Big Medicine.

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Grumpy
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Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:56 am

Schultz & Larsen 30-06.
She makum helluvum big bang - deer fall down.
Plenty big medicine.

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Vikram
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Post by Vikram » Sun Nov 19, 2006 6:33 am

That is a very nice looking shooter, Grumpy. Any more details on the rifle and the company? I have Little knowledge of S & L. Thanks- Vikram
It ain’t over ’til it’s over! "Rocky,Rocky,Rocky....."

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Sun Nov 19, 2006 7:21 am

Schultz & Larsen are a Danish company established in 1889 who specialise in building top quality hunting and target rifles. Their current model is the M-97.
They are renowned for their barrel making which they produce in-house using cut rifling.
Their website is http://www.schultzlarsen.com/default.htm
This particular rifle is built on an FN Mauser action and has a semi-heavy contour barrel with a recessed target crown. Woodwork is straight grain walnut with a rosewood cap on the fore-end and butt of the grip. It is the second S&L Mauser actioned 30-06 that I`ve bought this year and is by far the better of the two - the other is older and rather `tired` looking.
I used this rifle to take a Fallow buck yesterday morning at around 300 yards. Ammunition was Remingtons R30067 with a 220gr Core-Lokt Soft Point bullet. The bullet smashed through the upper front left foreleg, through the heart and lungs and passed completely though the body. The Buck collapsed on the spot.
I hadn`t intended using the big bullet - I thought that I`d picked up a box of Winchester 165 gr Soft Points !

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Post by Vikram » Sun Nov 19, 2006 8:29 am

300 yards and the buck fell to a single shot! Impressive shooting.Now, time for venison steaks?Checked out the website you gave.
Look like nice quality rifles.I see a couple of S & L rifles on guntrader. Anyway, thanks Grumpy.

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It ain’t over ’til it’s over! "Rocky,Rocky,Rocky....."

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by mehulkamdar » Sun Nov 19, 2006 9:13 am

I know the current owner of the Schulz and Larsen company and to call him an obnoxious so and so is an understatement. The newer rifles with the company's own front locking action are nowhere near as well made as the older rear locking guns were in the 1960s and 70s. The "old" Schulz and Larsen also made rifles on the FN Mauser action and those were also fine guns. As far as I know the new company has nothing to do with the old one other than the name which was bought by the present owner. Their current product range is also not doing very well - a testament to it's perceived quality among customers in Europe. The owner has publicly said on another forum that he does not market his guns in the USA because he is worried about product liability problems and lawsuits in this country, a testament, in my opinion to the quality of his guns.

Mehul

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Sun Nov 19, 2006 11:05 am

Vikram, one of the S&L rifles on Guntrader is the other one that I have - I bought it back in May and the vendors are still paying to advertise it......not the most efficient method of business ! The other is the only M-97 that I`ve ever seen advertised anywhere.
Mehul, it sometimes seems that most European gunmakers - and a good few American ones - have been taken over by individuals or companies who sometimes have little regard for established quality......or just want the kudos of the name. Mauser, for example have introduced something like four different models under various owners since the late 90s - some of which were definitely not worthy of the name. I believe that it was you who pointed out that one of them was actually made by Voere.
Sometimes the takeovers work......sometimes they don`t.
It can be very confusing for buyers.
The Schultz & Larsen rifle pictured above is of very obvious quality - excellent wood to metal fit and very deep, lustrous bluing.

mehulkamdar

Re: Big Medicine.

Post by mehulkamdar » Sun Nov 19, 2006 11:39 am

Grumpy,

It is obvious from the Mauser action on your rifle that it is not a current one. These days the new Schulz and Larsen company use only their proprietary action. I don't think anyone would dispute the quality of the old guns.

