Welcome everyone to the 215th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only have Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

In our last edition, our poll showed that you, the readers, decided the Arizona-themed Glock 19 was fudd crap.  

HGFC – Arizona State or State of Shame? — Poll Results

At this time, the original auction has ended, but the item has been re-listed with the same $3,600 asking price. We can only hope this golden gat will find its way to a new home in the very near future.  

In this week’s edition of HGFC, we look at a custom Mauser chambered in .308 Norma Magnum. As is tradition, this faded glory-themed gat is currently up for sale on GunBroker for $1,099 Starting Bid or $1,750 Buy It Now.  

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP?

Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

Let’s see what the Staff had to say about this week’s offering:

“Straight to Fudd Crap.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect $1750 dollars.” – Rusty S.

“You are legally obligated to yell at other shooters for rapid firing once you own this gun.” – Daniel Y.

“Even Norma doesn’t list .308 Norma Mag on their ammo site.” – Doug E.

“Oh it’s .308 Norma Magnum? WTF is that, it’s not .300 Norma Magnum. Maybe the seller mistyped the caliber?” – Nick C.

“The official rifle of collecting other people’s brass while they’re still sitting at the bench.” – Tim C.

“The official rifle of spending 6 hours at the range doing “load development” just as an excuse to get out of the house and away from the wife.” -Hop

“A perfectly good Mauser died for this.” – Benjamin F.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

Selling this meriflage-clad gat is GunBroker seller msareborn, located in Coeur D Alene ID.  Let’s see what they had to say about this custom Mauser. 

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

Here’s the ultimate build in a Mauser Custom Rifle in a .308 Norma Magnum. Spotrts a 3.5 X 10 Leupold VX 3 Matt finish scope and a Harris bipod. Has an awesome muzzle break and a black synthetic stock.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

Presently it has a Gunskin of the second amendment and American flag, but is easily removed without any residue. The rifle comes with 90 fired brass. You pay shipping. Good luck! can send more pictures on request.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

If there’s a recurring theme in this series, it’ll always be guns with too much bling or American pride written all over them. I lost track a while back on how many “Meriflage” themed gats I’ve had on this series, but I’m sure we’re close to or into double digits at this point.

Now to the task at hand. Overall, this rifle has some potential.  I appreciate the fact that there’s some quality glass being included, and a quality bipod as well.  But then I’m reminded that we’re in non-standard cartridge territory.  Developed in 1960 the .308 Norma Magnum isn’t a new cartridge, but it certainly isn’t something you’d expect to see on shelves of your local sporting goods store. It uses a belted .300 H&H parent case to achieve the 7.62x65BR case dimensions.  While still supported and semi-popular, it never quite matched the popularity of the 300 Winchester Magnum that saw wide use by hunters and the United States Military.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

Comparing this rifle to anything else would be like comparing the chambering to anything else.  Sure, you could say that its performance closely matches the .30-338 Magnum Cartridge, but that’s another caliber that’s fallen by the wayside.  Put plainly, this rifle makes some sort of sense until you consider any sort of practicality or functionality for the price.  Can I get ammo for it? Not really. Is this really the best bang for my buck with a starting bid of $1,099? Maybe, but that’s a tough sell with all the modern actions available.  Does it have some snazzy accessories and an all-American paint job? Absolutely, but I don’t know if that’ll be enough to move this rifle to a new home.

As always, this series isn’t for me to decide.  So, is a Mauser pattern rifle chambered in .308 Norma Magnum with an arguably awesome or awful paint job worth it for the price?  Or are you better off building your own custom rifle from scratch?  As always, I leave it up to you, the readers, to decide.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Meriflage Marksman or Armchair Concoction?

What do you think?  Is this custom Mauser a Hot Gat or an overpriced and over-the-top pile of Fudd Crap?  Be sure to let us know in the comments below, and cast your vote to let us know if this Custom .308 Norma Magnum Mauser is a Hot Gat or Fudd Crap: