Hello All,
As many of you have seen, I collect Brevex Magnum Mauser Rifles. I also collect rifles by the classic makers of the 1950's.
Here is a rifle that I recently acquired that fits both my collecting catagories.
The rifle was originally listed on ARMSLIST in late 2014.
NOTE: - I CAUTION EVERYONE ABOUT ARMSLIST BECAUSE I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY FRAUDULANT LISTINGS THERE - SEVERAL LISTINGS I FOUND WERE FOR RIFLES THAT I HAD ALREADY PURCHASED FROM OTHER SITES - THEY WERE BEING FRAUDULANTLY OFFERED AGAIN ON ARMSLIST AT BARGAIN PRICES, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE RESTING COMFORTABLY IN MY GUN SAFE - SO, BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL BEFORE SENDING MONEY. .
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The Armslist listing was s follows:
I called the seller and found him to be the same man that sold me a 10.75x68 Oberndorf Mauser a few years earlier. That one came to him from the Rhodesian Game Department.
He described this rifle as one he had purchased some time ago, and sent the pictures shown above. Here is what he said about the rifle;
Brevex Mauser Magnum Action - M.300 #281
450 Ackley Magnum caliber
26" APEX Barrel
2nd forward recoil lug - bottom of the barrel - under the rear site
Timney Trigger (
no safety)
10lbs 13oz
Win Mod 70 Super Grade Safari Sights
4x PCH Lyman All American Scope
He went on to say that he thought the custom stock was either made by Monty Kennedy, the Author of "Checkering and Carving of Gun Stocks", or perhaps one of the stockmakers listed in the book, he wasn't sure.
And, here is what I got - I took these pictures upon receiving the rilfe:
This was a really nice looking custom rifle built in the 1960's on a French BREVEX Magnum Mauser action. The left side of the mag box is marked in tiny letters, "Made in France" as can be seen in the photo. This is my 5th Brevex actioned rifle. (I'm still looking for more if you know of one for sale)
For those not familiar with this cartridge, the 450 Ackley Mag is a step-up from the 458 Lott. It is like an "improved" version of the Lott, with a slightly longer case with a blown-out shoulder. It holds about 10% more powder.
A very interesting feature of the custom stock is the lack of any reinforcing cross bolts. The stockmaker instead dovetailed and spliced-in 2 "cross-grained" pieces of maple in the area between the triggerguard and the magazine opening.
It is a little difficult to see in the pictures - one piece of maple is spliced-in from the top, and one is spliced-in from the bottom. There remains a web bridge of the original stock in-between the two splices. The fit is absolutely perfect.
Only a Master stockmaker could accomplish such detailed work. In addition, the borderless lightning pattern checkereing is flawless without a single edge bump. There is also a whimsical outline around the cheekpiece flare, and it has perfect metal to wood fit.
But who did this work? One hint comes from the grip cap. The grip cap is rosewood with a black ebony "diamond" inlay. Although a diamond inlay is used by many stockmakers today, it was originated by a Master Stockamker in the 1940's who ultimately went to work for Roy Weatherby. Roy described him as "My first, and Best Stockmaker, ever." He was the one that designed the classic Weatherby stock for Roy, and today all Weatherby's carry his diamond mark.
And there is.... his maker's stamp, just ahead of the forward recoil lug recess in the barrel channel. "
LG Mews" That is Leonard G Mews. There is much written about him, and by him, in Monty Kennedy's book. The seller was right.
Little did he know that I also collect rifles by Leonard Mews, now having 13 in my collection. When people ask me about a Mews stock, I tell them; "if you can find a single border bump, or a single overrun, or a single irregular checkered diamond - its not Leonard's work." His stocks were perfect.
On a final note, as described to me, this rifle was received without any safety, just a commercial schroud. And although I genreally resist changing any of a rifle's original features from the custom builder, when it comes to safety, I must. In this case I added a custom Winchester Style schroud with a 3-position safety, with a "second" safety built into the safety lever. This little knurled button "locks" the safety in the rear position, and must be pressed to allow the lever to move off safety. Some refer to this as a "stalking safety" or "gun bearer safety."
