Posts Tagged ‘Mule deer’

Mauser 98 Custom Desert Mule Deer Carving

 

      As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the owner wanted a Mule Deer buck in a southwestern desert landscape carved on his Mauser rifle.   The design the client and I came up with is a Mule Deer buck with Large typical  4×4 antlers jumping over the skeleton of an old Saguaro cactus with the normal desert surroundings including rocks, Prickly Pear cactus, and giant Saguaro cactus in the distance.   The Mauser 98 is not manufactured by Mauser anymore but older rifles can be great choices for custom rifles and are still very popular.

 

   Mauser model 98 information courtesy of Wikipedia:

Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces. Since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, military Mauser designs were also exported and licensed to a number of countries, as well as being a popular civilian firearm.

   Mauser Model 98

Mausers were readily adapted as hunting rifles. In Africa, so-called Safari rifles were often made from Mausers. These rifles were often rechambered in larger rounds up to and including .50 cal (12.7 mm). The adaptations usually consisted of shortening the foregrip and barrel, rechambering to popular British rounds, and minor alterations to the action, although the rifle was left fundamentally Mauser-designed. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, companies that made alterations were generally Commonwealth-based and developed several proprietary big game rounds specifically for hunting large and dangerous game. Today, large and small bore Mauser-derived rifles are made all over the world for the civilian market and are popular with hunters.

 

As you may remember, the first step was the design:

The second step was the out line cuts of the drawing:

Then I move to the roughing out and shaping of the artwork.

 The shaping continues:

Then you start working on the details – mountains, rocks, cactus shaping, antlers, body shape……

 I put a coat of Minwax Prestain conditioner on the carving – now it’s ready for staining and finish:

     I still have quite a bit of work to do yet.  The forearm and grip checkering will be removed and replaced with Basketweave and Leaves as accent.   I will post again on this project.

     If you have a rifle that you believe would look great with this type of carving, call or email me.   Let’s discuss the options.

Thanks for stoppin’ by ……

Lance Larson

Gunstock Carving of a Desert Mule Deer 

    I am starting the design process of a newly commissioned gunstock carving.   The owner wanted a Mule Deer buck in a southwestern desert landscape.  As I think I have mentioned in past articles, you have to do your research on not just the animals but the environment the animal lives in to make it a natural scene.  

     The design the client and I came up with is a Mule Deer buck with Large typical  4×4 antlers jumping over the skeleton of an old Saguaro cactus.   I sure hope to see a buck like this in the desert someday!   There are normal desert surroundings including rocks, Prickly Pear cactus, and giant Saguaro cactus in the distance.  I want to show the client all the steps so I will post a photo journal of the project for him as it goes along.   That means you get to see it too.

 

       This step #1, The Design.   I used desert landscape photos, many deer photos, skyline photos, and cactus photos to develop this design idea.  Some of the photos were provided by the client, many were from my own research files.   Now the fun begins.…    

 

     I’ll post more as this project move along.

 

    If you would like to follow this project to it’s completion, please subscribe to my website above.   I will keep you updated on all new posts.

 

 

Thanks for stoppin’ by……

Lance Larson