8x68S owner's opinions

[Gert Odendaal]

ZG 47, your input is as always much, much appreciated Sir. Looking forward to some discussion in this regards. Have a peaceful night`s rest

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Good, I did some research, I am going not the ordinary route, something not so every day purchased , instead of a Leopold /Zeis or Swarovski ....but a nice old brand ...

Members, this is the scope I will fit onto my 8x68S Mauser rifle..I already bought it...
https://www.africahunting.com/media...20x50mm-dual-x-reticle-black-matte.77035/full

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Good members of this great forum...here is an update in regards to the 8x68S rifle build...
Fist off, please let me express my sincere gratitude towards members here on the forum who went out of their path to assist me in sourcing items I would never been able to get hold of on my own....
Dave West, Tony Byrd, and Georg Poppel ..please except my great appreciation for assisting me to acquire items for my 8x68S building project...
Here are the items I now can add to my project:
Weaver Grand slam scope:

To top it off:
A heavy bag full of 8x68S brass RWS brand as well as a bag full of 6.5 x 68 RWS brass as well..now I have no other choice ..I just have to build a 6.5 x 68 caliber rifle as well...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

What do I have at this stage for the build:
Pac-Nor barrel ( courtesy Dave West )
Weaver rifle scope, Peep sight(courtesy Tony Byrd )
A lot /bag full of RWS brass , Double set trigger (Georg Poppel)
Shipping/ordering /bringing with all the equipment/parts , all three members and friends...thank you again friends it is much , much appreciated...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

On my side a Mauser 98 Obendorf action, excellent quality Wall nut blank, 8x68S Finishing chamber reamer with solid pilot (Johan Greyling)....as you can see it really is great to have friends who always are willing to assist to make a rifle build possible...

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Good members, I had half an hour today to work on the Mauser 98 action magazine box I need to build to accommodate the OAL 91 mm round of the 8x68S caliber rifle I am currently build. I removed the old magazine box by hacksaw. I need now to surface grind the bottom metal level and start building the new magnum length magazine box. Maybe it is a good idea to explain why I deem it necessary to do this extra work on the action/magazine box. The RWS brass casings are extremely thick ..so the volume in the case are less than what it would be in a 8x68S brass casing if it was the same thickness of a normal brass casing. ( good reason) I will be using a over all length of 91mm ...Therefore I need to enlarge the magazine box and opened up the action to the rear by milling away the stripper clip opening.
I will be forming the magnum magazine box using 1mm thick spring steel sheet metal...a few photos ..will make some more progress the coming weekend ....some photos:

 

[Shootist43]

Gert this is getting more interesting all the time. Please keep the progress reports and photos coming.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Gert this is getting more interesting all the time. Please keep the progress reports and photos coming.

Shootist43, I will try to get to the gunsmith shop more often, installing new kitchen cupboards in my house are keeping me busy..but I really try to keep up with all the projects I am currently busy with... While busy building the magnum length magazine box for the live round 91mm , 8x68S , I want to fit the double set trigger that HWL send me from Germany...if all the work on the action is completed I will commence working on the Wall nut blank ...as soon as the barrel arrives I will focus completely on fitting the barreled action ...the scope is arriving as well ..at some time thing are going to speed up ....

 

[nztimb]

Irons in the fire Gert will keep you warm rotating them
We do need projects to keep the mind and body active

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Irons in the fire Gert will keep you warm rotating them
We do need projects to keep the mind and body active

Yes, Garry, you are quite correct, one of the irons is the wood and bone I still need to send to you...I need to put that one to the front of the fire Been busy fitting kitchen cupboards made from old pallets , I want my kitchen to have an antique/rustic look...some photos:

 

[bruce moulds]

gert,
you live a good life.
bruce.

 

[nztimb]

A lot more work (and satisfaction) than picking up hinges from the hardware store and making the cupboards from a sheet of something from the same outlet.
I spent 18 months building a home that was to reflect being built in 1860 and made the kitchen, ceilings, staircase doors and much else from recycled timber.
I made the trusses from 300x100 for the bottom cords and 2 x 300x50 for the top cords and braces. I made the trusses in two parts and then bolted them together for instalation.
All the interior wood work was from weatherboards that I re machined as was the kitchen and doors. The stair case was from kauri and the newel posts I made from the 100mm thick rimu left from the truss bottom cords. Handrails etc were all from the 50mm rimu that was left from the truss top cords.
Six sets of French doors and hundreds of pains of glass in the colonial set windows. The most rewarding house I built before I retired. A few years later it was sold on for 1.75 million so I took some pleasure from the value placed on it.
There was a full basement underneath where I built in a wine store room and an old style meat safe. A hidden opening in the stair up to the storm door that allowed access to a hiding place

 

[bruce moulds]

might that hiding place be a "priest hole".?
very popular during the English civil war.
bruce.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

gert,
you live a good life.
bruce.