The currrent Mausers are made by Reimer Johannsen for the SIG company who have licensed the MAuser name and the actions are supplied by Gottfried Prechtl from an Estonian machine shop. As SIG also own the Sauer and Blaser names, they do seem to have become the Volkswagen of the gun trade. :lol:

Yes, the older "Mausers" were made by Voere as the 96, 99, 3000, 201 etc guns and they had nothing of "Mauser" to them other than the name. The Mauser 66 which was a fine design was a Gehmann design which won Walter Gehmann several world championships in various long range shooting matches. Sadly, the 66 is no longer produced though old guns turn up at auctions in the US from time to time commanding premium prices. Some say that the action was too expensive to produce though one would think that the same excuse, which was offered for botht he Mauser 98 and the Mannlicher Schonauer actions is no longer valid because CNC machinery has made both available at relatively decent prices.

This is OT but Purdey have advertised that they now make their Magnun Mauser action in house. Would you know anything about it?

Mehul

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by penpusher » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:12 pm

Nice rifle Grumpy and good shooting.

penpusher

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:57 pm

Mehul, that`s news to me.....but I see no reason why Purdey shouldn`t be making a magnum Mauser in-house. There are plenty of other examples - for instance CZ, Brno, Zastavia ( although all commenced manufacture using WWII machinery and patterns and only CZ build a magnum ) The pre-64 Winchester was a pretty well a Mauser `98 in everything but name.
Were the Parker Hale actions built in-house ? I don`t know but I suspect their magnum actions at least were as I have no idea where they sourced them from otherwise.
At least one American custom rifle builder is building a CNC machined Mauser action......although most seem to be intent on re-inventing the Remington 700.
The new Mauser company is building a Mauser `98 action again based on 1936 drawings as well as a magnum Mauser. Or rather, they are being made for Mauser Waffen. Incidentally, on their website they claim that they rifles are based on `original` drawings.........`Original`? In 1936 ?
The M66 were very fine rifles and they occasionally turn up at surprisingly good prices in the UK. Makes no sense to me that they`ve introduced the M`03 as its` direct replacement.
Yeah, good analogy. Sig Sauer are getting everywhere. Doesn`t the Swiss Hunting Rifle SHR90 fall under their banner as well ?
If you want a giggle just type `mauser werke` into Google - you get a company that makes plastic packaging and oil drums !

mehulkamdar

Re: Big Medicine.

Post by mehulkamdar » Sun Nov 19, 2006 7:17 pm

Grumpy,

The WInchester 70 has come under considerable criticism of late because though it had the long extractor and controlled feed of the Mauser, it lacks the gas venting qualities that the original Mauser design has in case of case failure. I guess catastrophe is not as big a problem today as it probablyw as in 1898, but many seem content with paying extra to have custom rifles built on the exact Mauser action.

In the USA, the late Fred Wells' shop now run by his son Reuben (A good friend of our mutual friend Ka'imiloa's) makes full custom Mausers with some custom features that were never offered on any Mauser like integral scope bases and mounts etc, and there are other firms like Empire Rifles, Granite Mountain Arms and Satterlee Arms making Mauser actions in various configurations. Waffenfabrik Hein are due to announce their MAuser action at the forthcoming SHOT Show.

Parker Hale used the Spanish Santa Barbara actions, Czech Mauser actions, FNs and the Yugoslavian Zastavas. Whitworth in the UK also used Zastavas. In Europe you have Hartman und Weiss, Alberts (for Theo Jung) and Dumoulin making their own actions. Gottfried Prechtl supplies Estonian manufactured Mauser actions to Reimer Johannsen and Mauser Waffen.

I really don't know why SIG want to build the M 03 Mauser. Every single post 1898 type Mauser action with the exception of the 66 has sold badly. I am sure that they could bring back the 66 if they wanted to. But then when they bungle with "original 1936" drawings as you rightly point out, they seem more concerned with marketing than with producing anything that is honestly made.

Cheers!

