Number87

- $2,50 F O R E I G N - $3.08

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Stuart Otteson’s l g 3 J S t l actions

BENCHREST ACTIONS & TRIGGERS

We’ve put together this collection of articles for the benchrest and accurate-gun enthusiast as a single handy source of information on the currently available actions

These are the articles which have appeared in Rzye magazine; Stuart has gone over the material again before it was assembled for this book to insure that all data is correct. Anyone who has read Stuart’s columns and articles is familiar with his attention to detail and clarity in dealing with his subject. His background in engheer- ing enables him to produce such thorough, practical design studies. This reprint of his

series on actions and triggers is thereby made a useful source of material for anyone planning to build or buy an accurate rifle - or someone more than casually interested in what makes an

The book opens with a chapter on determining the rigidity of actions. Nine actions are then analyzed and des- cribed in seven chapters. Four trigg&s, plus four conversions of the Remington trigger are similarly studied. There’s a chapter on the basics of benchrest triggers, and a chapter on determining lock time. Other chapters tell how to estimate barrel weight, and how to estimate the weight of the complete rifle.

This is a 62-page book about the size of our magazines, printed on coated stock, with soft covers. The regular price is $8.50, but until April 30, we are offering it at the pre-publication price of $7.00, postpaid. The books are available, so send your order now!

1 I accurate rifle.

I

Arzzona residents add 4% sales tax

Wolfe Publishing: Co.. Inc. t

MAY-JUNE 1983 3

“Only accurate r i f les are interesting” Rifle - Col Townsend Whelen

Volume 15, Number 3 May-June, 1983 The Magazine for Shooters

(ZSSN 0162-35831

IN THIS ISSUE Fitting Fiberglass Stocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Brackney 16

20

24

26

28

32

36

A Practical Look at Bullet Performance. . . . . . . . . .Bob Hagel

New Dope on the Old Patch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Fadala

The Swiss Militia ........................ Richard Bocklet

Prewar Styles and Modern Stockmakers . . . . . . . . John Bivins

.30-06 Premier Hunting Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Matunas

Modern Stock Finishes .................... David Simpson

DEPARTMENTS Spotting Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Capital Watch. ................ . 8

Classic Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Black-Powder Rifles .......... . 1 2

American Gunmakers. . . . . . . . . . 1 4

ProducTests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 9

Trophy Pointers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

ON THE COVER

To celebrate its seventy-fifth anniversary - and to pro- mote membership in the National Rifle Associatim - Leupold & Stevens commissioned Bob Emmons to build this custom Ruger Model 77, in .308 Winchester. In December, the governor of Oregon drew the name of the winner, a lucky shooter in Pennsylvania. Photograph by Alan Hicks

R,Ne Magazine copyright 1983 is published bi monthly by Wolle Publishing Co Inc (Dave Wolle President) P 0 Box 3030 Prescott Arizona 86302 Telephone (602) 445 7810 Second Class Postage paid at Prescott Arizona and additional mailing offices Single copy price 01 current issues $2 50 Subscription price SIX issues $13 00 12 issues $25 00 18 issues $37 00 (Outside U S possessions and Canada $16 00 $31 00 and $46 00 1 Recommended foreign single copy price $3 00 Advertising rates furnished on request All rights reserved

Publisher 01 Rtfle is not responsible lor mishaps of any nature which might mcur lrom use 01 published data or lrom recommendations by any member 01 The Staff No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission lrom the editor Manuscripts lrom lree lance writers must be accompanied by stamped self addressed envelope and the publisher cannot accept responsibility lor lost or mutilated manuscripts

Change 01 address please give six weeks notice Send both old and new address plus mailing label 11 possible to Circulation Dept Rifle Magazine P 0 Box 3030 Prescott Arizona 86302

The Staff Dave Wolfe, Publisher Ken Howell, Editor Jana Kosco, Advertising Manager Wyatt Keith, Assistant Editor Dave LeGate, Art Director Mark Harris, Staff Artist Barbara White, Production Supervisor Joyce Bueter, Circulation Director Susan Barney, Circulation Manager Terry Bueter, Accounting Bonnie Bennett, Editorial Assistant Randy Swedlund, Photographer R.T. Wolfe, Ph.D., Consultant

Technical Editors

John Bivins Bob Brackney Sam Fadala J I Galan Bob Hagel Neal Knox A1 Miller Ludwig Olson Stuart Otteson Homer Powley Layne Simpson Ken Waters

4 RIFLE 87

for life.

