Please bare with, the problem someone my be able to help with is at the end of this story: I read in the Shot Gun News about this feller that has made a business out of putting a sleeve around a rifle barrel to make it more accurate. I had that idea about 30 years ago. I'm sure many people have, he was just the first one to do it. Having been mostly unemployed for a year or so and getting a little long in the tooth I decided to put all the ideas (about guns) I had, mostly while beer drinking, (genius juice) together before either someone else did them or I croaked. I have a pile of small ring mauser parts not to mention a pile of small ring (SR) mausers. First idea was to make a universal stock out of aluminum so's I could twist up whatever barrel to receiver or take a rifle out of its stock and drop it in this stock which would have a nice side-mounted 24X Tasco target scope. The idea being, to check out how accurate that old Swede REALLY is. The second idea was that the stock would have a recoil reduction device that may be more beer that brain, but I had to do it in keeping with the spirit of the project. Lastly I'd add Uncle Bob's Cook-Top Bull Barrel. Quite a creature took shape. The only thing pretty is I made a dandy beaver-tail forearm out of a nice chunk of Luan I've had around for near as long as these ideas. For the victim I chose a 1917 Carl Gustav's receiver in like new condition, a really sharp '96 6.5X55 barrel and a '96 bolt that twisted up nicely - no headspace problems. I love that when it happens! The only thing I did to the barrel is cut off a treaded muzzle and crown it. From shoulder to muzzle it ended up 27 1/2" long. I did not add Uncle Bob's device because it rather disturbs an otherwise nice old military barrel that I could use in a restoration project. The barrel free-floated entirely - 1/2" all way round.
Well, I'll tell you what, when I finally made it to the range I got a real shock. My visions of a poor-man's world class benchrest rifle crumbled as 4 different guaranteed tack-driver loads I got off the internet would only print the smallest at 2 3/4" at 50 yards!!! Needles to say.....that is beyond sucky. But, not to be discouraged, I set to work to tighten things up. I bedded the recoil lug and tang in JB weld and installed 4 set screws in the stock that squeezed against the receiver rails and worked on the two-staged trigger for a little crisper release. I made some socket-headed guard screws to really put the munch on. The groups shrunk about an inch on average. My SKS can do better than that! As the last resort I put on Uncle Bob's Barrel and waited a week to let the bat-[bleep] that sticks it all together cure. I fired 7 shots all in 11/16" at 50 yards of which two three shot groupings were 3/8" inside that. This was the same load that gave tha 2 3/4" group. Now, before all you fellers get all whipped up about how that is still crappy for a 6.5 - I know that. I'll bet over time and loving handloading, she'll be well under an inch at 100. The interesting thing to me is that my fantasy of shooting all my long barreled SR mausers is kaput. Obviously, long barrels of the mauser kind don't like to float that free. Any ideas on how to regain my SR/long barrel fantasy, without being destructive, are greatly welcome.
