Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Who has had a custom rifle that was a dog?

After three trips back, the 'smith finally told me to pound sand. The rifle is now at the barrel maker's, they wanted to give it a whirl. I think this gun has broken me of the desire to ever build another gun. It has been almost a year of this B.S. Gun shot great before rebarrel, now it doesn't.

What's been tried:

1. Five scopes
2. Bedded three times
3. Two different recoil lugs
4. Several different bullets
5. Three+ ring/base combos
6. Ammo from three different hand loaders
7. Recrowned.
8. Three different shooters.

(Action was trued by a very reputable smith during the original build.)

I was going to take a pipe wrench to it, but the barrel maker really wanted to try it first.

I'm not even blaming the barrel maker, but barrel and stock are the only things left I believe. This really has been an enigma. Not to mention a year long headache...

Shot like this before the new tube.



Rebarreled by a different smith and now shoots like this:







The second smith implied I am not a capable shooter. Here is how I shoot my factory Tikka:

Pulled the final scope, threw it on my 223AI to fire-form some brass...Pretty sad that a factory Ruger sitting in a boat paddle stock, outshoots a custom while fire-forming!

Is that the Savage 6.5-06? You need to toss that in a ditch and move on. Life is too short.

No, that gun is long gone. Still have the action...want to buy it?

You mentioned different bullets what about powder, primers, brass?

Mike

6 Creedmoor...H4350

105 Scenars
105 HPBT
105 Berger Hybrids
95gr Ballistic Tips

Hornady brass.

WLR, CCI200, 210M

Hmm, that bites!

Mike

Screw the 250 barrel on it and see if the platform still works as it did...what kind of action and stock is it....

Yeah, I had a similar dog that wouldn't hunt. Built it myself with a custom barrel from big time maker. Turns out that the 1:10" twist was far too slow for 6mm lead free bullets, or long heavy weight lead core bullets. Thing wouldn't shoot better than a Whamo slingshot. Boosted the twist to 1:8" and found the holy grail. Problem was me, I had to learn about twist rates.

ha, I still have the barrel, but the second smith kept my recoil lug that went with it, claiming it was bad. I don't remember the thickness, but they installed a thicker one. I now have to get another lug that had the same thickness of the original for it to headspace.

Action is an M700, McMillan stock, Timney trigger.

Barrel is 7.5 twist...cut rifled. (not going to mention names)

Group Diagnosis


F'ed up dies? Action screw torque?

LIke 16bore said, are you getting alot of run out when reloading? What dies are you using? Neck tension?

Nice site there...good reference.

Replace the barrel.

The original barrel shot .256".... why pull the barrel??

I chased my tail a time or two.....

I had one barrel I was never really happy with. And I don't think it had to do with the manufacturer.

But trying to convince the 'smith would have been an act in futility so I ended up just having another 'smith rebarrel it.

I've also gotten rifles back from reputable gunsmiths that looked like they were bedded by piss drunk spider monkeys.

I think some reputations are more legend than reality.


Travis

A lot of runout will do it, invest in a concentricity gauge. Beyond that you've tried everything else that should be a problem. If it's not that then it's likely the barrel. Even the best barrel makers put out bad tubes sometimes. I've had a couple from top named makers. It happens.

Lilja?

He said cut rifled. Ain't a Lilja