Just got my new one back from Tooter Meredith and well… I am elated! I originally bought this rifle when I was 15 years old after sacking groceries and saving my tips all summer. It was a .270 Rem 700 BDL (circa 1987) and was my go to gun for many years and many, many hunting trips. Unfortunately, after many years of hard use, I had neglected it to the point that the barrel became severely pitted. At that point it was relegated to the back of the safe and sat unused for probably more than 10 years. A couple of years ago, I came across this site and decided it was time to breathe some new life into this old gun (thanks to all the membership here for your advice and input!).
I had decided to chamber it in 6.5x55 as I had another rifle (Win 70 featherweight) already in the caliber. I had also recently started reloading and had all the components so it made sense. I had done a lot of reading and researching on different calibers that would be suitable for this project and had become really enamored with the 6.5x55AI but decided against it due to the lack of good loading data for it. At about this time I came across someone else’s thread about Meredith custom rifles and the work they were doing. I liked what I saw and also liked the fact that he was only about 2 hours away so I could drive and I didn’t have to deal with shipping the rifle…. I also was able to buy a gift certificate that was for sale on here so it really became a no brainer (thanks BlackX!). At the end of July, me and my rusty rifle made the trip to Athens Alabama…..
Tooter was great to work with throughout the entire process. When I arrived to drop off my donor, Tooter spent a great deal of time with me making sure we were on the same page as to parts, and what I was trying to accomplish with the rifle. When he asked what caliber I wanted to build I told him 6.5x55 and the next thing out of his mouth was “Want to do it Ackley Improved???” (he does quite a bit of work with Ackley improved calibers come to find out). “No, No” I replied. I had made up my mind that I was going with the standard chambering. We finished up with the parts list and I left to begin my 2 hour journey home. The whole time mulling the standard vs AI debate in my head…. I lasted about a week before I called him back to see if he had already ordered the reamer. Since he had not, I decided to throw caution (and good money) to the wind and go with the 6.5x55AI.
The next week I placed an order for a set of custom dies from Whidden gun works and began buying up more brass, bullets and powder. Whidden quoted me a time of 6-15 weeks for the dies to be done… “Well crap! I guess I will have plenty of time to fire form my brass”. I don’t remember exactly but about 6 weeks later I got a call at about 8pm one Wednesday evening from Tooter…. My gun was complete and he just had a question about the cerecoat. I was fired up! The very next day Whidden called and my dies were ready (a whole lot quicker than I expected). It was all coming together at once and I couldn’t be more excited. The hard part was that I had to go to a doctor’s appointment with my wife that Friday so I knew it would be at least two weeks before I could pick up my gun. The news from the doctor was not good and was exactly what we were afraid of. The doctor prescribed my wife to start at home infusions of some pretty potent meds. for her condition. It really is incredible how quickly our priorities can get put into perspective….
I explained everything to Tooter that next week and told him I really did not know when I was going to make it back up to his shop. Once again, he was very understanding and easy to work with and even shared some personal perspective to help me with what my wife and I were going through. I can’t begin to say how much I appreciate that.
Last Friday I finally got to the shop to pick up my new rifle and I was blown away. It turned out better than I could have ever expected. The workmanship and the fit and finish are second to none. Once again, Tooter spent a great deal of time with me explaining some of the things he had done with the rifle and why. We also talked family, business and solved several of the world’s problems... Tooter is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I have been thoroughly impressed by his work as well as his customer service. Anyone who is thinking about building a gun, I would highly recommend you give him a call. His rates are very reasonable, his quality is second to none and his turnaround time is outstanding but above all, his customer service sets him apart.
Now then, enough yapping… Here are the specs and the crappy cell phone pics:
Long action Remington 700 donor
Manners T5a Elite carbon shell
26” brux 1:8 with break
All trued, lapped and ceracoated FDE
Trigger is a tuned factory Rem but I have a Huber I may end up swapping to
How does it shoot?
On the first trip to the range yesterday morning, I started at 25yds to get it on paper. I fired one shot, and adjusted. I fired a second shot and adjusted again, then went to the 100yd target. One more with and adjustment to fine tune then I shot number 4,5 and 6 for a group…. It measured .310! I spent the rest of the morning printing group after group all less than half an inch. I only had one group that measured .7 and I knew it was going to be bad when the rifle went off. Oh yeah, this is just fireforming brass!
