Category: Uncategorized Page 1 of 11

Oh, my. Does time fly. I can’t believe it is already November. It’s been a while since I posted last. We’ve had such a nice summer and fall in Oklahoma. It makes life easier for sure. Except for a little vacation in the Ozarks, I’ve been working as hard as I can on various projects.

This particular rifle I delivered a couple of months ago to a gentleman in Alaska.

The caliber is .375 H&H. The client owns an older, mid. 50’s H&H built rifle in the caliber .300 H&H. It is an unusual light gun and fits him extremely well. Our goal was to recreate a very similar rifle in feel and looks, but in the caliber .375 H&H. This rifle weighs just a little over 8 pounds without the scope. the light weight was especially important to my client. The action is a vintage Mauser Oberndorf.

The cheek piece and light Monte Carlo back are adaptations based off the original rifle. We had fun selecting the wood. The blank proofed to have a warmer color then initially expected.

Lisa Tomlin added tasteful engravings to the rifle. She is such a delightful person, and I greatly value her contributions she has made to my business over the years. A few features: H&H style sights with banded rear sight ramp and banded H&H style front sight ramp. Trapdoor grip cap (in which the client stores a rolled up $100 bill for emergencies), and over the grip checkering. And of course, the usual re-work of the original action.

Custom bases and Talley scope mounts. The Mauser logo was enhanced in gold.

My wish is that the customer will enjoy this rifle as much or more as he does his vintage H&H rifle. He greatly deserves it.

For sale: Buehler CSA custom rifle, cal. .30-06

This rifle is pre-owned but in mint condition. It has only a couple of tiny handling marks, that are only visible by carful inspection. This rifle has been lovingly taken care off. About 250 rounds have been fired through it, so I consider the barrel fully broken in, the wood completely settled. It has been test fired by me for function and accuracy. Ready to go on your next hunt. The rifle is very accurate; it shoots with factory ammo well under 1 MOA.

The stock is made from a high-grade Turkish walnut blank. The action is a completely re-built new old stock after -war Persian Mauser 98, large ring. I consider the Persian Mausers as good or better as the 1909 Argentine action, so often used on custom projects. The barrel is a Pac-Nor super match grade, 24.5″ long. The rear sight ramp and the front sight ramp both are banded and flush filed to the barrel, to give it an integral look. The ramps were custom machined by me. Basically, the barrel is a copy of the vintage Rigby .275 barrels, but of better quality. Banded barrel swivel and engraved Express sights. Removable sight hood and flip up front sight. The scope is a high-quality German Leica scope, 3.5-10 power. Perfect in size with this rifle. Quick detachable Talley scope rings and custom machined and fitted scope bases. Recknagel trigger, hinged bottom metal and 3 position safety. The length of pull is 14 1/4″. Inlet rear sling swivel stud. Rust blued barreled action and oil finish on the stock. As always, I stand behind my work and behind this rifle.

$13700

Currently pending

I had the privilege to re-stock this 120-year-old Rigby rising bite double rifle. The rifle had been re-stocked sometimes in the last century by Lynton McKenzie. His inletting was fantastic, but the shape of the stock was hideous and un-practical. I attempted to bring it back to original condition. The metal work on this rifle is a testament to the incredible English craftsmanship of the time. The height of gunmaking in England.

The lock in-letting presents always a certain challenge. As it remains hidden, it’s also an area where personal pride can shine.

Picture of the stock in the shaping process. Often, with one of a kind projects like this, I don’t bother with a pattern and make the stock from the blank. With re-stocking, two problems occur. First, great care must be taken not to damage the metal and engravings. Therefore, you are forced to leave the wood slightly prouder as on a new stocking before engraving. Secondly, re-using the original engraved screws and have them installed again flush and timed. I got very lucky on this, as I was able to re-install all of the original screws and didn’t need to replace a single one. That’s a testament to the incredible craftsmanship of the old guys.

This picture is of working on the interior of the forearm

Winchester 52, cal. 22lr.

The partial octagon barrel and a good portion of the metal work was done by another gunsmith. Still, it required a lot of tweaking to get better proportions. I then stocked it and finished it.

If done well, it is so much fun to shoot a custom built .22.

Re-stocking of vintage Holland & Holland rifle:

This is a before and after photo of a .458 Win. Mag rifle made by Holland & Holland. I guess it was built in the 80’s. I had the pleasure to re-stock the rifle and update it to a vintage / modern look. In order to avoid re-bluing, a lot of care has to be applied in order not to mare the metal. The magazine box was made of aluminum, and fortunately I was able to avoid scratching it up.

