Hi Folks, I just purchased a 1956 300WBY SouthGate Mauser and have a few questions for some of you who may be so kind as to offer suggestions.
1) The stock is in pretty nice condition with no checkering damage or other dings. However, the finish has seen better days and I am going to strip and hand rub a finish back on. Does anyone know if the white spacers that were used between the ebony tip and grip caps were wood (maple or birch?) or God forbid... 1950’s plastic? The stripper would most likely destroy plastic if that is the case. If they are plastic, I will probably tape them off during stripping and gently sand the finish off afterwards.
2) Next, the trigger has quite a bit of creep but breaks at about 3.5 lbs. I don’t know if this is really creep or a two-stage trigger. I realized many mods may have been done to the rifle, but were two stage triggers installed on these rifles originally?
3) Finally, I think it is odd that the barrel has a front sight but no sign of a place to mount the rear sight. No tapped holes anywhere between the receiver and the front sights. I have seen this setup on some rifles when I searched “Southgate Mauser” images on the web, but can’t tell why only a front sight would be installed.
Thank you in advance for any help you all may provide!
1) The stock is in pretty nice condition with no checkering damage or other dings. However, the finish has seen better days and I am going to strip and hand rub a finish back on. Does anyone know if the white spacers that were used between the ebony tip and grip caps were wood (maple or birch?) or God forbid... 1950’s plastic? The stripper would most likely destroy plastic if that is the case. If they are plastic, I will probably tape them off during stripping and gently sand the finish off afterwards.
2) Next, the trigger has quite a bit of creep but breaks at about 3.5 lbs. I don’t know if this is really creep or a two-stage trigger. I realized many mods may have been done to the rifle, but were two stage triggers installed on these rifles originally?
3) Finally, I think it is odd that the barrel has a front sight but no sign of a place to mount the rear sight. No tapped holes anywhere between the receiver and the front sights. I have seen this setup on some rifles when I searched “Southgate Mauser” images on the web, but can’t tell why only a front sight would be installed.
Thank you in advance for any help you all may provide!