Bubbas VS Purists.

[HiBC]

Long ago,a woman friend of mine was invited to go on a remote river trip with an outfitter/guide acquaintance,They did not own a gun between them.

From the corners,drawers,and cigar boxes,I had available a chopped "C" Springfield stock,a 1927 Polish 98 small ring full length action,and a take off Mark 10 30-06 barrel.

With a generous amount of Accra-Glass,a home made fixed rear peep and military style front sight with protective ears and a white shotgun bead
I put together a sound,rugged,utility boat carbine and loaded them a batch of 200 gr Nosler partitions.

Then we went and practiced a while.

When they went on their trip,they met an Alaskan who lived on the river.Long grey beard,solitary,did not want his picture taken.

They said he looked over the rifle,and made them a very generous offer for it.

He declared it "The perfect Alaskan Rifle".

They brought the rifle back to me.All was well.

That Springfield Sporter above IS an artisan piece.Classic.

As I said,I do not alter a complete rifle,but ,for example,J+G sales ,Springfield Sporters,Sarco,etc used to sell various 98 Mauser actions for $50 or $60.

I can assure you it is not difficult to find a take off Mauser stock of some form among gunsmiths and friends that has no future other than gathering dust.Same with a take-off barrel or something like an Adams and Bennet,or a surplus 7x57 barrel.

It can all go together to make a well crafted,basic,sound,no frills utility rifle....that just might be the perfect rifle to offer the father ,or mother,of a 14 yr old about to go on a first hunt...

There is also nothing wrong with a young person with an interest building that rifle with a little help.

Collecting and appreciating the originals is fine..so is utilizing hardware available.

IMO,we can get along.

 

[ricko]

That Enfield actually looks pretty good with the chopped off barrel.

I agree, that's a neat looking job.

 

[Bollocks]

I don't mind a bubba if it's done for good reason. I have done it myself several times but always to mount optics, as my eyes are not what they once were.

Here's my latest bubba job....

Shoots great !

 

[44 AMP]

I fear that soon I will hear people talking about any customization of a firearm as a "bubba job".


I really hope the phrase, in reference to all customizations, will not become part of our lexicon. For a badly done job, (which have always been with us), its cute and fairly apt, provided you don't mind the stereotype reference, Bubba...

one man's trash is another man's treasure....

 

[Ignition Override]

Notice on GB how difficult it is just to See a Spanish 7mm Mauser which has Not had at least much of the wood, if not other features cut down.
No thank you.

If originals were in good condition but too heavy to carry, then the owners who modified them (due to weight) should have hit the barbells a bit more often, to strengthen themselves.
Our young skinny soldiers in WW2 managed to carry a heavier gun and a backpack for many miles per day.

 

[44 AMP]

If originals were in good condition but too heavy to carry, then the owners who modified them (due to weight) should have hit the barbells a bit more often, to strengthen themselves.
Our young skinny soldiers in WW2 managed to carry a heavier gun and a backpack for many miles per day.

13th warrior (when handed a large Viking sword): "I cannot lift this!"
Viking (laughing): "Grow stronger!"

Yes, our skinny soldiers carried a heavy weapon and pack many miles a day, because they had no choice in the matter! I've seen 5'2" 140lb guys humping a BAR or an M60 machinegun. It not that it not do able, its not the same thing.

Military rifles from the last century were built for combat, not just shooting. And combat included hand to hand combat. Bayonet lunges, and using the rifle as a club, or to block one being used against you. Compared to sporting rifles, they are massively overbuilt.

Why would anyone out hunting want to carry a 9lb rifle, when the same rifle could be trimmed down to 7lbs or so? One thing you can be certain of, when you see a altered milsurp, either Bubba botched or exquisitely done, you can be sure someone used that rifle for something the military did not. (hunting, usually)

 

[jsmaye]

I fear that soon I will hear people talking about any customization of a firearm as a "bubba job".

Right - just because a firearm has been altered or customized does not mean it's been "bubba'd". That should be a derisive term.

I don't mind a bubba if it's done for good reason.

Then it's not a "bubba".

 

[SIGSHR]

To me "bubba" connotates ineptly,unskillfully and badly done.

 

[Ignition Override]

44AMP: Sure, people want to avoid carrying extra weight during any activity.
But so many Mausers etc were cut down that it seems to leave only a minority that are in the original configuration. And so many of those are really beaten up, maybe due to being in combat etc, or simple added years of wear and tear, in contrast to the WW2 Enfields.

 

[44 AMP]

But so many Mausers etc were cut down that it seems to leave only a minority that are in the original configuration.
And so many of those are really beaten up, maybe due to being in combat etc, or simple added years of wear and tear, in contrast to the WW2 Enfields.

