1imilartotheVan-
guard. As isswnpcdonlhe receiver.the
Model ISOO S&W action was "Made to
S&Wsp«t,."
,.,,..
Ttt,m,,.·ere1,...,modelsofthcMlSOO
S&W rifle.theSUIJ>diird ■ndlhe Deluxe,
1ndthercisnotmuchd1ffercncebct"·een
434
the l"'o. llw: SUIJ>diird model has I pl11n
Stodclin(dw1thonlyaplaslicbuttp~teand
quick-detachable sling swivel studs. hhas
no111isedwrnbord>eekpic« ■ndnopistol
grip cap. The Deluxe model has a stock
madeofbe11crquali1ywood,a111iscdcomb
andcheekpi«e,whitelinerecoilpad,whi1c
linepistolgnp,;ap, ■ndslingswh·ei..Both
S10c:barccheckeffiiwi1h ■ pancloneach
side or ihe pistol grip and flat-bonomtd
formd,andbo!hsponahigh-gloulin,sh.
Theonlyochcrnoticeablc:diffe,-ence15thal
thcStandardrni,delislinedwithopcnsight:s
while the Deluxe model has none. Both
riflesha,·c1hcreceiverdrilledand~pped
for scope mounts: l"-'O holes each in the
rcc,d\"crring ■ndbridgc.Bothriflesarcalso
drilled1nd~ppedontheleflsidefor1
m:ti\"trllghl.
ThcModdlSOO,.,,..madctnb.arpopullr
calibers: 243. 270, 30-06and 7mm Magnum.
Thcnfles1rclinedwilh1lighr..-.,;g11tspnn•
erbarrc-124Nlonghaving1muzzlcdiamctcr
of.60(r.Tht:hingedfloorplatcmaga,:ine
has a capacity of five round~ for lhe slan-
dardcaliber and four forthe 7mm Magnurn.
Allthemculpartsarepolished ■ndblutd.
uceptthcbol1 ■ndthefollo""rwhicharc
brighl.
Them:avcrisofone-pi«eeonstructoon.
probably111111naasanin,·ntmm1cu11na
■ndthenmachined ■ndlinishedto1Ulinal
statc. llhasa flat bottom and ■ heavy mte-
gnil m:oil lua under the receiver ring.his
no11oounlikctheprc-·64Model70Win-
chcsterreccl\'Cl'Withplentyofmetallc:ft1n
therigh1railforrigidity.Thcrcc,ci'"crc-nds
1tthcrcarw11h1rathcrlonabnd&e ■nd1
shon,rounded11n&-llolc,iarcprovidcd 1n
thcm:m·er(orKOpemountbasesand1
recei,·crsi&IM-RJ.inall,ofthcstandard6x48
KrtWsi,;c, ■ndarclillc:dwithplugsc:rcws
Thcfattofthcbarrelisrcc,essedforthchead
ofthcboll ■nd,t,slhreadedti&htlyintothe
ra:ci,'Cl'.Therei:s1gas,·cntholcinthclc:ft
11deofthcrtte:i\"erpositioned1tthccdgeof
thebarrclfa«
Thebo1Lappean1obeofooc-piececon-
1truc:tionwithdualopposcd locking lugsa1
iuforwardmd.Bothlugsarcsolidandarc
scibackfromthcfac:eofthcbohtopmml
thcpanofthcbohfor-..-.rdofthcmtolitthc
reeessprovidedm!Mbarrclfac:e.llw:car-
tridgc head i1complctelysum:,undedby1
ringofsicel.Aa,oo~mthcngh1locking
lugandamalchingarocwe ■ndtongllCalong
thereceivcrrailscr--esasabohguideand
an1i-bindfea1Ure,notunlikcthcan1i-bind
feature that Savage uses in !heir Model
llOC.Thcbolthandleisatthceextrcmercar
ofthcbohwhttethen:isaringofsteelto
supportit. ■ndtoprov,de1wtdesurflccof
metalforthccockingcam.Thisringpanly
blocboffthcendofthc left locking lug
lllCCVl-,,y.llw:boltslec\letlofsmaJldiamerff
andsizcandithasnoshieldsorflangem
deflectpo ..·dergascs.
Canridge:S and canridiC cases are l'll1JllCI•
tdbyapivotinghookutractorlitttdin1
recessinthcbolthcad.Uishcldinplaccbya
aosspinandtc-nslonedbyasmallcoilspring.
Thctj«lorisoftheplungcrtypefincdinto
thcbol1facc=-.
Evenlyspacedllongthcbodyofthcbolt
arc three \"tnllldim:1td ,n10 themapzjne,
cnoughvc-nung1011kctarcofanygasc-s
that might enter the bolt from a pien:ed
primcr.Thcrootofthebohhandlcservesas
lhcthirdorsafetylockinglugbyengaging
intoanotchinthercc,eivcr.hisohdequa1e
lengthforeasygrasptngandhasalowpn>-
lilc to clear tM rycp1«eofthe lovi·est
mounted,icope.Mc...,arcpro,·idedinthc
(Above) Smilh & Weuon'1 Model 15000.-
luxebolt-action rille

l°'k1nglugre«sscs1ocam1hcbohforward
onthek1•,1fflngofthebolthandk,andinitia!
e:ictl'IClioncammingl'JO"'ffOfll'll!lln&lheboh
lmv.llclOlffllO\--Calig:hl-.
Thcfinngmechan,sm11$Ullple.lt~
oflh-.:~Slrikcr(finnalpm).oockinghead
(oockin& am). cocking head pin, IIWRIJll'1f'i
andbohlltt\-.:.Asingkllll!onthefor,,,1lrd
endoflhebohsk,e•,e,cn&aJinaina,ircular
reccuinsidethcboh.holds1hcbohslee,·c
IIOOthcrC$1oflherntthanisminthcbohand
allowsittotuminthebolt. A cam on the
oock,nghead.engagJn&•nthcoockmgcam
notch on thcboh, cocbthcacuonon the
..,.-,.ofdw:bohhandlc.Thcboltslce>-.:is
1101cappcdorcloscda11tsrnrasarcmost
modem lugt,-p:,,..~ tumboll nfles. bul few
O!hernflahavcthc,·cn11naprovisiomlhat
thcMl500~
RC5C1Tlblingthcbolt-SIOpofthcModol70
Winchcslcr,thcMl500bolt-siopislocalOOon
thclcftrnroflhcm:civcrw,1hi15f°"''llll
endJllO:icctingimothclcftlock1111lugrxc-
·••ay10hahthebohtn,'d"1ltnlhclugoon-
!KU 11. 11 is mourm:d on a pin, spring
~ ,.;th a small 5':mltcd thumbpt«e
.,.,.........,..
proJKt,ngc,,,-erthcedgt:ofth,:$1CJCk.l1isa
Thctngg,erguard,rnagazmcbm,saone-
pi«cunitmadeofaluminum alloyfinished
-..1th1eo1tofhlacl,;epoxy.Guardtcrewsat
eachend~dircadcdinlOlhel'ttt'l>ff,and1n
th,sronvenuonal w:aythellarRI ..,,i.,;tion
unitishddinthescock..Thcmagaz,nefloor.
platcismadoof51celanditishingcda1thc
fmo11othetnJIIICl'guarduni1.AlatchnKlWll•
cd in the frumoflhe uiggerguard bow allows
thcfloorplate1obcopencdandlockcdclo,scd.
lllcm1gamicfollowcrisastainlcssSl«I
swnp,ngand ispr<1,·idcdupwvdlffl<!;ionl0
f~camidflam10thcactionb)'1W-shapcd
folio..i:rsprtrll,.Thtttan,oocanndg,:guidc
ridgaonsidclhemapzmeboxlOpm-"ffllcar•
lr,dge$frnm.slidingl0rwanlfromlhercwilof
therille.
Thel<IJ~bles1nglc--srageuiggerm,xha•
nismi,builllllt0analwninumalloyhou$1ng
andtheassemblyisa1tachcd10lhcundcnide
ofthen:ot1,i:rby1scn:w.Thosafctyisa'lm•
bincdw11hit.Them1inpansinsidclhehous--
tn&an,lhetearand1helrigger.bodipiVOICd
onp1nsandbol.hpro,.1dcd"11hsmallco,l
sprinp.Jkl11ndthcuigg,crand1hrndcd
throu&hthernr"-allofthchousma.isthc
1nren&,1gcmentldjustmentscrewandus
locknut. Tum,ng this screw clockw,sc
rcduccsthclnl!!lcrtru·dandscarcnjlll&e-
ment. A ~imilar !len:W and l<xknu1 in front of
thc1T1&11eris1hc"·c1ght--of•pulladJuS1ment
0<:rcw, Ind 1um,ng it coun~lockw1sc
fWuccs the "·c,ght ofpuU. Bodi of these
adj111Unen1San,pn.,pcrlymadca1thefxtory
a1 .. optuna1saf<'lc>,'d,andthcu"hcadsco,.
em1 ..11h1plasticmalerial10~mm-
pering.llowc-,-cr.10makcanyadj111Unentlhe
barrclcda.chonmustbcremo,·cdfromthe
Slock. Tlw:~isnoadjustmcnlprovidcdfor
II
TheMossbergModell500.
A.ulho!'sModel1500o.lu>:•rilklfitledwilh•
WeaverK611COP9inRed!ieldSr.mounl$.
1n&11erm·cr.1ra,·cl,unonc:isnttdcdsintt
llusismon::orless1buih,,nfcarurc.
Tlw:safctyisrnountroonlhcnghtsidcof
lhemggerhous.injilndp,Vl.ll$onapin.ltitl
pro-,idcd,.'ilhasizlblclffllledlhwnt,p.ett
whichprojccuo,·erthccdgeoflheSlock,
Movinglhesafcty101hcrcarlockslhclrigser:
pushingitforwardallowslherille10bcfin:d
hisno1rn1i~lyooisclcssand1tdoesno1l<xk
thcbolt.Canridgcscanbcfedinandootof
,..._._...._
thechamberwithlhcsafctymgagcd.
Firstmakcsm,thcchamberandthcmap•
zmcan,cmp1y.Rcmo--.~lheboltb)'openinc
1t,thcnprnsdownthcboll·SIOpOOthclcll
1Klcofthcn:ot1vcrand"11hdr11wlhebolt.
Todisasscmbk-thcboll,f,nnlygraspthc
boltbodyinonehand.lhcboltsk-e,'<'inthc
other,1umtheboltslccvcclockwiscwitilit
snapsowandwilhdrawthefiringpinassem--
bly. To reassemble, ,men the filing pin
asscmblyin10thcboltw1ththccock:ingcam
baronthcstrikcrhead.nnriyoppositcthc
shallowfull<Od:no1eh,andthcn~lhc
bolt~-eagain$ttheboltandtum1l«uller•
dotkvi- unfil the coctina slrilu:r head,_
mthcfulJ.<:ocknoleh
Todisassemblcthefinnap1nassembly,l
ha,·,: 1hi~ advice. A cross p,n through the
cockinghcadfas1cn1itl0thcfiringpin-
rcmo.-ing this pin is dlftkult 11occ )'Oil will
necd10ngupaJ1g10hoklthccod<inghead
panlyOUloflhebolt--'<'tnordcrlOmno','<'
andrq,lact,lhrspm.So.unles&thcfinngpn
or m1ill.$p0ing has IO be ~laced, don't
a!ICmpllOdisasscmbkthcscparts.Jfitisnec-
cssaryton:movcthcuuac1orandcjecror,
merclydri,'<'ootthciri.mallrt1aincrpins.
435

Rc:aamiblein=...seorder.
TorcmovetheilOCk,opmlhernapzinc
lloorplatcfi.allyandthcntumoulthemirmd
_
froo1guud1ercv,'Smtha1onler.Th1sdonc,
thebarrcledKtlQffandthemagarineassem•
bly~C4$1lyhftoofromthesiock.Rc.wcm-
bkint'l:vcneonler
Thcllig&crguard/magazineaMcmblycan
,, .
bedisassemblcdbydrivingoutthepinsthat
holdlhtfloorplalcandlatchinplxc,~i<fina
thefolk:Ni'ffoffofitJ!iplinaandthespringoff"
TOl'ffl'IO>'Cthetriggnassanbly,!Umout
lhcl'hillipl-lle.lscn:wfromlxncathrt;bul.
id$youaresblled1ndus"ulyoulhould
nollllCmpllOdisasxmbklhctrigg,ermecha-
rusm.Ard,unlcssyouhavethospccia]IODls
IJld the know-how, you should OOI uy to
mno-.l:thebarrelfromthera,ei,-e,-
TheM 1500action,open.
436
Actmns
-
ThcSm,lh& WessonDcluxenncthatl
purchas.cd ismarkcdasfollows:Stampedm
boldlcru:nontheleftsidcoftherecei,-cris;
SMITH & WESSON
Bclowi1inmuchsmallcrlctte1$is
SPRINGFIELD. MASS. MADE IN
JAPAN TO
S&WSPECS.
Thcmodtldcsignation. Model! SOO.,s
sumpcdonthekflsiokoflhel'm:'l,-crnng
andthelellllnumberpm,oded"'lthlhclcl-
1m t>Nontherighlsidc.
ThccalibcrdesignationisJlampCdonthc:
leftsidcofthebamlbR,c,:h..
ThcSnmh&Wessontratkrnal1c,lhclcu,:rs
--
SandWmtntwined.•lsoawc-sonlhc
rcwilpadllldinlheccmcrofthe111pcap.ln
duslasl1nslaneetheleuCB-silvcroo1bluc,
llikclhisrifleandSmith&Wessoocanbc
proudtohavethcirnamconitltmakcsno
difforcncetomethat this rifle was made in
Japan.althoughl"'OU!dmuchratherrcadon
it.MADE IN U.£11.
Thm: is nolhing unll.$111.1 or ou™300,na
lboultlusrilk. Thm:isprobablyoofcalun,
lhat11patcntablc:,e-.-cryfcatutthasbccnuscd
onsomeO!bei"rifleat-t~oranodlcr
Thm:isnothing-abootthe~•-eror
mapnnc. forlhe most pan. !he boh ilold
S1uff;dualror,,.-.rdlockingl11gs,cxtn1C1or,
tjeclorandall.Nole-."Utlhebollgw<kfcann
1snew,1lthoughitiuon"""1latd,ffcrtn1from
lhal found on any Olhcr modem rifle. The
rcccssedbr«chfac:cilloldsruff.Thcre,sal90
no1hing much difTercnl about the 1ri&Jlff
mechanism.
l likfthesafety,nymuch.hcanbcmovro
w11hlhenumbcstoftl!IJlffllandtlw:tOUI
,no,.•emcntissuchthatyoucanfeelandseeit
move unemngly. Thal this rifle 1w no bolt
lock may bolhcr50fflC hunun who Yl'anl 10
carylherillemdedUSUl(llheShng. l®IIOI
rrundlhlllhebohslen,:isop:,,ailhenw,for
,nlhemanylhousandsofsb()Glha,..,fiffl:ltn
ocher rifles wilh simitaropct1-fflded bolt
~ 1ha,,:)"Cl10cxpcricnccp,;,¥1tlor p$0$
eso::apmgatthatpoinl..
T1w theMl500hasa Longi:r51rikcr1n1>"l:I
than most modem tumboh rifles docs not
bother me either. In fact. I like ii.and the
soundthestrikermakcsasitfallsas.wresmc
thatignitionwi!lbcpooitiV('.Theendofthe
eockingheadisal\3turaleockingindicator,
andthereisnonccdtoconlri,-ethisfcat=in
someotherway.Overall,theactioniswell
madeandfinished.hissoundindesignand
oonslnlction.andsmoothinoperation
lngeneral!hillsrockilleverybilasgoodas
manystocksonmorecxpensiveriflcs.his
somewhatle,ssbulkythanmanyofthemandl
likethis.Jwouldlikeitbcnerifthecombwas
abit!hinnertoremoveallsignsofancmpling L&ltsloeoltheModel1500aciion.Notethe
bolt-stop(errow)
to flute it. Theundersideofthebut! ..ceds
!hiMingalso,andthethcckpioceooghttobc
unden;utmore.Thestockonmyrifleissand·
edverysmoOlh,l>utnolVffY\e,-elandthis =ntiallythesameactionsasdescribeJear- weight huming rifle weighing arowid 7
dclractsfromitso,·erallap~arance.lnsidc pounds,8ounces.hwasmadcin243-aliber
thestocktherecoilsboulderisepoxybedded The M\500 Mountainccrwasabudgct- onthcshonactionandin270and30-06on
andthisisgood. Theforendchannclisinlet- priccdrifledesignedforthehunterwhowants thelonsaciion.The2rbarrelishammer-
te<;lsoth.:nonlyabout.7Woftheforendtip tousetheriflewilhasco~.ltisfumished forged and the stock is made of American
contaclSthebam:ltoexertsomeupwardtm- withoo1sightsandthcstockismadeofawal- walnut.Thestockhasnoraisedcombor
sionagainstthebam:lhwouldrequireie,ss nut-Mained hardwood given a dull finish. cheekpioce,bu1i1docsha,-earobberbu1tpoo.
thantwoboxcsofammunitioototesithisrifle Thereisnoraisedcomborchcckpicce,l>ut pistolgripcap.i;,.:hnabelforend,cutchccker-
todetcnninewhetber!hisbcddingmcthod.or thcreiscu1chederingandslingswivelsruds ing,glossyfinishands!ingswivcls.
afull-lloate<;lbarrel.givesthebesl:accuracy. ltwasmadeinfivepopularcalibers:223and TheacrionoftheMl700differsfromthe
andifthefull-floa1edharrelshowslhebest 243ontheshonaction,andin270.30-06and other S&W Ml500 rifles in tha1 i! has a
rcsulis.ilisancasymaucrtosandootthecon- 7mm Magnwn on the long action. The bam:I detachable.doublc-oolwnnmagazineoffive-
tac!areainthe1ip. is 24~1ong for the 7mm Magnwn and zr for shotcapacity. Wi!hthciniroductionofthese
thcothercalibers.Theactionsha,·eahinged two new mod,els. Smith & Wesson follow~
TWIAMIIIIII,.._ floorplatemagazineandthebarrclsarerifled thetrendtowardlighterandshorterbarreled
Two late oomer.i in the Smith & Wesson bythchammer-forgingproccss.WeightTUOS rif\es.withlC5swoodinthestock
line were the Model ISOOMountaincerand from7pounds,6ounccsto7pounds.10 In 1984Smith&Wessongoioutofthe
the Model 1700LS Classic Hunter. Both rifle l>usinessand!hc M1500and M1700
models were made by Howa in Japan on TheMl700ClassicHun1erillalsoaligt11- were discontinued

The M1SOO 1fillger and &a!ety mechanism. Arrows

po;nttolheadjustmeotscrews:lheonentromi$lhe
weight-ol-pull adjus1menl---tuming ~ coonrer-dockwi$1:1
reduceslheweighto!puU.Therearscrewoootrolslhe
amount of &aar angagem9n1---turnlng ~ clockwisa
reduces lheangagemen\and trigger travel. Bo1h o1
theseadjl1$1mentscrewsarep,oper1ysatbylhefacto-
ry,andtoroorrnalendsaleusabytheaveregeshool·
erneilheroneshouldbetamperedwith.

437
 : I I

""""""M1600
ShortlyaftcrSmith&Wessonccasedthe
imponationoftheirModel ISOOriflc,O.F.
MossbergbecametheU.S.001lclforthatrifle.
According to the scant information I have.
thiswasinaboutl986anditlastedforonlya
shorttimebcfo~thisfinn,100,droppcdit.
Tu:MossbergMl500shownherebearsthe
serialnumbcrofM-00928!andthemarkings
asfollows
Ontheleftsideofthereceivcrintwolines:
MOSSBERG
NORTH HAVEN, CT. TheM1500boUheadshowing:(A)rightlockinglvg.(B)gssvent
hole,(C)bollguiclegroove.(D)e)C!raclor.and(E) ejector
Onleftsideofreceivcrri':i:
Onthcleftsidcoftheb:lm,lbrtt<:hthecal- The last1hrecdigi1Softhe serial number
MODEL1500
ibcrisstampcd. arealsomari<cdundcrthebohhandle
Ontherightsideofreceivcrringisthcscr- Thefollowingisstampedontopofthcbar- lnallrespectSthea,ctionisiden1kal10the
ialnumbcr. relinoneline: S&WMl500.Short!yafterMossbcrgdrop,
Onrigh!sideofb:lm,lbretthintwolines: pedthisriftetheWeathcrbypoopletooko,·er
WARNING: BEFORE USE, REAO
MADEBYHOWA OWNER'S GUIDE FOR SAFE OPERA·
andcallcdi1theVanguanl
IN JAPAN TION5--FREE FROM P.O. BOX 497,

--
NORTH HAVEN, CT. 06473

Smith & Wesson M1500 ,,,.

=----
..Tumboltrepeat&roperatedl;,fbolthande
Rec:et- . .. On&-pieoa~COflS1ructionwi1hln~-reooillug.Driledardtapped

~ . _:::!:
R-ivetrlngdlameter . . 1343""

Sb1ker lnMII _445•

438
II

439
T 11EREAREA lolofrifkmm in Australia.
Game 1111d ,'IIT!lints have always br:en plenli•
fulllOOriflcman•hwumahoundb«auseof
this.Thcn:arcimmcnscop,:nsp,;w;cslOshoot.
Ausnlia haueveral mi litary and commercial
riflerangsllOOthcyarcbcingusedbyrarget
lhoolm. There arc arms andammwiition
manufactl.lffflscattercdaroundthisisland
oonlineNIO~lhcDCC<!sforalltherifle
shoocinathatitbciflidoncthcre.Thn'ei1a
nlllion,Jrifle-,eiation~manyrifleand
~duhl.nw,yhandloadersand11otof
lmllCU'andprofessionalgunsmilhs.
In ... ~ many 303 Brimh ta.l:afield
milillryrillcsha,l:bemmadcthm:,ondalot
ofArnericalrillemenarefamiliarwiththellO
Manini-Cldctrifle.whicll,althougbmadcin
England,,;ameherefiomAusualia.A=xding
tothebook.f,iskk Austra/JabythelateJohn
Gwither,AUIU1Jiansarcavidrcadm. l have
foundthi110bepanicularlytrueamonggun
ownmandllllCfS,11gunboobsi:llv.l=U~
All$1rllia'spnncipalhigh,,powa-edriflelm
ICJn&bmlthe30lta.Enfieldltv.-.slortnat
amili11ry1nn,bllltheAusu-alianscarlyon
ldopledilforsponingpurposes.bodlhlmnal
ondtq,:1shooling.M1nyofthcmililaryriflos
---c:onvtnedb'thelellleS811'1dd,eylef\-'ed
thcw°'"nmweU.TheEnfieldprobablylitr''ld
thehuntcrbcnerlhanthe11rgctshooter,
bccaalil,a1tq,:1rifle--romauerhowmuch
it-modifiedordiangcd------itkftaloliobe
desired. ThcnllongcameNATOandtheir
adoptionofthe1.62mmNAT0 carnidgc. It
wuclcar10al!l10Slevcryooc tha1 lheold30J
Brili$hcartridgc:wasona f1S1downhill skid.
British.CanadianandAUIU1Jiantarge1shool·
ersquicklyadoptcdthe7.62rnmcarnid&e,
goingsofar11iocon,fflmanyNo.4l.ce-
Enfiddrifles10handlc it. ForlhclCJn&rm11F,
skrw,-flK,prone~lion,theshoolfflin
AUIUIJ11wantedl0ffltlhingbeaer,aodthcy
.,citinlhelllel960swb(n0martAUSUllia
Lld.introcb:edanall-oewtarge1riflev.11ich
d,eyc:allcdlheSponcof.iodd44.lt'11boh•
440
aotionsin;lc$hcllrifle~madcror11r-
aet shooling. and i1 is chambered for the
7.62mmNAT0(308Win::h::;ler)canridge.
l firstrcadaboulthcSponoo M44ri!\cinthc
&plt,n~, 1910,issiieof 'flteA,neri,:xu, Ri!le-
"""'·TheSOOl'larticlebyweU•known Brilish
au1horandrargetlhoolerE.G.B. Reynolds,
di:tcribcslherifleinconsideniblc:detail.llow·
t"'Cl',theriflehedc,critaisabitditT=nt
&orntheON:shov.nhere,-tiidl,.<a1pll'dmed
newinCanadainl97J.Reynolds'nflet'\i.
clcntlywasancartyvcnion.whilelhc-
~hereitthe,qubrprocb:tionmodd.
The Sporll;O M44 rifle Vo'II mam,t'a,;ture,d
byOrna,t,;;Ausualia,Lld.,Clo,.-ellyPk.,South
AUIU1Jia. ltwasoncel\'ailabklOU.S.lhooc·
m through major Canadian arms de.aim
throul!,hootthcprovinccs. ltisnolonger
niadc.Thcrcan:oihervariaUOOliofthisrifle
lhantheoocE.G.B. Reynoldsdcscribcd.and
theonc l amaboutlOdcscribc,but~ I
...
hllveonlyeverRenonclwilldescribeon!y
lhatON:.
,.,
Thc~changiveslhegencral
tpecific:alionsoftheSponcoM44rille. ltita
IQ.p.u,d.boll-aclion.single!holrille~
primarilyb'lhebigbore.longrangc.....,.fR
lalJl"lftXllel'.Fittedv,ilhlhe1:,u:cllcntPner-
Halcmicromctcrrcarsightandglobefront
sight.ondncq,cforlhe~therifleisfflllly
forthcrang,:.Thcstockiswellproponioned
forlhcpronepositioowithastraight.highand
falrlydiick comb,v.dl !OOlldedfuUpistolgrip,
anda forcndlongandfullenough 1osatisfy
ll>Ollshoolers.Thcstock isfoltedwith1,ofl
ooqx,sitionbuatplateand ...idifflOUl!lipilch,o
lhebunwon'tr.:ndlOiJipdownv.hlleshool·
in&, Thei-eareW.threadedSllminthebonom
lronlofthcfo,aoi,othallhefiontsJma.swivel
canbcpomionedany,,.~frontlJ1/{IIOIT
.i-.loflhetria,:r.Themrswivdit~
tolhefi'ontguardsm:w. ThetoJloflhemir
p111oflhebamitoovertdby1woodhaid-
guanl.ThellOCtislaminattdinthroelayers.
smooth and well sanded, and is made of
Sll'aia)ll-grainedwroi(probablytcak)
Thebam,l iswhatmightbctermedabcavy
sponcrweigh1, with a muzzle diameter of
about.68S#.Thebn=hscctionisL2SO"in
diamelcrv.iicnitjoinsthem:ei,...... andfrom
thenitisgracefullyeontouredandtapercdlO
lhemuzzle.Thebam,lis26YqThefront
sia;hlmountsonaOO\uailcdblocklhalC!ICII'·
dcsthemualeandispinncd101t. Thcmir
$ightisanacbcdtolhereceiverbndaebytwo
tmWl"ilich=ampleinsizclOdolhejob.
TheblrTclisC()fflJllcu,lyfloucdins1dt:the
fOl'ffldandhandguanl. Themc1alparts-.
quite,,..,,llfinishodandblued
Thereceiverappea,stobeasinglepieceof
thick•wallcd steel tubing. The front end is
thn:adcdtorcceivethel>a=l.therearend
1Jopedoff10funnatang,andanarrowop,:n•
ffllisrnilled0111inirsrighlccnterforlheload-
inaport.Theheavyrecoiltugisdnadtd10lhe
~lllldisheldbctwemlhe~andthe
ruciver. The ruci,'CI', as well as lhl: m:e,..,..
~joint.isvayrigidandprovidtsavay
aoodllffOl'lforthctr-floatcdbam:I.The
-.,uorin1i.mas:,,:mblyis,c,;:u,dyheldtn
lheSIOCkbythefiontandiurguanl9CfCWI.
Theiars;n:wgocslhroughtherarcndofthc
triaae,i'JWonddTeadsinlolhcm:11:ivertang,
and the front screw goes throu~ an
CICUIChcoointheSIOCkandinlOtherccoillug.
Th:: boltbodyis a hollowtube.withlhevay
lowprofilcdbolthandleanachedcoitsrearml
Thcbolthandleisnotunlikctheonc:onthc
Modcl700Remingl0n;ilisquite!hort.Therool
ofthebolthandlc,cn."CS11the~kdin&
lugbyengaginginlOadeqlnoldlcucirllothe
ra:,c; ..... Theboll.hcalis1~p111a(the
 Sportco Mod j j ',.

boltandisdttachableandinten:hangcable,ia
ancasilyrcmovablepinforheadspaceadjUSl-
men.Thispinisheldinplacebythcfiringpin.
whichpassesthroughit.Thebolthc:adhasttree
solidlockinglugsSJIOOf<leveclyan:,unditsmJfll
cndandthcselugsengageinma1ehinglocking
re,:,:,:ssesinlhebrtechoflhebarrcl.Thus,the
boltislockcd101hcbandrathorlhanlhcmJCiv-
cr.Lockin&andwtlockingtheboltrequireslhat
itonlyben;,uucdina60-degre,:arc.Thebol1
headisfullyr=sed forlhecartridgehead.
Localcdbetwecntwoofthclockinglugsoothc
boltheadisthcsimplespring.icnsionedpiVl'lled
hooke:<rnw::tor.lnsidethcbohfacerttCSSisthc
sin1)le c_jcaa, a spring...aiVllled plunp. The
boltisvcnled,withthcholeopcnin(,;tothcright
intheforwartlpanoflheloodingp::,rt

441
 Toefiringmcchanisminthebohisalsosinr
ple.Theboltsleevethrcadsintotherearofthe
bohbody.Therearendoftheone-pi,cefirm&
pinslipsthroughtheboltslee-.'CandlOitsendis
finedtherockingpiece.heldinpia<."ebyapin.
The roil mainspring i s ~ over !he fir-
ing pin betwccn the bolt sle:evc and a oollar on
thefrontofthepin-llYerysirnilarlOthe
M700Rerningtonfiringmochanism.TheM44
rockingpiecebasaslolinitsendintowhil:ha
ooincanbcslippcdtofacilitateeasyrernovalof
thefiringmcchanismfromtheboll
Toebolt--stq:,isa~berpivaedonapin
inaslotcutinlotherearleftoftherecci-wall.
ltisspringtfflSOledandhasa!lefraledthun,I:>.
piea:,olhali1canbcdcprcsscdl0disicngagei,s
fiootendfromthebolrinorderiomnovcand
n,pla,.>:theboh.lisfronlendpn;easintoanar-
rowgroovew:lmglh""iseintheboltbody.andil
notonlySIO!)Sthebohtra,-elwhmtheendoflhe
gn:meanaccslheendoftheboltsq,.butalso
servesasabohguidetopre\"enttheboltfrom
roratingwhm~isbeingopcnedandcloscd.A
sirnpleanangernem.butquit,:good.
Thetriggerrnochanisrnisbuil1in10asteel
housingfinedinaslolinthebouomrearof
therecch-er.andheldinplacebytwocMS
pins.Thismcchanisrnisno1unlikctheoncin
theRerningtonModcl700.cxcept!harthe
safctymcchanismisquitedifferent
Thetriggcrmcchanismiscomposcdofthe
sca,Je,,-er.wtUChpartlypn;.a.inlolhecod:-
ingpicceraccwayintherttcivcr.andwhich
contactstherockingpicce10holdi1bock
Dircctlybclowthesearleveristheaigger.and
whentheactionisrocli:edthetriggerh:')ldsthe
scarup10kcq,therockingpieceback.Tha'Cis
asi:ru,gforlhesearleverandtheuigger.andan
adjustrnentscrewbehindlhetriggerspringto
adjusrthew..,;gtuofpullrequiredton:lea.scthe
triggcr.Tho'Cisalsoascrew10adjUS1andlimit
theuigger.,..-er-travcl.andanod>erlOadjUSlthe
arnotmtofsearengagcrnenr.Noneofthese
adjllSlrnentscn,,,,-sare~blefromlheOlll
442
~--------------
sideoftheassi:mblcdrifle;thestockbastobc
remo•,edlOmakcanyadj'-'SllnentS.
Thesafctymcchanisrnronsis,sofarotary
discfinedrotherightsideofthcretti.,.crtang
byascrew.arotarycnmboltthrooghthe~-
tomofthetriggerhousing,andaspringten-
sioncdarm10connr:ctthesetwoparts.When
thcsafe1yisrollcdback.therotarybol1blocks
thetriggcrsothatitcannotbcpulledback
lbereiuserewthrooghlhisbolt toallowfor
fineadjustmen1agains1thctriggertolimit
trigger movement When the safety is
engagcditblocksonlythetrigger.[lbesarne
!ilfetysystemwasusedinal\modelsofthe
-
Kimberrifles.)Thetriggerisgroovedandthe
triggerplateandguardbowareheavysheet
metalstampings.
lha,..,no11alke,;lwithanyoncwhohasused
theM44Sponooforcompemi,..,targetshool-
ing.solcan"rconveythciropinionsand
thoughtsonit.butfromwhatlhavcscmon
jUSloncM44.romcirappearstobca,"Cryser-
viceablemrnforthissport.andlsecnorwoo
whyi1shouldn"tbehighlyaccurate.Almost
e\-erythingabou1theriflesecmstohavcbeefi
welllhoughtout.welldesigncdandwcUmade
I am sun: 1hatanyonc who is anexperienocd
andskilledtargetshooo:rcoukldoawrycred-
it,blejobwithiconthcrange.l!basalolgoing
foriL!1isjus1abowi&:alincveryrespect:
wcight.length.sizie.ctc. ltbasnolanOlll"ICeof
swplus"..,;ghlorbulkiness.Thesaockisample
inpropcwtion.sforacomforublepn:,neposition.
The"""sighriscomcdypositiooedandthen:
ismoul,lhspacingbctweC'1thesigt,tsforpreci-
Siooaiming. The uiggeriscxcdlmr. The
actioniscasytooperate.worbsmoothly,and
loadingisasnap-justlayacartridgc:inthe
receiverandcloselhcbolt.Locktimcis,-ery
fastandignitionpositi,..,,llikethcM44"srigjc:I
n:ceivcrandbarre-ljoint.andlhcfloatcdbarre-1
llikethelockinganangernent,asw"llasthe
n,placeableboltheadidca.
Thneisonelhing,howcver, tharJ dono1
likeaboutthisrifle.andlhatisthesafety.ln
thcfirstplace.atargetrifledoesnolneeda
saf~openboltisthebcstsafetyandlhe
onlyoncthatshould.,,,..,,-beusedonthetarget
range.Regardle$s.lhcsafetyonthcpanicular
M441haddidnolworkunlesslhcuiggeris
adj11S1ed withalotofscarengagernmt. I
oouldsecnowayiloouldworkandbesafe.lt

Leflside<Jlhe M44 action.~lorilssa/«y,
lhelrigoermec:hanismisrrochlikelheflem.
s,gk)n Model 700 lngoe,. It is !ldj,Jslable for
weioj,t<Jll'A,sear~snd01o'81-travel.
"'ooldhavcbeenbetterhadthcdcsignerspu1
therotarysafctybolt1111derthesi:arle\'erto
blocki1,ratherthanuyingtoblockthelrigger.
lkncryC1"-@ldbcasaferylharlockcdd>e
slriker,andbclcerstill,onawge1rifle,isto
ha,·enosafctyarall
TheSponooM44ii;a''plain Jane"gun,
madepurposclysoinordertokcq,thepricc,
down.l1hasallthenttdcdCSSC111ialsfortop
accuracyandreliahleperformance.Excep1for
thesafcty,ithasnofiillsorusclessaoooutre-
mcntsthalwoulddonolhingfortheriflecxctp(
addtoitsoost.lnshon.itisapureandbasictar-
I I t• l l , I ' '
betterthanitis,andhavco,~e>dthcfac1
thatitcouldbcimprovcd.Thisoouldbcdonc:,
butonlyatapnc,!.Anyway,somclimeinthe
latel970s,theM44wasdiscontinuedand
rcpla«dbyanimproyedvcnioonamedthe
Angel Model 80. This new lafgetriflehas
cssem:iallylhesarncactionastheM44but"'ilh
adiffermtbamlandstock.Theseparatereooil
lugwaselirnina1,:,dandtwocm,;;sbohslhmugh
the stock now ~ as the =ii lugs-the
re,;eiverevidcntlygroovedrofitoverlhem
Theactionisnowsccurcdinlhestockby~
scmvsinsceadoftwo.Schultz&Laraenbar-
re!switha 1:14.riflingtwistwereuscdand
therearonofinermalcl\bamlsthan~.The
mainchangeinlhestockistheadditionofa
sioprailinlcttcdintothefomid.lhavenol
geirifleanditlooksverygoodtome.hwas scenlhisncwrifleandthereforecannoibc=
awa,,;led lhe "Good Design Label" by 1he ofallitsimprovements,but ! wastoldbya
DesigllCooncilofAUStralia shooterwhohasuscdonelhatittookover
lhavcprobablymadetheSJ)Ofl(QM44lool:: wherethe$portc<)M441eftoff.
~M44-----
C8liber. . . . . . 7.62JTwl\NAT0(308WIIIChester)
= ~ --- :r;x.10bs,wilhsigllsandswivels.
Rifling. . 4 grooves.right.oand1:12'"twis1.\Alsomade n 1:1 4'twis1for
~andNewZealandmilita,yMYl'lllllition)
Groow,dlameter. 308'
Overalllength 45•
Sights . Pall<er-Halemlcrometefapenurerear, globefmnt
Stock ~:1"~~:i,;;;,himdguard, 13.5' length <J ~
~·. ·
~ -
~nhlon
.., ..,,
Ejector ..
443
ARouND 1864. IN the city ofSicyr. Aus-
lria. an anns factory wasestablished 10 make
militaryfirearms.hwasnotlongaflerward
tha1theybranchcdou1andbcgan10make
sponingarmsaswell.lnaneariierchapter,l
imroducedtwomenwhosoenameshavelong
been synonymous withoneofthesponing
rifleslhisfummadc,asleektumboltrq:,eat-
ingriflchavingarolal)'rnagazjne,shonbar-
rclandaslimforendwhiche,nendedtothe
muzzle-namely, the Mannlichcr-Schoe-
nauer. This firm, now grcatly expanded and
diversified. is still making rifles under the
name of Stcyr Daimler Poch. When the
Mannlicher-Schoenaucrriflcwasdiscontin-
uedinthela1el%0s.i1wasrcplaced"ithooc
of more modem design, the now-familiar
S(cyr-Mannlicher.ThcSLmodc!describcdin
lhischapterisbutoneofs-everalmodelsof
S!eyr-Mannlicherriflesbeingmade.
FerdinandvonMannlicherandOnoSchocn-
auer"-erefireanndesignen:Mann!icherbe-
camefamousforthemanymilitaryrillcactions
he designed, but it was the fOlal)' maga,:ine
lhatSch:ienauerisbeslknoY.11for.ThcMann-
licher-Schoenauerriflewasbasedonanac-
tiondesignofMannlicher's.bwthernagazjne
ini1wasSchoenauer"s.Astimcwentbyand
theMannlicher-Schocnauerriflebecamepop-
ular,itwasbecauscofit,;i;honbarrel.full-
length slim forend,and, in time.Iha! ilyle
bocamekn,wmastheMannlicherforcnd.l1is
that way today-men1ion "Mannlicher" to the
averageriflmumandhcwillnodoublcon-
nec, that name wilh a full.stocked, shon-bar-
reled hun1ing carbine. It is not known who
desigi,edtheoriginalMannlicher-Schoenauer
sponingscock,butitprobablywasnotMann-
licher. Anyway, what I am leading up IO is
thattheS1eyr-Mann!ichcrrifleshou!dhave
becnnamed1hcSteyr-Schoenaucrins1cad.
There is nothing '"Mannlidier'" about 1his
nfle,but1hemagazinebelongs10Schocnauer
Bethatasi1may,Mannlicherisagoodname
totackontoanyrifleandSteyr'sprescnlline
ofrumbol1sponingriflesisafineline10bear
lh.atnamc.
ThcStcyr-MannlicherSLwasintrodoo:din
theU.S.inl967.andatthattime"-..simponed
byStoegerArmsContpany.Forthepastfow
yearslhe:scrifkshavebeenimponedanddis-
tributcdbyGSl,lnc.ofTrussville,Alahama.
Thtlencn ..SL'"standforSupcrLighl.anda
superlightrifleitis.ltwasde:signedandmadc
especial!yforthe222familyofcanridgesand
Stcyrdidafinejobofit.Almo61e,-oyshooter
whosecsandhandlesthisrifleforthefirsttime
"i\lmtfflfavorablyaboolitslooks.lightnes.s
andfrelltisthatkindofrifle
""""'"
The S1cyr-Mannlicher Model SL rifle
avcragesabo\116.SpoooJsinwcightandis
42.5# in overall length. It is fitted with a
standard-weigh!, sporter contoured barrel
23.6#1ong,wi1habreechdiameterofl.l80"
andamuzzlediametcrof.~.lnl994it
wasas·ailableincalibcrs222.222Magnum
or223(5.6x45mm).Thecmircrifleissized
for1hesccar1ridges.Thereareopensights
moun1edonthebarrel.abladefron1mouz,1ed
on a hooded ramp, and a U-n01ched rear
dovetailedintoabase.
The barrel isrifledbylhehammer-forging
method.aprocessusedbyanumberofrifle
manufacrun:n.Whentheriflinghasbeen
proper!yf0l11100byothermanufactum'5-the
barrel isn,moved from the machine tobc
crowncd.thmided,chambercd.finishground
ontheout,;ideandli!tedtotheaction. But
S1eyromits'?""ofthesc opcratiom----they
alone kave the out,;ideofthc barrel as it
comesoutoftheriflingmachinc---wilhallthe
hammer marks showing. And, believe it or
oot.itisastriking.orratheraneye-catching
finishwithrowuponrowofoVD!hammer
marksswirlingaroundthebanel.ltisabeau-
tifulfiniih
S1eyruseslinewalnut10maketheS10Cks
fortheirsportingriflesandthepicceof--"00<!
onmySLrifleisnoexreption. ltisdensc
(Abov&) Th& Modftl SL S111yr-Mannlichtlr
ha~·$10ci< sporting rill&. As $!>own this rifle
Wflighaonly6.SpouOO!laf\dth(lmodallet·
lflrsSLstandlorSl,p&t"Ll(lht.ln&nyon&ot
Fl$1hrflf!ealib&ra,nam&ly!h(l222,222Mag-
num, or 223, 5.6,SO Mag. ~ makfl!I an &x081-
len1 lightweight varminl rlft&.

444
andhard,wnha"'l")'figurethroughmost
of,t.Mypholographsdonocdoitjustil:c.h
was m•chmc inleued wi!h precision for I
doscfitbc:twcenmctalandwood.Theshap-
ingwasprobablydonebymachincalso.and
all the final finishmgdoncbyhand. As l
h.a,-e&JOWlloldcrlhavealsogrownfusrsicr
aboutlhe-51ocl<sonmyriflcs.and.JUSIU1
likclhebamlonmySLrille.labolikclhe
SIOCk"Cf)'m,..,;h.lflhadshapedandfin-
~ thd SIOCk mywlflbm "-oo.ld be only
ommmorchangcthatl"-ouldh:l,·cmade.
andth:ltwouldbe,nthcfom'ld.AsSteyr
shapcdn.lhefomiddcm:asesin"Mdth,·e<y
IIOlltClblyjUS11nfmntofthe1Ct1011.befott,1
begins101aper10"'8J'dthctip.lwouldnot
ha,·cmadcthc1idedip,intoit.t,111"'0Uld
h:1•-ellllW.k:itasin.igl111aperfromthewidcst
panover1heac1iontothetip.Regardlcss.
Stcyrd1da,.·onderfuljobofi1.Thesurface
oftheS1ocki1sandcddeadlcvel1ndve<y
smooth.Theovalgripcap.whichappearsto
be made of horn. is J)Cffec1ly fit!W and ,u
edcesarcC>"CllWithlhewood.Thesami,,s
1n1eforlhcrubbcrbullj)ad.Andlbmislhe
oilfuushthatl..Jnurc.andtheperfcctjobof
checkmn&-lcspccwlylikctheshapeof!M
piSlolgripandthecheekpiece.
Thcrean,thrttvariationsortypesoflhe
Stcyr-Ma11nli<;her$L.TheyamtheSLh.alf-
SlOl:kSp01tcrW1thopensightsona23.6#bar-
n:l.lhecffllincmodelwithopensightson•
20"baml and a full lcngthscock.and the
vmmin1modelw,th,-annint-styk5t<Xk_,,.j1
25.6#1a")'t.rel"itmulsiglnThe,-amunt
modelischamben:doolyinthe222caliber.
""hilelheocher1WOaremadom222.222Maa-
lllffl.and223calibtts.Allllreeha,'t'idallt<;al
ICIK111S.~are.se-,-cnlolhcrmodelsof
Sq,--Mannlich:rntlesooloog,eractiollSlhlll
lheModelSLandmalarge,-anetyofAmrr-
ictnandfon:lgflalihersfromthe22-2SOIO
lhe458Win.Magnum.ExttpforSUll:.alllhe
Stcyr-Mannlicherrillesha,·eesscnualtythe
samc:ai.:1iooandadcscrip1iooofoocshould
sufficefortheodiers
r,,a.-
Thc receiver is machin.ed from a single
p;.ccofS1Cel.ltisroundootopwith111ldius
of.590".Thcsidc$oflhem:cl\·eran:fllu-
i,:ralmaluna11s,.">dthl.l80".Attlw:bortom
11 IS mostly roundedcxoeptat the mapZine
"-ellopenmgandatthcrear""hm:lhen:coil
lug1sloca1ed.Thislugisratherma$.11vc"1th
allatrearsurfaccapprmimatcly.575#x.750",
which11morethanadequatc1oprcvcn11he
~landactioofrommovingrurwardin1hc
Sl<)f;kuponfirulJlthcriflc.
Thcreisabo.,adr:<pmeflalllfflloothcbol-
10mofthclw;andreccr.'t'ratthisponl0~
vodcasolidbonorningoflhem:civcr,nthc
-,,;k.Wollthdnessoftlw:reoei-.ttlllhelOp
ID.ainbM.lW.Fcu,r;;:opc,_....,._..
lri:s.-cP""-.dodw11hrnc1nCtmadl.
Thet.relhas11btbmdtcndand1t1S
ltmtdcdliglW)y ... thcn:ccn..-.Bolhlhema,-
-=-=wclllnithccjecuo,lpMIRlla'IOWft
small.buc~IOallowthecanndgcslO
i.-lm1JWlthem. Thcmagaz,ncwcllispo»
tiooedslightly101hclefloflheccntcrlincoftlw:
,a:ci,-e,-andlhccjcctioopew1opcnsl01hcri~
'"'Thebohpropcrisofl"-'O-p1ecccon11ruc-
tion.theboltbodyandthebolthandlcslccve.
-
Olthisshonslcevcarcthct!IRICIO\\'SOflock-
'"ilup.lWOlugsooeachC\"Cllly~ruw.
Theselugsmgi,acinmau:hingm:csaeslllSlde
lhc,-panoftlw:recci>-er.Boltliflisashon
Ofr.lherlllmSUillshapc.thcbolthandlc11
nc1therflat.spoon.buttcr-«llifed.,or,;urvcd,
nor1oomblnationofanyoflhem. lt-.ns 10
havcsuned()Ulasasua,ght.roundandshghr:-
lytapeffllhandle_,,.jtfw:nlheOUICrputofit.
exoep1thcend.grouodflat.lwouklnocwa111
1h1Jbolthandlcooallofmy1umboltrilln,
butoothislighlwcightitisnocara11bad. ln
fact.lra1hcrlikeit.
Theone-p,ec,,firingpin(strikcr)hisashon
thrcadedicctiooandlhn:adcdoniti11hedou-
bk-hca<ledoodn11a;cam.Theooilmainsprina
1Sp0'1tl00Cdbelvi-eenlheoockin&camand1
collaronlhefinngpin,andsmallsct•tcn:w
thn:adicd1nlhelowcrpanoflheooduna;cam
invents the finngpin fmmrumu,&- Au.
SN{>edfortpos,oonedootlw:,-cndoflhe
finnap,nandovertheoockma;camcun-
prc,f$CI the mainspring when !he bolt II
445