Every scope made by Redfield carries with it a written lifetime limited warranty. That should tell you

something about the way we make our scopes.

For one thing, it plainly states that we have complete confidence in our new

one-piece tube construction - a strong new design that renders our scopes fog-proof by eliminating the

potential leak paths found in conventional screw-together tubes.

Redfield’s outer tube is now machined from a single piece of high strength,

aircraft quality aluminum alloy. The one- piece design eliminates another commor

problem of screw-together tubes - their tendency to snap when dropped

or bumped where threading has weakened them.

There are other things that contribute to the long life of a Redfield. like

internal parts that are machined and hand-fitted by master technicians. But we leave nothing to chance.

Before a Redfield scope ever gets out the door, it is tested on a recoil

machine at 1200g acceleration forces, and subjected to a hydrothermal bath

in a final check for leakage.

If you’re an average hunter, you probably won‘t be able to wear out

one of our scopes in a lifetime of hunting. That means you and your

Redfield will be together for a lot of years . . . and isn’t it nice to know that if you should ever need it, that lifetime warranty will still be just as good as it was the day you bought your scope?

For a complete 1983 catalog of Redfield products, send $1 .OO to

Redfield Company, 5800 E. Jewel1 Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80224.

a member of the Brown Group. Inc.

6

A RIFLE Readers’ Menu

Many Rifle readers are also Rifle writers - not members of the tech- nical staff but valuable contributors of article manuscripts just the same. The richer and larger the batch of manu- scripts in the backlog, the tougher it is to choose a few for any given issue of our magazine. No matter which ones I select, there are others that I’d like to have used - and that I know that some regular readers would appreciate and enjoy.

An editor’s own interests forn one decent footing for making these selec- tions, but they aren’t enough, by themselves. Awareness of others’ interests is equally vital - and believe me, some of the finest articles in Rifle have covered topics that I had little or no personal interest in - and probably wouldn’t have read if I weren’t the editor. Reader mail keeps us up to date in regard to the collective approval and disapproval of the articles published in Handloader and Rifle - but only after those articles have been published.

For some time, I’ve had the strong hunch that many readers, given the opportunity to riffle through the back- log of free-lance articles that await publication, might well select some that I might leave for later - and of course leave for later some that I’d publish right away. This hunch has fathered the notion that you might like an opportunity to voice a choice before publication.

All right, then: here is a list of free- lance articles that await publication in Rifle. If you see something that tickles your interest especially, drop me a note and let me know. If the volume of this kind of mail reaches the level that I expect, I won’t be able to respond - except to the consensus of your collective selection - but I’ll give a lot of attention to your voiced choice of future articles. Unfortunately, the title of each article is all that I have room for here:

The Rifles at Connaught R Hummel & W Hyde

Exterior Ballistics the Easy Way Dan Hackett

Converting a .25 Stevens to Centerfire Harvey King

Dimensional Stability of Stock Woods David A Webb

Predicting Penetration C Dempster & D Bolinger

Ballistics of .22 Rimfires C Dempster

The Rebirth of a Spencer James B McClure

Testing with Wet Packs Hugh L Awalt

Remington Model 788 ’

Tim Fitzgerald .22 WRF

Ransom Blakeley Thrilling Drillings

Jim Barnard Crosman Model One Air Rifle

David Wayland Rating Cartridge Effectiveness

David D Scovill A Model 77 Sporter

David D Scovill Classic Left-Hand Action

Robert P Carr 7mm Express Remington

Tim Fitzgerald Shotgun Pads on Rifles

Steve Gash Inherent Variability of Target Groups

John M. Kolyer Easy Long-Range Shooting

Arthur J Pejsa Garrett Accur-Light Rifles

Herbert G Troester Tools for Cased Rifles

Ron Swartley The Jungle Carbine Shoots!