Thank you Bruce, yes, I am extremely fortunate to be living a free and good life and blessed to have a lot of hobbies /interests to engage in...a few excellent friends who share these passions/ interests...and crafts..and great forums to share it with other people/members..yes , I am really blessed..

 

[Gert Odendaal]

A lot more work (and satisfaction) than picking up hinges from the hardware store and making the cupboards from a sheet of something from the same outlet.
I spent 18 months building a home that was to reflect being built in 1860 and made the kitchen, ceilings, staircase doors and much else from recycled timber.
I made the trusses from 300x100 for the bottom cords and 2 x 300x50 for the top cords and braces. I made the trusses in two parts and then bolted them together for instalation.
All the interior wood work was from weatherboards that I re machined as was the kitchen and doors. The stair case was from kauri and the newel posts I made from the 100mm thick rimu left from the truss bottom cords. Handrails etc were all from the 50mm rimu that was left from the truss top cords.
Six sets of French doors and hundreds of pains of glass in the colonial set windows. The most rewarding house I built before I retired. A few years later it was sold on for 1.75 million so I took some pleasure from the value placed on it.
There was a full basement underneath where I built in a wine store room and an old style meat safe. A hidden opening in the stair up to the storm door that allowed access to a hiding place
View attachment 278828 View attachment 278829 View attachment 278830 View attachment 278831 View attachment 278832 View attachment 278833 View attachment 278834 View attachment 278835 View attachment 278836

Garry, you really are a great , great craftsman , who really can make/build anything ..and then do it perfect as well

 

[nztimb]

might that hiding place be a "priest hole".?
very popular during the English civil war.
bruce.

Nothing so grand Bruce. The treads were made from 300x150 rimu so it was simply one step that could be removed to allow for access to a recess underneath. 20 or 30 guns could be hidden there with ease or anything else of a similar size that would fit through the 300 wide opening.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Good, members, I had some time today to work on the action again, this time I fit the double set trigger I received as a gift from HWL.

I will upload some photos . This is a tedious procedure, I removed most of the metal by milling machine, the rest I filed away....the trigger opening of a standard Mauser action needs to be open up a great deal for the two triggers to be able to fit and to be set and pull...this work I did by milling away the metal..the double trigger fit correctly now.
Another piece of work I completed today was to mill away the complete magazine box and latch ..I want the magazine lid to be secured and not be able to open .

Looking at the lines scribe on the side of the bottom metal and the piece of metal plate standing at the back of the bottom metal, all this material was milled away and surfaced grind to a perfect level surface.
I will be working again coming Saturday and will upload photos of the work I did....

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Good, members, I had time today to work in the gunsmith shop..this time I completed the fitting of the double set trigger in a Mauser trigger guard. As pointed out it is a slow and tedious job with milling work, filing work and spraying engineering blue to find the high spots and file them down..
When fitting a double set trigger in a Mauser trigger guard one need to remove a ot of metal from the single trigger opening to accommodate a double set trigger.
Here are a few photos:

Moving to the next procedure:
Milling a magazine follower ...I will be milling a complete magazine follower from a piece of steel..

The follower will be larger than this example that is made from brass...

When cutting off the complete magazine box and latch I got a great spin off as well...the piece I cut off will be use to build a great ghost ring for my Martini Henry or Mauser 71 rifle....here are a few photos:

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Good, members I had some time today to work on the action /double set trigger again..at this stage I completed fitting of the double set trigger..the last step being securing the double set trigger in the trigger guard /frame..fortunately the double set trigger I received from a fellow member on this forum as a gift, HWL from Germany..has two holes where I will be able to pin it to the trigger guard frame...
Fitting the double set trigger onto the side of the trigger guard to enable me to make sure I drill the two holes correctly to pin the double set trigger secure in it`s place...

Work on the action/trigger near completion..I now need to focus on rifle stock design..through reading/searching forums and looking for appropriate stock designs that will fit a real classic 8x68S rifle ..I now have two choices ..here are the photos of a African Mauser rifle stock and the Mannlicher Schoenauer design I previous uploaded onto this thread..
African Mauser design

Mannlicher Shoenauer design ..

Now for the fun part:
Members, I am asking you to make a choice for me between these two rifles stocks , which one should I use for this 8x68S rifle , classic rifle build????

 

[ZG47]

The one that will fit YOU best and ... you knew I would say that!