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April 16th, 2023

Sunday GunDay: 125th Anniversary Mausers — $35,000 Beauties

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle

To mark its 125th anniversary, German gun-maker Mauser produced a limited-edition, 25-count series of the original Mauser 98 bolt-action rifle. These Anniversary rifles are stunning to say the least. According to RifleShooter Magazine: “Built by Mauser’s master gunsmiths in the style of classic safari rifles from times past, the Mauser 98 125th Anniversary Rifles are a milestone of modern firearms technology. Only 25 of these masterpieces are available worldwide and each in the series is numbered.”

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle

Free Range American explains: “[Mauser released] a small batch of Mauser 98 rifles to commemorate the model’s 125th anniversary. The manufacturer’s master gunsmiths built 25 rifles in the style of Mauser’s famous safari guns. Each uses wood-grade-8 walnut plus steel components decorated with engraving and gold inlay. They’re gorgeous rifles, but before you get too excited, you should know the MSRP for one of these exquisite rifles is an equally stunning $35,000.”

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle

Mauser 98 125th Anniversary Specifications:
Price: $35,000
Stock: Wood-grade-8 walnut
Steel: Color case-hardened with engraving and gold inlay
Chamberings: .30-06 Springfield, 8×57 IS, .375 H&H, .416 Rigby

Special 125th Anniversary Model Features:
— Bolt handle ball with color case-hardening
— Fish scale checkering and gold inlay
— Color case-hardening with English scroll
— Engraved Original Mauser logo, inlaid in gold
— Color case-hardened trigger guard with 1 of 25 serial number
— Red recoil pad

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle

The Number 1 in the series was offered for sale at the Safari Club International convention in February, 2023. Jason Evans, CEO, Blaser Group explained: “The Mauser 98 action is regarded as the forefather of all modern bolt-action rifles. Built in the millions, copied by the thousands, but never matched… We [had] the first 125th-anniversary rifle, marked #1 in the series, for sale at the SCI Convention in Nashville, and it is truly a work of art.” As quoted in American Hunter website.

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle

Stunning Color Case-hardening with Gold Damascus Highlights
On these handsome 125th Anniversary Mauser 98s, the action, bolt handle ball, trigger guard, pistol grip cap, and magazine base are beautifully color case-hardened. The metal is also highlighted with English ornaments and gold damascening. [Editor: “Damascening is a decorative metalworking technique in which a soft metal, often gold or silver, is mechanically inlaid into a harder metal like iron or steel without heat or solder.” Damsascening is not just used for gunsmithing, but it also employed for a variety of decorative fine art applications. See: MetMuseum.org article.]

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle
Photo by Mauser as posted in Free Range American website.

These unique rifles are available in both standard and magnum action versions. Details of the firearms and the caliber/chambering options are listed in the table below. Click to ZOOM TABLE.

mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle
mauser 98 rifle 125 years 125th anniversary limited edition bolt action rifle

Permalink Gear Review, Gunsmithing, Hunting/Varminting No Comments »
January 4th, 2022

Beautiful Shiloh Sharps Rifles — A Blast from the Past

Shiloh Sharps 45-70 vintage Quigley rifle

With all the blacktical rifles and plastic tacticool gear on the market these days, it is great to see some old style craftsmanship — hand-built rifles with colored case-hardened receivers, fine engraving, rich bluing, and beautiful wood. We found just that at the Shiloh Sharps booth at SHOT Show a few years back. There were handsome firearms, with beautiful metal and stunning wood. The heritage style of the Shiloh Sharps rifles harkens back to another era, when the West was still wild, and gifted smiths crafted rifles with pride, skill, and true artistry.

The cartridges shown in the photo (left to right above rifle) are: 45-110, 50-100, 45-90, and 40-70.
Shiloh Sharps 45-70 vintage Quigley rifle

This video shows how Shiloh Sharps crafts its rifles, from “Foundry to Finish”:

The Historic Sharps 1874 Lever Action Rifle, An American Classic
Shooting USA has featured the 1874 Sharps rifle, a side-hammer breech-loader favored by plains buffalo hunters. Christian Sharps patented his signature rifle design in 1848. The Sharps Model 1874 (shown below) was an updated version, chambered for metallic cartridges. According to firearms historian/author Garry James, the Sharps rifle “came in all sorts of different calibers from .40 all the way up to .50, and jillions of different case lengths and styles and configurations”.

Sharps rifle 45/110 Tom Selleck accurateshooter
Photo from James D. Julia/Morphy Auctions.

Sharps rifles have enjoyed a bit of modern-day notoriety, thanks to Hollywood. Tom Selleck starred as Matthew Quigley in the hit movie Quigley Down-Under. In a famous scene, Quigley used his 1874 Sharps to hit a wooden bucket at very long range. The Sharps rifles used in the movie were made by Shiloh Rifle company (Powder River Rifle Company). There were actually three Sharps rifles made for the movie. One went to the NRA’s National Firearms Museum while another was raffled off to support NRA shooting programs. The third rifle (Selleck’s Favorite) was sold at auction in 2008.

Permalink Gear Review, Gunsmithing, Hunting/Varminting No Comments »