AMMASHOOTA
Gary Gruber
i'm faced with an unusual decision. i recently purchased a used BRNO Mauser for its action to build 9.3x62 hunting rifle for African plains game.
as i disassembled the rifle and began cleaning and polishing its parts, i got to the receiver and noticed something interesting. there is significant peening at the top of the bolt stop, precisely where the bolt body hits the receiver.
to me, this is an indication of the bolt being cycled very quickly -- probably in the heat of battle to get the next round into the chamber. i immediately began to look carefully at the rest of the action. Maybe its my imagination, perhaps wishful thinking, but i found what appears to be cross scribed in the receiver just above the bolt release.
i know i am not going to remove the peening. to me, its historical significance far outweighs any esoteric considerations regarding building a 'nice looking' rifle.
while i plan to spend quite a bit of time and money building this rifle, and will more than likely be replacing other parts, i am not sure how the rifle will look with its myriad of finely sculptured parts (a fine stock and a side levered safety) --against a partially refinished action.
i was at first considering bluing everything, and thought about bead blasting and matte blacking the receiver and barrel.
i guess what i am balking at is how to build what i want, have it look good and not loose what i consider to be some of the historical elements of the receiver. if i polish it to remove the scratches and small dings, it will certainly look better, if i leave them alone they will stand out against any form of refinishing as 'blemishes'.
is there a happy medium here? is there a way to retain those aspects of the receiver that show its historical significance and still build a spectacular looking and shooting rifle?
as i disassembled the rifle and began cleaning and polishing its parts, i got to the receiver and noticed something interesting. there is significant peening at the top of the bolt stop, precisely where the bolt body hits the receiver.
to me, this is an indication of the bolt being cycled very quickly -- probably in the heat of battle to get the next round into the chamber. i immediately began to look carefully at the rest of the action. Maybe its my imagination, perhaps wishful thinking, but i found what appears to be cross scribed in the receiver just above the bolt release.
i know i am not going to remove the peening. to me, its historical significance far outweighs any esoteric considerations regarding building a 'nice looking' rifle.
while i plan to spend quite a bit of time and money building this rifle, and will more than likely be replacing other parts, i am not sure how the rifle will look with its myriad of finely sculptured parts (a fine stock and a side levered safety) --against a partially refinished action.
i was at first considering bluing everything, and thought about bead blasting and matte blacking the receiver and barrel.
i guess what i am balking at is how to build what i want, have it look good and not loose what i consider to be some of the historical elements of the receiver. if i polish it to remove the scratches and small dings, it will certainly look better, if i leave them alone they will stand out against any form of refinishing as 'blemishes'.
is there a happy medium here? is there a way to retain those aspects of the receiver that show its historical significance and still build a spectacular looking and shooting rifle?
