Frequently Asked Questions

What do you do to true an action?

I use a method that is similar to the method that Greg Tannel has developed and markets commercially.  I do use his piloted reamer, but mostly I use it as a mandrel for indicating the receiver in the lathe.  In practice, it's used with two tight fitting bushings that fit into each end of the bolt raceway in the receiver.  I then use two dial indicators with a special indicating fixture that I developed to "dial in" the receiver true to the lathe axis. 

At this point, all truing cuts are done to the receiver.  The receiver is faced with a truing cut across the front of the receiver ring.  The receiver lugs are faced with a truing cut across the lugs and then the receiver threads are re-cut with a single point threading tool.  All truing cuts to the receiver are made on one setup and are made true to the receiver centerline. 

The bolt also needs to be trued and I use two dial indicators to ensure that the bolt is running true to the lathe axis before truing cuts are made on the bolt lugs and bolt face.

The last steps to truing are to either surface grind the original recoil lug or substitute an aftermarket trued recoil lug.  Regardless, of which lug is used, I check the lug with measuring instruments for flatness.

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Why do you single point re-cut threads instead of using a tap?

The main advantage of using a single point tool over running a tap into the threads is that the tap will follow the existing threads.  If they aren't centered in the receiver, they still won't be centered after they are tapped. The tap will remove any taper in the threads, but won't do anything about whether the thread is centered in the receiver.  Single point cutting the threads will make the threads centered in the receiver and also remove any taper in the threads.

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What about using a piloted tap such as the one made by Dave Manson?

I have tried the Manson piloted tap and can get good results.  I was set up to single point re-cut threads before the piloted tap was brought to market and have not seen that the piloted tap is any better than single point rethreading and my normal action truing.  Since it is no better, I'll keep on using the method that I've been using explained fully in the action truing arcticle in the articles section of this web site.

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I see that you use the Gre-tan reamer as a mandrel, but do you use the Gre-tan reamer as a piloted reamer?

I can and do use it as a reamer that opens up the receiver bore to .705".  However, this requires that the bolt be sleeved front and rear to tighten up clearances on the bolt raceway.  I don't normally use the reamer as a reamer when truing an action, but will do so at the customer's request.  It does add extra expense to the truing operation.  An extra step that I'm not sure is needed.

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Do you recommend that my action be trued?

It depends upon what level of accuracy you are wanting out of your rifle.  It's pretty hard to say how much, if any, truing an action will help improve the accuracy level of the rifle.  Improvements from truing will be more easily seen when the action is farther from being true than one that is pretty close.  Truing an action will only help improve the accuracy level of the rifle.  I've never seen the accuracy level decreased by properly done truing.  Remember that truing is only a one-time expense and doesn't have to be re-done the next time that the action is barreled as long as it's done right the first time.  I probably true about 75% or more of the factory actions that I re-barrel and recommend that it be done if you want peak accuracy out of your rifle.

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Why is your truing price more expensive than a lot of other riflesmiths?

The thing about truing is that you better know what you are getting when you have it done.  There is no standard on what constitutes a trued action.  One smith may chuck the receiver in the lathe, make a facing cut across the receiver face and lap the lugs and call the action true.  He does less and consequently charges less for "truing".   Be aware that his method may not necessarily be true.  That’s not the way I do things.  I'm not out to make a lot of money on building rifles, but believe that I charge a fair price for the work that I do.

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Why have you decided to specialize on 700's and custom actions?

I consider the 700 action to be one of the best hunting rifle actions made especially after the action is trued to my standards. It takes considerable more time to set up other makes of actions to true them such as Sako, Winchester and Ruger 77's. Truing other actions extends my delivery time on the finished rifles. So, I have opted to specialize in Remington 700 and similar type actions 40X's, 7's, 600's, 660's, or XP100's. Hopefully this will help speed up my delivery time to get your completed rifle back to you. Of course, delivery time depends to a great extent on how long it takes to get in barrels, stocks and other parts to build your rifle. If I don't have one of the major parts, then I can't build the rifle and get it back to you.

As to building on custom actions, it saves the customer the cost of having a 700 action trued plus the finished rifle will have better resale value when or if the customer decides to sell the rifle. The typical custom actions such as the Bat, Stolle Panda, Borden, Stiller, Nesika and Farley actions are works of art and although similar in design to a 700 are definitely a step or two up from a trued 700 as to quality and function.

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I notice on your web site that there are quite a few rifles built on custom actions.  Why would I choose a custom action over a trued Remington or vice versa?

It depends pretty much on the purpose that you will be using your rifle.  Its pretty hard to beat a good custom action as the basis for a long range varmint rifle or for a competition rifle.  The custom actions are pretty expensive, but they will do a good job in their place.  Whether you choose a custom action or a trued factory action depends to a large part on your budget and on your needs.  A custom action can easily cost twice as much as a trued 700.  For a hunting rifle, I would prefer a trued 700 over a custom action.  The custom actions are typically built to very tight tolerances with a bolt fit as close as .001" or less.  This can cause problems when used in a dirty hunting environment.  The last thing you want is to not be able to operate the bolt because of dirt in the raceways.  In benchrest competition, this isn't a problem as the rifles are typically cleaned after every match.  Its pretty hard to clean a rifle when you're hunting at 10,000 ft elevation.  Bear in mind though, that a trued 700 will not have the resale value of the custom action, but then you paid nowhere near the purchase price either.

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How do you go about chambering a rifle barrel?

