gunnutty Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Received my forged '93 Mauser bolt handle from Roy Davis May early last week. Very impressed with his work. I was a little concerned about the length of the bolt handle; I've read many posts about forged handles being "stubby" and short. Because of this concern, I specifically requested that the handle be bent straight down rather than be swept back. Now for the results: Both the new '93 handle and my Mark X handle measure 2-5/8" from the centerline of the bolt to the outside of the bolt ball (the '93 might be a 1/32" shorter - eye-balling with a tape measure). The Mark X handle is swept back. The ball of the '93 is larger than that of the the Mark X; as such, the center of the ball is closer to the bolt body by a smidge. I've always liked the looks of straight down handle rather than swept-back. Folks concerned about the length of the handle may want to avoid sweeping it back. I'm guessing it saved an 1/8" or more of length. Comments about Roy Davis May's work: First of all, the turn-around time was incredible; I had the finished bolt in my mailbox within 7 days of sending it. I bet the thing was still cooling when he sent it back! My dull, de-blued bolt arrived nicely polished. He requested that I sent the shroud along with the bolt, and he ensured that everything indexed well. The original handle was turned-down. He had to straighten the handle then forge it. It will, without question, clear a low mounted scope; the top of the handle base sits even with the top of the adjacent shroud hump. I'm very happy with the work that he did for $35 (including return postage). I notched the reciever myself for the handle base. A '93? Yes, the .308 Win one to boot! I have a Williams sight on it and plan to handload either 110 grain or 130 grain bullets to mild velocities. It's a 300 Savage in 308 guise, as far as I'm concerned. It has a long way to go yet. The stock needs much work yet. Those Spanish armorers loved it with a lot of oil. I'll try putting it in a bag of cat litter. Enough of my ranting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manureman Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Gunnutty, I picked up one of these .308 93s a couple days ago at my favorite gunshop,a guy walked in wanting it fixed ,said the saftey didnt work and it snapped on rounds but didnt set them off,said he bought it that way for $35.The boy that owns the shop said he wouldnt work on it cause it was a bomb waiting to go off,without looking at it I told him the bolt was probably put together wrong but Id give him $50 for it ,he went for it and I fixed it by pulling the cocking piece back putting the saftey back in the neutral position and screwing the shroud in one more turn.At first I was going to part it out using the barrel on a Turk and the bottom metal on a yugo but may just go your route.Davis does do very nice work,he will get this bolt if I do it.Mine has the Ser. number stamped down the top side of the bolt handle ,did yours and did Davis leave it or did it disapear when forged and polished ?Thanks Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnutty Posted November 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Yes, I had the serial number on top of the bolt handle. Davis' work removed all but the last two directly adjacent to the ball. I could probably dress them out with careful filing, but I'll keep them as-is. My bolt and receiver were matching numbers, and the last two fits well with the way many European miltary arms parts were marked. Kind of a "retro" feel. Heh... I don't think that there's a part on my Swede that doesn't have the last two numbers on it, wood and all. Maybe I could pass it off as "Swanish". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Davis is a good guy to do business with. I've bought an action, a take-off stock, and a triggerguard from him. I also had him do five bolt handles for me last year. In all cases he delivered quickly, was honest, and very professional. And he does amazing things with bolt handles. Short of tigging a new handle on, Davis is the way to go. Affordable too. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken98k Posted November 12, 2005 Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 How can I contact Mr. May? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowkiller Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Davis is a freat guy to do business with. This past summer I e-mailed him to say two bolts were coming his way. He e-mailed back that he would be on vacation and it might take two weeks to get them back. 7 days later they were in my mailbox. His work is top notch, and I find his forged bolts to look better and stronger than some of the welded ones I have seen. Crowkiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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