This thread has been a lonnnnnng time coming. Ever since the first time I set foot in Mr. Gradous' shop, I knew I had to have a rifle built by him. I began accumulating parts over a year ago with the intentions having Robert put this together as a present to myself for finishing grad school. Finally, the wait is over and to say I'm excited/pleased/thrilled is an extreme understatement.
Specs:
.260 Rem
Surgeon RSR action
24" Rock barrel, Rem Varmint contour, 8 twist
Manners T5 stock in OD
APA bottom metal
Timney 510 trigger
Surgeon 20 MOA rail
Seekins low rings
5-20x SS
The barrel was bead blasted, receiver/bolt/bottom metal were left with factory finish, and the recoil lug/cocking piece/bolt release/action screws were Cerakoted in Sniper Grey.
Robert was kind enough to let me watch over his shoulder for nearly every aspect of this build while explaining what he was doing, why he did it that way, and the pros/cons of each method. After 3 shots to zero the rifle, Robert put the next three shots of some of his "fouler" loads into a just over a 1/4" hole. Then I got on the rifle and put the next 3 into just under 1/2". Maybe the barrel was fouling... maybe it was just how excited I was... We cleaned the tube and did a little tinkering on a 140 gr A-max load. Almost everything we tried was between 1/4 - 1/2". Even the least promising loads were just over 3/4" which was crazy to me. It looks like 42.5 gr H4350 in Lapua brass with CCI 200 primers is gonna be the ticket. I've still got a little tweaking to do with seating depth, but I'm pretty certain I'll be able to nestle that 1/4" flier into the same hole as the other two.
Like I said, words can't express how happy I am with this rifle. Every time I went to Robert's shop and watched another step of the process unfold, I couldn't believe it was MY gun that I was looking at. This is without a doubt the most well crafted, nicest thing I own. To anyone considering a build with Mr. Gradous... stop considering and start doing.
Specs:
.260 Rem
Surgeon RSR action
24" Rock barrel, Rem Varmint contour, 8 twist
Manners T5 stock in OD
APA bottom metal
Timney 510 trigger
Surgeon 20 MOA rail
Seekins low rings
5-20x SS
The barrel was bead blasted, receiver/bolt/bottom metal were left with factory finish, and the recoil lug/cocking piece/bolt release/action screws were Cerakoted in Sniper Grey.
Robert was kind enough to let me watch over his shoulder for nearly every aspect of this build while explaining what he was doing, why he did it that way, and the pros/cons of each method. After 3 shots to zero the rifle, Robert put the next three shots of some of his "fouler" loads into a just over a 1/4" hole. Then I got on the rifle and put the next 3 into just under 1/2". Maybe the barrel was fouling... maybe it was just how excited I was... We cleaned the tube and did a little tinkering on a 140 gr A-max load. Almost everything we tried was between 1/4 - 1/2". Even the least promising loads were just over 3/4" which was crazy to me. It looks like 42.5 gr H4350 in Lapua brass with CCI 200 primers is gonna be the ticket. I've still got a little tweaking to do with seating depth, but I'm pretty certain I'll be able to nestle that 1/4" flier into the same hole as the other two.
Like I said, words can't express how happy I am with this rifle. Every time I went to Robert's shop and watched another step of the process unfold, I couldn't believe it was MY gun that I was looking at. This is without a doubt the most well crafted, nicest thing I own. To anyone considering a build with Mr. Gradous... stop considering and start doing.
