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So, I had this idea a while back....
I was thinking about how it would be cool to own a BIG gun, you know, like a .50 BMG or something- but those are way outside of my budget and cost a fortune to shoot.
Then I began to think about building a gun that LOOKED like a "big gun", a sort of Terminator-meets-Michael-Bay gun that looks like some Hhollywood director's version of the ultimate sniper rifle- and could be built on the cheap.
Now, I know it's not going to be very accurate, or stop tanks, or be "the real thing", but I thought it might be fun to build it as a "Mall Ninja" sniper rifle. So, I named the still-undefined project "G-45" after the original Mall Ninja, Gecko45 of Glocktalk fame, and I set about defining my parameters.
MUST....
1) be at least 30cal.
2) make a big bang.
3) have a LONG barrel.
4) have a good action.
5) be cheap to feed.
6) be reasonably low cost to build
I needed a long barrel because I was upsizing rather than sporterizing, and a long barrel and cheap ammo dictated that I look at milsurp rifles.
I did some reading on safari guns and learned that a lot of them up to 600 Nitro Express are built on the Mauser long actions. I also knew that the mauser action is really tight when the bolt is locked and since my search was narrowed down to basically Mosin or Mauser, I decided Mauser was the way to go. 8mm brass ammo is really cheap too.
![]()
I scored one of these plus SIX HUNDRED FORTY rounds of ammo from a fellow LIFer. For about three hundred bucks.Yay!
I stripped down the gun and removed thwe existing blue, unfortunately the pics of that part and making the muzzle brake were all in my phone when it died.
![]()
Here is the muzzle brake, it is a Miculek-style brake patterned after one I saw on a .50 BMG. It is made out of some 1-1/2" stainless 316L marine propellor shaft that I bought, like eight feet of on ebay 'cause it was cheap and has been collecting dust in my garage for about two years.
![]()
Here is the brake from the front, showing the crown. I used a 7 degree target crown configuration since that seems to be all the rage these days...
Then I had to find or make a stock. I did not really want to invest the time to make one, and I wanted a synthetic stock. However, the only cheap, commercially available offering I could find was this thing:
![]()
I thought to myself that it could not possibly be as hideous looking as the drawing, until I found this pic on Calguns:
![]()
Well, OK- the beluga-whale front end of this thing definitely had to go. Also, the whole giant clamshell-over-the-bolt thing was an aesthetic disaster. No disrespect to the designer over at ATI, but, like, WTF were you thinking, Dude?
So, a couple of weeks ago I was trying to figure out how to get rid of the beluga-whale hump and tried adapting a quad rail but it looked kinda funky and the fit was just not right. It started to look like the best option might be to make a barrel shroud- and I grabbed a section of 1-1/2" copper DWV tube, and turned some aluminum end caps for it that fit the barrel. Then I cut the hollow top of the forend to shape, and sanded it with a sticky disc wrapped around the tube to free float the forend (the shroud will be part of the barrel).
![]()
So, even though I am (eventually) nickel plating the shtroud and painting the exterior black, the gun was getting a seriously "Home Depot" look from the copper. So, my project became officially named: G-45 WECSOG- taking its moniker from the FAL group's disparaging term "Wiley E Coyote School Of Gunsmithing"
It seemed really appropriate and fitting to the entire theme of the project.
![]()
I taped off, marked, and milled some slots into the bottom of the shroud with a 1/4" carbide ball mill...
![]()
...and some more in the top.
Then I discovered that the 7/8" stainless tube that I use for my boat fits over the thicker part of the barrel (barely). Mausers like mine don't have tapered ballels, there is a step about midway, and it's straight on both sides of the step. you can see in the pic that I've opened up the other side of the ATI stock "rail mount" as well.
![]()
Also, you'll see the official WECSOG gunsmithing tool (Dremel) in the photo...
Well, this is about where I am for now. I have to get some Duracoat to do the finishing and I'm waiting on a bipod to arrive. Also on the list is a trench mag- just because it will make it look more extremely baddonkey. (I actually wrote "Donkey" there!) Here are some shots to show the scale of this monster....
![]()
That's a midlength M4 carbine below it with the stock in nearly the full-extended position.....
Scope on the WECSOG is from a fellow LIFer too- I bought it because it was huge and cheap- perfect for this rifle!
![]()
And here, up against the wall- note the mods to the scope rail from the original ATI stock....
![]()
That's a regular full size gun safe. I can't afford a .50, but I will still make the noobs say "OHMYGODWHATTHEHECKISTHAT!!!!" when I show up at Calverton....LOL!
