Building a 6x47 Laupa on a Belgian FN Mauser action.

[MrMister]

My first post on this board and all I can say is this site is awesome!

I recently was gifted an old 1951 J. C. Higgins Model 50 rifle in .270. J. C. Higgins was the brand name used by Sears Roebuck and Company back when they sold guns.

Turns out the old Model 50 was actually a Belgian FN Mauser action and from what I’m told it’s highly sought after to build custom guns.

I want to build a bench gun based off this action to shoot 500-1000 yards at live targets,digger squirrels and P-Dogs).

The caliber I am looking at is the 6x47 Lapua, from every thing I’ve read it’s a great round and easy to reload.

I have never built a custom gun before and will naturally have a competent smith do the work but I don’t know what barrel to buy. I have been looking at all the barrel maker web sites and it’s pretty confusing to me.

My action is not SS, I wanted the new barrel to match when I get it refinished but should I avoid the chrome molly and go with SS any way? If so why?

Lastly what barrel length, contour, and manufacturer should I be looking at and which manufacturers should I stay a way from?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Steve

 

[MrMister]

Anyone?

 

[dreever]

Steve,

Why not a stainless barrel on a blued action? I personally like the look.
What stock do you intend to go with? This will help dictate contour to a certain extent. Pick any of the top barrel manufactures and go with it. I personally prefer Kreiger, but you'll hear a dozen different answers as to preference. Stainless or chrome moly? I'd pick stainless everytime.

Now not to rain on your parade, but a custom based on that action may hurt you when it comes to resale. Just my opinion.
Good Luck.

Danny

 

[rhino]

Mauser action and benchrest gun? It will work, don't get me wrong...however, locktime and other things are not going to help you.

I suggest at least building on a Savage or Stevens action.

A trued Remington 700...or go all out on a custom action.

Resale value...yep...nobody wants a benchrest rifle built on a mauser action. Hunting rifle..yep....dam firing pin hits like a sledge hammer and less chance of a light primer strike.

RHINOUT!

 

[MrMister]

I was going to have the stock built around the finished product. I've actually been looking at solid wood stock to have something made out of it.

I'm a little disapointed to hear Mauser actions aren't a benchrest favorite. On other boards I've been told the FN action was one of the better ones to build a custom gun off of. Then again I never asked my questions on a forum like this.

I never meant for it to be an investment-I wanted it to shoot rats at long distance.

I could always make a sporter hunter out of it I guess.

Thanks for the input,

Steve

 

[SF340Driver]

Don't let them sway you away from your build. The Mauser actions are excellent for builds. Rhino is correct that there are a number of issues that make other actions better for BR or target shooting, but for a hunting rifle they are of little or no concern -- go for it.

What type of finish do you want? A sprayed on heat cured paint can be applied to the entire gun making the stainless barrel a non-issue -- as well as corrosion. There is a huge variety of colors available with some that mimic other types of finishes. ie. stainless, parkerizing, bluing etc. Even if you want to leave the action in a blued finish you can have the barrel painted in a similar color of just left polished stainless.

Any of the top custom barrels will work, just call a few and see what the lead time is and they will help to make sure you get all the right options for what you want to do. I have used Lilja, Krieger, Rock Creek, and Schneider with great results. Look into Bartlein as well.

 

[MrMister]

I haven’t decided on the finish yet.

I was leaning toward a mirrored blue to give it a classical look worthy of it’s 1951 vintage but now that I’m pretty much stuck with SS I may change my mind,again).

I’m not looking to “pimp” it out but with the sacristy of a quality CM barrel I’m leaning towards a dull SS barrel with a type of Dura-Coat colored finish on the action. I also plan on getting the bolt jeweled along with the floor plate and possibly the bolt release handle-although doing the bolt handle might be too much.

I’m shopping for exotic woods to have a custom stock made. Finding a solid piece of quality rifle stock grade wood isn’t easy though and isn’t cheap when you do.

My action is cleaned and ready to head on over to the smith-just need a barrel to get the ball rolling.

 

[MrMister]

I'm in no hurry so waiting a few months on a quality stock is fine.

I also just found out that Shilen makes a CM barrel!

Anyone have good or bad things to say about CM?

 

[Buzzbee]

Mauser action is OK for big game hunting rifle but I would not consider it an excellent choice for varmint/benchrest rifle.
From a cost effective point of view, it's not a very good choice, it's a lot like building a hot rod out of a 1980 Ford Fairmont.

 

[Austin]

I'm on the side of "Driver".Plow your own road.Yes a Mauser action is not benchrest accurate but good enough for vermin and big game.Iv had a k-98 8mm Mauser with the original barrel lathed down,and a 4x scope and it shot 3/4" at 100 with Rem factory ammo.My grandpas old sporterized 1903 Springfield with a 4x scope shoots 1/2-3/4at 100. I sited in my girlfriends elk gun,A 1903A3 with the military barrel lathed down and an old Leupold 3x9 and it shot 3/4 at 100.So just try it.It may Nock your socks off in a 6x47.No opinions on finishes.All the barrel manufactures you read about are good.Like stated before you wont get the same answer twice in a row.

 

[CAB]

More rant on Mausers,....

I hear this all the time in the group that I shoot with. Yes, I have some custom actions, but the truth be known, I like to disprove hearsay.
I fitted and chambered a .262" neck 6ppc on an FN commercial action just to prove the point. The barrel was a Hart std heavy NBRSA taper, 22" long at the crown. The only "exotic" touches added were lapping the lugs into full contact and removing a bit of metal from the striker to lessen lock time.,not really necessary)
I put in a varmint stk. with a 3" forend and finally, put an overpriced,but quality) Canjar set trigger in it. It will shoot in the mid to low .2's consistently with a good driver.

The Mausers CAN be made to shoot very well without a tremendous investment. No, they are not, and will never be a true "bench" action. Who cares? A P. Dog at 400yds won't give you bad review cause you vaporized him with a rifle with controlled feed.

Chris

 

[MrMister]

Looks like I'm going to find out.

I've had this build in mind for some time now and learning on a varmint gun will only make my true bench gun that much better. After all this will be my first try.

As the project progresses I'll post up some pictures.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[SF340Driver]

FYI: Most of the barrel makers I mentioned do make CM barrels as well.

 

[MrMister]

Gunamonth,

Do you live up to your user name? lol

My gun will come out of it's case to the bench and back in the case. I'll never walk with it, I have other toys for that purpose.

The more I look at the deep mirror blue finish the more I like it.

 

[MrMister]

Looks like my build has taken another turn,I've stopped counting just how many).

I’ve had a Remington 700 SA,.243) come my way via a trade. My thought is to do my 6 x 47 Lapua build on this action and to save the Mauser for a 30 cal wildcat,leaning towards a 338 Lapua at the moment).

I have done a ton of research on Mauser gunsmiths and will be sending it to Skaggs in Oregon, but I don’t know any quality Remington smiths,on a budget) to send my new action and Shilen barrel to. Being “budget minded” do any of you have a reputable smith that can chamber my Shilen barrel and true my Remington action in the $200-$300 range?

That’s just for the mill work-I’ll get the metal refinished on a separate budget.

Thanks guys,

Steve

 

[Aussie_bob]

Don`t give up on the mauser My mate has his 7X47 built on a VZ24 and it shoots well we made a alloy bedding bloke and he mackined it so it would single feed and we glued it into a Hand made Thumbhole Laminated stock it shoots well so far out to 700 yards but wouldn`t want to carry to far will attach a pic.
This pic is in its original form of 7X57 he rebarreld with a PAC-NOR 7mm to 7X47 he likes 7mm.