doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com R.G. Owen Postwar Mauser rifle

Gentlemen, I just acquired a R. G. Owen 7x57 rifle built on a commercial FN action from 1950. S/N is 5000 under the barrel. I assume it was built while he was living in Port Clinton, Ohio. It has the 100 & 200 yard flip up leaf sights on an engraved base and the std. Owen style hooded front sight. Receiver, floorplate, and back quarter of barrel are heavily engraved with deep relief scroll. Beautiful fleur-di-lis and ribanded checkering on pistol grip and forend. Can anyone tell me who was engraving his rifles in that time frame and anything else from his Port Clinton days? Thanks, Sandlapper

Beautiful rifle.

https://hibid.com/lot/157066318/classic-r-g--owen-7x57-mauser-sporting-rifle

I was watching that auction. Beautiful rifle. Congratulations

Thank you. I've followed the late Mike Petrov's discussions about all the best American custom makers, and read his two books, but there isn't much information on Owen after WW2. I've seen and contemplated buying, a two-barrelled 20 gauge Belgian sidelock with Owen's name and Port Clinton address several years ago, but haven't a clue what he offered or how many guns he built in that time period. I find it strange Owen never had any sort of brochure that advertised his varied offerings, and have seen Austrian, Belgian, German, and English manufactured shotguns stocked by him at various times in his career, as well as the commercial '98 Mauser actioned rifles along with his Springfields before WW2, and FN commercial Mausers after the war. Anyway, whatever anyone could add to the discussion would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Sandlapper

Nice rifle. Quite a few Owen rifles are illustrated in Roy Dunlap's Gunsmithing book. Might be worth picking up a copy if you do not already have one.


John

I ran across and wrote a story about this rifle with R.G. Owen and Tom Burgess (B in circle 3-49 date) barrel markings. For those not aware of Tom Burgess I'd call him the father of modern custom rifle metalsmithing. I first visited him about 1978 at his shop in Lakeside, MT just above Flathead Lake. At the same time I also visited his nearby neighbor Monty Kennedy who live and work on the shore of Flathead lake. Kennedy and Burgess worked together on many projects. Burgess also did metalsmithing for Jerry Fisher (who live in Kalispell at that time) Maurice Ottmar and other well known stockers of the era.From my examination I believe the metal and wood are original to each other.
This rifle is a M-98 Mauser in .257 Roberts (My fav). The last line of my story (Sports Afield, July/Aug 2022) is, "This is the only rifle that I am aware of that bridges pre- and post-WWII custom gunmaking, representing two top craftsmen from each era."

Gasgunner, Thank you for the heads up; I have Crossman & Dunlap's 1952 Book of the Springfield where both fellows discuss Owen at length, but I 'll get a copy of Gunsmithing. Sandlapper

Thanks for your pictures and description of that beautiful Owen rifle. Besides the ornamentation, my rifle and this one are very similar. What I love about Owen's stockwork is the spareness of them; no excess wood, but everything you need.I was rereading one of Mr. Petrov's Owen threads on this site, and he had a picture of one of Owen's catalogs or brochures of his offerings. Does anyone know who or where a copy of one of these might be found? I would love to see the options as well as original prices. Anyway, thanks again, Sandlapper

Sandlapper,
I was at that auction and had the pleasure to examine and handle your new treasure in person. Beautiful rifle and I hope you are happy with it. I managed to snag lots 84 and 108 and am quite happy.
Thaine

Thaine, Thanks for your input; I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow and I haven't been this expectant over a firearm in quite awhile. The only thing they didn't show a pic of was the buttplate, so I hope it wasn't too bad. 7x57 is my favorite caliber to boot. Sandlapper