Nice custom .458

Some amount of color case hardening might belong on the sides of a restored Winchester 73, the lever of a vintage Savage 99 and etc., but I think the recent fad of decoratively plastering it all over custom (mostly Mauser 98) rifles is grotesque. Just an opinion.
 
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I don't think any Mannlicher-Schoenauer factory sporter exactly qualifies as a "sow's ear"...

A person might need some experience shooting and hunting with M-S rifles to truly appreciate them.
 
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These rifles are a perfect example of a design with some shortcomings which works exceptionally well because the quality is so high. These actions are super-smooth and the bolt handle location, which might seem awkward, reduces any chance of binding. The rotary magazine necessitates a slightly pregnant stock profile but they still carry pretty well. Locktime is very slow but ignition is positive. From what I have read, the Professional Hunters regard the Mannlicher very highly.
 
Looks out of place just having the bolt release case colored

Bolt releases on Mausers are often a different color from the rest of the receiver because they mostly consist of a tempered spring and the tempering process colors the steel.
 
On a practical level, I think I would prefer a Mauser 98. No argument against the quality of the workmanship. I agree that people get carried away with the colour hardening. The beauty is in the contrasts, and having everything colour hardened is too much of the same.
 
Nice rifle, a bit "over-engineered" for my tastes, but there is no lack of high-quality workmanship. Really good work. My problem with these guns is mating them to a scope. To me , a scope, and not a 3-leaf open sight ruins any "panache" the gun holds.
 
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