# Firearms and Shooting > Projects and Home Builds >  BSA 243

## ANTSMAN

So- got this from Bruce-Tahr-who transported it for me from Mr Songhurst- couplee weeks ago- finally took the bolt apart, she's a bit cruddy .....

Cleaned all the parts- gave some  polish.

I'm gonna sort the rings  and mount a scope- and probably  strip and replace the stock and probably recut the chequering.

Question is- what do I lube the internals with? Grease for the spring?










Cheers.

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## Tahr

Its a damn nice little rifle and will come up very nice in Ant's craftmans' hands.

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## Micky Duck

I would suggest just some light oil....

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## gundoc

Yes, light oil. Definitely not grease! It will cause misfires, especially in cold weather.

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## ANTSMAN

Ah yep makes sense!
trigger needs some attention- a good clean up at the least- breaks at maybe 4lb  :Sad:

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## 7mmwsm

> Yes, light oil. Definitely not grease! It will cause misfires, especially in cold weather.


What is your opinion on Inox for those situations @gundoc?

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## gundoc

I have never used any Inox products but the MX3 spray should be fine. WD40 and CRC 556 are also OK but my preference is for a fine layer of non-gumming oil like 3 in 1, or US military LSA (Lubricant, Small Arms) which comes in half-pint cans.

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## garyp

This is the Viscount action. I have spare parts for this model if you need anything. I have 4 rifles with this action.

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## ANTSMAN

> This is the Viscount action. I have spare parts for this model if you need anything. I have 4 rifles with this action.


thankyou mate! may come in handy

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## caberslash

> This is the Viscount action. I have spare parts for this model if you need anything. I have 4 rifles with this action.


Good on you guys for keeping these guns going, as someone with roots in Birmingham it's a tragedy what happened to BSA.

The bigger tragedy is how many perfectly good BSA CRF actions like the Viscount and Majestic got scrapped by UK gundealers as their resale value as a used rifle was nominal.

Not uncommon for the stocks to end up as firewood, what a shame  :Oh Noes:

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## BSA

I have one of these in 7x57, How did you pull the bolt apart. I also have a Monarch in 30-06 and assume the procedure would be the same for that as well. Cheers. They work just fine but must be due for a good clean/inspection. I have looked up instructions but must be doing something wrong.??

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## ANTSMAN

> I have one of these in 7x57, How did you pull the bolt apart. I also have a Monarch in 30-06 and assume the procedure would be the same for that as well. Cheers. They work just fine but must be due for a good clean/inspection. I have looked up instructions but must be doing something wrong.??


I just Joogle searched it- 
Put bolt in rifle
Close bolt
Lift bolt part way
Apply safety
Lift bolt and remove
Can now unscrew rear shroud with captive 2 piece firing pin/spring combo.
Need to compress the spring to then slider the front part of pin off of the rear part of pin

To remove the safety from shroud- 
rotate the safety to whichever position will let the safety pin move sideways and out of the shroud
Have to be CAREFUL of the little safety plunger and spring- flying out- Theyre tiny!




Removing bolt from rifle
From cocked and closed.
Lift handle 
Pull trigger and bolt "should" come out of action.

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## ANTSMAN

> Good on you guys for keeping these guns going, as someone with roots in Birmingham it's a tragedy what happened to BSA.
> 
> The bigger tragedy is how many perfectly good BSA CRF actions like the Viscount and Majestic got scrapped by UK gundealers as their resale value as a used rifle was nominal.
> 
> Not uncommon for the stocks to end up as firewood, what a shame


man that's a shame alright!

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## ANTSMAN

> Ah yep makes sense!
> trigger needs some attention- a good clean up at the least- breaks at maybe 4lb


anyone with any links to how to disassemble trigger and adjust be appreciated.

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## ANTSMAN

This is me 243 BSA that I got from @ryansonghurst.

