In our Shooters’ Forum, you’ll find a lengthy thread about accuracy problems with a Savage LRPV, chambered in 6mmBR. The gun would repeatedly split groups at 100 yards, and at 300 yards, the “flyers” would open up the groups to 1.5 MOA or larger. Interestingly, the factory test target (at right) showed a split group — not a good sign.
The gun’s owner, forum member LR_Shooter, tried a variety of tweaks: “I did this, done that… [changed] torque, tang floated, bedded action, recut chamber, and [adjusted firing pin]”. But nothing really helped. Frustrated, LR_Shooter asked his fellow Forum members for help. Much advice was proffered, including the novel idea of removing the middle action screw in the Savage 3-screw target action. Some of the advice proved helpful, but none of the suggested remedies produced a major improvement. This rifle, out of the box, tossed flyers and no amount of tweaking (or changes in shooting technique) really cured the basic problem. That is, until, the factory barrel got replaced…
New Criterion Pre-Fit Barrel Works Wonders
LR_Shooter acquired a Criterion pre-fit barrel from Jim Briggs at Northland Shooters Supply (NSS). These pre-fits are designed for easy installation with the standard Savage barrel nut. Wouldn’t you know it, with a new 30″ heavy-contour barrel on the LRPV, the gun started shooting way better. No more crazy fliers, no more split groups, no more excessive vertical. And the improvement came without any other major modifications. LR_Shooter reports: “I got a replacement barrel from Jim at NSS. It is a 30″ bull Criterion barrel. So far, without playing with torque screws and having my old setup… I’m very satisfied with the barrel I got. Now I have no problem getting [groups] under 0.25 MOA. Finally this thing can shoot!” The targets below, shot with the new Criterion barrel, speak for themselves. The left target was shot at 100 yards, while the target on the right was shot at 300 yards (very impressive).
Targets Shot with Savage LRPV Fitted with Criterion Barrel
Moral of the Story — Sometimes A New Barrel Really Is the Right Solution
All of us have struggled at times with a rifle that won’t live up to expectations. This Editor personally struggled for over a year with a .260 Rem Savage with a factory tube. The gun tended to split groups and the POI walked as the barrel heated. I tried one powder/primer combination after another, working through a variety of seating depths over many months. I was persistent. Out of stubbornness, I just believed that sooner or later I’d find the magic load.
Well folks, sometimes there’s really nothing you can do about a sub-par barrel. It is what it is. To really improve a gun’s accuracy (particularly a gun with a factory tube), you may need to open your wallet and get a quality aftermarket barrel. Spending months trying one recipe after another may simply be an overwhelming waste of powder, bullets, and your precious time.
Albert Einstein supposedly said: “Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.” Well that sort of describes my efforts with my .260 Rem. Once I had enough evidence that my barrel split groups no matter what load combo (and seating depth) I tried, it was time to pony up for a new barrel. When I did finally screw on a nice PacNor 3-groove Supermatch, that Savage suddenly became a true tack-driver. As re-chambered in 6mmBR with the Pac-Nor, in calm conditions, my Savage will now consistently shoot in the twos with heavy bullets, and it can sometimes dip down into the ones with Berger 80gr flat-base bullets. The moral of the story here is simple — don’t waste weeks or months chasing your tail with a barrel that just won’t deliver (after a reasonable amount of testing). Save up for a custom barrel, get it chambered properly, and stop your cycle of frustration.
Contact Information for Northland Shooters Supply:
E-mail: briggs.j-b@q.com (that is Q.com not G.com)
Phone: (763) 682-4296
Fax: (763) 682-6098
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 333
Buffalo, MN 55313
The Ruger 10/22 rimfire rifle is one of the most popular rifles ever made. Over five million 10/22s have been produced by Ruger. The first thing many 10/22 owners do with their new rifles is customize them — swapping stocks, barrels, triggers and other components. While some 10/22 upgrades are simple drop-in operations, it is wise to have some professional guidance when doing more advanced modifications.
