I think South-Africa must have some of the worst gunsmiths in the world. I have never gotten a rifle back from any gunsmith around here and was 100% happy. If they do not mess up the job they were suppose to do I will at least get a rifle back with a few new dents in the stock.
The story I would like to share with you guys and my latest experience was a simple bedding job that took 3 months after I returned it when I spotted a little issue.
I had a rifle re-barreled and action trued by this gunsmith and while doing it I asked the guy to bed the action as I did not have a lot of time when the job was done and though it would nice to get the rifle back ready to shoot. The re-barreling and action work was done by an external company that has a great reputation but does not deal with the public and the reason why it was done through 'my' gunsmith.
When the job was completed I shot the rifle and got some very impressive groups but also groups that was double the size. After going through the rifle checking for possible problems I noticed that the bedding was not stress free. The barrel moved when the front screw was fastened and loosened.
I decided to send it back to the gunsmith instead of bedding it myself as I already paid for it. The gunsmith then had it for almost three months and said he does not understand what is going on as he just cannot bed this rifle stress free. He tried bedding it two more times and still could not do it stress free.
I then asked him in a phone call whether he uses the action screws to tighten the action down when bedding the rifle as it might be the cause of the problem if he tightens them down too much. He then said he always uses the action screws and it has always worked for him. I recommended using long guide screws with elastic band to press the action down into the compound instead of pulling it down with the action screws, but he said he has never heard of this and has been doing it for 30 years and know what he is doing.
I decided to collect the rifle as I could not wait longer. Again the stock looked like crap but it is another story. I then took the rifle and bedded it myself on Friday. I bedded the rifle exactly as I recommended him doing it by using elastic band and guide screws. To no surprise the action is 100% stress free, there is absolutely no movement when tightening or loosening the action screws. the bedding in the tang area tapered heavily towards the front indicating that he removed plenty of wood in that area and that only a very small part could have made contact in the rear.
Anyway, this guy is a qualified gunsmith that has been practicing for 30 years and he could not fix this stupid problem.He wasted my time and money and I could not believe that guys like this can actually qualify as gunsmiths.
Maybe it is a problem among South-African gunsmiths, but I am tired of dealing with gunsmiths around here. Guess that was the last time I send a rifle for bedding to any gunsmith
I think the gunsmiths around here should visit a few gunsmiths in the US and see how things should be done.
Pieter