Aclioowilhtrlggerguardramovedto1eveallheexCflllen1double-
set1rlggermechanism.Thearrowbetweenthetrlggersondicates
the pull-Wflight ad!justment screw. Arrow in !root of the trigger
mechanismshowstheloca!ionolthebolt-stop.Arr<:FNattherea,
pointstolherecoillug
as.sembled. Dual opposed cocking cam noich-
eson the n:arofthcbolt handleslceveengage
the cam SU!faces Oil the rocking cam, which
sli~inaslotcUl imotherearoflheboll
body.fa'C'1)1hingisheld1ogelhcrbytheboh
sleeve,whichengagesinacirculargrooveat
therearofthebohbodyioplacethcfiringpin
uncler1ension"'hc:nitiscockedb)ltheup1um
ofthebolthandle.Anextensionontherearof
thefiringpin.e,ocndingthroughtherearof
theboltsleeve.scrvesasacockingiooicator
Thebol!slecveisav,:rycomplexpi=of
machinewuri<. ltincludesaprojectionthat
oontainsaspring-backedplungc,-3Jldwhich..
whcntheOOltiscloKd,fillsthebolthandle
slolinthereceiver.Also,whcnthcbolthandlc
israiseditholdsthebolthandleinthatposi-
tionuntiltheboltisclosedandlocked.ll>e
bohslee,·cno1oolycloscslherearoftheool~
butalsoclosestherearendofthen-.:eivcr
whcntheaciiooisclosed.Onlythcbolthan-
dlc slee,·e rotates when 1he boll handle is
raisedandlowered,theboltbodydocsOOI
rotatcwithi1.
Thcfaccoftheboltbodyisreccssedforthc
cartridgellcad.andontheedgeofitisfilt<.'d
thcspring4>a.ckedcjeaorplw,gcr.Thcextrac-
torii;aslenderpieceofspringstceldovctailed
lcnglhwisc into the side of the bolt. This
ex1Jaetoris,-e,ysimi!ar101heones~inlhe
ltalianCan;anoandM OOcl 192222,calibcr
U.S.Springfield.
Thctriggcrmtthanismisbuihintoalight-
weightal!oymetalhousing.hfosinarccess
machincdimolhebottomoflhereceiverand
isheldinplaceb)'twopins. Thcen1iredou-
ble-se1 mechanism has a weight of pull
adjus1abledowntoafcw~.Touscit,
1herearorcockinglriggerispulledbackuntil
itiscocked;touchingthcfromtriggerrelca.s-
446
Actmns
es the cocked rear trigger which, in !Um,
releascsthesearandstriker.Or,theriflecan
befiredbymcrelypulling11!¢fron1triggcr
whichliasanormalweightofpullofaboot
threetofourpounds.Thisir.dicatestha1tl!¢
triggcrmechanismisanintrica1cone,with
severalsprings,pinsandothcrpans.The
sma\lse1-screwposi1ioncdbe1weenth¢h••o
triggersii;toadjusttheweightofpullforthc
seilriggcrooly.
Besidesthctriggcrmtthanism.thclriggcr
housingalsooomainstheboh.siopmecha-
nismThebolt-stopissimilarlOthcscarand
thebonornofthcboltbodyisgn.,o,fflforit
lnadditiontohallingthcboltinitsrearward
1n1vc!,thcbolt-stopalsopreventsthcbolt
bodyfromroia1ing.Toremo,·ctheboltfrom
thcrecein,r,thcfromtriggerii;pulledback
abomasfarasitwillgoandthcbohpulled
oo<.
Thcsafe1yispositioncdonthcrightsideof
lhertteiverwherc,ifitisslidtothercar,it
locksthcsearandthcbolt.Jfi1ispushcdfor-
ward,lheriflecanbef\redandtheboltopcr-
a!ed.Thereisapronoonceddickwhenitis
engaged.but ifsnearlysilemwhendisen-
gaged.ltappcarstobewellbuiltlhroughout
"ithplm1yofsrnatedandhollowedsurface
roslidcitbackwardandforward.
The trigger suan.l and maga,Jne holder isa
single pic«ofmouldcdbl:icknylooorplas-
tic.Guard 11crew,;lhroughholesateachcnd.
and1ltreadcdintothcm:ei,-er.anchorthebar-
n:ledactioninthcs1ock.Thetriggcrguard
mouldin8 is a complica1cJ affair with an
opcnin8in it10accep1therotarymagazine.
Thcmagazineisalsoaprecisionmouldingor
ablackmatcria!.tnsideitisasprin8-tensioncd
rotaryspool.Thcrearendofthcmagazjneii;
clcarplasticand1heheadsofthecanrid8es
insidecanbes«nthroughil.Atthcbonomof
themagazinearetwospring-backedla!ches
tha1cngageinslolsinthcmagazincholderto
holdthemagazincinplaceand10allowforits
quickandcasyn:moval.Ahhoughldislike
plasticornylonpartsooanygun.lheseparu
seemsomehowtobelong
Thcrttciverandbohslce,.·earehighlypol-
-
ishcJandbl..cd.N<>'blucJ.buthighlypol•
ishedarethcboltbodyandthettigg=.Thc
~~!,8tguardand the magazinean:adull
MySLSteyr·Mannlicherrifleisrnari<edas
follow~: On the left sideor1he rece;ver is
stamped;
STEYA • MANNLICHEA • SL
STEYA, SECAUCUS, NJ
Thccaliberisstampcdonlheleftsideof
lheban'd.Theserialnumberisontheright
sideoflhcrtteiverring,widcrlhebarreland
tbelasttwonumbersareoolhebollornofthc
bolt handle. MA DE L'il AUSTRIA is stamped
ontherigh1sideoflherecei,'CI'
Makesurctherifleisunloadcdbyopening
thcboltandn:mo,·ingthcmagazinc.
Torcmo,-.,thebolt,pushthcsafetyfor-
ward10disengagcit,raisethcbohhandlcand
pullthcbohrcarward.thenpul11hefro111ttig-
gerbackasfarasitwillgoandremovethe
bolt.
Todisasscrnblclheboltproceedasfollows·
Graspthebol1bodyfinnlyinonehandand
with the1ltumbnail of!hat hand or with a
Rearendolboltshowing:(A)lwOoflheW:k:x:kinglvgsonbolthandlesleeva,(B}boltaleev'EI ThaStayr-Mannliche r SLboltheadshowing
lockplunga<,(C)cod(ingpiece,(D)onaoflheOUllloockiogCilmnotchas,(E)boltslae~.and (A)ona-piacea~tractor,and(B)ajac1or.
(F)cockioglndicalor.

piea:ofwood,ful!ydeprtsstheplungcrinthc thebanelandac1ionintothestockagain.tirst magazine catches. Previously. it ~uinxl two

rootofthcbolthandle.Withtheotherhand place the small trigger plate in place on the hands1oremovcthemagazinewiththcmaga-

-
rotatethcboltsleevecounterclockwise 180 lriggermc:chanismandthelriggerguardinthe 7,inecatchlocatcdinlron10fthctriggcrguard
dcgreesoruntili1snapsfreeofthebolt.With stock.andthencarefullyreinscrtthcbarreland bow. H°""Cver.onmygun.withtwincatchcs
lhcboltslcc,·cremovcd.thcfiringmochanisrn ac1ioninioplaceandruminthcguardscrews. builtintothcbottomof1hcmasazinc.i1is
andthebolthandleslcevccanbercmovcJ quicklyandeasilyremovedandreplacedwith
fromthebol1.Uis001advisablc10remo,;cthc onchand.
mainspring.botifthisisnccessa,y.firs1care- AfterreadingtheNRADopeBagrepxton lwouldlikctosceafunhcrchangemade.
fullymeasun:thcdistancefromthcrearofthe theStcyr-MannlichcrSLrineinthcMan:h. onethatwouldsirengthenlhesto,.;k.Tiw:
cockingcamtothetipofthcfiringpin.solhat 1968i~of111eAmerictl11Riflema11,lnotcd stockwoodO\'Cl'theacriooisquitethinwith
on reassembly you can retumlhecocking thatsomechangesha,-cbecnmadeinthcrinc theresultthattheForcnJisnotvnyrigid.lf
camtothesamcpositionandthusnotalterthc sincethcn.Foroncthing.thesightshaw=becn myadvicc"-crcfollo""Cdthcrcwouldbea
firingpintipprotrusiortloosentheset·$CJeW impro,·cJandnowtherearebolh windagc small block al\achcJ totheundersidcofthe
inthccockingcamandunscrewthcfiringpin andclevationadjusunc,,t:sthatcanbeeasily bam:1,withr..,:,screwsabout3#aheadofthe
fromthecam.Reasscmblctheremainderof made.ll>ewhitelinespacm.ha,·cbecnomi1- rcceivcrand1hreaded1oaco:cp1aforend
theboltinrt:\-m;eorder.Thisisbestdoncby Tedandthcsux:kfincdwithaz,cxccllen1solid screw.lllcblockwouldbecloselybeddl:d
havingthefiringpinandcockingcamful!y n.ibberbottpad Tbcsafe1yhasoolytwoposi- intothcforer.dtoservcasapressurc?Jimand
for-.,mlinthccockingcamr.otches.Tbcn. 1ions,ratherthanthreeasinchcfirstrincs asarccoillug.andthcchannelahcadofil
withthcftootofthcbohonthebenchlClflor H°"-cver, the gremest imprO\-cmcnt is in the wooldbemadefreeofcontac1"iththebanel.
theboltbodyheldfirmlyinapa,;kle<jvise,
plattthebohsleevecwertherearendofthe
firingpinwithit:sextensionoppositcthcroot
ofthebohhandlc,atap:Jintwherethebol1
slcc,·ccanbcfullypushedfor-.'3rd!ocom-
pr-essthcmainspring.androtateitclockwise
un1ilthcforwardcxtensionisabout90de-
grcesfromthcbolthandlc.U1ingatool$0Ch
asascn:wdri,'Cl',drawbackthecockingcam
whileatthesamerimerotatingthebolt slccve
untilitcngage:,1withthcbolthandlell>efir-
~~=~:,.:d1hcboltcanhe
Toremovcthebanelandactionasscmbly
fromthestock,tumoutthcn:arguardscrew
andthenthcfromguards.:rewandcarefully
liftthebanelandac1ionfromthestock.Tbc
lriggtrguardandthelriggerp!atecanthcnbc
removedfromthcs1ock.Nevcrremovcthe
lrigg,:rmeehanismordisasscmblcitunlcss
youareskilledinlhisworlo:. To reassemble

447
(Righl)TheSLcltookpi&ceontheSLstod<.
Noteilscleanlines

! "'uuld IIQI mind at all ifmy SL rifle

weighed8orl0ouncesmore,iflhatwcighr
wasinahighlypolishedsteeltriggerguard
madebytheim-estrncntcaSlingproccss.Still.
ldollOlmindtoomuchtbatthcguardand
maga,:ine arc made of a black plastic,
becausc,tomostshoocers.,itsligh1neSSproba-
blygivestheriflcmoreclassthan"""1ldthc
heavierpolishedsteelguard
Althoughlbelievclha1almostall'-1S<.nof
thcSteyr-Mannli<.:herriflcwillwamaseope
onit,themanufacturerne,·enhelessinstallsa
setoffineopensights.Thepansofbolhfron1
andrearsightsarcs1eelandbo!hareattached
wi1h capscrewsto1hebam:I. A shoo1erwi1h
goodeyesightshouldbeable1oaimvery Thefromsightisahoodedbladcn10Wl1cd gnp.Thiswould.lbelicve.improvclhelooks
ac.:uratelywi1h1hesesights inarampb<.lsc. Thebladcisadjusiableforele- abit
Therearsigh1isaU-noo:hedbladeOO\-e- v:ition;lumingthescrewattherearofthe lsoldmyModelSLbalf-sux:ktoafricnd
1ailcdin1oabasc. Thisbladcisanglcdfor- bladedockwiscwillraiscthcgroup.ooun1er- anditisoneof1hefcwriflcsdcscribedin1his
ward. Thefa«ofthebladeisdullblackto dockwiscwillloweri1.Torernovcthcentire bookwhichwas1es1edfor11CC1113Cy.lnthis
climina1elightreflections.Windageadjus1- sight.fostdrivcoutthepin.thatholds1he ri0e,which,.-ascbambereJfor1he223.aod
rnentiseasilymadebylooseningtheSCfe""on bladeinplace.removctheblade,and1hen usingFederalammunition.practicallye,·ery
10poftbebasc.movingthesigh1toonesideor unscrew the cap nul underneath and the shotoftwoboxesofammunilioostayedwcll
theO!her.and1hcnrighteningtheSCfe""tolock lhreadcdstudfrom1hebam:I. withinal-inchcirdeatlOOyards. Thcsight-
thebladeinpla«.'Theentiresightcanbe As mentioned earlier. I would like the ingwasdonewi1ha4xBushnellsoope.lfa
n:mc,-.1:dbyfirsiremovinglheb!adeandlhen forendmadeinasiraigh11apcrinsteadof betterandbigherpoweredscopcbadbttn
tumingoffthccapnutundcmeathandruming beingdishedoheadoftherecei,-er.lwould used.andifthefiringbadbttndoneona
outthethmdcdsrudfrom1hebam:1.Toadjust alsol ikelheactionandthetriggerguard benchrestinsteadofoveralog.manyoflhe

thesightforawindagt,crror.m,:welheblade
inthedirectionyouwantthcgrouptomovc.
-- --
placedfi-om '/,·to l/1"fartherforwardinlhc fivc-sholgroups,.uuldhaveprinted.SOO"or
sroct:orthatmu,chfartherabeadofthepistol
•=·
~ ~ :.~rei;:.reonstruclion,lntegralrecoillugdriledandtappedlof

·· ·· ···T~oonstructioo,recessedl>ollhead,non-rotalngl>oll~.lix
o,:,irfTNSOO~hano:lesedion,ocd<sonop(WW,golbolL

448
 Steyr Mannl1cher Model SL Hille

--
, ..,.
2
3
Fn:in1Sqll:Rll"l'
Frtn~Blade
. "°""
87 ScopeMol.rl!Base

I
4 FIOf'lls.j'l:BllldeSping
S Fflll'IISqll:Pin
& F=Sqll:111111:t.Spmg
7 FrmSig,t~Washer

Is'-~
I FlfflSiglt~Nl.c
I RellrSil,'IIS-
10 Rellr~S.-
11 Rellr~_St:;iw«

76 AearT
n ~
78 F01911dT,p
79 F01911d~~
BO F01911d1"~Nul
., ,,.,,,_

---
~Guard 81 ~S.......Sl.lCI

i:::li:"" =15 Fn:in1$oopeMoln8ue

~~
T!WlfRel;,n,Spmg 116 RellrSoopeMoln8ue

449
RANGER ARMS INC. tntrodu,;,:d., ex-
,;mtiniJy fmc cmierfiM wmboh nflo: ICIIOl'I
inl967.ltsdcsign,coosuuc:11onand1•10ft-
manship wascxccllem.Raftaeroffcredsev-
cralactions,long.shon,asinglesholand.
righ1-orleft-handvmions.AII wcrcavail-
ahle sq,arately too. and Rangtt1lso fur-
nishcd ham,kd actiom in many popular
ealil:,cn.plusaimpleleCUSIOOl-buillnflesm
=""--
Len .... wlmd.ese•ffl:(lhi:RaJl&erArms
Co.isoolongeracti\l:).l)ThcTexasMagrun
";,slhclongaction.aboin9"ovaal.l"illnl
n:,ooillug.ltsmapzincwill-=!llcanridgc:s
of30-06Jen&thorslightlylonjic'r,andi1"""
madcforthcseandSOOflbcltcdmagnumcar-
trid&es·Thcmagarincwasnotlon{len.,ugjifor
the300or37SH&HMagnumwtridgcs.2)
The Mr.-erickaction.aboil 8J7S~long. "'115
madelorcatridgesofl0-06hcadsil:eancloo
longerdwitibola2.350". Thlswouldn:h.u,
the308,the&rmaid284,ele. ThcM11,l:1'1Ck
lingleshot.,.ilhoutmagwncormagazine
well. wa, made for 30-06 head-$lZed car-
----
lrid&e. in additioll lO lhc 222
family. Any of
thesc:"llSavailableforright•orleft.J-.andopcr-
•m
Tcus Magnum (TM) ICIKINI an: of 1l1-
~=
S1ttl a.,nsuucrion. Thc and bolt are
mad11nedfiomsolidroundbarsofSAE4340
Slttlanalloyofchmmc.nickelanclmolyb,-
drnumllttls. Soch~asthe lngger.sear
andcockingpieccan:st~lin,·estrnen1cas1-
ings.Themagazineboxandtrillllerhousing
wal11an:formcdfromshcclmetal.
Theooe-piecem:eiveri1 round.Tl,c
recciverringi$aboutl.SSO"'lona,1tsfront
endlhreadcdforlhcbam-lshanlt.Thcbam=I
shankisl.OO"indiamcterandabout.919(1'
long.Thcdnads""'righlhandanclofstan-
d&rd 60-deg= V-rype. l4 lhil:ads per inch.
Thcsq,arate~llug.clampcdbctween
ll:<:l:l'"erandbam-l.isbigmouat,10pr,,,·cn1
set-~kofthe~landK1iollintheS1ock
from recoil Anarrownotchattheboctomof
450
1hcrctti,-ernwchcs1~onthem:oil
lug.Thasal1plhi:lug"11htherett1verlnd
kttp,S~fiomnimmgwhcnlhebarrelisl\imed
inmthem:e"-er.
Thcrcccivcrisprttisdyoorcdandreamcd
forthcbol!.Thunslonedbridgc,about
-
l.220" long. is llaton top. T"'Oholc-sarc
tappediniotherecch·erringandbridgefor
scope mounts. Thc,~awerends1111rowcbl
Thclql:dolmelcr(.I.W')boltlugsdonot
projcct.andforlh,srcasonooluglllCC"-.ys
ha,-.,1obccut1n10lhcrccei,"C1".Alla~
qucncc.the"'Blloppo51tclheloadi11j1ponosa
solid,~wallofstedabool.225.duckand
nearly l~high.Canridgeguidclipsaremillcd
inthesidcsoflhcn~"l:llopening.Thc
rnagazme ...'Bllorllilbelowtherecciveropen-
ingis1husld\quilcc1Pn-001:unlikelhalinlhe
Rffllin&ion721acoon.bialhcoppos,tc1Dl.,d
"'BllinllieThtlctionmakcsupforit.
Thcfi-Dnloflhcbohbodyisrumcddown,
leavinathfec1obdlockinglugs10m~
bchindshouldeninsidothereceivernng.
Thesel11jpareaboul.08S•lhick.. theboltom
onewiderlhantheelhertwo.Theapproach-
ingoomc:rsofthelugsandshouldorsare
slightlyangk,d,hcnathebol!iscammcdfor-
wardashol'td,Slanee"-hcnthehandleillow-
cred.Becau!coflhc1npleloding•lu&dcsia,t.
........
bolll'OUIIOIIIOopmanddosi:i1only60-
Thcbol16iaisdccpl)-=ascdforthec:.r-
tridgehead.Thclfll1ng-plmger-typeC}tdOr1S
heklinplaa1nlheboltll,a,byasmall,;nm
pin lhrough the bolt The hooked c~tractor
oocupicsagroovccutimotheou1sidcofthe
bolthead,heklinplaa~.andph'Oringon.
anotherpinlhroughthebol1head.Thce.,:tno-
torisp,,W,-emlbyaunallcoilsp,in&.Tl,c
otractorhoollandedg,c-oflhcboltfaceare
...-e11t,e,,-.,led,olhcbohcancasilybcclos6i
onachambcimcanndfle.
Thcbolth.lndk-,lhl'Cadedintolhcrcarof
thebohbody,1tlockcdinplaabytwotm11ll
Allen-headset-screws. Thcbol1 handlcMcm
iscurvedhackanddoWll,endinginapear•
shapedball.lts'l:r)'lowpiofilewilldearthe
io..=-mounml~.
Thc,-erystitTooil=inspringisco,n.
pn:ssedhetwemashouldcr0r11hcfiomofthe
one-picccliringpinandthcbolthandle.Thc
rearendofthelirin&pinprojectsthroughthc
bol1handlc:thecocki1111picaislhrcadcdonto
•~Firingpintipprom,si()nisadjUSb:dio.O!W,
thcnk:d«lby1smgkAllcn-hoadsct-scm-·.
lmltdinthccocl<ingpicc>:andOl'IIOthcfiring
JIUI. The cocking p,ecc has lhffl: cocking
cams,thc:st"cngaginglhlttnotdlcsinthcl'C3I'
ofthebohhandle.Onrais,ngthebolthandlc.
lheactioniscockcd.thecockingcams11101-ing
lnlOlheVCT)'shallownotchC'Sandpm'fflling
theboltshroodandcockingpfflfromtum-
ing"'hcnthcboltisopencd. Themulti_,,,
anangemenielirninatei101qUC.makinglteasy
IOopenlhebolt.Thcnc:aclyshapcdSleclboll
headshmud~(lnl(ltherearoflhcbolt
lmdleandmtirdyOO\'ffllhccoclangpiett.
Thcrecciverwigisnolthcdforthebolt
llandle."-·hichformsthcsafc:tylug.lnitial
exin,;:ti,or,carnmingpo"'erilsuppliedonmis-
ingthebohhandle,"hcnthcbascofthehan-
dlemo,·esoveraninclincdsurfaceonthcrear
ofthebridge
Tens Magnum actioos ha,·e I good gas
,·cnungsystcm. Then:an: tw0holes in the
recciverring(onc0r1each51do)and~
holesinlhccxposedsodtofthcboltbody.l
i1on·1 .... howanypsescouklc,cap:thmugh
theholcinthebohhaodlc.biaiflh,soccu,K,j,
theboltshroud"wldpr01Calhcshootcr.
Thctrigg,:randooll... siopmedianismisbuih
mioascparatcSlttl housing.which is in tum
anxhcdmthcmi!l«lsu,eltriggergu:mlby
two pins. Thccurvcdandgroo\'Ntriggeris
p!aced"l:llhlckinthelriai:rguardbow.Thc
10poflhetriggerengage:stheecar.lhelaner
pivOlledinlhenpoflhchouw,g.Thctrigger
andseararelenSIOncdbysmallcoilsprinao-
"''hcnlhcattlonilcloKd.lheiear."t,;chis
--------
(Above)TheTexuMagnvmrlllebuittb','IIMl
Ranger Arms Company
 Te•as Magnum Rifle

Te~HM&gllUfflbollheaclshowing:(.-,)bolt• Tiu• Maonum boll-stopl'lrigge,lsa!ety 9h&mbly, thOwing: (A) Ct0$5-b()lt 5afety, (B) ..1,1y
1topg,oo,;t,(8)ejoctor,(C)triplelocklng adj,.,.tmtnt te<tw and locknut, (C) bolHtopplunger, (D) sear, (E) bolt-slop release. Tot long
IUQl,(D)emae,o,. ,,row(lth)pointstothftkx:alionotthtlrlgoerwelght-of-pulladjustmenlsc,ew;thtlthc>rl
,nowpointftolhasear-enoagementadjuttmtnttcrtw.

heldupbylhcaigg,cr,holdslhero,;king~ ims.esthroughashonplatc.10,.ilichlhe 101forl:cdle\'cr(i!Ndcthelriggerhousma)

t-:k.Onpill... lhclliggerlhc!llearismca,c,d milled M«l flooq)larc is pin-hinged. This ,.ilK'hhasanllffllthalpru:ie,;tsdcMT1intothc
IO!,pdown,~leasinglhcfffin&pin. There is hinp:pblcandthefiontmdoftheguardhold IUlfdbow. Pushingthisannupcamethe
_,Allcn-tadset-s=winlhcJC1roflhcing- lhesheelmctalmagazineboxinplaoeagamst le>-cr10pullthebolt-slOppindcMT1,:,1hcbolt
F< hoosui& by "i11ch lhe inggcr-to-tcar lhebol:lolnoflhem::ei•-.::r.The~1'ildl canbcrcmo-,-od,.,.-rq,b=LThebolt-slOppu,
enpaanm1canbcsct10providcashon 151nlhefi-ontoftheguardbow.nsmcasc11u1. allo1CtSas1bol1guidc.pm"ffltinathebolt
,;,wp-ftelriggcrlct,<>ff.ThcrcisnoadJLISI• ionmsidelhebow.OnemdoftheW-shapcd lromtumingasitisopcnltd
mcnt for over-traH•l. The wcighHlf-pull fla1 follower spring fin in10 lips bmwh 1he
-.IJustmen1,o;mvispositil.lncdjUS1101hcn:. milledsteelfollol>.-er;theOlhermdmerclylies TIII ..... Qll:Acu.
of the safety adju.wnem s=w; by !wrung this WJthina~inlhefloorplalc. Madcespecialtyf,.,.-1heseriou!bc:nchrCSI
Allen-head liC~ counterclockwise lhe pull Thcboh-sw11isapin,.·hichprojccts shooter. the Texas Magm,m sina]c silo! action
canbcmadc:lighu:r.Thettiggcrmechanism throughthcbol1racc:wayin1oamillcdgroovc willn.....,cthcirrequin:rnenisf,.,.-ana,;1ionth:,,1
m"51befCITIO\'OOtomakctlicseadjustmcnt5 in1hebonomoftheboltThispinis$UppOMd hala,-eryrigjdm::ei,-cr,rigidcnoughlOiiUp-
Thesafetyis1Cm61iboltbuiltin101hctop bythelriggerhousmgspaccr.whichisinl\lm ponahcavyn,c-.lloolingbarrel.lcwouklbca
fmntoflhcpardbow.Thclliggcrhas1fur- suppon«tbybcingfin«tin1oaholcinthe vcrys<)Od1etionchoiccforthclona,anae
..'ll'dnltruionfittcdwithaset-scmo-and •~.:cwerbonom.Thebolt•SlOppin isanached rompetiti•·clal'gel shooler. Made wi~a
kdm.ll,whidlan=in"°"1a1;1wilhlhcsar«y
"ilmR1$mpaed.Thell'igge,-andsafdyllt'
adJUSled conffllyat the facto!y. bul if any
,;tmyi.t,ccnrnaoe..,mlhcaiggs:r.Jjua-
mm1.:ttW.lhesar«ysct~mus1bel'&-!ICI
~chalnolriger....,._ispossibk.,,t.,,n
lhcsafety11enpeed.Onrighl-haxlactionslhe
safctyllidismgagedbypushingittolheleft
..,,thlhcln8Sfffingef,V1Ce,'ttSaOOlcft-hand
.:tionl.~isnoboltlock.Thesafctycan
onlybc~iflheactiolliscockcd.thusi1
canbcus«las ■ cockingindica!Or.
Thetri811l'fmc<:hanism,withitsattached
a,K'"'"~isheldagainstlhebooomoflhe
rtta,·crbylhcrcarandcenrerguard~
passina;dwu&hlheaua,dandthmodmgmlO

. .-
lhcroccwcr.BylhisllfT2llgemenl1helngger
mcchan,wcanbcrffllC»•tdfromthenlk
,.,lhot.l:lakinglhe~landr~wcrQUlof
Panol~mtdllnlsmstiowing:(A)~pln.(B)bollhandlt.wtlichltvNClsFIIO.,_,_ol
ThelCOOn 11heldinlhcSIOd: bylhe front. U.boltbody,(C)Ol"lflollhelhrNIIQUaly~coddngc:am~ons,.,.-olbolt
,_andcauerpardsm-,,-s.ThelionllllCfCW handle.(D)coddngpitcewithllslhrNcoddngcan-..(EJfiringpinlockiJCfflW.

451
mapzmcwcllopenmg.rhcloadingix-,isonly
"'*enou&hroio.drhc.ctiorte=plforlhc
narmwio.diri&pon.lhclhick=i,,:rnearfy
OO\'tl'llhcm111-cboJt.Smccno~ncis
l-1.lhc1ngp:rpadise:<ICntEdbwanlfl(I
thaldw:limlgladscmo-canbcfuloilmlugh
IIScnd. An tddinonaJ glad s=w, posiliono,j
lbcuann:hlhcadofdw:oeni,erguard!ICl'CW.
is abo usfd IOhold the action in the ~k
Abouldw:onlylllhcrdiff=nccindusactionis
-
lhalrhctjcaol"hasbmlommcdfromlhebol1.
lt-Mt1>.1ilabl,:wilhboltlmadoforcilherlhc
222or30-06head-simlcartridges.
Thel'C arc many things I like about this
action.butithasafewthingswhich l bcl~
could ha,·c been ,mprou:d upon. The good
lhinpfllll.lthinklheboltdcsignissupcrb.
TbreatiuwlhcbohhandfcllllOlhcbohbody
452
anddu'Cad,ngrhccockingpiettontolhefir-
1ngpm,andlocking~panswithAllrn-
l,oad,...~an:accllcn1idcal.Oc$i&ning
theoock,ngpffl,.·iththreccamsisalsoa
,·crygoodidea.Theactiondoesno!l'Cally
need the bolt Jlvoud. but putt,ng one on w
m,;loseand~ofTlhc1"CUoftheboh1S
"1:lluecu1ed.labolikelhcm-.:1cde<!g,:of
thcboltf111:ei=srim.thcej«lorwithi1J
9TIOOlhcnd,andllhink1heextrac:torismon:
thanadcqualclystrongtodoiujob.Allboll
pirtlllf'CC~ll'Clnely"·cllmadc.machincd.
poondand fimsh::dsotha1 all the pans an,
precisely fitted. The boll handle is easily
n.ised.andboltopcrarionissmoolh,withno
1mdcncytostickorbind.
lhkcrhcwptofrhclriggo-guardandrhc
h,nac,:I mapzinc floorplatc. The 1ngg..-1s
ntcdyrur..-cdandplaccdpropertyinrhc1ng-
gerpwd.lfindnothing"'JOO&""ilhthecma
bohsaktyor11Slocation.Thcbol1--srop1tade.
fy--
quatcandlhebolt-stopreleaseishandilyand
~yplacedlbclie>-.:thetrigga-
mecharusm1tl'Cltable.andlhat11shouldsatit,
l',-.:hadnoopporturulyl01C$1thc™
IICUOnforfceding.butlassumedushasbcm
wori<edoutandlhalfmtingisrdiiibk.
Th1t1tafincac:tion.anda,-.:rySll"l'lllfland
safconc. ToquoccthcRanga-Anns Cll&log.
TexasMagnwnllCOOn'lan:madoM ... IOholdin
c~ccssof 140.000 psi. far beyond standards
regular1yl\-ailablcinfirearms.'"No11e1ionhas
towithsland$UChpre:sSUre:S,l;:u1ifanyklion
w1llthisisi1. Thc1hreclockinglugsys1cm
W()llldbchardtobeat.and l doubtifanyolll-
crlCtionhasabettergas,ffllingsystcm.Thc
thick-,.-.Jlcd=ivcrringhasnotbcm"-cak-
enedbyanydccp111Ccwaycu1S. TlusJUSthas
iobcascrongandsafeaction.

Cuatomsportingriflebe!Mldontl>t
~-hand Texas Magnum action.
A11whok,I foundnon:alfaultwiththc:
TMacrion.bWlthinklhm:sroomforJOme
improvm>ent. for eumpk. on the action I
had. the: sides of the bolH11op poove ,.....,
quilc-.... vy.Thisnsullcdintheonlyrough-
DCS,1: lfcltinopcntingthc:boll Thisnunor
fauh11easilycorreaedbyhoningthc:sicbof
lhisgroo-,-csmooth.
Some $hoolcr$ arc fussy about n,ggcn.
Thcn:isnotnager510J1adjusuncrn~.bul
one W11ld easily have bcffl installed by just
tipping one hole and fining n with• set-
I don"! panicularly like thc:bolt-51op
lns1ead ofa round pin I would favor an
oblongshape,1<hkhwouldofTcrmoreJUt-
facconeac:h$ideto<;Qntactthc:sidesofthc:
bolt-stopa;roo,.·e.Thiswouldootonlybc
511'0r1&C'",bulabttta"boltguidc.100.
Nowb11houp;ortwuah.uthc:1nggcr
mechamsm.Byha,ingthc:crossboltsafcty
buikintothc:g,...nlbowilisatmos.neccm,y
thalthc:u,u,:rmtdiam$malsobcamcha,l10
lhcguard. lftluss)'§latlistobcused,,n
..-~h thc: trigger g!Wd mechanism IS not
1nachcd10thc:recem:r,lhcnlbclieveitnug!M
bc1goodidca1ouscSlod:bushingsforthc:
IWl)parti,crewshoklingthc:guardin~
lf1heactionpar15arepropcrlyinser1edinto
thc:stoc,k,andpn:fcniblygla.ss-bcddcd.thc:
triaaermechanisrncouldbcrc111Qvedand
rcplacro,.,thouldisturbingthc:scar-<X>Cking
p1(';e rdauonship. I would also want thc:
adJ,a$0Tlffllt=wipoa!tionedsolheywould
bcaoomiblcfromthc:owidcoflhcrifle.Ptr-
sc,n,atly,1ntlusor111yotherfinenunbol1
1Ctoon.lpn:fcrafars11nplertnggermecha-
n1J111.~ishardlyatrigg,:rsy,icm l
ha,·cn"tuscd,andofallofthemthm:it
- l y one m:n simple. foolproohnd n,l,-
able than thal us.ed in lhe Mooel 70 Win,;~
1er.Thm:.-edoansof ....-ays10modifylllls
-
lnA(rsystcmsolhailheadjustmmtliCfCYo'S
canbcnxhedfromlhcomside.andlthmk
-,h • tnucr would complcmmt thc line
TCUIMljp:Unaction.
The$C11alnwnheri,stam~ontheldl
,idcofthe~i,-crring.ontheboltbodyin
thebolt-$!0prac:cway,andonthcundmideof
thebol1handlc.
Thenamc H :XASJ\IAG NUM isstam~
on the rccc,vcrwall, making i<kntilica11on
T-------
pos,1,vc.
TomtlO\,:lhcboh.r.aiselhebol1handlc
andpo.illlhcboht-d<.Thtnpiasupwsdon
lheboh-S10pidca5e.JU51forwanlofthelnj•
sn,andpo.ill lhcbolt fiom lherccc"w. To
~lhebolt.1nsenlhcboltin10thc,-iv-
tr.pressup"''ffllonlheboh-stopn:leul:to
thcboh,;ani11poverthcbolt-stop;ifneccs-
sary,1umthcbohabnllllllltheboh-S1oppm
shpsinioiisgroo,'C
Todisa.uemblcthcbol1andlinngmocha-
ni$1'tlprocttdasfollows;fll'Sl""1l0\"thc1w0
Allcn-headsel-5Cm"Sfromd>cn:arofthcboh
body.Placcthcboltbodyinapaddedvi,c:and,
w11h1finngriponthebohhandlc.1um ,,
oountcrdod,wise ou1 of the bolt body. Ncx1
unoutlhese1-litmtheadtngpiccc.
bcqcarcfullOronfinclhcpam"'ilmlhefir-
--
ll'lpinllcomplcldyiwnodota.Nowlheboh
slwoud can bcunscn:wed m:m theboh handle
~ ::::::Tumboll~l,Qm,o.,nd:.=~-4340~~-
Texas Magnum Hille
andlhc<.:OCkingpic,;:cmno-.'ed.Rc:asscmblem
n,-,"CrJCorder.Bclon:ogl,lcrungthcllCl-tcmv
inlhccockingpie«.makcSlftlhcdnlled
indmtmlhedircadedcndoflhc r,nngpm11
oorm:dyll,g,ied,.,thlhcbolcforlhc,ei-
scm,o,inordertooocaintheoomctf111113pin
U p ~ Whfflassemblinglhcbohhan-
d)c ,n the boh makc SUR: thc lWll dnllc,;I
1ndtnts1nthebolthandlcalignw1ththese1-
~holc:smthcboltbody.Thecxnctornl
cj«torcanbcremo,"robydrivina001thcpins
lhatholdthc,cpansinlhcbollhead
To n:mo-.,: the trigger awcmbly. open the
lloorplalc,1umou1thcrearandtc11tcrguard
scn:ws.thenpo.illthcguardw1than-=hedm,-
gcrmcchanism. from the stock. The tngacr
mcdiant5mi;anbci=o\'Cdlitm1hcguanlby
dnvin&OUI lhctw0plfllholding H inpl.,c.
Thetpins, LikctheotherpwsmllllsllCball.
an:ofthcs,,rtn&-icrnpercdrollediype.Thc
tna,erspnrc,sfiftd,.ilmthca,...,..rnecha,,
rusmis"1TIO\'edfromlhcguard.sotakcC1R
1halitisno11os!.Dono1dismemblclhcm,-
germcchan1smunlcssforagoodn:uon.llld
then,.·,lhcare.Ton:mo\,:lhc.safcty,di,,:out
1hcfloorpla1clatchpin,lhcnrcmovtlatcll,
la1chspring.i;afc,y plungcrandsafcty.Whcn
purtinglhctriggcrmechanismllldguardbeck
in1oplacc,theboltshouldbcrcmovcdfrom
thcrccci,·crandlhetwoguard9.'l'CwsU&ht•
cncd. To rcrrocwc the ban-el and 1c11on from
"""°'"
the IIOtk. fni: 1hc mggcr rnedwll5m.
lhmrum001thefroruguanl.screw,,.·~
uponlhc~andhmgecanbcn:mcMd
fromthc510c:k,md1hcbarmandlCOOllliBed
ot&.Rcassemble111n,-,'tf'51Conier
part)wi1h~lorwardlocking
~c::~~:
~fcu-«IOltormagnum
~olpoA
,lod<slriggerody..,.,.
453
I N 1968 TRADEWJNDS. Inc .. began im-
portingalighlwcightboh-actionsponingrifle
theycalle,;ltheTradewinds600.Theriflcs(in
11,,0,-mions) ...-eremadcbyKriego:skone&
Co .• Stu11san-Hedclf\ngen, We$! Gennany.
makersofthewell-knowTIKricobrandriflcs
The600Shasastandardsingle-stagetriggcr
andopensjghts,whiletbe600Khasadouble-
sertriggerandabam,lwithootsights. lloth
ha,'Cchcckercdwalnursmcks.shngswivels.
23.62'barrels.andrhcy"·eremadein222,
222Magnum.223.22-2S0.24Jand308.AII
inglugsupportshouldcrs.Eventheboltom
one. which fonns the loading ramp. is so
heavythati1canno1givc,.-ayunderheavy
b:>ckthrustofthebolt.
Therccci..-crringisaboutl.S75"1ong,thc
loading port about 2.560". and the bridge
about l.175"1ong.Thelcftrccci1-crwal!,no1
no«:hodorcut.isamplyhighandthicktogi,·e
sufficicntrigidityto1hereccivcrtosuppona
free-f\oatingbarrcl.Thebridgeareaissloned
andno!chedforpassagcofthebolthandle.
"iththeno«:hformingthesafctylug.
fitsin1otheboltisslottedtofitovcrthcmillcJ
panofthefiring-pinslccvesothatthebolt
handle am:hors this sleeve, and the main-
spring tcnsion on the sleeve holds the boh
handleinplacc
Thercarcndoftheboltbodyisthinner
thantheresioftheboh,andtheoockingpiecc
fits o,·cr this portion. Two cocking cam
no«:hesaremilledinthispan.withthchard-
cnedoockingpiecepinsopositionedasto
cngagcthcseno«:hes.Onraisingtbebohhan-
dle,thepin.ridingevcnlyonlhesecamsur-

-
ofthe22-caliberbam:lshaveariflingtwistof Thcboltbody.precisionmachincdfroma foces.causesthcfiringpintobcforcedb:>ck
ooerumin14".lhe243hasal:IO"twis1and singlcpieccofstee!.hasheavyandunsloned AOO\'Cthesedeepcamsurfacesaretwosmall
lhe308al:12"tv.ist.Theyweighabout6.7S dualO(ll'OSOOlockinglugsonitsextremefor- no1chcs,imowhichthcoocking-<:ampinn:sts
wardcnd.Theapproachingcornc,softhcs,e whcn1hea<:tion is open; thisprc,·entsthe
Barreledactionswcreoncea1-ailableinthe lugsarcslightlybc,1:ledtoengagcandmo1·e oockingpieccfrombeingrumed
calibcrshsredabovc.thc me1alp3nscom- easilyo,·crtheinclinedapproachcsonthc Twolargegas-,1'111holcsinthefrontofthe
pletcly finished and blucd. rcady 10 be lockinglugshould=.thusforcingthebott boltbodywilladequatclyventoffanypow-
ch'oppedin1oastocl:.TheDSmodelfearurcsa forwardasthcbol1handleislowcrcd dergascswhichmightemerinsidcthebolt
double-s-eirrigger.whilclheSmodclhasa Thebohfaccisrecessedforthecanridge imcriorthrough1hefiring-pinholefroma
sw-.dartlsinglc-stagelriggcr. hcad.Thcrimofthisrc.:essisculawayinone picn:edprimer.The,=1holcsdirectthegas-
Actionsforlh:222canridgcfamilywcn: placeonly,and1hatfortheverynarrow esintotheleftlocking-lugraccway
desi~tedModcl6128:1ha1madefortheJ08 extroctor.ThecxlnlClor.fittcdintoagroo,·e Bchindthebridgethewallsarehighenough
family.whichincludcsrhe22-250.wasthe cutin1otheboltheadishc!dinplaccandten- meocki:setheentireoockingpieceanditsplas-
Modc16357. sionedbyaspring-loodedplungcrse1imoa 1iccap.thcs,ewallshavingracewaysfortbe
holcbchindi1.Thccx1rac1orsys1emisnot bo!tlockinglugstopa.,;sthrough.Thcoocking

""""- unlike that which Savage/Stevens uses in

The600rcceiverappcarsmbemachined mostoftheir22rimfircrcpeatingrifles. The
from a solid steel bar or from a piece of cjcc1or,aplungcrbackcdbyaspringfi11cd
piooeanditsplasticcapalsoha1,:lugsonboth
sides1ha1fil!theseraccways. Thispn:>'Ctltsthe
cockingpicc<:from1umingwhenthcboltis
heavy-walled seamless steel lubing. The imoaholeinlheboltheadi'lhddinplaceby raisedandlowcrcd,andatthesametimccffcc-
rccci1'Cfringislargcrindiamc1<,rlhantberes1 arollpin tivcly blocking the raceways againsi the
of1he rccci,·er. which provides addi1ional Thebo!tisopcnattherearmaccep1thefir- entraneeofforeignmatcrialandrctardinglhe
mctalovcrthcimportantlockiTig lugarca. ingpin and mainspring. The firing pin isof escapeofpowdcrgasesshouldaprimcror
Theflat-fac<:dbam:IWlcaJsintotherccci,..,,. one-pieccdesign.butitsfrontoollar.against caseheadfail
ring, 1he threads of standud V-typc, 20 whichthemainspringn:sts.isascpamtcpan Thcbolthandlchasa,·e,ylowprofile.and
threads per inch. The recoil lug is clamped pinnedinplaccbyatcmperedrollpin. itsveryslimtaperedstem,bentslighdyback.
betwccnlhebam,lshouldcrandtheretti1'Cf Theoockingpiecc.fit1edwithablackplas- cndswitharoundgraspingball. There is a
ring.ltslugisampleinsiCGC10pn:>1'111sctback ticc.ap,isthreaded,n-cr1herearcndofthef,r- spring-loadcdplungerinthebaseofthebol1
oftheac1ioointhcStoCkfromrccoil.prm-idod ingpin.andisheldinplacebyahcavy handle.andonfullyclosingthcbolt.the
1helugisproperiybedded.Thebridgeisof h:lrdenedpin.Betv.-«ntheoockingpicceand plungcrfollsintoashallowdctentinthewall
smallcrdiamctcr1hantherettil"crring.8oth lhemainspringthcrcisasl..,vewith~
are round and tapped for1opsoopc-mount ingmilledflats. ThcrcisasquareholemillcJ
~.Thereisooskimpingintheamountof throughthcrearoftheboltbodytoaccep1thc (Abowi)Tradewir.ds~600shortac11on
metalleftinl:idetherccciverringforthelock- bolthandlc.Thepanofthcbol1handle"•hich withdouble-&et1r\gger.

454
 ,11 1 I

L.ttlideoltheG&rman--mitdeModel600
Tradewinds&ction,withthebollopen.

oflhcbridgc.This~cnt:stheboltfmm coni.ctllthesquarcmdofa flat5PJ1milled bd:undcrnilhcrheavyspring~.To

fallinaopm•,,hmthelelionisadcdandthe offtheboctomoftheboltbody. fire the rifle. the front lriggn is pulled. rekM-
sar.:ty11ootmgaged. Thcnisaninclintdsw- The tt«I trigger-guard bow itself 11 ing the rear trigger. which thenl!rikcsthe
r..c,onmi:rarofthebridgo"'hich.on,-. machincdiofurmthebousingfurthe~ rocker10disienpgethe1e11"fromthecockin&
in&;thebolthandle,cornact:sthebohhandle 11e1 lriager mechanism. It is of the common piece. A small adjustment screw,cxpolCd
andforocsthebohbd:IOpro-.idclhcinitial iwo-lriagerryp,:,thetriggerspi,'OlingonKi>- bet-,,·cmther,.otrigcrs.adju.,uthepull
e:<~cammincp(W,fl. 1ra1e pins nnlina dvough ,.-aJlsmilled in the "'t1ghltoaslightasafcwounocs.Ahokin
ThcTrade,.·inds600IClion"'hichl re- lriggcrguwd.Thcfronttrigger(bywhichthe thebonomoftheguardbowallowslrt!CfflOn
m,"W,courtcsyofTrade"'inds,lnc:.,,.,H rifle is fwd) ism1dcrtension hum a ~1 cod ofa~vcrtoadjustlhil,crew.Tumin&
fined wnh thedouble-!lel trigger mecha- sprina.,whiletherear.orcocking,trigg,eri1 thi1screwckdwisercduccsthewcightof
nism. This trigger mechanism is fiued to J)O"~byaheavyclongatcd-Oflatspring.
thetriggerguan.l.Thcscar,nx:kcrand,;om-
binationboh-stoparehouscdinascparatc
When the rearlriggerispulledback10cock
thclriggermechanismi1cngagcsascarnotch
""'the:'·
Thetriggcrshouldneverbecockeduntil
momcn! just before you intend to fire the
bo~ anached 10 the bottom oflhe receiver in1hefrontlrigger,holdinglhcreartrigger riflc,andprompllyunsetifforanyreasoothc:
bytwo.krewt.Thcsidctangsafcty.piVOI•
ed101heri&htsidcofthishousing,istcn-
sioncdintheOnandOffpositionsby•tb.t
spring,.·h1chco..'Cr1theentireriJl,1sidcof
thehous,ng.Thesafietythumbpffl.slight-
lycurvcd.,,dlinc:lyscrn.tcd,litsflush
1p.U>S1therurmdofthem:ci,fl.Anarm
f0f\ll-.rdofthesafietyc~1endsin10agroo>-c
1ntheboh.-..:n.-ayand.withthesafety
1ippedblck.1hemdofthisarmengages1
1101chintherearoflhcboltbody,locking
1hebolt. A1 lhcsametime.lhcsafetylock1
thescarandrocker(kick-off)
Thcscar,pivoiinginsidclhchousing,is
tcnsionedbyasma!lcoilspring.Thcrocker
pivot1inthc:frontofthc:housingonalever
"iuchis.in1Um.oonnectedtothesear.push-
in&;uponthc:endoftherocker.whichprojcds
belowthehousing,causesthescartobe
pulkddownioreleuethecodingpiea:orio
alk,,;thebol110bemnoved.sincetheK11"
aboha,ctiom111theboh-9q1.Thefi-omand
rearRJmeeloftheSCM","'hidl~imo Model600bollhNdsh<:,ws,g:(A)gas_,,.,,. Rearendollh9Model600bolt.llhowing:(A)
thc:~,aresquan,.themironcbein&the holN, (B) •l<lrKlor. (C) locking lugs. (DJ 1'Mrl codclng earns, (BJ squ&r9 hol9 for boll
tearandthefi'ontonctheboll-stop.which tj9c:tcw,(EJboll-sioplhoo.Ade!". ~-

455
 .
.
--~ - ~.. , .
-
-~
rifleis~fin:dWiththisriflethescMrigger
canbcsafelyW1SC1byengagingthesafety
and/orraisingthebohhandleandpullingthe
fioo1triggerTherifleshoold11nffbctarried
withthctriggcrmechanismoocked,forthe
triggerscanbccockedaseasilyandasquick•
lyaftersightingsomethingtoshoolatasitis
10move thesafe1ytotheOfforFirep::,sition.
!tispossibletoflJ'Clhcriflewithouloocking
thetriggersbymcrelypullingOOCk hard on
lhefronttrigger,bl!tthepullissoheavyand
roughth:ni111,wldbcdifficulttofuethcrifle
accw-atclyinthismanncr
ThcTradewinds600actionwiththes~
stageuiggermechanismhasaoorwentional
triggerinthesearhousinginplaceofthe
nxhr.Thistriggerisonlyadjustablcfor
weightofpull.andtomakethisadjustment
the barreled action must first be removed
fromthestock. Thcadjustmentscn:w,located
atthefrontofthehousing,hasalocknut
"·hichmustbclooscncdbcf=thescrcwcan
bctumed.Thisriflehasanadditionalleverat
thelefloflhebridgt"whichdqnssesthesear
for removalofthebolt
Thebarreledactionishc:ldinthesrockby
llu-eeguardscrewslhreadedintothebonom
ofthem:eivcr,ooethroughthefi'on1ofthe
magazincp!a1e,the01hcrsthroughholesin
e:w:hendoftheguard.lleavysteelstock
bushings are prov;ded for these sa,:ws. with
thcrearandcenteronebeingpartia!lythread-
edinsidetomatchthethrcadson the guard
screws.butlhave~figuK(IOUlthcreason
orpu!JI05C ofthisammgcmcm. However.
whcomakingorfittingasto,;ktothisoction.
thcthrccbu.wngsshouldbeus.ed;espocially
sothetworear(lfl($.astheywillpn:,videthe
romctspacingbelwccnthedouble-se1triggcr
mcchanismandthesearlsafetymcchanism.
Thetriggcrguardisofmi!ledstcd. The
magazine plate, a stamped piece of heavy
shcct:metal.isheldinplacca1therearbyits
fittingintoagrooveintheguani.andatthe
frontbythefrontguardscrew.AshecMnetal
456
IIF
-
TO!)vlewofModel600Tiadewindsaction
magazine-bro:housingisposition<:dbelwccn
lhetriggerplateandlheh:Jttomoftherecei,n,
which is milled out for the magazine. The
maguinec:atch.fittcdtotherearofthcmaga--
zineplate,is~byasmal!coilspring.
Thesimplemagazineboxismadeofheavy
she<:( mc1al. with the seam welded where the
edgescomeioge,l,erupfront.Theh:Jttomof
the magazine box has rolle<.l edges which
engageovcrnoo:hescrimpedinthemagazine
sothatitiseasilyslippedofTforcleaning.Jtis
locke<.linplaccbyaplate-likeplungerfitted
under the booom of tbe follower spring. The
follower spring. W-shapcd.hasaflatsheet-
metalplateriVeledoneachmd.Thefo!lower
isasht>el-mctalstamping.Theedgcsofthc
rearpartofthcmagazine-box opening are
cun'OOinwardtoboldthe followttin place.
as•••ellastoholdtheramidgcsinthemaga-
zineaftertheyhavcbc,eninserted.
Toloodthemagazine,individua!canridges
arepu,;hcddowns!ightlyintothefronthalfof
the magazine and then slid back under the
-
magazine lips. The magazine. insened by
merelypressingithome.isrcmovedbypush-
ingthe=gazinelatchforward
lronsldcrthisactionanexc,,!lcntone,with
manythingsabouti!tha! lthinkarevery
good.Thethings l don"t lilcean:minor.and
do~reallydetractmuchfromtheO\n-all
qualityoftheactionorfromitsperfcxmance
lliketheheavyrcceivcrringwithitsratber
largebarrelshanklhrcad.l!il<cthesolidtwin
loc:kinglugsandthcmon:thanampleamowt\
ofmetalleftinthcmxiverringforthelock-
ing-lugsupponingshouldcn.Al!lioughthis
octionisquitclightinweight,thestrengthin
therecei,·erringandbreechingmon=than
a.dequatelysuppon anycanridge for which
thisactionischambered. Havingarccessod
boltfaccisagoodidea.andthebolt ofthis
riflcislargecnoughindiametersotha11he
rimaroundtherecessisthickmoughtoactu-
-
,I
.
allysi,wortthecartridgeriminlhccvcntsuch
supportisneedcd.Thetjectorisgood.That
thetipofthecxtractordoesnotprotrude
beyoodlheboltfaccisagoodideabeceuse
thismakesitfeasiblctofitaflat,factdbam:I
totheaction.lthinktheextractorwillprove
adcquate.butl"dliketohaveseenitmade
abouttwiceitswidth.likethcextroctorinlhc
SakoL6Jactioo.
Although!thinkthisactionhasadequate
pn:,,·i000Stoprotec11heshooterfromescap-
ingpowdergas,esagains11herareoccurrcnce
ofarup(uf'Wc:aseheadorprimer.drillingiwo
smallholesinlhen:cciverringv.ooldmakeit
machsafer.lwouldputoneholcintheright
ofthereceivttring,jus1behindthe~ofthe
bam:l.andaootherholcinlhclefisidc.jUS!
oppositcthefi'ont~ventholeinthebol1.l
don'tbelicvctherewouldbeanyncedforthe
rearmost,'Clltholeinlhcboll
Thedesignandcor1$tructiooofthefiring
mechanismandthewayitisheldinthebolt
bythcbolthandleis verygood.Thesize.
shape and placementofthcboh handle is
quitcpleasing.lverymuchliketheplunger
builtintothcbaseofthebohhandlc-more
boltaetionrifiesshouldhavcthisfearure.The
designofthet"incockingcamsisexoellcnt.l
wouldprefersomethingotherthanplastic
usedtocapthecockingpiece,forintimethc
plasticmaydcfoonorcrack..
J think the safety could have been im-
pn:,,'OOinseveralways.First,itmaybeahttle
toonoisyforsomchunters.asadcfmiteclick
canbchcardwhenthesafetyisdisengaged.l
alsobelievcsomewi!lcomplainthatthesafc-
tyslipstooeasilyw>derlhcthwnb.andc,.'CII
worseundcraglovedthumb:coarscrserra-
tions-or bcncr still. two senated hwnps-
would have 1.aken care of 1his. Also, if the
safetycouldhavcbeenmadetoslidebackand
forthinsteadofpivoling,theunsightlywtin
thesto,;k oouldhavebeena,'Oidtd.
Thegoodsingle-siagetriggermcchanisrn
shouldbcthefirstchoicciftheriflcistobc
 . ,II I I

