Bolt handles

[donmarkey]

I know bolt handles are kind of a personal preference. But does anyone know the traditional angle and length used in butterknife style handles. How tight should they be to the stock when closed?

Don

[z1r]

The butterknife handle was designed for horseback use. The handle designed to easily fit & extract from a scabbard. That ought to help guide your decision as to how flat to keep it to the stock. As for length, I like handles to end up even with the floorplate.

[donmarkey]

Thanks Z, I can't seem to find a bolt handle I'm happy with so I was going to weld up a couple turk bolts with different styles to see what I like and was looking for a place to start. Ever since getting a wheatherby with a 55deg bolt lift, I seem to bang my scope with all my mausers.

Don

[z1r]

One thing I forgot to mention, these handles weren't necessarily designed for use with scopes. Often, you'll see original versions ground up near the root to clear the ocular bell. Since you are welding one on you can take that into consideration.

 

Here is a commercial Brno M21h with spoon handle. Notice near the root it is flat. originally it had the point running up the centeline. Not the best pic but it may help.

 

Closeup:

 

Hope this helps.

[donmarkey]

Z, from the looks of the last pic, the handle is just about flush with the stock, without the stock notched. Is that right?

Don

[z1r]

I can't say for sure if the stock is notched or not. I wish it were my rifle. But it matters more where you feel you will need to mount your handle in order to accomodate your desired sights. To clear a scope you may want to shorten the root in order to avoid grinding that dish in the handle.

 

The handle is just about flush with the stock.

 

I saw about the ugliest spoon handle on a Browning mauser a few weekends ago at the range. The gun shot great and the owner couldn't have been happier but it was ugly. It was obviously added and to make matters worse, it was coated in that plastic dip like plier handles have.

[Guest Guest_MorgansBoss_*]

Most original rifles I've seen with spoon handles do not have the stock notched as "modern" rifles do. Of course most knob bolt handles were the same way on those guns. They were typically not intended for scope use and those that were utilized the high mounted scopes still encountered on some European rifles. There may be some wood removed at the top but not the deep groove we typically see these days.

 

There is something to this besides not needing to clear a scope though. The sides of a bolt gun stock - either side of the mag box - is a weak-link in the design. The thin sidewalls can and do flex outwardly on firing, especially on larger calibers. In adition to the horizontal weakness we have a vertical weakness for the trigger inlet at the rear-most of this area. This is why many - again, especially big bores - have a second stock bolt either in front or behind the trigger. When you add a deep bolt cut to this mix the stock can be critically weakened. This is why we also frequently see those raised panels on the sides of older European rifles. They were usually made decoratively but in effect, thicken this critical section to add strength. Of course laminate and synthetic stocks do not bear this problem.