Turning my Browning 71 into an A.I. has been just a little frustrating....
My buddy says I am a dumb-a _ _ for even molesting a high grade Browning in such a way. So maybe this is payback from the ghost of John Browning? He is probably pissed at me by now.
So I take the rifle to a local smith with a good reputation for the ream to A.I. and to add a Skinner bolt peep (hey, I am already molesting the rifle...so I may as well do it up good!).
Told the job will take 2-3 weeks.
After some prodding, I finally get the call to pick the rifle up 2 months after dropping it off.
Low and behold...the bolt peep is mounted on the barrel? Holy hell...how did that happen, given there were written and verbal instructions given by me personally?
After a lot a weeping and gnashing of teeth, they say they will make it all good. What am I to do?
So 45 more days pass and I get the call to pick up the rifle. Yeah, you can see where they filled the holes. Dang. Maybe my buddy was right? I am a dumb-a _ _!
I work the action....something does not feel right. I drop the hammer and can tell the lock time is like double what it should be. I hand the rifle back and tell them to disassemble and put it back together correctly!
Another week passes and I finally have the rifle home.
I load up some fireform loads. Made a bit of a false shoulder by running a 358 plug into the neck, then sizing most of it away but leaving about a quarter inch to get a tight closing. I annealed the neck prior to the expansion/sizing, then annealed again prior to loading...the second time putting the flame a little closer to the shoulder.
Fireforming went well and I was thinking all my troubles were behind me (queue chuckle from buddy).
I loaded up some of the previously fireformed cases and had them out to the range today. I had been single-loading up to now and decided it was time to run some up the tube and shoot her like she was meant to be shot.
Well, guess what? That fat A.I. case won't feed with a 200gr Hornady seated to 2.795". Further trials back at home show it won't even snake its way into the tube at 2.785....and by now, the entire cannelure is inside the 2.24" long case (.01" under max). E
dited to add: by feed, I mean into the tube through the gate!
So now I am thinking I either need to file a bevel on the inside of the frame cutout for the loading port (MORE MOLESTATION) or I have to shorten my brass ala Hornady Leverevolution brass. God alone knows how much shorter I will have to go....I have not experimented with that, yet.
Momma said there'd be days like this...
Anyone else ever had such an issue getting A.I ammo past the loading gate?
