Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
As I get older I find myself appreciating the long gun more and more. I used to own about 5 handguns for every shoulder arm but now it's about 2 to 1.
I have definite preferences in rifles. (Gee, who would have guessed that?) My first love was... and is... the Mauser 98. In my opinion this is the pinnacle of bolt action rifles and in the well over 100 years since its introduction nobody has significantly improved on the design. I have several military issue 98s, a number of factory built sporting rifles based on the 98, and a couple rifles I built myself. Below are a couple of my Mausers.
Here's a BRNO 602 I bought in 1986. We had a trade embargo against Czechoslovakia at the time and I had to do some tricks to get this thing imported through Canada.
I grabbed this one at a local show a couple years back. It's a classic conversion of a military 98 by a Bavarian gunsmith. Very elegant.
I picked up this Mark X action on GunBroker for $245. I added a Douglas barrel and European style stock with checkered steel butt plate and the usual features I prefer like the barrel mounted front swivel and hooded front sight. The barrel was a slightly used take-off a smith had and the stock was a "second" although I cannot find any flaws in it so I got both for a great price. I did most of the work myself and I figure I have about $450 invested.
Along the way I started to appreciate single-shot rifles. I don’t know why… maybe I just being deliberate and slow. As a photography student I liked working with the view cameras best, and they are one photo at a time and then go set it all up again affairs. I have come to realize that the Ruger #1 (other than the heavy barrel models) is the most beautiful production rifle made. I have gone a little nuts with them.
I also like other types of single-shot rifles. Here are a couple.
So, there you have it. While I have many different action types in my rifle inventory, the 98 and just about any single-shot model remain my favorites. Feel free to share your thoughts and photos.
I have definite preferences in rifles. (Gee, who would have guessed that?) My first love was... and is... the Mauser 98. In my opinion this is the pinnacle of bolt action rifles and in the well over 100 years since its introduction nobody has significantly improved on the design. I have several military issue 98s, a number of factory built sporting rifles based on the 98, and a couple rifles I built myself. Below are a couple of my Mausers.
Here's a BRNO 602 I bought in 1986. We had a trade embargo against Czechoslovakia at the time and I had to do some tricks to get this thing imported through Canada.
I grabbed this one at a local show a couple years back. It's a classic conversion of a military 98 by a Bavarian gunsmith. Very elegant.
I picked up this Mark X action on GunBroker for $245. I added a Douglas barrel and European style stock with checkered steel butt plate and the usual features I prefer like the barrel mounted front swivel and hooded front sight. The barrel was a slightly used take-off a smith had and the stock was a "second" although I cannot find any flaws in it so I got both for a great price. I did most of the work myself and I figure I have about $450 invested.
Along the way I started to appreciate single-shot rifles. I don’t know why… maybe I just being deliberate and slow. As a photography student I liked working with the view cameras best, and they are one photo at a time and then go set it all up again affairs. I have come to realize that the Ruger #1 (other than the heavy barrel models) is the most beautiful production rifle made. I have gone a little nuts with them.
I also like other types of single-shot rifles. Here are a couple.
So, there you have it. While I have many different action types in my rifle inventory, the 98 and just about any single-shot model remain my favorites. Feel free to share your thoughts and photos.
