The wife is pregnant! God has seen fit to give us a baby girl and we shall provide. For the last several years, I've been on a spree to finish up the several projects I had started. In some cases, I won't be able to complete them outright but I can get the base parts installed and work on small stuff as I go. Some of the projects were bigger like replacing major parts such as re-barreling the WWSD Hunter or buying something new like the Model 17. Some were smaller like getting threads cut onto a barrel like on my Ruger American Rimfire, putting a scope on the Marlin 60 or finally putting a red dot on my Glock 17 build. There are still things that I want to work on but God has given us a baby after the long journey of IVF we've had to go through and we are grateful. We will be having many more kids as there are 5 more blastocysts in cryogenic storage waiting for their turn. My family will be my main focus. I'm more than okay with that since that's what I've wanted for as long a I can remember. I'll still shoot as often as I can and some projects like reloading will be worked on. Let's see what I have I'd like to finish.
The Pork Sword Remington 700 Restock
Many years ago, I had built a Black Collar Arms Pork Sword chassis based on the Remington 700. The action came during or just before the Remington fire sale before the bankruptcy. I used a .300 Blackout 10 inch barrel from KAK and a Vortex Venom red dot along with a SB Tactical 1913 pistol brace. This was back when the ATF said braces were okay on pistols. With the Dead Air Wolfman, that pistol was so much fun to shoot and accurate.
I really liked this version of the Pork Sword. The FS1913 brace indexed off the cheek nicely.
I picked up a case for it that when folded up and with the Wolfman, the whole kit fit nicely. Sadly, the ATF doesn't play nice so it had to change to something. In this case, I changed the barrel and added an actual stock. On a side note, the FS1913 is very flimsy and would never make for a good stock. I don't know what the ATF was so worried about. I will attest to that but it was such a fun gun to shoot it that configuration.
Plenty of room for a Dead Air Wolfman.
After locating another Remington bankruptcy part, a 16 inch barrel from a Model 7, I had Moss Pawn install it. I also ordered a JMAC Customs 9 inch riser stock. I pulled an inexpensive Simmons 3-9 scope out of my inventory and used a Keymo Flash Hider to mount the Wolfman onto. The rifle, now an actual rifle, was zeroed for 50 yards using Hornady's 190 grain Sub-X factory loads. It shot okay enough and is somewhat quiet with the Dead Air Wolfman in the short configuration.
The post re-barrel configuration of the Pork Sword Remington 700 along with the early version of the WWSD Hunter 350 Legend build.
I've taken a deer with this configuration but I'm not totally happy with the look of the build along with the lightweight profile barrel in conjunction with the minimalist chassis and stock. It does look cool and has a sort of M4 Survival Rifle aesthetic to it. Though the lines of the parts really need a thicker profile barrel. A custom barrel would be the best choice but I'm not sure I want a custom barrel on a factory Remington action. It would need blue printed.
I'm not totally abandoning the Pork Sword project but I am setting it on the back burner with the intent of either blue-printing the action or buying one from some place like Pacific Tool and Gauge or Palmetto State Armory if they release a receiver. I would then have a custom 13.9 inch barrel in .300 Blackout made. The goal will be to permanently attach a DA Flash Hider to the new barrel making it 16 inches. That barreled, precision action will get Cerakoted and put into the chassis along with a better optic. That should perfectly execute my original idea of a folding bolt action .300 Blackout. I've found that this makes for an amazing truck gun as I carried it during the 2022 deer season in my 4Runner.
The classic wood stock, bolt action hunting rifle is something that I'd been thinking about for a while and I don't have. I looked at building up a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight. Savage is releasing a Stevens brand, entry level rifle for under $500 with a wood stock. Those rifles come in short action calibers like .243 and .308. The .300 Blackout cartridge makes so much sense to me these days as a general purpose cartridge for use on the homestead. I figure I should stick with it. Hence why I am re-stocking the Pork Sword.
I'd ordered a used Remington 700 BDL wood stock off of eBay for cheap. The goal is to replace the current chassis, which I like, with a wood stock that matches the Remington Model 7 lightweight barrel. The stock I ordered is incomplete so I'll have to source various parts such as the bottom metal and internal magazine components. Those parts are easy enough to locate. Also, bedding the stock can be done at home with inexpensive kits so this project is easy enough to get done at home.
To complete the classic look. I'll see about Cerakoting the action and parts Midnight Blue so they match once I have everything built out. The finishes are currently different with the receiver being blued and the barrel a matte. This should satisfy my desire for a classic bolt action rifle with a wood stock for use as a hunting rifle. I can still use it with a silencer on the Little Farm or use it off-property on public land without the silencer.
I guess it won't be the Pork Sword any more.