,. ,_

-
21 ~ C a l c h
22 ~ S l i d e 32 ~ H o u s i l g
23 Magame-ealchSlide 33Recoill.ug
,. Pwh NotShown:

"
"
~

-
28 Magazr,e-bo><Floorplate
29 MagazineFloorplate

30 FolowerSpmg

~ --
ll'adewi1ll8 Model BOO

::~~Sleel.Separaterecoilluglilsbetw-1oorn,iand
-~~~~~i:.~lorward

457

medforshool,ngrunningpmoorforbig
pmellunung.Allhoughthctrigg,e,pillmUSI
of11C0tSS11ybcabi1long.ilc:anbcadjUSledlO
ali&htpill. Forlhcscrious•'al111intshooler l
reoonuroc,ndthcdouble-se1trigger."·hich
appearitobc"'·ellmadeandvayn.iggod,
Thcn:isplcnlyofroominthcguanliooper-
atelhismechanism,andlbclieveil"illSland
"PWldetmuchUIC'.
llikethc600magazinesystem.whichlw
1001eadvantage1ovtf•~bleone.
Th::bldcdffll&l2lnec:anbc~andcas-
ily insencd into lhis rifle. and as qukkly
mnoved.ASparek-.dodmaga,inecanbc
canedforquickfdonn&oraspan-map-
nnewilhdifferffl:loadsinilmay ■ rimosbc
0011>-aumtanddesilable.Jfofthesingle-<:ol-
umndc:sign,asislhisone,fccdin&pn:,bkms
aeeliminaltdbecausecartridgesan:fedin1
straightlineintolhechambtr.Also,wilha
singl«:olumndosign,leiSwoodhastobcCUI
OU1oflhestoc:kto"'Cakcni1atlhispointlhis
maybcof1001eadvantageinavannimrifle
Theonlydisadvamageisthatthcmagazineis
easilylosl
What I like ITIO$lofall abow this German-
made llC!ion iJ lhat ii is so ~Jl madeand lin-
ishnl.Eii:C(:1lcn1Wl.lfbnan5hipise,·i<lcn1a1
cvay glance. The =eiver is beautifully
lnldlined,polishedandblual.Th::bohispi:r-
fectlyscraiglllandn:uid.highlypolishedand
,ewe-led. ~iJnosignofO\'a"-polishing.
thepolishedsu-fkesbein&pcrfcalybclond
wrthouldished-oulholesorroundalcuncn..
M<:111oflheod>erparuan:cquallywellfin,
i!hed.Theactionopcra1cswilhcaseand
Slll0Cllhne$$.Locktimeis=Yf11S1andigni-
1ionposi1ive.Somewillobjedtothcstamped
magazineplatebutsolinleofi11ihowslhati1
doesnotdt'trac1fromthcrifle"sappearanoe.
Torm1o••ethcboltfromlheplain-lriggcr
.,;lion, hold the lriage,1-::k and. while ptta-
in& OOll>11 on lhc lr.'Cl' on thc left SKle ofthe
rto:hv,pillthebohoo.a.OnlhcllClionwilh
lhcDSlrigerjullholdlhcumtlriggtrback
IOiarKM:lheboll. Tomn5ffilhcboll.lhclrig-
plralSlbchddbackorthclever~
To disassemble lhe bolt. grasp the boll
bodyinonehandandthccockingpico:inthc
'"'
' : I I
othtr,lhcnpulllhcatlingpico:backmltilil
anbctumedtlod:wise.Rotatci1 l/•-tumlll'
uncilitfalls,pinslthcbolt.Th::bohhandle
canlhenbcpulledfromthcboltbodyandthc
liringmechanismfromthcbolt.Torcmo,.·e
thcmainspring.driveoutthcrollpinfromlhe
oollaroothcliontofthcliringpin,Rcaucm-
bleinn:vcrscordcr.Thefiringpinisthn:adcd
tightlyintothccockingpiea:,andlhcyshould
not be separated e~ccpt for rt"plxnnmt of
,:ilhcrpart,inwhith~thecockingpinmu.st
fintbedrivenoutTheplasticcapispn:saed
onlhcn:aroftheoockingpica;lhen:i,i;no
nttdlOfflllO','Cit
lb:tjec-ior is rcmo,.'Cd by dri,ingout IIS
OOS$pinfromthebohhead.Use1Jharpcned
Fo''dcr'11Cn:"o"dri-lOl'tfflO\'Clheei<.lfXU
bypuShin&theutraetorplungerimolhebolt
andhftingOU1thccxlf'aCIOI'.
Torcmo,.-ethebam:landac:tionfromthe
$lock, firu remove themagazinebcu. Then
1umou1 the front guard screw and lil\the
m118Wneplateupa1thelion1andlakeilOU1
ofthcstock.Themagazineca1ehcanthcnbe
n:mo\'Cd by turning out its scn:w. Tum ou1
thc:liontandrcartri&(!ff-guardscn:wsandthe
bam:lcd..:tioncanbclifledfromthcstock
Pinchinthemiddleofthemagazinehousina;
slightlyandn:mcr,-citfi"ornthen:o:ivc:r. Tum
outthen:arondccnterguardSCMWSllllthe
wayandthetrigg,nguardcanbcn:movcd
fromlhcsioo;k.Rcasstmbleinn:---eneordl:r.
Remove lhe trigger/sear mechanism by
tumi:naOU1lhctwo1tn:wsoolhckfl:sideof
thehousmg.andpulllhehousinga,.-.yfrom
lherocci,'Cl". Donotdisasscmblcthismecha-
nism, orthedouble-seitriggermechanism,
unlcslab9olutclyncccssary.andthcnonlyif
youl:nowwtwi1'sall11bout.layingthcpa:ts
OU1intheordcrlhcyan:n:movedsolheycan
bccorn:,;1lyas:iembledagain.
TodiSISRITlblethemagazinebox.holdthc
boxupsidedownanddtprcssthesmall
plungcrpm;eainglhmugl,aholeinlhcfloor•
-
platewith1pointed100l.andslilktheplate
forv.-.rdandofflhebcu.Theplungerpi.!c,
followersprin,gandfollowercannowbe
~Reassembleinn:---.:nconii:r.
TheT.-..kwinds600ac:tionisserialnum•
bcn:d. lhe number 5lampCd oo the boaom-
npl sade of lhe n:o:i,'ef ring and on thc bol-
1em-~oftheboltbody.Thefollo,,inl,in
twolincs.is $1ampedonlhelo,,'Cfleftside
wallofthen:o:i,'tr:
MADE IN GERMANY
TAADE'MNDS MODEL 6357
{or6126)
-· -
Allmmlcing:san:nonmllyooveredbythe
In about 1970 I heard fi"ornTl'U'll·inds
!hat anolher600~ riflc: had bcm inrro-
cklted.CalledlhcTrade\oind:sHusky.11c■nc
1nrwotitrionlcngth>----thl:shononein22·
2S0.243and308,iuac:tionalmoSlidfflocal
101hatllSedonlhcM600STllldcwindsrifle
de,,;ril;,edearlierinlhis~.Th::270and
30-06 Husky has a longera.c:tion than the
M600S,butisotherwiseabouti<lcntitlil1oit.
lthasamagazineboxlongenoughtoaocep!
lhe270canridgc.whichisnonnallyloldcdto
) .l40""oVfflllllength.
Th:: Husky high-power rine whkh
Tndewinds oriicinally 50Jd wa., built on lhe
Husqvamaa.c:tion. Thenamc"'Husky"i1 1
rcgiSlen:d 1r1l(kmarl:: ownn;I by Tradewinda.
andwhcnHusq-,-amadisoontinuedlhemanu-
f ~ of fin:arms. Tndewinds ~m.rerml
thenamcHUlkyioariflc:buihinW!$Ger•
manybylhefamlhatbuihtheKrioDriflelon
the Ktion dcsombed in lhis chapter. This
H..skyhasbcmtheonlyhigh-po,,-en:dnflc:
soldbyTradewindscktringthcfcwycanpri-
or101hiseditionofthisbook.
AfurthcrupdateontheM600riflc::lnthe
liten11un:lroccivedfromMandalb:Shoo!ing
Supplics.lnc .. inl994.whoan:lheimporten
ofthcKricoriflcs,lhcylistthcKricoM600as
oneoftheirproducts.Ahhoughlha,-enever
cu.minedonclbclic-,-ctheactionuscdis
csseruiallythei:am,oa.,de,cribcdTheyli$1
1he~lowingmodels:KriooM600Hunting.
KncoM600Ma;h.KricoM600Snipa-and
KncoM600SingleShot.
Anolhcrmodeloflhc:Kricoislhc:MlOO
-·
dc:Jaibedinlhisbool<.ltisariflc:wilhacon-
sodmblydlangedllClionfi"ornlheolhcrKrioo
J OONT KNOW exactly when I first came
la1:rossthenam<,ofRoyE. Weatherby.but
itwasthebylineofananiclehewro1efor
ooeofourpopularoutdoormagazinesinthe
mid-1940s. At that time I only skimmed over
thcanicle,whichwasaboutthemeritsof
high-velocity bullets versus slow-moving
heavybullctsforh1111ting.Acoupleofmonths
later.howe,·er,1hemagazinepublishedsomc
lelterscriticalofWeatherby"sanicle.Afler
readingtheselrercadtheaniclcanddecided
1ocomcto1heau1hor"sdcfensc.lwro1ealc-1-
tertotheedi10rvoicingmysuppon.Mylet·
1erwasootpublished.buti1wasforwarded
t0Wealhcrlry.whopromp1lya,;knowledg<:dit
andthankedrneforsidingwithhim.Jwaslat•
er1oleamtha1,withthataniclc,hetouched
offacon1roversythatwould never be re-
solved. While there are s1ill many who may
disagree.twouldsaythatWeathc-rbywon
thedecision.E,·enifhedidn"1winthatargu-
rncnt.hecertainlywoninc,'eryotherway.
Hisbeliefthalalighthigh••~loo.:itybullethas
morekillingpowerthanaheavy.slowbullct
~~~mworld-widcrcoogni1ion,rt"SpCCI
ltwasoot"·ithouta lotofwork1hat he
a,;hic,·edthissucccss.Hcbuilthisfirstrifles
inagarage,andfromthismodestbeginning
hegraduatedtotheworld'smoslup-10-date
customarmsfactoryandheadquanercd itin
South Gate.Calif. Hisfamederivesnolso
mochfromhisriflcs.bu1fromthecombina-
1ionofhisve,ydistinctiveriflcsandtheir
beingchamberedforalineofmagnumcar-
tridgcshedesigned.llallis1ics,andcspecially
high-,·elocityballis1ics.werehismainin1er-
es1:thatwasthethemeofhisearlyanides.
whichappearedinseveralsponingma~
zincs.Heootonlykncwalolaboutbalhstics,
riflesandhunting.hewasal,;oagoodwritcr.
Ab0\·eall,hepro,-ed10bcagcniusa1pro--
rno1ing his product-the Wealhcmy Magnum
rifle.
RellCading Wcatherby"s anicle "'Back-
alleyBallistician:·whichappca1-edin1he
Jan .• 1947,issueofTheAmericonRifleman,
itisn"thardtoseewhyhcwassu.xessful.
Thisshonarticlegi,·esaninsigh1in1ohis
thinking,education,practicalknowl~of
ballisticsandhisability.Sintcthisbookis
abou1octionsandootabou1gunmakcrs.rifles
orcartridgcs.ifyouwanttorcadmorcabou1
Weatherby. I suggest you get the latesl
Weatherbycatalog,and,ifyoucanfindooe,
an older copy of Weatherby's Tomorrow·,
Rifle,;Todoy
Afterthepublicitythatresultedfromhis
article, Weatherby beganbuildingcustom-
maderifles.mostofthemchambercdforthe
300 Weatherby Magnum cartridge. He USW
whate,..,,-goodcen1erfirerumboltactioohe
couldgc-1,orust'dtheaciionthecustomcrsrn1
in. These included 1he 98 Mauser. 1917
Enfield, 70Winchcstcrandothcrs.including
theSchultz&Larsen.ShortlyallerWWll ,he
bcganusingtheFN Mau,,..,,.aciionsalmost
exclusively for1heriflesbearinghisname. I
havcreadlhatthcscactionswcreespecially
madeforWeatherbyhyFN.buthavingseena
numbcroftheearlyWealhcmyriflcsbuilton
theseac1ions.lcouldfindr.othing"special"
aboutthem.Allappearcd10metobeiden1ical
tothcFNMauscrac1ionsthenbcingimported
by Firearms ln1ema1ionat, which are de--
scribcdinanolhcrchaj)ter
While FN Mauser actions are good. they
wercno1cmirclysatisfaC1oryforse,·eralof
theve,yl\OIWeatherbyMagnumcanridges,
andespeciallyno1fortheloogeslones.when
themagazincandmagazinewell had to be
madelongcrandtheactionweak:enedinso
doing. Weatherby Magnum cartridges were
,·e,ypowerful,andmostofthemwcreve,y
hardoobothoctiooandbarrel.Consequcndy,
while he was de,~loping additional magnum
canridgesandcxpcrimcntingwithdifferent
barrelsteels.hewasalllolookingforabetter
action.EvidcntlyWcathcrbydccidedthatif
hewas10gcttheactionhewanted.he"dha,·c
todcsi.gni1himself,andthcnhavcitmanu-
fa,;mrcd Thishedid,forin1958,afterhaving
ust'dtheFNactionsforaboutadoa,nyears,
heintroducedtheall•ncwWealhcmyMarkV
tumboltaction
Thoseriflemcnandbiggamchunterswho
didn'1 know before 1958 what 1he name
"Weathcrl>y"meant,quicklylcamedwhatit
SIOOdfor.
Previously,ithadstoodforextremely~
,·docitysportingcartridgesandexpcnsive
custom-madesportingrifles.butafterwardit
alsos1oodfortheworld'snewest.suongest
andsafestcommcn:ial,sporting,1umboltritle
action. Today,ofcourse,lheMarkVisno
longer the "newest'" action, nor is i1 any
stronger and safer than some 01hers now
beingniadc,butin1958.andforafewye3"
afterward, it was e~actly that. At that time
therewasnootherrumbol1acrionquitelikcit,
norhadtherebecnanythingmadebcforetha1
waslikcit.hwasdcsignedandbuil110belhe
suongest.smoothcs1andbes1-lookingrifle
possible
Sincethenal01hasbcenwrincnaboo1the
WeatherbyMari<Vritleandaction.Ewnas
expcrthun1ersandriflemcndisagm,sharply
onthemcritsoftheWeathetbyriflcsandthe
Mark Vac:1ion, ldoootwan11ogctmysclf
in,·olvedinthisdispute,sol'lldescribethe
octionaslseeit
TIIIMll'tlVActilll
TheMarkVrw:i,·erisrnadefromaone-
piecechrome•molysteel forging. Afterin-
spec1ion thc forging is machined to f1nal
dimensions. Thisprob:lblyiocludcsmitling,
shaping,boringandtumingbcforei1isfin-
ished.Theccntcroftherccdverisboredto
ac:ceptthebolt.Thefi-ontoftherccciveris
thn,aded101akethelargeban-clshank,i1S
1hreaddiamc-1crl.l60".Therecciverringis
round on topandflatonthebonom. There-
coillug,madeasanintegralpartoftheroceiv-
cr,isposi1ionedjus11otherearofthcfront
cdgcoftherecci,..,,-.lbcbonomofthercooil
lug.andtheflatportiontotherearofit.arethe
onlyflatarcasonthebonomoftherw:ivcr
Thisseems.howe->-er. tobeenoughareafor
thereceiver10bo1tominthestock,andis
cnoughtopreventstockspliningfromatigh1•
ly-tumed frontguard screw. lbcrestofthe
recci,..,,-isround.Thetopofthebridgehasa
(Abov&) Rlghtsideviewofth&W&ath&rby
Marl<Vrifle.
459

differentradiusandi11k1·,,crthanthering.Thc
loadinglcjcctionpo11cu1ootleavcsonewall
much hi~rthantheother, depending on
whc1hertheactionisarigh1-0<1eft-handtypc
SincetheMatkVbohdoesnochavethcusu-
al projcctingMauser-type lockinglugs.no
locking lug raceways arc ~ui!W in the
rea,iverwall Thisleavesthehighreceiver
wallverythick,addingtotherigidityofthe
,otioo
TheMatkVholt,alsoofone-piececon•
struc1ion.ismadefromchrome-molyst«I
Thelarge--diame!erbolt(.84(r)hasthebolt
handlconi1Satremerearend.Thclattcrisan
intcgralpartoftheboltThcbascofthebolt
handleisquiieheavy,bu1itsS1emistapcred
andsligh1lyslopcdback,joiningthcround
andcheckcrcdgraspingball.Thebolthan-
dlc'sverylowprofilewillclearthclowcst•
mounted scope. lni1ial extraction camming
powcrisobtainedontl,,eup-lifl,oftheboh
handle:a slopcdsurfaceonthcbaseofthc
boll handle moves over a matching surfacxon
thercarofthebridge
Thelockinglugsan:onthcfron1ofthc
bol1.Thcrearcnineinall,aaiplesctoflhrec
toarow.Thclugsarcfonnedbyn:dudngthe
cndofthebolltoasmallerdiameler.leaving
thelugs.¼O"high.Sixofthelugsarc325"
long,theocherlhreeabou1.230".Thcinlerior
ofthering,a1therear,hasmilled-ou1$hool-
dersforeachlug.Thcringisnocweakmcdby
thismillingsina:thebohlugsdonotproject
bey<nltheoutsidediameteroftheboltbody,
thustherecei,·erwallsarclcftlhidandsolid.
The approothing comers of1wo l'OW'I of the
lugsareangledoffsothatonthc<Jo,,.nsnokc
oflhebol1handle,lhebohiscanuncdforward
ashortdistanccbeforeitbecomeslockedin
thcrecciver,Then:isalsoanotchinthe
recciver1angf0<thebo!thandle,whichcan
ser.·casthesafctylug
Thcbo!tfacciscounteJOOf'edforthecar-
tridgchcad.Thcbruchcnd,orfacc,ofthe
460
Cut-away view of Iha Weatherby Mark V
ae11on showing cartridge casecomple1ely
~a~o8~i~~:'t~8:' and the
barrelisalsooounterbon:df0<theheadoflhe
boll-thatportionofthebolthcad.forwardof
thefirstcin:leoflockinglugs.whichfomts
lhcrimforlhccanridgeheadrecess.Thisrim
aroundtheholtfaccreces&supponstheboh
headtofullyencloscandeffccth'clyscallhc
cartridge in the chamber.
The Mark V utrac1or, a small pivo1ing
hookfiningin1oagroovecutin101hcbol1
head,ishcldinplaccbyasmallcrosspinon
whichi1pivots.his1ensionedbyasmallcoil
springloca1edinaholeunderthcrearcndof
1hccx1rac1or.Thefrontendofthcbeveled
extrac1orhook.nushwith1herimonthebol1
head,hasenoughbevels,:,tha1i1snapseasily
o,·eracartndgerimwhentheboltisclosed
Thecject0<isaplunge,-,poweredbyacoil
~g,finedintoaholcintheMl1headfaoo.lt
isheldinplaccbyasmallcrosspinthrough
thcholthead
There are eight evenly spaced shallow
groovcs.aboo1 •!1"wide.milledlengtll\,iSCon
thebol1body.Evidentlythechiefp<Dp05Cof
thescgroov,:sistoreduccfrictionbetwecnthe
bolt and receiver. Three 1/1~gasvcntholesan:
drilledalongtheboltbody.solocatedthat
"'hcntheactioniscloscdandlockedtheholcs
areexposcdinlhcrj«tionport
Theboltisdrilledfrornthereartoaccep!
thefiringmechanism.Thismechanisrncon-
sistsofaone-piecefuingpinthreadedimothe
cockingpiece,acockingpiccewhichfitsin-
sidethebohslccv,:.abohske-.·cthreadedimo
theholt,acoilmainspringwhichfitso,'erthe
firing pin and iscompr=edbct-,.ttnthc boll·
slccve sternandthecollaronthefron1ofthe
firingpin,andaballbearing,whichisfitted
intoaholeinthebolt-slcc\'CSlcmtokccpthe
firing pin from turning.
Thcone11iecebol1sJce,,,oisentirelycloscd
a1therear.ltstopandsides.gentlycontoun:,:I
andtapcredtothercar,formaverypleasing
ootline.OnlyitsbonomisOf.'C"IOa,ccep!the
rockingpiece. Thecockingpietthasatail
bolt
cxtcosion(asonthepo51-l964Model70Win-
chesier)whichprojectSbackandbelowthc
rearendofthebollsJw.'Cwhenlheactionis
cocked.providingacockingindica1or.Thc
noseofthecockingpiecefitsimoacamno1eh
eu1intotherearofthebolt.sothatontheup-
hftoflhcbolthandlcit.andtbeattachedfiring
pin(togetherthcyarecalledthestriker)are
cocked.OncomplclClift-upofthebohhandle,
thenoscofthecockingpie,:eresisinashallow
no1eh.ThispreVt'lltstheboltslcevcfrombcing
easilytumedwhentheboltisopen.
ProperfiringpiiitipprotJUSionisob!aincd
bytumingtheflringpinlhccome1arnountin
the cocking piece. This adjustment is main•
taincdbyaballbearingfitiedintoaholeinthc
threaded stemoftheboltsleeve. Panofthe
=cndofthefiringpinsiemismilledflat
whcreitconlactstheballbearing;wilhthe
ballbearinghelddownwhenthcbolt$lc,e,.-c
isinplace,thcfiringpincannottwn.
Thcsafety.buil!intothcsideoftheboh
slecve.isaroiarytypewithashort.serraied
lc,·erforitsoperation.Thcstcrnofthesafety
exrendsintothebohslec,·etocngagethe
cockingpicoewbenthesafetyistippedback.
lnaslo!cutintothebol!slecve,infrontofthe
safety,afla!piocc:ofmetalservcsasthcboh
lock.Piv(>ledQllascrewlhreadedintotheboh
ske,·c.i1istcnsronedbyasmallfla1spring
anachedu,ii.Thisspringalsoser.-csu,hold
the safety in place and tension it Whcnthe
safctyistippedbackiteamsthcstrikerbacka
sligh1amoun1andlocksi1thcrc:a1thesame
1imei1tipsthcboltlock10thatthcbohisalso
locked. Whcnthesafctyistippedupandfor.
wardared-<:Oloreddotise,cposedQllthcbolt
$lc,e,.-c.indicaringthatlheriflccanbefi!W.
Thcai~mcchanism,as"-ellasthcbolt-
stop.iscaniedinanalwninwnandsheclmct-
alhoosing,the"'holeanachedtothcundersidc
ofthen:ceiverbyapinandheldtightbyasct-
scn:winthcfrontofthchousing.Thcsear,the
frontcndofwhichprojcctsintothecocking
camracewayintherecei,·er,ispivocedona
pinrunningthroughthehousing,andisren.
sionedbyasmallwircspring.Diroc1lyunder-
nealhitisthetrigger,a!sopiVQ1ingonapin
throoghlhehousing.Thrcadedintolhefromof
thehousingisthetriggcrwcight-<>f-pullad-
justmcntscrew,withthetriggercoilspring
positionedbctweenlhisscn:wandthetrigger.
Thrcadedin101herearoflhehousing.behind
thetrigger,isthetriggertake-uporsearen-
gaganentadjustmentscrew.
Thebol1-stop.aroundplunger,fitsvcrti-
callyin10aholcinthefron1panofthetriggcr
housing,itsuppero:ndproje<:tingthrougha
hole in the honom of the receiver. Herc its
cnd.projedingintoagrocwecu1intothehol1
body,actstoS1opthehohwhenthecndofthe
groo,·ecomaruthehoh-s10p.ooguidcand
prevcnttheholtfromiumingasthehohis
operated.Asimilarhol1-Stopazrangementis
also used in th<= Texas Magnum, Champlin
andRemington788actionsasdescribcdin
other chapten in this book. In the Mari< V
action,thehoh-stopislinkcd10thetriggerby
anL-shapedpieceofmc1al:bypullingthe
triggerback.,whichpullstheholt-stopplungcr
down,theboltcanheremovedfromthere-
OOver. This amngemcnt makes bolt removal
oorwcnien~b\ltitpre,'m!edtheinstallalionof
atriggerS1opadjustmentscrew,wruchmany
riflerncnconsiderdesirablc
Thescpara!Cshcet-metalmagazinebo:c is
folded1ofo,mandwcldeda1oneend.Jts10p
fitsintothemagazinewcllopcninginlh<=
receiver bottom. The1ide$of1he11,ellare
milled10lea,·ecartridgcguidcribsinthere-
OOver,butberitlipsoothetopfrontpanof
the magazine box also provide additional
guidesforcartridgesfedintorhechamberby
thebolt.
Thebarrelandactionaresecurclyheldin
lhestod:bytwogu.vdscrewspassinglhrough
theendsoftheguard,lheselhreadingintothe
m:oil lug and receiver tang The magazine
hoxisal10heldinplacebythesieelguard.
"'hichisnotastamping.Thestcclllooq)laie,
hingedtothefrontoftheguard,isheklclosed
orrelea!Cdbyasimplecatchfittcdimoasloc
inthefrontoflhegu.vdhow.Thefollowerhas
aridgcononesidctostaggerthecamidgesin
themagazine.TheendsoftheW-shapedfol-
lowerspingfitintomoniscsinlhetloorplatc
andfollower,hoklingthesethreepartS~
Excei>'forthelriggerhousing.theWcath-
erbyMarkVacrionismadeen1irelyofstcel
All main wllfking parts of the action are
extremelyv...,llmade,finedandfinished.llle
holtfitsdoselyintherccei,·er.thecontacring
surfaceshetv,eentheboltandm:eiYerlevel
andsmoolhandtheoutsideoftheholtishigh-
lypolished.Theboltandthere,:ei,..,..areheat-
ttc:a!Cd for maximwn strength, a.s are various
ochcrparts,andhardcnedasrcquiredAlloot-
sidesurfaccsarehighlyp0lishedandblued,
-
excepcforthebrightbol1bodyandthe10pof
th<=receiverring,bridgeandbollslce,·e.
Thesearesandblastedbeforcbluing
The serial nwnberisstampedononeside
oftherecei,..,..ring.Stampcdontheothcrside
oftherecei=ringis:
MARKV
U.S. PATENT 3,013,355
The name WF.ATII E RBY, and the letter
R withinacircle,(namercgis1rationmarl.).
arestampedon1heroceiverwallinbold
script
TlkllllWl•AIIIIIIMY
Checktosee1ha1chamberandmagazine
are emply. To disassemble !he Weathefby
Marl<Vrifleprooeedasfollows:v.iththesafe-
tyinthefireposilion.openthebohand,while
puUingbackontbelriggerasfarasitwillgo,
rtmoveboltfromthcrttti,"er.Todisasscmble
1hebol1,grasptheholtbodyinthelefthand
v.iththebonomsideoflheboltslce,:eup:wilh
atool(ascrewdrivcrwilldo)intherighlhand,
finnlypulltheoockingpi«cbackandsliplhe
notchonthesideoftheoockingpieceoverlhe
ma!chingnoo:horihelfonthebohsleeve
Nowgrasplheholtslee-.·c.bOClomsideup.and
unscrew the bolt body from it---ratherthall
unscrewing the bolt sle,we from the bolt
When unsercwinglhe bolt fron, !he sleeve.
IIO!Ctheballhearing,loca!edinaslocinthe
threadedshankof1hehol1sJoeve:assoonasit
isenrirelyvisible,pickll>ehearingoutwith
iw=rsoriapitout.Thcnunscrewthebolt
fullyfromthebohsleeve.Withascrewdri,..,..,
rel<:a$Ctheoockingpiecefromtheshelfand
A
Weatherby Mark V boll head showing: (A) ejector, (8) e><1racto1, end
twool!hethreerowsotlocklnglugs(I01alotnlnelugs)
allowittomoveforward.Graspingthebolt
sloe,..,f,rmJy,andusingaCrescaitwn:nchoo
the forward shoulder on the firing pin.
unscrewthefiringpinslowlyfromtheoock-
ingpicce,beingcarefulnoctoallow1hespring
tojwnp out when the firing pin is fully
unscrewedWiththefuingpinmnovcd.take
thecockingpiecefromthebohsloe,·c.To
remove thesafe1y,unscrewthesrnallbolt-
sle<:,..,lock screwfromthesideoftheboh
s1oi,,,,..,,removctheholt-$k:e>·elockandspring.
andpulloutlhesafcty.
Toremo,..,theextractorandtjector,dri,..,
ootthctwosmallpinsinthebohheadthat
hoidthescpartsinpl:IC('.Thelffl.lllpinsare
snuglyfinedsoagoodcylindricaldriftpunch
isneeded.Withthepinsrcmoved,orlh=-
quartersso,1heextraetorandejector.also
"'iththeirspings,canhen:moved.Rcassero-
bleallpartsinre\"Cr.l<order
lnassernblingthefiringpinandfiringpin
rttainerballbearing,mal:csurctheflatsideof
lhefuingpincoincidcswiththeholeforthe
ballbearing.Assembletheboltslecveinthe
bolt,thencheckfiringpinprocrusionaflcr
loweringthecockingpie<:e.Normalprouu-
sionfromtheboltfoceisabout.OS5"to.060".
lfthepro,rusionisnoticeablylessormore
thallthis.thenthefuingpinmustberum:din
or0111oftheoockingpic,:easrequired
Toremo,·e1hebarrclandreceiver,1um
001the1woguartlscrews,usingaproperfi1-
ting screwdriver. lhen lift out barrel and
rccei,·er. Pushandpulltheguardandmaga•
zine from the stock. Drive out the hollow
pinsfron,theguar,Jtorcmovclhefloorplare
fromflootplaiela1ch.
Torcmo,·ethelriggermcchanism,loosen
1hese1-screwintheexm:mefrontofthelrig-
gerhousing.Usingaproper-sizeddrift,drive

outthepinholdingthetriggermcchanismlO
thertteiverandrcrnovethetriggerunit.Rc-
aMcmhleinreverseOl'der.
ltisnotOO\'isabletocompletelydisas.sem-
blethetriggermechanism.unlcssabsolutely
ncocssary.Howcver.thiscanbedoneifgn:at
cautionistakcn
TheM;J.O(Vtriggerhasonly1woadjus1-
ments.weightofpullandtakc-upThepull
weightadju.wnentscmvislocatedinthefron1
ofthelowerpartofthetriggerhousing;tumcd
clockwiscthcpullwcightisincreascd.and
viccversa.Thetakc-upadjusnnen1screwi.s
Joca1edattherearpanofthehousing:ruming
itclockwiscdcacasesscarmgagemcnt.This
adjustmerui.snormallycorrcctlysetatlhefac..
10Jy.andi1shouldno1betampcredwi1h.1f
suthadjustmentsaremade, the rifle should
alwaysbetestedtomake~thestrikerwill
notfallwhcnthebohiscloscdsmardy.Todo
this,slarnlhebohcloscdsevcraltimes;ifthe
scarfailsiostayrockedatanytimc.eilher
oneorbothoftheadjustmentsaretoolight
462
TopviewollheMarkVWeatherbyaction
-
Thcroisooo,'Cl"-travcl(triggerstop)adjust•
l don'1 believe I am prejudiced for or
againstanyp:,rticularcentcrfirerumboltriflc
oraction.butbeingquiteconscrvati,-elm..st
admi! tha1 Weatherby rifles ha,·e nevcr
appealedtomc.ldon"tlikctheWeatherby
stock,sinccldislikewhitespaccrs.inlays.
slantedforendtips.flaredpistolgripsand
skip-linechcckering.Pulaconse.-vativc.clas-
sitwal nuts1ockontheWcatherbybwrded
actionandl'dlikctohavetherifleinmygun
cabinet.Ontheotherhand.l,'er'Jmochhke
theMarkVaction.andthi,iisthepanofthe
rillc"'-e'n:intcrestedin
The Mari< V action is large, long, and
hcavy.bu1i1issostreamlinedthatitdoesnot
appeartobeso.TheMari<Vactionisstrong,
Somcothcractionsarejus1asstrong,likethc
Texas Magnum and Champlin, bul I doubl if
any.,.,stn")nger.Theninelockinglugsoffera
lotof\ockingcontactandsheararea.Sincc
therecei=ringisnot"'1'akcnedbyanydeq)
--
W8a1harby Mn VHIiie
lockinglugracc-waycuts.thereisli11lechance
thatthereceiverwi!leverfail.Acoon:linglO
Wealherby"sl962calalog,theMarkVrttei,~
erandholtaremadeofSAE434()chromc-
molysteel.Therecei,'Cl"ishardcnedl040-43
RockwellC,whilelhebol1ishardenedto:SO..
5Sonthesamescale.ThcWeatherbyshop
pro,·OOthestrcngthoftheMarkVbysubjcct•
ingillOnumcroustorturetests.firingheavy
overloadstha1wooldha,-ewrockOOmostoth·
eracll011$
TheMari<Vactionisalsoverysafe.The
shootcrfiringitcanfcclsafebehir.dit.andoo
manerhowbadlythecasehcadmaynq,run,,
orlhcprimcrlcakgasimoandaroundthc
bolt,thercisnochancethatanyoflhegascs
"illstrikctheshooler.Whatevermayhappm
whenthcrifleisfiredwithanaccidentalo,-er-
load,orwithanobstructioninthehore.thc
cartridgchead-limitedbytherimoftheOOh-
faccrtteM-<:anonlyexpandaverylinlebit
Thconlywcakpoin1inthi.srimisthecu1for
theexmiaor.butc,'Cllhereexpansionililim-
i1edbecausc1hcrimaroundtheham:l-face
coun!erhorewi!lhmithowmochtheextrac-
--__
,
!$:~
i~~

:1
:''
"
-
,,.
Part9Nol.Shown
t;'5pmgwasr.
SlOCkHoulr,gAll.ldmllnt
T ~.Top

brctthingsystcm practicallysealsthecar-
tridgeinthcchamber. lfanygasescmerthc
boltlhroughthefiringpinholethey'llbe
releasedthroughthcthreeholcsinthcsideof
theboll.
TheMarl:Vactionisea'iytooperate.The
well-placed bolt handle offers convenient
grasph1gand.bccauseofthctriple5Cloflock-
inglugs,thcbohhandlehasaswingofonly
S4degre,esinsteadofthcusual90dcgrtt5for
actionswithdualopposedlockinglugs. The
bohfitsveryprecisclyinthcreeei,·crand.as
loogasthcoutsideofthcboltandthcinsideof
thcreceivcrarekep1clean,bohopera1ioois
smoofflandcasy.lfoilanddinarealki"Wto
accumulate on !hes,, surfaces, bolt operation
eanbccomcsluggish.
When I first elUlfflincd a Marl: V ac,ion I
\V3Sabi1skepticalabou1thebolt-S1op.l
though1i1100smal!,andlhadtheidealcould
shearitoffh)lopeningthebol1verysmartlya
fowtimes. ltriedtha!acoupleoftimcs,bul
thcbolt-stopmus1bemadeofgoodstuff-it
wouldn'1shear.HOWeYer,whiletheround-
pcg bolt-stop may be adequate, I think it
wouldbebettcrifitwereflat,say'/,•wwide
byS/1{loog
Abou1thconlythingldon'1likeaboutthc
Marl:Vactionisthetinysafctybuuon.This
streamliningbusircssisoo;.butitshoold~
includemakingasafcty!Osmalli1canno1be
-
easilyandconvenientlyopcratedunderall
condi1ions
Weathcrbyriflesandcanridgesarepopubr
1hcwor!dover. Theyareexpcnsiveandfor
thisreasontheyaremostpopularwith the
wealthy.Becausethcriflcsareveryshowy,
andtheWeatherbyshopeanreallyrnakethem
464
Weatherby 300 Magnum MaJ1c. V Delu,e rille
=~~ Weatherby Imperial $((l!)8 in Buehlllf
w.theyarep0pu.larwithshowpcople,potcn-
1a1es.notablesande,"C11go,·ernot'S.11lcyarc
alsopopularwithAsianandAlncanbiggame
humers. JackffConnor.inT/ieRifleBook,
es1imatcstha1halfthehuntingpimiesgoing
onsafariha,,:a1leas1oneWeathcrbyMag-
numrifleintheirarscnal
SeparateMarl:Voctionsare~a,...ilable.
Weathcrbydocs~manufac1ureMarkV
octions.Priorto1969thcWealherbyactions
"""' made by J.P. Sauer and Son in Ger·
many.l'roml9691ol99SWealhcrbyMarl:V
actions were made in Japan by llowa
Machinery Co .. Ll<l .. Nagoya. Japan. The
same finnalsomade the Weatherby Van-
guan:ldescribcdin~chaplcr.Bcginning
inmid-1995,thcritlcsarebeingmadcinthc
U.S. by $aCQ Defense. Inc. of$aCQ, Maine
Mll'II VVll'nltlllltter
ThestandardMarl:Vactioniswmecessar-
ilylargcforanycanridgemuchsmallcrthan
30-06.E,·enthesma!lestofthcWeathC"rby
Magnum cartridges. such as the 257 WM (it
was1hcsma1lescWca1herycaliberin1964)
wasjusttoopowen'ulforthcaveragevanninl
huntcr.WealhcrbyooceofTereda22centcr-
firecanridgecalled1hc220Rocke1,which
"asmerelyan"irnproved"220Swift.hwas
~vcrypopularandhasdroppedbytheway-
side.Alater22-caliberWeathertiydc,,:lop-
menl "-as the 224 Weatherby Magnum, a
eanridgcbasedonaminiatureWeatherby
belled magnum case. b ~ for the head it is
similarinsizemthe22SWinchestcrcase.
Weatherbyintroducedthe224WMeartridge
inanewrifleinl964,CllllingitthcWeathcr-
byMarkV224Varmintrnastcr.
A sealed-down version of the standard
Marl<Vaction,i1wasonlymadewitharigh1-
handbolt.fuceplforsiu."'Cightandnumber
oflockinglugs,bothactions"-erenearlyiden-
1ielll.Togivesomeindicationofthcdiffer-
enccs.herearesomespc,:ifielltionsfortllc
Vam,;ntmasteraction·
Wdghl 32oz.
Ungth . 7..50"'
Boll 1ra, ·tl .. . ........ 3.25~
R11tel,·erdia me1cr l.100"
·'""
lns1eadofhavingninclockinglugs.lhc
Varminunastcrhasonlysix;IWOineachrow
ofthrt<'.Sinccthe224WMandthc22-2SO
don'tdevelopashighbreechpressuresand
beck-thrustasthclargerWealherbyMagnum
cartridges.lhcsixlockinglugsaremorcthan
amplemsecurelylock thebo!t within the
!nl968.Wealhcrbybeganchamberingthc
Vannintmas1crriflcfortheverypopular22-
2SOcartridgeaswell.
T HE WEATHERBYFIRM. kno"11asthe
soun:eofsorneofthemos1powerfulrines
aodcanridgesintheworld.branchcdou1in
about 1970toincludealesspowerfuland
lessoostlyboll-actionrincin1heirproduc1
linc.Tha1rinewastheVanguard.
1 uscdthevcrb"was"b«auscldonot
findlheVanguardhstedinthcir 1994ca1a.
log.lhavcitongoodauthoritythatWeath-
erbyhasdroppedtheVanguard.Youshould
be aware that the rifle may have gone
1hroughoneormoreminorchangcssince
1970.butlwill limitthisdiscussiontothe
onelhave.
Asmarkedplainlyon1herifle,myVan-
guardwasmadcinJapanbyHowa,thesamc
companythatmadc1heWca1herbyMarkV
While there was more 1han one Vanguard
riflemodcl,lchosetopun:hasethelateslone
with the composi1ion stock. which is the
Vanguard Weathcrguard. Weatherby last
listedthis rineasbeingmadcin223Rern.,
243, 308, 270, 7mm-08, 7mm Rem. Mag ..
and30-06,oniwoactionlengths.Myrincis
chambcredforthe223,hasa24•1ightweight
sponerbarreland"·eighs7.5pounds. Thc
mctalpanshaveasilverymanerust-proof
finish
The stock on my WcalhcrbyVanguard
Wca1hcrguardrincisdistinctive.hismade
ofamou!dedcompositeoffiberglassand
graphite and has a mane black finish. The
checkcringon1hegripandforendisin
relief,orhigher1hantherwof1hestock,
aodthediamondsarecleanandsharp.lthas
achcekpie<:e,rubberbuttpadandisfitted
withslingswi,..,lstuds.ltisa,,,cll-shaped
sponer11ockinas1ylellikc.Bynomcarua
good-lookings1ock,atleastinmyopinion,
ildoesfeelgoodinhandlingandshooting
lherine.
The Vanguard action has a one-piece
steel recei,..,rwhichprobablystancdasan
in,'CStmentcas1ingofachrome.rnolysteel
hismachinedinsidea,idouttofinaldimcn-
sions.Thefrontofthercceiveristhreaded
toaccep1thebam:lshank.Thebreechface
ofthcbarrelisnar,andrcccsscdtoatcept
the front end of the bolt much as in the
RerningtonM721 to700scries. Raceways
an: machined in the receiver for the two
lockinglugsonthcboltMmemachiningis
doneelsewhen:insidethcreceiverforthe
cockingcamraceway,bolt-stop,lockinglug
shoulders.andonthc outsidetofonnthe
tangandbohhandlenotch.Holcsarealso
drillcdandtappedforscopemountbascs.
Thisactio11uses1hesamernountbases15
made for the Weatherby Mark V. Below the
rccciverringthercisalargerecoilshoulder,
andbehindit1hcreccivcrisna1
Thebolt-stopisnotunlikethconeuscd
intheWinchestcrModel70.llisalcver
tcnsionedbyaspringandheldinplacebya
scn:winagroovcmachinedthroughthclcft
sidcwall. l1s10pstheboltwhcn1hetipofit
proje<:tsintotheleftlockinglugracewaylo
contac1thclocking!ug.
ThcVanguardbolthasdualopposedfor-
ward,unslotted.lockinglugslikcthoscon
theM700Rcmingtonbolt. 'The face of the
bol1isreccssedforthecanridgehead.ln
theleftsideofthisrccessaspring•backed
plungcrisposi1ionedtoscrvcas1hccar-
1ridgecje<:tor.Aslcnderclawextrac1oris
fi1tcdinagroovcon1herightsideofthis
rccessjustabovetheedgeoftheright(low•
er)!ockinglug.Both1hccjec1orandextn1c·
torarehcldinplacebysmallpins. Neither
ofthcsetwopansproje<:1sbeyondthefront
oftheboltface.
Then:isaringofsteelaroundthevery
rcarendoflhc Vanguard bolt to provide
extrarnetalaZlda\\'CaJ•freesurfaceforlhc
cockingcamnotch.Thebolthandleispan
ofthisring.aodi1sbasefitsintoano1chin
therccei,·ertoservell!thcsafetylug.Tbc
bolthandlcknobhasaringofcheckcring
aroundit.butitissopoorlydonethatit
wouldha,·ebeenbettcrtohavelcft ilofT.
Herc,anangledsurface a1theupperendof
thebohhaodle.aodamatchingsurfaccat
thcn:aroftherecciverbridgc,sen-'Cas
cammingsurfaces1oaidextrac1iononthe
openingofthebolt.Thisringalsoscrves
effectivelytocloseoff1hejoint between
bohandrcceh·er.Thcrean:foorgasescape
holesinthebolt:threeevcnlyspacedones
nearlhcccnlerofthcboltallowgases10
cscapetotheright.shouldgasesc,·crenter
1hebolt;andonelargeronentarthcheadof
theboltallowsgasestoescapedownward.
Thercisalsoagas,·enrholeinthelcftof
the receiver ring.
Sixshallowgroovcsaremachined!ength•
wisein1othebol1bodyiorcducedraginthe
operationofthebolt.
Thisactionhasaboltanti-bindfeatun:,
asuscdonanumberofmodemtumbolt
actionssuchasSavage.Winchcster,Rem·
ington and01hcrs. This isa fea1urc in
which the right rail or sidewall of the
re<:eiver is made wi1h a rib that extends
frorninsideof1hereecivcrring101herear
ofthcreceivcrbridgc.Therightlocking
lug is made with a groove through it 10
slidcovcrthisrailastheboltrunsbackand
fonh. Thisanti-bindmcthodsccmstodo
whatitissupposctodotoreducethctcn-
dcncyofthcbolttobind
Thefiringme<:hanismuscdintheVan•
guard isarathercomplicatedonc made up
ofsevenparts.Thcyare:firingpin(striker).
coilmainspring.boltsleeve.cockingpiecc,
(Abova)TheWeathelbyVangoardWeather•
guardnfle
465
cock,napin,boltshroud(somerimescallcd
lhcbollsl«v(:body)and$Ct-screw.ltisan
Ufefflbly,w11ohecasuallymessedw,1h.
Mys1cmlldvic:cistha1thisfiringmcci..-
m$mshouldnotheW:enapanwilcssthctt
,sadircnttdiodoso.suth asabn:ol;enlir-
1ng p,n. Removma th,s ass,embly from lhc
bol11ndrc-placingitisnoproblcm.but10
d.i$USmlblcandreasscmblcthcseparuCff•
tamly11
Theone-picccfiringpinh.uacollarat
iufrom cnd 1oholdthcvcry s1iffm1in-
spring,whichs!ipso,·cri1.'Themainspring
islhcntomprcsiedbet"·ccnthisoollarand
thcbol1slccvc,whichisintumbackcdand
hdd1nplaccby1hccockingp1ccefincdto
thcrcaroflhcfiringpin.Thccockingpiccc
isteeuredto1hefiringpin.andprc,·cntnl
from1Ummg.by1crosspinatthclo11,cr
pinof1hccock1ngp1ccc.Thiscocking
466
p1«Mo-firingpinjoiningisacommon
manufac1uri"i method used on a number
of modem bolt-Kt,on rines. A thin hp on
thccockingpiccccxtcndingtolhcrcaris
thccocbnamdica1or.and,.-hcnlhcacuon
11cl0Kdandtockcd.lhccndofthi1hpcan
bcsec:nandfcltcucnd1ngfromlhcbot1om
rcaroflhcshroud
Now comes the more complicated pan,
1hcbohslccvc.llhastwofunctions.First.
nholds 1hcfiringasscmblyinthcbo!t.The
frontpa,1ofthisslcc,·c,whichfi1sintothc
rcarofthcbolt,hasalugonitsforwardcnd
10 cn11111e in from of a collar machined
insidcthcrcarofthcbolt.Apassagcwayis
machmcdimoth1shollowtoallowthcbol1
slcc•-ctocntcrtheboltandlockinfrontof
this .,..ppon. This is al,io a ratlw:r common
manufitelunngmcthod.asopposcd1oi..,·-
1ng thrcadstodothcjob. The Va"iuard
boltslu,·ciscnlargcdatilsrcarend,and
1hisouu1dcarcaisthrudcd.Tooo,·cr1hc
cocltinap,ece,lhcboltslccvcthrmd,nto1t
1bou1fouriumsllnlillhcthreadsarcnush
w,ththeshroud.andthchalf-roundnoich
onthetllrcadsbncsup,..,thlhcbotlomof
lhccockmgpoccc.Lastly,thctt111hc11ny
sct-1Crcwinthef°"'-ardbottomn&h1sulc
ofthcshroud1olockthcbol1slcc•·cand
pr-event ii from 1uming. Many modem bolt•
ac1ionrinesha\'erncloscdoroovCT'Cdcock-
mgpicces.MO$toftenthcyareanin1cgn,l
panof1hcbohslceve.andthescan:usually
simplcascomparcdtothconc I have just
described
Thc-rcisalsoaholethrough1hcn&ht11dc
of the shroud in!o which. if the cockin11
piccc is pulled or pushed rearward far
enough.1closc-finingpincanbc11l$Cflcd
tom1entttano«:hin1hecocltingp,eaand
 Thepholoshowslhetriggermechanismandlhe
