Oviedo Model '93 Mauser, Caliber 7mm, Mfg. 1927

[Patrick Chadwick]

Top of action ring to trigger guard housing bottom near front screw is 1.363" in AND out of the stock! No wood compression going on up front... Tang to trigger guard measures 1.905" in the stock and roughly 1.869" free state out of the stock. Recoil lug depth ~0.248" but the recess in the stock is only 0.220". No surprise that the bottom of the lug is the only contact at the front of the receiver.

The front end is not tight enough.

The ideal setup for the system is if the wood is slightly pinched when the trigger guard assembly is screwed up until metal meets metal. I do not have a definition of "slightly pinched", it's a matter of feeling. My feeling goes: doing it all up "One-hand" tight at first should mean that the wood is being pinched, but triggerguard metal is not yet meeting receiver metal. But "two-hands" or "tommy bar" tightness with the rifle held upside down in a cradle should just get metal to metal. Do not go to "wheelbrace" tight, as that will be FUBARing the screw and/or crushing the wood.

OK, I know that is not an exact science, and it depends on the strength of your hands and wrists. Still, I reckon you have the hands-on experience to interpret what I am trying to say. My feeling is that the rear trigger guard screw will be OK is it is, but at the front end you need about 0.020" of pinch. Either pack out the recess below the trigger guard plate at the front (in effect bedding the floorplate - ideal, but tricky) or insert a 20 thou washer between the floorplate and the wood (a cheat, but easy) or file the 20 thou off the screw boss on the system, to allow the parts to come closer together. This last option is mechanically good, because it preserves the fit of the floorplate in the cutout. It is, however, an irreversible alteration. So whichever method you choose, experiment with washers under the floorplate first, to determine the right amount of pinch.

But first of all - check that the trigger guard screw is not bottoming in the boss on the system, as this will prevent any wood pinch from being achieved. It is conceivable (I once had one with a non-original screw that was a tad too long!) that simply filing 20 thou off the end of the screw will enable the whole assembly to be tightened up just that little bit more to pinch the wood.

The whole idea behind pinching (and not crushing!) the wood is that as long as it remains in elastic compression, the pinched wood will in effect act as a spring washer to keep the system firmly held in the stock.

Patrick