Wilf E Pyle 7mm Express - Medium-Game Rifle

Jerry A Herndon Model 1941 Springfield, USMC

Sniper Rifle Kenneth Kogan

There are others - already selected for publication - and there will be others a-coming, any day now. Rifle should be good reading for quite some time - especially with your help in the selection of free-lance articles. In advance, Thanks! - Ken Howell

RIFLE 87

WolfB Books - meant to be proud and useful additions to your library

Our book-publishing business is only a few years old, but we are determined to make the most valuable contribution we can in a field well-populated with other gun books. Our magazines, Handloader and Rifle, are respected for their quality and credibility; we intend our books to earn similar respect.

We have collected and reprinted from the magazine material to provide a single- Source reference on a subject; we 'have reprinted other books which were not ours originally, but out-of-print and in great demand; and, we have undertaken some original books on new material. We are constantly looking for material, old and new, evaluating its usefulness to shooters and gun enthusiasts. Several books are in production or under consideration at this moment.

You can look to Wolfe Books as a source of reading and reference material of great- est value. Our professional staff can be depended upon to make that material as presentable as possible in terms of read- ability and graphic clarity. We are interested in presenting the very best books we can, cover-to-cover.

We have a catalog of our current offer- ings of books and related materials, with an order-form included. Send for this conven- ient listing for yourself, or a friend sharing your interest in guns and shooting. I

P.O. Box 3030 138 North Montezuma Prescott, Arizona 86302

Telephone (602) 445-7810

HE BEST CRAFTSMEN’of our T time are aware of - and gener- ally seek to emulate - the genius of earlier artisans. At least the educated gunmaker strives to assume the crafts- manlike posture of the masters, even when he chooses not to mimic design or technique. The search for the threads that link us to our predeces- sors is lyrical and intriguing. I t can be as satisfying as gunmaking itself.

The process leads to bookshelves and gun cabinets full of esoterica. I came home from an estate sale the other day with an autographed two- volume set of James V Howe’s The Modern Gunsmith, the first edition of 1934. Having stock finishes on my mind anyway, I turned to Howe’s section on the subject, expecting to find that finishing is much easier now

than it was then. After considerable wading through lists of things like fossil gum amber, alkanet root, and Venice turpentine, I decided that stock finishing is indeed much less mysterious today. But if there is any less real work involved today, I’ll eat a Silver’s recoil pad!

Well, it is true that the sandpaper that we have today is much superior to things like leather pads and pumice for cutting-back a layer of finish. And we do have the luxury of buying our finishes ready-mixed. Some of those old formulas for varnish sound as if they were the stock in trade of Egyp- tian embalmers instead of wood-finish- ing materials. Still, the professional finish of the present is a pile of work. And yet the finish is absolutely criti- cal to the appearance and function of a

David Simpson

Modern Stock

Finishes

best-grade gun. Fine detailing and elegant architecture are of little value without a superb finish.

Mainstream thought on finishes for the modern gun has been both innova- tive and conservative. Gunmakers - a t least those who work in the classic style - want the look and feel of the traditional drying oil along with the moisture resistance and convenience of more-advanced compounds. Lin- seed oil, whether raw or boiled, is no longer a viable choice for the profes- sional. The new ready-mixed finishes dry much faster and are vastly better a t slowing-down the interchange of moisture. In searching for the perfect finish, you can bet, most stockmakers have tried a slew of mixtures, as I have.

I t would be nice to report that there is a miracle finish among the ones that I’m reviewing here, but there isn’t - here or anywhere else. The solution to the problem of wood finish remains one of craftsmanship and not one of material. This is an important concept to understand, especially for the beginning stockmaker. In other words, what one should do is to choose the finish that is most appropriate for a certain job, then develop a system of applying it that makes the materials work. All of the finishes that I’m reviewing in this article will do the job. But because each craftsman works under different conditions of tempera- ture and humidity, not to mention temperament, one may emkkge as superior for him.

A good example of this is my own failure to get satisfactory results from Flecto’s plastic oil and sealer. This stuff just doesn’t work for me. How- ever, Jerry Fisher, a craftsman of the first echelon, was still using it the last time I checked, and no one can argue with his results. Don Allen also uses it for all of his wet sanding.

