What rifle to try building?

L

landlord

New member
I am thinking about trying to build a rifle. I can take down my moss 500 with little trouble if that might give an indication of my skill level. I don't even know were to look for parts but would like build something older mill type. Any thoughts or advice much wanted, thank you.
 
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For your first run, you might consider buying a used economy model boltgun to upgrade - At least it'll already have many of the expensive mods a milsurp will need, to make it a sporter, like D/T'd for scope mounts, lowered bolt handle, decent trigger, halfway decent metal finish, etc.

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Sporterizing a milsurp rifle made a lot of sense when they were a fraction of the price of the bottom of the line Remington or Winchester, and could be found by the barrel full in the local hardware store. Those days are long gone.

Now you will likely spend $300 in parts to turn a $300 rifle into a $150 rifle.

The possible exception would be the Mosin Nagant 91/30, which can still be had for about $100, (less with an 03 FFL), but with the split top action, and single stack magazine isn't as good a base action for a sporter as a Mauser type.

With a Mosin, you will spend $300 turning a $100 gun into a $70 gun, that probably won't be as accurate as a bottom of the line Wal-Mart bolt gun.

And you will forever be known as Bubba.

Then again, you really need to define what exactly you mean by "build a rifle".

To some that may mean adding a sporter stock and scout scope setup.

To me "Build a rifle" means at minimum squaring and truing the action, installing and cutting the chamber on a quality barrel (Hart, Krieger, etc) turned down to the desired profile, cutting a proper recessed target crown, properly bedded to a quality stock.

Without knowing what exactly you are talking about, it is hard to make a suggestion.

Also, the ability to take down a pump shotgun is really meaningless compared to working on a centerfire rifle. You can take a 500 most of the way apart with a ball point pen. A Bolt action rifle aside from removing the stock and detail stripping the bolt, there isn't much else you can do without special tools. Action wrench, barrel vise, headspace gauges, drill/tap setup (preferably with templates/jigs so the holes go in the right places), a lathe, etc. Even without the lathe (not to mention the skill to use it) the tools alone could easily cost more than the rifle.

What exactly do you want to build?
 
For an older milsurp gun all you could really do is get a Mosin Nagant and upgrade the stock, trigger, bolt handle and stuff like that. Or possibly a sporterised Lee Enfield.
Unless you want to do an AR15, then there's about four hundred million different things you could do.

Some people get sporterised milsurp guns and try to resort them to their former glory, but these are generally very competent people who have a lot of experience with building rifles and gun smithing.

The Mosin will be the cheapest option I think and probably the best for you, that's what I'd recommend.
Just please don't get an all original military rifle and mess around with it, they're becoming harder and more expensive to get and if you wreck it its gone for good.
 
I'm not really recommending this, as the complete result is available from the CMP, with excellent support. However, building a Garand would qualify as building an older mil-surp rifle.

The book "The M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guide" explains the process of tearing down a Garand, replacing worn parts and replacing the barrel. It also mentions some areas to watch for when fitting the metal parts to the stock, which would be helpful if you were replacing the stock with a new one.

As I understand the process, you need a good GI receiver. Not a welded one, or a cast one. And probably a replacement barrel, at the very least, as well as other worn parts you may encounter during the tear-down.

By the time you buy the necessary barrel vise and action wrench, pull-thru finish reamer, etc. you're going to have quite an investment. Probably double what a "CMP Special" would cost.

However, the project would definitely be a learning experience and would be fun, if you like a lot of detail work.

(By the way, just because I have the book doesn't mean I've done this. I bought the book as a reference to help me understand the internal workings of a Garand I bought in "functional" form.)
 
I'm not really recommending this, as the complete result is available from the CMP, with excellent support. However, building a Garand would qualify as building an older mil-surp rifle.
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I agree, that an M1 may be an interesting route to go. You can currently buy barreled receivers from the CMP, which comes with a properly headspaced bolt already installed. That would take care of most of the hard work, and leave you to fit a stock and all of the other small parts.
 
I guess I could have been a lot clearer. I was thinking about some thing like a barreled action were I just have to assemble the lower and put the two together. I have a project bolt rifle but not sure were to get parts for that. Its a mod. 08/34 .30 Brazilian Mauser/o3 Springfield. Ive been told its in 30-06.
 
Landlord, I'm not altogether sure what rifle you're talking about there, but I'd like to see you take the thing as far apart as you possibly can, get a book if you need to and strip everything down except for screwing the bbl out of the reciever. Lay it all out, and study real hard about whether you want to invest the $$ to go through with a build. By laying it all out, you can see where the money trail goes.

I'd heard all my life that while it's a neat idea- it's really rather a questionable idea to actually pursue. I can see the allure- I'm actually in the middle of a build myself. Kind of like a new vehicle. I've only had one new one my whole life and I'll likely never do it again based solely on how much $$ it depreciates the second you drive off the lot. I guess every young returning serviceman ought to have at least ONE new vehicle in his/her life.