To assist Ruger 10/22 customizers, the American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) now offers a 4-DVD bundle for 10/22 owners. This includes four DVDs demonstrating how to build tricked-out custom 10/22 rifles (and do your own trigger job). Hundreds of different options and accessories are shown. Also included is a complete tutorial on how to convert the rifle from a .22 LR to .17 Mach 2. The four DVD titles in this $149.00 bundle are:
Ruger 10/22 Trigger Job (Product ID#3324)
Ruger 10/22 Rifles (Product ID#1094)
Disassembly/Reassembly of the Ruger 10/22 Rifle (Product ID#7074)
Building the Custom Ruger 10/22 Rifle (Product ID#3454)
This 10/22 DVD package from AGI provides over nine hours of video instruction by master gunsmiths. The AGI Custom Ruger 10/22 (Package #5) is available at www.americangunsmith.com for $149.00. Gun Club of America members pay just $119.20.
Surgeon Rifles, the successful action and rifle manufacturer based in Prague, Oklahoma, has been sold to Strategic Armory Corps. The transaction closed on August 19, 2011.
“Both entities worked hard to construct a deal that would be beneficial to both parties and maintain the sterling reputation of Surgeon Rifles,” said Terry Mackin of Generational Equity, a mergers and acquisitions company that brokered the sale. “Surgeon Rifles was an excellent acquisition for Strategic Armory Corps,” added Generational Equity President Ryan Binkley. “Being able to capitalize on Surgeon’s reputation and services truly presents Strategic Armory with a competitive edge in the arms manufacturing industry.”
Preston Pritchett founded Surgeon Rifles near Prague, Oklahoma. Based on input from fellow shooters and friends, Surgeon Rifles manufactures a variety of the highest quality rifles, actions and other accessories for custom hunting and tactical rifle enthusiasts. All Surgeon Rifles and actions are built using the latest and most innovative equipment to ensure quality control and maintain specifications. Pritchett will remain with the Company and assist Strategic Armory in the expansion of its other products and services.
Surgeon Rifles: A Success Story Based on Commitment to Quality
The story of Surgeon is one of hard work, dedication, and commitment to quality. Surgeon was one of the very first sponsors of this website. This Editor recalls when, some six years ago, Surgeon founder Preston Pritchett called us on the phone and said: “I’ve been building some high quality new actions, and I need to get the word out… can you help?” Well over the next few years, Preston built his company into one of the elite manufacturers of custom actions and tactical rifles. Not willing to just build copies of factory actions, Preston “improved the breed” by including integral recoil lugs and Picatinny scope rails along with other innovative features.
Using state-of-the-art CNC manufacturing technologies, Surgeon actions are built to exacting tolerances, yet they are rugged and “dead nuts” reliable in adverse conditions. We are proud of what Preston and Surgeon Rifles has accomplished in such a short time. Surgeon actions have earned an enviable reputation for outstanding reliability, accuracy, and long-term durability. With Preston continuing as part of the Strategic Armory team, we’re confident that Surgeon Rifles will continue to produce outstanding products.
The 1581 XL Action, at 1.450” wide X 9.5” long, is the largest of the Surgeon line of actions. It features a full-length 30 MOA integral 1913 Picatinny rail, a huge .450″ integral recoil lug, and a large 1-1/8” X 16 tenon thread, which requires the use of a 1.350” diameter barrel.
Frank Galli, aka “Lowlight”, runs the popular SnipersHide.com website. Frank recently completed a gunsmithing course with Robert Gradous. Frank recounts the learning process in an informative, nicely-illustrated article on the ‘Hide. Frank explains how he put together a new 6.5 Creedmoor tactical rifle using a Bartlein barrel, Bighorn Action (Rem clone with floating bolt-head), and a “lightly used” Accuracy International 1.5 chassis. The HD video below shows the process start-to-finish. READ Full Article.
During Frank’s “hands-on” training sessions with Gradous, Frank learned to thread and chamber a barrel, fit a recoil lug, and install the barreled action in the AI chassis. Chambering was done with great care: “We spent the better part of the day working the barrel. I feel this is a critical component and seeing the attention to detail in Robert’s approach confirmed it for me. When it came time to chamber Robert had a custom tight chamber reamer there for a 6.5CM but I’m shooting a tactical rifle, tight chambers aren’t for me, and this was clear, as out came the standard SAAMI reamer.”
Frank also learned how to modify an aluminum chassis: “the AI chassis had the recoil lug opened up, but it was opened in the wrong direction. This was going to require milling increasing the gap to at least a 1/2″ in size. Robert was really leery of this, but my attitude was, ‘it’s just a chassis and nothing a little Marine Tex can’t handle’.” Thankfully the chassis mod came out OK.