Sorry for your computer problems Ignition...
These are valid observations, here's some possible reasons..

So few in "good, original condition" are left, today, because you are looking at the bottom of the barrel (literally, in the 50s & 60s there were actual barrels full of Mausers and others in most gunshops). Most of the good ones got sold a long time ago. Also, military mausers were the "leftovers from the LOSERS", not worth much, and not often given the best storage and treatment. SMLEs were kept in service for years after WWII in many places, before finally sold as surplus. SMLEs are not easily adapted to other calibers, or made into sporters of the same quality as Mausers. So more of them in issue condition are still around.

Guys buying the majority of surplus military rifles in those days were not buying them for historical collectables that could be shot, they were buying the cheapest guns they could get that could be made to serve as hunting rifles. The status of those guns today is a result of what happened to them then.

one of the first things almost everybody did with ALL the milsurps was take off all the unneeded wood and metal. All the changes to the market in the last 50 years means you won't see many, if any original condition milsurps being customized ever again. Originals are priced out of the hands of the low income buyers (who were the primary "Bubbas" then, and now). Tastes have changed, and those who do want a sporter milsurp have a supply of previously "Bubba'd" guns available to work on. And there is also a good supply of commercial rifles today, too. So, I think those surviving issue condition milsurps are pretty safe, overall.

 

[Gunplummer]

There is more money around now days. It was common to see chopped military guns in the woods when I started hunting, not so much now. The chopped guns ended up at yard sales and shows. Like reloading. Reloading started out as a way to use one rifle for any type of hunting. The other reason was cheap. Reloading was looked on with suspicion by the majority of hunters when I was a kid. It seems silly to the younger crowd now, but reloading came a long way and the components are really a lot better. Same with the chopped rifles. Seems dumb now, but back in the day they were the norm. I still buy older guns to hunt with (Yes, even Bubba guns). The quality and durability are simply not in the newer guns. I go out in any weather and through the worst terrain and would trust a chopped military rifle over a new commercial rifle any day.

 

[Hawg]

(literally, in the 50s & 60s there were actual barrels full of Mausers and others in most gunshops).

I bought my first Mauser out of a 55 gallon drum at Gibson's dept. store in the early 70's for 15 bucks.

 

[tahunua001]

^^when time travel is invented that's the first place I'm going.

 

[tobnpr]

Tahuna;

Your initial post echoes my sentiment exactly (and it's obvious from my sig.)

Not every milsurp has collectible value just "because".

The 91/30 is the perfect example. Their sheer numbers mean that no matter how many are "bubba'd", there will always be more than enough remaining in their original configuration to hold their place in history.

There is now (and there wasn't, before) more widespread knowledge of the MN and all it's variants- and the rarer, collectible ones are unlikely to go unnoticed and modified.


And you can always place an original configuration, collectible barreled action into a pillar and receiver bedded aftermarket stock, to see what it can really do with some handloads- while retaining the ability to place it back in it's original configuration without permanently affecting it's value.

 

[Huffmanite]

Yea, doing a bubba job on a Mosin doesn't bother me a bit. However, I own a number of nice still in original condition mausers and Springfields. Wouldn't think about doing anything bubba with them. LOL, I look for already bubbadized military surplus to play with.

 

[Keg]

I bought my first Mauser out of a 55 gallon drum at Gibson's dept. store in the early 70's for 15 bucks

I remember as a kid..going into Gibsons and seeing barrels full of rifles....

 

[ricko]

My first gun purchase was a 7mm Spanish Mauser - $28 at the Coast to Coast hardware store. I never modified it, but I wouldn't have mourned it if someone had: it could consistently lob a bullet sideways through the target at 50 yards. I always wondered if it had an 8mm barrel on it......

 

[m&p45acp10+1]

Does this count as a bubba job? The previous owner forgot to take the stock off the action before spraying carb cleaner on it. The result was all of the original finish running off leaving the wood bare. I used a touch of walnut stain with some boiled linseed oil. I then sealed it with some clear polyurethane.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

its cheaper to get a good out of the box 22-250 with modern scope on it at cabelas or gander mountain than it is to turn a milsurp rifle into one.

You can also buy a trophy size deer head at an estate sale for a lot less than hunting your own but ....what fun is that?

 

[tobnpr]

"Sporterizing" non-collectible milsurps usually isn't about accuracy (though, it can be with $$), and certainly isn't about being able to do it "cheaper" than today's amazingly accurate factory rifles in the $350 range.

It's about having a rifle that's not like everyone else's on the firing line, that shows a bit of "individualism on a budget"- and tweaking every bit of accuracy out of them that you can. Sometimes, the results can be impressive.