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

You are a lot more patient man than I am. It would have been in the bottom of the river a long time ago...

Guess I missed that part.

Dogcatcher, you oughta try a PacNor. They aint winning any competitions, but they sure would shoot better than what ya got.

Why didn't I think of that?

Because I am stupid, ha.

And because I have too many varmint rifles. It didn't get shot much anymore, and I really wanted a 6-something.

The second smith did a real bang up job bead blasting the barrel after the third trip back. Got aluminum oxide inside the bore too...

How many smiths has it been to?

If all they touched was the barrel, get you a lug for your 250 barrel, screw it on, make sure it shoots and give it to some kid...will make them happy and get it out of your sight...lol

dogcatcher,
I suspect the problem is a crappy installation!

Even if the receiver had been properly trued and threaded from the first barrel installation. Your smith could have taken a good aftermarket barrel and threaded it in a way that resulted with the barrel not screwed on straight to your receiver.
OR when he cut the chamber, the reamer may not have been concentric with the bore.

The only path to satisfaction I can see for you is to have another smith install another barrel.

At times it is hard to agree with Travis because he is usually a bit extreme on most of his posts, on this I could not agree more. I have had more custom guns built than I care to count. the worst by far was built by a legend Darrel Holland.....some claim he is deity, but the gun he built for me is not to par with an off the rack factory rifle for MUCH more $$$$$$$

Bingo. And it could very well be that the barrel is fine and simply needs to be properly installed.

The only reason I kept dicking with this is because I paid for the ".5 MOA accuracy guarantee."

Its only a guarantee when they provide a target and load data.

I can't believe that any reputable gunsmith OR barrel maker would allow such a fustercluck. Pretty easy for parties involved to 'find no fault' in the gun..... when they don't actually shoot it.

I'd out everyone involved in the gun.... barrel maker, all smiths involved, etc. Phug'em..... somebody should have stepped up to the plate and put a new pipe on the stupid thing. I own a business, I know that I occasionally fhugk up.... even when the work is solid, it can simply be an issue of perception vs. expectations. I have to eat some crow, and a little side of schitt with it, when that happens. It may even have been some other contractor involved that was ultimately responsible for the issue. But at the end of the day.... my name is on it, and I was at least partially responsible for creating the perceptions and expectations. And, it's my name that gets dragged through the mud when I point fingers or shirk responsibility.

Everyone can provide exceptional service when everything goes well..... what established and maintains companies, is their level of service when things go haywire. I'd much rather lose the $500 in parts/labor to rebarrel the gun.... and take it on the chin, publicly or privately..... than lose the thousands of dollars I never get the opportunity to earn, based on a poor reputation.

If and when you find a good smith let's say for example Robert Gradous..... keep using him!

Recently when I wanted three rifles worked on, two rebarreled and chambered and one built from the parts I supplied, I asked around. No one had anything good or bad to say about R&R Gunworks in White City. I figured it was worth a try since my regular 'smith would be a year or more out. The rebarrel on both the Weatherby and Savage needed the bolt faces opened. He did an excellent job; except the feed ramp would not allow the cartridge to feed slowly from the magazine in the Weatherby. He corrected it quickly and with no charge.

I sure can't say the same about Brown Precision. I think the guys name is Mark, but don't remember. I tried two different powders, two different bullets, and two different primers. I was getting 3" groups at 100 from the bench. I used to do that off hand. Finally after several conversations where he took no responsibility and questioned my ability to shoot I contacted my credit card company about the lack of cooperation and the three grand. She said, "The sooner he gets the rifle back the sooner you get your money back." He wanted me to pay him $700 to get my action back.

I took a differnt action to a local guy. The first five shots at 100 yards were 15/16". That sort of thing teaches me the experts are not from out of town.

The one thing I will say is, the barrel maker has been very receptive thus far. They are acting very professional, and are eager to shoot it.

The gunsmith literally told me he ordered a barrel for it last November. Then called in March and said he was going to install it and noticed the lug was bad. When I asked why they didn't simply put the new barrel on he claimed he didn't have a barrel, never ordered a barrel, and never spoke to me about a barrel! WTF?

I'm to the point in life where the barrel maker is the one that will chamber and install. No fingers to point anywhere.

Sunk cost. I'd move on.

Yep - Hind sight is 20/20 - Shouldn't mess with an accurate rifle!

If your SURE there no magic acorn to find - Sell it and cut your losses but don't be afraid to build another.

I had a 280AI that Dwight Scott did, gun would shoot patterns not groups not matter what I did. He would not do chit to help either..... Didnt hardly chamber a factory round, just a train wreck of a build.