Once the barreled action was complete and the AI chassis was successfully milled, Frank applied a tan Cerakote finish to the barreled action. This would give a proper tactical look to the rifle, while providing superior corrosion resistance for the metal parts. To learn more about Cerakote finishing, check out the Cerakote Application Video, published last week in the Daily Bulletin.
When the rifle was complete, Frank took it out for testing with a variety of ammo, both factory fodder and handloads. There were some initial worries about accuracy as it took a while for the barrel to break in. A few sessions of bore cleaning were required before the barrel stopped fouling and then — like magic — the rifle started printing really small groups.
By the end of his load testing session, Frank was getting good groups with Hornady 120gr GMX factory 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, and really superb groups with handloads. The 120gr GMX ammo “was going 3100 fps with no ill effects”. The best handloads were approaching 1/4 MOA for three shots, and Frank’s load with Berger 130 VLDs shot even smaller than that: “In my opinion the load development we did was worth its weight in gold. Where else can you build in a rifle in two days, then go out and develop a baseline load using everything from 120gr ammo to 140gr ammo with a few in between? My favorite load and clearly the rifle’s too, was the [Berger] 130gr VLD. This gave us great velocity, awesome groups [with some one-holers] and really nice results at distance.”
Lowlight’s Gunsmithing Story is a ‘Must-Read’
We recommend you read Frank’s story. It shows that, with the right tools, and the supervision of a master smith, even a novice can produce an ultra-accurate rifle. For those of you who have considered taking a gunsmithing class, Frank’s successful experience with gunsmith Robert Gradous should give you plenty of motivation.
The faster a benchrester can send his rounds down-range, the better his chances to complete his 5- or 10-shot group in the same conditions before a major change. Shooting fast is NOT always the best strategy, but many world records have been set using this technique. Even if you’re a “picker”, there are times when you’ll benefit from shooting fast. With current benchrest hardware you still have to manually load each cartridge, even if you have a drop-port action or if you have an ejector that kicks out the fired case. To speed up the loading process, benchrest shooters employ elevated loading blocks that place the cartridges inches away from the loading port. That speeds things up, but you still have to manually pluck your cartridge and stuff it in the action… until now. Get ready for a major new technology that could change the benchrest game.
External Horizontal Benchrest Magazine
Carlos Gonzales, a benchrest shooter (and Professor of Engineering) from Argentina, has perfected a horizontal, external “floating” magazine that can reliably feed PPC cartridges as fast as you can work the bolt. This is interesting because, in 2009, this Editor discussed an attached horizontal feeding tray with three different action makers. All of them dismissed the idea as impractical or too radical. Well guys, it looks like Carlos pulled it off.
The Gonzales “magazine” is actually an open-ended, covered metal tray situated on the left side of the action (but it does not touch the gun — it is supported by the rest). This feeds into the left-side loading port. The cases are gravity-fed, but the shooter has positive control over feeding. A cable with a push-button control runs from the magazine down to the rear foot of the pedestal rest. You just push the button to drop one cartridge from the magazine. We don’t know exactly how the cartridge is released in the magazine itself, but in the video below you can see how the push-button works.
You push the button as soon as a spent cartridge ejects (watch Carlos’s left hand in the video above). It is a clever set-up, and as you can see, the magazine system works very, very fast. The video shows Carlos running five cartridges through his action in just 9 seconds (time marker 00:31 – 00:40). That’s fast! On a repeat viewing focus on Carlos’s left hand to see how he works the push-button cartridge dispensing control.
Kudos to Carlos for his great new invention. According to Pascale Fishbach: “Everything Carlos makes is of extreme quality. The magazine loader will be available just after the world championships in France, where hopefully a couple of them should be put to work.”
Now the question remains… will the official benchrest “powers that be” allow this device, or will they, fearing change, say it is forbidden under current rules. We would like to see the Gonzales magazine ruled legal for both domestic (American) and International competition. But, we acknowledge that Carlos’s invention could raise the cost of competition. The Gonzales mag would be one more “go-fast” item that serious benchresters would have to purchase.
Credit to Pascale Fischbach for sourcing this story and video link.