The selection of the finishes that I

36 RIFLE 87

discuss here is a result of my own informal poll of stockmakers across the country, trade gossip, and research from a variety of journals. All of them are in use now as stock finishes. I am sure that the list is far from compre- hensive, but these four finishes have found general approval among con- temporary stockmakers: Flecto Vara- thane plastic oil and sealer, Sherwin Williams oil-base varnish A66 V91, John Bivins express oil sealer and filler, and DuPont penetrating oil

I sealer and finish 704C.

All of these finishes have certain things in common. Each is a state-of- the-art product that combines relative ease of application with durability and moisture resistance. All of them begin with one or more natural oils, such as soya, linseed, or tung, as basic ingred- ients. The properties of these oils, however, are modified by chemicals, heat, pressure, or their combination with other ingredients. Usually, oils are added to finishes to make them more workable and more flexible. These finishes are available through- out the United States a t hardware and

!

!

four modern stock finishes type best use properties

Flecto plaatic oil and sealer oil-modified sealer under water-thin polyurethane polyurethanes nonyellowing

sanding lubricant

excellent moisture resistance fills pores slowly drying time 24 hr

Sherwin Williams clear oil-base varnish A6f3 V91 rosin-modif ied in-t he-wood finish heavy-bodied alkyd varnish built-up f inish nonyellowing

sealer (thinned) good moisture resistance easily ru bbed-out drying time 6 hr

John Bivins express oil sealer and filler oil-modif ied in-the-wood finish separate sealer and filler polyurethane built-up f inish nonyellowing

excellent moisture resistance requires very fine grits to rub-out drying time 6 hr or less

DuPont penetrating oil sealer and finish 704C tung oil-and- in-the-wood finish medium-bodied - phenolic-resin varnish sealer (thinned) may darken in time

excellent moisture resistance easily rubbed-out drying time 6 hr

MAY-JUNE 1983 3 7

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paint dealers, except for the Bivins finish, which can readily be ordered by mail.

Flecto plastic oil is a water-thin penetrating finish composed of a “linseed ester, tolylene diisocyanate modified hydrocarbon resin” with thinners and driers. Plastic oil is a polyurethane; this generic term refers to a material that is closer to the true plastics than finishes like the alkyds (such as Tru-Oil) would be. Pure polyurethanes are too brittle to make satisfactory finishes, and this is why drying oils are included in the polyure- thanes in this group of finishes.

Flecto plastic oil can be used as a sealer under other polyurethanes, but it is not suitable for a built-up finish by itself because of its low percentage of solids. No polyurethane should be used under other types of finish because of adhesion problems caused by the very tight cross-linking that occurs when these plastics dry. In addition, all polyurethanes have a sensitive period, during which any recoating must take place, or later coats do not bond chemically to earlier coats. As a further rule, none of these finishes in this article should be mixed or otherwise used together without careful research or experiment to see whether they are compatible with each other.

I was originally going to review Sherwin Williams Beauty-Lok A66 V3, which has been a well known stock finish used by some of the best in the business. Then I found that Beauty- Lok had been dropped from the Sherwin Williams line. I t has been replaced, as nearly as I can tell, by their clear oil-base varnish A66 V91, a “soya and rosin modified linseed, alkyd varnish.” I t has a solids content of forty-two percent, which allows it to be used for a built-up finish. I t can be easily thinned for application as a sealer.

Alkyd resins are synthetics made by reacting certain types of alcohols with an acidic ingredient. The product of this reaction is then mixed with unsaturated oils, driers, and thinners to make the complete varnish. Alkyds are some of the most easily applied and attractive of finishes. The films that they produce are not as hard as the polyurethanes, and they are not usually as moisture-resistant. Despite all this, the alkyds are easy to rub-out to any degree of gloss desired, they are easily repaired, and they are still preferred by many stockmakers.

Of the four finishes, John Bivins’ express oil sealer and filler is the only one that was formulated specifically for use on gunstocks. I t was developed by Michigan chemist Rick Schrieber

and Rifle Technical Editor John Bivins. Express oil, which comes in two cans - a sealer and a thicker filler - is made from a number of resins modified with the plasticizer tolylene diisocyanate and mixed with thinners. I t is a true oil-modified polyurethane, in which linseed oil has been kept to a minimum for moisture resistance.

