MorgansBoss

Just a little Crescent 44XL I've been messing with off and on. Purchased a box lot of "assorted 410 parts" from an estate sale. Turned out to be some odds and ends, two frames about 75 to 80% complete and one set of barrels for one of them. The barrels are solid and ring like a church bell. Then I discovered instead of .410, they're 44XL. It's the 20-25% of parts that are missing that's been the challenge. I'm not adverse to benchmade parts, but it can get interesting when there's not at least a pattern or picture to guide you. Don't recall if I've shown it here or not, but a few years ago I screwed together another sort of unique firearm on an old Stevens 20ga. frame acquired under similar circumstances. Steven's aren't particularly known for strength of lock-up and the old gun's history was totally unknown. A 22LR double seemed the obvious way to go! Just the rifle to have when you're stalking through the darkness behind the chicken coop, subject to being charged by a possum at close quarter.

Man from what I can see, that sleigh was a steal @ $150! Most of the cheap ones are wicker and damaged. Tough replacing pieces of wicker in the middle of a sleigh. Yours looks like wood though. Thin wood like old crates or drawer bottoms was made from maybe. Popular I bet. I'm envious.

Boys, in 1976 the local league of women voters came to my high school and successfully registered the entire senior class to vote. It was a total surprise so nobody had a chance to discuss or even think about it before hand. We were the generation of Watergate. I remember the teachers stopping everything and having us watch the impeachment hearings on TV as a historical event. Consequently, years later when it came to picking a party affiliation when we were seniors, the vast majority checked "unaffiliated." Most of our families were hard working people, often union members and democrats. Always one to be different, I thought of two men I admired, my late grandfather and Theodore Roosevelt and I signed up (like them) as a republican. I remained a republican, even taking a very active role in state politics for years until 2010. I had become disgusted at how "the party" had become so focused on being anti-democrat, on un-seating any democrat regardless of his record, I was ready to bail. I made these feelings known to some of the hierarchy of the party in my state. It made me suspect. I wasn't ostracized, but I was clearly not thought of the same by those sweethearts of the machine. It was then that I realized the goal had changed. It was no longer about getting people elected who would best represent the constituent views, it was about "the party" gaining power. In 2011 I after 35 years as a republican, I officially changed my affiliation to "unaffiliated." Since then it's gotten progressively worse. Sure Clinton (any of them) is everything those of us on this board fear, committed to ending gun ownership, but if they thought it would get more votes than it would lose, most republicans would be right there with them. Politics is no longer about representing the people. It's about empowering certain people and getting a lock on power. Most of his detractors as well as a lot of his supporters fail to realize Trump's greatest attraction to most isn't his promises or rhetoric, but the simple fact he's an outsider. Cruz, while preferable to Clinton if they're the only choices, might as well sleep in a ventriloquist's trunk. NOTHING he say's hasn't been screened, weighted and prepared by a band of consultants for it's appeal. Personally he may be a great guy who believes everything we do, but the fact he is willing to play that game makes him sickening to me. Phew.... Well, a couple of you may remember me. Haven't been in here for far too many years. This isn't how I wanted to make a re-emergence but, uh. Well I guess ya hit me at the right... or wrong time. Since only party members can vote in the primary in my state, luckily I haven't HAD to make a decision yet. The prospect of actually voting for Trump for president is frightening to me. Right now though, voting for ANY of the likely candidates to run against him (even those we're not aware of yet) is even scarier. Howdy, boys! Glad some of ya are still in the game. Thinking about throwing my lot back into it to, in which case ya'll are gonna have to put up with me again.

My best secret is timing purchases so the UPS man comes on days my wife is not going to be home.

I used a Rem .243Win. barrel on a Turk ages ago. It was one of the most accurate Mausers I've had. Best shot was a groundhog at 300+yds. I later cut a kid-sized stock for it and sold for a ridiculous low price to a friend for his son's first CF rifle, with the stipulation that when he grew I would either swap stocks with a full-sized composite one I had or I'd buy the rifle back. Five years later he mentioned to my wife he'd traded it on another rifle for his kid since he'd outgrown the stock. Good deeds never go unpunished. It does take some work but not much as I recall. It's been a long time ago though. Used to be a supplier in Baltimore who specialized in Swede stuff. I bought several NOS, packed in white grease, 6.5 barrels from them. Try as I may, I can't remember the name though. I'll check. There may still be one laying around here somewhere.

Just came back from a "meeting" with a guy who's running for my boss - Sheriff. To bad I don't have a web cam, you guys would get a kick out of seeing me fart smoke rings!

If there were a meter on my TV I'm afraid it'd be a toss up between the history channel and the weather channel. I don't watch much TV and "the networks don't seem to have anything I'm interested in. Tom Petty said it years ago, "...71 channels and nothing on..."