1916 Spanish Mauser 45 ACP Carbine
I do not have a rifle chambered for .45 caliber. No Hi Point carbine, no AR45. Since I sold off my Winchester 94 Trapper in 45 Colt, I would like to have a rifle in .45 caliber to be able to reload for and plink with. A Henry Big Boy X in .45 Colt fits perfectly with the exception of the cost. A Rossi R92 would probably be better. In this case, I don't want a semi-auto for decibels reasons, so that rules out the cheap Hi Point. This is meant to be a suppressed plinker.
Back around 2016, I impulse bought a surplus Spanish Mauser 1916 in 7x57 for under $200. It's in rough shape and has been sitting around doing nothing since then. Getting usable surplus, cheap ammo is a thing of the past and what ammo I have for it is so old, it didn't work when I tested it. Making my own isn't worth my time due to how much work the rifle needs to be shootable anyway. It has a few problems like a loose front sight that would need to be addressed. Sporterizing it is just cruel and leaving it as an unused wall hanger doesn't sit well with me. I don't do safe queens unless it's something I really like. That reason alone is one of the biggest reasons why I sold off the Winchester Trapper. Guns should be used.
Enter Rhineland Arms and their unique Mauser .45 ACP conversion kits. I ordered a kit in March 2023 that includes a 16 inch threaded barrel and magazine adapter for 1911 magazines. I should be able to share the magazines between my Springfield TRP and this rifle when done. The parts haven't been shipped and have been in a state of backorder for quite sometime. The monthly news letters sent out say the parts would be shipped before Christmas and now say only a enough parts shipped to handle a few backorders. We're nearly a year into that order not being fulfilled.
This project will best be done in phases. Once I have a mechanically sound rifle, I will be able to add parts and finishes later on.
The intent is to have the rifle setup to look like an old military rifle with as many original parts as possible. I'd like to have a Lyman 57 receiver sight installed as a rear peep. I am open to replacing the current leaf sight with a mount for a red dot but I'm not sure I will go that route.
Once the sighting planes are completed, I want to clean up the stock and Cerakote the barreled action and small metal parts from the stock using Midnight Blue.
The project is intended to give me a manually operated plinking rifle in .45 caliber that I can suppress with my Dead Air Primal. I don't expect to do any serious work with this gun other than enjoy it. It's still cheaper to shoot .22 LR all day long compared to .45 ACP but I don't care. It'll be a fun thing to have around. The barrel is supposed to be threaded .578x28 and I'll be able to use a JMAC 360 Keymo muzzle device to host the silencer. It'll be a hoot to shoot. I just need those Rhineland parts.
LA322 - The Perfect Plinker
I was able to pick up an LA322 for under $350 and it's the threaded barrel take-down model. The process to built it into what I want will take some parts that needed sourced from Chiappa along with additional stuff. Unfortunately, the thread pitch was incorrect. It was advertised as 1/2x28 but ended up being 1/2x20. Chiappa's RMA facility is expected to replace the barrel with the correct pitch but they did note it would take a while since they are waiting for parts from Italy.
I'm still working through exactly how the build will take place. Some of the problems I'm running into are that the parts the base model LA322 use are different than what you'll find on the threaded model. Specifically, the front sight assembly is different and needs modified. I was able to acquire from Chiappa 2 of the needed parts and just need the rear sight from Skinner and leather goods. Also the Griffin Armament adapter. Stay tuned to see how the project turns out.
Final Thoughts
I have so many ideas that I want to follow but the money situation will change. I had hoped the .45 Colt cartridge project would have been easier to do with the Pietta 1873 SA but that revolver has turned out to have some sort of issue that will need to be addressed. The point of impact is so low. That said, many of the bullets I have use the same diameter as my .45 ACP loads. I think I could continue to try handloading with my 1911 in .45 ACP. I'm thinking specifically my new MP Molds 185 grain HP mold. I had been toying with the idea of saving up for a Smith and Wesson N frame or Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt as the basis for a custom target revolver. I still think it would be a great idea but it'll have to wait.
I will continue to tinker with .357 Magnum and .38 Special for the Taurus 66 and the Marlin 1894. I like the recipes I have for subsonic loads but I still want to keep trying for cheap cast loads since Trail Boss isn't available yet.
I regards to the Marlin 336, the more I think about it, the likelihood of the 336 build is pretty much a guarantee. It's wholly dependent on Ruger dropping the correct SKU and that could be years from now. I want it to be a Marlin or that build simply doesn't happen. I don't need it out right since the 1894 CST is doing the heavying lifting these days and all the bases realistically are covered. The 336 build keeps nagging at me as something I want to do. I'll chalk that up as a Someday gun.
Anyway, we shall see what I end up doing before the baby arrives. God is good.
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