~ !lef8WS: (A) weighl"O/--p.JI adjustment and
(B)searengage,nent~.
holdthecockingpieceback.lleldbackthis
way.the firing mechanism is then qui1e
casytorcmo,·e.Todothis.turntheshroud
counterdockwiseaboui90degreesuntil it
can slip out
Thctriggcrmechanism.composcdofthc
1rigger.sear.pins.springsandse1-screws.is
housed in an aluminum bo~ which in tum is
attachedtothebonomofthereceiverbya
single Phillips-head screw. Two trigger
adjustmcnts areprovided.Onealthebot•
tornrcarofthetriggerhousingcontrolsthe
sear engagement The second one. in the
cornerinfrontofthehousing.controlsthe
"·eightofpull.Mytriggcr.asadjustedby
1hefactory.needednofurthcradjustmcnt.
andmyadvicetoownersofthisrifleis to
OO!tamperwithit.
Thesafctyismountedonlherighlsideof
thetriggcrme<:hanism. ltsserratedendpm--
je<:1sabo,·e1hes1ocklineatthesideofthe
1-l'lng.Swungback.thesafetylocksthetrig-
gerandthebolt.
ThctriggerguardplateonmyVanguard
rifle is made of an aluminum alloy and
anodizedablue-black,whilc1hefloorplate
ismadcofhighlypolishedandb!ucds1cd
lfindtha11hcfloorplatecatchisoncof1he
Leh--sidevlewotlheVanguardactton,opened
bestdcsignsofalltheriflcsinmycabinc!,
-
andcasiertouseandhandicrthanthcca1ch
on an M70 Winchester. lt is much less
bulkyandlessconsp,cuousthanthecatch
oolheMarkXMausers
Ontheleftsidcofthen:ceiver.
VANGUARD
MADE IN JAPAN
Thecalibermarkingis oothelcflsideof
the barrel breech. On the left side of the
n:cei,·crbridge:
467
AngledviewollheWealheJbybollshowing:(A)or.eollhelhreegas Anothe<viewollheVar,guartlbollshowinglhegrooY9(A)intherlght
ventholes,(B)el<1r&e10<,(C)lockinglugsand(D)ejec10<. lockingluginlhebollanti-bindsystem.(B)thelargegasvemhole
belowthebolt,(C)thebolt.fa<:ereces.sand(D)longillldinalgfOO\ltls
inlhebolllx><.fy

inthcmountainsorfarnonh.Butlcertain- cameoutofthebox. I likethcm:cssedbar-

BY WEATHERBY (I N SCRIPn
SOUTH GATE, CALIFORNIA
The serial numbcr.pm:cdedby1helc1-
tersVL.is,;1ampedontherigh1sidcofthc
lydolikctheres1of1heriflc.andespecial- rel brecch, thebolt.stop, theanti-bind fea-
ly so the action. However, I think 1ha1 ture,s.afctyandtllefloorplatelatch.The
whoeverdcsignedthcboltshroudonthis m:oilshoulderorlugattheboltomofthe
ac1ions«mcdtohavedonethejrdcadlev- recei.-er ring is unnecessarily heavy-it

-
recci,·erring:
Aslmentioncdbefore,lamnotcxcited
about a non-wood stock. I would much
preferthalmyriflehadawell-madewalnu1
stock.lprobablywouldthinkdiffcremifl
wcregoingonanexpensivebiggamchunt
cl hes1 to complicate matters in the way it
isfittcd.Surelyilcouldhavebeensimplcr
Ofcou<R. in the lifetime of this rifle it may
ne,·cr beneces$al')'todisasscmblethefir-
ingmcchanism.soitdoesnotmauer100
muchthatitisnoteasily1.akenapa11.This
unitiswcllcnoughmadeu>lastanumber
of lifetimes.
There is not much aboutthisaclion to
critidzc. lcanlivewi1hitjustastherifle
couldhavebeenmuchlighterandbejustas
good. ldonotmindthemallefinishonlhe
barre!andrecei.-er. All in all. I !ikethis
Vanguard action.
f"orahistOl')'oftheVanguardriflebefore
Weatherbyputtheirnameonit,youshould
read1hcper1inentchap1crs.

468
 Weatherby Vanguard Hille

14 , •

() /<? ' '1";/J

-~

)'! 1 0
1

~ ~~ 12
04
,/,Li,i
A '
-
~ -
,,,~~ / . :,·
c,, ~;,:,~
/ ~ ··~
,, . ~

I '
~·
9
, ..? 40

-r-·-~
"" 34 Sakily·Lever

~
35 CreepScrewWashe<

"""
36 TfWB(Housing Altaehmeol
'S7 HousingScrewStarWasher
~ 38 HousingScrewSel&:raw

,."
39 T r i g o e r ~

""
""
"" 43 FolowerSpmg
""
"
469
W HEN THE LITTLE 22 Homel car-
tridge was intn:,duced in the early l930s, it
didrt01takeWincbesterlongbeforetheyhad
arinechamberedforit,Thcriflewastheir
Modcl54holtaction.anditsactionwasthe
samcsizeandlengthasthatofthesamcriflc
madcforthe30-06cartridge.l1tookal01of
engincfflngandspccialtoolingtomaketha1
largeactionfunctionrcliablyforthe22Hor-
net.bo1theWinches1erpcor,ledidi1.Thclj1.
tleHome1canridgewasomofpla«intha1
big action. WhentheMode170rcplaccdthe
M54in1937,i1wasali;oofferedinthellor-
ne1caliber,botlheHome1wasoomorerom-
patiblewithlheM70actionthanithadbcen
withtheM54
Anyway.withlhcin1n:>duc1ionofthe22
llomet.Winchesterhadasmallfamilyof
ccmerfirecanridgesforwhichtheyhadno
bolt-ac1ion riflecompa1ible10 their small
size.Thccartridgeswcrethe22Homct.2!8
Bee,25-20andtheveryold32-20.Tofill
1his gap. the designers came up with the
Model 43, si~ed.constn.ictedandpriced to
ma1ch 1hese fourcanridge,. It wa, intrer
ducedin1949aflcrncarlyfiveyearsof
develormcnt
ThcMode143Winchesterrif\cisa1urnbol1
repeater with a delachablc box magazine
whichhold,;threccanridges.lt1,,eighsabout
sixpounds.lthasaman-siw:lwalnutstock
that is fitted wi1h IIOIHlctachablc sling swivels
and a chc,:kerc,,;l s1ed bunplate. The 24#
lapen:drouodbarrelhasanin1egralftontsight
rampbascforabeadsight,andadovctailslOI
forlhcelevation-adjustableopenrearsight
The first M43 rifles were nol drilled and
tappedforscopemounts,butthelaterones
TwomodelrnftheM43weremade.Therc
was the Model 43 Standard sponcr as
describedabove.and1heModel43Spccial
spor1er.ThcSpccialmodelfeaturedbe11er
qualitywalnutthanusedfortheStandard
modelwithbenerfinish,cbcckcrcdpismlgrip
470
andforend,pisiolgripcap"iththcWinches-
ternamconit,andwasnormaUyflttedwitha
L)'ffl311No.57Arccei,..,,.sightandarcarsight
blank.Inl9S0theStandan.lmodelretai\cdat
S.54.95
Thcau1horofthebookTlu:His1o,y</[Win-
ches1erFireamos.l866-l966.suggestslhat
1he Winchestcrdesigncrswcreordcredto
d<:signlheM43asajuniorversionofthe
Model70rifle.Depcndingon00Wonevicws
1he M43,oron which panoftheriflcshe
comparcseachby,inonerespecttheM43isa
"Junior'"M70andinotherl1!SpCCISitisnol
thatatall.lnmyvicw,lhcM43isa,"Cryfar
cryfromtheM70.Abo<11theonly1hingi1has
in common is that it is a bolt-action repealer
withaoi,e.piecestockandroundtapercdbar-
rel.Theactionsareasunalikeasiiispossible
mmakethem. Actually,theM43ac1ionis
oothingmorethanabecfcd-up,·crsiooafthe
Model69A22rimfireaction Topointlhis
outlc!'stakeaclosclookatlheM43action.
1111M43Actlon
Thcnxeiverisabout6Nlongandappcar.i
10ha>1'beenmachinedfromasolidroundbar
ofalloystcel.!1isboredandrcamcdclcar
throughanditsfton1endthreadedtoaccep1
lhcbam:I.Thelhrcadedshankofthebam:lis
.62SNlong..80SNindiame1er,"ilhtwentyV·
threadspcrinch.Justtothercaroflhclhreads
lherecci,..,,.hastwoopenings.alongnarrow
onebelowto5er\1'aslhcmagazine""llanda
J&ieoneabovefortheloadingpon.Along
L-slotismachinedinlhercarofthereceivcr
tofonnapa.ssagev,ayandalockingshoolder
forlhe~ofthebolthandlc.Oppositethis
slot.b<11entirelywithintherecei,·er.isanoch-
crl-slo10rgroove10ser-·easlhelocking
shooldcrforthelockinglugontheleftsideof
thcboltcockingslee,·e
The bolt assemblyconsistsoffowtcen
pans. Thcmainpanisthcboltbody. ltsftont
endismachined1oacccp11hcright-and left-
hand extractors, which are held inpla« by
twosmallpinsandtcnsioncdbyiwosmall
springs.Therigh1-handonedoesmos1ofthc
workofexlrllctionwhilelheleftonea,;sislsin
ejection.Thefaceofthebam:lisfla1excqi1
therearer..osmallslotscutintoitforthecnds
ofthcextractorhooks.Thcreccssfoclhecar-
~isinthcfaceofthcbolt.Thclow,:1'se,;-
tionofthis...:essiscutawaywherethe
w>dcrsideoftheftontoflhcboltisflat.Thus,
whenlhcboltstrip,;acanridgcfrom!hemag-
azir,eandpushcsitimothechamber,thecar-
tridgeheadslidesupintotherimrecessand
wxlerthecxtractorhooks.afeaturethaldoes
a"11ywiththechanccsofdoublelooding
Thcrearpanoftheboltistumedtoa
smallcrdiame1erthanlhefton1.ando,..,,.i1,s
fittcdthebohcod:ingslce,-eandthebolt
slce>1'.The00hcockingslce>·eispanoflhe
lx,lthandlc,the~orbascofwhichservcs
asoneofthe locking lugs. Opposite it isa
largerlockinglug,wi1hbolhlugsslidingin
andlockinginL-shapedsloo;intherccei,..,,.
Atriangularno1chinthebonomrearofthc
boltcockingslce,..,scrvesmcockthestriker
ontheupliftofthebolthandle.Thebohhan-
dlehasap,:ar-shapedgraspingknobanda
swcpt-Oaekstcm
lnsidetheboltistheone-pi-e,,,cstrikcrorfir-
ingpin.hispoweredbyastrongcoilspring.
TherearoftheboltisfullyC11Closedbya
plug, and the entire boll assembly is held
togctherbyapinthroughtherearendofthe
boltslce>1',boltbodyandboltplug.Anolher
crosspinlhroughthebohandfiringpinis
locatedundcrthebohcockingsl«'-1'.Apro-
jectionbclowtheflringpinengagesinthe
eockingno1chinthebol1cockingslee,·e.
Thctriggerandsafctyme<:hanismisfitted
inmachinedcu1Soothebottomoftherecciv-

erandisheldinplacc.andpivOISonapinina
ba.$Cdovetaiiedintotherocciver.Thetrigger
isofone-piececonstructionandiste11Sioned
byasmallooilspringlocatedinaholcinthe
magazine holder. with the spring bearing
againsttheWldersidefrontofthetrigger.A
capscrewbelowthetriggerspring pro..-ides
themeansfora!imi1edamountofwcigh1-of-
pulladjustmcnttothctrigger.Aprojec1ionon
theupperfron1ofthetriggcrservesasthesear
ro engage with a matching sear in the bonom
ofthestriker.Thefrontendofthctriggeralso
SC'l"\'esasthebolt-stop.comingintocon13C1
withaprojectiononthebonomfrontofthe
boltwhcnitisopened.
Therearcseve111I pansrothesafety. The
safctybuttonitsclf ismowitcdonthetrigger
piVOlpinonlherightsidcofthetriggerand
rocciver.Onthesafetybunonthe!l'all'two
anns.withtheoneupfrontandontopextend-
inginsidcthercccivertoengagcinanocchin
theboltcockingslee\'e when the safety ii;
applicd.lockingtheboltclosed.Thel«O<>d
arrnon thesafetybunonengageswilhthe
safetybarwhichismoomedandslidesonlhe
topofthetrigger.Thisbarslidespartlyin
groovesandalsoisheldinpositionhyasmall
screw.Asmallspringandplungerinthetrig-
ger,andbearingagainstthesafetybar.pro-
videsthetcnsiontothesafety.Thesearsarc
locked in engagement when the safety is
tippedback,efTOClivelyslidingthesafetybar
forwardsothatitsfrontendengagcsoverthe
edgeofthemagazineholder.
Themagazineholderisastcclbox-like
affairattachedtothcbottomoftherecci,-er
withascrewatitsfrontendandacrosspinal
itsrear.Themagarinecatchpositionedinthe
rearendofthisboxisalsohungonthepin
thatholdsthebox. Tensionisprovidedtothe
Toe M43actionwithde!achableboxmaga•
zinelnp!ace.
carchbyasmallspringbctwcenitandthc
magazineholdern,arwall . Themaga;tineand
thesimpletriggerguanlarestarnpings
Thebarrelandl>Clionassemblyisheldon
thestockby1woscrews;thefrontonegoes
truooghthestockandisthreadedintoalarge
diamctersruddc.w etai!edintothebn:tthend
oflhebarrel,andtherearscrewgoestruoogh
therearofthetriggerguanlandstockandis
-
threadedintothereceiver.Thefrontstudalso
servesastherocoillug.A ...oodscrewholds
thefroncofthetriggersuardinpW.
As l mentionedpreviously,theWinches-
terModel43actionisabeefed-upModel
69AWinchester.dilTeringmostlyintha1ilis
some,,.·hat!argerandheavier.withtwolock-
inglugsins1eadofoneandwithadifferem
magazinecatch.lhaveownedandusedthree
M43rinesandv,orkedonafewothers.larn
nowinclinedtobelie,·ethat lhisac!ion is
onlyrnarginalinstrengthforlhe22Homet
and218Bcccartridges.lsaythisbecause
oneoftherifkslfircdmorethanjUS!afew
timesde,·elopedexcessiveheads~.Also.
I have heard from other M43ownerstha1
theirrinesin1hesetwoca1ibersha,·edcvel-
oped headspace problems. Anyway. this
problemhashappenedtoooften for me nol
1otakeno1iceofit
lsuspectthattheincreasingheadspaee
condition resuhed from too little locking
contac1areatoholdtheboltsecurdy forward
inlhereceiver. lnolherwords. lbelie,·ei!
wasadesignfault.ldonolthinkthiswould
haveoccum:dhadthcboh.recei,·erandthe
boh cocking sleen been made larger in
diametersothatthelockingluga!l'acould
havebeenincreasedby25to50percen!or
more. It seems to me 1hat the dcsignm held
thesizeofeYerythingabollttheae!iontothe
Panoftheheadspaceconditioninsome
M43rinesmayhavebeenduewapoorfitof
thelockinglugi;and!ockingshoulders.per-
hapsanw,c,-enfitwithonelugbearingand
no1theother.Or.theswfacesofthecontac1-
ingareaswereno1 finishedsmoo(hsolhal
w-earoccurredrapidly. What.,,,'CTthereasort.
it happened. Faul1y heat-treatment of the
receiver. bolt and bolt cocking sleeve may
alsoha,-econtribuledtothisproblem.Before
these receivers were factory drilled and
1appedforscopernowus.lno1iccdconsider-
ahledifferenoesinthehardncssfn:,monerine
10 another when drilling them for scope
mounts. As time passed I began advising
ownenofthisriflcnottohavethechambers
improved.
ThetriggermechanismoftheM43Win-
cbestcrisnocthebcsl,althoughifthcshooter
didnotmindafour-tofivt,-pOUndtriggerpull
anddidnocfiretherifleagrcaideal.itw'aSgen-
erallysatisfactory.faetithoughthctmsionof
thetriggerspringoouldbeincreasedor
decreasedbyrumingthecapscrew.thisdid
,-erylittle10changethclrigger'sweighlofpull
There is nothing wrong with the striker or
mainspring,thelocklimeisYe,yshonandfast_
andtheignitionpositivc.bu!toa.dtie..'Cthisa
verystifTmainspringw'aSrequired.This,plus
thedirectlriggeMo-snikercontact.""'11lll'C$a
goodlyamountofsearengagancntrokeepthc
riflesafeandwminirnizcsearwear.Evenso,
searw-eardidoccurandthiscausedaproblcm
"ithsafeiy.Thesol111ionwouldhavcbeen10
providcapressun,redoctionlcverorplunger
befwcenthelriggerandthesuiker,as...a<ldooe
withthcModel70rifle.
471
 -
I havcsecnyariouswaysinwhichgun-
smilhshaveanempted tocom:ct excessive
headspace in M43 Winchester rifles. and
someofthcserequirenoweldingandcanbc
rq:,catcdasoftcnasheadspacecorrectionis
nceded.histheshimorwashermethod--a
washer pla«d between the bolt cocking
~ and the bolt body. The shim~ is
abi1diflicul!tomakebccausei1hastobc
quitcnanowandthin,butitisthe,·erybesl
waylknowoftofixtheproblem.
OOY.lf,foreumple,theprimerprotrudes
008"',makcashimwasherforthcboh.006"
thick,placcitbctwcenthc boltcocking
sleeveandthebohandthccxcessh·chcad-
spaceisroim:ted
lmakc!his,,,ashcrfromdrillrod.twninga
pieceofitdowntobol1bodydiamc1aand
boringi1ou1tolheinsidediameteroflhebolt
sh,eYc. lncn If= i1 off,~ smoolh and cut
elingcanbedooewitheilherlheStandanlor
Specialmodel.andontheSpccialmodelthat
meansremovingtheratherpoorlydooefac10-
rychcckcringintheprocess.Jf)'l)Uarcgood
withwoodandhaveapieceofwalnutthat
matches the stock. make and glue on a G&H-
style cheekpicce. G&H used to do this with
facto1yscocksandyt)UCOUldhardlyfindthe
glucjoint.
awashaolfitlhethickncssn:qui~ldoooc lfyoureallywant1odoarealbang-up
alwaysgetthefirstooerightbu1tha1islhe job.getaFajensportcrstockoffancywalnut
wayldoil and G&H that stock. If it were my rifle. I
!ha,-elonghadlheurgetoremodelaMod- wouldwanttheforendmadcabou1rshon-
cl 43 Winchester into a Griffin & Hov.·Ntylc

Firstd<:lennincifthcgunhasexccssivc
hcadspacc. You'll notice thiscondilion if
youarecxpcricncingcasescparationorif
somcofthefircdcasesshowprirnerpro1ru-
...
erth1m1he fac1orys1ock; l'dshonen the
sporter.ltisthcpc,rfe<:1rifleforthisso1tof barrelbythatmuchtoo,installaWilliams
~
Asimpleremodelingjob,.•ouldn:quireno
_,
frontsightrampandpolishandrebluethc

sion.A,-erysimplewaytopro,·eexcessive
headspaceistochamberaprimedcascinthc
riflcandpullthetrigger. lfthefircdprirner
doc$notpronudeover.ror,therifleisok.ay
with h<:adspa,ce within normal limits. How-
ever, if protrusion ismore1han .004", and
mctalworl:butjustastockrework.Thercis
morethanample,.uodinlhefactorystock10
trimitintoaG&Hclassic.lns1allachcckcred
steel grip cap and a horn or COOily fortnd tip,
remoYCall excess wood above the level of the
Makesuretherifleis,mloodedandthe
magazinccmpty.Toremovetheboh.raise
thebol!handlc,pullandholdthcniggerall
thewaybackandwithdrawthcbolt.Torein-

--
b1mplate.gripcapand f~tip. sand it
especiallyifyoureloadforit,lwouldadvisc smoo1handlcvcl.gh-ei1anoilfinish.chccker sertthcbolt.firstmakesw.:thatthcstrikeris
correc1ingthc headspace10 no more than it,and)'l)Uwillhaveachangedriflc.Remod- cocked,replaccitinthereceiverwiththebolt

1Nn:ll88l8r M43 111118

~ :::: ..~~.~~~
· · ·· · ·~~~oolt~~ling~cockngsleeveMIII~
Ignition .. .~olone-piecestrikarlltldCQilrnansp,Ylg;c:ocl<sonopenr,g

Ma{lazlne .. . . ~llushboxmagazine,lhra&-sholcapacity(t-.shollof32-

Trlgger . .

~
·:::=~~oontad=~-~stagep.,1,mted
·: ...Twne~;;•rxi.i~Toneaidiejection.
Ejeclor ...Staliona,ybar,ejectscasestolherlghl

472
11' 1

473

handlealigncdwilhitsslol.pul!lhclrigger
bockandpushtheboltallthewayin
~--
Toremcwelhebarrelandactioofromlhe
stock,tumoo1therear1riggcrguardscrew
andtheforendscrcwandliftthebam:tand
actionasscmblyfromthestock.Repla~in
Todisassemb!elhebolt,removeitfromlhe
n:ceiwranduococki1bytuminglhebohhan-
dledown. Driveoutlhecrosspinfromlhe
rearoftheboltandremovetheboltplug.,boh
sleeve and mainspring. Ncx1, slide the boll
cockingsleevebocktoexposelhecrosspin
undemcathanddrivcitoutandremovcthe
boltcockingsleeveandstrikcr.Drivcoutthe
iwoextraetorpinsandremovctheextraclor
springs.Rcasscrnblcinm'C'fSCordcr.
Todiwscmblethemaga;,;ineholdcrpa,u.
drivcoutthecrosspinlha1holdslhemagazinc
ca1chandremo,-c1heca1chanditsspring
Twnoutlhescrewfromthefrontoftheho)d..
er and remove the holder. Reassemble in
m'C'fSCordcr.
Todisassemblelhetriggerandsafctyparts.
ifdonebeforcremovinglhemagazincholdcr.
tumou11hetriggcrspringadjustmentcap
474
Ur.dersidllviewotlhBM43boltshowing:(A)
~1:;~~"r· (B)oocking piec:fl,and(C)
screwandremovclhclriggcrspring. Then
drivcoutthelriggcr-safetypinandremo,-c
lhetriggcrandsafe1ypartS.Rcmm-cthesafe-
ty.1umoutlhesafctybarscrewandremovc
thesafetybarandirsspringandplungcr
Rcassemblcinrevcrseorder.
-
Thebarrelisthreadcdverytightlyintothe
rcceiverandi1isdifficul1toremovcunleSOi
pn:,pcr1oolsareused.
TheModcl43Winchcslerrifleismarkedas
follow5,Starnpedontheleftsideofthebarrel·
MADE IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. U.S
OF AMERICA
WINCHESTER PROOF STEEL
WINCHESTER
TRADEMARK
MODEL43(andcaliberdesignalion)
1l>e serial number is stampe<l on the
m:ci,·crring.ontheleflsideofcarlymanu-
fa.c1w,:andontherigh1sidconocbers.The
-·
Winchestcrproofmarl<,lett,:rs WP wilhinan
oval.issiampe<lontllcbam:landreceiver
Dcspitcmycritical-=1Saboutlhe
M43Winchcslcrritlc.lhavcalwayslikedit
Theonethatldidconsiderableshoolingwith
(in2l8Beecaliber)wasquiteaccuratc.ltwas
mostaccura1c"ithhandloods,withthebullels
seatcdoutfarO'OOUghSOthatlhecartridg~
"'tl"CIOOlongtocntcrthemagazinc.But.thcn
asnow,lconsidercdlhcModcl43actionabit
wldersizedforthe22Home1and2l8Beecar-
tridgcs.JfthadownedaM4lin25-20c.aliber
itwouldhavcprornptlybeenG&ll'ed.forl
likethiscartridgt,,andlthinklhisactionispcr-
fcctforit.Evcnso.lha,-calwaysrchthisrifle
wasooiproponionedright;eitheritsaction,,,as
abittoo&mal!fcrthesin:ofthestockandbar-
rel.orthcstockandbarrel"'tt"Csomewha1too
large forlhc aaion. Anyway, the M43 was no1
asocccssforWinchcstcr.neitherinlhcnumber
madenorlcngthoftimeitwasmanufactured
Maybcitwasforlackofsalesorforsomcolh-
crn:asonthatWinchcstcrceaseditsmanufac.
ture.butaftcrbeingoothernarkctoolycight
ycars.inwhichtimeabout62.617"'tl"Cmanu-
facrured.lheModcl43becameotisolcce
T HJSCHAPTERISaboutlhe~irthofthe
Rineman·s Rinc---the Model 70 as made
between 1936and1964.Sincethattimealol
ofchangesha,·eoccurreda1theWinches!er
plantinNcwllaven,Conn.. i;omeofwhichl
haverda1cdinthepreviouschaptcr. lneed
D01re-1cllthemhcreandlwillskiptheyears
bctv.-ecnl964toaround1990
Thcgreatcstchangeattha1timeattheU.S.
Repeating Amu Comp.111y was that Bro,.11-
ing bough1 lhe 3SSCI.SofU.S.R.A.C., and both
becamepa,,ofafrenchconglomera1c.Somc
imponant~isionsweremade.or,cofwhich
wastoteardownthcoldmulti-s1oryWin-
chcs1erplan1andgctridofal11heoldwdl-
wornmachincrythatinyearspas1madethe
many fine Winches1er rifles. When thili was
donc.abrandncwandmodcmWinchcster
plantwasbuiltootheoriginalsiteandlillcd
with ten fas1-moving, high-tech machines.
Andinthi1newplanttheM70wasn:born.to
bekOO\Oo11aslhectassicline.MyM70Cluiic
came&omthisncwplant.
Perhapsthebeslandmostpra,ctia,lwayto
dcscribetheClassicModcl70Winchestcris
1ocompan,itpointbypointandfca1ureby
featun:withthestandardpre-1964Model70
dcscribedinapreviouschapter.lwilldothis
becauscd,eser,,vmod,elshavcmuchincom-
monyetaredifferent.TheClassicistrulya
Clas.sicanywayyoulookatit.butithasa
nW11bcrofthingstha1arencw.Tobehones1,l
m~saytha1i;omeofthefearurcsan,minor.
bu1 thesc,added to acouplcofimportanl
changcs.maketheClassicabencrrifle.As
much as us old-time1'S reven: the pre-"64
model.itmuS1besaidtha1theClassicisan
upda1cdandimprovcdriHewithchangesthac
actuallymakei1abcttergun.So.star1ing&om
themuuJeandworl:ingback,hereiswha1
you"·illfiodontheCJass;c
The Classic has no from sighl or ramp
Mosaold-timcrsaresoused1osecinsaramp
ands1ghtootheendofarif\ebam:ltha1they
willsurclymissitootheClassic.cvC'lllhough
theyrnay never use it. Thisriflchasah,:ays
deservedatelcscopicsight,andthatisthe
sigh1ing equipment usually employed. So
thcn.whyafiomsight?
Ano1herfeaturesopromincntontheprc-
•64istheswellorbandncarthebreechofthe
baml.whichW3Soflimitedusefulness.T"·o
do\'ctailslotsinthisband,or,cootopandor,c
on thebonom. were there to hold the rear
opcnsightandathrt:adedforendsiud.Onthe
modernrillesuchabandisnotnceded.ltwas
wisclyleflofftheClassicbam,l.makingthe
bam:lmucheasiertomake.lnadditioo,the
forendscrewwasalsodoocawayw;thoolhe
Classic stock
A noticnblc change bctween the old and
thenew M70octionsisthewaythen:«ivnis
finished;thepre-'64receiverhadadullrnatte
blackfinishwhiletheClassicrecch·erishigh-
lypolishedandblued.Na111raJly,thereceivn
isdri!lcdandtappcd for mounting a scope.
Someoftheearlyprc-'64riflcs"·erenotso
provided. bu1 thcirrcceiverswcrealwa~
drilledandr.appcdtoacceptareceiverapcr-
ruresight.TheClassichasnosuchprovision
forll10Wl1ingarecciversight.
Nowcomesthestock,andontheClassic
somechangeshave1ak""place.Oh.itisstill
the same classic pre-'64 stock. but wi1h
someaddedfeamrestomakcitevC'llbetter
Bc<:auscthcrean:noopcnsightsorprovi•
sionsmadc1orcadilyinstallany.theClassic
stockismade"•ithaslightlyhighercombfor
bcttcrsightingwithascope.Thccombcould
havebeenmadehigherstilland.inmyopin-
ion.that wouldhavemadcthestockeven
benerforscopesighting. Andon the new
Clas.sicyoucannotoverlook1hecheekpicce.
ltisadandy....·ellshapcd.sizcdandfinished
ltisafeature1ha1isnotreallyoecded.bu1
mostrincmcnsccmmwantit.Asolidrub-
berbuttpadrcplacedthcsteelbuupla1eon
the older rifle
Re-placedalsoontheClassicarethenon-
delachableslingswivclsoflhepre•·64sux:k.
Now we have neat sling swivel studs. High
time.too.andawcloomechange.Jftherif\eis
mbecallcdaClas.sk. thenasfipcapisa
must.andthiliClassicS1ockhasa,'Crynea1
c1assic-stylesfipcap
Theachfflisingliterarurepointsoutthatthe
stockhasadulloi!finish.Tha1ithas,and l
likeit.butthefinisherdidnotgccthefinish
appliede,·enlyorallover.Nornatter,lcan
correct that with a few drops of Lin-Speed
rubbedoobyhand
Anotherimprovementisthecheckering.
Thereismoreofitanditisdoncbeltcr.The
diamond.saresharpandclean,andtheche<:k-
cringontheforendstartsononesideand
extendsallthewayaroundtotheothnsidc
There is nothing fancy about i1. but you
sure can feel iti s therewhenhandlingthe
rifle.
What else that is ,·isiblcontheoutsidcof
thisrifleisdifferem?Thcrinsofcheckering
onthebohhandleknob,thafswhat.lamnot
surewhethcri1isanimprovemen!orOOC,but
i1is001atallbad.Nodoublitisrolledon.Wt
it is well done. Anyway. on my rine, al least.
itisfarsuperior1oasimilarche<:keringat-
temp1onmyWeathemyVanguardrille
Alltheothervisiblefeaturessecrntobethe
sameasontheoriginalprc-'64Winchester
The1riggerguard.hingednoorpla1e.noor-
platecatch.trigger.bolt-stop,i;afecy,bolt
slCC\'C,COCkinspiccc.bol1handleshapeand
thee~tractorha,'Cnotbttnchanged.There
was no way that these thinss could be
irnproved;theywcreperfocttobcginwith.
However. a dose look at 1he bolt will
show that something on it has changed. On
themiddlesecliooofthepre-"64bolttherei5
\~™:i~a~r1,i~~:~:i5 =Jg;~!~~
11
1ween 1936and 1964. TheClasaichasall
1heb9sic!eaturesoltheorlgfnalM70.ptusa
fewnoteworthyooesolhsown
475
LehsideotlheM70Cla$Sieshowingthemodeslalldwell•shapedcheel<·
piece.AlsonotelheseentspaC<1betweenlhebol1alldlhecomb.Tlisondi·
catesastockwithehighe,-lhan-averagecomb,ldeelforusawithascope
a small hump with one side ofit cut off
square,sotha1onopeningtheboltthissmall
flatsurfacecontactsthclo"·eredgeofthe
lefllockinglugraceway.Thisfeaiurescr.es
asan31.1ti-bindfea1ure.histosomeex1Cnt.
but the hump was not easily manufa1:1un,d
ThisfeaturcwaseliminatedonlheClassic
bolt.Tos«thellCwan1i-bindlllT1lllgcmet1t,
thebolthastoberemoved. ltconsistsofa
groovecutintotheloweredgeoflheright
locking!ug.andaridgemachinedonthe
upperedgeoftherightreceiverwall. The
result is that the anti-bind system is e~acdy
likcthatuscdinthcpost-·64Modcl70
action,andthisisdescribcdioancarby
chapter.TheWeatherbyVaoguardaclion
hasasimilararrangcment.Afeaturcwhich
"·asnotchangedfromthepre-·64 M70to
theClassicmodclisthebreechsystem.The
breechmdofthebarrelisfunnclshaped-
breechinglonguscdinthel90JSpringfield,
Ml7EnfitldandM54Winchestcr.
Elsewhereinthisbooklhavecommented
several limes concerning this breeching
method.lhavenoquam:lwithit.Theonly
sorespo1withitisthefu1spo1iniiscin;um-
ference needed to acroinmoda1e the hook on
theMauseMypeextractor.ThcSpringfields
andtheEnficldMl7shavethesamcsystcm,
andinthegreatmanysho!slhavcfuedwith
thes<:,aswellaswiththeWinchesterM54and
,..,-
70, I ha,-eseldom encountered any feeding
476
Winchester Model 70 Ctllssic w~h con·
1rolled•feedbol1
I have also commented at length on the
prosandconsontheso-callcdsafetybrttch-
ing.Yearsagotherewasquiteacontroversy
ahoutthis.Theweakpoiotoftheconcbreech-
ingandthesocallcd"safety"methodisthe
slolcutintothc:barrelfortheextractorhook.l
haveinstalledbanelsusingthesafetybrttch-
ingmethodand.frankly,lseenogreatadvan-
tageinn.
Like the pre- '64 M70. the Classic baml
andoctionareheldinthesiockbythreeguard
=ws.oneatthebackofthetriggerguard.
oneinfi'ontofthehingledfloorplate,andone
infrontofthetriggerguardhiddenbythe
fl001pla1c.Nobol1-aetionriflelcanthinkof
hasabcncrtie-downsystemthantheWiu-
chestcr M70. On removing the baml and
actionfrommyClassicstock.lwassurprised
tofindafarbet1crthana,-eragemochincinlet•
ting job. I also foundthatab«ldingcom-
poundwasusedintherecoillugare.a
Thepicceofwalnutusedtomakcmystock
was hard and dense. I hade~pec,ed i1 tobea
pieceofplainwalnut,butitwaswcllfigured
andcolored.Jamsurethisriflewasnocspe-
ciallyselected formcbecausetheriflewas
shipped from the factorytoajobbcr.then
fromthejobbertomydealerandthentomc.
Hfl"-ever,ldoexpectthatmos1Classicstocks
wi!lhaYeplainbutgoodqualitywalnut.
Thetriggcrmcchanismseemstobeidenri-
caltotheoneusedinallearlierM70s.anda
betterlriggcrmechanismonahuntingriflc
doe:s001exist.l1oouldhardlyberoadesim-
plerormoredirect.Thistriggersuitcdmyson
MarlcatCampPerrywhenhewonanimpor•
tantl000-yardmatchusingapre-'64M70,
andduringhisfouryearsontheMarineO;,r;:,l;
rifleteam.l1isamightygoodlriggcr.Myrifle
cametomewithalriggerpullofaroundfive
pounds,butlquicklyadjustedi1toabouta
three-poundpuU.Thatistheonlyadj..strnent
thisuiggerhas.butitdoe:snocncedmon:than
that.Then:arealolofriflesboolerswhodo
nocagree,.ithmconthis.bultherearealotof
shoolerswhocan'tbesatisfiedwithanylrig•
ger. They always blame their poor target
scoresandmis.sedshotsatgameonalousy
trigs,er.
lwishthatWinchesterhadchosenaoow
modcldcsig:nationfortherifletha1wasto
repl..::.:theorigina1Modc170;tha1is.therifle
they introduced in 1964andwhichwillbe
knownasthepo,i;t-'64Modcl70.Thisrifle,
withtheModcl70name.fooledsomebuyers.
butthoscwho,,.-erenot fooled didn't bu~ ii
Winchcstershouldhavenamcditsomething
elserightofT.NowtherearethreeModcl70s
andthisleadstoC011fusion. What is more,
evcnaflertheClassicwasiotroduccdWin-
chestercontinucdtomarke1thepos1·'64mod-
tl. l fec-1,andlbclie'.-esodomanyothers.that
thc:po51-'64modelshouklhavebecndropped
complettly.Ne>fflhelcss,thenewModcl70
Classic will win out. Anyway, there are two
trueModc170s-thepre-'64modclandthe
 11 ' I

These th,89 photos ot the M70 Classic

actionshowtherigh1,topandlehvlews
~re~:littledifferencefromthepre-'64

477
 : I I

Lelt•$ideviewollheM70Clas•
sic::actionwilhlheboltopen

post-'93modcl.Theyarenotexactlyalike.
hutcnoughsothatlhcnewmodelisatJUeold
model.However,whi!cbothwereandstillare
manufacturedinasirnilarmanner.lhcmanu-
factW'ingproccsscsdiffcrgn:atly
l.cfsforamomentforgetaboutthemid•
dlepos1•·64masqueradcrModel70anddis-
cusshowtheoldandnewactionsaremade.
Themanufacrurcoftheboltandreceivcrfor
bothriflcsstartswithasolidchunkofstcel
lnthcoldfactory.manymachincopemtions
wcrcroquiredtomaketheseparts.roquiring
morethanjustafewmachinestosaw.mill,
tum,drill,th~ad.shapeandborcthishunk
ofmetalin1oarccci,·er. This also required
anopera1orForcachoFlhcsemachines,al01
ofmanhoursandcoru;idcrablecost. lnthe
new ptam with all new, modem and high-
tcch, tape-controlled automatic machines.
thesetwopartsaremoreorlesscompletcly
finishedusingfewcrmachines.fewcropera-
torsandalotlesstime.11 is difficult for me
to imagine all of this modem high-te<0h
goings-on,butinarnodemup-10-datefacto-

=
--
rylhavetobelicveit.Ofcourse,itisnotall
assimpleaslhavemadcit.butitsurcisdif•
zi:::: i'!'::!
Companion of the old, original p,e•war safe•
70 Wlnchesler bolt (lop)

---
Actionwelghl . . . . . . 48oz.

==~:~~:..::. ti
Bolt 1ravel . ,4.562"1or30-06leogth
.... . .. .cartrldQeB, morelorlonger
. . .cartridges.~lorsh<.llwrones

i3:r:~c ·······.:~~
478
 ', I

WlnchesterModtll70ClassicFeatherweight.Mhasawalnutstoo::kwilhsatinlinish,
deepdiamond-pmlci.t~:22"coldharrmer-kl<gedc1Yome~
steelbam!ltoralstar.ian.icalibers,24"onmagourr,s:jeweledbollwilhaSlainless
steeldaweJCtracto<forcontrolledfeeding:chromemofybderumsteelffiOIIM/rwilh
massll'erecoilk,g;driledandtappedlorsoopemounting:1hree-posilionsa!aty.11'$
charrbel9dlor270Win,,280Rem.and30-06

Wioch8s1erModel70ClassicSuperExpress.Thestocklsrain!orcedwithlwO
Sl&elcros.sbolls.Alsofeaturedarede&p-cu1wrap-aroundcheci<ering;forward
slingswivelrnoontedonbarrelforhandpro1ection1romrecoilaodlmp,oved
carryir,gbalan<:<:1:adjustableopenrearsigh1alldhooded1ampfron1;a 1-inch
recoijpad;drilladandtappedforscope;i9weledt>ollwithstajnlessst&elclaw
axtractorforcontrolledfooding.lt'ssuitedlorAlricanbiggameintwocalibers,
375H&HMag.(24•barrel)and458Win.Mag.(22"b8rrel)

WinchesterModel70ClassicSuperGrade.Mhasaselecledwalnu!Slockwilh
Shadow-h theek;liece. ~ectiv9 satrofinish, d9ep-cutwrap-8l'OU'ldchecker'ng,
taperl)dk>r9nd,si-",,j~studs:a,,e,,:trMhiclcoontouredf\.lbberreooilpad:24"
sporte<....eir,;ltbam.11.Thereceiverlllldbollarernachroedfromchromemol',We-
rlLWllsteel.Theriflealsohasatw,gedsteelfloorplateandstainlesssteelmagazile
kllow!!!-,singleraiolortingC'.fOSllbollandthre&i)OSitionsatety.TheSuperGradels
offeredinlhraepowe,fulbelt(ldmagnun,CiUl.>8rs:7nvnRemMag.,300WnMag.,
338Win.Mag.,plus270WWl.and30-06

fcn:n1fromwha1had1obedoneinanold and lower. 1 willhavetoinvestigatethis, reassemblede,ae1lyasootlincdinthechapler

factory with old machines.
On my new Model 70 Classic, the
machincs(orsomcbody)goofcdabi1. For
onething,therubberbunpadgotanacheda
trifle too high.and it is something I will
ha,·e1ocorrcct. Ncxt.thcm.achinedidn01
trimotTenoughfromaroundthcendofthe
pistol grip, or a too-small grip cap v,n
used.lwillnytofindalargercapandcor-
rtttthis.Thelastsmallcomplain1abou1my
rifleistha1thebol1handleis,·erystifftolift
andperhapsi1 willbejus1asimplemat1er
tocorrect.
What with all 1his modem machinery, I
supposcthc~kisalsoshapedandfinished
thisway,andthecheckeringismOS1likcly
done by the laser method. Perhaps tha1
accountsforthelargeareaofcheckering.
Anyway.itisgoodchedering,andtheoot-
sidcofthestockispafectlylevelandsrnooth.
Thcinleuingisalsogood
The Classic M70 is disassembled and
onthepre-'64M70
lnthel~Winchestercatalog,thefollow-
;ngditTcn:ntModel70Classicriflcsaro1ist-
ed:Model70CLassicCuslomShar;,shooter.
Model70OassicStainlcss.Modcl70Classic
DBM (Dctachabk Bo, Magazine)"ith wood
s10ck.Model70ClassicSponer,Model 70
Classic SM and Model 70 Classic DBM-S
rif\cwith~-ynthetic~k
Three other models are shown and dc-
i;cribedncarby

479
AFTER MAKING the M70 rifle For 27
ycars,andhavingmadeoverahalf-millionof
lhem.Wincbeslersuddcfllydisoontinueditin
carly1964andintroduceda"Jxw''M70.This
immediately became known as the .. New
Model 70,"whiletheoneo:koppcdbec.amcthe
"pre-"64 Model 70"-dcsignations which M70
fansadoptedtodistinguishthetw<l.(Howe,-er.
sinccthcnSlillanotherModel70hasbecn
intmdllccdandWinchesterhasdesignateditas
lheM70Classic.anditwillbedescribcdin
anodlerchapter.)Wha\C\-erthereasonorrea-
sonsfordroppingthctime•teStedoklmodel.
M70fanswereSttminglyaghastthatWin-
chestercoolddosuchalhing.A1anyrau:.ear-
ly in 1964, and begiMing with s-:rial nwnber
700,000(allM70Wincl>esttrritleswithas,,ri.
alnumberbelow700.000aretheoldorpre-'64
models).thcncwM70wasputonthcmart:,:,_
The "'New Model 7(f' rifles were quite dif-
ferent from the old. Fh·edifTercnt models
w,ninitiallyintroduccd:lheSwxl:lrtlmodel
with2rfull-floatingbam:lin243,270,30-
06and308:aMagnwnmodelwith24wbam:l
in264.300.338and375H&H,allmagnums:
a Vanninl model with 24w medium-heavy
bam:lin243;aTafEC!modelwith24wheavy
bam:lin30-06,andtheAfricanmodelwith
2rbarrclin4S8Magnum.lntroduccdwith
the SL'lndard and Mllll,llwn models was a
stock,.•ithaMonteCarlochcckpiece,high
sJossfinishandimpresscdch«kering.The
bam:lswerealsonew.thatis,theyweremade
by the cold-swaged or '"hammer-swaged"'
process. The biggest mechanical change.
howevcr.wasintheaction.anditwasthese
changcsthatcausedM70shootcrs1ohowl
Thcpos1-1964M70hasarcceiYerlonger
andsomcwha1heavierthanthcoldone.Thc
increascdlengthistheresultofmakingthc
L'lnglongcr.Thcnewrcceiverisnotentirdy
machined- the bonom appears 10 be an
investment casting, although Winchester
describesi1asbeing'"pn:,:isionFOf'8Cd."with
thcforging~indies.Beginningwithlhe
receiver. it is evident that many shortcuts
"""'madetoreducemanufacturingcosts.
480
Theboltismadeinthreescctions,brw.ed
togclher.Thebol1head,withitshea,')'unslot-
teddualopposedlockinglugs,isbnzcdtothc
fiootendofthcbohbodycylindcr.Aplungcr-
rypetjcctoranditssmallcoilspringfitimoa
holea1theedgeofthebolt-facerecess,
retajned 1here by a small cross pin. The
exrracror,asmallshdingwedgefinedina
monisecutintothcfiootofthcrigh!locking
lug. is tensioned by a small spring and
plunger.Theboltfaceisdc,eplyrooes.sedF<N'
thccartridgehcad,andbothlockinglugsare
nushwithlhefrontoftheboh.Thebre«h
endofthcbam:l.nolongcrconcd.hasaflat
brttchface,andisnotrccesscdfor!hehead
ofthcbolt.Thebam:lboss,whichhadfor•
mcrlyhcldthcrearopensightandwhichthe
forendscrewentered.wasabandoned.
Thebollhandlchasashortsleeveonits
basethatisbraa:edoverarumed-OOW!lponion
ofthcrearofthebol1-bodycylindcr.Other-
wisethebol1handleandpcar-sh:ipedgrasping
ball are like those on the old M70aclion
Thcreisnostopl'guidelugontheboltbodyas
ontheoldM70bo11,bll1thenewbolthasthc
sarnecxtraclOfcamsurface.Theapproaches
rothercceiverlocking-lugshouldersare
ansJed,forcingthebohforwardasthebolt
handleispu.$1,eddown
Thencwboltsleeve,bolt-slcevelod:and
safeiyarecssentiallylikethoseusedonthe
oldM70.ei=p1tha1thefiring-pinS1opscn:w
has been eliminated. The end ofrhc bolt
s!eeveisco,-eredwithametalcaphcldin
place by across pin
Thenewmodelfiringpinisalsodiffcrenr
lthasashonercocking-pioceand,inaddirion,
ithasalipwhichprojectsrearwardunderthc
boltsleevecap.Thislip.scrratedandpaintcd
red,actsasacockingindicatorwhichcanbe