Hope this works. The rectangle in the center of the photo - where the road make a 90 degree turn to the left and ends at the river - is my friend's "farm" in South Africa. That rectangle is 4500 acres. http://www.terraserver.com/imagery/image_g...=340&t=pan&dat= Alright! it did work. The faint lines seen in the photo are the "farm roads" around the property boarders. The river is the Mogol, a large tributary to the Limpopo of National Geographic fame. The larger whitish lines are actual roads. The one across the river is the main line to Botswana about forty miles away (at the Limpopo). The round dark green area seen in the upper right corner of the farm is the hill where I shot my Wildebeest. OK, enough, enough....

Whew! That 60 degree weather from a week ago done spoiled me. It was 9 here this morning and with about a ten mph breeze. I think I was home from work (35 min.) before it even started getting "comfortable" in the jeep. Come on spring!

Here's mine although its only held in the bench vise for photo purposes. Its normally securely bolted to a very heavy bench.

The baseball style rosin bags do work. Its not necessary to cut it open but simply pat it on the bushings and barrel. The parts will be coated with the fine white powder. While not as sticky as the rosin sold by Brownells it does work and is easier to clean up. I've heard of folks using fiddle-bow rosin from music stores to. Not sure how much demand there is for pitcher's bags in your neck of the woods but I bet there's a music store there abouts. Might be worth a try. Any penetrating oil will help to lube the threads but MUST BE TOTALLY REMOVED from the point of vise contact. You didn't mention what type wrench you're using but a correctly fitting one can be at least as important as the vise. Mine is a simple home-made affair made from a two foot length of 1x2 steel with a U-bolt forged to perfectly fit the receiver. It is also important to clamp the vise as tight as possible and have it mounted tightly. Read all of this as - nothing can give but the barrel. In my own case, once the barrel is clamped and the wrench is tightened at about eleven o'clock, I whack the end of the wrench with a two-pound hammer. Just one solid whack is all it usually takes to get things moving on most Mausers. The added momentum of that heavy steel bar ("wrench") doesn't hurt! I regularly use sheet lead to avoid marking the parts but then I use a hydraulic jack in my home-made vise. Usually crushes the oak bushings and the lead squishes out like Ketchup from a stepped-on packet at McDonald's.

This may sound stupid but what is the intended purpose... other than making a light rifle? I mean, what caliber are you intending this for? All that steel is there for a reason - stiffness and strength. Taking it away could be OK for some calibers but could also be counter-productive for others. I've honey combed the mag box before but doubt the weight savings is worth the work unless you're interested in trimming fractions of an ounce to make a specific weight class for competition. Beyond that there are aluminum floor plates, cutting off and replacing the guard bow, honey combing the bottom metal, alloy triggers, bolt shrouds, knobs, etc... A hollowed synthetic stock is probably the easiest weight saver though and takes nothing from receiver strength.

That's interesting. Can't help but think though, while "cud" and "fighting words" is what makes us who we are, maybe we need to put more work into posting under the other topics. I've noticed that this sort of goes in spurts and once somebody posts something interesting the ball seems to get rolling. Any thoughts?

First off, congratulations Monty! I'm beginning to search for "my next job" after 20+ years in the current one. I'm taking my time and being picky since there really isn't any hurry - my job is too hard to fill for them to throw me out no matter how bad they'd like to. I haven't had regular days off or holidays since 1985. I haven't worked day-time hours since 1989. Working nights and having days off during the week most of the time (my days rotate) has spoiled me as far as having as much "free time" as I can rob from my sleep. Hate going hunting or fishing on weekends anymore because of all the people! Most folks don't understand when I say going back to "regular hours" is one of the scariest things about the prospect of finding another job. Let me know how you adjust!

As many of you know I've taught firearms and hunter safety for a long time. As far as I've been able to tell this incident violated several basic safety rules. First and foremost, not keeping track of everyone and everything that could be harmed by your shooting and acting accordingly - not shooting towards them. That was Mr. Chaney's fault. Mr. Whittington however is equally at fault (well not equally, but stupidly at least) for venturing into the field of fire without announcing himself. That said, things can get pretty exciting during a covey flush and if you're concentrating on a bird (as you should be) as you swing, the background can be pretty fuzzy. There's no excuse for shooting someone "by accident." Any time you have a gun in your hands you are responsible for where it points. If it is pointing towards another person or anything that you do not intend to shoot you're negligent. It really is THAT simple. A rule I hammer into students is; "Know your target and what's beyond it." I feel for everyone involved in this incident. It has been made light of in the media and also made to be something it isn't - more serious than it was, a cover-up because there wasn't an immediate press release, etc... I'm sure it's something we'll here more on in the future either as a comment on Chaney, Bush and/or hunting. I just wish I could wrangle an invite to a ranch where you get two coveys in such short order!

