A.L.B. Barrel information?

vagrantviking

vagrantviking

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Question for the collective wisdom of the people here.

I have a 98 Mauser action with the mag opening permanently blocked and, I believe, a Canjar trigger. It's attached to a heavy contour stainless barrel with the markings "A.L.B. 7.62 NATO". It is probably from some target shooting discipline going on in southern Alberta during the 80's but I've no idea what.
Just curious if anyone has any ideas regarding the barrel or what this rifle would have been meant for?
Bonus points for leads on a 98 Mauser stock with no magwell...
 
Sound like you have a old Target Rifle designed for DCRA/Bisley style shooting with iron sights. Mausers, P-14, P17 and #4's were popular and cheap actions to convert into target rifles back in the day. Although Target Rifle is still shot today provincially, nationally and internationally you won't find any of these old rifles on the line.
 
vagrantviking said:
Question for the collective wisdom of the people here.

I have a 98 Mauser action with the mag opening permanently blocked and, I believe, a Canjar trigger. It's attached to a heavy contour stainless barrel with the markings "A.L.B. 7.62 NATO". It is probably from some target shooting discipline going on in southern Alberta during the 80's but I've no idea what.
Just curious if anyone has any ideas regarding the barrel or what this rifle would have been meant for?
Bonus points for leads on a 98 Mauser stock with no magwell...
Click to expand...

The barrel markings tell me that was done by a conscientious gunsmith. Since the rifle and you are in Alberta, hit up the Alberta Provincial Rifle Association, and ask that the question be circulated in the gray archives of its senior members. Some one will likely recognize the markings and / or the barrel work. Don't bother with the Ottawa office of the DCRA. They don't deal with questions like this.
 
Looking to the DCRA is just for some ideas what equipment they use for what types of events. Looks like a variety of longer range bullseye but also F-class.
On the website there is very little detail on the gear used or course of fire though. I'm not quite ready to read the detailed rule books.

I shot a little recreational silhouette with this rifle in the early 90's but being a teenager at the time whatever information my father had regarding it's origin or loading info has been lost. I'll measure the twist in it and hope it's not so specialized as to need neck turning or anything too labour intensive. Being 7.62 NATO I doubt it but time will tell.
 
At the time rifles like that were being put together for competition everyone was still using issued IVI ammo. Twist is likely 1:14".

Every province has a rifle association and hold annual matches. These matches are shot prone, with iron sights off your elbows with the rifle supported by a jacket and sling. No front or rear rest.
Target dimensions can be found on the DCRA webpage but basically the bullseye worth 5 points is around 2 MOA, with a larger aiming mark. Inside the Bull is a 1 MOA V Bull. Ranges shot are 300 yards/m 500-600 yards or meters and 900 yards/800m 1000 yards/900m.
Shooting is either 2 or 3 to a mound firing alternate shots, shooters keep score for their shooting partner. Targets are pulled after every shot with the shot indicator placed in the shot hole and a value indicator placed on the target frame indication the value of the shot. A spotting scope is required to see the shot markers.
For large matches like the Canadian Fullbore Rifle Championships that run for 6 days in August at Connaught Ranges in Ottawa, you can expect to shoot 4 range a day and can expect to shoot roughly 50 rounds a day. Some days more some days a few less.
 
The barrel will be either a Shilen or a Hart. Shilen will have eight lands and grooves, a Hart will have six. The barrel was chambered and installed by Arthur Linden Bourne (Art Bourne). Art was a skilled gunsmith who was active in DCRA shooting in the seventies and eighties. Does the rifle not have a stock now? Art had one rifle which was built on a Model 98 single shot (a rare action). It was stocked in a Fajen maple/walnut laminate.
 
Thanks for your input! I figured someone here would recognize the initials and style.

After cleaning and inspecting it some more last night it has 8 grooves and about 1 in 11.5 twist. Also is 26" long and has 76 stamped on the underside.

The magazine opening looks like it's filled with epoxy.

Currently it's in a cherry wood stock my father made when he acquired it around 89 or 90. I've been getting together components to load for it and deciding if I should bed it or look into a different stock. Haven't fired it in probably 20 years but it's too nice to just sit. Might try cast bullets just for fun.
 
The "76" indicates that he built this rifle in 1976 when he first moved to Kamloops BC. with Bob Hobbs, another DCRA shooter, who started Guncraft in Kamloops in '76. George Farquharson, the originator of "F" class shooting, also worked there.
 
Leeper said:
The barrel will be either a Shilen or a Hart. Shilen will have eight lands and grooves, a Hart will have six. The barrel was chambered and installed by Arthur Linden Bourne (Art Bourne). Art was a skilled gunsmith who was active in DCRA shooting in the seventies and eighties. Does the rifle not have a stock now? Art had one rifle which was built on a Model 98 single shot (a rare action). It was stocked in a Fajen maple/walnut laminate.
Click to expand...

I was going to guess Art Bourne but the middle initial threw me...
 
Leeper, that sounds like Arts palma build, they had the shop in Edmonton,open sight thousand. Ed and he, I will be seeing Ed this summer and check.
 
Leeper said:
The barrel will be either a Shilen or a Hart. Shilen will have eight lands and grooves, a Hart will have six. The barrel was chambered and installed by Arthur Linden Bourne (Art Bourne). Art was a skilled gunsmith who was active in DCRA shooting in the seventies and eighties. Does the rifle not have a stock now? Art had one rifle which was built on a Model 98 single shot (a rare action). It was stocked in a Fajen maple/walnut laminate.
Click to expand...

YES it's an Art Bourne chambered bbl, I beleive I have the action your talking about except it is a single shot model 70, it was in a blond laminated stock, fluted 6 groove bbl with a bbl block, & was chambered in 300 win mag.. I would post a picture but that's beyond my tech at this time.
 
No. The single shot Model 70 belonged to Bob Hobbs and was built by Art Bourne. The rifle was originally barreled in 7mm Rem Mag and was built with the intent to win the DCRA any rifle any sight match which I believe it did. Bob shot that 7 mm until the throat was about 4 inches long and accuracy had faded. He decided to go with a 300 with the rebarrel. When it was finished, it shot well but was too heavy up front so Art fluted the barrel to move the balance back. I can't recall whether that was an open bottom M70 with the magazine port filled in or the actual solid bottomed single shot. I know Bob had both.
Art's rifle was a single shot Mauser 98 (not an FN) and, the last time I saw it being shot it was a 7x64 Improved.
Bob and Art both liked the Model 70's and both shot rifles based on them.
 
Does the number on the bolt match the receiver? I'm just curious. I can't remember whether Art opened the bolt face or switched bolts. The single shots, which were produced in limited numbers, by Winchester, for Palma matches, were all 308 bolt faces, as far as I know. Of course, there is always the possibility (however slim, ha ha) that I am wrong. Not a derail; this is kind of a gunsmith's history thread. Art Bourne was one of several very good gunsmiths who were active in the 60's and 70's in western Canada. Dennis Sorenson is another. I won't try to list them because I would miss some but these are two whose work I always admired. Both chambered barrels for my Dad.
 
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