canecutter1
Senior Member
my great grandpaw John Henry Wilkins knowed T.C. Kennon real good, my deddy had him customize a stock for his 30-06 and mount the scope
Thank you. I was pleased with the outcome. I feel like I have a part of Georgia gunsmithing history.Beautiful job on a beautiful rifle.
Nice rifle. TC's nomenclature on the barrel stamps shows the initials of whom it was made for (JRS) the date of completion (12-10-84) and the sequential number of the rifle he has made (his 356th rifle? # was blurred ) . Didnt have my reading glasses on so a number might be off. TC also liked use Douglas barrels. At that time Douglas' best barrel were their "XX" grade barrels. TC would denote "DXX" on the barrels after the sequential numbering, in this case, it would have been stamped beside the 356 notation
Thank you for the information.
I was wondering what the letters and the date on the bottom of the barrel meant. This barrel is stamped “FN action - made in Belgium”. Possibly a Mauser?
I think the number is 856 it is hard to tell because the first number looks like it may have taken a double hit.
Now I need to find out who J.R.S. was.
This weekend I’ll shoot it.
It might indeed be 856...that would better match up with his production timeline....1984. FN action made in Belgium is nothing more than an FN made commercial Mauser action...same action as your Browning FN Safari rifles made in the 60's and 70's. Its a great action and countless rifles have been made from it, including a TC Kennon 300 Win mag made for a plantation owner down this way that gave it to me years ago. She's a nice rifle and quite the thumper. He put a sweet stock on this baby back in the day!
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That is an awesome looking stock.
I like the butt pad on yours. I only have one other bolt action, a Remington 700 PSS .308. While it has a kick, I get the feeling it is nothing like the Kennon 300 win mag I now have. I’m thinking my butt pad needs to be upgraded to something a little more modern.
They are well made rifle...you’ll have to hunt long and hard to find oneI want one
Or you can stumble across one without knowing what it was... if it wasn’t for this forum I would not have had a clue.They are well made rifle...you’ll have to hunt long and hard to find one
Sir, Thank you for this guidance, much appreciated. And thx to all for various info on threads. Before I retired a ways back bought an interesting old customized Greifelt single shot in 219 Zipper Ackley Improved. The 28 degree shoulder determined in chamber cast. 24 inch heavy target barrel. Very beautiful unusual custom stock with fine checkering and artistic designs. Double set trigger. Your post just helped me date it to 1954 for “TCK”. It came with a box of old fashioned hand loading equipment; on one piece was written “TC Kennon”. There were various items for this 219, 219 Donaldson Wasp, and a 218 Bee. Google search got me to GON posts years ago. I just joined today owing to your helpful post and to say that I respect its heritage and have had a difficult restoration and renovation done to the old German Aydt style falling block type action by a gunsmith specialized in German guns. I will try to post some photos. Again, thx to all and be assured that in this home Mr. Kennon’s memory and work is respected.Nice rifle. TC's nomenclature on the barrel stamps shows the initials of whom it was made for (JRS) the date of completion (12-10-84) and the sequential number of the rifle he has made (his 356th rifle? # was blurred ) . Didnt have my reading glasses on so a number might be off. TC also liked use Douglas barrels. At that time Douglas' best barrel were their "XX" grade barrels. TC would denote "DXX" on the barrels after the sequential numbering, in this case, it would have been stamped beside the 356 notation
Shot "Big John" yesterday, named after the man that have the rifle to me. 300 Win mag, 168 grain TTSX, 76 grains of RL-22. 0.633" 4 shot group @ 100. TC's stamping on the underside of the barrel indicate she was completed February 26, 1966, TC's rifle # 276, and has my friend John's initials on it. There is no indication of a Douglas match barrel (D**) so this was a plain Jane Douglas barrel. TC made his rifles almost exclusively with Douglas brand barrels.
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