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## gundoc

The early BSA triggers were 3 lever, and the later model 2 lever. The relationship of the parts is critical and great care must be taken during disassembly to note the correct position of the bent wire spring. Remove the trigger assembly from the rifle (screw and cross pin) taking care not to lose the ejector coil spring when the trigger is withdrawn from the action. The upper tubular pin can be removed with a correct sized punch and a bench block. This will allow the sear and bent wire spring to be removed, taking care to note the exact position of the spring. The bottom pin allows removal of the trigger and small coil spring. The remaining pin allows removal of the third lever (if present). Clean and lightly oil all components and check for rust patches inside the housing plates. With a very fine Arkansas stone you can polish the mating surfaces, taking care to maintain the proper angles and not round off any edges. Reassemble in the reverse order. Some trigger weight adjustment is possible with the small screw in the trigger. Other adjustment requires some skill to safely adjust the sear bent angle with a the stone.

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## ANTSMAN

Next on the list is 

Rings- strip and Duracote
Trigger remove polish and see about lightening.
Stock, Ill lightly recut the chequering , give a sand up and re oil, maybe a new red buttpad one day.
The action is bedded and barrel channel was relieved heavily decades ago.


Still deciding whether I Duracote the metalwork........ would be nice to have it blued, but, coting will be better in the wet, cheaper and easier.
Douglas prem Barrel seems to my buggered eyes to have a bit of pitting, but it'll still kill deers.

Weighs 3.2 from memory with the small scope on it, which is now going to another forumer @longshot

Ill post more updates as I go.

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## ANTSMAN

> The early BSA triggers were 3 lever, and the later model 2 lever. The relationship of the parts is critical and great care must be taken during disassembly to note the correct position of the bent wire spring. Remove the trigger assembly from the rifle (screw and cross pin) taking care not to lose the ejector coil spring when the trigger is withdrawn from the action. The upper tubular pin can be removed with a correct sized punch and a bench block. This will allow the sear and bent wire spring to be removed, taking care to note the exact position of the spring. The bottom pin allows removal of the trigger and small coil spring. The remaining pin allows removal of the third lever (if present). Clean and lightly oil all components and check for rust patches inside the housing plates. With a very fine Arkansas stone you can polish the mating surfaces, taking care to maintain the proper angles and not round off any edges. Reassemble in the reverse order. Some trigger weight adjustment is possible with the small screw in the trigger. Other adjustment requires some skill to safely adjust the sear bent angle with a the stone.


Thankyou mate that's awesome. I can adjust the adj screw but that's probably where Id leave it.
Might be a job for Alan Carr up here or similar.

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## Micky Duck

if it still shoots well,it would seem to be shame to rebarrel it...... the beauty of this as it is,is in it being semi origonal...if accuracy is gone,well then fair enough but I cant see point in trying to fix what aint broke if that makes sence??

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## ANTSMAN

> if it still shoots well,it would seem to be shame to rebarrel it...... the beauty of this as it is,is in it being semi origonal...if accuracy is gone,well then fair enough but I cant see point in trying to fix what aint broke if that makes sence??


100% and not wanting to spend 800$ or more on a tube for no gain  :Have A Nice Day:

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## gundoc

I bought a near new BSA .243 Majestic when I was working at West Arm, Manapouri in 1967, the only .243 I have ever owned. I shot three deer in the first week, all chest shot in the bush at about 40-80 metres range, and never recovered one! The blood trails petered out in the wet bush fairly quickly. I promptly sold it on and got my father to put my old .30/06 Garand and a couple of packets of ammo on the Road Services bus for me (different attitudes in those days!). I never had a problem after that, and still use a .30/06 today. I had a hunting mate who swore by the .243 but he lost about 50% of the animals he shot. There is no doubt they would have died but a long way from where they were shot! The .243 was developed for shooting ground hogs and that it is the best use for it in my opinion!

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## ANTSMAN

> I bought a near new BSA .243 Majestic when I was working at West Arm, Manapouri in 1967, the only .243 I have ever owned. I shot three deer in the first week, all chest shot in the bush at about 40-80 metres range, and never recovered one! The blood trails petered out in the wet bush fairly quickly. I promptly sold it on and got my father to put my old .30/06 Garand and a couple of packets of ammo on the Road Services bus for me (different attitudes in those days!). I never had a problem after that, and still use a .30/06 today. I had a hunting mate who swore by the .243 but he lost about 50% of the animals he shot. There is no doubt they would have died but a long way from where they were shot! The .243 was developed for shooting ground hogs and that it is the best use for it in my opinion!


hmmmm Ground hogs, you mean Labour MPs?  :Have A Nice Day:  bahahahahha just a little New Years joke.

