# Whoooooo!!!



## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

I've been in the process of collecting parts to build a truck gun. Chamber reamer should be here day after tomorrow to finish the chamber. Loaded up 50 rounds of ammo to get it sighted in after it's done.

Reciever is a Turkish Mauser 98, which is a large ring Reciever with small ring barrel threads. 

The barrel is a 24" factory remington that the threads were cut off of and, retreaded for the mauser. Short chambered (it's gonna be a 308)

Stock is a butler creek synthetic with a surprising long LOP, which is good since I am 6'10"

I had to drill and tap it, so am hoping I got the holes straight. Looks good. Forged the bolt, and did a bit of thinning on the trigger guard. I did have to do some fitting to get the Reciever in the stock since it's designed for a milspec German 98. 

Has a left hand low swing safety. 

Stock 2 stage trigger, but I'm gonna change that when money allows. 

I've got maybe $200 into this rifle including the scope, which I found one day while Hunting.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

This will require pictures. Many and detailed!
GW


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Well....

Here is one of the rifle.



















Got a ahead of myself and forged the bolt before I had the stock, so it doesn't line up, but it's a truck gun, right?










Safety and rear base.










Front base.










The cut out in the stock was a quarter inch short on the front for the floor plate so I trimmed that out. I also had to open the barrel channel some.










And finally, the scope I found on some four wheeler trail while out hunting.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

OMG: It's a _real_ rifle!
I just _love_ real rifles!
Nice work, bolt-handle-to-stock fit notwithstanding.

One quibble: No iron sights. Every real rifle needs back-up iron sights.

As my family always said, "Use it in good health."
And I add: "May it always hit that at which you aim it."


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> OMG: It's a _real_ rifle!
> I just _love_ real rifles!
> Nice work, bolt-handle-to-stock fit notwithstanding.
> 
> ...


Thank you Steve. It is a work in progress. I would like to add iron sights someday, but will have to build a jig to get the holes straight. The scope base was a bit easier since I was able to use levels and a caliper. I havn't shot it yet, and am hoping the holes are good on the scope bases.

And I did not thread the barrel. I got it on gun broker and my dad cut the shank and threaded it on his lathe for me.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Like! I thought that we would have to wait on the pics. Sorry, but if you run see through mounts, you are required by Montana law to have iron sights to look at through those see through mounts. If that is not true, it should be!:smt033
GW


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Lol. I hate those rings. They were on the scope when I found it. Scope rides way to high. But with time, you will discover that I am extremely cheap (and broke) and didn't wanna spend a tenth of what I have into the rifle on a set of rings.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Well, most rifle 'purists' will rake you over the coals for the see-through mounts, but I understand using what you have.

If you or your dad know how to re-crown the muzzle, why not shorten the barrel to 20"~


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

I may. I wanna shoot it as it is first. On the high line where I live, we get some very long shots. So if it shoots as good as it looks (I think it's beautiful as, a work gun), I probably won't change it.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Good plan. Let us know how it shoots. Mauser action and .308 should be a winner.


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

I'm putting some various ammo together as we speak and should get to shoot it tomorrow afternoon after finishing the chamber.


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Well...I should have a reamer Monday. I ordered it on Tuesday, so I am sitting here waiting.

Mean while I found its twin brother that my dad built when he lived in this town....in 22/250.


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Got the chamber reamed out and loaded up some various ammo for it and headed to the range. Shot right at a inch at 100 yards all day. I am pretty dang happy with that for a first try. I imagine it will shoot better once it is bedded and I free float the barrel.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Sierra_Hunter said:


> ...I imagine it will shoot better once it is bedded and I free float the barrel.


Rifles are funny things.
Some of them like full-barrel contact, all the way down the length of the fore-end. Some of them prefer only some upward pressure at the very tip of the fore-end. And some like to be free-floated for their entire length.
You may find that free-floating the barrel makes things worse. Or, then again, maybe it'll be better. But you never know 'till you try.

Just expect the unexpected.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

IMHO, If you want that gun to shoot up to it's full potential there are a couple of things to consider.

Is the gain in accuracy that you are looking for worth it when you said that the gun is already shooting 1 M.O.A.?

What is the budget for your truck gun?

Beyond that I would spend the money on the bedding kit, float the barrel, and then study up on lapping a barrel and maybe having a pro look at the trigger. Your accuracy will improve just a bit more if you measure your chamber and build your cartridges to match. We used to push them out to .020 from the lands on our varmint rifle loads and it made a difference in group size.
GW


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

If it already shoots MOA, I would spend some time tweaking the load to find what it likes best, and making the trigger right. Those two things (especially the trigger) has shrunk my rifle groups more than anything else I've done. Lately, I favor short, heavy barrels that are free-floated, because barrel heating takes longer, and there tends not to be as much variation in group size between different (but similar) loads.

Of course, I rarely shoot beyond 300 yards, so this may not have the same advantage at longer ranges.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

+1
You're still alive and uninjured. Good job

:smt033


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Rifles are funny things.
> Some of them like full-barrel contact, all the way down the length of the fore-end. Some of them prefer only some upward pressure at the very tip of the fore-end. And some like to be free-floated for their entire length.
> You may find that free-floating the barrel makes things worse. Or, then again, maybe it'll be better. But you never know 'till you try.
> 
> Just expect the unexpected.


Since my dad was a gunsmith, it doesn't cost me much to tinker with it. Right now, cash...I have maybe $50 into this gun. My plan to try first is glass bed the action, and free float the barrel, as well as bed an aluminum rod into it to make it stiffer. Then I might give it few pounds of forend pressure to see what happens.


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

goldwing said:


> IMHO, If you want that gun to shoot up to it's full potential there are a couple of things to consider.
> 
> Is the gain in accuracy that you are looking for worth it when you said that the gun is already shooting 1 M.O.A.?
> 
> ...


I've got about $50 into this gun right now. I've got a budget of about 250 so I've got room to work. I already have all the stuff to bed it, so not much there. I did do some welding and filing on the trigger to get rid of the second stage, and then added a set screw to take up over travel. It is quite a bit better now.

As for the chamber, I cut it so the bolt closes snuggly on a FL sized case, and then gave it a 11° throat that is about .0025" from the mouth of a trimmed case. I am not at all disappointed with a 1 moa group on my first try, but I think it can do better with some tuning.


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## Sierra_Hunter (Feb 17, 2015)

Bisley said:


> If it already shoots MOA, I would spend some time tweaking the load to find what it likes best, and making the trigger right. Those two things (especially the trigger) has shrunk my rifle groups more than anything else I've done. Lately, I favor short, heavy barrels that are free-floated, because barrel heating takes longer, and there tends not to be as much variation in group size between different (but similar) loads.
> 
> Of course, I rarely shoot beyond 300 yards, so this may not have the same advantage at longer ranges.


Where I am at, 300 yards is a average shot. The 24" barrel gets me a few extra FPS which helps with trajectory.


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