Some things I have been working on in the shop

[dakor]

Here are a couple things that I have worked on in the shop that I thought I would share. First is a Remington 700 action that I trued up for a build I am doing.
Here is what it looked like when I pulled the Factory barrel off.

Here it is in the Truing Fixture.

I recut the Action Face, Locking Lug Area, Cleaned up the threads with a tap and Lapped the bolt.

Here is a 6.5 Creedmoor I built for a customer.
The specs are A Stiller Predator Action, Brux #3 8.5 Twist Barrel Finished at 24 inch’s, Battle Arms Bottom Metal, and A McMillian Stock that I glass Bedded in Devcon.
Here are some pictures of the rifle.

I test fired the rifle at 100 yards with Some Hornady Factory A-max ammo. Here are shots #4, #5, & #6 out of the rifle. It would have been nice if they all landed in the same hole but with Factory ammo and only having 6 shots through the rifle I will take it. I sent the customer the target and he was happy with the results and said I did not need to do anymore test firing. The customer picked the rifle up yesterday and he is supposed to shoot in the next couple of days and update me with his results.

 

[Preacher]

Very nice, but I wonder why you didn't single point the threads when you had it dialed in instead of using a tap ??

 

[Erik Cortina]

Very nice, but I wonder why you didn't single point the threads when you had it dialed in instead of using a tap ??

Exactly my question.

 

[dakor]

I am not sold on the idea of re cutting the threads at this point. The only reason I run a tap through there is to get rid of the lock tight Remington uses and to clean up the burs you sometimes see on the last three threads of the action.

 

[STS]

Nice crown! I kinda agree with Preacher and Eric, while I have it dialed in I'm inclined to true up the threads while I'm there. Next time you have one in the lathe running true on the centerline of the bolt raceway, run your tap in there and then check the runout on the shank of the tap a couple inches from the action face. Sometimes they are not to bad, but most of the time it will scare you. Your stuff looks good.

 

[Gundoktr]

When you had it in the lathe and all set up, you should have screwed in the tap and put an inidcator on it. The amount of runout would scare you!

Jim

 

[dakor]

Thanks. I use an Arthur R Warner HSS single point cutting tool for my crowns and I really like how it cuts them. Without getting into a huge debate about cutting threads I will give my outlook at this time on it and each builder does their own thing and I respect that. I know a gunsmith that was probably the best I have ever seen and I had him build a couple of rifles for me and they shoot 1/4 MOA or less. This smith never re cut his threads and some of the rifles he built hold BR records. A close friend of mine does not re cut the threads on his rifles he builds and with the success he has had I cannot argue with. The man who taught me how to build a rifle believes action work is a waste of time on a Remington and he is a top F class shooter that builds his own rifles and chambers rifles for other shooters.

I would say having a good barrel, chamber, a square shoulder, high percentage locking lug contact and a sound bedding job are the foundation of an accurate rifle. The shooter and the reloading technique also play a huge role in the rifles accuracy. So my outlook on it at this time is I am not convinced re cutting the threads has any effect on accuracy I could be wrong and I may change my mind at some point.

 

[Preacher]

The best shooting rifles, and handguns have had all the teeny tiny variables removed for a 100 % aint going to get no better shooter....
Like the other folks have mentioned, thread run out on most all 700 receivers will scare you, I've seen them out over .007 and if any one believes that much run out on a perfectly tended to blueprint job will not degrade accuracy, more power to them...

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Interesting. Nice job on the face and lugs. My $.02 on the thread discussion:

There are a million variables in the accuracy game. Some you can control precisely, some you can control to a certain degree, and some you have no control over at all. Re-cutting the threads is one of those things you have precise control over. If you *can* control it, why wouldn't you? One less thing to wonder about on the firing line.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Looking at the before picture of your action face I would think if the threads were done with similar accuracy I would have cleaned them up a bit! Just saying

 

[TRECustom]

I bought a Remington 700 magnum long action about a year ago. The custom stainless barrel had no visible markings on it at all. The guy said that he was told that it was chambered in .300 Win Mag, but wasn't sure, and was having buyer's remorse himself, and had decided not to sell it because of the liability. Having become convinced that he was an ethical seller, I offered to buy it from him and strip it as a donor. I made a super deal on it because he knew I would pull it apart.

