my dad had a remington 1917 bolt action rifle that a friend of his back in the 70s had built a stock for. dad bought this gun and its the only one i ever remember him deer hunting with. i dont think it has the original barrel but i know the action is original as its stamped. still has a peep site on it although i think that was an upgrade from the original to. anyway, the stock was plain and very heavy. he gave the gun to me for some reason (we dont talk or get along well) so today i took it all apart, sanded the old finish off, rounded the forearm sides but left a flat bottom on it, sanded out the barrel groove to get rid of a ton of excess glue and free floated the barrel, sanded the left side of the grip down cause it was huge but left the right side so it would feel like a palm grip. then i sanded some extra wood off because it felt like it was leaning to the right when it came up now it sits straight in my hand. im gonna re finish the stock, put sling mounts on it, and attempt to re blue the metal, add a limb saver recoil pad. debating on rather to drill an tap or leave peep on it. wanna pass it down to my grandkids someday. will be cool for them to hunt with the only rifle their great grandfather ever owned, and a piece of american history.
new project
- Thread starter bnsafe
- Start date
i have some pics on my phone but dont know how to get them on here. now that i sanded so much it wont look like the same. im leaning on leaving the peep, but i dont see well so a peep isnt as good for me as a scope. its unbelievably heavy, so it will never be a western gun. man did they put some steel in those old military guns.
Scott, sounds like a fun project. I\'ve done a few and enjoyed it. Never did spend the time to learn checkering though. Currently putting together a Ruger #1 in 257 Roberts.
On that gun you are doing I think you would like a dull hand rubbed finish over a high gloss. It also isn\'t that difficult to reblue if necessary.
Your Father probably gave it to you because he is prouder of you than he lets on!
On that gun you are doing I think you would like a dull hand rubbed finish over a high gloss. It also isn\'t that difficult to reblue if necessary.
Your Father probably gave it to you because he is prouder of you than he lets on!
its a 30.06, just like the original caliber of ww1. its that era. remington and a few others made these guns for the military during ww1 and they started ww2 til the garand got passed out.
im a great nurse but a lousy gunsmith, so time will tell how it turns out. im gonna reblue an stain it myself. got the casey birchwood kit ordered now.
brad i will work on sending some pics to you tom. thanks
im a great nurse but a lousy gunsmith, so time will tell how it turns out. im gonna reblue an stain it myself. got the casey birchwood kit ordered now.
brad i will work on sending some pics to you tom. thanks
\"mainebrdr\" said:
Now that\'s going to be a cool gun. I was taking my .257 Ackley out looking for a cow on a friend\'s ranch and he mentioned that he has used his Roberts for elk for years without trouble.
Amazing what low recoil and good shot placement with premium bullets can do ... but it\'d be really cool to pull it all together with a #1.
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,378
Scott, sounds like a cool project. One thing I would throw out there is to drill and tap it for a scope, but leave the peep. Then you can pull the scope off and use it with the peep, but you can also hunt with a scope. Beats the heck out of doing all that work and having the thing just sit in the safe and collect dust. I have rifles set up like this and the peep doesn\'t bother the scope if you set it up right.
\"cohunter14\" said:
You\'re right, of course, but ... isn\'t it strange how just owning a fine rifle -- like this one with historical significance -- is rewarding in some way?
I\'ve often thought it would be nice just to own a Garand. I probably wouldn\'t shoot it much, and I sure as heck wouldn\'t hunt with it. But just knowing that a piece of history exists in my safe would be cool.
Frankly, if I ever pick up a \"black rifle\", it\'ll probably have the same use. Not as a hunter, but just to own as a representation of a classic firearm.
I have firearms that I\'ll probably never use again in my safe ... none are what could be called \"fine firearms\" ... but they all have a significance to me, either from being passed down in the family, or they have special memories of people I\'ve hunted with over the years. They\'re kind of like the trophies on my wall -- none would make the cover of Eastman\'s or Outdoor Life, but they mean enough to me that just having them around is worth it.
John, did you say .257 Ackley? I have always wanted an Ackley Improved but never bit the bullet so to speak. I have always thought that would be the perfect all around gun. I had put together a beautiful .257 Roberts on a small ring Mauser action for my wife that I was considering opening up to an Ackley after she gave up hunting but it was unfortunately stolen along with some others out of my home a while back so now no Ackley!
I\'ll ask you about the particulars some time.
I\'ll ask you about the particulars some time.
Yeah ... it\'s a Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts now opened up to .257 Ackley Improved ... I\'m shooting some Hornady GMXs through it and I really wanted to shoot a cow elk with it this year, but it didn\'t happen.
If you reload, you can do a lot with it, and basically make it a .25-06 in terms of velocity and energy.
If you reload, you can do a lot with it, and basically make it a .25-06 in terms of velocity and energy.
i thought about drill and tapping it and just leaving it that way without the scope. will have to check into what that will cost. i do know, an i wouldnt believe it but i can see the hole, the original owner wanted it drilled and had somebody put one hole in it then quit, said the steel was to tough and couldnt do it. im sure he didnt have the right tools or didnt wanna put the work into it. but there is one hole already. other thing is i will have to look but i think the mount would have to go where the remington 1917 stamp is so that would stop me.
ive never wild catted anything but think it would be cool. i read alot of guys wild cat these guns and thought about it, but dont wanna pay someone and i dont reload.
ive never wild catted anything but think it would be cool. i read alot of guys wild cat these guns and thought about it, but dont wanna pay someone and i dont reload.