We know many of our readers own one or more SIG Sauer handguns. And now, for Father’s Day, SIG owners can get their prized guns serviced at big savings. Now through June 22, 2011, the SIG Sauer Custom Shop is offering the full SIG Service Package for just $99.95 — that’s forty bucks off the regular rate of $139.95. Plus you get round-trip shipping at half-price ($27.50). In addition, if you purchase the SIG Service Package for $99.95, ALL additional Custom Shop Services are 30% OFF — including the Action Enhancement Package, E2 Conversion, and Short Reset Trigger.
The Father’s Day Special $99.95 SIG Service Package includes the following:
Complete disassembly and ultrasonic cleaning.
Replacement of commonly worn spring and pins.
Thorough inspection of entire firearm.
Replacement of sights with new Meprolight Night Sights (if desired).
Complete lubrication and assembly to factory specs
1/2 Price Round Trip Shipping — an additional savings of $27.50!
Terms and Conditions Phone orders only. This offer applies to U.S. customers only, and this cannot be combined with any other offer. The sale ends June 22, 2011 at 12PM Eastern time. 30% off other services only after purchase of the $99.95 package above.
The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) hosts its annual Spring Shoot from Saturday, June 11 through Sunday, June 19. The 9-day gathering will take place at the 600-acre NMLRA facility in Friendship, Indiana, with shooting events at the Walter Cline Range. Events will include daily black powder shooting competitions, early American living history demonstrations, special museum displays, youth activities, vendors’ displays, gunmaker demonstrations and much more.
Competitive shooting with muzzle-loaders is the focus of the NMLRA Spring Shoot. Matches include competition for every kind of front-loading firearm: rifles, pistols, shotguns, slug guns and chunk guns. As in recent years, the NRA National Muzzle Loading Championships will be held in conjunction with the NMLRA event at Friendship’s expansive Walter Cline Range.
The NMLRA National Firearms Museum located in the historic Rand House (circa 1876) will host special museum displays throughout the event. The exhibit will feature numerous Civil War-era carbines. In addition, the NMLRA Gunmaker’s Hall will be open daily during the week, exhibiting some of the finest examples of modern gun building by today’s master craftsmen.
Highlighting this year’s event will be the dedication and grand opening of the NMLRA Education Building, a project that has been years in the making. The new NMLRA Education Building includes an auditorium, several shops, classrooms, a kitchen, machine- and wood-working shop, and library/museum.
The NMLRA Complex in Friendship, Indiana
As the historic national center of muzzleloader shooting, education and competition in the U.S., the NMLRA headquarters and range complex are located on nearly 600 acres in rural and scenic southeastern Indiana. The Friendship facilities are an easy drive from nearby Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as the metropolitan areas of Louisville, Kentucky and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Photos courtesy National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, all rights reserved by NMLRA.
At the IWA Trade Show in Germany earlier this year, a correspondent for The Firearm Blog interviewed Woody Woodall, who runs Lothar Walther’s USA operation. While many shooters assume that Walther hammer-forges most of its barrels like some other European barrel-makers, in fact Lothar Walther USA uses the button rifling technique for most of its US-made barrels.
In the video below, created for The Firearm Blog, Woodall explains that button rifling involves some extra steps to ensure a good result: “The extra work that goes into it is that you’ve got to make rifling, stress relieve it, and have it come out the right size. And it takes a lot of skill to do that. Lothar Walther invented button rifling in 1925, if a better way of making rifling came out, we’d be glad to go to it.”
Woodall explains that hammer forging is a good method for mass production, but it is costly to set up: “Hammer forging is relatively new, it came out in 1934, but did not come into prominence until the 1950s…. But the cost of [hammer forging] in the world today is getting above what the market will bear for barrels. [Hammer forging] is more complicated. As the hammers hit the barrel the barrel gets longer, but the hammers have to hit uniformly so the barrel [stays] straight. There’s a higher failure rate in that. There’s also some surface delamination that can occur, and some other issues. So if you’re hammer forging, you really have to pay attention to the details. So, it’s like button rifling, only ten times more complicated. It’s for super-high-volume production… The large companies tend to use the hammer forging, intermediate size companies tend to use the buttoning, and craft companies tend to use the cut rifling. All three [methods] can make an equally accurate barrel.”
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of J.M. Browning’s 1911 pistol, and the classic semi-auto is more popular than ever. If you are looking for the source of “all things 1911″, check out Brownells Centennial (7th Ed.) 1911 Catalog. This richly-illustrated catalog features over 3,000 1911 products, including some 350 new items added just for this special edition.