It headspaced OK with the button type Std Mag gage, but when I tried to chamber a new factory .300 Win Mag hull, it stopped short about 3/8". It would however chamber a new 7mm Rem Mag hull. Since it really was a .30 cal barrel, I made a guess that it might be chambered in .308 Norma mag, or .30 x .338. I just guessed because I didn't have either one of those, and it didn't matter enough to cast it. When I pulled it off, it turned out to be a nice (old?) Shilen 8 land barrel, possibly unfired. I will part off the old tenon, cut a new one, and then actually chamber it in .300 Win Mag. for a good friend.

Bottom line finally, what could have been a bad deal worked out because I asked a lot of questions, had no intention of shooting it "as-is" and was fortunate to deal with an ethical seller. I don't always do that, and all sellers are not ethical.

My advice is that if you don't know how to check one out yourself, get it to someone who can before you fire it.

Sorry about getting so long-winded, but I heard yesterday that an acquaintance had a used rifle that he bought at a show blow up on him. He's OK, but they said he looks like he was shot several times with ratshot. Lucky!!

Be careful, Tom

 

[TRECustom]

Don't know how I did it, but I meant to post this in the "Buyer Beware" thread.

Sorry Dakor............Tom

 

[dakor]

That is OK Tom not an issue at all.

 

[Rustystud]

If you had done it all, ie: lug abutments, threads, action face, bolt lugs, bolt nose, I would bet your group would have been smaller than the penny. As with others, why have it set up and not do it all. Most of the factory Remingtons I own will shoot out of the box as good as what you have posted.
Nat Lambeth

 

[BoydAllen]

One little data point....A friend who builds rifles commercially told me that the latest Remingtons that he has checked out have their threads parallel to the bolt raceway, but offset a bit, whereas the older ones tend to simply be crooked, cocked and offset, to varying degrees. One thing that a lot of amateur smiths may be missing is that there may be an actual advantage to a somewhat loose fitting thread, if everything is not perfect. I have been told stories by experienced benchrest shooters of slight mistakes that shot very well, and recently did an experiment where I reduce the thread diameter of a barrel more than I would have liked, by mistake, and after making sure that there was not a safety issue shot the barrel, on a custom action, and it seems to be performing very well. If your threads are off, I suggest that you make the tenon just a little smaller so that the barrel shoulder contact is even.

 

[Raythemanroe]

I would think the practice of cutting good threads will prove less confusing and result in better rifles!

 

[dakor]

If you had done it all, ie: lug abutments, threads, action face, bolt lugs, bolt nose, I would bet your group would have been smaller than the penny. As with others, why have it set up and not do it all. Most of the factory Remingtons I own will shoot out of the box as good as what you have posted.
Nat Lambeth

That group was shot with factory ammo and was from the rifle with a Stiller Action not the action that I posted that is currently in my safe with nothing attached to it If you want to question Accuracy of the rifles I build well...

This rifle here had the action trued the same as the action earlier in this post.

Here are the first 3 shots out of the gun at 100 yards.

Here are shots 10, 11, and 12 out of the rifle.

375 Ultra mag build done the same way. Rifle weighs 6lbs 14 oz bare rifle.

3 shots 100 yards

3 shots 100 yards

3 shots 1020 yards off bipod with rear bag.

I have other rifles not built by me but were done in the same fashion that I could post groups of as well but I really do not see the point. For those question this that is fine you have the right to your opinion but between the 3 guys I am mentoring my rifle building from there is combined 70 + years of rifle building experience. If you need the most accuracy you can possibly get you would be much better suited with a premier custom action than trying to manipulate a factory action into one.

 

[jsthntn247]

Don Geraci built a gun for me earlier this year and said he won't touch the threads on any gun he builds, it's a waist of time. He cleans the action face up and laps the lugs, and guarantees 3/8" at 100. Mine shoots in the 1's if I can hold it there. I'm sure none of yall have ever heard of him either and he has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. Here is a group from the first session of load development at 150 yards from a 300 Win Mag.

 

[accuracyman]

Nope you are wrong. Don Geraci is one of the best Benchrest shooters that ever hit the sport and definitely knows how to build, and shoot, rifles. I shot with him many times at the Crawfish in Lafayette.

Every smith has their way of producing rifles. Some chamber thru the headstock others use a steady rest. Some bed forward the recoil lug while others don't. Some lap the lugs where others machine cut them. We are all victims of our experiences and how we were taught. I am sure most produce accurate rifles as long as sound machining principles are followed. This goes back to the Ford vs Chevy vs Mopar debate that will never end with a winner because there is no winner. They are all right (in their opinion)! The good thing is we all build and shoot accurate rifles....that is why we are on this site!

Sorry for the ramble....keep em' small!

Kris Whitman

 

[Skunce]

What did you use to mark the barrel?