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## ANTSMAN

> I bought a near new BSA .243 Majestic when I was working at West Arm, Manapouri in 1967, the only .243 I have ever owned. I shot three deer in the first week, all chest shot in the bush at about 40-80 metres range, and never recovered one! The blood trails petered out in the wet bush fairly quickly. I promptly sold it on and got my father to put my old .30/06 Garand and a couple of packets of ammo on the Road Services bus for me (different attitudes in those days!). I never had a problem after that, and still use a .30/06 today. I had a hunting mate who swore by the .243 but he lost about 50% of the animals he shot. There is no doubt they would have died but a long way from where they were shot! The .243 was developed for shooting ground hogs and that it is the best use for it in my opinion!


yeah I hear ya- I have a 300wsm for the far things- cos I believe in bigger holes in things- and a 308 for close big things, and this one hopefully for Sika inside 100. Projectiles available now days would be worlds different to the 2 types available in 67 though?

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## gundoc

> yeah I hear ya- I have a 300wsm for the far things- cos I believe in bigger holes in things- and a 308 for close big things, and this one hopefully for Sika inside 100. Projectiles available now days would be worlds different to the 2 types available in 67 though?


Yes, I am sure the projectiles were the problem. I was shooting factory Norma 100 grain ammo which had the tri-clad steel soft points and I am sure they were just zipping through with minimal expansion. My .30/06 ammo was Winchester 150 grain silvertips which gave much better expansion.

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## Preacher

Never lost a deer yet with my .243 but have had a couple unrecovered with the.308.  Strange world.

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## Micky Duck

funny thing with the .243/EBRG  if you talk to the old pros who used them....MOST of them will tell you same thing,use bog std 100grn pills and shoot for shoulder bones.....without hitting bone the projectiles dont expand/transpher energy as well.....they are nearly all super accurate so would seem head/neck be best option but the old hands say otherwise.....
there was large following using 87grn hornadies for sika etc.... lighter/faster and more expandy.... these days the list of choices is endless..... once I tried barnes in .223 the thought came to mind how wicked they would be in EBRG in the lighter weights... something 70ish grns fair honking along would be a mean sort of deer slaying pill one would think.

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## Bos

Probably wouldn't hurt to finish that other project before those nails get to rusty  :Thumbsup:

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## jakewire

Those 87 gr Hornady soft points were excellent wallaby killers in my Abolt.

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## stug

Anyone remember this article? Had some good info about .243 projectiles

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## Micky Duck

I surely do...and the why not the .308 done by Graham Henry about the same time.....

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## ANTSMAN

Whatdya mean? Them nails good for another 10 years outside :Have A Nice Day: 




QUOTE=Bos;1265915]Probably wouldn't hurt to finish that other project before those nails get to rusty  :Thumbsup: [/QUOTE]

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## Sideshow

> Anyone remember this article? Had some good info about .243 projectiles 
> 
> Attachment 186971


Now @stug thats very rude.......wheres the rest of the article :Pissed Off:  :X X:  :XD:  please post :Thumbsup:

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## FRST

> I surely do...and the why not the .308 done by Graham Henry about the same time.....


Graham Henry was a .270 guy though  :Thumbsup:

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## stug

@Sideshow

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## stug



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## stug



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## ANTSMAN

> @Sideshow
> 
> Attachment 187000


I remember reading this wayyyyyy back  :Have A Nice Day:

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## stug

Yep May/June 1989 issue.

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## garyp

Also have a 7x57 barrel for this action in very good condition. Am going to reblue it in a couple of weeks if anyone is interested.

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## Flyblown

Great reading @stug… thanks for posting.

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## Micky Duck

a fixed 4x32 scope too.......when times were simple....

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## ANTSMAN

> Also have a 7x57 barrel for this action in very good condition. Am going to reblue it in a couple of weeks if anyone is interested.


Could be keen-ill pm you mate

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## Shearer

Inox MX3 is a great product. Firearms, fishing gear, bikes. Does it all. Their grease is good too.

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## JLF

Pro-Shot Zero Friction

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## Sideshow

Yep Im sure I have that copy!
 :Thumbsup: 
Made me buy this Browning BLR.243

Just as a foot note: Thank you very much @stug for posting that.