.223 Hagn Falling Block:

The metal work on this rifle was done by Ralph Martini, in Canada. I stocked it and finished it. The goal with the stock was to give it an English look yet incorporate ribbons in the checkering. The result can be seen in the pictures. The action is rather tiny. It is challenging to make a small rifle like this proportionally pleasing and still very functional for the shooter. The ideal look would be achieved by downsizing all the proportions according to the size of the action. It would look great but wouldn’t be very usable. There is always a balance that has to be found in these kinds of projects.

For sale: Cal. .375 H&H rifle, with quick detachable Recknagel swing mount and Schmidt and Bender 1.5 – 4 power scope with red dot illumination.

I built this rifle a few years ago. It is in mint condition and aside from my initial testing, I believe it has not been fired since. The gentleman I built it for is reducing much of his gun collecting due to his age.

24″ Pac Nor super match grade barrel, 14.5″ length of pull, Granite Mountain Arms Mauser type magnum square bridge action. Leather covered recoil pad. The stock was built from a 30-year-old piece of French walnut.

With custom machined quarter rib and front sight ramp. Express sights.

Rust blued barreled action.

Please inquire for more info: info@customsportingarms.com

(541) 664 9109

sold

Buehler rifle #2, cal. 9.3×62. English inspired. GMA standard small ring receiver with added drop box magazine. Mauser style German claw mount and integral machined barrel with Rigby #2 style contour.

This picture shows several modifications I made to the GMA double square bridge action. I always re-contour the beefy shroud with a milling cut. Little touches like this may escape the viewer, but it adds a pleasing look overall. Further on this action I cut a thumb cut into the receiver wall and added a wider, nicer contoured custom trigger bow. A custom-made standard size drop box magazine was added to the action. The drop box really achieves that African big game look of a rifle. I filed off the front square bridge on the receiver as it was not needed for this scope mount and would have been “a bridge too far” or too many. Whatever.

A big part in the building of this rifle was the machining of the barrel with the integral sight ramps, swivel band and Rigby flat. It started off with a 1.4″ thick barrel blank. Half of it turned into chips.

The action rear bridge I machined, like the Mauser factory did in the old days, to accept the claw mount locking mechanism and scope mount rear leg.

Stocking in process. The stock blank is Turkish walnut, bought from a source in Turkey.

Pretty sure I mentioned it in another post. I love this caliber. Mild recoil, great accuracy, and it carries a punch. What’s not to like about it!

Buehler Custom Sporting Arms English Express rifle, cal. .404 Jeffery. Magnum Mauser type square bridge action. With custom QD mount and Swarovski scope. Color case hardened, engravings by Lisa Tomlin.

This rifle was in process for some time. The project started off with a Hagn action, a beautiful Turkish stock blank and a 1.4″ thick barrel blank. Martin Hagn passed away last year and left a considerable gap behind. The design of his action is second to none and it remains the best falling-block system out there. I had the pleasure to talk to him often and tremendously valued his opinions on everything gun related. Rest in peace, old master! I’m looking forward to building many more rifles with Hagn type actions.

A little unusual is the caliber for North America. The 7×64 was the most popular hunting cartridge in Europe, in the old days when I worked in Switzerland. It probably still is. A great choice for an international traveler.

My client wanted to incorporate a round pistol grip. Previously I hadn’t done it on a Hagn. Whenever I run into something unusual, I make a full-size drawing first. This stock was made from the blank, without pantograph machining. For one-of-a-kind projects this approach is faster and easier for me. I’m always amazed at so called “stock makers” that can’t inlet nor shape a stock without a pattern.

I machined the barrel blank to octagon shape with full-length rib, front sight ramp and sling swivel stud, all integral.

The metal got sent to Italy and was engraved at Creative Arts. These guys are in a league of their own. To my knowledge, we just don’t have engravers of that caliber in the USA. The engraving pattern reminds me of the Oklahoma weather. In me, the rifle evokes a range of feelings, from calm to unsettled. I love it. I hope you like it too.

I have a few English walnut stock blanks for sale. They are 30 + years old.

UL13 is sold.

The prices are listed on the blanks. Please contact me for questions at reto@customsportingarms.com or (541) 664 9109

As always, I have multiple projects going all at once. No rest for the weary. The picture above is of a Hagn rifle caliber 7×64 in process. Working on the checkering. It has been engraved in Italy by Creative Arts.

Another project has been the machining of a .30-06 barrel. All integral. The work on this rifle has just begun.

In between I’m working on a stock for a .22lr custom rifle. It will receive several one-of-a-kind features, such as this butt plate.