Mehul

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Mon Nov 20, 2006 3:53 am

Whilst the M98 has never fallen out of favour with individuals it`s only in recent years that major manufacturers have taken to offering the action again - Remington being a case in point. Their action being made by Zastavia......something else that I learned from you Mehul. The only reason that I can think of for them using the Zasatavia built action being one of cost because quality-wise I`ve never seen a Zastavia that was as well-made as a CZ or Brno.
Thinking about it, Parker Hale might have sourced their magnum Mauser from Brno as - although Brno haven`t offered a magnum Mauser for several years they used to, prior to the establishment/separation of CZ.
The Brno magnum Mausers were/are very well thought of in Southern Africa by professional hunters and the Parker Hale versions - whoever built them - make premium prices in the US.
Mehul, we`ve often said that there is very little that is truly new in the world of firearms design - certainly as far a hunting guns are concerned. Most `new` actions seem to be reworkings of the M98 or - in the case of precision centre-fire target actions - reworkings of the Remington 700. The only innovation coming from European manufacturers and most of them are vaguely disguised variations of the Sauer 200/202 or the Blaser.
The ability to easily replace barrels for alternative calibres hasn`t proved anything like as popular as many of these manufacturers would hope - for obvious reasons - and the slab sided design of the Blaser `clones` is just plain ugly. That`s ignoring the `advantage` of straight pull actions which continue to be regarded with a great deal of suspicion by many hunters. Actions that can be cycled more quickly have little appeal - or beneficial application - to hunters.

mehulkamdar

Re: Big Medicine.

Post by mehulkamdar » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:25 am

Grumpy,

I agree with you completely. My only hope is that the Aussies bring out a sporting Enfield bolt action in 303 or other rimmed calibres - it would be a nice product to round out the other fine classic actions that are being made these days. It would be great to see new Lee Speed rifles being made for modern calibres. 8)

Cheers,

Mehul

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:13 am

Mehul. I suspect that the reason that the AIA rifles aren`t available in the .303 or other rimmed cartridges is because they have redesigned the rifle for rimless cartridges only.
Were you aware that the rifles have components manufactured in Vietnam ? And that there is a suspicion that possibly the entire rifle is manufactured in Vietnam - or that the receivers might be forged in China ? In spite of intensive searching no forgings for AIA rifles have been found being produced at any Australian steel foundry or mill.
The best accuracy that I`ve seen quoted for the AIA 7.62x51 ( as they insist on describing the chambering ) is 2 1/2" groups at 100 yards. Something is wrong here as competive No 4 Mk 1 .303s could shoot MOA groups.
I reckon that rather than the AIAs you would be better off acquiring a No 4 Mk 1 and sporterising it. The strengthened receiver would allow for more powerful cartridges than the .303 - or you could use commercial light magnum .303 loads - and the rifle would be just as accurate and probably more accurate than the AIA variants. Even better would be a No 4 Mk 2 as produced from 1949 which retains the `beefed-up` receiver of the Mk 1 but is better finished.
Rebarrelling would be no problem - especially in your neck of the woods with both Ernie Stallman and Krieger Barrels being just up in Wisconsin - with the only difficulty being removing the old barrel which are so-and-sos to get off ! Something like a .375 H&H Rimmed should be quite possible.

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Post by eljefe » Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:41 pm

Grumpy,
I have seen and shot a 378 Wea mag by S&L right here in India-very slick and smooth, absolute accuracy-but what a kicker! 2nd worst in my personal book of kickers.
I think that interchangeable 458/30-06 Mauser heads the list.Wonder if it was made in vietnam ;)

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Re: Big Medicine.

Post by Grumpy » Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:42 am

Hi Asif - have you been busy or something ? The .378 mag is a calibre that I`ve never tried but know will be a real thumper. I happen to think that there isn`t a magnum that is worth bothering with......except possibly the .300 and .338 Win Mags - and even then I wouldn`t get one as I can think of better alternatives. I don`t include the .375 H&H in that category as Hollands never referred to it as a magnum.
Roy Weatherbys theory of a small bullet propelled at high velocity has largely been discredited - it ignores the Knock Down benefits of a heavy bullet at lower velocity.
People will say that the NE calibres are magnums under another name - not true. There`s a lot of difference between a heavy, low pressure calibre and a high pressure magnum - and I know which I`d rather have.

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