ACCGG #17 A Serious Dangerous Game Rifle
More details on ACGG Firearm #17 (2002)
This annual firearm project of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild “The .404 African,” is a serious working big bore bolt rifle. The concept was to create a firearm similar to what might have been commissioned by a young British civil servant heading to Africa in the early days of the 20th century.
The ACGG #17 rifle, along with fitted oak and leather case, custom hand forged Damascus knife by Keith Kilby, and other accessories was raffled at the Guild’s exhibition in February 2002.
The team of craftsmen, Steve Nelson, Metalsmith (Corvallis, OR), Charles Worthing, Stockmaker (Malaga, WA), and Engraver Robert Hughes (Wenatchee, WA) did not intend to create a museum piece, but rather a restrained, traditionally styled rifle to be used.
The metalsmith Steve Nelson based the rifle around a 1947 FN Mauser with a full C-ring and no thumb cut. The action was altered to a single square bridge, includes an original Oberndorf bent bolt handle, a drop box magazine with hinged straddle floor plate and a trap grip cap. The Kreiger 25” barrel is chambered to .404 Nitro Express and includes an island rear sight ramp with a single standing bar, barrel band sling stud, a barrel band front sight ramp with gold bead and a flip-up ivory night sight, and auxiliary recoil lug. The trigger is a single stage Oberndorf honed to 3-1/2 pound pull.
Stockmaker Charles Worthing shaped the English walnut stock to a traditional British pattern with 24 lpi checkering and finished it with hand-rubbed oil. He added a leather-covered Silvers recoil pad, a gold nameplate, Buffalo horn forend tip and a steel cross bolt.
Robert Hughes, Engraver, complemented the firearm with traditional English scrolls and a Cape Buffalo in gold inlayed into the floor plate. Rust bluing of the action, barrel, floor plate and grip cap was done by Steve Nelson, as well as nitre bluing of the screws, pins and other small parts.
The custom leather-fitted case was crafted by Marvin Huey, Kansas City, MO.
The cased rifle was given away February 10, 2002. A total of 1806 tickets were sold.
Photography by Mustafa Bilal of Turk’s Head Productions, Inc.