feltandsecnwhenthcactioniscocked. The
mainspring.compressedm--erthefiringpin.is
he!dinplacebyawasherandU-shapcdreiain-
ercollarwnichlicsinagrooveinthefiringpin.
Thebol!-stop is the same type as before
exceptthatitis1cnsionedbyawirespring
heldontheheadedtriggerpin.illSleadofthc
spring-and-plunger:mangementi-1before
Fi,-ediffcrentlengthsofbolt-sropsaremade
-
forthediffcrentcartridgelengthsthisaction
canhandle.ThesearetheH&HMagnwn,30-
06andshonmagnwn. 308,22-2SOand222
ThetriggermechanismofilienewM70is
lhesarneasontheoldmodcl.excepttha1thc
CUl\'Cdlriggerfinger--piro:isaboutdoublethe
widthoftheoldtrigger.
No changes were made in the maguinc,
flOO<Pla!c and trigger guard arrangement
excepttha11heguard,flOO<Platcandhinge
pl.are are made of an alwninwn alloy. Made of
somclightwciglumeal.thefollowerisri,·e,.
ed1othefollowerspringinthcnewM70.The
samethreeguardscrew!lareuscdtoholdthe
actiontothestock.
Whatdoesthisalladd up1o?Themain
changes made are these: the method of
brttching,withlhefla1endoflhebolthcad
nearlycontaCtingthefla1bree<:hfaceofthe
barrel: eliminating !he long Mauser-type
extraclOfanditscollar.usinginsteadasmall
andeasily-madcs!idingexll'aclorfittedinlhe
bolthead;eliminatingtheflatpivot-type ejec-
tor.subs1i1utingaplunger-1ypeinthebol(
head; havin~ a deeply-rcccssed bolt face so
thatthecanridgeheadisfullycncireledand
~edbyaringofStccl;prov;dingacap
fortheboltslcevetocm--erthecockingcam
head.andprov;dingacockingindicator
WhenthenewM70riflesbeganappearon
thcmaitet.~irtuallyc,·eryoncfamiliarwith
lheoklM70expresscddisappointment.The
newriflcwascriticiiednoend,oflenbythose
wbohadnote,'Ctlsecn i1. As formc,l waited
awhilebeforemal<inganyevaluationofit.bw
onthewholclthoughtthcnewbreechingsys,-
tcmwasanimprovementovertheold,and!
couldsee~hingatallwrongwilhlhenew
ejector.bol1-sleevecapandhammer-forged
baml.lalsothoughtthce.w.trac10rwasadc•
qu:,i1e. 1tdidno1rnarteftomcthalthcbohwas
madeinthrHpiecclandbnzcdiogether. Of
roursc,noonclila:dthealuminumllloytn&·
fC"pnlandiloorpbte.andri~thclol-
lowertothefollowerspringdidn'1holp
m.nm..labolanlcomplalntsthallhellCIIOn
"'•n:,ugh.dwthebohwas,om,:rlmesdiff1-
cuh10operaieandhad11endonc)-10bud.lOO
thot(mting-no1alwayspositivcc.
Tlll1818M70
Nodou~thcWincheslerpeoplehearoof
alltbesecomplaintsandmore,forsomedeal •
~ KUO "'l'i1~wrn, very outspoken
inthcirdislikc:oftheso-,;alled''new"M70.
Winchcslfflhentetaboutmakingsomeofthc
nmlcdchanpandirnpw,~ Thill they
did ...'hcntheyinlJ'OduccdllllOCher"new'"
Model 70Winchntcrearlyin 1968. Begm•
~a1tcrwnumhcr866.000,lhc:lollo',,,inc
newkaluresandimp,o>ffllfflts"'""'madc:
l)An-arui-bind"'foarurcpositi,'t'ly,n•
>ffltSbohbmdmg,makingrapidopcntionof
thebohmuchllll'tfandcasier.This"-asdone
bylddinjmetalwidertherightlo,;kinglug
andcuttinganarrowgroo>'t'dlrough1110sq>-
m.1citfromthclug,thenmakingarihinthe
right side of the m:eiv,:r for the anti-bind
groovctoilidcover.Tbisribex1cndsfrom
therurofthcbridgeforwardtotheinsideof
therccc,ivcrring.cndingacthelOl:kingshoul•
dercJ&e-Tbisribisalsolherightcanridgc-
gulde Lip ohho magazine "'ell. When the: bolt
handleill'msal.dusanti-bindJP'00""111the
boltMadisalignedwiththeanti•bmdnb,
enPJlna i, the moment the bolt is drawn
btd;;i1auyscnpgcdlhefullboh-u-avddi1-
tance.The111ti-bmdfeannholdslhebohm
l - w,th the m:,:iver ~ of the ta>-
SKWIOl'pre5Qnputonthe bol1handle,sotha1
theboltwillno1bindorstickdurin&Open-
uon . h'i1•'t'rycff«1i,'t'fea1urc,thebol1
bc,nano1iceablycasicr10open11cthanthe
bohmMl)'-1icrM70Winchesu:r.lncidm-
llll.ty,theanu.tHndbolt,ou,'tlitcarlicrM70
2)Thelloorplalcismadeof51ttlandfin-
oshedinblack..chrorneplale.butlheguardand
thcflooqlla1ehing,:platearesti11madcof1
bghtweightalloy,bladanocliwi
3)Thefollowcr,madeofstainless51ttland
pohshcd,hasshor1lipsundcmea1hforattach-
ment10thcfollower~nginthctu:;t0mary
manrocr.Thisfollowcrlis!edatS7.8Sinthc
l969Winchcsterpartscatalog;wi1hlhencw
followerspring.itcanbeinualledinthcPQl!t.
'64M7010~thcrivctcdfollowm'fol-
1ov,...-.sprinclWL
Abouttheonlyotherno1icublec~
mMic111thel968M70attionisthallhe
ieceiva-11pohshed..111opp<-i101hcJ;IDO.i.
blastmanefintshonprcviousmodcb.
In 1969 Winchesl,:r added• new M70
charnberin&,the,-erypopular222Rcminpln.
-
TbisWJl!ilhcfirSllimeWinchcsterhadcham-
bercdanyriflcforlhiscartridgesincei1Sin1ro-
ducuonbyReminglonin 1950.
Tha1Winche$terdecidootogobock10lhc:
st«lflocwplalCwasgoodnc---s.:lhcfini!h,oill
lasllolv:r,andi1ca,be~10last.The
newswnlcssstttllollov,-crisalso111~
rnen1.llld•$Mllldelirninaieany~~
lcms.lklvo"C\U,themostSlgltificantand
nc,c,eeable,qw,.-crnen1 islhe~r....
n.e.Onrcuivmgmyfirsll968Model70.I
aw ommedwdy lhlll the bolt could be mon,
c:asilyopenrcdlhane,~pmious70s.Thert;
isnotcndencyforlhebolttobindorstickon
openincorclosing.~ofhowlhc:bolt
isopml0d.rv.isttdorp,ff9.lled.
_70 ....... Acllla
Tothebcsl:ofmyknowledg,c.Winchosltr
ne,-ei-madesepameM70acrionsaVllilablc,
'l"'ffltoqualir.edgunsmiths.lnl965,M\O't'Y-
er,lheydidmakcM70barreledlCtions1>-.il-
ablcto111yone.Tbisassembly,COfflfllelcly
f111ishcd(butwithoutban'elsightll)andrcady
10putint0aswd.wasmadcinlhesamebar•
rcllengths,§l)'lesandcalibersu"'Uoffcrcd
ontheirpost-'64M70rifles.Thisincludedthe
standardsportcrbarrclcdactiooinca.liber,22-
250,222Rcmington,225Winchcst<:1',243.
270.30-06and308;magnurn-calibercdtm-
rclcd actions in 264. 7mm Rem .. 300 and 338;
'lll'TRin1,barreledactioniin 222 Rem., 22·
250,22SWincheslerand243:lalKCl-barrelcd
---
lCtlonSin308and30-06ca.libcrl.ln\9681hc
11COOnofthebarrelcd-acrion-,nl,lyinclu6-
tdthesamcalll1&'5madeinlhcnlles.
Recei\'Cfliandbamlsofthel964andl968
M70Winchcslmaremarir.edquitc1.1milarly
totheprc-'64modcls
Model70Winchcsterswithaserialnurn-
her below 700.000 ate the ~old~ model. the
prc-'64vei-sionwiththelona:Mau,er•typc
Clll!'ICIOf.lhavcnoinformationaslOJusthow
manyoflheseriflcs.,,,rnemade,or11whai
numberthescrialnumbcr,o-.slUfled,or•
..twrunbermanuf'ai.-uRcndtd.bulmanu-
~-SIOppedbeforcthe700,000run-
ber ...-urcached.
~post-'64M70riflcsareallnumbercd
481
between 700,000and866,000, bu1again 1
havenoinformationastohowmanywere
made,ora1whatnumbcrtheirmanufacture
"""'·
Model 70 rifles wilh a number above
866,000,andwiththelcner C precedingthe
seria]numbcr,an:thel96&vcrsion"ithlhc
anti•bindfeature,black..;bromelloorplateand
,..............
stainless steel follower
(Pllt-'84)
Thcinsll'\letionspreviouslygive11forthc
take-dov.11and-mblyofthepre-'64M70
appliestothepost-'64modclsacep1forthe
following:1on:movetheex1rae1or.theextrac-
1orplungerisdcpresscdwithapointedtool
andlhccxlractorslidoutofitsmonise: the
cjectorii;remo•ocdbydriving0111 the ejector
pin from top to bottom. In removing !he
cx1rae1orandejector.1al:ecaretopn:Ycnttheir
Topvlewottherearollhepost-'64Model70Wloches1eraciion,
showing:(A)cockingindica10<(coloredred),(B)bolt-sleevecap,(C)
safety,(D)bolt·stopre!eas.ibutton
482
plungcrsandspringsfromflyingoutand
beinglost
To remo,·c the mainspring, it must be
oompresscdslightlysothatthcretaincrcan
beremovcd.Again,greatcareshouldbe
uken indoingthis,aslhemainspringis
powcrt'ul. To remove the firing pin from the
boltslecveafterthemainspringisremovcd,
drivcouttheboltslecvecappinandpulloff
...,.
the bolt-sleeve cap. Reassemble in reverse
Thisinformationappliestoal1M70s.To
makeanyadjusuncms,thebarrelandaction
must be removed from !he siock. Only two
trigger adjustments can be made readily:
weigh1 of pull andovcr-iravel. The tools
necdcdareasmallscrewdriver101umthe
S1opscn:w,and1wosmallopcn-cndWJfflCh-
estoloosen,tumandtighte11thejamnuts
Thcillusm11ionsho1,,sthemainpartsofthe
M70 trigger mechanism. Weight of pull is
adjustedbyfirstloo5eningtheupperandkiw-
er jam nuts: now rum them clockwise to
increasethespringtcnsionandweightofpull,
andviceversa.Assentfromthefactorythe
jamnutsarese1forabouta4.5-poundlct-off,
...-hichisadcquatelylightforahuntingri!le
Manyshootersprefcralighterpull,andonc
aboutaslightas3poundscanbehad.lfa
lighter pull is wanted it maybe ~ t o
grindofffromone-halftoooecoilofthetrig-
gerspring.Aftcrthe"'"Cight-of-pulladjust-
IOf:'llthasbeenmade,thetwojamnutsmust
betightened1ogethertolockthcminplacc.ln
anycvent.ifanadjustmenthasbeenmadeto
gttaligh1crpul!,theacrionshouldbe!CSledto
makesurethatthereiscnoughlriggcr-spring
1ensiontoinsurcthatthetriggerwillno1slip
offthesearwhentheboltisslammedhome.
Testthisbyclosingtheboh•'Ct)'smanlyscv-
 I '1

Thebolttl8lldlof,._...,._M70~-0nlheleflillheCQ-'6'M70boltt...ishow-
nglhli~~l'IOOl<.llnd~$1ol.TheM54boltl..:lislhe...,.,ln"8cerce,
illhepo$1·'$4boltht&dofM7011 Mrial~ooi-i700,000!llld866,000.Nolelhe~
extrac:10rbuillinlDlherigtlllod,lnglug(..,_,,,oolhelefl.i t.pt,01o)llndlhe~·typeeje(:-
10r.0nlherig111illheletemodllpo,,t-'&!boltt-ioflheM70W~• ...i.il'l\ll'l'lb&r$d()YfJf
866,000.sho¥Mglheanll-bh:l1$811K&---Agroovfluode<lherigtllloct<lnglug

mil tirne,onancmptychamber.and if the onthescarsurface,.oriftheiriggerscar metalbo~1n11gazjnc. 1•11tichhas1bouom. fits

...
sarfail11ohold(allowingthcliringpinto

,
fall).lhenthelriggerpulladjustnw:ntislOO

Thcodw:r1ngg,cradjustmen1.rcadilyrn.Jc
islheo.·er-1n1,1:I.Dothisbylooscn1n1thc
no1ehiscutdov.11,lherapidbohclos,ngtc:S1
shouldM~.
M1711al770 . . . . . .
Winchc:lto:rinll'Oduccdal,,w,cr-pri=l,"ff•
inlOlm:ulCUIUllOlhe,uockfromlhcmp.
Thcboxislhuscnnrdyconcaledwithinlhe
,uock.andnofloorplau,isuscd.Thc~
anonlyMcmpiedbyrunningWcartndge
lhrvughtheaction.Tocfollov,-crisri,-etcd1D
stop-KmO'locknutandtumingtheSlop s,onoflhepost-'64M70in 1966,ealhng,t the follo\,,-crspring. 2)A sho:hngsafcty,s
kfnl'mor(IUIIIS1a1Uircd.lt5houldbe thi:Modd670. 0fferalinsandardsponcr, llsed,thesafctybunonlo,;;atedontheright
ldjl&Slld(andllU1us,.ally,osie1a1thefaclory) ffil&JIUffl and carbine styles Ill caJ1bas 22,S, SIOl:oflhereoe,,-criang. Whonpullcdblldc..1
10lhalthca,ggcrsropslhcm.:mmtthc,c:ar 24J,270,264Magnurn.J0-06and300M1g- Jc-,-cranachedtolhesafety.andpt>'OICdonthe
bruksfromthe1nuc,.Thisis~donell!i num.nhadalwdwoOOsux:k.wncd101ook rca1,"cr,iocbonlylhelrigger$0Hann(IIM
follow1:looicnthclocknutand.withthe likc1••alnut ThcmamdiffCfl'l'ICebtt,,.'ttnthe pulk:d. l) No s,cparalC boll lock is used The
Ktion,;o,;kcd,tuminthestopscn,waboot 670andthe70isinlheacrion:1)theshe<:t- boltslcevcisprcventedfrornrum1"3whm
onecomplc!etum.orfarenoughsothaton
pulling the trigger 1he scar will OOI be
rcleascd.Nowwiihtheactionstillcoc:kcd.
and"'hilcpullingba<:konlhetriggcr,slowly
tumthe$10pscn:wou1(coun1erclockwi.se)
untiJthe-,isrclcaKd.Nowtumthescop
IK'm"OUlatbsll/ ••rumfunhtrsolhereis
!llffiaffll clear-ala, befv,-ee, the sear and ina-
gcr, 1ftcr the 11Ca1" is rcleascd. 10 ~'tlll the
leal"fiomhan&ina;~.AftertheadjUSlmmtUI
ll'llde.lhelocknwmus1belighlcncdiopre-
,'Clllthesiops=wfromn.uning.
Thcrcisnoadjusuncntforin111allriggcr
llkc-uporwcrcq,.w [flhere iscrcq,ormugh-
llCSl in thc let--Off, thc puJl o;an be mad,c
smoolhbycarefullyhoningthelriggcr-to-ltal'
conw:1,urfaceswithafinehardArkansas
storle.Thchoningmustbedonevc,ycmful-
ly10thatthebrwingedgcs=leftsharp,the
swiacc,k:ft ftatandwithootchangingthe
a,liJcofeilhcrsurface.TriggcrtravelanM
mb:cdby<;UttmglhesearllOIChtoredua:its
dq:,dl.tuyououghltoha,~11110:tratngger
onhlnclMfon:OOU,.--itisawfullycasylD
O\fflloitandlca,"'lhenold!!Oshallowlhat Th9M7'0~11WUWlllf(al ....... ).-.:,,,4ngc(A)-.(0)1rlggef,(C)lrigg«-s10p-.
thttnggernu&l,lnD11holdtht1ar1flhebolt1S (D) lfWtr-&\(l(I ICfeW locknul, (E) trlggier spring jlm nuta, (F) tnQgllll' Sl)fflg. See IIXI tor
lllmml'dhomc.Aput.if~honmgisdonc detakonhowto~lhiatnQge<.

483
 : I I

lnlheaboYe~,hlolllel'IM•Msllliliilhechamber,rear:t,,IOl'l-e. Wl-.ilrwtrisp,At,,;l.lhe$1:W
1991158Slhefmgpi,Ytflichprolrul)N;ht:lo.q,Qolbollendllla~,q:,lodinglheeartridgl!liichlrri)ef
Adiorlcanhlnti,(lfltl'lld~lllingendpuli',gbadr.onbollllalnck.l..ftngmolion\Xldcshlfmgpin,&OOwlh
•carmingmolionf'8N . . finld-fl0ml18chamber.Exlrw::lorpi-.OU11lflld~.ljec:li,gilsidi!lways.
Nea,endol~Ntllce.bollinxMnfleahcaMjgepu9hed14>~aprlng-loadldmaguine~.On
foi'wwdS11'0k11118bolli:,JlhN•lrelllcartndgeollhl~llm--darm. .-.d'Mlllll18bollisl.mld
oo,,,nwardlO«igll(llllfwlodslg4!1-tw,._il'91Wl~IOh.

the bolt ,sopcn by the cod:ing-pffl cam
~•n•shallownotchintherearofthe
boltbody."1ntheM9landM95Mauser
IIClions.Nobolc-slcic-vecapisUSM,thecndof
theoockmal'fflproj«linglhroughtheiur
ofchcboltslcc,-c.Arcd..;olored ringonthc
rcaroftheoocki ngpicceshowswhcn the
ac1ioni1oocked.
lnvirtually,UochcrrHpCCtsthcM670
actiooi1justl ikclheposc-·64M70action,
in,;ludinf:aiggcr,bolt.utractor,cjc,clor,boh,
5'0pandniuwa-. Therea,111:risllppedfur1
betwecntheM70andthe M670. it'11Sllf1of
cn:i,ubc1wemthe1wo. lthasaw.tlnutst«k
and•boltlikcthcM70.,.iththecncloKdbolt
s~,l-po11itionboh-slttvcsafctyandanti-
b1nddevi«.The1nggcrisal!i0aoopyof1hc
M70.ThcrcstoftheriflcislikctheM670.
The action isa good one . The M770wu
availablcinca!ibcrs222,22-250,243,270,
308. 30-06; and 264. 7mm or 300 MIIJV!urn
Scpancc670and770ac,ionswercno11vail-
ablc:,no.-"'-creb,,m,lcdac!ions
1'11.....,c-.-r.,...Nal
ThcsalcofWinchcstcrRepcatingArms
Company of New Hu-en, Connecticut, "''IIS
announced1nl9ll1.Withil carroelhcncws
thacthcnamc,.-asthanged 10US.Rq,eating
Arms Company. The name Winchester w,11
rontinuc:10bcusedonthcfircarmsthatthc
ncw«>mpanywillmanufacuu-c
Somcricwmodclsofriflcshavebecn
....,,.........,_
ad(l,:d..,,d,omcha~bcen..Jde<l.,,d~

ruavcrlipandiopsoopcmounibase:s.Thc
scrialnumbcn.$Wnpedonthe=ei,'ffrin&,
~11,1thni.unb(rlOO.OOO.ThisU1p)d
IIClion.ln 1971 thcMode167011,-asofTcmi
on!yin243and30-06.
Tolcam11,Nlhappencdandioradabout
themntrodu,;u,onofthe1ngModel70a,;1ion
11,hichW'mcheslcr01ninadc.rt:adthcchap-
cern, the Model 70 Cla.wc:.
Followingis1listingofsomcofthcnllts
cNuWinchcstcrproduoedonthePost•·64
M7011C110n:
M7t XTR Sporter-Walnut SIOCk w,th
ruscdc:omb.dieckpi,,cc,cutchockenn,.nit>-

"'-"'
Winc:hdterintroduccdanothcrver.iiooof
thcM70in1969,thisoncthcM770.Priced

484
485
 Winchesterposl-'64Model70Spoi1erri!le. Walnut slockwlthMonteCaOO
comb, checkered grip and ro,and. Ca libers: 25-06, 270 Win .. 270 Wea.
Mag .. 30-06, 264 Win. Mag .. 7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win. Mag., 300 Wea
Mag .. 338 Win. Mag .. 3-shol magagzine: 24• barrel; waigh1 7.75 lbs.

Winchasterpost·'64Modet70FeatheJW9igh1rille.Caliberson1hestandard
actioo; 270 Win., 280 Rem., 30-06, 7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win Mag; on the
shortaction:22·250,223,243,6.5"55, 7mm-Oeand308. The rifle has a
22"1aperedFealherweightt,arrej,Americanwalnutstock,1ancychecicer-
ing,&ehnabelonlorearmt.ipandredrubberbottped.Weight6.751bs.(stan-
dardactioo)or6.501b$.(Shorlaction)

Winches1erpost-'64Model70XTRrifle.Al.><:>l.1thesameasthePost-'64
Model70excep1i1hasahigh-glossstock !inishandditte,entlyshaped
forandandpistolgnp.24"barrel.weigh!7.751bs.

Wnchester post-"64 Model 70 Stainless rifle. Same as lhe Model 70 Spone,

e,ccep1~hasastainlessS1ealbarTal.-.:lactionwlthmattegraymsh,blacl<«m·
posilElstock~wlthfibal'glassand~,a:intrumdntlbe,reoc,il
poo. Madan aubars zro. 30-06, 7mm Ram. Mag., 300 WW'l. Mag., 336 Win.
Mag .. 24" barrel. 3-or 5-shot magaiine. Wei(tll 6.75 bs. lntroo.ieed in 1992

Wlnchesterpos1-'64Model70Magnumrille

s1andardSpol'!erexcept ithasoosightsand is Calibers 375 H&H Magnum with 24" bam:l,

berbunpadandsarinfinish.2rbarrelfittcd
withahoodedbeadfrontsightonammpand
afoldingleafr=rsight.wcight7.7Spounds,
slingswi,·els1uds,andincalibers270and
3<>-00.
M70 XTR Magnum Sporter-Same as
aboveeJ<Cq>tincalibers264Magnum.7mrn
Magnum, 300 Magnum and 338 Magnum
i\170 XTR Vumint Sporler-Same as
486
incalibers222.22-250,243only.Thismodel
replaces the former M70 Varmim rifle which
hasamedium-heavybarrel
i\170 XTRFea therwelgh1- Clas.sic-styled
wal,m1srockwithslimschnabledforend,rub-
ber buttpad. detachable sting swivels, cut
checkcringandsa1infinish,22"ligh1Weigh1
barrelwithopensightop!ional.wccight6.7S
pounds.andincalibers243.257Robens.
7x57mrn.270,.J-08and30-06
M70 XTR Supe r Express Magnum-
and458 Magnum with22"barrel. hooded
rampfrontandopenr=rsights,slingswivel
onbam:l,walnutsrock"ithraisedoomband
cheekpiece. rubber buupad. wccight 8.7S
"'"""
M70 Weslerner-Same as M70 XTR
SponerexrepcdoesnochavcXTRfinishor
checkering.with22"bam:landopensightsin
calibers243,270and30--06,andwith 24"
barrel in calibers 7mm Magnum and 300
Magnum.
Plrll
W INCHESTER offered their lirsi high-
po:,,.~bolt«oOn nflc:s in l925-..idilhe lllln),
ducl,onoflheModtlS4. Theactimofthts
nflcwasentirelyni,wforWinchestcr,forttiey
hadneverbefon:buihanythinglikcit-thc
do.:stthingstoittheyhadc-madcwcrc
the Panem 14 and Model 1917 Enfield
ac1ions. Ra1hcr 1han beingancncirelyncw
Ktiondesign,thcbohandreceivcrofthc
MS4 had fealum copied li'om tlM: M98
Mauserllld l903Springfieldactions.lhough
themapz,ne,a,ager,anda~odlertlunp
,.·imncw. Some-ncwandirnpro.,.cddcsign
fca11RS,.-en:alsoaddedlalcron.
BefottlheMS4wasdiscontinuedinl9l6
(1flcrllbcuS0.14Shadt,,:,,:,,madc)."11hthe
nn:,ducoonoflheModel70Winchoslcr,te,,·-
eraldilkmltstylcsofrifles"ui:madcoothe
MS41CbOrt
Thne"''UtheSlalldardsponingnfkw,th
24~band,wcigt,i.i:.o,.7.75p;,unds.1thad •
ligt,nmat,tsrockreminiscffllofa~Ger-
~ylcspooer110ek.rornr,lele"ilh a schn-
abel fon:nd up but without thed,cckp,ett.
Thm"'llal110acarbinemodelv.ith20"t.r-
n:LAroundl9)2,.....changc,:w=madcin
theld>On.llldafullaSIOCkwasilllroduotd.
talkd the NRA Modtl, along with new cal-
ibcrs ancl 51yles. Besides lhe scandan:l spor,er
nlthec:arilinc,thm":asalso a SupcrGru
.idcd,plllllaSrup:r's M<Xle!.NaimalMach
Model and a Target Model. The folJo,,,m,
cllambcnnp ~ offc.-cd in 1hl: MS4 nfles
(d,ou&f'lna1111allmodek):22Homel(addedin
1933).220Sv,~l'linl935.250-3000in 1931.
,.,_
2S7Robcru1n1936.7nvnMal1SCl"inl930,
3Q.30in1928.30-067.65nvnMauserin1930,
and the9mm M.aU$Cr in 19.16. The MS4 was
clwubcmloriginal!yin30-06and270.
Thccne-pa:,: m:civcrw:IS made limit IOl-
od block ofh,gh lCI\Sile Slmlglh Sleel ~fully
mdprfflldymaduncdnlpropcrlyhmt--
edl08511M.......,,~-.lsalcty. Th:
t.nd II teanly ttreadcd (righl-hand V-l)VC
ma;B)ira>th:&m.o£mo...,.;.,,,,. n..m r1
lheblwmislunnekdlikcctwoflhel90J
Spnncfield.ancltherighlsdc:noic.t...lblhe
ntraclOrhook..ThctopoflhercceiVfflllllllS
roo.rd.11Srolkll'l1flat.anclalargeiraoprw.,il
1u&isontheb-,,-ardedfe.Thiskag,l.17S"',.'IOC
by .435",kq>,hasmorclhanampleara.lO
lran$f..-theic;:oiJadecfiately10lhe91td: ..,II,.
OUIICl-bnckoflhelroei,'CI'
Thcbonomccnterof1hereccivcriscu1
,,.11yfurthcmagazmeopming. lnlegralcar-
tridgegui<k-lipsarclcftineachsidcofthe
welltoholdanddireclcartridgesfromthe
mqwncinrothechamber.Additionalmctal
isldlonlhcbooornofthe1-ece1'..,,.IOl"om! I
recq,IXlc fur !he magazine box. This un
mctalsuaiglhmstheeet11eroflhcrecc,,..,,..
maJuna,t,wyripi
Thc~rccei,..,,.bndg,:isabol.ul.s"
loq,haslhosamesdc:oon1<1<rasthem:,c,"·-
ernna.butis sl1ghtlyflanmcdonrop,"11h a
shallowmanedgroo,·ccu1lengthwite,nit.
Setv.ttn the~ and the ring. !he left WIii
lics aboul l/1"belowthehcightofthc:rece1ver
rina:1heriahtwalliscu100\'ontothc:lcvclof
therightlo,;lunglugracc,,,ay,thkl!lofferin1an
amplcreceivt"1"opt,ungforloadina;andejcc-
1ion. Yctplcntyofmctal islcftinthcwallll10
kcq:,lhcrecei,·crstrong.Thcbomi-out
r-ecei,-ert'l'lds111 1 roundtd11ngmuchlikcctw
ofthel903Spnngficklrccei,..,,..
Theboll,sof~consll'UctlQn,,U,ol-
Klo.alOJIIIOKdlockinglugsonthelOr..-ard
end cnpgma behtnd shouldcn rrulled mside
thenna-Thebohheadispanially!-ecesscdlor
th:c.tndFrim.the1mCSScutaway ■ theboc­
l00110 allow I canridge to slip undcr the
n-hook as it is fed fiom !he mapzmc.
llusfcai=prcvcoodoublcJoadin&-
Themtcgralboltlw>dlcisatthecxtm,ie
~ofthc:boltbody.Thesqumbaseoflhc:
handlc~tssiraightoutlOtheright.Thc
tquarc-to-rour.d tapcfed boh handle stem,
bcnldcMnandswcp1back.,ha, 1 pear•$hapc,d
pUplflCknob. AftCl!Chiscutmtotherecc,v-
er~inlo"hichthelo,,,-crpanoflhoboh
handlebasefits. Thisprovkksthethirdor
111fe1y1u&furthc:bok.
Ac:■n lu& onlheiaroflhebolt.~
iotheldloftheboltlmdlcbase.malda•
camsur'-milkdinthelcftofth:1-ece1ver
bnJa,c.Thcypn:n.-idctheinillal~po,o•
erlOthentrxlOr"flcntheboltlwdcisrmed.
Ontheropeet1teroftheboltbodyth= 111
na1-11dedlugorprojection.Whenthebolt
handlcisraiscd10opcnthcaction,lhena1
sidcofthislugcontactsthebottomffll"of
thclcftloo;kins lugrac:cv,-ay. This lugnoconly
a,ct:sl051optheopeningromtioo.almovcmcm
ofthc:boh.butalsoservesas1boltguidc
"hcntheboltisopcnued.
Thenon-rotatingn-.ofMaustrl)'JX,
is anachediothcbohwith a roti.. 1111ts11ip
whtchenpgc:s1111g,oo..-ccut,n10thcbolt
hcad.lh11pm"Clltinglongt1udinallllO\"CfflCfll
onlhobolt.Thcntnaorhookisqu,iehcavy,
and111looo'ffllfact"is""Cl1-bc-\-clcd101tQII
casilysnapOYN"therimof1,;anridg,:pltccd
111thc:charnberaheadof1t.
Thebol1slt:evethreadsin10theiaroflhe
bohbody,andthethreadsan:~. Asmall
spnngandplungcr,finedintothc:leftfrom
edgcofthc:bohsleeve,lockthc:boltslceve10
1hebolt !oprc,-cnt1hefiringme,:;hani,m&om
rumin1when1hcbol1isopened.Asmall croa
p,nrflainsthc:lockplungainplacc. Thit
bol••skcvclock 1)'$lCfflisi:q11cdfiomlhe
1903Spnngfoekl.c:tm
Thewu,g safcty,ofa,,nrnonMai1$1:rrype.
fi1Sm10the10pofthebohJ!ee\-c. Thewmg
enpaesaridgconlheboltslu-vc:,w,lh a
no1ehcutln!Qthe10pofthcnJse 10 thesafe.
tyQllberemoo,-cdafterthe5lnKaisl'Cll10Ved.
Thestcmoflhesafcfy,onwluchthc safeiy
rowcs,exttndsforwardoutofthcbohs~
IOeng,1ielnoldicut1n10therurofthcboh
bodywhcni1is1<1thcrigh1,andmthcSafeor
Onpositionwhenswungtothc:lcft.Thesuik,
cronlyit locked"·hcnthcsafctyis i;tra;gh1
Ill). while bolh suikcr and bolt are locked
when the safety is in the On position , On
~1mprovro''S4sasmallspringandplunaerin
thebol1siee-,-cengagclhesafcty.andthc"111&
ofthe•fetyismmited fitt ononeSldeand
Saftonlheorher.
(AbcM)Ea,ty-ModelS.fW~rillt.
487

Thcboltisdrilledfromthereartoaccq,1
theone-piea: firingpinandwil mainspring
Thcoockingcamispennancntlyanachedto
therw-endofthefiringpin.Thefiringpin
extendsthrough1hebohsleew=.andthemain•
springii;compn:sse(loveritbetweenthebolt
sl«Yeandasleevewhich!ocksinagroove
onthefrontofthefiringpinrod.Theoocking
camextcnd\intoanotchintherearofthebolt
and.onraisingtheboltbandle.thefiringpin
isdrawnback.tocock the action.On early
54s.thestrikenra,'Clisabout •lrinch.lnl932
a"speed-lock,.wasintroducc,;l.cuuingthis
distanceaboutinhalf.WhiletheMS4was
beingmade.andforafewyearsafterward.or
foraslongaspanswen,a,..ailablc.theearly
slow-lotkcouldbecon,'Cnedtothespttd-
lockbyreplacingthefollowingpartsinthe
earlyactionc sear. firing pin. bolt mainspring
andtriggcr.Thclatemodelalsohadafiring.
pinstopscrcwintheboltslee\'C
Thcsear.whichalso,..-,,csastheboh-stop,
isposi1ioncdinarttUSIU1dcrtherearofthe
r=iver;itisheldinplaaa.andpivotson.apin
throughthewallsofthisrlll:ffil.Thcsearlbolt
Sloplugonlherearofthesearprojcctsupward
lhroughaholeinthere«iYertoengagethc
oockingcarnandbol1.Upwardta1SKll1issup-
plicdbyasmallsearspringbe1weenthereoeiv-
erandthcfrontofthcsear.Thetrigger.hinged
tothesearonapin.hasadoub!C>stagelet-off.
Thepanofthesearwhichprojcctsimothcbolt
"'Cllinthcn::oc-iverengagestheoockingcam
whentheactioriisopenedandclosedl'lllling
thetriggerpullstheseardov,11torelcascthe
strikcr.Aflatandslightlyinclinedcutinthe
boctomoftheboltbody.swtingnearitsrear
end,deepenstowardthe front of the bolt.
"'hercitcndsinaholeinthcboltAsthcbol1is
p.illcdback.iti;lideso,'Cl"thcprojectiononthc
sear,andthcboltis!loppedwhcnlhisprojcc..
tioocomactstheedgeoflhishole.Thisindined
surf-and holcarepositionedatdifferem
spotslUldcrtheboltacoordingtolhelengthof
thccanridgethcactionismadefor.limitingthc
bolttra,'C!tonolongerthanooeded.Onthe
bohmadeforsuchlongcanridgesasthc30-06
and270.thc .. Slop•. holeisnearthefronthalfof
488
lhebol~whilcforthe22HOfflC'(iliscloserlO
thcrearofthebolt. lnanycasc.pullingthctrig•
~backasfarasitwillgopullstheseardo,.,.n
sothebollcanberemovedfmmlheaction
Theejcctor.afla1pieceofmetalfinedina
na:rowskilcutlhroughtheboctomrightside
ofthebridge.isheldinplaceby.andpivots
on.apin.itstensionpn,videdbyasmallcoil
spring. On opening the bolt. the end of the
tjectorfflO\'CSintoagroo,'Cc\ltintothellcad
ofthcbolt.ejectingthccartridgcsorcmply
casesupwanltotheright.
TheM54bol1hasasinglesmallgas-,'Cnt
holedrilledintoitatthefiringpintipjunction.
When the bolt is locked closed. this hole
woulddfr~tanygasesescapingthroughit
intotheleftkil:kinglugraccway.lfmoregas-
escnten:dthebohbodythroughthefiringpin
holcthancooldbehandlc,;lbythissmallhole.
thebolt-stopholcwould,·emthisgas,also
inlothe left raceway. No gas-escape holes
weremadeinthesidesofthemxi,'Cl"ring.
Thebohslee,'Cwasnoc nangc,;ienoughto
defloc1anygasesrushingmuwarddov,11the
lcftraceway.bu1itse.alc,;lthisillCCWlly"'Cll
cnoughsothcgases,.·ouldbe,·enlcdoutof
thethwnbnotchcwintothetopracewaywall.
jllSlaheadofthebridge.
The M54 magazine box was of heavy
shcecmetal.bentintoaroughrectangletofit
themagazineopeninginthcbonomofthe
recciYer.Maga,;ineboxesforc,;igcsshorter
thanthe30-06and270wcreb!ockc,;loffwith
a,·crticalshcec-mctalspacercrimpedinplace
intherearofthcbox.Thesespoccrs,•aric,;iin
sii:eaccordingtothecanridgesused.Maga-
zinesmadeforthc220Swiftand30.30car-
tridgeshadslan1edspacersa1rcarandfront.
thcsetopre,'entthecanridgerimsfromovcr-
lapping
Thesteelfol1ov.'Cl"Sweremadewitharidge
onthetoplcfttostaggerthecanridges.Differ-
en1lcngthsoffolk,,.'Cl"Swereuscdforthedif-
ferent magazines. The W-shaped follo,.'Cr
springWllllhcldinmonisesintheboctomof
thcfol1ov.'erandin1hetopofthetriggerguard.
whichfonnedthemagazineco,'Cl".Di!ferent
sizesoffo!lov.'tfspringswen:alsomade
The trigger guard. formc,;1 from heavy
sheet metal, is combined with the magazine
covcrorflOOl'plate.Aseparateplateisinlet•
ted into the boltom of the stock. through
"·hichthetriggerpn,jccts.withtheguardpar-
tiallyinlettcdintothestockm'Cl"thisplateand
magazinebox.Thn:cscrews.runningthrough
holcsinthetriggerguardandstock.and
threadedintothcre,.;ci,'Cl".holdthebam:land
actionsecwdyinthestock.
The22HOfflC'(chamberingwasolfmdfll"SI
inthcM54inl933.U)n'lidorablechangeshad
tobemadesothisbigboltactioncouldhaoole
the !in!e Hornet A special small maga:zine
box.designcdoofitinsidetheregularbox.held
Scartrid~inastaggercdrolwnn.lthadalip
orf«dchute.extendingwellforward.which
guidedthesmallcanridgcintothechamber
Thefollowcrspringofthenon-detachable
HOfflC'(magazinewasmadeofspring~.the
followerofsh«'I metal. Lo:>dingwasdonc
fmmthetop.Theheadofthc22Hometboltis
taperedtofilthefunnelintheban'Cl.Asmall
spring-activatedlcver.pi,utedinaslolinthe
boctomofthebolthcad.pusbcdthecartridges
outofthemagazine. The ejectors for Hornet
rifles"'Creri,'Ctcdtothesideoftheoutside
maga,:ineboxbutotherwise functionedjust
likcthercgularejector.
Golllllnll'afatlrel
AftertheM54riflehadbeenonthemarket
afewyears.thegeneralconsensusofbolh
expensandshoolen;,.~fa,'Ol3bleonpracti-

Urdersidev\ewollheM54Winchesterbollshowing:(A)pear~bollhardegraspog
tlal,(B)Mauser-typeextrac:IOr,(C)exlraclOfoollar,(D)cl>alopposedlockir>glugs,(E){l<IS-
venloole,(F)boll-atopoole , ll'w.q'lwhichcanb&-,lhe~!Wlg-p;nsleevtlandmain•
spring,(G)extractorcam,(H)tloll-sleevelock,(l)bollsleeve.{J)cockingpieal,(K)salety
cally every count. Some corrections and
changeSwcrcmade.aloogwithncwstyles.so
thatby1932itwasconsideftdavery-well-
madeandrcliablerifle.Toialproductionofa
littleoverSO.OOOWUtsinthe II years it was
oothemartctindicatetha1itwasno1anovcr-
lypopularrifle,butitmustbcremernbercd
thatther,:wasadep,cssiooduringmuchof
this1ii11e. TheM54wasagood'"trial''rillefor
Winchester,andbythemid-1930sthcyknew
exactlywhatshoolerswantedwhmthcy"'cre
readytodroptheM54foranewmodel.
llen:aresomeoftheoutstandinggoodfca-
nuesoftheM54Winches«:raction. lt wasa
''el)'strolliaction.i1S=eiverandboltrnade
ofthebests~lavailableandpropcrlyhcat
treated;thebreechingsystemwasgood;the
boltlockinglugsan:~andneithcrone"'3S
slotted: tbebridge ...'3Slortgcnoughtoguidc
andsuppontheboltduringoperationofthe
actiorLNoonecouldaskforabetterextractor,
and the ejector system proved very good
Oesignandconstruc1ionofthefiring pin.bolt
slecvcandbolt-slee-.'l:lockandmagazinewere
also,'el)'good.The!;egoodfeature$,howe•,er.
didootmakcupformany)XIOl"ones.
The)XIOl"fcatures"'cre:thecontooJofthe
bolthandlcwassohighitimerfcn:dwith
rnow,tingasoopelowoverther,:,ccivcr;the
same"11Strueofthesafety.whichwasno1oon-
vcniemtoopenteeither-<:,·rnifthesoope
wm:mountcdhigt,cnoughtoclearit:thebolt-
,iopsysiernwasfilrfromgood;IOOmuchstrain
"'3Spotonthe,earifthebolt"'3Soperatedwith
anyfortt.BeingcombincJ"iththe,earalso
limitedtheaiggcrtotheco,wcntionalmilitary•
typc<b.lblcpull.Lastly,theshe,:1-melalaigger
guarddidno1bclortgonamodemrille. lcoold
_
.....
elaboratconthescfaults,butlsuggestyoorcad
F'arlllofthischapterandleamwha1Winche!;-
terdidtooom:<.:tthernintheModel70acrion.
Modc154ownersalmostinllllCdiately.in
manycases.begansendingthemtocustom
gwismithsforrebuildingorrcsw,.:king.Griffin
& Howcgoitheirshare.afmnthatreallyknew
what todotomakethemintothosesuperl>
sponingannsandwhiehm:>dether.ameG&II
so"-cllknown.Theirspc,:ialty"11Srestocking.
andtheirclassicscockonthisrilledidg=t
thingsforit.Winchestermoreor!csscopied
theGriffin&HowedassicstockfortheSuper
Grade54and,latcron.fortheSuperGrade70.
lftheowner"11ntedaseopeoohisM54,G&H
wouldaltcrOl'installancwlowsafcty,alterthc
bolthandlctoalowerprofile,andtapthe
rea:i,-erfortheirfinedouble-k:vcrsidemount.
Bucltlerstillmakesalowsoopesafetyfor
theold$4Winchester. Nothingmuchcanbe
dooewiththeoriginaltriggertomodifyit.No
oncmakcsam illcdsteeltriggerguardforthis
ac1ion,withorwi1hou1ahingedf1oorplale
Althoughl'v,:nevcrdoneit,inrcsiockingthe
M54theM70triggcrguardandhingedfloor-
platecanbeused.Thiswouldrequiredrilling
andtappingaholeforthefrontguardscrew
inthebottomf1atofther,:,ceiverring.
TheM54in30-30caliberwasllO!ve,y
popular,sonolmanywen:madc.1!"1'Ssoon
discovercdthatthesc30-30riflcsweresuit-
abk:forrechamberinglothe30-40Kragcar-
tridge,and1>0dooblalolof1heseriflcs"'cre
so roc:hamberod. About the same time, a num·
berofwildcatcanridgcsbasedootherimmcd
219 Zipper, 30-30 and 30-40cascs bc:came
popular,andthe30-30M54aciionwasused
forbuildingriflesforthese
ManyM54riflcsin22Hometcaliber"'cre
alsor,:,chamberodtothc22K-Homet,orcon-
,·cnodtohandlethe22R-2LAA"'llcartridge.
which""treextremelypopularamongwild--
ca1tersinthcl930s.Griffin&llo"'C"'lL'lone
ofthefirs1shopstospccializcintheconver-
-
siontothel.ovellcartridgeand.!a1cron.to
thc222 Remingioncartridgi:. Properly done.
thcsecon,·enionsworkedout"'l:11
The M54 Winchcs1cr serial n1J.1nber ii;
stampcdontherightsideofthcreeei,oerring.A
lctterattheendofthe!ierialnwnberindic:ucsa
miOOl'changi:inthemechanisrn.
TheWinchcstcrtrademarkisstampedoo
thclcftrea:iverwall.thus:
WINCHESTER
-TRADEMARK-
The Winchesterfinnnameandaddress.
modeldesignarionandcaliberarestampedon
thebarrel.TheWincheslerproofmark(•w
"'ithinanoval)isstampedonthebn:cehcnd
ofthebam:!andootherecei,'erring.Theycar
ofmanufactureisoftenstampedundcrthe
bam:l,such 34 indicatingl934
M54 rif1es iI, original and very goodcondi-
tionare becomingprii,edcollectot' itcms. This
isespccially1ruc formodelsothcrthanthc
Slandardgradesportcr,andforanyofthernin
calibmothcrthan30-06and270.Bccauseof
this.theownerofoneoftheseriflcsshould
takethisfac1intoconsidemtionbeforealtering
489
 Ulte-modol mlproved Model 5" Winchester. The pnneiple dil!er1111C41
betweenlhisandlheffrtymodellslhatlhlsoneha.safullerstoek.(Pholo
!romBul!aloBin HistO<U!c.nt..-.Wlnche•terAnnsColleciion.)

Theauthor's101b.~lffllllnlhe&rwnMicfO.Filecaliber(6rnm-
219Irnpn;>'<'tldZipper)bulton•M5'1~11Ction.Wilhaholoweo-
out w!lnll stod<. custom tnpr, 6x B&L ac:ope and 1 21 · Oouglu barr9t,
lhlsrlllehasfiredmany¼•MOA(mlnutaolangle)ftlle-llholgro,uc:.at1IXI
-.,:1200yardl.

11manyway. li~anychangcs mayalfffl its dv:safc,yswungoo1helcft.therifleisready 1hcbol11lttvc.plac:ethcfiring-p,n1ipon1

fu1ure,·11uc.Th05eriflesalrcadyalteredin
somcWlly(lffittlltyha,-elinleoollectClf·sval-
ue.M54pansarcnolongerfactoryavailabk:.
so1holcrifksaln:adyaltcrcdcannoo:berealli-
ly ~ to ori&inal condition. [\"ffl ifyoo
arewillingtop11y1hepriteohnewM70fur
anM54,locaunaone,sgoingtobcdi!f,cult
tobcfircdbypullingthctrigger.lftherifleis
tobccaniedloadcd,swingthesafctylothc
ngh1.orSafepo,sirion.,.t,ichlockslhestriktr
andbolt.Afttffuing.raiscthebolthandlcand
pulllheboltbacksmartlytocx1ractandejcct
thcemptycanridgecase. Push the bolt for-
,o-an:! to movc thc topmost canridge in lhc:
hardwoodswfaccand.wi1hafuma:raspon
lhebol!slccvc.pushtheboltslCC\'tdo,.TtlO
lhesafctycanbcswungtothcrighttoallow
the firing pin oomo,,.., forward. Now a:ra.spthe
finng-p,n slcc:~c. pull it back so it can be
routed and released from the firing pin. The
firing pin can now be pulled from the bolt

-
,iu,celhm:JUS1don·1scan10bcmanyaround
forsalc.~MS4actionsw~n,,.-a-
oonwnm:iallyr.-ailable.
Toio.d:plattlhcsafdyintheirnmncdure
(up)orOff(k:ft)position.;IQ:dx:bolthandlc:
andpulllheboltbacl:asfarasitwillgo:place
1singlecanridgc.bulletpointforward.indx:
magarinc:openintlandpres.sitimothemaga-
rine with the 1humb. Load additiooal car-
lridgesinthesamcmanncruntilthemagarinc:
i1full.lfdesircd.1canridgecannowbe
GOpptdintolhechambn;pressclcN,111hear-
tridaa111themaprinc:sothcboltcanbe
pushecllorwardo,,,-er1hem;closiethebollfutly
and111mlhebolthatldkdr:M11asi.-as,1,.-;11
IJOIOlocklhcanridgcinlhechamber.Wid,
~intothccbambcrand.onio-n..,.
thebolthandk.therifleisrtadylObcfiml
1p111.To~plattdv:saktyin1heinltr-
modwc(up)positionandmo,,1:1hebohfully
lor,,,vdandbacl:.untilalldx:canridgaha,1:
bco:ntjcct,:dfromlheaaion..
T....._IIIIAIIIIIMY
firs1,fflllkcsuremagazincandchamberare
cmpty.TOl'l'ITIO\'Cthebol!.placethesafctyin
theinlctmtdiateposition,raisclhc:bolthandlc
andpullitbacl:whilcholdingthctriggcrback
u faru i1 will go: the bolt can now be
remo,-ed. Remove the fuingmcchanismby
deptssinatheboh-sJtto.-elod:;oni11lcft.and
tummg lhc boh sJtto.-e oounten:lockwi,c: out
oftheboh.TodisassembletheMl!&m«ha-
n,sm,mt!O\'cthefiring-pinstop~from
1lcc,·t.Swingthesafc,yupanditcanbc
mtl0\1:d.Driveoutthe,uysmallbolt......1:
loc:kpu,tomncr.-ethebolt-sltt--eloc:kand
spnng.Rt:a55Clllbkin<C''mConla".
T,...,OUland"""°'"lhctlncaigg,::ra,.-1
aewsandlhcauanl{"idtlollc,y.'ff,plqand
ronc,,.-er..uoched),andlhcbandedactiori,;ar,
bcl,flcdfromtheSKd.Slipthelollowcrolfthe
follo,o'tfspingandthesprinaolflhcguard.ln
rc:assc:mbling,thenarrowendofdv:springgocs
intothefollowcr.Pushthcma~boxup-
,.vdoutofthcstock.Drivcoutthescarpinand
removc:lhc_.,scarsping,n;llriagcr.Drive
outtheejectorpintol'l'ITIO\'ethecjttlorand
tjc,:torspring.Reassr:rnblcinrc>'fflle<:m:r.Thc
blrrcl.llRailcd,'"')'lighllyllllOtherecei-.
shouldno1bcmnovcdmlessthepropa-100b
..,r,-aibblc(barcl,Wandaai<irl",aich~

........'85"
5'T
............. .351"
.,,.
.ow

490

Model70Winches1erriHe---lhe"AffleJTliln's
Aff~."Thisistheoriglnalversionwithtop·
moumedsatery
Partl
...... 84,....70Mlmltll'
BY THE EARLY 19J0s, Winchester had
bcgunquietlyiodcvelopanewandimpn:wed