Well alrighty then... where do I send the letter thanking you for the excellent information provided on the rewards of being an Army nurse? That'll be one!

Good photos and explaination! An added benefit of this modification - or any use of the original trigger - over an after market adjustable trigger is that you don't have to do as much inletting of the critical web between magazine and wrist / tang. Approach this or any modification of the trigger / sear / cocking piece with care though and ALWAYS finish any adjustment with an application of locktite or similar thread locking compound. Also keep in mind that "hair triggers" while adding to accurate shooting are not recommended for "a hunting rifle." A lot can happen in the field and a too light trigger is an accident waiting to happen. You're much better off learning to control the squeeze of your existing trigger and over come flinching than depending on a crisply adjusted one.

I to have enjoyed learning a bit more about ya'll.

Guess I'll be disqualified for plagiarizing but I'm not really claiming credit. T.R. being my choice for all-time greatest American I just couldn't resist posting this here. "In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." Theodore Roosevelt 1907

M98 Bolt diameter is 0.692" 20ga. Shell head diameter is 0.693" 20ga. shell rim diameter is 0.755" Simply turning the bolt face to remove the recess and shortening the firing pin accordingly should provide adequate case-head support and enable use of the standard (though modified) extractor. Of course this will reduce the gun to "push-feed" though. With the magazine properly blocked and the feed rails and follower modified, the 20ga. shell is retained beautifully by the bridge and slight "curl-over" of the receiver's left side. As the shell is moved forward by the bolt the front ring captures the front of the cartridge almost as the rim exists the rear "bridge" - not exactly, but close enough that I think it will be reliable so long as the gun is not completely inverted while working the bolt. The action I "toyed with" holds two shells in the mag + one in the tube. The bolt (without barrel) closes all but about an eighth turn on the shell - the shell rim barley lodging on the inner torque shoulder. Opening this or shortening the bolt a few thou. more should address the issue. My experiment hasn't progressed to the point where I can say these things with absolute authority but I do feel confident it CAN be done simply enough.

It's been a while since I did the work and i don't have access to my notes right now, but I decided it would be too much work for my purposes to do the conversion to 12ga. Although the parts are sometimes available on auction. When I mentioned this project here a month or two ago several other members sent me links to such auctions. The parts didn't go cheap though! Conversely, (again, from memory) conversion to 20ga. seems pretty straight forward with existing parts. Yeah there are a bunch of those Geha and other 12ga. Mausers out there and if available, simply buying one and refurbishing it would be the recommended route if a 12 is desired, but one of these days I'm going to find out just what is involved in the twenty-bore conversion.

Those little threaded tubes sold at the hardware for making / fixing light fixtures work equally well. Plus they already have the grooves! I've also salvaged the tube from the bolt take-down gizmo's in the sides of discarded Mauser stocks for use in replacing action ferrules.

I haven't actually done it... yet at least, but its one of those projects I do have on the back burner if I ever get to it. I have done some experimentation though and a 20ga. shell does seem to fit nicely. In fact I've even ground a mag. box and follower for the action I intend to use and (sans barrel) it feeds fairly well. My intention is to build a slug gun with a rifled barrel that would be essentially interchangeable with my rifles as the situation dictates. While there's not as wide a selection of 20ga. slugs as there are for 12's, the conversion appears to be much easier for the medium bore. Whitetails don't take a whole lot of killing so I don't anticipate the twenty being a disadvantage at slug ranges providing a suitable projectile can be found.

"Think of the difference is board philosophies" You're too modest Beau. The difference is YOUR philosophy. If it weren't for your own attitude and demeanor in addressing all of these issues and establishing and providing this space, guided by your own philosophy and principals, we simply wouldn't be here. We wouldn't know each other and many of the ideas that have taken shape or been exchanged through this site would have never come to fruition. There has to be someone "in charge" even if his/her style of leadership is not so visable. You're it and I salute you. I like your style FC.

My wife is a MASH junky. She's seen every episode several times but it amazes me that she still doesn't "get" the sublime messages... MASH (by admission of the writers and actors - both the movie and the series - while set in Korea was actually a back-door Hollywood slam on the VietNam war. Yes, MASH was a very liberal show (and movie) and some of the subjects covered were and still are a sore spot. Of course it made fun of the Army, that was the whole idea to make the Army and the war (the VietNam war) look bad and stir even more domestic resentment. Now if you can watch the show for the simple gags and jokes without letting it get too deep like my wife does it can be a funny entertaining show. For the most part I don't care for it though, mainly that's because of my disgust for the ultra-liberal Alan Alda though... The theme song "Suicide is painless" was from the original movie and was about the dentist (I think) who was planning to commit suicide.