Hey, I'll keep this short.
I have a weird Mauser 71/84 sporter project I'm working on, it's pretty hacked up so there's no value lost in further sporterizing it. I'm looking to make a new stock for it because the old one is cut up and has been hideously spliced in a number of locations. I'm having a hard time coming up with an appropriately sized blank though.
I'm interested in keeping the barrel at 31½" to keep the sights set properly and to maximize the ballistics of black powder 11mm Mauser. In theory I could shorten it down to 26" or even 22" and use a Mannlicher blank but the velocity drops fast with b/p and I intend to hunt with the thing. Plus then I'm sure the sights will be significantly off.
Does anyone have any thoughts on sourcing a large enough walnut or maple stock blank for this kind of project? I did look around at local sources for live edge slabs but the issue with those is that they're rarely thicker than 2.00" (2.75" would be ideal) and they frequently lack the straight grain needed for a gun stock. I suppose burl is fine if you're making furniture but it's not working for my purposes!
Thanks
I have a weird Mauser 71/84 sporter project I'm working on, it's pretty hacked up so there's no value lost in further sporterizing it. I'm looking to make a new stock for it because the old one is cut up and has been hideously spliced in a number of locations. I'm having a hard time coming up with an appropriately sized blank though.
I'm interested in keeping the barrel at 31½" to keep the sights set properly and to maximize the ballistics of black powder 11mm Mauser. In theory I could shorten it down to 26" or even 22" and use a Mannlicher blank but the velocity drops fast with b/p and I intend to hunt with the thing. Plus then I'm sure the sights will be significantly off.
Does anyone have any thoughts on sourcing a large enough walnut or maple stock blank for this kind of project? I did look around at local sources for live edge slabs but the issue with those is that they're rarely thicker than 2.00" (2.75" would be ideal) and they frequently lack the straight grain needed for a gun stock. I suppose burl is fine if you're making furniture but it's not working for my purposes!
Thanks