I asked AD a question in that same thread, if he would in hindsight change any of the details off that .270win Legend build:
Now keep in mind, most people would be satisfied if not elated with Tom Burgess metal work, but not Allen Day.
03/09/07 [Re: Starman]
[quote=allenday]No, I wouldn't change anything on that rifle, other than to have D'Arcy build all of it from the ground up.
It's a long story, but originally this project started as a complete custom Model 70 barreled-action that Tom Burgess had completed many years earlier. It was carefully stored away,
in the white, and had never been in a stock. Eventually, I came to own it, and I didn't do anything with it for quite a while, either. I didn't want to sell it, and I didn't want to stock it in wood.
Finally, I asked D'Arcy to put it in a 'Legend' stock so that I could shoot it and hunt with it.
He was gracious enough to do so, and the finished rifle was really nice looking, but I felt as though the chamber was too tight, and the barrel Tom had installed on it wasn't giving me the
accuracy I was looking for. So in time I sent it back to D'Arcy to completely rebuild according to his standards, salvaging only the best of what was previously done.
As he dug into it, he found the receiver specs were off, the firing-pin was undersized, the chamber was off, etc, etc. So with my blessing, he pulled and replaced the barrel and rebuilt most
of the rest of it his way, to full 'Legend' standards.
This is no knock on anyone's work, but the truth is, much has changed in terms of what top gunsmiths know about accuracy, refinement, etc., compared to 35 years ago, when this project,
in effect, really sprang to life. Barrels are better, chambering and bedding techinques are better, tooling is better, etc.
When it comes to custom rifles, the "good old days" are RIGHT NOW -- not back in the mists of the 1950s........
AD [end/quote]