Did the same author also not write an article around the same time in R@R about a Sako Forester where he put round storage in the underside of the stock?
Interesting to see that back then he was having the same trouble we are having now in obtaining powder, although Im sure it was for different reasons.

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## ANTSMAN

> Yep I’m sure I have that copy!
> 
> Made me buy thisAttachment 187094 Browning BLR.243
> 
> Just as a foot note: Thank you very much @stug for posting that.
> 
> Did the same author also not write an article around the same time in R@R about a Sako Forester where he put round storage in the underside of the stock?
> Interesting to see that back then he was having the same trouble we are having now in obtaining powder, although I’m sure it was for different reason’s.


I lerve BLRs!

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## Micky Duck

Photos...old bean....where are the photos????

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## ANTSMAN

Update- have stripped most of the metal work out- cleaned most of it up- removed rust- removed 99% of the black coating on the rings- will give it all another once over tmrw- cut the ring screws down, then scrub with jiff rinse and then degrease, and at some stage will Duracote either Matt black or Blue/black. 
Will also do same to barreled action soon, and sand back the stock- oil the shite out of it and send to   @Hunter_Nick to recut the nearly disappeared chequering.  I was thinking of attempting that part bit its too easy to eff up- and is above my pay grade  :Have A Nice Day: 

There was urethane liberally splashed about the place, inside the magwell, all over the bottom metal, i guess in an attempt to keep water out of the inletting in the stock- which is well urethaned inside.

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## Seventenths

Im awaiting with anticipation on how this turns out keep up the good work.

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## ANTSMAN

Anyone wanna hazard a guess at the weight of this BSA Walnut stock?

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## The bomb

Had one years ago in .243,Very heavy but makes the  recoil non existent ,

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## Moa Hunter

> anyone with any links to how to disassemble trigger and adjust be appreciated.


Further to what has already been written re trigger, I had some real trouble with mine because some 'worthy' had assembled it incorrectly in the past. Gundoc posted a very good factory diagram of the assembly. To lighten the trigger I replaced the trigger spring with an aftermarket Tikki T3 Yo Dave spring as they are near enough the same length and diametre. The trigger 'Pall' / sear engagement can also be adjusted but I left it with full engagement as I dont trust the slop on old pins etc to be safe if adjusted. All parts were polished on the faces that contact the box. The internal walls of the box also polished. Polishing made a marked difference
Ended up with a very good light trigger that has a little backlash and creep but is totally safe

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## ANTSMAN

> Further to what has already been written re trigger, I had some real trouble with mine because some 'worthy' had assembled it incorrectly in the past. Gundoc posted a very good factory diagram of the assembly. To lighten the trigger I replaced the trigger spring with an aftermarket Tikki T3 Yo Dave spring as they are near enough the same length and diametre. The trigger 'Pall' / sear engagement can also be adjusted but I left it with full engagement as I dont trust the slop on old pins etc to be safe if adjusted. All parts were polished on the faces that contact the box. The internal walls of the box also polished. Polishing made a marked difference
> Ended up with a very good light trigger that has a little backlash and creep but is totally safe


yeah mate- I saw that post by Gundoc and sent my trigger to him for a tidy up- its now brilliant 2 stage, first pull is like 1 or 2mm and then crisp  let off ,I'm very very happy.

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## ANTSMAN

> Had one years ago in .243,Very heavy but makes the  recoil non existent ,


I remember seeing you at Oamaru hut a long time ago with a 308 Ruger Ultralite I think it was? Shit I just remembered that was a forum hunt- through this forum maybe or the other? possibly 2008/9 or 10 ish? I cant remember....

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## Tuidog

> Anyone wanna hazard a guess at the weight of this BSA Walnut stock?


1000grams minus the metal work

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## The bomb

> I remember seeing you at Oamaru hut a long time ago with a 308 Ruger Ultralite I think it was? Shit I just remembered that was a forum hunt- through this forum maybe or the other? possibly 2008/9 or 10 ish? I cant remember....


Nah I was running the mini30 in those days,swapped out the red dot for the scope and got a spiker on an evening hunt if I remember,I wasn’t on the forum hunt me and a mate had fly camped at Jap creek and headed back to hut for pickup by helisika.met you,seventenths and Simon I think it was,he had the spaniel,I had Bronson the GSP.

