wildcatter
Silver $$ Contributor
I'm not a snob, but I've found it no more expensive to have mine built, or at least acquire them that way! I find I always get my money back this way when I decide to go another route or if I tire of them. This one is special, inexpensive, and versatile. Savage Axis, had it trued with the firing pin bushed, and put in a laminated stock made from Luan by my gunsmith. But it is one rifle I will not sell. I might add to it, as I have done once, but it will be here even if I don't use it anymore.
I had an old 27.5" 6mm AI Pence barrel I took the entire throat out of 30 years ago and had setting in the safe for 25 years. This was a barrel made by Ron Pence, a good friend. I had about 1200 very hot varmint rounds thru it when I parked it, as I could no longer get the copper out of it in one cleaning session, besides, the accuracy was down around .6" and no longer acceptable.
I decided with the help of my gunsmith Fred, to try an inexpensive way to see if it would once again rulethe varmint fields in NW Ohio. So Fred had a Laminated stock blank he had glued up out of baltic Birch luan.In the white, and inletted for a short magazine Axise. I say short mag, as the Axis is one size fits all, the ghost lug on the bolt, and the stock is what determines long, or short. This was white as snow, and hard to stain, as the pores don't accept stain well at all, but since had no money and just time in the unfinished blank, I got a great buyt on it! A needed requirement to see just what I would end up with.
Fred thought after scoping it, about 4.5" of throat was gone, with some aligator back running a bit further, and if we got beyond that, the barrel still had some good days left in it. So he cut 5" off the breach end and fitted the HV tapered barrel to the Axis and cut the new chamber for a no turn 6mm BR. Man what a tack driver it came to be once again, At 3500 fps with 62 grain Bergers rode hot with H322 it will shoot in the .3's when I do my part. Not shabby for a barrel with over 1200 loads that was totally shot out 30 years ago!
I tried to stain it with light walnut stain, which was very Blotchy! Then I got an idea, the Black Walnuts were dropping in my back yard, They stain anything they touch, so I goy the cut blank from the But when I cut it and installed the pad, so I tride one of those dark dead rotting ones, and way to dark and dirty looking, Then a green one, it made it yellow? Finally I found one that was just turned enough to be yellow, with some brown spots starting to show,,,, PERFECT, at least to me what I wanted.
![20201024_141113[1].jpg](https://forum.accurateshooter.com/data/attachments/684/684085-a872e02ca56ab043f5c0b36c45c50203.jpg?hash=qHLgLKVqsE "20201024_141113[1].jpg")
Persistence prevailed
Fitted with a 6-20 Zeiss Conquest w/a Z Varmint recital, and amazing varmint reticle, easily calibrated to most any bullet speed combo for dead on aiming points out to 600 yards, and it works!! It was reasonably priced from a retired Zeiss rep? No questions asked!
Then two years ago, I acquired, quite accidently, another Pence hand cut rifled barrel in a 1-9 twist .17 cal. Ron hasn't built barrels in over 25 years now, and the .17 mach IV was his favorite varmint rig. So when I found this on a Panda action, Shilen TT, and McMillan Graphite BR stock, a total cluster flop that had been road ridiculously hard it was a 24" Javelina. I bought it all for 500 bucks.
I took the barrel to Fred and had him give it the same treatment, since we had no way to scope a 17 barrel, I rolled the dice! I decided this was also in a heavy Varmint taper to cut it the same, 22.5" and chambered to the 17 Mach IV, and make the Axis a switch barrel, 6BR 17 Mach IV, the lord seriously moves in mysterious ways!
That target was the first day out with the 17 Mach IV barrel, and said wow, were done with load development! I shot 4 different loads, all three shots, and none over.4", that largest was running a solid 4200 fps, way more than I need in a .17, and not interested in eating up an antique barrel I can not replace, since Ron won't make them anymore. it has never shot over .25" at 100 yards @4000 fps with some change, and I won't take the time to try and squeeze more out of it. If I played with neck tension, seating depth and load a bit, that 4200 fps load be be as good as this 18.0 grain load @.25 moa. But for no work, on day one just seeing what was safe loads for this gun, I ain't wasting time tuning for what might be just a tad more meaningless accuracy. hell It's a 200 yard caliber, and I don't need anything else.
