doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Rem 720

Now that the auction is completed, I am curious what you all think of this and did you see what I think I might have seen.

Rem 720

Thanks,
John

I think it has an adjustable trigger not mentioned in the auction description.

Other than the oddly shaped cheekpiece, the curly maple, checkering and stock lines look like Hal Hartley's work.

I'm not too bright, but how about a Hartley gun with a set trigger? I didn't see a price, but I like it. I hope my guess doesn't embarrass me.

I suspect that the Canjar set trigger was added later.

John

Hartley was one of my two guesses. I've not seen a lot of his work, but his style and quality did seem to vary considerable.

eightbore. No embarrassment here. I recall Michael admitting to jumping to some conclusions that later turned out to be erroneous.

John

Pretty sure the trigger is a Canjar, but I don’t think that is the most interesting thing.

So far, I'm two for two. I would like to take that barreled action out of the wood and look for a maker's stamp. I only have one maple gun, a John Oberlies Model 92 Winchester in 25-20 Winchester. Sweet little gun.

The 720 sold for $1500. Enlarged, the trigger looks like it may be an Ace trigger shoe over the stock trigger. The next 720 in the sale shows the two set screws common to the Ace shoe.

Just to clarify, I did not win the rifle. I put a modest bid on it just in case it slipped through under the radar. Regarding the trigger, canjar set or trigger shoe, don't really care, that was really not the thing I found interesting about the rifle. I have quite a collection of those stupid shoes that I have taken off of rifles if anyone wants one.

I actually had another maker in mind other than Hartley. However Hartley is as good a guess as any. Hopefully the new owner is a member here.

John

Enfield action, maple, checkering, and cheekpiece make think Linden.

I too thought Hartley when I saw the photos, some of his cheekpieces are kind of weird. I used to have a Mauser that wasn't marked in the barrel channel but my others are all marked with his name in the channel.

That was my first thought as well. However the 720 was not introduced until 1941 and Linden died in 46. I'm not sure how late Linden was still working. I think Hartley might be a better guess, or one of a multitude of unknown above average hobby gunsmiths. Either way, neat old rifle, and in a very usable caliber.

John

I can’t see the cheekpiece well enough, but maybe Robert Milhoan

Nothing really stands out on it to me as something from a 'name' stocker that I can think of.
I'd guess a hobbiest work.

Set trigger aside,,I only wonder that if it is such, how do you get your finger in behind it to 'set' it. Unless that's not the procedure for this particular one.
It does look like a trigger shoe with the 2 set screws. But it also appears to have a couple of pins thru it.?

I thought the checkering was a bit crude especially the borders and the Fleur de Lis carved outlines.
Not very smooth at all. Enlarging the pics gets you a better look at it.
Borders are not smooth arcs at all. The Fleur's are not at all complementary in shape, are of different sizes and not symmetrical in themselves.

Looks like 3 (or 4?) Fleur's in the forend pattern. But the grip pattern only has one each at the top. None at the bottom by the grip cap.
Seems like it should have been added there also as long as you're in a Fleur mood while checkering.

The stock relief cut under the ejection port is also a bit rough. Rounded to almost match the receiver metal at the rear yet vertical/squared at the front.
Not some things I'd expect on work from a pro or advanced hobbyist..

...but I can be wrong and maybe a big name turned out the stock

My mistake, I said Enfield and it’s clearly a 720.

I dont recall exactly when Linden stopped working? I’ve never seen the inside of a Linden, but I’ve been told it was at least as crude as the outside of this one. Typically his shaping and finish work was good. If this were one of his last rifles that could explain some of the issues mentioned above.

Neat rifle, certainly someone’s pride and joy when it was made.

No mistake. A 720 is a 1917 Enfield. When I was in the Remington Archives in 1998, I saw piles of 1917s shoved under shelf units, enough to continue production of Remington Model 720s. These guns had never been outdoors, will probably surface when the Remington collections are liquidated.