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## ANTSMAN

> Nah I was running the mini30 in those days,swapped out the red dot for the scope and got a spiker on an evening hunt if I remember,I wasn’t on the forum hunt me and a mate had fly camped at Jap creek and headed back to hut for pickup by helisika.met you,seventenths and Simon I think it was,he had the spaniel,I had Bronson the GSP.


thaaaaaaats right, I had me then 15 year old stepson with me I think, goood good times.

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## The bomb

I miss my mini 30, best bush gun out there I reakon..buyback gave me $3500 for it though,think I paid less than a third of  that for it.

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## ANTSMAN

> I miss my mini 30, best bush gun out there I reakon..buyback gave me $3500 for it though,think I paid less than a third of  that for it.


haha thanks aunty.

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## ANTSMAN

> 1000grams minus the metal work



Hows this?

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## Mathias

> Hows this?
> 
> Attachment 194844


Ive said it before somewhere on this forum, BSA were well ahead of their time when it came to lightweight rifle design. The American market didn't really appreciate it and eventually after the Majestic, the Monarch turned into a heavy lump again to keep them happy.

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## ANTSMAN

Prepped all the bottom metal rings and screws yesterday, sprayed them Matt black this morn, need to strip the floor plate and re do, has some drips on it, I'll leave it all a few weeks before reassemble to harden- overall pretty happy.

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## ANTSMAN

Yeha mate, from memory it weighs all up with 2-7 scope and sling, maybe 3.4kg.
Actually just weighed it....less than 3 kegs with scope-without Sling and ammo.

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## ANTSMAN

Sent the stock off to a forum guy to recut the chequering, so glad I did and didn't attempt it myself.

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## Hunter_Nick

Finished recutting the checkering on this old girl for @ANTSMAN Didn’t come out too bad considering the condition she was in. Definitely got a good solid grip now!

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## ANTSMAN

@Hunter_Nick  thats brilliant!

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## ANTSMAN

Got this back from Hunter_nick . He recut the cheqering for me on this near 65 year old stock, wow he's done a supertastic job!

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## Hunter_Nick

Glad you like it mate. We aim to please  :Have A Nice Day:

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## ANTSMAN

Update, 
Few weeks back I finally got around to Duracoting the metalwork blue/black.

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## Hunter_Nick

Beast!

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## jakewire

Looks marvelous.

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## ANTSMAN

thanks chaps, cant wait to shoot a Sika with it!

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## keneff

An old thing brought back to life... Beautiful. Well done, guys. Wish someone could do that to me.

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## ANTSMAN

I'm on the lookout for a small/not magnum DPT or ASE can for this in 7mm-to use on me other shooter too-in 14x1 or similar thread.

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## ANTSMAN

In my wisdom, I coated the inside of the action- to make it look pretty- bolt extracting is a little more stickier- whoda thought that'd happen  :Have A Nice Day:   ill have to clean out the inside of action- and wanna polish the bolt up more on a bench polisher.

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## ANTSMAN

Fixed it.
https://youtu.be/p5jMppYSbW0

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## john worthington

works slick as now nice

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## Seventenths

@ANTSMAN @The bomb

No F&H forum hunt we were all members but in there independantly.

I still remember the Oamaru river all full of pumice from the flood, it was a spectacular site & your grandson stepped into the puddle & literally disappeared over his head 😂

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## The bomb

Was a good trip in there,me an my big mate flew to hut then walked to jap creek and fly camped for a night then back to the hut where we met you guys..got one hind up jap creek and a spiker not far from the hut as well on that trip.

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## ANTSMAN

> @ANTSMAN @The bomb
> 
> No F&H forum hunt… we were all members but in there independantly.
> 
> I still remember the Oamaru river all full of pumice from the flood, it was a spectacular site & your grandson stepped into the puddle & literally disappeared over his head


Haha I had my stepson with me- then 15 or 16 I think maybe, maybe that was someone else that fell in the drink.

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## ANTSMAN

> Was a good trip in there,me an my big mate flew to hut then walked to jap creek and fly camped for a night then back to the hut where we met you guys..got one hind up jap creek and a spiker not far from the hut as well on that trip.


Yeh man I think you were the only one got the venny that wekeend.

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## Seventenths

> Haha I had my stepson with me- then 15 or 16 I think maybe, maybe that was someone else that fell in the drink.


I might be mixing up the hunts in there 🤔

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