This rifle wears two barrels Made By a true craftsman, by hand, other than deep hole drilling. hand lapped then Hand Rifled. But 25 years ago, a little longer, but me or he can't really remember the day he last used his hand built from scratch barrel table! I have 3 of his barrels total that I will not part with, and today, only hunt with them. I don't want new loads, and don't want to waste this on paper. I want to enjoy them till I can no longer squeeze the trigger on a rifle. I hope that is decades away?
I had an old 27.5" 6mm AI Pence barrel I took the entire throat out of 30 years ago and had setting in the safe for 25 years. This was a barrel made by Ron Pence, a good friend. I had about 1200 very hot varmint rounds thru it when I parked it, as I could no longer get the copper out of it in one cleaning session, besides, the accuracy was down around .6" and no longer acceptable.
I decided with the help of my gunsmith Fred, to try an inexpensive way to see if it would once again rulethe varmint fields in NW Ohio. So Fred had a Laminated stock blank he had glued up out of baltic Birch luan.In the white, and inletted for a short magazine Axise. I say short mag, as the Axis is one size fits all, the ghost lug on the bolt, and the stock is what determines long, or short. This was white as snow, and hard to stain, as the pores don't accept stain well at all, but since had no money and just time in the unfinished blank, I got a great buyt on it! A needed requirement to see just what I would end up with.
Fred thought after scoping it, about 4.5" of throat was gone, with some aligator back running a bit further, and if we got beyond that, the barrel still had some good days left in it. So he cut 5" off the breach end and fitted the HV tapered barrel to the Axis and cut the new chamber for a no turn 6mm BR. Man what a tack driver it came to be once again, At 3500 fps with 62 grain Bergers rode hot with H322 it will shoot in the .3's when I do my part. Not shabby for a barrel with over 1200 loads that was totally shot out 30 years ago!
I tried to stain it with light walnut stain, which was very Blotchy! Then I got an idea, the Black Walnuts were dropping in my back yard, They stain anything they touch, so I goy the cut blank from the But when I cut it and installed the pad, so I tride one of those dark dead rotting ones, and way to dark and dirty looking, Then a green one, it made it yellow? Finally I found one that was just turned enough to be yellow, with some brown spots starting to show,,,, PERFECT, at least to me what I wanted.
Persistence prevailed
Fitted with a 6-20 Zeiss Conquest w/a Z Varmint recital, and amazing varmint reticle, easily calibrated to most any bullet speed combo for dead on aiming points out to 600 yards, and it works!! It was reasonably priced from a retired Zeiss rep? No questions asked!
Then two years ago, I acquired, quite accidently, another Pence hand cut rifled barrel in a 1-9 twist .17 cal. Ron hasn't built barrels in over 25 years now, and the .17 mach IV was his favorite varmint rig. So when I found this on a Panda action, Shilen TT, and McMillan Graphite BR stock, a total cluster flop that had been road ridiculously hard it was a 24" Javelina. I bought it all for 500 bucks.
I took the barrel to Fred and had him give it the same treatment, since we had no way to scope a 17 barrel, I rolled the dice! I decided this was also in a heavy Varmint taper to cut it the same, 22.5" and chambered to the 17 Mach IV, and make the Axis a switch barrel, 6BR 17 Mach IV, the lord seriously moves in mysterious ways!
That target was the first day out with the 17 Mach IV barrel, and said wow, were done with load development! I shot 4 different loads, all three shots, and none over.4", that largest was running a solid 4200 fps, way more than I need in a .17, and not interested in eating up an antique barrel I can not replace, since Ron won't make them anymore. it has never shot over .25" at 100 yards @4000 fps with some change, and I won't take the time to try and squeeze more out of it. If I played with neck tension, seating depth and load a bit, that 4200 fps load be be as good as this 18.0 grain load @.25 moa. But for no work, on day one just seeing what was safe loads for this gun, I ain't wasting time tuning for what might be just a tad more meaningless accuracy. hell It's a 200 yard caliber, and I don't need anything else.
This rifle wears two barrels Made By a true craftsman, by hand, other than deep hole drilling. hand lapped then Hand Rifled. But 25 years ago, a little longer, but me or he can't really remember the day he last used his hand built from scratch barrel table! I have 3 of his barrels total that I will not part with, and today, only hunt with them. I don't want new loads, and don't want to waste this on paper. I want to enjoy them till I can no longer squeeze the trigger on a rifle. I hope that is decades away?
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