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Cheaper chamber job for a non-comp rifle

dgeesaman

Gold $$ Contributor
I have a Sako A2 in .243 that is kinda shot out. I don’t see the point in owning a worn out gun like this so it will be rebarreled and keep it to the same contour and bullied finish.

I’m going to order a CroMoly Brux barrel for it and use my 6BRA reamer. I found a local shop that will hot blue the barrel and action. They’ll chamber it too but they are not benchrest gunsmiths. After seeing the price of their chamber job, I’m thinking to taking this to my benchrest guy for the metal work, even though it adds two drives for me and a couple hundred dollars.

On one hand I might be paranoid and judgmental based on price. On the other hand it’s premium equipment so it might be foolish to cheap out on the chambering.

Thoughts?
 
"On one hand I might be paranoid and judgmental based on price. On the other hand it’s premium equipment so it might be foolish to cheap out on the chambering."

Go with the smith you have confidence in and has a good track record. You will hate yourself every time you shoot an open group or flier if you don't. Easier to sell (with a clear conscience) a great shooting rifle than an also ran if you ever decide to part with it.
 
"You get what you pay for" Not always. If a chambering job is a good one, it is a good one regardless of cost. There are a whole bunch of very competent gunsmiths out there who are producing work which is equal to any but who are simply charging based on their time. Many 'smiths are still threading barrels between centers and chambering in the steady rest (and there is nothing wrong with this) as are many barrel makers. Doing it this way, I can re-barrel most rifles in less than 2 hours from the time I pick it from the rack to the time I put it back. If I fit the barrel through the headstock, dialing in both ends, it adds roughly fifteen minutes to the job. I have to add, the very best short range BR rifle I have ever shot was chambered in the steady. The very best "F" class rifle I have ever shot was chambered through the headstock. In both cases, the chambering job was measurably perfect with zero run out and no toolmarks.
Having said all this, you should go with what you are comfortable with. Regardless, anyone who is offering barrel fitting as a service should be striving to produce good work. WH
 
Will Henry said:
"You get what you pay for" Not always. If a chambering job is a good one, it is a good one regardless of cost.
Click to expand...

I agree.
I do charge less accordingly for a hunting or "plinking" rifle that doesn't demand the utmost precision accuracy and can be done well between centers. Dialing in both ends takes time, time is money. Simple enough for me, and makes sense if using a non-premium blank (Shaw, Green Mountain). They'll all shoot sub minute, customer pays for the work commensurate with his needs and saves a few bucks.
 
Barrels are amazingly tolerant of less than "match grade" chambers. Brass isn't though. A good barrel will almost always shoot fairly well regardless of how the chamber is done, but your brass can be the hang up...literally.
 
In my opinion the chamber is one of the most important parts of building consistently accurate rifles. I think Dave Tooley did some testing and has some data on how much off center throats give up by the amount its off. And no, the bushing will not save you from a poor setup. Theres only one setup to achieve what I want in a chamber, so theres only one way I chamber. I dont look at it as saving a hundred bucks, but whats it going to cost to fix if it doesnt perform to expectations. There are exceptions to everything, but if you look at a good number of rifles you will see that these things do matter if you want to know every rifle will shoot without needing to get lucky. Your buying a quality barrel, use your BR guy IMO.
 
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Not being in business, I don't place a dollar amount on what I do.

Not being a real machinist, I'm pretty slow.

I've found that what Alex says about about a well aligned chamber
holds true, even when chambering used barrels and factory take-offs.

I don't see how a good smith could cut much labor cost, short of doing
a sloppy job----don't see how anybody with a sense of pride would
produce a sloppy job just to get a bit cheaper.

Might save a few bucks with a lower cost barrel----but listen to your smith's
advise about barrels.

A. Weldy
 
Alex Wheeler said:
In my opinion the chamber is one of the most important parts of building consistently accurate rifles. I think Dave Tooley did some testing and has some data on how much off center throats give up by the amount its off. And no, the bushing will not save you from a poor setup. Theres only one setup to achieve what I want in a chamber, so theres only one way I chamber. I dont look at it as saving a hundred bucks, but whats it going to cost to fix if it doesnt perform to expectations. There are exceptions to everything, but if you look at a good number of rifles you will see that these things do matter if you want to know every rifle will shoot without needing to get lucky. Your buying a quality barrel, use your BR guy IMO.
Click to expand...
bushing?
 
A cheaper chamber job doesn't necessarily mean a sloppy job. Maybe it's just a lower shop rate. I'd want to see the guy's work before I judge him.
 
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