Any helpful information?

[dukkillr]

I was fortunate enough to be given a rifle last week by a long time hunting partner who has quit hunting.  The only thing i know is that the rifle is "custom mauser fn" in .270.  Unfortunatly that's really about all the giver knows about it.  I'm really fairly clueless about what I've got.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  There is a 4 digit serial number on it, as well as a few other symbols.  Is this rifle a "sporterized" mauser that has been converted to .270?  What does the "fn" mean?  Is there any way to discover who did the work?  Any information, or sources for me to consult would be great.

[John Traveler]

FN is the Fabrique Nacionale arms factory in Herstal, Belgium.

It's been famous as a military and civilian arms producer for almost 130 years.

The FN mauser is a civilian version of the military M1898 mauser action, and is one of the most desirable actions for building a custom bolt action rifle. It features sporter type bolt shroud, side safety and commercial trigger, no stripper clip thumb cut on left receiver, steel trigger guard, and high polish finish.

If the action was barreled by a custom shop, it should have his markings or signature on it, either on the barrel, or underneath the forearm area.

FN also sold barreled actions for many years, including .270 Winchester to the gunsmithing trade and to sporting goods dealers such as Sears, Roebuck, and Mongomery Wards.

HTH
John

[jiminaz]

John,
I have an FN Commercial that came from Montgomery Ward. It was a 30-06 and shot very good. Now it is a 6MM BR and shoots very very good. You should be happy with it. That's quite a gift.
Jim

[Judson]

F.N. made both military and comercial actions and complete firearms.    As to who made your rifle, federal requires the builder to put their name and location (address) on the gun in a place that is visiable when assembled.   This is not always adheared too, you may find some info on the bottom of the barrel.    If you can post the proof marks I can probably tell you who made the action anyway and maby give you an idea as when it was made.

[magnum308]

dukkillr,

I'm from Brisbane, Australia and new to this website.

I have a fine custom rifle built on an FN M98 (originally military) action. The rifle stated out as a 30-06 Belgium rifle but I had a custom gunsmith here make the action the basis of a complete no expense spared custom rifle some 20+ years ago in 308 Norma Magnum. This is an excellent action on which to build a custom rifle. If yours is a genuine custom rifle built by a custom rifle maker (and I can't image why he would not want to identify himself on the rifle) it will be a real shooter.

Hope, you enjoy it.
Magnum308 [/quote]