Express oil can be used to form a dull, semigloss, or gloss finish by using the two formulas in different combinations. According to Bivins, express oil is made in small batches with careful control of ingredients and so should be superior to other polyurethanes for use on gunstocks. He also claims that in extensive moisture tests, express oil proved to be more water-resistant than most other finishes with the exception of some high-grade marine spar var- nishes and two-part epoxies. Express oil can be ordered, along with “rose pink,” a warming toner, from Lowell Manley Shooting Supplies; 3684 Pine Street; Deckerville, Michigan 48427.

I t was only recently that I heard of the last finish considered here, DuPont penetrating oil sealer and finish 704C. The results that I have evaluated so far have been excellent. 704C is a varnish made with tung oil and rosin-modified phenolic resin with the usual driers and thinners. I ts solids content is forty-three percent. The combination of tung oil - which is about twice as moisture-resistant as linseed oil - and the synthetic phenolic makes this a very tough and weather-resistant finish. I t is some- what softer than a typical polyure- thane, which makes 704C a finish that is easy to rub-out without leaving visible scratches.

There are two potential problems with 704C, however. A few people are allergic to tung oil and may develop a rash from skin contact, so it is not wise to use this finish without testing it on individual gun owners first. The other problem is that phenolic resins are notorious for darkening or yellow- ing with the passage of time. This may not be as much of a problem if 704C is used only for in-the-wood finishes. And this characteristic might be used to advantage on certain very light woods. 704C can also be used as a sealer or filler under alkyd finishes for a more moisture-resistant coating.

All of these finishes are applied in the “standard” manner: sealing, filling, building-up (if any), and rubbing-out. All but plastic oil may be used for a built-up finish. I t is appro- priate here, before making evalua- tions, to review this method of appli-

RIFLE 87

cation, pointing-out certain tricks to get the best results from each finish.

For sealing, you may use plastic oil and express oil sealer straight from the can. I usually thin A66 V91 and 704C for better penetration. After careful sanding and whiskering, make sure that there is no nondrying oil on the surface of the wood (such as finger- prints), since these may inhibit the hardening of any finish. Clean the stock with mineral spirits if necessary. Then with a brush or rag, flow-on a generous coat of the sealer, keeping the stock wet until no more is ab- sorbed. Let the stock stand for about fifteen minutes. Wipe off any excess finish from all surfaces, including inletting. Allow the stock to dry. This will take about six hours for all finishes except plastic oil, which takes about twenty-four hours. Drying may take longer in low temperatures or high humidity.

At this stage, I like to wet-sand with 320-grit wet-or-dry paper, using the sealer as a lubricant. I believe that this saves work later, when you will have to cut back to the wood but through more layers of finish. Sand only small areas a t a time, wiping each down with a paper towel as you go. When you have gone over the entire stock, examine it carefully under a good light, making sure that you have exposed the bare surface of the wood entirely. Any areas of finish will show as a stain, while the wood itself will take on a washed-out appearance. Re- sand the uncompleted areas. Don't worry about the washed-out look of the wood, as this will be darkened again by the next coat of finish.

The next series of steps involve filling the pores. Use plastic oil, A66 V91, and 704C as they come from the can. Switch to the Bivins can marked Express Oil Filler, Brush-on a fairly heavy coat, including the inlet- ting. After a few minutes, wipe any extra finish out of the inletting, leaving only a light surface film. In- letting will need no more finish after this. You may want to use two coats of plastic oil with twenty-four hours between coats for this step. Allow whichever finish you have chosen to dry for its standard time, as above.

When the first filler coat has hardened, wet-sand as before with 320- grit wet-or-dry and finish as a lubri- cant. Wipe the stock dry and apply another coat of filler. Repeat as many times as necessary to fill all the pores. For a low-gloss in-the-wood finish, wet- sand the last two times with 400-grit and then 600-grit wet-or-dry paper. With A66 V91 and 704C, this should give you a nice finish. I have found that because polyurethanes poly-

1

,

MAY-JUNE 1983

Now that I've delivered the facts, I

merize to such a brittle finish, they may not be left without visible scratches by 600-grit paper. Finer rubbing compounds with morefriable abrasives are in order. I use a good automobile rubbing compound or pumice and a little finish followed by rottenstone and finish. Clean the stock well after using each of these grits.

