Daniel Fraser was one of Scotland’s most famous rifle makers. He made beautiful bespoke rifles using the Oberndorf Mauser action, the Lee-Enfield action, his own side-lever falling block, and double rifles. He also made sporting shotguns.
Fast Facts
- Daniel Fraser was a renowned gunsmith of Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Fraser was primarily a maker of sporting rifles, bolt action, falling block, and double.
- Fraser also developed his own version of the 303 British cartridge, loaded with his unusual oblique ratchet soft-nose bullet.
- A Daniel Fraser Mauser action sporting rifle chambered for the 303 Fraser Rimless is for sale on Guns International at time of writing.
Daniel Fraser & Company was a highly respected Scottish gunmaking business located at 4 Leith Street Terrace, Edinburgh. Fraser made both shotguns and rifles, but he was best known for his rifles and made far more rifles than shotguns.
According to “Daniel Fraser Gun and Rife maker of Edinburgh Scotland” by Jonathon Kirton, Fraser made about one shotgun for every ten rifles. So as he only made about 4,000 firearms in total only around 400 of those would have been shotguns.
Rifles were Daniel Fraser’s passion. He made rifles based on the Lee-Enfield action, often chambered for his own version of the 303 British. These 303 Fraser (aka. 303 Fraser Flanged, metric 7.7x56R) cartridges featured his proprietary oblique ratchet soft-nose bullet. This bullet featured a jacket that was scored with angled slits in the jacket.
Fraser made his Lee-Enfield action sporting rifles for this cartridge, and also his double rifles and side-lever falling block single-shot rifles.
Fraser also made rifles based on the Oberndorf Mauser M1898 action, but for these the rimmed 303 Fraser was not suitable. So Fraser created a rimless version of the 303 British/303 Fraser, which was the 303 Fraser Velox (aka 303 Fraser Rimless, 303 Lee-Enfield Rimless).
The 303 Fraser Velox is a very rare cartridge and sought after by collectors, but it is not one that would be especially difficult to fabricate in order to get a 303 Fraser Velox rifle shooting.
Dimensions are as follows: Rim diameter .466″, Head diameter .457″, Shoulder diameter .389″, Neck diameter .33″, Length 2.20″, Bullet diameter .311″.
If you do decide to make 303 Fraser Velox cartridge cases it would be important to choose 303 British brass that has a good amount of thickness in the case head area. Remington brass has a reputation for being a bit thicker so it might be one of the better choices. Once the new extractor groove is cut it would be important to section a sample case to ensure a good thickness of brass remains in the case head.
Fraser made rifles in a great many calibers including European favorites such as the 9.3x74R, and he even made a rather gorgeous 8 bore double rifle.
Daniel Fraser and Co. Takedown 303 Fraser Sporting Rifle
At time of publication there is a Daniel Fraser & Company takedown 303 Fraser sporting rifle for sale.
This rifle is built on the foundation of a Mauser action and is fitted with a 25.5 inch (64,77 cm) sporter weight barrel. On the barrel is fitted a matted ramp mounted bead front sight, and block mounted rear sight of one fixed and two folding matted leafs graduated for 200 and 300 yards.
The Blued magazine floor plate is engraved “FITTED WITH FRASER’S PATENT TRIGGER ACTION” and the action and magazine floor plate share coordinated engraving.
The safety catch is a rounded Mauser type flag safety and the bolt handle is a graceful butterknife style with coordinated engraving.
The rifle weighs a rather light 7 lbs. 2 oz (2.3 kg), and has a total length of 47 inches (119.5 cm).
You will find the sale page for this rifle on Guns International if you click here.
This rifle is listed as unrestored and looks to be in good condition, a beautiful example of the craftsmanship of Daniel Fraser.
Picture Credits: Pictures of the Fraser takedown rifle courtesy Guns International. All other pictures as individually credited.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