succcssoriothcM54action.butretainingthe
bestfeanucsoflhc54.Newdesignfurures
wouldcliminatethefauhyandundcsirable
aspecis.Byl9J4,Winchestcr'sdesignmhad
thcnewac1ion"'trledoutandreadyforman
ufacture.Bccauseofthc()eprcssion,pe,-haps.
thcydecidedtopostponeitsintroductioountil
la1e 193~llhoughWinchestcrgcncrally
ga,"<=l937asthedatcofintroduction.Thc
newriflcwascalledtheModcl70.Asalmos1
C\'C')' high-power rifle shooter knows. the
M70wasanin.stantsuccess.Jntimeitbccame
knowna:slhc"Rifleman'sRiflc.'·Thisvery
ap1 title reflects what most shooters and
e~pcnsthoughtaboutit.
In 1964,sornebasicchangeswcremade.
andfromthaltimeonall Model 70smade
between 1931).1964 are known as "old
M10s.··anc1aregenerallyreferredtoaspre-
·6470s.TocM70riflesandactionsdiscussed
inthispaztarethosiemadebcfon:1964.
LikcthcM54. the M70was made in a
nwnbcrofstylesandcalibcrs.thoughnotall
ofthc,-ariousstyleswerechambcredforall
thccartridgesinthcfollowing!ist22HM.et.
225(1964).ll0Swifl.243{introducedl9SS).
250-3000Sa,-agc.2S7 Roberts,264Magnum
(1959).270. 7mmMauscr,JOOSavage,30--
06. 308 (7.62mm NATO) in 1952, 300 H&H
Magnum, JOO Winchester Magnwn (1963),
338 Magnum{1958). 35 Reming1on.J58
Winchester (1955). 375 H&H Magnum, and
458 Winchester Magnwn{l9S<:i). A few M70
rifleswerealsochambcredforthc7.65mm
and9mmMa..scrcanridgc.
Thcfollowingdiffercntstylesweremade·
Standmlrille"'ith24~barrel.Slandardcaroine
with20"barrcl, SupcrGradcrifle.Fcather-
"'-eigj,trille"'ith22"barrel{l952).Targ(lrifle.
NationalMatchriflc.Srripcr'smatchriflc.Bull
Gun, Vazmin1 rifle and the Magnum riflcs-
Wesiemcr, Ala.9:an and Alncart Before 1964,
M70actionsandbarreledactions"'m:ric·•cr
,...,. .....
coounerciallyavailable.
ThcM70was1101reallyanentirelynew
actionwhmitwasintroduced,butrathcrthe
basic MS<! action redesigned and greatly
improved and modified.
Winche,uermadefi,·emajorchangeson
theM54action10iransforrni1in10thcM70.
l)Boll-s10p:ascparateandindq)enden1
bolt-stopisusedinlhcM70action.ltisaflat
pieccofltlCfalposilionodinas~millcdinlO
theleftrearofthen:ceiverlhroughthebottorn
ofthelcftlockinglugraceway.hisheldin
plaa:by,andpiVOISon,thctriggcrpin.Ten-
sionisp,midedbyasmallspringandplungcr
locatodattheleftrearofthebridgc.Therearof
the bolt-s10p projcc1s upward behind the
bridgewall.whereitcanbc~wilhthe
thwnbtoremovethcbolt.Thcfroo.1cndofthe
bol!-stopprojectsupinlOtheleftlockinglug
raceway,haltingtheboltiniisrearwardrnovc-
mcntbycontac1ingthelockinglug.Tolimi1
bohtravelina.ctionsmadeforcanridgcsshon-
crthanthe30-06,abarisfined10theleftof
thcextractorcollar.Thisbarslidesinthelock-
inglugra=a.-ay,iisfrontcndcontac1ingthc
kicking lug whm the bolt handle is raised On
openinglhcbolt.theboh-siopwillcontac1the
rearendofmisbarandh:il1thebol1tra,'Cl.A
shortbar(calledtheboll-stopextension)is
usedforthe220S"·ift-10J08-lengthcar-
bidgcs,aslightlylongerbarforthc250and35
Reming,oncartridges.andthelongeS!barfor
the22llomet:.Thcbolt-stopissimple,stmng.
unobousive,con,'t"lliemandcasy10operatc.
2)Trigger.1heM70hasoneofthebesttrig-
gcrsystcmse,'Crmadc . Thcsearisloca1cd
underthcn:cei,·erinthesamemanneraslhc
M54sear,pivotingonapinand1ensionedbya
ooilspring. Thcrearpaztofthcsear,"''hich
projccuintothecockingcamraceway,hasa
l: I
bevelodrearsurfacewhichcontaruasimilar
slopedsurfaceonlhccockingcamwhenthe
ocriooiscocked.Thctriggcr,po5irioocdtothe
rearofthesear.isheklinplaceby,andpivocs
on. a pin through the bouom walls of the
n:cei,-er.Triggcrtensionisprovidodbyacoil
springfitlodo,·erascrewstembetweenthe
rearofthctriggcrandrccci,'Cr.Thisscrew,
threadcdintothctrigger,hasJkicknutSwhich
allowthetriggcr1obeadjustedforv,"<=ighlof
pu!landover-tra,"<=I.Aootehinthefrontofthe
triggcrmatchcsapn:,jcctiononthcbonomof
thcsearand,whmer,gagcdholdsthesearup
agairtS1thecockingpiecc10holdthefiringpin
backwhentheocriooiscocl:ed.Theanango-
mmtandthclcvcragesaresuch1hatafull
sear-to-cocking piece engage-men! is main-
tained. yet there is a minimwn engagement
betweenthetriggcrandsear.thusachievinga
safe,bu1shonandlight,triggcrlet,off.Thc
mechanismisverysimple.strong.reliableand
foolproof.
Properlyadjus1ed.noshooternecdcom-
plainaboutthistrigger.hisstillbcingusedon
allM70s
3)Safeiy:theM70safctyisbu;ltintothe
bohsleeve,iisstcmfittinginioavcnic;ilhole
in the right sideofthe boltslee,"<=. Held in
placcbyasmallcrosspinthroughthebolt
slce-.·e.itistcnsionedbyaspringandplunger
positionodlcngthwiscinlhetopoftheboll
slce-.·e.Theholeforlhisplungerextendsfor-
wardlhroughtheboltsk:e>,'Cinlinewiththe
rearofthcboltaad.whmthcsafetyisswung
1otheSafcposilion,thcplungerismovedfor-
ward10cngagcinanotchin1hebol1,locking
it. Thct"''Omain po5itionsofthe safety are
SafeandFire,bu1i1can11lsobcplacc:,;[mid-
way between these positions. When on Safe.
thestemofthesafctyengagesthecocking
piecc.lockingbothfiringpinandbolt.With
thesafctyintheinteonediatepo5itioothcbol1
canbcoperated10unloadlhcmagazine.with
nodangcrofthefiringpinfalling.
OnthefirstM70actionsthesafetywingwas
on1opofthebol1slee>"<=.swingingo,.-erafla1
surface~S"""'8fariefl.thesafetyisin
theSafeposition:SW1.Dl810therearitisinthe
Fireposition.Th.issafetywasnotcon,'fflient
whenasc,::,pewasmoum,,,dlowo,.'(l'them;:eiv-
er.A newsafety.des~later.hasawing
aloogtherighlsideofthebohskevethaiiscasy
tooperateuro:lttanyc:ondilion:itisinthcSafe
positionwbenswwigtotherear.aolinthcFire
posilionwhenswungforward.Thisfully"'1i-
ablesafctyissnllbcinguso:lontheM70actions.
491
 4)Bolthandlc:theM70001thandlc,made
toaverylowprofilc,willclcartheeycpiece
of the lowest-mounted scope that might be
affixed.Thiangoftherccciverisdeeply
notchcdtoacttp(thevc,yheavybascofthe
OO!thandleand,tboughtherearofthebasc
docsno1contac1thcrcaroftheno1ch.i1servcs
asasafetylugintheeventthelocl:inglugsor
rccei,-erringshouldevcrfail.Failureoflhe
rccei,-er,howcver,ishighlyunlil:ely
5)Magazinc:thcM70magazincOOx,fol•
lowerandfolkM"trspringarethesamcaslhose
usediiitheM54,butratherthanusingapiece
ofbent~mctalforthetriggcrguardand
magazineo:,1Yer,theM7()hasahingedmag:,-
zinc ftoorpla!Candguardmilledfromsteel
ThescparateguardbowisofSICClalso.Screws
a1cilhermdoftheguardthreadinlothcbonom
ofthe~,-er.Anunobtrusivcplungtrcatch
ispositionedinthefrooloftheguardtohokl
the floc,rplale dosed; it is dq:,r=l to r'l:k:asc
thefloc,rplatc(alsomilledfrornsteel),which is
nea~yhingtdtoashonplatccalledthemap•
zinccoverplatc.Thcfromguardscrewgoes
lhroughthisplatciiitotheb,;,ttocnofthercceiv-
erring.Whenthelloorplaleisclosed.itco,.'tl"S
acenterguardscrewaswellascoveringthe
entire magazine lx,x, On the Fe,uherweight
M70.theguardbow,lloorplatcandhingcpla!e
,.,:remadeofanalwninwnalloy
Thefivemajorchangesj11$tdescribedgrcat·
lyimprovedtheaction
Bymakingaseparatelx,lt-stopsystcm.the
extrama,c:hiningrcquin:donthcM5400hwas
elimina1ed.Thelo,.-erprofileoftheOOlthan-
dleincreasedthestrengthofthesafe1ylugi1
provided.Placingthefromguardscrewtothe
rearofthercceiverring,insteadofthreadingit
into the recoil lug, Slrengthenedlhewood
whichsupponedthelugsincethiswoodis
492
damped between the bouom of1hc rccei,-er
and the hinge plate.
The rttciver, OOlt, breeching system,
extractor,eje<;torandfiringmechanisrnpn.:wed
soreliableintheM54thathardlyanydcsign
changesweremadeinthcscpartsormocha-
nisms.l1\cM70rcceivcri"ilhesamelcnglh
anddiamc-ter,andaboulthesamcweight,as
the M54 receiYer. T1!c M70re<:ci,·erwas
alwaystappedootheleftsidcforareceivcr
sigh1. When the rifle was first brough1 out.
onlythctopofthercceiverringwas!appedfor
ascopemoont.bul5()()11aflcrwan:lthetopof
thebridgcwasalsotapped. Thesamebam:I
shank:andthreadspecificationswereused,and
infac1,M54andM70bam:1sareinten:hange-
abk.Nochangc"'-asmadeinthe001tlocking
arrangemern.Thesamei-.1rueoflheflringpin.
mainspringandfiring-pin~ve.Bothmodels
ha,·ethesamebohslec,-clocl:and,cx<:ep1for
the modifications for the different safe1ies
used,evcnlhclx,l1slee,"CSaresimilar.lnfact.
alloflhescpMSaremoreorlcssinten:hango,
ablcintheMS4andM70actions.T1!cM70
lx,lthasthesamerotationalstoplugasonthe
M54.andthesameextractorcarn
Additionalgas-,-cntholesareprovidedin
thcM70bo!tandrccei,-er- twointheOOh,a
smallonencarlheOOlthead.ailhcjunctionof
theflringpintip,andalargtroncjustaheadof
the firing-pin sleeve. These allow gases to
escapeintotheleftlocl:inglugraxway.Jfany
gasshouklbeexpc!ledintothebol1,andthence
imo the locking lug raceway, it would now
belwecnandpastthcboltbodyandrcceivcr,as
"'-cllasbeingdirectedrcarwarddov.ntheracc-
way. TheOOlt-stopandtheOOhslee,.-ccould
partiallystopthisflow.butsomegascouldSlill
escapcpa.$!theedgeoflhc001tslccvcand
stril:cthcshooter'sface.On1hcM70rif\cs
charnberedforthcshorte-rcanridges(those
ha•ingaOOlt-stope,uensiortbarontheexrrac-
torcollar),lheextensionbarwouldco,.'tl"onc
orbothoflheboltgas-,-cntholcs.
Agas-escapeholelhroughtherigh1sidcof
theM70roceivcrring..opposi!Ctheextractor
slot:in thebam:l.allowcdanypowdcrgases
escapingtotherighttobeventedthroughlhis
hole.Moreonlhislater.
~oncSU!IO=i•'tl"andoohw,:rcUIICdfor
allcalibcrsiiilheM70Wird>esterardn.-gard-
lessofcalibcr,allactionswereofthesame
length.Actionsmadeforlhe30-06and270haw
amaga;cinebox,.ilhaninstdccp.,rurtglengthof
)J&i~.wilhthemagazincwell inlherooci,'tl"
justlongmoughtorcceiw=themagazincbo.w..
Forcanrid;,,,sofshonttlength.suchaslhe257
Robats,243and<llhcrs,lherearofthernag;m,,e
boxisblod:edoff"ithaspocer.solhemaga,inc
boxopeningisoolongerthanneedcd.Shoncr
fol~andfolkM,:rspringsarcthenused.Thc
22H<im:IM70hasamaga,incarrangementjust
like1ha!oflheM54r,re,.i,cu;lydesmbed.Modcl
70actionsmadtforlhelong300H&Hand375
H&H~calibcrshM,lhe~w,,11
k>iglhetledandlhemaga,incbox.folkMttand
spring made acalrdingly to a«:epl 1hese 3.f/:f'.
longcartridgcs.Regardlcssofthccalibcrthey
weremadefor.ho,.-c,,tt,M70rooci,-erswereall
oflhesamelcngth.
EarlyM70~•·ersmadeforsuchstandard
calibcrsasthe30-06and270hada.stripper<lip
guidemilledintolhebridgcsotha1cartridges
couldbeloadedfromacLip.Thisfearurewas
~laterexcq:Minlheta,gctrillcs.
"'-""
Uptol952allM70actions"·creofall~I
constn.oction-,dofallmilleJ.s1eelconsuuc-
1ioncxcep1forsuchpartsastheshect-Sleel

maga.:ineboxandsprings.lnl952,howcvcr,
theM70Feathcn•,eightriflcwasintroduc,:din
rcsponsetolhedcmandfurlightcrrifles.The
weightreduction"-asochicvedbyusingavcry
slim2rbarre1,all'immerandslimmersrock
havinganaluminumbunpla1e,andbymaking
thetriggcrguard.floorplateandhingcplaleof
aligh1wcightaluminumalloy.Thegrasping
ball was also hollowed 001. The standard-
""'ightM70,wilhall--$1CelparU."-asretained
untilbolhitandtheFea1herweigh1 models
wcredroppedinl964infavorofancwcrNew
Model70,tobcdescribedhuer
E~c~ for the lhn:c aluminum pans, which
madetheactionafewounceslighter(lhese
panswm:blackanodizcd).theFealhcrwcight
at1ionwasidenticaltothcstandanlall-stttl
action. While many hunt•~ favo11'<1 the
Fcatherwcightmodelo,erlhestandardmod-
el.mostM70riflcfansdisapprovedoftheusc
of oon-stcel parts, feeling 1he rifle was
"cheapcn«l"thel1'by. lnfac1, thcanodized
finishgi,1'11ilie,;cpansdidr.ol1>1'31'WCll,and
if1herit1ewascarriedalol,thct1oorvla1c
soonbecamebright.Also,ifbumpc,dhanl,the
a!uminwnguan:lrouldbccasilyhrokcn
Letttide olthel)l'&-'IMM70WlnchNter
actio<lshowinglheboltopen
GCllll•Poarfatll'a
Winchesterriflcfans.andp:,niculartyWin-
chester70fans-andlheyarelcgion-stoutly
maint.ainthatlhepn:-1964M70at1iooislhe
bcslccntcrfirebohac1ionc,..,,.made.thatith.ls
oofaults,andthatilcannotbeimpro,·edupon.
l'llgoalongwilhlhisuptoaccnainpoint
TheM70actiooasmadebefore1964really
h.lsalolof001Standingfea1ureswhichmakcit
oncoflhefinest.mostreliablcandstrongest
boltnctionsC>'el'made. lnthefUSlpl=.it is
madeoflhefineststcelsavailablcforthepur-
pose.andthe,'llriouspansarehcat1reatedfor
tnaJCimum s1rength and durability. h is
cxtremely,...,llmade.wilhallvitalpansmade
toclosctolcranccsandpropcrlyfinishedand
fined.ltiscasytoopcrale,andreedingisuso-
allyflawlcss. ThcM70actionwasadoptedby
a number of wildca1 cartridge c~pcrimentcrs
fordevclopmentwortwilhlargc..:apacityrar-
ttidgcs,andtheac1ionsstoodupunderlhis
punishmcnr,anestingtolheirstrength
Asmcmioncdpreviously.lhefiringmecha-
nism.which includeslhetrigger, isnearly
f\awless.andhardlyanyvalidcomplainlScan
l: I
bele,..,ledapiru;11hebolt-stop,safcty,tjec-
10randextractorsystemS.ThcM70hasabout
lhesborteststrikertravelandaboutlhefastest
lock1imcof &nycemerfireboltactionthcn
madcthall'mawaR:of,whicharefeatures
w-getshooters like. As well knowna.sthe
M70riflehasbeoorneinthehuntingfield.itis
equallyafavoritconthetargetrange
Thcpre-'64 M70actioncanabobecoosid-
eredw.-ysafe.butlfceltha1itrouldcasily
ha,..,becnmadesafer.lndiscussions wilh sev-
eral amiscxpertSandshootenaboutlhis
action,scwraloflhemsajdthat,incaseofa
cartridgefailure"t.,r,theheadoflhc:canridgc
c-rac-k.sorsplits,lheywouldralherhavebecn
firing some other rifle when this happened
thanlheM70. l havefiredmanythousandsof
shols using commcR:ial, miliwy and hand-
loadcdammwiition in a varietyofccntcrfire
bolt-ac1ionriflcs.butl can rc,;allonlyiwo
iru;tancesofcasefaillJl1'.Bolhhappenedwben
I was tiring a Mauser M98 rifle . In both
instancesalocofgasblewoo1oftheaction.
bw(J ..-aswearingglas.scs)hardlyanyoflhe
gashilmyf=.lfthesehadbecnM54or M70
rifleslwooldnocha,..,hadtheprocectionlhe
493
 ThuMooel"B"Winchest.,rM70$ingkishOI
actionu$(N!by !heWinchestert8$tinglllbo-
ratoryasapres&m:tgun

Maweractionsaffonledme,wilhlheirflanged firinganM70e,;pericrw;edaseverecase-head foundoutwhatthctrooblewas.lnoneriflel

boltsltt\•cs.Thepointis,Jwouldconsidcrthe
M70actionmuchsaferifithadaventholein
theleftsidcofthereccivcrinadditiootothe
oneintherightsideoftherecciverring.l
wooldalsoprt,fertohavea flange on the left
sideoftheboltslee,..,,onewhithe,;tendedto
theoutSideoftherecei,·crmdcflCCloutwan:I
anysase:se,;pelkdrcarwardalongthclocking
lugrace,o-,,y.lwouldalsowantthcholeinthc
leftn:«i,•er,."lllloppositetheventho!einthe
bo!tbody,andl'dpn:fertoha,..,bothholes
""!lforwardabou!J/,~ fromthebolthead.
lnonecasertl)Ofledtomchyagwismilh,
whosestatcmentlcannotquestion.ashootcr
rupture,probablythroughano,crloador
plugged bore. Mostofthecscapinggases
weredire<:tedimothelcftlockinglugrace-
way,andinsuchvolumcandforcelhatthe
bolt~eeve lock was blown out as the sases
rushed past the bolt sleeve. The shooter was
injuredbythepo,.·dersases.butlocki!ythe
flyingboh-sleevelockmissedhim.Thisone
ins1ancc.a1least.iscnoughtoooiwincemc
lhattheM70actionwouldbesaferifthebolt
sleevcwercflangcd.andifthercwercaven1
holeinthcleftsidcoftherecci•'er.
lha,..,experienccdmisflfe'iwilh1woM70
rifleslownedanduscd,but!neverrcally
smpectetlthatthemis~werccausedhythe
fuingpinootbeingheldbackasfarasisnor-
mal.becauscthesear-to-uigger~had
beenhonedtoomuch.Thisrcsultcdinthesear
ootbeingheldupashighasr.onnal,prc,..,,,t-
ingthesearfromholdingthefiringpinbackas
muchasitshouldbe.Thedifferencewas,'ef)'
small,sincethesafetycouldstillbeengagcd
with some effort. but the diffemu was
enough,l!hinl<.tocauscfrtquernmisfi11:S.for
myself,lwouldn1therha,cthefuingpintrav-
•lontheM70increasedhy 1/{ toprovidean
,:x<;(:S5 of !)()"'er and mornentwn to the firing
pirlforpositi,cignitionunderallconditions.

494
 -
ThcM70ai;tionisonclhatis,cldomgun-
smithed.lti1,perhaps.lhefmtai;tiondlOice
OOIO'hichlObuildacustomsporterormrget
rifle,butnogunsmidiingis~unless
thecalibcrischanpl.orsomethinglikclhat.
lnfining1ncwbarrel,itshooldbcbr=:hcd
upsothercissomcspaccbctweentheboll
andbaml,lnvingsomc.003"10.0IWmd
playinthebolt.Aholecanbc.tilledmthe
left~"'C1"ringor11,-.lltoprovidt1gas-
escapepononlhalsidc. ~----------------

ro!:::'~~~ ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
anmn•maclefurlheM98Ma11ii:r.lnslalla-
IIOlllll5lnlaicnc..bcloundinlheJuly,l962.
...,.of71vA"""""'Rj/kma,r.pJ7
lh1,·calradymm1ionedthelackofany
psshlc:ldonlhebohslcevcofM70rffle,old
andncw.Onp;iae73inlheApril.1964,is.1UI:
of 11it American Rifleman, instruttions an:
&i>fflonhowtoinstallasimplcMauser-typc
psshicklonlheM70bohsk:c~.~outsidc UndertkleolltlflModel"B"actionshowlng
thellolidr«oiverbollomandlhel'klleprlng
oflheboltsleevc,ju.st10therearofitsfor-
..niehpn)Yidettensiontolheboll•~.
"wdflamled&t=,i1filkdwilhashicldmadc
from a srcc:l"'aShcr,sil,~IOklm:dinplacc. '-------------------
T. . . . 111111--- Jlee,,eandfinnamtdlanism.Mo-1:lhesafcly Donoo:rm1011ethentractorcollarunless
(PN-'141 10 lhe f"'m: position. allowing the flnfll pUl 10 llbsolutc:lync,:;asary.
MakcSlftthechamberandmapz,ne.., fall. Grasplhefinng-p111slca1:fumly,p,Jq hilnotlld,.isablelOrefflO\'CthcAfdy,bul
~Open...icioselhcbolt.pla<;elhc otbackun1il1tc,aribctumed •l•-cuminridlcr ifrtmustbcdonc,pro,;e,c,d•lollowr.119C•
$1M)'mtheinlfflnediaiep06ioon. Toraoo>" d,r«tl(ln, then ease it off gently apir$ the lllllll.-,ftpunchio.-,,-clhesafetyn:tawr-
lheboh.rai11Clhebohhandlcandpulllhebolt suonamainspnnaprcsan.Thcfirina;pincan p,ntothcinsidcoftheboltslee\~thc:nl'Olale
back aboul halfway, dqnss the bolt stop on bctq)lnllcdliomtheboltslccvet,yhllnlnl lhcsafeiyWMil11canbcliftedOU1;thesafety-
thelcftrcaroflhe~Vff.thenpullthebolt out thefinng-pinstopscR:wfromthebolt lockpllllliffandspringcannowbcrcmoved.
1lllhewayou1. alcc,-c.Torcmo,-ctheextractor,tumitunder R,:mo,,ethcbol!-slccvelockandspringby
Tod,sa.sscmblclheboh.~thebolt- thc:bol1S<litooventhegas-vernholes,thc:n drivmgou!theboh-s!ccveretainerpin.Re-
slceve lock plunger and unscrew the boh pusbitforwant.Reasscmbleinm'CTSCordcr. asscmbkinrcveneorder.

n,.p,9>'$4M70.,;tior,islittlldwi1h•C.,,.
jllrl!Aytldju$tablltriggerrnechanismeom-
plltewllhlingle-seltrlggershoe.

495
 This is the Featherweight M70 pre-'64 Winchester, one o1 lhe several d~·
ferentmodelsbvi~on thisaction. ltweighsabout6.51bs.andhasaslende,
22"barrel,sli~stock,aluminumelloytriggerguardandbvtt;,late,
andwas~calibers243,264Mag .. 270,308,30-06and358

WlnchesterM70swer8SOhighlythough1o1thattheirownersoh8nhad
1hemcustomr8Stockedwithverytancywalnu1.andelaboratelycheckered,
lik8thisone

Toremovclhcbarrelandac!ionfromthe sldeofthcreceiverringandontheleflsideof Thispartic:ularactionismari<Wasfolkw.-s;

siock. firsctumoutthe front magazine-plate
screwandremovethemagazine noorplatc
andhmgeplate.Tumootthcfon:ndscrew
Tumou1thercarandfmntguanl·bowscrews,
thenpu110U1thetriggerguanlbow.Liflthe
bam:,landaction001oftheS10Ck.Rcmcwelhe
magazincboxfromlhestock. Reassemble in
==-Rcmovethetriggcrandboh•slopbydri-
vingthetriggcrpin10therigh1.n,movingthe
bolt-stop.boh-stopplungcrandplunger
springfirst,lhcrtdrivethetriggcrpinallthe
way out toremo,-elhe trigger and trigger
spring.Dri,·eoutthesearpintoremovethe
searandsearspring,anddri,..,outlheejcctor
pin to remove lhe ejec1or and spring
Reassembleinreverseonler.
Thebam:listhreadcd,·erytightlyin1olhe
rocciwr.ltshouldnotberemovc,;lunles'i
absolutelyncces,,ary. and lhcrt only ifa bam::I
viseandaction"'-rencharea--ailablc.
ThcnoorplatccanbeseparatWfromthe
hingeplrucbydrivingoutthehingepin.The
noorr,laterelcasetanberemovWfromlhe
guardbydrivingOU1thepin
lhcbarrelbrcec:h.
ThcnamcandaddressoftheWinchester
firm isstampedonthebam:I forwan:lofthe
rcarsight.Thcmodel(I\IODl':L 70)andcal-
ibcrdcsignationsarealsoslampcdonlhcbar·
rel.Thecalibcrisalsostampedonthebonom
ofthebam:l.nearthebrcec:h,alongwiththe
yeartheriflcwasmade,thus:270 42,which
wooldindicate270caliberandl?42
lfyouwama~-·64 M70ac!iooonwhich
tobuildarineyou'llhavctostriparine1ogct
it!lnthe1940sand '50si1wasooproblem10
pickupamoderatelyi)licedsecoodhandl\\70
anddiscardallofitexc"[)ltheac!ion.Sioce
thentheserinesarebecominghatdtofind,
andthey'rcofknpriccdoo1ofrca1:h.Despire
1hi_,,,- maybe because ofit- M70s are
bcinghun!OOOO"-'llandboughtbythosewho
1hinkthereisnootherbohactionqui1eso
dcsirableonwhichtobt.rildthatdreamrinc
Ta,gctshoolersse,.,mtohavcaspecialpref,
erena:forthisaction:l',-er"8dthatonewe1!-
lr.nown sunsmi1hhasbuilto"era thousand
targctriflesonit.l1wi!lbehan:lforanyoncl0
convince my son. Mark. who helped me with
thisbook.thatthcreisabcnerhigh-powe:rlar•
swnpedontheleftlidcoflhcreceiveris
WINCHESTER
TRADEMARK
Onto,:,oftherecei,..,,.bridgeisstampcd·
MODEL"B"
102
The102istheserialnumber.
There"''t!'Cscveralvariationsofthissingle
sholac!ioomade,andtheModel"B"isone
of them. I have no idea how many of these
ac1ions"'1'remade,buttheywcrenotmade
forthecommm:ialtrade
Toe"B"numberl02actionshov.'llhcredif-
fersfiomastandardM70acrioninanumber
ofways.Fif'Sl.itisasingleshol.Thcreisno
maga,.inewellopeninginthereceivcrandno
magazincbox.Then: isalsonocjectoror
cxtractor.andneithertheboltroorthereceive:r
is machined 10 acccp1 thcs.e parts. The bolt
f~isflatwithnocjectorcut.Aspe,:ialboh-
Slopisused.anditismountooonthebottom
oftherecei,1'1'10cng:ageinabevclcdnotchin
thebolt.Somemclalhasbeenremovcdfiom
thefi'ontofthereceivcrfortheinstallationofa

-
Thefollowercanbeslippedoffthefolkw.··
erspring.andthespringshppedoff1hefloor.
pla1e.lnreassembling.thefolkw.'tTisslipped
O\'t"1'1henarrowendofthefolkw-1'1'spring.
TheM70Wiochesterreceiverismari<ed
wjth1hefirm'sspeciallet1e-ringfor''Winchcs-
ter"ontheleflwallintw0lines.thus:
WINCHESTER
-TRADEMARK-
Thescrialnumbcrisstampedon lhcright
sidcoflhere,;civerringandetchedonthebot-
tomofthebohbody.
TheWioche:m,rproofmark(PoverW
withinavcttical0>-al)isstampedonthelcfl
ge1rifleactionthantheM70.fortheriflehe
uscdinl966towinlhel000-yardI..e,:chCup
ma1eh at Camp Peny was built on one.
TNM1111170 __ 11111:......_Acllll
lllustratcdhcreisapre-'64Winchester
Modc170actionaboutwhichlinlehasbeen
written.ltisaspecialactionmadebyWin-
chestcrtobeusodintheirrestingandde\'el-
opment laboratories. It ismadeasasinsle
slloiand\VaSprobablyuscdontestrifles,but
mosthkclyonlyasapressureguninde,·el·
opingandtcstingammunition.Justhowthis
particularai:1iongotin10privatehandsldo
not know, but ii was shown me by a Sl
Looiscollector.
specialplatc.whichisusedwhcnlheactionis
finedtoaprcssurebam::l.Thesquareholein
therightsideofthereceivcrringprovidesan
a.ccessfortheinsertionofaspecial tool to
ex1rattthefilfflcascsfrornthepres.sw,:bam::l.
Theremainderoftheai:tionismoreorlcss
standardincluding1hefiringm«hanism.trig•
germechanismandtriggcrguardandmaga-
zinefloorplateparu.
Doyoo want 10 know more about the Win-
chester Mode170,csp,x:iallyaboot1hepre-'64
model?lfso.thcnyoushouldhavcthebook,
TheRijleman'rRijlebyRogcrC.Rule.ltisa
largevolwnesolelydevotedtotheModel70
Winchcs1er. Whatevcryourinterestinthis
Winchestcrrifle,thisisabookyoumustgel

496
 Winchester Models 54 & 70

--,_ ,. _
'S7 SoarPin

,~ =---Pl.og&tews
_,,,..,
s FcnermSIUCISct.w
: =::=--
41 Magazinllec,,,.,,
42 Magazineec-,Hr,gaPlll\e
43 Magazin11CoYeo'HnglJPin

:!'-~
S ANrW-~ 44 Ma(lazineeo...-Hingef'late$Cr8w

" """'""'
4$ MagazineCO'll9<Clll;h

~ ==g:g:::~
4t Fron1o...dBowScraw
50 AearGuartlBowScraw
13 Pin
1<4 Breechbollsiee,,,. Part8NotShown
15 Sal>lfylock
16 Br-=t,bal:SleewLock
17 8'-=ttdSleewloclcSpri-,g
5Es-
497
499
BarrelShankOrawings . . . . . . . .501
Appendix---Magazine/GuardScrew
Sizes& Threads. . .........511
Bibliography A-American Rifleman
1933-1995 ................512
BibliographyS-G(b')Digest
1944-1996 ................. 521
Index.. ..523
 Barrel Shank Drawings

-18so"]-

MODEL 71/84 MAUSER

I
.900"
I
12vt
1r1. _l
.875" .98!6"
I@
0
GERMAN MODEL 88 COMMISSION

"-1.760 -
1.1157

MODEL 89 BELGIUM MAUSER

1.1o'--'i'l ·11s· -

T@
MODEL 91 ARGENTINA MAUSER

501
502
503
504
506
507
508
509
510
 Magama/QB'd Scl.w SIZll8 & Tll'eads (tap & 1111 slzas)
Brevex Magnum Mauser . .1/4X22
British Lee-Enfield .¼x26
B.S.A. Monarch ..... . .1/4X27
Centurion Mauser M98 .1/4X22
Champlin . . . . 1/4x28
FN M98 Mauser .. .. 1/4X22
French Berthier . .. . . . . .15/64X,26
German M88 Commission .... . 1/,:,.22
German M98/40 . . . . . . . .... . . .275x26
Greek Mannlicher/Schoenauer . . ... ¼x27
Herter's Jg and XK3 Mauser ... .. ¼ x22
Herter's U9 ... 1/4X27
Husqvarna . . ..... . . ... . . 230x26
Husqvarna M8000 . . _15/64X,26
Italian Carcano . .. . . . ... . . _1/4X25
Japanese Arisaka Type 99 . . . _15/f54)(34
Japanese Arisaka Type 38 . .228x28 (Tang Screw .. ... . .... .7/32x28)
Mauser M71/84 . ... . . . .1/,:,.22 (Front guard screw)
Mauser M91 Argentina . .1/,:,.22
Mauser M93 and M95 . .... . . . .1/,:,.22
Mauser M94 and M96 Swedish . . .. . .1/4X22
Mauser M98 (all models) . . ..... 1/,:,.22
Mathieu ....... . . . .¼x28
Pattern 14 Enfield . . . . .... . . ,1/..x30
Ranger Arms Texas Magnum . ,l/4X28 (Center screw . . . ... .7/32x28)
Remington M721 and M722 . .l/4X28 (Center screw . . .... s/32 x36)
Remington M700 . .1/4X28
Remington M788 . .1/4X28 (Rear screw . . ...... .7/32x28)
~~;~~t~ ~~. : ...
Russian Mosin-Nagant .. ..
,1/4)(30
. .. 1/4X28
,17/f54)(32
(Rear & center screw .3/u;x32)

Santa Barbara M98 Mauser . ... .. 1/4X22

Sako . . ... . . .15/64x28
SavageM1 10 ..... .... . .. .... .. . .¼x28
Springfield, National Ordnance M1903A3. . ... .. 1/4X28
Tradewinds M600 .. . ,15/f54)(34
U.S. Krag ✓orgensen .. . . .. ........... .¼x25
U.S. M1903 Springfield .... .¼x25
U.S. M1917 Enfield .1/..x30
Winchester M54 .. . . .. ......... . .... • . • • ..... . 1/4X32
Winchester M70 (all models) ..... ¼x32
511
-
Bibliogra phyof artk:les pertalning 1o centcrl1 ~ 1umboltrlflesand actlons
" hich app,ar~d in tM TheAme,iN,n Rifle,.,an from 19JJ through August, 19%.
"Bn:,'CJl Magn~nMauser Action"-A DopeBag Report, Dtt., 1955.
p.63
"Fea11w:rweigh1 Sponer'"-A Dope Bag Report.June. 1959,p.56.
(Descriptionof1h.e linle-knownTerh.larcenterfin:mmbol1action.)
"'FN MaUSct" Bmch-Res! Action" -A Dope IJag Repon. Jan., 1956. p.
"
"HVAl~OOMauserAction"-ADopeBagllepit,April.1954,p.72.
"Reinfon:ed Action" -A Dope Bag Rcpon. Oct. !957, p. 66.
(DescribcsanfNMaUSct"benchrestactionfinedwilhan:inforcing
sleeve.)
"Shilen Actions" -A Dope Bag Report, April, 1962, p. 56. (lllusmuing
--
andde:scribinglheeus1om-madeShilensingleshOlbenchrestmm-
bol1action.)
"Texas Magnum Actions" -A Dope Bag Report. Aug., 1967. p. 58
"BrowningA-BoltlJ"Aug.,19'J4,p.50.
"BrowningA-Bolt''Oct,1985.p.50
"Bl'0"11ingRif\cs"-ADope6agRepor1,Sept., 1960,p.58.(Repon
ontheBnw,11inglligh-PowcrriflesbasedonamodifledFNMaUSct"
action.)
"BrowningS.,fariGradcRifle"•A OopeBagRcport,Junc, 1965.
(Evaluationand!cstn:sul1softheBl'0"11ingSakocenterfin:boh•
octionrifle.)
"finding The, ·Sweet Spol' of Accuracy" by Robert Hunnicuu,
(BrowningA-Bolt)Dec., 1993,p.34.
B.U . IIIUI
"B.SAMajcsiic"•A DopeOagRepon.Dec., 1959.(Dcscribcsthe
British-madcBSAmmbohsponingrifle.)
"8.S.A.Mooan:hDcluxeRifle"-ADopcOagRepon,Aug., 1965,p.
"'
•·B.S.A.Rifle"-ADopeBagRepon, July, 1956,p.66.(Dcscribcsthe
medium,lengthBSAboll-actionsportcr.)
"B.S.A. Rifles" ·A Dope Bag Report, Sept., 1957, p. 72. (Report on
theBSAfealherweightbolt-actionsponct".)
"B.S.A. Vannim Rifle" -A Dope Bag Repon, Nov., 1954, p. 56
(lnfonnationon1h.eBSAbolt-actionriflcin222caliber.)
BWPll'RIUll
''Building the Bull PupRiflc"byL.H.Bl'0"11,May, 1953.(Anoled
gunsmitlitc!lshowtobuildacen!<'mn:boh-actionbullpuprifle.)
"Can: and Feeding ofBull Pups" by A. H. Barr, April. l950. (Much
infonnationandideasonbullpuprifledcsigns.,ctc.)
''N<ewTriggerforaPup"byA.H. Barr.Jan., 1943.(Describcsaclevcr
lriggersysicmforabullpuprifle.)
512
"Spoon.fedBullPup"byW.Doering.Dec.,1939.(Describesand
illus1ra1esabullpup-1yperiflebuil1ondie Modcl 1917Enfield
oction.)
"TheBullPupAgain"'byM. Kennedy,Qct.,19$4.(Dopconsooping,
triggeringandstockingabullpupritle.)
"The, One and Only A!Omizer"byT.K. Lee. Jan., 1942. (Describes a
bullpup,typeriflein22C.l'.wildca1ca!iber.)
'"""""'
"7.7mmJapanesc Ammo",Junc, 1985, p.61.
"7.55x55Cartridgc"{Schmim-Rubin),Jan., 1991,p. 47
"Loads For the 25-06 Remington" by M.D. Waite and Kenneth C.
Raynor,Nov.,1972,p.20.[fescedloadsforthispopularcartridge.)
"NATO/WarsawAmmo",Oct.. 1984,p.60.
"NRA loads For 308 Winchester" by M. D. Waite and K. C. Raynor,
Oct,1973.p.47.(NRA-tesledloadsforlhispopularcartridge.)
"The Hornet Still Stings" by Hcrn,an E. Anhur,Oct., 1975.p. 44.
(Anolherlookatthe22Homet.)
"U.S. WWII Headslamps", May, 1988. p. 65
cw,.,.. .....
"Coi1SaucrRinc"-ADopcBagRcpon,Nov.,l913,p. 60
"C:ol1S.,uerShon-ActionRitle",ADopeBagRcpon, Junc, !974,p
"·
laMflaM.IIIUl(r.llelllaloll~J
"Dickson,Ho"'llRilk"-ADopeBagReport,July.1967, p.68.(Eval-
lL11ionoflheJapaneseGoldenlkarsponingriflebascdonaCC1f1yOf
theSakol'innbearaction.)
"f.l.R ifles"-ADopeBagRcport,March,1963.(Evahwiooof1h,e
Firccanns lntcma1ional Musketeer rifle based on the FN Mauser
action.)
" lthacaA•55Rifle"-ADopeBag Rcpon,Aug.,l969,p.52.(Evalua-
1ionoftheFinnish-maderumboltspor1ingriflc.)
"Parl<cr-HaleSuper''-ADopeBag Repor1, July,1968,p. 56.(Evalua-
1ionoftheParl<cr-H.alebiggamesponingriflebascdonaSpanish-
nwk:MaUSct"M98-typeaction.)
"Smith & Wesson Rifles" -A Dope Bag Report, Oc1., 1968, p. 92
(Describing the S&W high-powcml rifles based on the Hwqvama
tumbol!action.)
COMY&ICIAl.RIUl("1IICIIIMloa U.I.I
"C:ol1SmanRifles"•ADopeBagRcpon,Nov,.1958,p.72.[fescrcpon
ontheCol1high•powcredbolt-actionriflebascdonlheSakoand
FNMauseroctions.)
"FajenAcraRiHc"-ADopeBag Repon.Oct.,1969.p.92. (Evaluation
of1h.efajen.stockedriflesbuihontheSan!aBarlxu'll MaUSct"bar·
reledaction.)

"J.C.HjgginsRifle"'-ADopeBagRepon.July.1%6.p.72.(Describes
lheHigginsMode152bolt-action222riflebuiltontheSakoaction.)
"Mossberg Cemerfire Rifle.. by L. Olson. Aug., 1966. (Special repon
ontheMossbcrgModel800bol1-ac1ionrifle.J
.. New Marlin Vannim Rifle.. -A Dope Bag Report, Sept"' 1954. (lnfor-
ma1ion on thc Marlin Model 322 buih on the Sakoaction.)
ErftUII (M1814 I M1817)
.•A Glorified Enfield"by E. H. Whelan. Sep!., 1934. (Shon pi«eon
remodelingtheM!9l7Enficld)
..ARernodelingJobonThc"l7'"byL.K..Shaffer.Sepl .. 1937.(Shon
pie,:eon remodeling the M1917 Enfield.)
""An M17 and K43'" by L.E. Capek, Oct .. 1947. (Moonting a German
snipersoopeontheM!9l7Enfield)
••AflotherEnficldConversion""byJ.II.Taber,Jww:,1948
""BSA-EnfieldRifle"-A Dope BagQ&A. Nov .• 1974,p. S6
·~al. 276 Enfield Rifle .. -A Dope Bag Q&A, Dec., 1972, p. 82
"[q,,,BagllemS.. byf.C.Ncs.,.May,1938.(Desaibesaligh1wcight
remodelcdM19l7Enficld)
""Enfield Rear Sight Conversion" by A.W. Weiler. April. 1947. (How
IOputwindageadjl.lSlmentintotheissueM1917Enficldrearsight)
"EnficldSpecdlock.. byR. Heichich, Feb., 1948.(Howtospeedup
thelocktimc:oftheMl917Enfield.)
"From EnfickltoSix,rter'" by Ness, Lem. Whelen. Linden. Dec., 1945.
Jan.&Fcb .. 1946.
"Hacksaw Gunsmithing" by J. Howell, May. 1949. (More gllll-
smithingdopeontheMl917 Enf,cld.)
"Ki1chenMcchanic Rernodeling""byH.V. S1en1, Feb. 1947.(Remod-
clingtheMl917 Enficld.)
"M17Koockabou1'"byl.E.Capck,Oct. l946.(Describesanea.sy
remodelingprojeclontheMl9l7Enfield)
"MakingaRifle0utofThcl91T"byA.Linden.May&June,!933
(Ei<cellentaniclconremodelingtheMl9!7Enfieldimoasponer.)
"Model l917Sponer''-A DopeBagReport.Fcb.. 1946.(Notcson
remodelinglhcM1917Enficld.)
""Mount For A German Scope'" by H.S. White. Feb.. 1951. (Mouming
theGerrnanZF-4soopeontheM!917Enficld)
"R~lj~bilityofM1917 Enfield'" -A Dope Bag Q&A. March. 1977. p.
"RernodelingtheEnfieldRifle""byM.D.Waite.May,1962.
""Six-Hour Remodeling JOO" by H.H. Hill.Jan .. 1948. (Simplcmnod-
cling ofthe Ml917 Enficld.)
1bcBig450.. byllalStephens,Sepl .• 1952.(Aboutthe450Magnum
intheM19l7Enf,cld.)
..ThcEarsHa,-elt'"byR.Stanley,April.19-17.(Mountingasoopcon
the"eared'"Ml917Enficldaction.)
..The Model 1917: A Fine Bank Rifle. Pan l"by M.D. Waite. Aug.,
1976,p.36.(llistoryoftheM1917Enfieldriflc.)
"The Model 1917: A Fine Bank:Rifle, Pan ll'"byM.D. Waite. Sept,
--
l976,p.34.(DesaiplionoftheMl917Enf,cldriflc.)
·"The Panem 1914 Enfield Rifle"' by E.G.B. Reynolds. Sept., 1965
(HistoryandinfonnationonlhePl914Enf,cld.)
(~rirWnwllllMIIIIIIIMylllstrlctlelll.)
"189! Mosin-Nagant Rifle"" by E.J. Hoffschmidt, Nov.. 1958.
"Argentina Model 1891 MauscrRifle"byT.E. Wessel.Aug., 1964
"'BrowningA-BoltRifle""byRobertHunnicun,May.1995.p.48.
"'FrenthMode11936Riflc"'byE.I.Hoffschmidl.Mareh.1967
"'German Model 98-40 Rifle" b)' EJ. Hoffschmidt. Aug .. 1965.
"Jar,ar,csc Arisaka Model 1905 6.5mm caromc·· by E.J. HofTschmidt,
June,1961
··Lce-EnfieldNo.4Rinc"byE.J.Hoffschmidt.Ju!y, 1963
"Lcc-EnficldRiflcNo!.Mari<lll"byT.E.Wessel.Sepl.• 1966
"'Mameai Model 1958 Rifle"" by D. Riordan. March. 1969.
: I I I ,I
"Mannlkher-Schocna..cr Rifle"' by EJ. Hoffschmidt. Sept .. !96J.
··Mauser 71/84 Rifle" by EJ Hoffschmidt. Jan .. 1966.
"'Model 1888 Commission Rifle" by D. Rionlan. Nov., 1969
'"Post-1964WinchcsterModcl70""byJohnKams.ApT.. 1989.p.
'"
""Reming1on 700 Model Rifle"" by Frank G. Han&. Ludwig Olson,
Jan .. l976.p.S6.
'"Remington721-722Rifle'"byT.E.Wcssel.Scp... l959
"RcrningtonModcl30"byJohnF.Finnegan&Lud-,.igOlson.July,
1976.p.44
"Remington Mode! 40X Targe1 Rifle"' T.E. Wessel. June. 1964.
"Remington Models600&660""byf.G. Han.Nov., 1970
""RugcrM77Rifle""byPctcDickcy.Mar.. l993.p.50.
"SakoCentcr-fireBol1-action""Mar.,l979,p.S6
'"SpringfieldM1903Rifle"'byJohnKams.Feb.. l989.p.40.
"S!cyr Mannlichcr Model M Rifle"" by Robert W. Hunnicutt, Feb ..
1984.p.50.
..Thc!talianCarcanoRiflc··byEJ.Hoffschmidt,Aug., l961.
"ThcMawier98Riflc"byEJ.Hoffschmidt.Man:h.1955.
'"The Swedish Mauscr"by E.J. HofTschmidt, Jww:, 1962. (M98 and96
SwcdishMawierriflcs.)
"U.S. Krag" by EJ. Hoffschmidt. Apr .. 1960.
"'U.S.Modell9l7Riflc"byJ.M.Triggs.Aug.. 1960.
"'WinchesterModel54Rifle.'"byJohnKams.,Aug..1989,p.54
'"Winches!erStmight-PullRifle'"byEdwardA.Tolosky.Junc.1982.p
"·
""""'"""
··22FrenehTl'lliningRifle""byH.L.Joscph,Nov.• l955.(Howthe
Frenthconvencdlhe l936MASriflein7.5mmcalibcrtoflre22
-
rimfireammunition.)
'"Thelmp!ementsof War (ThcFrenchAmty)"by J.Scoficld,Oct.,
1940.(lnFonnationonFrenchmiliiaryshouldc-ranns.)
""300 Magnum Bull Gun .. -A Dope Bag Report, Oct .. 1940.
··1987Cus1omGurunak.ingSwvcy.. byRonFrank,Nov.,l987,p.48
"A New Home For A Semi-Sporter'" by Paul Caparatta, Feb .• 1982.
(Tipsonremodelingmilitaryriflcs.)
"After Walnlll, What"s In Stock! by David A. Webb. Jan., 1984, p
"
.. B-SquareRcarSightPusher'",Dec.,1987,p.58
"B-SquareScopcMoontWrenchcs",Oct.• 1989,p.66.
··0arre1cro.,,ning"-ADopc8agRepon,Jan.. l986,p.61.
""Barrel Removal. Fitting and Chambering" by H. Macfarland, May,
1950.(Detailedinformationonhowton:move, fit and chamber a
barrelofaccntcrfirebolt-ac1ionriflc.)
""CheckingYourHcadspacc".Jan.,1984.p.14
·~oontinglands.. •ADopeBagRepon,Dcc.. 1985.p.S4.
"Custom Stock Shoncm'" (Semi-inlened) by David A. Webb, Feb ..
1987.p.20.
·~ustomiwl Custom Rifle" by George Manin. Feb .. 1984. p. 28
"'DccapperRcpair'"byRoyE.Trahand,Aug.. 1987.p.63.
"DoesBorcFoulingRoduccA,xuracy'!""byGen.VemonE.M~.
Jan .. 1971,p.99.(TcsisshowclcanboO!Sbescforpre<0isionshoot
ing.)
""ExtractorClcarancc"byDa,·idWestbrook.Feb.,1984,p.67.
"FinishThoseFilcs""byDaV<:Peterson.Mar.• 1989.p.69.
"FreeSprings"byMichacllorenzo.Apr.,1987,p.68
"Free-Floa1ingBarrels""-AOopc8agRcport.Mar.. 1985.p.60
"Gain Twi!;I'" -A Dope Bag Repon, Nov., 1985, p. 54
"Getting the Gun You Want .. byM.G. Holmes. May.1946.(Notcson
