Custom action/ ordering a drop in barrel over the phone

[Bradley Walker]

Kelbly was on Youtube saying that if you own one of his actions you can order a barrel over the phone and they can make you a barrel and send it to you, you screw it on and it will headspace perfectly.
This is what I want. I want an action maker/gunsmith that can sell me an action that I can order a new barrel over the phone. They make it. Send to me, and I screw it on.
Any recommendations?

 

[jhord]

Yeah... Kelbly! Pretty sure BAT does the same thing.

 

[riverwolf1]

Bradley,
In you first paragraph you indicate what Kelbly's is capable of doing! In the second paragraph you state what your looking for which is identical to what Kelbly's is capable of doing and you ask for recommendations! Really are you kidding! I can't remember who said it but it quite funny at the time Man are you 6 clicks left of stupid or what!

 

[johnmyers]

Bradley,
In you first paragraph you indicate what Kelbly's is capable of doing! In the second paragraph you state what your looking for which is identical to what Kelbly's is capable of doing and you ask for recommendations! Really are you kidding! I can't remember who said it but it quite funny at the time Man are you 6 clicks left of stupid or what!

Mr Walker just asked for help not to be told he is stupid for asking.

 

[johnmyers]

Bradley
I've heard good reports of the Kelblys that you order over phone

 

[LESLEY]

the same can bee done with a BAT action but Kelbys usally has barrels in stock. It might be a faster turnaround

 

[Bradley Walker]

Bradley,
In you first paragraph you indicate what Kelbly's is capable of doing! In the second paragraph you state what your looking for which is identical to what Kelbly's is capable of doing and you ask for recommendations! Really are you kidding! I can't remember who said it but it quite funny at the time Man are you 6 clicks left of stupid or what!

What a dick... And a pretty bad reader too, since I asked for recommendations for companies that were capable of doing the same as Kelbly's. That was indeed the entire point of the thread....

Since I can't get Kelbly's to answer the phone or return my calls, I thought I might see if there is another choice.

 

[gambleone]

Don't sweat it Bradley. Plenty of rude people around.
We just hope they go away.

 

[Bradley Walker]

I am being told that smiths can record your actions dimensions and make barrels to fit in the same way?

Is there a smith that does this? I only want to send off my action once.

 

[johara1]

I really don't see the reason for ordering an action then the barrel. let them do both at the same time and you are sure it's right. After that you can go back to them for other barrels and they will be right also. The only draw back is they tighten a barrel like the lug nut on a Mack truck and you will need some heavy duty equipment to get it apart......jim

 

[Hombre0321]

Bradley, I think any good Smith "CAN" do this, the question might just be "IF" they will.

I have two switch barreled Benchrest Rifles. The Smith that chambered them both is a good benchrest Smith here in Alabama, he now will chamber any barrel for me in what ever caliber as long as my bolt face is correct and sends me the barrel ready to screw on. I have a new barrel dropped shipped right to him and he sends it to me. best thing I ever did.

If you have any problems finding a Smith to do this I would be happy to share his contact information.

Roland

 

[rain164845]

Jim Borden can and does. http://www.bordenrifles.com

 

[butchlambert]

I'm not a gunsmith, but it is not a big thing. I do it on my barrels. You just need to have the proper tools and the knowledge to use them.

 

[deadlyswift]

yep! Kelby is just that great!

 

[chino1969]

Bradley,
Any reputable and competent gunsmith can do this. Jim Borden is one and Clarence Hammonds is another but there are plenty of others. The gunsmith needs your action, if they did not previously chamber and fit a barrel, to take all the mesurements. Once they have these dimensions, they can chamber a barrel that will headspace and fit your action.

It is important to note you need to request your gunsmith record these dimensions for future barrel work. It is a very convenient method of getting a barrel without a trip to the gunsmith. You can send the barrel blank via common carrier. Many gunsmiths reserve time for this type of work as it is a relatively quick turn around and cash flow.

 

[jsn]

This recent post on the Gunsmithing forum might be of interest. I think what Bradley might implicitly be asking is if any custom action maker can get dimensions that tight on all of their actions that he can get a barrel from them without needing to send in the action. Somewhat implicit in the concept is that the bolt face to front of receiver measurement is within a consistant specification, my thoughts would be .001-.002 tolerance. Then it would just be a question of chambering the barrel consistantly, which would also have a headspace tolerance. Some of that is answered here:

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3785869.0

 

[357Mag]

Bradley -

Howdy!

For a near factory rifle, you can $$$ a Savage bolt gun, which are " switch barrel" ; by design.
Just about everybody makes "pre-fit" barrels for Savages, and you headspace it yourself w/ a headspace age; using the barrel nut on the rifle.

Just a thought.

Regards,
357Mag

 

[lloydx2]

I believe all these dimensions are on Kelblys websight. They are the same for every type of action they make. Everything is interchangeable. Bolts barrels etc. In otherwords you can take a bolt out of one gun and put it in another. As long as the bolt face dia is the same.

 

[nra-for-life]

I just ordered a rifle from Kelblys a couple weeks ago and spoke to them about this while I was one the phone. Yes they will send you a rifle barrel that will just thread on. They do stock barrels also... IMO it makes sense if you want a panda/kodiak to have them build the rifle. There are tons of other options out there too... I had spoke with Jim bordan for quite some time but I opted for Kelblys, but I think there are quite a few top notch guys out there and picking between them is like splitting hairs. I went to the bench rest nationals in Sacramento last weekend and I saw nesika's, bats, stolle pandas (kelbly), bordans and many others... They all were shooting top notch groups