More pics to follow as project progresses.....
I was thinking about how it would be cool to own a BIG gun, you know, like a .50 BMG or something- but those are way outside of my budget and cost a fortune to shoot.
Then I began to think about building a gun that LOOKED like a "big gun", a sort of Terminator-meets-Michael-Bay gun that looks like some Hhollywood director's version of the ultimate sniper rifle- and could be built on the cheap.
Now, I know it's not going to be very accurate, or stop tanks, or be "the real thing", but I thought it might be fun to build it as a "Mall Ninja" sniper rifle. So, I named the still-undefined project "G-45" after the original Mall Ninja, Gecko45 of Glocktalk fame, and I set about defining my parameters.
MUST....
1) be at least 30cal.
2) make a big bang.
3) have a LONG barrel.
4) have a good action.
5) be cheap to feed.
6) be reasonably low cost to build
I needed a long barrel because I was upsizing rather than sporterizing, and a long barrel and cheap ammo dictated that I look at milsurp rifles.
I did some reading on safari guns and learned that a lot of them up to 600 Nitro Express are built on the Mauser long actions. I also knew that the mauser action is really tight when the bolt is locked and since my search was narrowed down to basically Mosin or Mauser, I decided Mauser was the way to go. 8mm brass ammo is really cheap too.
I scored one of these plus SIX HUNDRED FORTY rounds of ammo from a fellow LIFer. For about three hundred bucks.Yay!
I stripped down the gun and removed thwe existing blue, unfortunately the pics of that part and making the muzzle brake were all in my phone when it died.
Here is the muzzle brake, it is a Miculek-style brake patterned after one I saw on a .50 BMG. It is made out of some 1-1/2" stainless 316L marine propellor shaft that I bought, like eight feet of on ebay 'cause it was cheap and has been collecting dust in my garage for about two years.
Here is the brake from the front, showing the crown. I used a 7 degree target crown configuration since that seems to be all the rage these days...
Then I had to find or make a stock. I did not really want to invest the time to make one, and I wanted a synthetic stock. However, the only cheap, commercially available offering I could find was this thing:
I thought to myself that it could not possibly be as hideous looking as the drawing, until I found this pic on Calguns:
Well, OK- the beluga-whale front end of this thing definitely had to go. Also, the whole giant clamshell-over-the-bolt thing was an aesthetic disaster. No disrespect to the designer over at ATI, but, like, WTF were you thinking, Dude?
So, a couple of weeks ago I was trying to figure out how to get rid of the beluga-whale hump and tried adapting a quad rail but it looked kinda funky and the fit was just not right. It started to look like the best option might be to make a barrel shroud- and I grabbed a section of 1-1/2" copper DWV tube, and turned some aluminum end caps for it that fit the barrel. Then I cut the hollow top of the forend to shape, and sanded it with a sticky disc wrapped around the tube to free float the forend (the shroud will be part of the barrel).
So, even though I am (eventually) nickel plating the shtroud and painting the exterior black, the gun was getting a seriously "Home Depot" look from the copper. So, my project became officially named: G-45 WECSOG- taking its moniker from the FAL group's disparaging term "Wiley E Coyote School Of Gunsmithing"
It seemed really appropriate and fitting to the entire theme of the project.
I taped off, marked, and milled some slots into the bottom of the shroud with a 1/4" carbide ball mill...
...and some more in the top.
Then I discovered that the 7/8" stainless tube that I use for my boat fits over the thicker part of the barrel (barely). Mausers like mine don't have tapered ballels, there is a step about midway, and it's straight on both sides of the step. you can see in the pic that I've opened up the other side of the ATI stock "rail mount" as well.
Also, you'll see the official WECSOG gunsmithing tool (Dremel) in the photo...
Well, this is about where I am for now. I have to get some Duracoat to do the finishing and I'm waiting on a bipod to arrive. Also on the list is a trench mag- just because it will make it look more extremely baddonkey. (I actually wrote "Donkey" there!) Here are some shots to show the scale of this monster....
That's a midlength M4 carbine below it with the stock in nearly the full-extended position.....
Scope on the WECSOG is from a fellow LIFer too- I bought it because it was huge and cheap- perfect for this rifle!
And here, up against the wall- note the mods to the scope rail from the original ATI stock....
That's a regular full size gun safe. I can't afford a .50, but I will still make the noobs say "OHMYGODWHATTHEHECKISTHAT!!!!" when I show up at Calverton....LOL!
More pics to follow as project progresses.....