bui!dingtha1custornbolt«tionrifle.)
"Good Barrels Don"t Depend on Bedding .. by He-rt, Hollister, May,
1972,p.40.(Adiscussionofbeddingandriflebarrels.)
513
"Gunsmi1h'sShopHelpm"by~DoddHughcs.feb.,1989,p.
26
"HeadspaccDimensions"-ADopcBagRepon.Apr.. 1984,p.66.
"HeadspaccGaugcs",Apr.. 1990,p.46.
"lslandE.nginceringVisc",Scpl.,198S,p.S4.
"Kingoftho:Woods"byStuarl Williams.June.1988,p.30.
"lnlhtf-Covmdl'ad"'byPau.lManinez,Mar.,l9V,p.64.
"Li&h!Hlllllin&Riflcs"byLH. Brt,,,.n,Sept.,1955.(Nolaonmaking
14111ight,o"eighlhuntina;rilkontho:M98action.)
"Lipcr Ind Handier'" by P. Alllry, Jun., 1956. (Nixes on buildina; I
lip-eightsponingrilk.)
.
"Magnificcn!Obscssion"byDtvidA.Webb,May,1986,p.26.
''MakcYourO..nlloreScc,pe"by NormanE.Johnsoo.Mar .. 1985,p.
"Making A Receiver Wrroch and ~ I Vise" by John L Hinnam,
Fcb.,1975,p.50.
"MeiSlllingPicch"•ADopcBagRepon.June.lm,p.66
"Mon= On Chip Rrmovar by fml L Shuman. Jr., De,;., 1983, p.
62.
"~knOnHeilld:sp,w;cCiaugcl"byRichan.lLBundy, June, 1990,p.
"·
"P'rolongingMald!Bam:ILif.e"byE.H.Ham,on.Dc,;.,1970,p. 20.
(Suitablyhandlcdbarrelanlastlhousandsofrounds.)
"Provisionall'roor-ADopcBag Rcpon,Ott.,1989,p.67.
"Rebl=lingBolt-ActionRiHes"byCharlcsLNeumann,Oct.,1977,
p. 38
"Refinishing Bin:h ScocQ"by Lemy Roh=, June, 1986, p. 67.
"RosinSoortt"(Scq)emoun1J)byD.D.D.itgin.MD.St-pc.. 1990,
p.61
"Rubbel-SlockCllmps"byRi1ehieMoorhead.Dec..l983,p.61.
"Scq,eSlippag,:,"byJamcsf. !'C!rik,May,1990,p. 59.
"Sed&leyFaingPin",July, 1993,p. 62.
"SluggingOddBam-l1"byAnhurR.faircr,fd>..l990.p.59.
"Spannervs.Wrmc:h",July,1987,p.70.
"S':~zingaMili1aT)'Mauser"byfinnAasaatd. June, 1987,p
"SIOCkBlankSa"ing"-ADopcBagReport.Apr.,1988,p.68.
"Su:rlmakir,g At Home: Try Ii Thi5 Winter" by Phil Haskel~ New.,
1973,p.34.(Tipsfor1heamalCUTgunstocker.)
"S,np8a=bforVcnatili1y'"byCE. Harris,,._., 1985,p. 23.
"TesiingThc:Mag-N•Ptwt"byRobMW. Hunnicun,Dc,;., 1985,p.
22.
"'ThatSupcrSponer"by M. Holmes. Nov., 1949.(Di,cussionon
building,fmebol!«tionsponcr.)
"The Complete lllUSbaled Guide 10 f'ffl:ision Rifle Barrel Fining" by
Johnl.Hinnant.Scpc .. 1993,p.71
''The Model 1917 Barrel on The: Mauser98A~tion"by f .W. Bcck-
en, July, 1942.(Noteson rebam:ling the Model 98 Mauser
action.)
"The Vcnatilc Sprinaficld Bam:l" by f. de Haas, Nov., 1963.
......,
((1-nOCS-..'halanbcdoncwilhwrplusModell903Spin&foeld
"Th.i1 BusinessofBol!Handlc$"byCbas.Golueke,Mard1, l948
.....,
(Complctedetails011how10ahcr 1 bolthandlefor1lo-..··mounted
''llir«RemodeledRines"byf.C. Ncu,August, 1939.(Dcscribes
Leo-Enf1dds.Lebels andModel70Winchesters.)
"Vcrsatilc,f..sscmiaJScrcwdriver"byRoyDunlap.June.l98S,p. 36.
"Walm.itNamcs".Dtt.,1990,p. 61.
_..NDMIICIIIIIRf.l
"H&R Boll A<;tion Rifk" -A Dope Bag Report, St-pc., l96S, p. 70 .
(C~teste>'lluat10nof1heH&Rcmicrfin:riflebaed011an
fNMauscrac:tion.)
"ll&RModel330Rine"-A DopeBasRepon.Sept., 1967,p.82.
514
-·
(EvaluationofasportingrinebasedonthefNSuprcmcMaiser
lllllllll'IIIIUI
"HcncrModclU9 Rine"•ADopeBagRq,on,June, 1966.p. 76.
(Evaluationofllener'1 riflebased0111hcBSAaction.)
"timer U9 Super Deluxe Rifle" -A Dope Bag Report. July. 1966. p.
61 .
-IIIUI
"NewSurvivalWn,pon"byG.C.Sulli,..,__Jan., l9S7. (NOlc:sonlhc
MA-1221-lomcl"8'Vivalrifle.)
" Pionm" WO!t on 1he Homer by Capt. G.A. Woody, Jan., 1933.
-
(lnfonnation011convcninglhcM1922Springfieldrifle1022Hor-
~.)
"TheCharl,:,sDalyllomet"byf.C.Ness,Aug., 1933. (Shonreponon
lhisimponedboh•actionrilk.)
OLU.~-•Actillll
"Husq,,-ama358" -A DopcBagRepon.O;t., 1960.(Tcstrepononlhc
Husq,-ama HVA Rilk in 358 Norma Ma&,,umcaliber.)
"Husqvarn11 Ligh1W('ight Rifle" -A Dope Bag Report. June. 1955. p.
66.
"llll.'lqvarn11Model8000Rifle".ADopeBagRc-pon,May, l969,p.
52.
-rn><1cwinds 600 RiHe" •A Dope Bas Rq,on. Aus .. 1968. p. 50.
(Evalualionof1German,madesp;,ftinsrifle.)
"fndewindsHuskyRiflcs"Mar.. 1993, p. 71.
ITIIUINIIIUI
1be Italian YOUlh Cabin,;" by B.O. Munhall, May. 19S8.
""7.000.000Ba)"OllC'll" byG.B.Jarffll.June,19-W, (Desaibes1he,...--
iousltalianmilitaryriflcs.)
J""°'IIIUI
""7.7mmJapan,SCAmmo",June. 1985.p. 61
"Arisab Ancfflry"by M.K. Shon. Nov., 1946. (full details on 1he
~,
Type "r Japanese military rinc bard on the Italian Carcano
"M!illbSponen"byJ.V. GtDIOtl&Bobl'ed,Junc:, 1949. {N<nsOII
mnodeling1heJapaneseArisabrifles.)
"Bulkt-fonnina" -A Dope Bag Item, May, 1959, p. S2.(Ammngsto-
ryof16.S Japanese rifle chambcrcd for lhc 30-06canridge.)
"Don'1ConVC11Jap Riflcs"byW.H.B.Smilh,June,l94S.
"llandyandlloniemade"byH.A.Lind.March.l9S4.(lnformationoo
how 10 mnodel the Japanese military rifle, including data on mak-
ing the ac:tion<XlCk ooopcning.)
"Japanese Model Numbers" -A Dope Bag Q&A,Jan., 1982.
"J,pane,scRilk:sandCarbines"byM.O. Waiie.fcb.,19S8.{Exccllcnt
articlcdescribiniandillustraringall Japanesebrcecb-loldingmi~-
taryshouldcrarms.)
"JapancseSmallAnns" by J.S.Diefmdorf,July,1944, (AboutJapan-
"""militaryrifles.)Cor=tion on p. 12 in August. 1944, issue.
"The Implements of War (Children Under tho: Sun)''by J. Soofldd,
fcb.,1941.(Des<:ribestho:militaryllTllluxdbyJapan.)
''TheJapancseMilitaryTrainingRiHe"byGaryCwmingham,Jan..
1976,p. SO.
-·
1be Qu,Jicy of hp Rilk:s" by L.A. Morgan. De,;,. 1950. (Also liSIS
the commori mar1ungs found oo Japane,c military rifles and defines
.,..._IIIUI
"ADtluxeKrag Homet"byV.A.Coulter,Ncw.. 1937. (ln!Cf'eSlin&
con\o'fflionoftho:Kragmthcllomet~).
MAMan~itaSlotkMbyR.M.Broeg.July.19l4.(Nolesonr=odf:l-
ma•KnfJ.)
MF!ush Mqaz,ne for lhe KngM by JM. Pearson .t. J.C. Leigh, Apr .•
19S4.(How10rnake1nushmaplft00\-"ffl"orlhe30-40Kng.)
MKragOrK..g-Jor»en,cnr-ADopcBlgQ.t.A,Mmh.l974.p. 59.
.. KragSponcr'"-ADopcBagQ.t.A.March.1974.p.S4.
"Kng-.lorgeruen RiflcM-A D0pc BagQ&A,Stpl.., 1972.p. !07.
""Kn&-~ RiflcMby H.L Pctef30II, Dtt., 1963. (Bric(hiSIOfyof
thcU.S.Kragriflc,)
"'Thcllinho(1Hobby"byH.A. Groesbeck.Mmh.1945.(NoteSon
rffl'IOlklina1Krag.)
_,
"'ThcKna;RiflcMbyLObon.Sepl.,1958.(Exa:llentanicledeso;rib-
inaandill!ISU'ali113alloflhediffmntKngriflcsandcaroines.)
"'Thl:PeramialKngMbyM.Mcaly. Jm.,1944.(Nolesonrffl'IOlklina
thtKragrifle.)
"'J"yro"illllleMbyT. Henson.Oct..1945.(Mcnllboulr=odf:lingthe
MWhitcColllr30-40""byR.H.Banlett.May.l946.(Shonnocaon
mnoddingthtKrag.)
llHIHIJI 111111
"7.62mrnNo.4RiflcM-AD0pcBagRepon.,Oct..1962.(Dc,cribc:sthe
8riti!hoonvenionoflheNo.4riflcin303caliberto7.62rnrn.)
M303JungleCarbinc""-A D0pc BagQ&A.April.1974.p. 60
MA Target Rifle Fo.-Thc British ArmyM by E.G.8. Reynolds, April.
1971. p. )5.(Describesthe7.62mm LJ9A1 Ltt-Enfieldtargct
rifle.)
MArrw.:in&Oldlady'"by H.V.Stcru,A1111., 1943.(PmseforlheBritish
Lee-Enfielda1huntingrifle.)
MBNRA Picb New Enfield for PalmlMby E.G. 8. Reynolds. April,
1970, p. 8. (o-ribes the British Enfield Envoy 7.62mm Wgcl
rifle.)
M8ritain"i30J: FromMedb11lToSMLF""byJ.L ~ S t p l . ..
1977,p.38.(HisloryoflheLcc-Enfiddrifle.)
M8ri11in"1 Newut Service Rines .. by Wm. Piznak. M1111:h. 1948
(Dc,cribc:slhcNo.4.t.51.ee-Enficldriflcs.)
MBritain' t'New Riflc" .. byMarlr;A.Kttfe.Jan .• 1995.p.52.
MBritishNo.4RiflcOxks ... Dtt.,1990,p.60.
"'Cal.37~1.tt-Enfiekl"•ADopcBagG&A,J,me,1977,p. 47.
'"Dclu~e Sportcrizins the No. 4 Rine" by M.D. Wai1e. Aug., 1959
{Complete details.)
"Don'tO,eriookThc:Lcc-En.ficld"'byC.E.Harris.July.1993.p.46.
MDcuble FMai\:edSMLE"'-ADopcBagQ&A,Nov., 1981
"EnfieldFiringPinToolMbyRafaelGutien-ez.Au&-,1993.p.77.
MHuvierBam:I Adds to British 7.62 RiflcAtturacy"by E.G.8
ReynoldJ.Oct..1961.(DcllillonhowlheBrilishrc-.o.vrl<lheNo.4
Lee-En6eldfor1mid,$hixiling.)
Ml..e&-EnfieldMakesAComebactMACOll'1fl"IOll'A,uflhTqct RifleM
byMaj.E.G.8.R,:ynolds.Jan.,1974,p.27.
....
...__En.licldStripperQips"byKei1hAleunder.Sepl.• 1993.p.7l
M~tore On No. 4 Enficlds .. (Bunt barrels) by E.R. "-'1<er. Feb.. 1989,
"No. 4Mk.llEnficlds",Apr., 1992,p.74.
"No.4Rifleloop"".May,1991.p.S8
"No. 4TargetSights",Jan.,199S,p.30
""Removinglee-EnfieldStock'"-ADopellagQ&A.Feb.• 1973.p.72.
""ReworkedBSASMLEM.May.1992.p.59
'-Simf)leSponcrizingofthcl.ee-Enfickf'byE.11. llarri,on.Oct .• 1955.
"SponerizinglheRugg,odl.ee-F.nfickl"byR.l'r\llock.Feb.. 1970,p.
28.
"'TIJF Acancy Wnh The No. 4 Rifle" by E.G.8. Reynolds. June.
196S.(How10oomplelelylCCUn>lelhcNo.4 BntishLee-F.nfield.)
1be3031..e&-Enfield'"byE.H.Harri,on,July, 1959. (Thorough$1udy
oflhcBrinshL.e&-Enfieldrilk.)
1bel..e&-Enf1cldNo.1 Rilles'"byAlanM. J>eail](I.Mar .• 1993.p. 74.
"'Thl:Lee-Enf,eldNo.4 R,flcsMbyAlanM.J>eail](I.Aug..1992,p.61.
-r'he Lee-Enfield Rifle" by H.P. Martin, Aug.. 1940 (Lengthy article
onthtLee-Enfiddil!<d~WWl.)
-rbelee-EnfieldSlory"bylanSkmnenon.Apr.,1993,p. 57.
~-
-r'heRifleinlhcBritishScrvi«.. byA. Ban:er.AprMMay,Junc,July
& Aug .• 19S6. (Complete lustoryofCireal Britain's military rifles
v.ilhmuch®onthel.ee-Enficld)
"Mannlicher Rifles'"by L ooon. Nov., 1959. (Describes all Mannlicb-
errines.. including lhc Mannlichertwnbolts,)
"Mannlicher-Haenel Rifles" -A D0pc Bag Q&A. Sep! .. 1974. p. 72.
"Marutlicher-SchoenauerM72: TheMOSlRcceruS1cyrR1fleMby
RobertN .Sean,April.1977.p. 41.(Technicalrqx:,nonlheSleyr-
Mannlicherrifle.)
"Paginathe6.5MbyEJmerKe,lh.Junc.1950.(Kei!honthtMamlich-
..--Sehoenaui:rriflcand~.)
MAUIII lmfJ ( - - ce-.rcllll
"DumoulinCarbine".AOopeBagRepon.July.1~9.p.$7.(Rcpon
ontheBclpan-madtriflcbucdonthtFNMausa-action.)
'"HeymMauser'"-ADClpcBagRcport.Nov.,1958.p.76.(Te,trcpon
ontheseimporu.)
"lnterannsMarlr; X MIU5Cf'"-A D0pc BagRcport. May. 1978.
'"lnterannsMini-Mai\:X",May,1991.p.Sl
"MauserModel2000Rine""-ADopcBag Rcport.April.1969.p.S2.
{EvaluatingthenewMauser-builthigh-~sponingriflc:.)
"Mini-Mai\:XAa:wxy"byDavidFlomcss.Nov.,91.p.62.
"Sai,'C404Mauser"-AOope8agRepon.Stpl...l954.p. SO.
-rhc~Mluser"byP.Auay,Apri~ 19SS.(De5cribc:s1heoom-
mm:ial magnum Mauser nfles and calibm..)
MAUIBllmfJ(....i ■J
"A FlOOf])late Lockina DevkeM by M.W. Stockel. Nov.• 1958.
(lnstructionsfo.-making 1 hingedfloorpla1efo.-lheM98M.1u,tt
action.)
"SSW-Mai\:edMawer'"-A Dope BagQ&A.July, 1975,p.51.
"Di$3.$5mlblingBrowning'"•ADopeBagQ&A.Junc.1971.p.85.
(FNMauser98.)
"Mauser Accions"' ·A Dope Bag Q&A. Feb., 1976. p. 66.
"Mauser Introduces A NcwRiflc'"by Ludwi.gOlson. M111th. 1971, p.
30. (Tec,hnical Report on I ->° in[('l'eSting modem Mlla5tt tum-
"""·)
"Mauser Model TI Rifle" -A D0pc Bag Report. June, 1982.
"Mauser:TheRifleTiwMadcGood,Pt.ll"byl.udwi&Olson.April.
1975,p. 29.
"RnnodclinglheM-erl898Rifle""byM.D. Waiie.Sept.,1967.
"RemodelingtheMilillryM.lulcr"byM. Holmes.July&Aug.,1946.
(Completedttaila..)
"Sa,'Crt.M-SlodMby J.W. R~lla. Ott .• 1948. (Remodelir,a
lheM98MIUSlel".)
--Slicked-Up Mauser'" by P. 8amtt, Sept.. 1950. (Wcll-illustraled ani-
clcon rffl'IOlkling the M98 Malller riflc.)
-rhe FineSI Rifle E,'Cr BuiltM by Stuart M. Williams. &pt., 1982.
(Describes a custorn•made 458 Magnwn built on a Mauser Model
98action.)
"'ThcGermanMau.ser'"byWJ .Landen.Sepl.• 1940.(Disalssionon
various M98 Malller military rifles.)
"'ThcGemwi W11r Mauser"by J. P. Cnchwind. July. 1936. (Remodcl-
ing lhe M98 Mawt'fnfle inlo1sporter.)
MUndalcd Maulef1; .. -A Dope Bag Q.t.A. Apri~ 1975.p. 52.
~v- in Banle"by L Obon. Au&- & Sept.. 19-42. (H.-oryoftht
M98Mausernfle.)
MWilhelm And Paul; R.,t For Succe$s ,n R.ine Making.. by Ludwit
Obon.Man:h.1975,p.2". (TheMauserSlory.Pall.)

MAIIIBIIIIUI(__,)
"7.6S-06Rillcs-(1909Argcntim:Mauser)bylarry0. 0.vis,Nov.,
199),p.66.
-ATrioofMaulmi-byRIJben:Hunnicutt,Fcb.. 1991,p.32.
"Argcntinc,30-06-r'Fcb.,1992,p.49.
"Boo:r Mawm" -A Dope BagQ&A. Sep!., 1975, p. 82.
"'BrazilianPoliceRifle",ADopeBagQ&A.Fcb.,1972
"'Chine:teMauserRifle"-A DopeBagQ&A.Nov., 1971, p. 83.
"'Colombian30-06Mall5Cf"-ADopeBagQ&A.Aug.. 1971,p. 79
"Cuch l'cr$ian Mau.1tf"', Apr.• 1994, p. 53.
''GermanCodeMarl<s",Nov,.1988,p.66.
"ldenlif'yina Mauser Martings"by Ludwia Olson.Jan .• 1971, p. 86
(Thisartidewillhdpyc,uidentifythc~ofyoia-Mau$errifle.)
"UICMai.r98Carbine--A DopeBagQ&A,April, 1971,p. 66.
"MaooJll0nModel71 Mau5ff"-ADopcBagQ&A,Scpt., 1972,p.
106.
-~w.iser98BarmT!nadl--A DopeBagQ&A.Dec..1973,p. 58.
"Mauser Model 71 Carbine"•ADopcBagQ&A, ~ 1970,p.80.
"Mauln"Mode1107Rille-,Dcc.,1992,p.66.
"Mauser Model 189li95: HerrM3US1er'sDcadly Rille"byWillWl"ID
Baker,May,1987,p.48
"Milder Rifles and Pistols" by W.H.B. Smith, Apr .• 1991. p. 69.
"McxicanMausm;",Nov.,1991,p.6!.
"PcrwianRifle",ADopeBagRepllll,Man::h,1975,p.40.
"SiameseMallSC!'S"-ADopcBagQ&A,Junc. 1982.
...
''Spanish308Mauscn"(l89J),ADopcBaaRcpc)f1,JW'le,1986,p.
"'Sltppro~-.Sq,t..1987,p.71.
"TheSiamtteMiliwyMauscr"byl.udwiaOIIOII.Jan.,1973,p.Sl.
(M-informMiononthisintm:stinarillt-.)
-yupa..;..MauscrCt$'"(M9S),0ct., 1992, p.64.
MAU1B1 IIIUJ (Vlrtm a,artwll
"AOooclRifle"byM.Kellerman.Jan.,193S. (Describcs1MaustT
M98sponfflllrille.)
"A Pair ofCu,wm Buill Rifles Fmm Gmnany" by Elmer Keith, Jan.,
1933.(Dc9cribesafinepairofMauscrsponinarilks.)
"A Profcssional's Rifle" by Finn Aagaard, Sq)!., 1983, p. 42
(Describes aeuslom•made rifle or, an M98 Mauser action.)
"A Ri\'al of the 375" by G.F.H. Kooig, April, 1941 . (Describes a
M.iuser.sponerin9.3mrncalibcr.)
''CenturyArmaMauserSporter"(SwcdishMlS,6.5.0S)Jan .• 1991.
p.41.
"ClassicMausen:AmcricanSiyle-byKcnWami:r,hn.,1978.
"&.lfflSionM,pzineFu-Mausn"-ADopcBagQ&A,.lunt,1972,p
811.
"RealMagrunRillesMStillAli.-e"byRoyF. Dlwwlp,Fcb., 1978.
(Detaibesthccusaom-mad!:Wellsnfle.)
"Shapina;Trig,:,-GmrdsFu-SponcrimlRillcs-byBillDmphy,~
1970,p. S8.(Suggesrionsonhow10alter1Mal.l9eftriggerguard.)
---
"SmoolhingMauser~--A DopcBagQ&A,Nov., 1976,p.44
"ThePafcctHwUin&Rifle"byH.O.l...old:m.Feb.,1937.(Delcribcsa
M1W$ersponingrille.)
"SmrnCommissiooRifle"-A DopcBagQ&A,Sepl., 1977,p.62.
"A New DesipofBoh-Actioo Rifle" by R.0. J>xkard, Apr., 1936.
(Dncribcs a ~unusualbolt«tlonrillcwithuniql,c<bianfca-
111re. Ofmos1inlmsttothcanns<bia,,c:r.)
"A Riflc Named Hann,l,al- by Finn Aapard, May, 1992, p.34.
"Befcn:You&,ylllll Boll·Acoon"by KmW-.n,Dcc., 1971,p.
"·
"BlascrR84Rille",Aug.,1989,p. 61 .
"Bmo527Rifle",Au&-.199l,p.72.
516
"BmoZKK600Rille-, May, 1987,p.60.
"BmoZKM 611 Rifle". NOY" 1994, p. 57.
"Bn:,v.11ingBBRRlfle- -A0opeBagRcpan..hne.l978.
"BSA CF2 Rifle" -A Dope Bag Report. Feb. 1983.
''Cana-Blase-UllimaleDduxe"-ADopcBagRep:n.fcb.,1986.p.50.
''CarlGustaf3000Boh-actionRille",0ct.,l984
"'Carl.GusufMode16J Rifle" ,A Dope Bag Repo,1,April.1970.p. 44
(Cover$th.Swedish•made7.62mmmatchrille.)
"'Chaffce-R«'SCRiflc"-ADopcl3aaQ&A,Fcb.,l974
"'CooperAnnsModd)(iS!llndard'",D«:.,1993,p.48.
.. DakolaArm1Model76Clusic"byl'mDkkey,Sept,1988,p. 42 .
"DcstroyerCarbine"-ADopc BagQ&A, Dec., 1971, p. 80.
"lhyx Needle Gun" by H.L Pderson. Feb.. 1964. (Shon history or
thcftn1miliwybreedl-ic.dingbolt-actionrille.)
"DumoulinOianc:Rille",June.1988,p.60.
"Fu-The Reootd"(BmoZKM 61 l)by Ludck Podc:wa. May. 1995, p.
10.
'"frmch 1886M9J Rl5 Rille" ,ADopcBagQ&A,NOY. 1973,p. 78.
''German Model98140Rifle"-ADopc BagQ&A,Jan., 1972.
"GoodOld0.yff(COSllx1ori),fcb.,l987,p.43
"'Gun$ofthoBigllon:Shoolers" byC.E.H&rm,July,1978.
··HowToFpLockTunc"b)'JohnT. Buncrs.Scpl.. 1972,p. 65.
"lnclinedBol1 Riflcs"byR.K.Dunham,June,J958.(lnfonnattonon
cxperimentalbolt-actionrifltswithaninclinedbolt)
"'lntcrarmsMini•Marli:X",May,1991,p.Sl.
"lmenums Mini,Marli: X", July, 1987, p. 66.
"'lthacaHcaryBamlRifle"-ADopcBagRcp:,rt.Sepl.,1972,p.74.
"KirnbcrModel82221kirnn"-ADopcBagRep:n.Man::n,1983,p.48.
"Kimbcr'sBigGameRifle"byFinnAagaanl.Scpt., 1990,p. 40.
-~720LBoh-ActiooRiflc",Jan.,1984,p.54.p.55
"~l>i$a$sernbl)"-A DopcBagQ&A,M.iy. 1973, p. 73.
"Lcfthandm. TheFc:qonenMinority"byCol.CharlesAskins.Jan..
19&5,p.38.
"McMillanSignanftRifle".May,1988,p.58.
"MidlandllOORifle"-ADopeBagRcpart.M.iy.1980.
,;Model 98140 Rifle" -A Dope Bag Q&A, July, 1971, p. 68.
'"Modified Model 18811 Rifle"•ADopc BagQ&A,April.1973,p. 75.
"Mon:MagnumFirq,ower''byfinnAagaanl.Scp!., 1992,p.36.
"Mon: oo Schmidt-Rubin"', Apr., 1991, p. 6S.
""MOU11tainEaglcRiflc"',May,l995,p.57
"'Musgrave Pr=.ier'"-A Dope Bag Report, June, 1973, p. 68.(fochni•
calinfoonationande...luatiooon1rumbollsportingriflemadein
SoothAfrica.)
"Musgnwe, Model 85, Afnean Bol1-Acrion- by Finn Aagaard.~-..
1985,p.)7.
"Mu:sl<ew:crTI.-cads- -A DopcBagQ&A.Feb., 1979.
"MyHollandHolland:AnAII-Aroln:IRifle"byRobmJ. Mc<;nth.
Aug...1977,p. 24.
"NilloModel7000Riflc" -ADopcBagRcpon.Jan.,1978.
"'Off-Ccmc:rStrikerBlow"-ADopcBagQ&A,Fcb.,1971,p.59.
"Onc-PieoeBoh'"-ADopcBagQ&A,Jan.,1978
"Paricr-HaleModel87Rifle", Mar.,l988,p.61.
"Parker-HalcModelllOOLiatm,-'CighlRifle",June,1988,p.64.
' " P ~ Kropatschel= Rifle" -A Dope Bag Q&A. April. 1973. p.
'"Rcbinh of the Palma Trophy'' by SconJ. Rupp, Aug., 1988, p. 44.
'"RossRiflcs-•ADopcBagRepon,Dcc.,l984,p.S9.
.,.
"Russian Measure" (Mois,n-Nagant Model 1891) -A Dope Bag
Rcpon.Da:.,1987,p.~.
"SchmidlSwpru,e"(Schmidl-Rubin)byTracyE.Rhodes.Mar.• 1992.
"S<:hmidt-R.ubinDlingc('byW.G. VanCampen.h,ly, 1991,p. 56.
"SoopingMoisin-Napntt"byPaulJMartin.Aug.,1991.p. 74.
'"Smith & Wesson Model 1500 Rifle"-A Dope Bag Report. Ott.,
1979.

"Sponc,:,44-ThcPalmaRifle,1972'",0ct,1972,p.62
'"Sp0nco Appeals with Accuracy and Pri~" by E.G.B. Reynolds,
Sept,1970,p.12.(Detailsofa7.62mrntumbol1ma1ehriOemadein
Australia)
""SwpllJl; Miliwy Rifles"' -NRA Staff. Dtt., !960 & Jan., Feb. and
March.1961.(Describesthe,,ariouspopularsurpllJl;miliwyriflcs
andtheircartridgcs.)
""SurpllJl; Rifles-An Erooomical Choi~?" by Finn Aagaard. Nov.,
1993,p.20.
'"Swedish Small Anns" by W. l'iznak, Aug .. 1958. (Includes informa-
1ionon Swcdish bolt-action rifles.)
'"SwissMilitaryRifles"byH.Grieder,Jan.. 1956.(lllusu-au,sand
dcst'ribesall brw:h-loading Swiss boh-action andstraigh1-pull mil-
iwyrifles.)
"TcstingaJamnRifle"byfinnAagaard.Jw-.c.1991,p.22.
"The Accunue Varmim Rifks" by Boyd Macx,, Feb., 1992. p. 51
1bel31ake400'"byA.H. Tedmon.Jan .. 1953.(Ahistt:iryandSIUdyof
therareBlakebolt-actionrifle.)
''TheBlakcBolt-ActionMagnwnRifle'"by ElmcrKeith,Jw-.c.1936.
(DescribesthisveryrareAmcrican-madebol!-actionrifle.)
1beBullpup"i Revival"'byPe1eDickey,Jan.,198J,p.40
''The finnishCa--alry'sSpe,:ialRifle'"byCharlcsW.Hanna.March.
1978.
''TheMcMillanTalon"byFinnAagaard.feb.. 1992.p.24.
.,
1be Moisin Rifle: Ugly Bui Effective" by C.E. Hanis, Mar., 1991, p.
'"The Palmer Cart,inc"' by M.B. Peladeau, Aug.. 1%4. (History and
dclailsofthefirs1U.S.brttch-loadingbol1-actionmiliwycartridge
=.)
''Thoogh1sonC\lstomRiflcs"byFinnAllgaard,Mar.,1991,p.36.
_,
"ThrecVenerableBoh-ActionAnnll"by E.D.Crabb,feb., 1941.
(DcscribingtheGrttnc. PrussianNcedleandT,:nybolt-action
''TikkaM658Rifle",Nov., 1989.p.60
"Turl<ish Rifles" -A Dope Bag Q&A, March, !975. p. 48.
,;U.S. Custom Rifles: Now Second To None" by Tom Brakefield. Jan ..
1975,p.22.
""Wlw ls4140?"by David R. Thompson, Sept., 1977, p. S4. (Infor-
mation on the stttl most commonly used in firearms marmfac,
tuo,.)
"Who Says The Bolt-Action Is Slow!'" by Finn Aagaard. Sept., 1982
"Why Magazine Big-Ben Rifles Are Bcst, Pan I'" by Jacques P. Loll,
Jan.,1972.(Discussesthemeritsofthe11m1boltmagazincriflesys-
--
1em.)PartllinFeb.. l972
"Wi<;hita308Varminter"•A0ope8agRepon.Jw-.c,1978
'"'3-Linc' Riflc'"·A Dope BagQ&A, Nov., 1981
·•~fossberg M800 CVT Rifle" -A Dope Bag hem. Oct.. !972. p. 88.
"'Mossberg Model 810Rifle" -A Dope BagRepon.May, 1971,p. 50.
"MossbergRM-7'"-ADopeBagRcport,Aug.. 1980
"M""""°'K,M<nWlb-lhoMoncy"byVicoHavlin,July.l995,p.3l
NEWTlliPIUI
"Charles Newton. fatherOfThc25--06"'by M.D. Waite. May, 1971, p.
33.[fraccsthehistoryoftheNc"'1onAnnllCo.anddescriheshis
canridgesandriflcs.)
"'Early Newton Rifle" -A Dope Bag Q&A, Jan., 1972.
-
"'NC¥.10!1 Lockin8Lugs'"-A DopeBagQ&A. fcb .• 19n.p. 50.
'"TheNC¥.1on--anAmericanOriginal"byRobenN.Scars.Mareh,
1980.
"Griffin & Howe: Custom Gunmakcrs'" by Paul Capaoma, April.
'"'
: I I' ,I
"Griffin & Howe-Yesterday & Today"' by W.F. Parkerson, Jw-.c.
1980.
''Shclhamer-ClassicisiofThcStock"byPe)IIOIIAutry,Jan., 1977,p.
40.(lnthisarticlc}'OUmeetThomasShclhamcrandseesomcofthe
rifles he has stocked.)
"Shilen Rifles'" by Col. Owles Askins. Sept, 1983,p. 38. (All about
EdShilenandtheriflcshcmakcs.)
--
·'The Rifle and TOWTl5Clld Whelen'" by Ken Warner. Oct .. 1978. (A
tribute to the late Col. Townsend Whelen.)
"'WeatherbyHasMadehisMaric'"byCoLCharlesAskins,Oct.,19&2.
··6.Smm Remington Magnwn" ·A Dope Bag Report, Aug., 1966. p.
46. (Evaluationofthe M600 Remington carbine in6.5mrn Magnum
caliber.)
"17RemingtonMeetsExpcctations'"byLudwig01son,July.197l,p.
34.[fechnicalrel)OT1on Remin8ton"s 17-calibercanridgesand
Mode1700rille.)
"22-250Remingtoo""-ADopeBa8Report.June, 1965.(Thorough
evalualionoftheM700BDLRe111ingtonandthe22-250canridge.)
'"25-06Remington",ADope8agRepon.July.1970,p.S8.(Detailed
tes1repo,,onthe25--06M700BDLri0e.)
'"722-721SouthpawConvcrsion"-ADopeBagRcpon,Dtt.,1955,p.
62.(ADalcM.Guiseleft-handoonversiondescribcd)
"Con,'CffingMode1722to22-250.. byW.Drcsser,feb.,19S8
"'Exploded Views: Remington-Lee Rines·· by E.A. Tolosky, April .
'980
"Improving The Model 721 Remington"'byBobMilek,Nov., 1971,p
S6.(Gunsmithingideasforthispopularriflc.)
··1.31e:S! Remington700"s''·A DopeBag Report, Sept, 1969,p. 78
··LoedingleeNavy"by F.R. Hebditch.Jan., 1989,p. 70
"Minutc-<.>f-anglc 722" by R.V. Thompson, July, 1954, (Accwi.zing
theM722Remingtonrifle.)
"New Remington Carbines'" -A Dope Bag Report, May, 1968, p. 57.
(DetailsontheM660Rcmingtoncarbines.)
"New Remington M700 Rifle'" -A Dope Bag Repon,July, 1974.
"New Remington Rifle'" ·A Dope Bag Report, Sept, 1962. (Compre-
hcnsiveevaluationofthe M700 Remington riflc.)
'"New Remington Rifles'" -A Dope Bag Report. Apr.. 1967, p. 46.
(E,-aluationoftheRemingtonM788 rille.)
"Remington 700 7mm Express" -A Dope Bag Repon. Nov., 1979.
'"Remington700Classic257'"-ADopeBagltem,Jan.,198J,p.60.
'"Remington 788 223'" -A Dope Bag Q&A, Nov., 1977.
"RemingtonCustom"Aug., 1995,p.6.
"Remington Eyes 375 H&H Classic'" -A Dope Bag hcm,Jan., 1982.
'"Remington Left-Hand M788 Riflc"·A Dope BagRcpol1, Sept.,
1969.p.84.
'"RemingtonM600Carbine" -A Dope Bag Report.Apr., 1965, p. 44
(Evalua1ionoftheRe111ington M600Mag:nwnCa:binc.)
··Remington M700 BDL DM'", July, 1995, p. 49.
""RemingtonM700ClassicandVS'",Oct..l992,p.61.
··Re111ingtonM700VSSFRiflc'".0ct..1994.p.59.
··Remington M1934 Rillc" -A Dope &gQ&A. Feb., 1972. (Describes
aspe,:ial7mrnriflebuiltontheM30Remingtonaction.)
"RemingtonMode130Rifle",A Dope BagRcport, May, 1990,p.56.
"RemingtonMode130'"byludwigOlsonand.lohnf.Finnegan.July,
1976,p.44.(Exploded-viewdrawing.)
"'RcmingtonModel600" -ADope Bag Report.Apr., 1964,p.44.
"RemingtonMode1700AS",feb.. l99l.p.5l.
"Remington Model 700 Rifle'" by Ludwig Olson and frank G. Hart.
Jan.,1976.p.Sti.(Exploded-vicwdrawing.)
"Remington Model 720" ,A Dope Bag Q&A. Aug .. 1980.
"Remington Model 725·· -A~ Bag Repon. Apr .. !958. p. S6.
"Remington Model 788 Rifle" by frank G. Hart & M.D. Waite, May,
1971,p.48(Exploded-vicwdrawings.)
517
"RemingtonModelSevcnFSRiflc.. ,Sept.,1988,p.71.
"RemingtonModelSc>·enRif\e"-AOopeBagR,:p0fl,June, 1983,p
"·
··RcmingtonModelSevenRifle.. ,June,l983,p.5 1
"Remington Model Seven Take-Along Carbine" by Finn Aagaard,
Oct.,1988,p.46.
"Remingtoo Offen Bench Rest Rifle" -A Dope Ilag Repon, Jan.,
1970,p.JO
"RemingtooRecall",Dtt.• 1978,p.63.(Arecallnociceconceming
Remington Models 600. 660 and 600 Mohawk carbines.)
"RcmingtooRifles"-A OopeBagR,:p0fl.Dec .. 1961,p. 76.(Testand
cvah"1tioooflheM40-XRemingtoocentcrfin:wgetriflc.)
"RcmingtonVannintSpecial"-A OopeBagRqx,rt.May.1967,p. 56
(Evaluation of the M700 Rcmingtoo Vmmim Special rifle.)
"Remington's Model 700 Classic., -A Dope Bag Rc-pon. Aug .• 1978
"Remodclinglhe722"by0Aleyner,Dec .. l952.(NO!e$oobuilding
a lightweight Mannlichcr-lype spCl{ter from a M722 Remingtoo.)
"RemodclingtheRcmington72l"byW.Campbe1!,Fcb.,1949
"Scan:ity B<x,sts Value OfRemington-K«ne Anns" by M.D. Waite,
April,lm,p.19.(Historyanddes<:riptionofanearlyRcmington
lxih-actionrif\e.)
"ShootersApprcci.ateAnlnc:<pmsivc,A«uratcRif\e.. byC.E.Harris.
June,1977, p.28.(Tipsooupgr,idingthcRemingtonModel788.)
"SomethingNew'"by J.S.HatchcrandA.Barr,Man:h.1948.(Detailcd
reponoftheModel721 Remingtooriflc.)
"The Ultimate in Rifle Accuracy., by Glen Ne,,.ick, Feb., 199!. p. 57.
"What's new for '50" -A Dope Bag Rcp0fl, Feb., 1950. (Evaluation
--
n:ponsonthe222-c.aliberM722 Rcmingtooandthe22Home1
Sako.)
.. Bolt Action Model 77: In the Ruger Tradition" -NRA Staff, Feb.,
1969.(DetailcdrepononRuger'ssportingriflc.)
"Model 77 Mari: II Mag, Heavyweight From Ruger" by FR. Heb-
ditch, Aug., 1990, p. 46.
"RugerM77E,,o:pm,sRif\e.. _Jan.,l995,p.60
''RugerM77 MagnwnRif\e"-A OopcBagllepon.Apri!. 1971,p.55
"RugerM77 Mmk 11 Heavy Bam:I Vannint Rifle", Aug., 1992,p.57.
"Ruger M77 Targe1Rifle",Jan.,l994,p54
"RugcrM77/22HornetRiflc",June,!995,p.53
''RugcrModel77lntem:itional"-AOopeBagRqx,rt,Dec.,l982,p.57
"RugcrModel77MBJkllRifle... Dec .. 1989,p.48.
--
"RugerMode177VannimRiflc.. •AOopeBagRcport,Sept.. l970,p
....
"RugerPalmaMatchRiflc.. _July, 1992,p.20
"AHorne-MadcRussianSporter"byEJ . Witrel,Fcb., 1934.(Short
piccconremodelingthcMosin-Nagantrifle.)
"UnderthcRedSrar-TheRussianRifle"byG.Underhill,Aug.• 1941.
...
(DescribeslheRussianrnilitaryrillesandtraining.)
,-
.. Exploded Views: Sako Bolt Actions" by Technical S1aff. March,
1979.
"ForesterRilles"-AOopeBagReport,Oct.,l960,p.66.(Rcp0fland
evaluationoftheSakoL579riflc.)
"Sako6mmPPCRepeatcr'',Apr.,1989,p.S5.
"SakoClassic&Safari(iradeRifles"-ADopcBagReport,Scpt.,
1980.
"SakoFinnbear"-ADopeBagReport,Dec.• 1961,p.81.(Testreport
ontheSakoL6lrifle.)
"SakoFomter"-AOopeBagRcport,Sept.• 1958,p. 70.(Testrepon
ontheSakoL57rifle.)
"SakoHeary-BarrclRif\e".ADopellagR,:p0fl,AUg.,l954,p.62.
518
"Sako M7&12.2 Hornet'' -A Dope Bag Item. March, 1980.
"Sako Model 12 Rif\e" -ADope Bagltem, Nov., 1972,p. 71
"SakoP72Rifle.. •ADopeBagRcport,June,l'fl9
"Sako PPC Vmmimcr", Jan .. l98S. p. 54
--
"SakoTRG-SRiflc",May,1993,p.50
"Thc&:hooftheSako"byA.Wilson.Oct.,l9S3.(N01esonthe222
Sakorifle.)
"A Rea! Mediwn-Gamc Rifle" by A.M. Crane.July, 1937 (Describing
theSa,,.geM23sponerin25-20caliber.)
uNew Savage Hi-Power Rifles" -A Dope Bag Rcporl, July, 1950, p.
38;May,1953,p.64.(DescribingthcM340andM342Savage
rillesin30-30and22Homctcaliben.)
"Savage Ml lOC:25-06 Rifle" -A Dope Bag Rc-pon. Aug., 1970, p. 66.
"Savage Mill ChieflainRiflc"-A DopeBagQ&A.Oct., 1975.p.69.
"Savage Model 110MC' -A Dope BagR,:p0fl, Aug .. 1965,p.69.
"SavagcModel110MC"-AOopeBagRcport,Oct.. l958
"SavageModelllORiflc''byM.D.Waitc,Feb.,1958.(DctailcdDope
BagRep0<t.)
"Sa,,.geModc1110Rille"byT.E.W=el,Sept.,1961.(Exploded-
viewdrawingandasscmblyinstructions.)
"Savage Model 110CRif\e"-ADopeBagR,:p0f1,June, l966p.68
(EvaluationoftheMllOwithadctachablclxixrnagazine.)
"Sas·ageMod<:i !lOSSilhouet1eRillc"-A Dope Bag Report.Oct ..
1978.
"SavageModel116FSAKRif\e",Apr.,1995,p.57.
"SavageModel116FSSRifle",May,l993,p.50
"Sa,·agcModc1340Riflc.. -A OopeBagRcport,Oct, 1969,p.95
(Shortrepononthe1969,'Cm00ofthislow-costrif\e.)
"SavagcModel340VRifle"-AOopcBagRepon,May,1965,p.74
"Savage Model MCL" -A Dope Bag Report.Jan .. 1959, p. 56.(Rcp0fl
oothelefl-handM!lO.)
"SavageSuper-Sporter"-AOopeBagQ&A,Fcb.. 1975,p.62
"Savagc-AnschutzMlS3Rifle"-AOopeBagRcport,July, 1964,p.
62.(E,·aluationofthc222Anschutzrifle.)
"11,e Savage Vannint Rifle"' by M.D. Waite, Sept., 1975, p. 28. (A
OopeBagReportootheSavageModel 112Vmmintrifle.)
"WhyN01ThisOnc?"byF.Merilla1,Sq,t.. 1933.(lnformationon
handloadingfortheM23Sa,·agein25-20ealiber.)
BCtllJZII.AIIIEftlllUI
"Schultz&Larscn65"'-ADopeBagReport,July.1960.p.48.(Full
detailsoothiiinterestingDanishrifle.)
"Schultz&Larscn68DLRifle"-A0opc8agRcport,Aug.. l967,p.
--
68
"Schultz&laJ,scnM..6()".ADopeBagReport,Dcc.,1957
"Schultz&LarsenRifle... ADopeBagRc-pon.Sept.1955,p.70
"Ocnnan$nipingEquiprnen1"byR.F.Dunlap,Jan.,l945.(Describes
thcM98Mausersniperrifle.)
"Sniping Rifles"by C.H. Howell, Jr., Apr. & May, 1947
'"The Jap Military Scope" by C.H. Williams. July, 1944.
'"ThcNo.4RillcMlln<l(T)"byE.0.B.Reynolds,Nov.,l964
''U.S. Sniping Rifles" by M.D. Waite, June, 1965. (Among others,
describestheKrag,SpringficldandEnficldsnipingrif\es.)
""""""AIUS
":22SpringfieldRifles"byM.D.Waite,July,l954
'"03 Conversion Kit" -A Dope Bag Report. Man:h, 1959, p. 57
(DescribcstheNumrichkitmconvcrtMl903sm:22rirnfin:cal-
iber.)
'"03FiringFin"-A0opeBagRepon,Jan.,1959,p.54.(Describcsthc
B-Squareooe-picccfiringpinfortheM1903.)
M•o3 ~tica- C\d:-Otr-A 0opc Bag Q&A. Fm. 1976, p. 66.
MAJO-Olil'i$to("byO.T. Littktoo.Aprn \945.(0nmakinalhandgun
lrom!MMl903.)
MAf11knSpingfiekrbyO.R.Parizd<.Nov.• 19SO.(Onmaking1
Ml 9()3inlo1 4 10sholgun..)
_,
MA frce-RiBcli'oma 1903 Spingf,okf"byCJ.0.vis,Mly. 1963
'"AIMMat<:h RiBclrom!M03A3"byM.D. Waite.Scpl.1957
''Cockinj PicaSight"-A Dope BagQ&A. Marth.1971.p.60.
"DCM Shoppers' Guide"' by E. Brown, Apr .• 1946. (NQleSon Spring-
field and Enfield rifles then available to NRA members.)
"DCM Trnsure'" by T.B. G=ham, July. Aug., Scpl .• Ott.&. Nov.,
l 948. (Detai!N inscruction.s oo mnodcling M 1903 ritlcs. including
"'DeadiVallcyShots"byD.Lanagan.Apr.• 1945. (Sloryabouta25
Niedn«Springfit-ld.)
"'Ec:onomySponerlromlh: "03A3"-NRASlaff,May, 1964.
"firstMl903Sprin&ficld"-ADopcBagQ&A.M.1y.1975,p. 63.
"'Guinea Pig Varminln'"by M. Holmes. Mlr.• 19'7. (Acancyexpcr-
imcnlsoo I l903 Springfit-ld ,-.mint ri!'lc.)
'"1$ThcMl903ActiooOboolelcr-A Dopclb&Q&A.Scpl., 1971,p.
98.
"lightv,"<"igln Mountain Sheep Ri!'lc" by J. BryJnl, Scpl .• 1970, p. 32.
(Makingupatig)uwcighttwnbohspo,tinjrilk.)
"M1898vs.Ml903Stocks",Jan.,l987,p.66.
'"M 1903 Pans Nomcnclarun:" -A Dope Bag Q&A. Sept., 1974. p. 79.
"'M 1903 Rifle Proof Marks" ·A Dope Bag Q&A, Jan., 1974, p. 64
"M1 903Springf,old Pans"•A Dope BagQ&A, Nov.• 1976,p.56.
"Ml903Sprin&f,elds"-A Dope BagQ&A.April.1971,p. 61
..Model 1903 Springficldfrcaic-up"by FinnMplld.Du., 1986. p.
"·
"New Sprin&f,olds" -NRA Repon. Sept.. 1943. ( ln~ i n g lhc:
Ml903AlandMl903A4rifles.)
"O'Connor'1()1:hcrRilk"byBobHills,April. l980. (Describn1
Moddl903SpringficldOISIOlnSpontr.)
"RdlcalTM!ingSpringf,elds"-ADopcBagRq,on.Mar.,l9S4,p.64.
" Rffllodcling 1M 03A3 Springfield'" by M.D. Waite, Aug., 1957.
(Compktcinformation, plus insm>ctionsoohow10thilland1apthc
~verforsightsandscopcmounlS.)
'"Remodeling Your Springfield" by C.E. Graves, (),,:1.• 1950. (On
rcmodelinglheM1903).
''SedileySafctyfiringPin"·-ADopcBagQ&A,feb,. 1976,p.68
'"SponcmingtMSpringfoeklPistol-GripStock'"byf.de Haas.Dec: .•
1962. (How IO mnodcl lhc TypcC stock.)
"Springflrid30-06 Bam:ls" -A Dope Bag Q&A. Dec:., 1975 p. 62.
"Springf\cld Cockir,a Pica" -A Dope Iba Q&A. June. 1976. p. SO.
'°Springf\cldflOIIISighl'"-ADopcBagQ&A,Nov.. 1976.p.49.
"Springf,o\d Ml903 Sigh1 Adj~" ·A Dope Bag Report, July.
1989,p. 68.
"Spnngfick1M1903 Sighl"-A DopcBagQ&A.0:t., 1981 .
"Sprin&ficldl'atcntTrouble:s'"byG.Lyle.Dec:.• 1949.
"Sprin&ficld Rifles-A Olapltf From H11et..r·1 Noiebook" by J.S.
IWCher.Ott.,l947.(llisloryoflhcM1903.)
"Springf,oldTriggers"-AD<:p:BagQ&A.A11&-. 1972,p80.
"The'03Era"byClal'kS.Carnpbcll. Jan.,1995,p. 33.
''The"03Springf,cld.America' s ClassicBol!Rifle'"byC.E.Harris.
Junc,1995,p.44
"'Thel.uSpringfickl Ml903" -A D<:p:BagQ&A.Feb .. 1971. p. 58.
-·
""ThcRocklsland"0J"byC.S.Ferris,Feb.,1993,p.49.
""The Scd&lcy Sholl-Action Springfield'· by f .T. Cliam~in, Dec.,
1934.(Dacnbes a riBcwithactioolhi.,ncnalforlM250Sav•ge
"TnggerforYourSpringficld"byF.F. Berman,July.L9SO. (HowlO
make1si,nglo-ag,e~triga"b'IMMl903).
"U.S. Model Ml Bolt...:tionC.lrbinc" -A Dope Bag Rcpofl. Aug.,
1986,p.60.
'"UnitcdSIMes Rifls.CaliberlO"byT. Wholm.Aug .. 1934. {Covcn
,-arious M1 90lsandlhc:Ml917.)
-USMC Ml903S.&hU"-A Dope Baa;Q&A. Dec:., 1974.p. 67.
'"VKMion Edloel"by N.H. Robffls, Jan., 1935. (Descril!C$1CS1-finn&
aGriffin&.Ho,,,..,C11$1llmlS7Springf,ck1)
--
"Weal.M1903RecciYCra"-ADopcBagRepon.Junc.1984.p.63.
"Which Mauser?'" (Springfield 1903) by James E. Ktt11111. Aug.,
1995.p.12.
"AustriansAdopl A NcwSnipcrRifle'.byE.H. Harrison.June, 1971.
p. 23. (Technical informa1ion oo 1M Steyr-Mannlicher wgci,'snipcr
rifle.)
"Mannlicher,Sc~ M72: The Most R«nu Stcyr Rifle" by
RobertN . Selrs.April. 1m.p. 41 . (T«hnicalrepor1oolMSteyr•
Mlmlitherrifle.)
"StcyrModelMProfesiona!RiBc"-ADopcBagRcpM.Sepl.,l98.2.
'"SleyrSSGM11ch"-A DopcBagReport, Dec:..1981.
"Stcyr-MannJicherSLRille"-ADopeBagRcpofl.Miurh.1968.,p.
47. ( Evaluationofthcnc--·tsiMannlichctrifle.)
"Steyr-Mannlicher MO<kl L Varmint'" ·A Dope Bag Report, Mar.,
1990,p.45.
"Sle)T•MannlichcrMO<klMLu:<usRi!k"-ADopeDagReport,July,
1988.p.64
IITIICU•-
HBcdding lhc Mauser-Type Rifle" -NRA Slaff. Mar .• 1963.
" f undammlalso(Ounstock Des~·· byC. Bart<er, Feb., 1944.(Somx.l
informalionootlOCl<desi&nl'orboh-actionrifles.)
"GumlockDesi&ll"byA. Ouymon,0:t.,l963-(0ecailsoflhcfamous
"Ouyrnon",p:,nerSIOCk.)
"GumKds&Acancy"byC. Taylor&.DARobbins.0:t..19-19.
"Handicapped Blmls'" by HJ. Blnhlrd, Dec:., 1940. (S&o<;kina and
bedding1bohaction.)
"lnlettingforAcancy"byM.Holmes.Fcb.• 1947.(Fmcrpoirusof
inlcningbolt...:tionrillcs.)
"Laminatcds«dBlanks"byJ.f .Himes, Jan .. 1950.
··MakingaGunslock"byO.V. Siq,t,ens, Jr .• Nov.. l947.(Design.lay-
OW.inlcttingandfini,hing.)
"RebcddinglheBollActlOOS'"byB.Popowski.Sept, l94l.(Tipsoo
bcddinglMM70Winchestcr.)
"RemodelThalStockToSuitYourTaste'"byJ.Hanson,July,1970,p.
42.(Tipsonmnodcling!M f11;toryS10Cl:00 1 1wnbolt$p()fting
rifle.)
··RcmodelingthltflCIOfyS4ocl<"byC.A.Shields,Dec:., l95S.
"RilkResiodin&"byJ.ftcnel:,.lunc.1943.(HowlOreslOCk1boh-
-
actiooriflcS1a11ingliom1blalllc.)
"Slo,;kingSponer&VarminlRiflcsMbyM.G.llolmes.O:t..1962.
"SlodcinglMM.1tchRiflc'" byR.F. Dunlap.Aug..l962.
" An Adjustable Military Tripe,'" by AJ. Tiroff. Dec: .• 1956. (How IO
modify!Moommonmiliwyboh-lctionlrigg,:rsoitiildjUllable.)
"ASc!TriggcrforlMModel 70''byS. Kol.July, 1962.(HowlOinstall
a common double SCI trigger.)
"Bcnch-RestShootina:tnnovationByDcsign""byMichaclBU&Slni.
July,1977,p. 30. (~bcsanwiowalbench-restriflc.)
"Buyina;A Used Competition Rilk"byC£ Harris.Feb., 1973,p. 17.
"DanishM52 Rille'" -A0op:Baa;Rcpon.Junc.19S7.p.67. (Covws
IMM5230-061af'Flrifle.)
"Designing An NRA Mau:h Rifle" by Charles M. Byers, Nov., 1972,
p.}3
"Lel.s E.umincthofreeRiBc"byR.f. Dunlap.Nov~ l9S2. ( lnfonn.
licmonbltiklinglioenllcsooboh«DORS.)
~Mlking1frce-Rilk"byW.B. Vin<;cnt,Jan., 1967.
519
"Modtm Bench~ Shooling· byC.IL Hollidge.June, 1962.
"New Ruic Broadens British High•Power Rifle Shooting" by E.H.
Harrison.Jan.,1969.(Describessomeboll....ctiontargdriflesused
inEngland.)
"RiflesforV'satlOC()Yards"byL.F.Moore,July,1968
"Self-SettingTriggcrs"byF.C.Ness.July.1939.(DescribesthePike
self-settingtriggermechanismforcenterfirebol1....aionrifles.)
"Se1Triggen''by F.deHaas,July,1963.(Describesseveralse!l;rigger
mechanismsforbolt-actionrilles,disrossestheirpurposeanduse.)
''SportingTriggersforMiliwyRifles"byM.D. Waiie.Man:h. I~.
(Re,·iewoftheoommerciall;riggenavailable.)
"llieMcta!SilhoueneRifle"byRoyDunlap.May,1971p.22.(Dis-
