Arms, Armor and Militaria

7mm-08. 22" barrel length. SN: K050. Blued metal finish with polished bolt in walnut semi-pistol grip stock with skeletonized semi pistol grip cap and butt featuring scroll engraved enhancements and inlaid gold, rosegold, and silver ornamentation. Bolt action internal magazine fed Mauser action repeating rifle featuring a receiver cut for Heilmann two piece scope rings. Rifle features a tunnel front sight with two piece folding rear flat sight, both on islands, front and rear sling swivel studs, and Canjar safety. The receiver, triggerguard, magazine floorplate, bolt handle, pistol grip cap, and buttplate all feature fine spiral scroll engraving with all except the bolt knob featuring gold inlaid borders in a Spanish Damascene style. Further silver, rose gold, and gold inlaid floral bouquets complete the engraving on major parts. Trigger plate is engraved with the signature R. EVANS ENGR for Master engraver Robert Evans below the magazine floorplate, while the upper flat of the octagonal to round barrel is engraved D Hensley Stockmaker in Gothic script, indicating it was produced by Darwin Hensley. Screw heads to major parts feature sunburst engraving. Rifle was designed to use a proprietary style of double scope rings. The rings come with the rifle, and display matching engraving, but both show brittle fractures that render them unusable save as a pattern to reproduce them. There are no surviving records of these rings among Heilmann's records, but their style may well have been the work of Thomas Burgess. Regardless, reproducing them will require a skilled gunsmith in order to match the work of the triumvirate responsible for this rifle.

Stephen R. Heilmann began his gunmaking career in 1970, as a student at the Colorado School of Trades. In 1973, he opened his first business called simply The Gunworks, in Grass Valley, California. He quickly established his excellence in the field, so much so, that by 1980 it became necessary to establish a larger business to keep up with demand. In 1985, he joined the American Custom Gunmakers Guild, and continued to repair, rebuild, and produce custom guns until his passing on September 15, 2024. Through the course of his career, he experimented with his own unique scope bases and approach to metalwork, all completely demonstrated by this lot.

Master Engraver Robert Evans is a founding member of the Firearm Engravers Guild of America whose works typically combine finely executed yet tasteful engraving bordered and embellished with gold wire and accents. In the case of this rifle, the engraving adorns not only the rifle and scope bases, but the scope rings themselves. The bold sweeping lines of Evans' inlays complement the similarly striking yet graceful stock by Hensley.

Darwin Hensley's work, both as a stockmaker and gunmaker, commands deep respect in the gunmaking community. He was a member of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild, and founded Hensley and Hensley, which still persists after his retirement. This stock displays all the classic hallmarks of Hensley's work, particularly in the precise borders to the bolt latch and ejection port, embellishments that serve to showcase his skill without overstating. {MODERN}