I have a very detailed explanation of the method that I use to chamber a rifle barrel listed under "Articles" on my web site.  To make it short, I chamber most barrels in the headstock with the barrel indicated at both ends of the headstock.  Then, I drill and bore out most of the chamber and finish the chamber with the finish reamer.

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I notice that you have a large number of tight-necked reamers as well as standard reamers.  How much accuracy will I give up by going with a standard necked chamber over a tight-necked chamber?

It's pretty hard to say for sure, but probably no more than a .1 or .2" in group size depending upon caliber and the uniformity of the brass that you are using.

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Why would I want to use a tight-necked reamer if all I give up is a tenth of an inch or two in group size?

It all depends upon how you will be using your rifle.  For benchrest competition, that tenth of an inch gain may be all that it would take to have a winning rifle or a losing rifle.  For most varmint hunting, the tenth of an inch won't make any difference except at extreme ranges.  A tight-necked chamber does require that you neck turn your brass to fit in the chamber.  This will mean more work before you can do your loading.  You won't be able to use factory- loaded ammunition in a tight necked chamber. Also, if you are going to load large quantities of ammunition, you may not want to use a tight chamber.  Most benchrest rifles will use 20 rounds of brass for the life of the barrel unless you push the velocity to maximum levels.

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Whose barrels do you use?

The main barrels that I use are Hart, Lilja, Shilen, Broughton and Kreiger.  I use them all on my own personal benchrest rifles and have no preference of one over the other.  They are all good, top grade barrel makers and make excellent barrels. For the most part, I know the people at these companies and tend to use their barrels.

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Why do you not use other barrel makes?

I've had good experience with these four makers and see no reason to use other makes of barrels.  There are lots of barrel makers out there.  There are too many makers to try them all. I do try some other barrel makers and presently have a Bartlein barrel on one of my benchrest rifles.

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What is the typical life span of a benchrest barrel and hunting barrels?

Typically, the gilt edge of a benchrest barrel will last for about 1500 rounds.  It may still shoot well after that, but the agg's will be increasing slightly.  It seems that the best accuracy is found the closer the barrel is to being new.  A benchrest shooters take off barrel may still be capable of agg'ing in the high .2's and pretty typically will agg in the .3's in good conditions.

As to hunting barrels, barrel life will depend upon the capacity of the cartridge and the accuracy level needed for what the intended use is for the barrel.  A large capacity magnum may have a barrel life of 500 rounds if shot fast and hot, while a .223 that is shot at moderate velocities may last as long as 10,000 rounds.  As a rule of thumb, the larger the capacity of the case and the hotter it's shot, the shorter the barrel life will be.

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I have a fiberglass stock with aluminum bedding block.  Should I have it bedded?

Maybe.  A good test to see if it's needed, is to stand the rifle vertically, lightly place your finger between the barrel and forend, and loosen off the front guard screw.  If you can feel movement between the barrel and forend, then the stock needs to be bedded to the action.  A better test is to use a dial indicator between the barrel and forend.  When the front guard screw is loosened, the indicator should move no more than .002".  If it moves more than that, then the stock needs to be bedded to the rifle. This test will only work if the barrel is free floated.  If it has a pressure point at the forend, the test won't work.

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What type crown do you recommend?

I normally use the eleven degree target crown on my benchrest rifles and a fifteen degree crown on lighter weight hunting barrels.  I don't believe that it is a better crown than any other.  And I don't believe that any other crown is better than it.  The main thing on a crown is that the bore needs to be centered in the crown and the crown needs to be free of any burrs.  I've been unable to see any accuracy difference between a flat crown, eleven degree, fifteen degree or recessed target crown as long as each one is properly done.  I will use whatever kind of crown the customer wants.

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What do you think of Sako extractors?

The Sako extractor is a good extractor, but does have some drawbacks.  The only time that I would recommend using a Sako style extractor is when changing bolt face sizes, ie. going from a .223 to a .308 or a magnum size.  The Sako extractor has been known to be blown out of the action in the event of a case failure.  If you choose to have a Sako style extractor installed, don't load to maximum or excess pressures as you don't want the extractor to become a flying object.  If at all possible, keep the original Remington extractor and use an action with the appropriate size bolt face or use another make of action with the correct bolt face.  I will only install Sako extractors in Remington actions and will not be responsible for maximum or excess loadings or any other cause of a case failure in the rifle.  If you have a Sako extractor installed, remember YOU MUST NOT LOAD to maximum or excessive loads for that rifle.

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Do you guarantee the accuracy level of your rifles?

N0, not unless the customer opts for the extra cost accuracy guarantee.  There are too many things beside the rifle that contribute to the accuracy level of the rifle.  Chief among these is the shooter, quality of  ammuntion, quality of optics, etc.  I do guarantee that every thing I build is done to my same high standards.  It makes no difference whether the rifle is a deer rifle or whether it’s a competition benchrest rifle.  It's still built the same way to the same technical standard.  If I did guarantee an accuracy level, the price of the rifle would probably be doubled or more.  If you notice on most rifle builders that guarantee the accuracy level of their rifles, the pricing is significantly higher than those who don’t.  That way if they need to replace a barrel that won't shoot, they can do it as you've already paid for it to be done again.  There's no sense paying for something that you won't be getting.  Their bet is that they won't need to re-barrel it. However if someone wants an accuracy guarantee, I do offer an extra cost accuracy guarantee on my price list. It adds $1000 to the cost of the rifle and in my opinion is a waste of money, but it is there if someone feels they have to have it. I do stand behind my work and if a rifle that I build won't shoot accurately, I'll work with the owner to determine the problem and correct the problem even if I lose money doing it.

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