eussesriflestha!eanbeuscdforsilhooc-nesbooling.)
"The'RigidLook'AsBuihlmoBench-RestActions"bySruanOne-
sonandJohnEa!On,Dec .• 1976.p.27.
"ThoughtsonFreeRifles"byA.ECook,Apr.• 1956
'"WiochestcrModel70... SetTriggers"byJ.E.Gcbby.May.1959
_ , RIUS
"240 Weatherby Magnum" -A Dope Bag Report, Feb .. 1968. p. SO.
(EvaluationoftheMar\V240Weatherl,y.)
"Mon,on 270Weathefby"by MyronC. Muth, Scpl .• 1991.p. 75
"TheWeatherbyAlaskan''byRobenHunnicutt,Dec.,l992,p.30.
"The Weatherby Mar\ VStainle!s"by Roben Hunnicu1t.May, 1995,
'"'
"Weatherby22-2SORiflc"-ADopeBagRcpon,Apr.,1968.p.51
"WeatherbyFiberguard"',Mar.• 1987,p.53
"Weatherby Fibemwk Rifle", Feb .• 1984. p. 58
"Weatherby Mar\ V Rifle"' by T.E. Wessel, Apr .• 1963. (Exploded-
viewdrawingandassemblyinstructions.)
"Weatherby Mar\ V"-A DopeBag Report, Nov., 1958,p.66.
"WeatherbyVanguardRifle"'-ADopeBagRepon.Nov.. 1970.p.68
(Tcstreportonthismediwn-pricedJapanese-rnadesportingrifle.)
"Weatherby Vanguard VGX DdW<eRifle", Feb .. 1990,p. 53
"Weatherby Varrnintmaster" -A Dope Bag Report. July, 1964, p. 72.
(EvaluationoftheMar\V224Weathcrby.)
"Weatherby'sBigBores"byFinnA.agaard.Sept.,1994,p.42
"Weatherby. the Mar\ V Stoey'" by Roben Hunnicutt. Dec .. 1992, p.
"
"Weatherby: The Man, The Gun, The Legend" by Grits Gresham.
June,1992.p.85
WN>IIJTIIIHIUS
''225Winchester'"-ADopeBagRepon,Ocl.,1964.(Evalua1iononlhe
M70,'almintrifle.)
"A 54 WinchesterConvcnion"' by H.R. Lcngo, June, 1937. (Co1wert-
inga 30-30toa 30-40.)
"A243Win.Matchrifle''byRobenLawyerGilkey,Jan.. 1977.p.32.
"ASeriousRifle"byC£Harris,Sept,1975.p.l4.(Buildingacus--
tomModel70Winchester.)
"Exploded Views: Winches1c-r Hocchkiss Model 1879" by Edward A.
Tolosky.Jan .• 1981
"Exploded Views: Winchester Hocchkiss Model 1883'" by Edward A.
Tolosky,June,1981.
"FortheBigge$1Gamc"'byJ.SHa1eher,Aug., 1956.(Repononthe
M70in458Magnum.)
520
'"M70TriggerComctions" by A.H Barr.July, 1943.(Howto impro•,e
theM70trigger.)
"Mannlichcr-StylcM70Rifle"-ADopeBagRepon.Jan.,1968,p.55.
"Model 54 Winchester Types" -ADope BagQ&A,Oct.. 1971,p.88
"Model 70 Fea1hcrweigh1'" -A Dope Bag Report, Aug., 1982.
"Model 70 WincheSler'" -A Dope Bag Report, Man:h, 1964. p. 44
(Evalua1ionofthel964,·ei,;ionoftheM70.)
"New and Old Model 70" -A Dope Bag Q&A. Feb., 1980.
"New Winchester Model 70'" -A Dope Bag Report. May. 1968, p. 48
(Evaluationofthel968rifle.)
"Re11imoftheRiflcman"sRiflc"(Win.M70)byRobcrtHunnicu11.
Mar.,1994.p.J.6.
"RiflefortheSouthwest"byE.B.Mann.Jan., 19SO.{Makingalight-
weigh1sporterof!hcM70.)
''The ldeal25Spo<ter''byF.C.Ness,Junc,1938.(Describing!hcM70
in2S0caliber.)
'"The Model 54 WinchesterHometRiflc"byF.C. N=, May, 1933.
'"The New Model 70 Winches1er'' by F.C. Ness, Nov., 1936. (First
DopeBagrepon.)
''TheWiocllesterModcl70SICxy.Partl'"byPeieDickey.W.,1980
(PanllinNov.,!980;PartlllinDce.,1980.)
"Three-in-one Rifle" by R. Hutt0n, Apr., 1950. (Discus.ses inter-
changeabkSlocksonlheM70.)
''TwoGwtsofVerdeValley''byJ.Benyman,Apr.• 1946.(Storyon
theSa,-age23DHome1andtheM70.)
'"WincheslerM70Sharpshooter",Feb.• l994,p.6l.
'"Winchester Model 70 Rifle" -A Dope Bag Q&A, Dee., 1973, p. 63.
"WincheslerModel 70TargetRifle'"-A Dope Bag Report.Oct, 1970,
p.80.
'"Winches1er Model 54 Striker'" -A Dope Bag Q&A, Sep! .. 1973, p
88
'"WiocheslerModel70DBMRifle'",June,1993,p.46.
"Winchester Model 70 Heavy Barrel Varmint", Apr .. 1990. p. 43.
"Winchester Model 70No. l"byMikeBedwcll,June, 1990.p. 38
"Winchester Model 70 Rifle" by J.M. Triggs, May, 1962. (Exploded-
vicwdrawingand asscmbly insttuctions.)
"Wiochester Model 70 Screw Torque" -A Dope Bag Report, Feb ..
1990.p.58
"WinchesterModel70SJl(ll1Cr",Jan .. l989,p.58
"Winchester Model 70: The First Fifty Yeant" by Wayne Van Zwoll.
Dec .• 1987,p.30
"WiochesterModel670Riflc"-ADopeBagRepon,July.1966,p.54
(Evaluatiooandtestreport.)
"Wiochestcr Model 770 Magnum'" -A Dope Bag Report.July, 1970. p.
"
'"Winchester's New Super Model 70'" by Robert W. Hunnicutt, Feb.,
1990.p.24
"BoltActionOpcration"byJ.F.Kolll,Sep(.,1966
"GermanArmsCodes"'byW.H.B.Smith.Apr.. 1947.
"Handling Boh-Action Cenu:rfirc Rifles" by NRA Staff, Ocl .• !961.
(How IO operate. load, fire, & field strip the most common boh-
ac!ion rifles.)
"Some lmcm:iingOips"byC.11. Yusi,Jr.• Junc, 1960.(Coversmany
diffe=tmilitaryriflccartridgeclips.)
 Bibliog:Bp~yol 1rtk:lespfflllnlngtottnlfrflrt1 urabohrHla
1nd1ctlons,. hk:h 1ppn.N<IUIU1•Gut1~frvm 19+4to 1996.
CAIIT1IIJGfJ
"Any Animal, Any Weather, Alrnolil Any'A,~: The: 35 Whelen" by
NormNeOOl'l,43rded.,1989.
"AuxiliaryCanridgcs and OtherSoch S1uff' by Elmer Kurns, 40!h
ed.,1986.
"Bi11GunlandSmall Game"by.loscphS. Kricga",)9thed., 1985
"'Cal. 50SuperSnipers"by Konrad Schreicr,Jr.,41$1ed.. 1987.
"FOl"l)'YearsWiththeLinle7mm"byJackO'Connor.28thed., 1974
"lnlfr.llm5" Mini-Mauser7.62~9"byC.E. Harrit.,47thcd., 1993.
"Sako's375Carbine"byJ.TenyRiebling.48thed.,19'>4.
--shoolinatheArisakaMarchRi!k"byJohnMalloy,491hed.,1995.
-rhe7mmt.-tac,,uminAfric:a"bySamB.Sull)n. 181hed.., 1964.
-rhe257 RidelApin"byDonHmer.28dled..1974.
-0.:257Rooat:s"byN. E.Nehon.k" 191hed., 1965.
-0.:338111Alix:a"byCol.OarlesAslans.131hed., 1959.
-0.:458Winc:hcslcrlnAfric:a"byRichardC. Hcd, 1 llhcd., 1957.
-O.:B1g450Ri!k"byH.E.MacFarland,81hed.,l9S4.
-rheB,aM3&fllllllS"by RobenHumn.191hed., 1965.
-O.:l'olenl35Whelcn"byHal$1cphenl,IOthed.,1956.
"U11:A Bi&Ri!k"byR.ayOrdorica, 49thed.,L995.
CUSTOM 1111..ES
'"AClwicCallsHome"byPeylOOAutiy,451hed., 1991.
"An Un,8ri1ish Hunting Rifle"'by Brian Pwtly. 49th ed .. 1995
''Cullam Gun Guild's 0-Piece Ri!k" by Uync: Simpson. 40!h ed..
'"'
"CUIIOmGuns."41h--SOdied..1949-1996.(lltustraiemanyfinef;ll:5-
-
10mbolt-«tionrillcs.).
".loecpl,S~'sflhuloul RepcatingDoubles" byHoltBodinson,
-491hed..1995.
"Rlgby's"by.lcnyfaans.40!hed.,1986.
" CuslomRifleConVff"Sions"byCharlesT.Havcn,51hed.,195l.(Mil•
,iarynflesinl(loponcn._).
"'CuslomSlockingthe BigBores'"byNa1eOishop.23rd.cd..l969.
"'f'romM11iw-yl(ISponer"byCharlesT.Hl'ffl.3rded.,1947;4thcd.,
1949.
-rhellun1c-rSpccials"'bylowc!lManley,37thed.. 198l(Cuil0m
boh-«tionrifles.).
-rhe Shape o(Stoc:ks" by Norm Ndwn and Da,-., Petzal. 37!1t ed.,
'"'·
"What151'C\lslom"Ri!k?"byl'eyl(lnA111ry.7thcd.• 1953.
ICRAGRl!fl
"DaysoftheKng"by T°"nsmdWhckn,141hed., l990.
"uplodedDn.-..inp:Kng--.klfxcnscnModell892-99J0..40.Spring-
fieldModrll903J0-06".lllhed..1957.
-Unclchicl(1Kf11'8"byJohnll.a,'iland.481hed.. 19'>4.
M.111181Rllfl
"Explodcd0rawings"Mauier911. 7!1ted.. 1953.
'"MauserCatalog1893-95".15thcd.1961.
""MauserModelJ71.,,d7l/84Rifles"byFrankC.Bames.281hed..
1974
""Mauser-LoeweC•talos, 1891 .. ,l(llhcd., 1956.
""MyLink:284Mauscr",byl3obBell.SOthcd.. l996.
""OriginalObemdorf"MauscrSponcrs"byMISgiLud-..igOt,on.61h
ed..1952
"'SomeNoteonMaU5CTandMannlichcrRifles"byJamesE.Fi~-
ald.61hcd.1952.
"TheBohActionSIOppcrSlock"byhckl..on,38\hed.,1984. (Somi:
dopeon1hebigborcMauscrs.).
-rheMostlmp.,r11111RifleE>-a-Made"byJimThompson.-481hed.,
19'>4.(98Mauscr.)
"The One That Nc-,-a- Wu" by Tom Turpin. 371h ed .• 1983. (About
the375MagnwnMauser.)
MlmllY Rllfl
"'AGoodRoughRillc.. byRayQrdorica.38!1tcd .. l984.(Fixinaup11t
oldmiliuuyrillcforhwt1ing.)
"'A New Sniper Round'" by uny S. Slcrett,40!h ed .• 1986.
"'JapancseLonaGuns1S39-1905"byCharlesH.Yusllllhcd.,1957.
"'Lee-Enfll'ld Rifle No. 4, M-,k I (Exploded Drawing)" by Richard A.
Hoffinan,271hed.,1973.
"Miliwy Rilles"'by Frank Bamts, 161hed., 1962
"Mllnlla Types 13.,,d 18"byClarlesS.Small.371hed..1983.(Aboul
eartyJ......-Mihiarynflcs.)
"ShoocingBritishScni<:eRlfles"byW.D.Bell~ed...1966.
""The Action Thm Ser.'ed Two Amlics" by Wilmd w....i, 48th ed.,
1994.(1917Enfll'ld.)
'"TheAfghanand llisSMLE"byJ.ckl..on,lSlhed..19111
'1lll' WeaponsofSovic\R11s,t.1""byRogcrMush.61hcd .. l9S2.
""Wor1dWarl1"1SmpmandSnipcrRifles"byKonn,dF.Schmc-r.Jr.•
SOthcd.,1996.
MISClillNEOOS RIUS
.. A Bis-Bon: Bull-pup it an EYerylhing Rine·· by H.W . SuJelll'k,
42nded., L9S8.
""A Champlin Chimpion'" by the editor. 25th ed .• 1971. (Custom
Champlin rifle.)
"A Fm! Fcathc-r-..'C'lal,I" by E.B. Mann. 40th ed., 1986.
"AGoodGun I D,,;m"1Wm1"bylceAner1.461hed...1992.
"ALiuleGun~WhoCan"(Satoaory)byl..ayneS~
42nded..1988.
"AlmoslSenousRi!k"byWilfMat(;lais.48thed..19'>4.
"BearRilles"byRJiyOrdonca.39thed..l985.
521
MBoltAction284""byBobtta&d. 19died., 1965.
""BohAa1onBna!hGunsfurDccr"byFtankB.Pmni.JSthed..l981.
MBro,,.nin,:"1T-Boll I Liu.,byG.N. TN Dencay,4 1$1td., 1987.
""BudgclSooutRifle""byJimThomp5Qn,43rd<d..1989.
,,,.
"Charles New1oo·s Levnbolt" by B~ M. Jennings, Jr., S(kh td ..
"'OWISForlheTWflltyP=t"by JamesT.Fcnder,36thtd .. 1982.
(Left-!.andtumboltactions.)
MHowGoodAreFaccoryRiflcs'"by~Fadala.47thed,1993.
""Mcuic:RillesandCartridges""byfrvikC.Bames,191hed,l96S.
MNcwMannlicherRilles""byWm=Pagc.2Sthcd.• 197 1.(All&bout
Slcyr-Mannlicherrifles.)
MNcv.100"1 FV$1Rifle""byWitfE-Pylc.42nded.1988.
"Slraighl-pullRilles"by Fimi Nielscn.4Sdied.,199l.
"Thc 1923 BSA Rifle""byLanyS.Stntu.28d'led. 1974.(Ncwinfor-
matlonon BSAriflesandcarlybehcdcarvidga.)
"ThcAssauh0nPalmiw,o"byDavidD.Brmnln,42nded, 1988
"ThcBiaLinleMannlichcr~byDonLHcnry.SOd'led..
'"'·
"ThcMountainRiflcQucstion'"by KmWamer.39thcd.. 198S.
"ThcNcwTakcdown"byKmWamer.)9thcd., 198S
"Thcl'roperBigGame Riflc.,byElmcrKcith.2ndcd .• 1946
"ThcShcqlRiflc"byJackO"C<.,nner,12thcd.• 19S8
''TheStoryofaRiflc""by KmWaLers,39thcd.,1985.
""UltimateCoinc:idencc""byWilfridWanl.44thed.l990.
"UJtnr, Ligt,t"1 Model 20'" by Layne Simpson, 40d, ed.1986.
"VannintRifles""byClyd,:,Ormond,llthed.19S9.
""Bob~byKcnWatcn.Jlnied.1979.
""Chan.,tin&.HaskinsRifles""byl..es&,.man,2Jrded., 1969.
"'Cnd Rifle Maker'" by ncl: o·c-. 10th ed.. 1956. (Al Biesm
--1hllrifles.)
""E".dSllilen-Rillcsmith""byJohnT.Amber.20thed..l966.
"Griffin & Ho••~" by Lucian Cary. 28th ed., 1974. (A hi$1,:wy IDd a
tribute.)
"'ll.algffandHisRifles"byPhilShazpe,7th<d.,l9S3.
"Jad: LewisOnGuns, Prices,and Hypc""by Ken Wamer,48thed, lw.l.
""John M. Browning: The Man and His Patents" by D.A. Tomlinson.
39thcd.,198S.
""Keith Stcpll-S1<Xkmake(". I hhed.. 19S7.
Mlenan:IM.Bro,.-ncll(1922-l982)"",37thed,l98J.
""LeonardM~AnisiinWood"".Slhed..1954.
MRcmcrnberin&Jom""(.lomAmbtt)byKcnWamer.41Stcd.,l987.
"Slodrnam Supreme" by Dale Goens, 24111 ed. 1970. (Dile Goens
andhi1nflel..)
""SloclabyLenen:,,,,-nc1r.l2thed.l9S&.
"ThcRiflcsofJ1me1Paris""byLanyS.Stcn-n.26lhcd..1972
(!nchxb,hiSIOfyofL«"srumbolts. Pan II in 27th. 1973ed)
'"Wilhelm Brmncke"by H.Jungand L. P. Daviton. 14th ed .• 1960
-IJjllfUI
""7mm-08 Rcmin&ton: Gwi and Cartridge"" by Layne Simpson, 35th
cd .. l981.(The7rnm-08inlheRcrning100M-788riflc.)
"'Rcming101140-XBRifle""byJimHorton.22Jldcd.• 1968
522
"Rcmington"s721-722:TheStoryofaSuccess""bySruanOnc,on,
36dled..1982.
MRcmington"1BiaScvcn-byBobHage~ 18thcd.. 1964.
""Teslfire: Remington Model Scvcn"".38thed.1984
""TooCioodTooSoon'"by.lohnHaviland. 45thed,199l.
IIIUS-11.1. W I -
MAmericanRiflcsToday'"byMaj.Gen.J.S.H.a1e11er,llthcd., 19ss.
""AmericanRiflcs,1955•S6-byJ.S.Ha1eher.lOthtd.• 19S6.
"ForcignAmllinAmerica.""5thcd., 19Sllhrough38thed.1984.
""forcignSponingArms""byCbarlesT.Haven.3rdcd.,1947;5thed,
l9Sl.
"GunDipRifleGuidc~byBobWallack.lSthed..l961
""RiflcRcvicw".teetionby'--"yncSimp,on.391h-50eds..lffl.l996.
(Bricfde:scripiolllofncwnflcsoflllltypcS.)
""Riflc~"'byDickSimmons..<ldled..1949.
""Riflc Roond-Up19S6-ST'byMaj.Gm.J.S.Hald>cr.llthed..t9S7.
"Rifles and SholgunsofAmcrican Makc-byMaj.Gm.J. S. llalehcr.
5thed.19S l :6thcd.• 1952
'"RiflcsofAmcricanMakc"byMaj.Gen. J.S.Ha!chcr,7thed,19SJ:
8thcd .• 19S4.
'-U.S.RifleRcvicwl9S7-S8"'byBobWallack,12thed,1958.
.. U.S.RiflesandShocgun.s""byl.arryK.ollcr.15thtd.,l96l;by.lohnT.
Amber.16th-l81heds., 1962-l964;byPctcKuhlhoff.19th-20th
cds.,1965-1966
IIUGIIIIIIUI
"New Ruger Rifles"" by Johll T. Amber. 23rd ed., 1969. (lncludc:I
Modclnbolt«tion.)
""Rug,:r'sHigl>-ICdi7.62x39"byNickCroylc.471hed,1993.
"The Model n Ru&ffRille""by Daniel Pclcrson.33rded. 1979.
"The Ruge,-220S-..ift-An lnmnt$ucoess1""by Jim Honon.29thed.
197S.(RugcrModcl n.)
-rhcllltimatc250-3000""byVemonE.Mcgee.JOthed., 1976.(Aboul
lheR~Modl:177.)
-.iJIIIIUI
""Days oflhe Springfield"" by Townsend Whelen, 15th ed .• 1961
"Thcl90JSpringficld"byAIMillcr.29thcd.• 197S.
1hc Springfield 1903 Rifles: E,ccapts"' by LL Col. Wm. S. Brophy.
USAR.Rct .• 40thcd., 1986.
WKIIITIII IIIUI
""EJcploded Drawinp: Wincheslcr Model 70."" 1711'1 ed. 1963.
"IChooseARiflc-byPaulMatthcw$.IOthed.l9S6.(Aboul•Win.
M70carbine.)
"'Modcl70W~""byBobHai,el.19thcd..196S.
"MyFirstModcl1(f'byMib:Thomas,SOd'led., 1996.
1be Model 70 Winchc:stcr 1936-1963" by Kam Nau:r. 28th ed ..
1974
"The ~LigbtSponcr"byhmcs R.Ol1.30thcd., 1976.(Aboot
lhcW111Chcs1CrModcl70Feathcr,,'Cigt,l)
"Tw,ingtheM70Winchesccr'"byBobWallcr.191hcd..1965
•'Winches1er"s Modcl70XTR'"byFrank~IIJr.,35thcd .• 1981
 - -
AckleyM98Mauseractions,309,310
-------
RussianMosin-Nagam,504
Anschutz 1432DC\mom rinc, 161 SakoLA6,S07
Anschutz Classic M14)2D rineand action, 161-165 SakoL57,507
Anschutz Classic, Custom 1532D rifle, 161 SakoL6l,508
AnschutzMII0Savagerifle,413 SakoLS79,507
Argcn1ineM91Mauserriflesandactions,129-\35 SavageMll0,509
Arisaka.Japaneseriflesandactions,41,S9-76 SavageMllOC,509
SiameseMauser.502
Barrelshankdrawings,50!-510 SpanishMl921Destroyer,S05
Brevcx Magnum Mauser. 506 TradcwindsM600(KricoM600),S07
BritishP14Enfield,506 U.S. KragJorgensen,505
Champlin.510 U.S.Ml917Enfield.S06
Danish Krag.SOS U.S.SpringfieldMl903,S05
FNBenchrest,506 U.S.SpringfieldMl903AJ,S05
French8erthier8mmlebel,503 U.S.SpringfieldMl904A4,505
FrenchMASMl936,503 Weatherby Mark V Magnwn, 510
GcrmanM98/40,504 Weatherby Mark V Vannintmaster, 510
GreckMannlichcr-Schocnaucr,504 WinchesterMS4,S08
Herter's (BSA) U9, 508 WinchesterMS4,S08
llusqvamaMS000,507 WinchesterM7022 Hornet,S08
Husqvama,506 WinchesterM70(pre-'64),S08
ltalianCarcano,503 BelgianM89Mauserrifleandaction,129,130,133,\35
ltalianYouthrifle,503 Benchrest,FNMausersing!eshotactions.230,233,234
lthacaLSA-55,508 Benchrest,M722conversionto,3S0,351
JapaneseType99,504 Bcnchrest,Sakosing!eshotactions,388
JapaneseTypes38and44,504 Berthier, Frenchrillesandaction,21-24
Lce-Enfield,503 Blank,John,customrifleandaction, 166-168
Mathieu,509 BlaserModelR84rifle, 169-173
MauserGJJ/40,502 Brazi!ianM94rifle.12I
MauserM71184.501 Brevex Magnwn Mauser actioo, 300, 310-311
Mauser M88 Commission. 501 BritishLeeMagazineSystem,77
MauscrM89Belgian,501 BritishLee-EnfieldMarkVlrifle,88
MauscrM91Argentine,501 I3ritishLee-EnfieldNo. l,MarkIIIrifleandaction.86
MauserM93,502 British Lee-Enfield No. I Mark m• rifle, 90
MauscrM94.502 BritishLee-EnfieldNo.4Mark1fi rifle,90
MauserM95,502 British Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mark IIJ rifle, 90
MauserM96,S02 BritishLee-EnfieldNo.4Marklrifleandaction.88,89
MauserM981argering,502 BritishLee-EnfieldNo.4Mark[•rifle,90
Mauser M98 Yugoslav M24, 502 BritishLee-EnfieldNo.Scarbineandaction,86
NorwegianKrag,505 BritishLee-Enfieldriflesandactions,41,200
Ranger AnnsTexas Magnwn,510 British Lee-Metford Magazine Rifle Mark I rifle, 86
RemingtonMJ0,506 BritishP14Enficldrifleandaction,200
RemingtonM30S,506 Bmo(Czech)Sponingrifles, 174-181
RcmingtonM720,506 Brno CZ 537 sponerrifle, 181
RcmingtonM721,S09 BmoCZSS0rifle, 181
RemingtonM722,S09 Brno VZ 24 rifle, 174
RemingtonM725,509 BmoZG47rifleaction, 174
RugerM77,S10 BmoZKB527Foxrifle, 181

523
BmoZKK.600seriesrilles, 174 Japanesc6.5mm,59,68,69
BmoZKK.60lrifle,175 Japanesc7.7mm,59,69
Brno ZKK 602 rifle, 175 Russian7.62mm,146
BmoZKKriflesandactions, 174-181 Sharpe&Hart7x61,428,433
BmoZK.M465rifle, 174 SiarneseSmmMauser,138
Browning A-Bolt ll BOSS rifle, 182-187 Swcdish6.Sx55mmMauscr,83,84,127
Browning A-Bolt II Hunter rifle, 182,185 U.S.30.03Springfield, 147
Browning A-Bolt II Medallion rifle, 186 U.S.30-40Krag,77,82,83
Browning A-Bolt II Stalker rifle, 186 CcnturionM98MalJSCl'rifleandaction,305
Browning A-Bolt II Varmint rifle, 186 Champlinrilleandaction,207-211
BrowningBBRLightningrifle, 193 ChileanM95Mauserriflcandaction,120, 121
BrowningBBRrifleandaction, 188-193 CohCohsmanri fle,391
Browning FN Mauser action, 236 CohSauerGrandAfiicanrifle,212
Browning Safari Magnum rifle, 232 ColtSauerrifleandaction,212-219
BSA CF2 Heavy Barrel Varmint rifle, 203 ColtSauershortactionrille,212
BSACF2Stutzenrifle,203 CohSauerSportingrifle,212
BSAEuropeanCF2Sporterrifle,203 CoopcrM21action,221,222
BSA long action, 195 CoopcrM36action,22l,222
BSAMajesticrifleandactions,194-206, 199 CooperM38action,222
BSA medium action, 194 CoopcrM38Ccnterlirerifle.220-224
BSAModelCF2riflesandaction,203 CzechBmosponingrifles, 174-181
BSAMonarchrifleandactions,194-206,200 CzechM24(VZ-24)Mauserrifle,174
BSA No. 15Targetrifle,213 CzechM33/40rifle.l03
BSA North American CF2 Sponcr rifle, 202
BSARoyalrifleandactions, 194-206,195 Dakota Arms M76 rifles and ac1ioru;, 225-229
BSAshortaction,194 Dakota M76 African Grade rifle, 228
BSA,Hener'sU9rifleandactions, l94-206.201-202.203 Dakota M76 Classic Grade rifle, 229
DakotaM76SafariGraderifle,229
Carcano,ltalianriflesandactions,53-58 Dakota M76V Varmint rifle, 228
Cartridges DanishKragaction,84-85
5.SVeloDog,220 DanishKragM89lnfantrycarbine,85
6.5/257Robcrts,69 DanishKragM89rifle,85
7.5mm French Ml929C, 26 DutchM951nfantryrille,37
7.Sx54mmFrenchMAS,26
7xS4mm,237,238,239 Enfield Pattern l913rifle, 16
7x57Mauscr,124-l26,127 Enlield,BritishPl4rifleandaction,9, 16-17
8.15x46R,235,236 Enfield,U.S.Ml917rilleandaction,9-15,41,200
llx59RFrenchGras, 18 Enna22conversionunitforM98Mauser,97,98
17CCM,220
22BabyNiedner,82 FN Browning action, 236
22CCM,220 FN Deluxe Mauser action, 231, 233
22NiednerMagnum,82 FNM98Mauserriflesandactions,230,232,233
22R-2Lovell,82 FN Magnum action, 230, 233
444Marlin,82 FNMauseraction, 12
Argcntine7.65mmMauser,l33 FNMauserbenchrestaction,230,234
BritishJ0Jlmproved,93 FNNo. laction,233
Danish 8mm (8x58R), 85 FNNo.2action,233
French7.5mmMAS,26 FNNo.Jaction,233
Gennan7.9x57,35 FNNo.4action,233
German7.9x57IS,109 FNNo.Saction,233
Gennan8x571 Mauser,109 FNNo.6action,233
German8x571SMauser,109 FNNo.7ac1ion,234
German8x57sSMauser,109 FNriflesandactions,230-236
GennanlUSx60RMauser,ll6 FNSeries300action,231,233
Gennanl!mm(43)Mauser,116 FNStoeger'sMauseractio11,230
Greek6.5mmMannlicher-Schocnaucr,52 FN Supreme Mauser action, 106, 231, 233
ltalian6.5mmCarcano,53,58 FrenchBerthierrifleandaction,21-24,77
ltalian 7.3SmmCarcano,53,58 FrenchKropatschekrifleandaction,18
524
 lndeK

Freochl..ebelrillcsandactions.18·21 ltalianCarcanoMJSshonrineandcarbinc.53
FrmchMl874Grasriflcandaction.18 JtalianCarcanoM91rifle&carbinc:,SJ
FrcnchM19l4MASrillc.26 ltalianCarcanoMl891 TSearbinc:,53
FrenchMl936MASrifleandactioo,26-31 ltalianCarcanoriflesandactiol\s,53•58
FrenchMJ936MASSpooerrine.2l7•239 JtalianModcl41rille,5J
French MAS l932rifle,26 ltalianYouthcaibinc,58
French MAS !936CR39riflc.27 Ithaca Mode! 1.SA-55 Delw::c rinc, 267
FrmchMASrifles.26-31 Ithaca Model 1.SA-55 Heavy Bam:I rine. 267
Frmchmilitarytumbolts.18-31 lthacaModelLSA-SSrifleandaction.267-271
French Ml8660wsq,otrifle, 18. 110 Ithaca Model LSA-55 Standard Grade: rille, 267
FrmchMl878Gra5-Kropatschekrifle,18 Ithaca Model 1.SA-65 Deluxe rifle, 267
frenchMl886Lebelrifle,18 lthaeaModel1.SA-65StandardGradc:rine,267
FrenchMl886/93ubelriflc.18
FrcochMl886/93R35carbinc,20 J.C.HigginsModel52rine,391
French Ml89013cnhicrrifle, 25 JapaneseArisakarinesandactiorui.41,S9-76
FreochM1907/ J5rifle,26 JapaneseArisakaType0Parairooprine,63
FrcnchMl916Bcrthierrifle.24 JapaneseArisakaType2(1942)rille,61.6J.67
JapaneseArisakaTypeJ0rille.59
Gero, Mauser rwo-shot shotgun, 296-299 JapancseArisakaTypeJSrine,59
Cieha,Mausertwo-shotshotgun,296-299 JapancseArisakaTypeJ86.5mmtrniningrine,61
Gennan M88Commi~ionriflcandaction,32·38.39.44, 77.112 JapaneseArisakaTypeJ8(1905)carbine,59
GcnnanM98Mauscuilksandactions. l0,97,98, 100-lOCJ JapaneseArisakaTypeJ8(1905)shortrine.59
German M98140 rifle and action, 38, 39-43 JapaneseArisakaTypeJ8(1905)rifle,59
GoldenEaglcM7000rifleandaction.240-243 JapaneseArisakaTypeJSrilleandaction..59
Gms.Frenchriflcandaction.18 JapaneseArisakaType44(1911)aivatrycarbine,59
Gras-Kropatschekriflcandaction,18 JapaneseArisakaType44rille.59
OreekM1903Mannlichcr-Schocnaucrriflcandaction,37,44-S2 JapaneseArisakaType97(1937)sniperrine.59
Cin:ekMl903/14rifle,44 JapaneseArisakaType99(1939)1ongrine.63
GrtekMannlichcr-Schocnaueraction,39.40,45 JapaneseArisakaType99(1939)shonrine,63
Cm,cncrGPsholpi.213 JapaneseArisakaType99(1939Jsniperrine,6J
Gustaf.CarlJOOOrifle,219 JapaneseArisakaType99(1939)rille,61
JapaneseArisakaType99(1944,1945)rifle,64
Hani11gt0n&RiclwdsonModel317Ultta.391.395 JapancseArisakaType99(\ateversion)shonrifle,63
lkrter'sJ9Mauscrac1ions,308,309 JapaneseArisakaType99rif1candactioo.60.6 1,63,64,65,
H~'Tter'sPlinker(22Homet)riflc,244-245 66,67,68,69,70
Hener'sU9riflcandactions,201-202,203 JapaneseArisakaType99sniperrifle,6J
Herter'sXKJMauseraction.308.309 Japaneseliooli::Safetyrifle,74-76
~kner's Marl: XKJ action. 308 Japanesemilitarytrainingrillcsandactions.73
Herter'sSSK3042action,202 JapaneseTypel3(1880Mlll1lta)rine,59
Herter'sSSK3043action,202 JapaneseType"r(ltaJianmadc)rille,66, 72-73
Herter'sSSK3055action,202
Herter'sSSK30S6action.202 KimberM82Cascaderifle,273,276
Herter'sSSK3057action,202 Kimber M82 Cwsic rine. 273. 276
Herter'sSSMI No. Jaction.308 Kimber M828 rifle. 274,215
Herter'sSSM2No.2action.308 KimberM82Criflc,277
•1ener'sSSMJNo.3action..308 KimberM82Hometrilleandaction.272-279
liungarianG98/40riflc,J8 KimberM82SpecialGradcrifle,272,27J
llungarianMl9JSrine.J9 KimberM84rineandactioo.280-281
llusqvamaM8000rineandaction,252-255 KleingucnthcrlmprovedKISlnsta-Fircrineandaction,282-286
Husqvama MSOl action, 248 Krng, Danishrifleandaction.84-85
liusqvama M502 action. 248 Krng,Norwegianrilleandaction,83,84
liusqvamaMSOlaction.248 Krng-Jorgcns,enriflcsandactions.77-85
HusqvamaM8000lmperialrille,252 KricoModcl 300 Hornet rifleandaction.287-291
HusqvamaM9000rine,255 KricoModcl400rifle.244
Husqvamarinesandac1i011S,246-251 Kropatschek,Frenchrineandaction,18

lntaanns Mini-Mark X rine and action, 261-266 Lebel.Frcnchrinesandaction,18-21

lnteranns.,MarkXMauseraction,256-260 Lee-Enfleldrines.86-96
525
Low-numberedM1903Springficlds.152.153
Magazine/Guardscrcw sizesandthreads.511
MannlicherM92.37
MannlicherM93,37
Mannlicher-Schomauer $pOfting rifles. 444
Mannlicher-Schomauer,Greek:Ml903ril\e$andactions.44-
'1
Mark X Alaskan Magnum riflt, 257
MarkXCavalierriflc,257
MarkXContinentalMannlicherriflc,257
MarkXMarquisrifle,257
MarkXStandardrifle.257
MarkXVisoountriflc.257
Mark X Whitworth rifle. 256. 257. 258
Martini single-shol action, 2 13
MAS.FreochM\936rifleandaction.26-3 1
Maihieukft-kandrifleandaction.292-295
Mauscr8mm,109
MauscrM67/69rifle,110
MauscrM7Jcarbine,lll
MaUSCfM71rifleandaction.32.100.II0-116
MauscrM71/84rifleandaction,32.39,IIO-l\6
MauserM88,129-135
Ma1.1SCJM88experimenta1riflc,129
MauserM88riflc, 100
MallSnM89.129-135
MauscrM89Belgianriflc,53.77,129
MaUSCTM90,129-135
MauscrM90Turkishriflc. 129
MoUSCTM91,129-135
MauserM91Argentincrifleandaction.l29
MauserM91Spanishriflcandaction.129,130
MauserM92.117•128
MauserM92Spanishriflcandaction,1l7
MauserM93,61.117-128
MauserM93Spanishriflcsandactions,117-119,120,121
MauscrM93rifle.41,100
MauserM94.61.1l7- 128
MauscrM94Swedishriflcsandac1ion.121-122, 123.124, 128
MauscrM95,61,1l7-l28
MauscrM95Chilcanrifleandaction.120,121
MauserM95Spanishriflcsandactions.117-119,120,121
MauscrM96,61,1l7-128
MauserM96Swedishriflcsandactions,121-122,123,124,
128
MauserM98breechoover,98-99
MauserM98riflesandactions.97,98,I00-109
MauserM98shortactions.l 04.105
MauserM98Spor1CTS.300-304
Mausertwo-sholsholgun.296-299
Mauser.8mmSiamcseriflcandaction.136-139
Mauser,AckleyM98action,309,3l0
Mauser,BrevexMagnl.DTiaction.300.310-311
Mauser.CenturionM98action.305
Mauser,commercialsponingrifles.300-304
Mauser,Herter'sJ9actions,308.309
Mauser,Marl.Xaction.256-260
526
Mauscr,miscellancouscommercialactions,305-311
Mauser,SantaBarbaraaction.306-307
Mauser,SpanishM93,l17
Mosin-Nagant.Russianriflcsandactions.19,140-146
MossbergM800carbinc,316
MossbergMSOODetw:eSporter,316
MossbergMSOOriflcandaction.312·316
MossbergMSOOVarmint-Target,316
MossbergM810rifle,3l6
MossbergMl500,438
MossbergModclRM7rifle.316
Nationa!Match,Springfieldsponerandwgetactioci.s,IS0,151
Newton.Charles.origjnalturnboltrifleandaction.317-322
Norwegian.Kragrifleandaction.83,84
NRA,Springfic:ldsponer, 151.152
Omegalllrifleandaction.323-327
Page-LewisModclDrifle,244
Parker-HaleMl200rifle,307
Paneml4Enfieldrifleandaction.200
Plinker.HC11ef'122 11ometrifleandaction,244-24S
RangerArms, TexasM.agnurnriflcandaction,450-453
RemingionMJOE.,cprcsscarbine,342
RerningtOnM30rifle.l7.342-344
Remington M30A Standard rifle, 343
Rcmingion M30R carbine, 343
RcmingtonM30Srifle.17,342-344
RemingtOnM30SLrifle,343
RemingtonM30SRcarbinc,343
RemingtonMJOSXcaJbinc,343
RemingtonM40-Xrifles.345-357
Remingt0nM40-XB RangemastttTUJt(riflc, 357
Remington M40-XBBR Bmchresl Match rifle. 3S7
Remington M40-XCNational Match~ rifle, 357
Remingt0nM600carbinc,334,345-357
RemingtonM600MagnurncaJbine,352
Remington M600 Mohawk rifle, 352
RemingtonM600Standardcarbinc,352
RemingtonM660Magnurnrifle,352
RemingtonM660riflcandaction,334,345-357
Remington M700 AOL rifle, 354,356
Remington M700 African Plains rifle. 356
RemingtOn M700 Alaskan Wildcmcss rifle. 356
Remingion M700 BDL Left-Hand rifle, 354
Remington M700 IJDL ri fle, 356
Remington M700 IJDLSS rifle. 356
Remington M700 Classic rifle. 354, 356
RemingionM700Custornrifle,35S,356
RerningionM700Mountainriflc,339•341
RerningtonM700riflcandaction.345-357
Reming10nM700Safaririfle.355.356
Remingion M700 Varmint rifle. 355. 356
Remingion M700 Varmint Synthetic rifle, 356
Remingion M700 Varmint Synthetic StainlCS$ rifle, 355
RcmingtonM720rifle, 13,17.342-344
RcmingtonM720Ariflc,344
RcmingtonM720Rcaibinc,344
RcmingtonM720Srifle,344
RcmingtonM72 1 Deluxe rifle, 348
RemingtonM721riflcsandactions.334,345-357
Rcmingt0nM7llbcnchreslaction,350
Rcmingt0rtM722riflesandactio!ls,345-357
Rcming100M725rifleandacrion.345-357
RcmingtonM788rifleandaction.,328-333
RcmingtonModelSevencaibineandaction,334-338,339
Remington Model Seven Custom KS rifle, 339
Remingt0n Model Seven Custom MS rifle, 339
Rcmingt0nModelSevenSSrifle,339
Remington Model Seven Youth rifle, 339
Rcmingtm XP-100 pistol, 356
Remingt0rt-Leesponingrifk:s.86
Remo Mauser two-shot shocgun, 298
RugerM77Exprcss,358
RugerM771ntemational,358,363
RugerM77 Marti: 11 All-Wcatherrifle,367,369
RugerM77Marli:IIExpres.1rifle,367
Ruger M77 Marti: II International caibinc, 367
RugerM77MarlcJJLeft- Handrifle,370
RugerM77 Marti: II Magnum rifle, 367,371
RugerM77Marli:Ilrilleandaction.367-374
Ruger M77 Marlo: II Ultra Light rifle, 367
RugerM77Sponer,366
RugerM77UltraLight,358,363
RugerM77/2211omctril1eandaction,375-380
Ruger M77M Magnwn, 358, 366
Ruger M77RS Mark II rifle, 367
RugerM77VVarminter,358,366
Ruger M77VI' Marlo: II Target rifle, 367
Ruger0rigina]M77rifleandaction,358-366,375
RumanianM92rillcs.37
Rwnanian M93 rifles. 37
Rus.sianMosin-Nagant9 1138riflc, 140
RussianMosin-Nagant91rif1es,140
RussianMosin-Nagant91/30rif1es.140
RussianMosin-Nagant9 1/30sniperrif1es,140
RussianMosin-NagantMl891riflesandactions,19
RussianMosin-NagantM1910caibines,141
RussianMosin-NagantMl938caroine,141
RussianMosin-NagantMl944caroine.141
Sako Al actions.381,388
SakoA2actions,381,388
SakoA3actions,381,388
Sakobcrochrcstsinglcshotrifleandaction,381,388
SakoClassicrifles,381,390
Sako Deluxe Lighr,.'t'ight rifles, 381,390,393
SakoFi~lassriflc,381,390
SakollighPowcrrifle,395
SakoHllllterLighr,.righ1rifk:s.381
SakoHllllterModel.390,393
SakolA2rifle,394
SakolA6rifle,381,392,393,394
SakoL46Vixcnaction,381
Sako L57Forestcracticn,381.385,386
Sako L57riflc,392,393,395
Sako L6 1 Finnbcaraction,381,386,387,388,394
SakoL6 1RFinnbearri11e,381,395
Sako1A6lrifle,381,386,394,395
Sako1A61 Vi,r.enaction,388
SakoL469action,388,395
SakoL579F~action,381.386,387,394,395
SakoLaminatedModelrifle,390,393
SakoMannlicher-Stylecaibine,381,390
SakoMode172riflc,395
SakoMode1322riflc,39I
Sako PPC USA BR/Varmint rifle, 381, 390
SakoPrcscnwionL6 1Rrifle,395
Sakoriflcsandactions.381-395
SakoSafariGraderifle,381,390
SakoSupaDeluxerifle,381, 390
SakoTRG-21 rifle,381,390
Sako TRG-Srifle,38 1,390,395
SakoVannint HcavyBarrelriflc,381
SakoWhitctaiVDattucriflc,395
SantaBarbaraM98Mauseraction.306-307
Sauer(Colt)rifleandaction,212-219
SavageM19Hriflc,403
SavageM23rifltandaction.402-408
SavageM23Sp(ll1errif1e,402
SavageM23ASporterriflt,402
SavageM23Brifles.402-408
SavageM23Criflc,402-408
SavageM23Driflcs,245,402-408
SavageM40Sponer,~12
SavageM45SuperSponerrifles,40'J-412
SavagcMll0Striesriflesandactioos,413-423
SavagcMllOCrifle,413,414
SavageMIIOCLriflc,420
SavagcMll0Erifle,420
SavageMllOESrifle,420
SavageMllOSrifle,420
Savagc M lllrifle,420
SavageMlllFClassic Hunterriflc,422
SavageM1I IFCXP3Packageriflc,422
SavageMIIIGClassicHunterri11c,4ll
Savage Ml 12 BT Competition Target rifle. 422
Sa~,ageM112Varrnintriflc,420
SavageMllnVSSVarmintrifle,423
Savage M114CU Classic Uhra rifle. 423
SavageMl16FSSStandardWeatherWarriorriflc,423
SavageMl16SESafariExpressrifle,423
Savagc M340rifles,424-427
Savage M342riflc,424
SavageMl919NRA Targeirifle.402
SavageMl920rifleandaction.396-401
SavagtM\92().l926rille,396
Savage-StevmsM340ritleandaction.424-427
Schultz&LarscnM54Jrille,428,429
Schultz & Larsen M56A Super Magnum rifle and action, 431
Schultz&LarsenM60riflc,429
Scliultz&LarsenM65riflc,429,430
527
Schul~& Larsen M68DLrifle,430,431
Schul~&Larsenrilles,428-433
Smith& WessonandMossbergMISOOrifles,434-439
Smith & Wesson M 1500 MOl.lrltaiOttr rifle, 437
Smith&WessonMISOOrifleandaction,434-437
Smith&WessonMl700rifle,437
Smith & Wesson Ml 700LS Classic ~lunler rifle. 437
Smith&Wcssonriflcandaction.249-251
Smith & Wesson rifles made by Hw:q\'ama, 246-251
SpanishM9 1Mauscrriflcandaction,129,130,132,133,l35
SpanishM92Mauscrrifle,117
SpanishM93MauscrriOesandactions.117-120.l21.123.128
SpanishM93$honrifle.121
SponcoAnge1Model80Targetrifle,443
SponcoM44Targetrifleandaction.440-443
SpringfieldMl903riflesandactions.9.16.l47-158
SpringfieldMl903Alrifle.1S2
SpringfieldM1903A2, 154
SpringficldMl903A3riflesandactions.147-l58
SpringfieldMl903A4rifle,147-158
Springficld,lownwnbercd, 152
Springficld.NationalMatchsportcrandtargctactions,150,lSI
Springfield.NRA sporter.ISi. 152
Sce,,·msM322rifles.424.425
Sce,,•ensM325rillcs.424.425
S1cyr-MannlicherModelSLri fleandaction,444-449
StoegerPeerlessaction.230
S{unn, Ruger& Co .. M77rifleandaction,358-366
Swedish llusq=actions.246-251
SwedishM38Mausershonrifle,122
SwcdishM41Mausersniperrifle,122
SwedishM94Mausercarliineandaction.249
SwedishM96Mauserrifle,100,249
SwedishMouscrriflcsandactions, 121-128
Swiss Rubin rifle, 77
Texas Magnum Ma\'erick action. 450
Texas Magnum Ma\'erick single shoe accion, 450
Texas M8&Jlum riOes and actions. 450-4S3
Texas Magnumsingleshol action,451.452, 453
ThaiModel4S/46riflcs.136
TradcwindsBmiei,; Ma1JSCractions. 310-311
TradcwindsHuskyrifle,458
TradewindsHusq,'lllllaactions.246-251
Tradcwinds Husq,'lllllaM8000rifleandaction.2S2-255
TradewindsM600DS rille,454
TradcwindsM600Krifle,454
TradcwindsM600Srille,4S4
TradcwindsM6128action,454
TradcwindsM6357action,454
TradcwindsSerics600riOesandaccions,454-4S8
TwtishM90Ma=rifle. 129,130.133. 135
TurltishM93Mauserrifle,121
U.S.KngMl892rifle.77
U.S.KragMl896carbine.77
U.S. KBgMl898rifleandcamine, 77
U.S.KragMl899carbine.77
528
U.S.Krag-Jorgensenrillesandaction. 77-83
U.S.M l903Springfieklriflesandactions,147-158
U.S.M l903A3Sprinsficldrifleandaction. 147-158
U.S.M 1917Enfieldriflcandactioo,9-15,41,200
U.S.SpringficldM1903Mortl,ISO
Weathcrtiy Mort V Magnum rifle and action, 459,464
Wea1herby Mort V Vanninlmaster action, 464
WeatherbyVanguardriflcandaction,465-469
WcatherbyVanguardWcalherguatdrifle,46S
WinchesterM43rillcandaction.24S.470-474
WinchesterM43SpocialSpof1cT,470
WinchesterM43Swldan!Sponer.470
Winchester MS4 National Match Model, 487
WinchesterMS4rillcandaction,470.487-497
WiochesterMS4Sniper'sModel,487
WiochesterMS4TargetModel,487
WiochesterM70(1968)riflcandaction.48I
WiochesterM70Africanrifle.491
WinchesterM70Alaskanrifle.491
Winclw:stcrM70BullGun,491
WinchcsterM70ClassieFcatherwcight,479
WiochcsterM70Classicrifleandaction.47>479
WiochestcrM70ClllssicSupcrExprcssrifle,479
WinchesterM70ClassicSuperGradcrifle.479
WincheslerM70Fcathcrweightrifle.491.492,493
Wiochester M70 Model 8 Single Shell rifle, 494. 495,496
WinchestcrM70NationalMa1chrifle,491
WinchesterM70post-'64Africanrifle,480
Wiochesler M701)061- '64 Magnum rifle, 480
WiocheslerM70post-'64Standardrifle,480
WiochesterM70post-'64Targetrifle,480
Winchester M70 post- '64 Varmint rifle. 480
WinchesterM70prc-'64riflesandaction,49l-497
WinchesterM70Snipcr's Matchrifle,491
WiochestcrM70Spor1erDllMrifle,486
WinchesterM70Stainlessrifle,486
WiochcslerM70Standardrillcandcarl,inc,491
WiochcslerM70SuperGradcrillcs.49]
WinchcslcrM70Targcsrillc.491
Winchester M70 Varmint rifle. 491
WinchesterM70WCS1Cmerrifle.486.491
Winchester M70 XTR Featherweight rifle, 486
Wiochester M70 XTR M8&Jlum Sporter rifle, 486
Winchester M70 XTR Sponer rifle, 484
Winchester M70 XTR Super Express Magnum rifle, 486
Wiochester M70 XTR Vanninl Sporter rifle, 486
WinchesterM670rifleandw.:tion,483,484
WinchesterM770rifleandaction,48),484
WiochcsterMl88Sriflc,82
Wioches1crNewM70rifleandaction,480
XKJ Herter's Mauser action. 308. 309
YugoslavianM24Mauscnction.105
ZG478rnorif\eandaction.174
ZKKBmorillesandactions.174-181
 t::.:I • • Deutsche Waffenfabrik Georg Knaak, BerUn SW. 48 • • !-♦~:!

maum-Strtlfnladtr•RtPtlitr•Blrscbblicbstn
Modell 98 (audl Modell 19021071 10 genannl). llr Hervorragende ballistlsche Eirenschalten. 'Wil
Zur J•gd ,uf slarhs Hocl1wlld, Scl1w,r1wlld, Ekhe, 81ren, Tiger etc. g1nz 'IOrzOgllth geelgnet,

1 -~ ---=--=:::::__, __ !!1_=.

~
~. ~---
9 i
Anfang,.O .. ch•indighit ca. 640 mu k.
l h11111 rii5
Anf111gs--Ge.,h•indigkeit: ca. 610 nu~k
?
l,ebtndige Kran: ca. 312 mkg, l.ebflidige liran: ca. 347 mkg.

Eiiii#):s-Et> 'ffiilf M-iH ?

Armee-BirechbOchee Kai . a oder 9 mm

So. l=IOl:► 1 $lr1lfenlld1r-Ro,-lltr•Bnehbleh11 ,. Original lbuu r" Modell !l/111907, Arm ttmodoll ohne
Steel,.,, neueotes Syotem, rund,r Stahll1uf, hldkorn anf S.ltel, !itandvi,ie, mit I Kl1ppe, eingHchM,.n )00 und 200 m.
ilmlliohe Ei,enkile 1ief,obw1r1., Schlou mil angebogontm Ka,umn knopr, Ab,ug mit llrnokpnnkt, liu., holHohan mit
P; , wlmgri!f und r; , ohhant, RiembDgel, gar1nt1ert ladellote !llnk1ion und vonngliche ScbnH leistung M S~.-
- - - - ■ •I ........... E11t11•h"'•"
F1r1Ht1hrm1111lqt siebe noter .Zi~lf•rntobre•
P'f"•·•• .. .,.·••111111111 - - - -

From the "Deutsche Waffenfabnk Georg Knaak, Berlin" Calalog (1910)