Starting June 1, 2011, Satern Custom Machining and Liberty Barrels will no longer produce 6.5 Grendel and .50 Beowolf barrels, as both barrel makers declined to agree to a new, more onerous licensing agreement with Alexander Arms. Satern had produced cut-rifled 6.5 Grendel and Beowolf barrels for the past five (5) years under license to Alexander, while Liberty crafted button-rifled Grendel and Beowolf barrels under license. It may be hard to replace Satern, a highly regarded cut-rifled barrel-maker, as other top-quality barrel makers may likewise reject Alexander Arms’ licensing demands.
Alexander Arms’ Policies Have Impeded 6.5 Grendel Development
Radford, VA-based Alexander Arms continues to paint itself in a corner with respect to the 6.5 Grendel cartridge. Alexander Arms (AA) has aggressively protected the 6.5 Grendel cartridge design, threatening legal action against companies that planned to sell 6.5 Grendel AR uppers, chamber barrels for this cartridge, or even merely offer 6.5 Grendel reamers. One can understand Alexander’s desire to protect its design rights, but many industry experts believe Alexander Arms has gone overboard. Many gun builders and parts markers view the 6.5 Grendel cartridge as a “lawsuit in the making” so they stay away from it. As a result, this accurate and efficient cartridge is not growing in popularity as rapidly as it might otherwise. Alexander Arms has simply made it too difficult to comply with its demands, so many gun makers have decided that they would rather build anything other than a 6.5 Grendel.
Ironically, many shooters have chosen to build guns based on 6.5 Grendel parent brass, but necked down to 6mm. Robert Whitley pioneered a very effective 6mm-6.5 Grendel wildcat he calls the 6mmAR. It shoots great in AR platform rifles, as does a higher-capacity derivative, the 6mmAR “Turbo”. To learn more, visit 6mmAR.com.
In our Shooters’ Forum, you’ll find a lengthy thread about accuracy problems with a Savage LRPV, chambered in 6mmBR. The gun would repeatedly split groups at 100 yards, and at 300 yards, the “flyers” would open up the groups to 1.5 MOA or larger. Interestingly, the factory test target (at right) showed a split group — not a good sign.
The Ruger 10/22 rimfire rifle is one of the most popular rifles ever made. Over five million 10/22s have been produced by Ruger. The first thing many 10/22 owners do with their new rifles is customize them — swapping stocks, barrels, triggers and other components. While some 10/22 upgrades are simple drop-in operations, it is wise to have some professional guidance when doing more advanced modifications.
The story of Surgeon is one of hard work, dedication, and commitment to quality. Surgeon was one of the very first sponsors of this website. This Editor recalls when, some six years ago, Surgeon founder Preston Pritchett called us on the phone and said: “I’ve been building some high quality new actions, and I need to get the word out… can you help?” Well over the next few years, Preston built his company into one of the elite manufacturers of custom actions and tactical rifles. Not willing to just build copies of factory actions, Preston “improved the breed” by including integral recoil lugs and Picatinny scope rails along with other innovative features.
Once the barreled action was complete and the AI chassis was successfully milled, Frank applied a tan Cerakote finish to the barreled action. This would give a proper tactical look to the rifle, while providing superior corrosion resistance for the metal parts. To learn more about Cerakote finishing, check out the 
By the end of his load testing session, Frank was getting good groups with Hornady 120gr GMX factory 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, and really superb groups with handloads. The 120gr GMX ammo “was going 3100 fps with no ill effects”. The best handloads were approaching 1/4 MOA for three shots, and Frank’s load with Berger 130 VLDs shot even smaller than that: “In my opinion the load development we did was worth its weight in gold. Where else can you build in a rifle in two days, then go out and develop a baseline load using everything from 120gr ammo to 140gr ammo with a few in between? My favorite load and clearly the rifle’s too, was the [Berger] 130gr VLD. This gave us great velocity, awesome groups [with some one-holers] and really nice results at distance.”
The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) hosts its annual Spring Shoot from Saturday, June 11 through Sunday, June 19. The 9-day gathering will take place at the 600-acre NMLRA facility in Friendship, Indiana, with shooting events at the Walter Cline Range. Events will include daily black powder shooting competitions, early American living history demonstrations, special museum displays, youth activities, vendors’ displays, gunmaker demonstrations and much more.
At the 