When scratches have been reduced to invisibility, flow-on a coat of finish, allow the stock to stand for a few minutes, and then wipe it down with a soft cloth. Allow it to dry hard, for several days, and then bring up a dull sheen with a soft cloth and a little elbow grease.

For a built-up finish, use A66 V91, DuPont 704C, or express oil filler as they come from the can. After the last filling coat has been wet-sanded and wiped-down, brush-on a coat of finish and let it dry. You may rub-on thin coats by hand, but it will take longer to get a build-up, and there is a danger of cutting through to the wood if the layer of finish is too thin. Follow with a second coat. When it's dry, wet-sand lightly with 320-grit wet-or-dry paper to knock-off the gloss. You must recoat express oil within its sensitive period, about twenty-four to thirty-six hours. If for some reason you can not recoat within the sensitive period, it is best to start over a t the surface of the wood. Just cutting-back the gloss of a completely dry polyurethane surface gives only a marginal mechanical bond and no chemical bond at all.

Repeat the application of coats, two at a time, until you have built-up six or eight layers, wet-sanding with 320-grit between layers. After the last coat has dried, wet-sand with 320-grit, then 400-grit, then 600-grit paper, remov- ing the scratch pattern left by each grit with the next finer one. At this point, the finish should be level and free of lint or brush marks.

1 <9fS)446-3091

Now you must decide how much shine you want on the built-up finish. A final rubbing-out with pumice or auto-body compound should give you a dull finish. Rottenstone and water or oil will give you a bit more gloss. For the highest gloss, I like to use a quality automobile paste wax and cleaner, the kind that has a tiny bit of abrasive in it. In any case, express oil probably takes more work to remove each layer of scratches than the other two finishes require. Rather than just giving the finish a coat of car wax, actually rub-out the surface, allowing the fine abrasive to bring up a high shine. A last protective coat of wax should finish the job.

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offers a sizer bushing which can be fitted to cases fired in your rifle. Distortion mini- mized by floating bushing in the die body. Special base available for use in arbor press; bushings interchange t o fit other cases. Send 50C for brochure on this and other custom reloading items. Custom Products, R.D. * 1 , Box 483-A, Dept. RFD. Saegertown, Pennsylvania-1 6433

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it’s time for an evaluation, which is necessarily an opinion. Every crafts- man works under a different set of con- ditions and develops certain biases and criteria for success because of that. Thus, these are my opinions - make of them what you will.

Any of the finishes reviewed here provides adequate moisture resistance for general use. For my own purposes, resistance to moisture is not of such great importance that it over-rides all other considerations. Attempts to lock wood into place inside heavy layers of finish are doomed to failure, because wood has a way of moving anyway. Heavy finishes also destroy much of the “woodness” of wood. If weather is so severe that warping and damage occur regularly, it is smarter and more craftsmanlike to go out and find a fiberglass stock. This is part of the respect for materials that all good craftsmen eventually learn - using the right material for the job a t hand.

Other criteria involved in choosing a finish are how well it enhances the look of the wood, how easy it is to apply - and in the case of working guns, how easily it can be repaired. The built-up finish scores low on all these accounts. To some, they may look better, but no one can argue successfully that they are easy to apply or to repair. For almost all high-grade work, on modern or black-powder rifles, the low-gloss finish that is level with the surface of the wood is the best combination of form and function.

Other stockmakers have used Flecto plastic oil successfully, but + have a difficult time recommending it - not because it has so many inherent faults but because if you favor the charac- teristics of a polyurethane, Bivins express oil is so much easier to use and gives better results. Plastic oil takes four times as long to dry as any other finish here, especially if you live in a humid climate (I do) and don’t have a drying cabinet. I have had unhard- ened plastic oil bleed out of pores many days after it was applied. Rais- ing of the grain, even after careful whiskering, has also been a problem. Because of its low solids content, it fills pores very slowly and always seems to leave some unfilled. I agree that plastic oil does have two uses: it is an excellent sanding or rubbing lub- ricant, and it makes a good sealer under other polyurethane varnishes like Flecto Varathane.