My build is on a 1903A3 action, quite old custom stock. So far, I am $825 into the thing and I haven't even bought my Lilja bbl, trigger, rings, or machinework time yet. Without shipping and all those annoying nickle & dime things that pop up- I figure I'll be into this thing for a base price of $1570. There's a special feature I want to have done, and not a dang soul around here will touch it, but I guess I'll be investing in a specific tool for a minimum of $300 and upwards of $200 for the machine time to use it if I get charged the going rate. So that leaves me a minimum of $2070 for a rifle that will never sell for more than $800 becasue it does not have a well recognized name stuck on it.

So with that- How far do you want to go, are you ging to be happy with it the rest of your life, and/or do you mind taking a whopping loss if you sell? I don't want to discourage you, I just don't want you to walk into this thing blind. Everybody deserves to follow their dreams- it just sucks when your dreams kick your tail.
 
Oh yeah, I remember when you posted about that Mauser before, I had to use Google to figure out what you were talking about.

It is like this one, right?
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=288450302

Cool rifle.

If your 08/34 is missing some parts but otherwise intact (meaning no holes drilled in it), I would try and get it complete and shootable. Those are not common rifles, and while not as valuable as some other Mauser variations, and it probably fits my description above, $300 in parts to turn a $300 rifle into a $150 rifle. If it is drilled for a scope, then the value is gone, and knock yourself out. If you drill it for glass, the moment the drill bit touches the action, the value of the rifle is halved.

If it is intact and you don't want to mess with restoring it, see if you can find someone willing to trade for one that has already been molested.

If I remember correctly, the 08/34 is a Mauser 98 action, and most 98 and VZ-24 parts should fit it, but 08/34 parts are available.

Try Gun Parts Corp:
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Products.aspx?catid=4190

Looks Like Springfield Sporters even has bolts:
http://ssporters.com/parts/98 Mauser.htm
 
OK, you guys have have reminded me that first projects should should be taken with baby steps. You guys also reminded me that I wanted an 06.

Thank you emcon5, my rifle has no holes in it. The stock looks the worst but my local shot says I might have to cut about a 1/4 in off it do to water damage, but say it will still be safe. did you see the pics I posted of it a while back? Thank you again
 
What does build mean? Putting an AR15 is an assembly thing which simplifies things.

Bolt rifles really need machining usually. A 1917 Enfield can be bought as a rough sporter and refined into a super rifle, but requires lots of fitting, probably sending out for some machining.

A 10/22 is another good option. The issue is, with your skills(i.e. any no name smith) you will be turning it into a keeper.
 
Thank you emcon5, my rifle has no holes in it. The stock looks the worst but my local shot says I might have to cut about a 1/4 in off it do to water damage, but say it will still be safe. did you see the pics I posted of it a while back? Thank you again
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Yeah, I went back and looked, they are here but didn't see any obvious damage to the stock, other than the normal dings from a long service life. Where is the water damage?

You can replace the stock, Springfield Sporters lists one, and the handguard too.

Depending on how long it is, a VZ24 stock might fit as well.
 
Remington 700 are like the small block chevy, they have lots of after market support. Find an old model that's beat up and rebuild it.

If you want to rebuild a military surplus rifle then you might want to start with one that's already been sporterized. They frequently go for under $200.

Before you start make sure you know what the rifle is intended for. Form follows function and all that stuff.
 
emcon5
I think the water damage is very little, just bad enough the screw threads pulled out of the butt. I might just leave it and call it battle ware. I am thinking more on just a clean up type restore sense it not matching num.

Last night I took it out of the stock and cleaned a bunch of what looked like mud and smelled like oil or grease off the hidden metal then wiped it down with an oil rag. I was going to trying to start cleaning on the stock pieces but not sure how to start. It all feels oily and gritty. Then there is the spot that has some paint on it. I dont know if I should sand it or strip it, or just wipe it down with paint thinner?

I never even thought about building 10/22 or a 700.
 
I'm getting ready to start my first "real" build...deciding to use a Rem 700, or Mauser action...

Done the Military sporter thing...which is a good way to start as mentioned.

I've also "built" a couple of Savages.

While I consider them more of an "assembly" than a "build", they are also a good way to get your feet wet.

Buy a Savage action- you can even change the boltface if needed for your caliber of choice. Pick out an aftermarket stock, bed it and install pillars, and an aftermarket trigger. A set of gauges and a barrel wrench, and you can install the pre-fit barrel of your choice. Mount and an optic, and voila....
 
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I have got a few cheap break action shotguns and turned them into rifles by milling out an under lug and fastening it to a rifle barrel.
 
I don't know if there are any left,but I recently scored a 1903A3 receiver and bolt. (AIM Surplus)I bought an 03a-3 parts kit and a "C" pistolgrip stock from Sarco.I'm happy with the wood I got.

There would still be some parts to scrounge,bolt sleeve,buttplate,front sight.

I got a Criterion barrel,its an 03 A3 semi-drop in...short chambered,parkerized,threaded,extractor notch cut,front sight cut,index mark.Slight facing necessary to torque to index.

I will soon have a nice 03-a3 shooter..and I will have added one 03-a3 to the world.

My project is a military trim shooter.

Its not collectible,it has no history or provenance...but its an 03-a3.

For less than $40,I got the stuff to do a small batch of black parkerizing...original was not black,but my bbl and re-park receiver/bolt are.It will all match.

There will be som minor wood/metal fitting...handguard ,trigger guard and about the last 1% of the receiver details.
 
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