Resin copy of rifle buttplate? (That can stand up to field use)

[LDO]

I have a 100 year old hunting rifle that was made from a WWI military Mauser. A dog knocked over the rifle and the buttplate cracked. It's not an easy replacement; it's a one-off made of buffalo horn. 

If I glue this back together and do some "bodywork" on it, could a copy be made in a material that can stand up to use in the field? Not sure if what I'm asking for is possible. 

Btw- I did not yell at the dog. He didn't know better and I left it out so the accident could happen. 

 

Thank you. Lee

Edited June 12, 2019 by LDO
Add dog details

[89AKurt]

My dad was a gunsmith and Mauser collector, wrote the book The Commercial Mauser '98 Sporting Rifle.  Is your rifle custom made, with a collectible value?  If so, fixing that would be the best option.  Otherwise, I'm going to suggest a resin copy of what you propose, would need to be colored almost black.

[LDO]

It has very little collector value. Unknown gunsmith. It was a working  man's custom rifle. I saw it in a classified forum and couldn't resist. I had wanted one exactly like it for a while. It has an Oberndorf style stock with raised panels by the action and a schnabel tip. Original barrel rechambered to 8mm-'06.  A gunsmith has it now. Carved horn is somewhat of a lost art (would cost more than the rifle is worth). I may go with metal.

I will also get a copy of that book. 

I wish there was an exhaustive book on FN commercial Mausers. I'm no guru, just a big fan. I have 6 rifles and 4 bare actions.  One rifle is a .30-'06 built by P. O. Ackley. Also have a pair of 6.5-'06 single shots. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I can do it. I'd need the part for about 2 weeks, and would return it exactly as-is.

A two-part silicone mold would be made of the existing part, and an exact duplicate cast. The original would not be damaged.

The duplicate would then be corrected as necessary to achieve a perfect master (edge chipping corrected, etc.)

Another set of molds would be made of the master, at which time duplicates could be cast in a variety of engineering resins having differing hardnesses, wear characteristics, etc.

Alternatively, I can point you in the right direction to amass all the knowledge you need to do it yourself, help you through the procedure and material selection, etc.

I've made many prototype and fully functional one-off parts over the last 5 decades for a wide variety of clients, in a wide variety of materials.

PM me if interested.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Ace-Garageguy

[89AKurt]

12 hours ago, LDO said:

It has very little collector value. Unknown gunsmith. It was a working  man's custom rifle. I saw it in a classified forum and couldn't resist. I had wanted one exactly like it for a while. It has an Oberndorf style stock with raised panels by the action and a schnabel tip. Original barrel rechambered to 8mm-'06.  A gunsmith has it now. Carved horn is somewhat of a lost art (would cost more than the rifle is worth). I may go with metal.

I will also get a copy of that book. 

I wish there was an exhaustive book on FN commercial Mausers. I'm no guru, just a big fan. I have 6 rifles and 4 bare actions.  One rifle is a .30-'06 built by P. O. Ackley. Also have a pair of 6.5-'06 single shots. 

Glad you will get the book!  My dad died years ago,  I recall P.O. Ackley name often.  I have this rifle that he built before I was born.

Cool that Bill offered to do that!

[LDO]

Bill- I'll send a PM. I would rather have a pro do it than try it myself. 

[LDO]

Kurt- cool old pic. Is that a Mauser? I'm looking at it on a phone screen, so the image is kinda small. Looks like it has a jeweled bolt; always a nice touch. What is it chambered in?

[Dave Ambrose]

That looks a lot like the rubber buttplate that's on the 30-06 my dad built.  Brownells has rubber buttplates that look similar, but aren't likely identical. 

On 6/11/2019 at 8:11 PM, LDO said:

It has very little collector value. Unknown gunsmith. It was a working  man's custom rifle. I saw it in a classified forum and couldn't resist. I had wanted one exactly like it for a while. It has an Oberndorf style stock with raised panels by the action and a schnabel tip. Original barrel rechambered to 8mm-'06.  A gunsmith has it now. Carved horn is somewhat of a lost art (would cost more than the rifle is worth). I may go with metal.

I will also get a copy of that book. 

I wish there was an exhaustive book on FN commercial Mausers. I'm no guru, just a big fan. I have 6 rifles and 4 bare actions.  One rifle is a .30-'06 built by P. O. Ackley. Also have a pair of 6.5-'06 single shots. 

There's a surprising number of Mauser fans for a relatively small population. I have three, my dad's in 30-06, mine in 30-06, and another on in 6.5mm Gibbs. (speaking of P.O. Ackley)

[89AKurt]

On 6/12/2019 at 11:19 AM, LDO said:

Kurt- cool old pic. Is that a Mauser? I'm looking at it on a phone screen, so the image is kinda small. Looks like it has a jeweled bolt; always a nice touch. What is it chambered in?

Yes it is.  He fitted the barrel chambered for .270 Winchester, he also changed the bolt so it clears the scope, he had a jig and used a torch and huge hammer to forge that.  The bolt is engine-turned.

Hope you don't mind me hijacking your topic.  He was a NPS Ranger, when stationed at Grand Canyon, was tasked with ferral Burro mitigation (think that's the PC way to say it today), because they were screwing up the delicate environment and competing with Big Horn Sheep, and causing erosion.  The obvious solution to him, was to hunt them.  They used Air Force helicopters to bring him in (have some fuzzy B&W pictures taken from the chopper).  I have a picture of him with one, but it's kind of ... you know.   Due to this effort, the adopt-a-burro program was launched.  I would bet some roam Oatman today.

[LDO]

5 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

That looks a lot like the rubber buttplate that's on the 30-06 my dad built.  Brownells has rubber buttplates that look similar, but aren't likely identical. 

There's a surprising number of Mauser fans for a relatively small population. I have three, my dad's in 30-06, mine in 30-06, and another on in 6.5mm Gibbs. (speaking of P.O. Ackley)

The 6.5 Gibbs is a fine cartridge. Years ago, I had a full custom rifle for 1,000 yard benchrest in 6.5 Gibbs. I once put 10 shots into 6.855" at 1,022 yards with it at Williamsport, PA. 

[Snake45]

8 hours ago, Dave Ambrose said:

There's a surprising number of Mauser fans for a relatively small population. I have three, my dad's in 30-06, mine in 30-06, and another on in 6.5mm Gibbs. (speaking of P.O. Ackley)

I have two. A custom varminter built on a Nazi action, Fajen stock, Douglas 26" bull barrel, Redfield 4-12X scope, in .243 (it weighs 16 pounds!) and a stone-stock Israeli rebarrel to 7.62 NATO.