Sherwin Williams A66 V91 is probably the easiest of these four finishes to apply. I t is probably also the least water-resistant, even though the linseed oils in it are rosin-modi- fied, which does make it superior to ordinary alkyds. A66 V91 will be hard

40 RIFLE 87

to beat for looks, and it is the clear choice - in my mind - for a built-up finish. Like all alkyds, A66 V91 ’rubs- out and oxidizes beautifully with time, which is the reason that cabinet makers use alkyds on the finest furniture. For an in-the-wood finish where moisture resistance is impor- tant, express oil or DuPont 704C might be a better choice.

If I were limited to one finish for all stock work, I would have to choose Bivins express oil because of its versa- tility, in spite of the fact that I find it to be much more work, especially in the rubbing-out stage. And I do not have an affinity for any polyurethane finish as I do for those made by other formulas. While express oil can be used to form any type of finish, it seems most appropriate for those that are in the wood. All built-up polyure- thanes have a grey cast that some may find unpleasant. The sensitive period of polyurethane may also be a prob- lem. Once a built-up finish is begun with express oil, work must continue a t least daily until all coats have been applied.

DuPont 704C is a very versatile finish that combines some of the best characteristics of the alkyds and the polyurethanes. I t is easy to apply and to rub out and gives better moisture protection than most alkyds give. I t seems that because of its phenolic component, 704C is best used for an in-the-wood finish. While a heavy layer is prone to darken with time, a built-up finish of 704C has a very nice appearance when it’s first applied. In fact, this is such a nice finish that it’s unfortunate that some people are allergic to tung oil. I am not, and I have used 704C on a number of my own stocks, with very fine results.

I think that it is important to reiterate that the choice of a stock finish is a very subjective one. One of the finishes reviewed here will probably suit the needs of almost any stockmaker and will give him results as good as - or better than - the old standbys that you can buy in little bottles a t the corner gun shop. Also, technique is as important as the material itself. After all, if this is the craftsman’s problem, it is also his pleasure. 0

HUNTERS PAY FOR CONSERVATION

Prewar-Modern Stockmakers (Continued from page 31)

see in Lud Olson’s exceptional book Mauser Bolt Rifles or in Les Womack’s recent finely illustrated work, The Commercial Mauser ’98 Sporting Rifle. Very slim combs with little or no fluting, slim grips swept back four inches or more, and splinter-like fore- ends, often with delicately turned schnabels, warmed the Teutonic heart.

Even magnum rifles from Mauser Werke or other German firms showed every attempt to save weight and to delight the eye with slimness and grace. The height of that effort, par- ticularly during the Twenties and early Thirties, was stocks with raised panels left at each side of the magazine mortise to add strength where stock wood otherwise had been pared to a minimum. As a matter of taste, I never cared much for those panels, however practical they might be. They look just a bit too nineteenth-century.

Mausers stocked in the London mode before the war were equally beautiful and can be equally painful to shoot. Derived from sporting-rifle architecture used on fine single-shots by the likes of Alexander Henry, Gibbs, Rigby, and others, British stocks also had pistol grips swept well back in the manner of a best double gun. On the British stocks, though, the lower toe line of the buttstock was allowed to rise well above the upper curve of the grip, affording something of the raciness of the alpine stutzen. Although English fore-ends were no longer nor wider than their short German counterparts, they were a bit deeper and usually radiused up to the barrel abruptly at the tip. A short buffalo-horn tip was de rigeur; and like the Germans, British stockmakers favored mullered (fluted-border) checkering in conservative point patterns. Generally, British checker- ing was better than the continental.

The pinnacle of visual delight in the classic British Mauser magazine rifle was the haughty magnum with the extra-deep magazine intended for huge African cartridges such as the ,416 Rigby or even the ,505 Gibbs, replete with double through-bolts. The same form of stock was used for smaller magnums such as the ,375 H&H, of course. Those rifles were intended for use with iron sights and were stocked accordingly, often with not a little cast in the butt, occasionally

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MAY-JUNE 1983 41