I have been interested in a 9.3x57 for a long time for some reason. Not sure exactly why but the little round lobbing big heavy bullets has always intrigued me. I've owned two 9.3x62's over the years (one was actually a 9.3x57 that I had rechambered) and they were great but I sold them as I just didn't use them often enough and needed the money for other projects. Last year I found myself itching to get into the 9.3's again and started looking for a good candidate for the build I had in mind. It took me a while as I had several criteria that needed to be met before I would purchase it. First, I was planning on shooting hard cast so a very good bore was a must. Second, I didn't want anything with holes drilled for a side mount, receiver sight, or drilled improperly for Weaver style bases as so many of the Husqvarna imports are. Third, I didn't want to molest a minty unaltered original example so it had to have some mods done already and fourth, it had to have an unaltered bolt handle.
I spent a bunch of time off and on searching the various dealers with vintage Husqvarna M98's in 9.3x57 and finally settled on this one. I didn't take any before pics but it had a big chunk out of the buttstock that had been horrendously repaired and was drilled and tapped with Weaver bases. From the pics I could tell the holes were in the proper location and the description said it had a very good bore so I put my order in.
First thing I found was that although it was indeed d&t'd in the correct location, it had been tapped to some tiny metric sized screws holding the bases on. If I was going to use the bases it wouldn't have been an issue but I wanted to use Talley Lightweights so I mounted it in my jig and luckily the holes cleaned up perfectly to 6-48. One hole was even off a bit but still cleaned up nicely. The next thing I tackled was removing the charger bridge. I've done a ton of them in the past so not a big deal, just a time. The Talley's were then bedded to the receiver for a perfect stress free fit.
Next on the list was the bolt. Obviously it would need a new handle as the original wouldn't have cleared anything but super high rings. I've always liked the original bolt knobs with the checkering on the underside so I wanted to save it and incorporate it into the replacement handle. I just wanted a straight, sort of "Oberndorf" style handle, so the original handle was cut off. The original knob was cut off of it, then grafted onto a section of a Spanish M43 straight bolt handle from another project years ago, then the whole thing welded back onto the bolt. I think it turned out pretty good.
Initially I was planning on replacing the stock so I just did a quick repair to the buttstock that fits and functions nicely but doesn't look great. I just grabbed a chunk of 2x4 and made a piece to replace the big chunk missing. I also one upped Ted and used exercise mat to make a "recoil pad". I had just wanted to make the stock functional so that I could use it for shooting and bear hunting until the project progressed to the point where I was going to replace the stock. Now I'm not so sure I'm going to replace it so I may use an actual chunk of walnut and do a proper repair to the toe and install a proper recoil pad but we'll see.
Since I don't have a lathe or milling machine it was off to a gunsmith friend of mine for a little work. The barrel was cut and crowned at 20 inches and the step where the rear sight was, was taken off to blend into the taper of the barrel. He also installed the Recknagel 3 position safety. I installed a Timney Featherweight to finish off the upgrades.
I installed a used Leupold 1-4x20 Freedom on it and loaded up some rounds with H4895 and Jet 250gr hardcast bullets. With a pretty mild load it will group right around 2", which isn't bad and good enough for it's intended purpose as a short, handy, close range bush and stand gun.
So I'm not sure where to take it from here. One thing I am considering is getting a stock maker to make me a semi inletted stock but without the cuts for the bottom metal and turning it into a blind mag. I would use aluminum pillars and and aluminum trigger guard, possibly off a Kimber Montana to cut down on weight and make it a little more unique. The bolt handle and lathe work on the barrel are just cold blued for now so it needs to be refinished at some point. Possibly rust blued? The Recknagel is stainless and I will just leave it as is. The contrast isn't unappealing to me.
Any comments on the build so far and suggestions as to what to do next are appreciated.
I spent a bunch of time off and on searching the various dealers with vintage Husqvarna M98's in 9.3x57 and finally settled on this one. I didn't take any before pics but it had a big chunk out of the buttstock that had been horrendously repaired and was drilled and tapped with Weaver bases. From the pics I could tell the holes were in the proper location and the description said it had a very good bore so I put my order in.
First thing I found was that although it was indeed d&t'd in the correct location, it had been tapped to some tiny metric sized screws holding the bases on. If I was going to use the bases it wouldn't have been an issue but I wanted to use Talley Lightweights so I mounted it in my jig and luckily the holes cleaned up perfectly to 6-48. One hole was even off a bit but still cleaned up nicely. The next thing I tackled was removing the charger bridge. I've done a ton of them in the past so not a big deal, just a time. The Talley's were then bedded to the receiver for a perfect stress free fit.
Next on the list was the bolt. Obviously it would need a new handle as the original wouldn't have cleared anything but super high rings. I've always liked the original bolt knobs with the checkering on the underside so I wanted to save it and incorporate it into the replacement handle. I just wanted a straight, sort of "Oberndorf" style handle, so the original handle was cut off. The original knob was cut off of it, then grafted onto a section of a Spanish M43 straight bolt handle from another project years ago, then the whole thing welded back onto the bolt. I think it turned out pretty good.
Initially I was planning on replacing the stock so I just did a quick repair to the buttstock that fits and functions nicely but doesn't look great. I just grabbed a chunk of 2x4 and made a piece to replace the big chunk missing. I also one upped Ted and used exercise mat to make a "recoil pad". I had just wanted to make the stock functional so that I could use it for shooting and bear hunting until the project progressed to the point where I was going to replace the stock. Now I'm not so sure I'm going to replace it so I may use an actual chunk of walnut and do a proper repair to the toe and install a proper recoil pad but we'll see.
Since I don't have a lathe or milling machine it was off to a gunsmith friend of mine for a little work. The barrel was cut and crowned at 20 inches and the step where the rear sight was, was taken off to blend into the taper of the barrel. He also installed the Recknagel 3 position safety. I installed a Timney Featherweight to finish off the upgrades.
I installed a used Leupold 1-4x20 Freedom on it and loaded up some rounds with H4895 and Jet 250gr hardcast bullets. With a pretty mild load it will group right around 2", which isn't bad and good enough for it's intended purpose as a short, handy, close range bush and stand gun.
So I'm not sure where to take it from here. One thing I am considering is getting a stock maker to make me a semi inletted stock but without the cuts for the bottom metal and turning it into a blind mag. I would use aluminum pillars and and aluminum trigger guard, possibly off a Kimber Montana to cut down on weight and make it a little more unique. The bolt handle and lathe work on the barrel are just cold blued for now so it needs to be refinished at some point. Possibly rust blued? The Recknagel is stainless and I will just leave it as is. The contrast isn't unappealing to me.
Any comments on the build so far and suggestions as to what to do next are appreciated.