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/D2D78AB7-FA40-422E-9CC8-015C7FCB55CA_zpst7dn07f7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/D2D78AB7-FA40-422E-9CC8-015C7FCB55CA_zpst7dn07f7.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D2D78AB7-FA40-422E-9CC8-015C7FCB55CA_zpst7dn07f7.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/8B44DE6F-5194-420A-9494-4FC6F899BDCE_zpsfhiz5o3a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/8B44DE6F-5194-420A-9494-4FC6F899BDCE_zpsfhiz5o3a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8B44DE6F-5194-420A-9494-4FC6F899BDCE_zpsfhiz5o3a.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/72D2C720-2FE9-4540-8213-CEA9C0666361_zpsyedfkwed.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/72D2C720-2FE9-4540-8213-CEA9C0666361_zpsyedfkwed.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 72D2C720-2FE9-4540-8213-CEA9C0666361_zpsyedfkwed.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/7874C91B-CD00-48FE-8A54-3F970E71858F_zpsiirgipdr.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/7874C91B-CD00-48FE-8A54-3F970E71858F_zpsiirgipdr.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7874C91B-CD00-48FE-8A54-3F970E71858F_zpsiirgipdr.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/0EACECC5-2D9A-4AE7-AC14-A3D62DC1B9E5_zpsevwpuxzt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/0EACECC5-2D9A-4AE7-AC14-A3D62DC1B9E5_zpsevwpuxzt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0EACECC5-2D9A-4AE7-AC14-A3D62DC1B9E5_zpsevwpuxzt.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/E1805F2A-EE54-4EA1-8F46-DAE283C882D0_zpslpggiba6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/E1805F2A-EE54-4EA1-8F46-DAE283C882D0_zpslpggiba6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E1805F2A-EE54-4EA1-8F46-DAE283C882D0_zpslpggiba6.jpg"/></a>
I had decided to chamber it in 6.5x55 as I had another rifle (Win 70 featherweight) already in the caliber. I had also recently started reloading and had all the components so it made sense. I had done a lot of reading and researching on different calibers that would be suitable for this project and had become really enamored with the 6.5x55AI but decided against it due to the lack of good loading data for it. At about this time I came across someone else’s thread about Meredith custom rifles and the work they were doing. I liked what I saw and also liked the fact that he was only about 2 hours away so I could drive and I didn’t have to deal with shipping the rifle…. I also was able to buy a gift certificate that was for sale on here so it really became a no brainer (thanks BlackX!). At the end of July, me and my rusty rifle made the trip to Athens Alabama…..
Tooter was great to work with throughout the entire process. When I arrived to drop off my donor, Tooter spent a great deal of time with me making sure we were on the same page as to parts, and what I was trying to accomplish with the rifle. When he asked what caliber I wanted to build I told him 6.5x55 and the next thing out of his mouth was “Want to do it Ackley Improved???” (he does quite a bit of work with Ackley improved calibers come to find out). “No, No” I replied. I had made up my mind that I was going with the standard chambering. We finished up with the parts list and I left to begin my 2 hour journey home. The whole time mulling the standard vs AI debate in my head…. I lasted about a week before I called him back to see if he had already ordered the reamer. Since he had not, I decided to throw caution (and good money) to the wind and go with the 6.5x55AI.
The next week I placed an order for a set of custom dies from Whidden gun works and began buying up more brass, bullets and powder. Whidden quoted me a time of 6-15 weeks for the dies to be done… “Well crap! I guess I will have plenty of time to fire form my brass”. I don’t remember exactly but about 6 weeks later I got a call at about 8pm one Wednesday evening from Tooter…. My gun was complete and he just had a question about the cerecoat. I was fired up! The very next day Whidden called and my dies were ready (a whole lot quicker than I expected). It was all coming together at once and I couldn’t be more excited. The hard part was that I had to go to a doctor’s appointment with my wife that Friday so I knew it would be at least two weeks before I could pick up my gun. The news from the doctor was not good and was exactly what we were afraid of. The doctor prescribed my wife to start at home infusions of some pretty potent meds. for her condition. It really is incredible how quickly our priorities can get put into perspective….
I explained everything to Tooter that next week and told him I really did not know when I was going to make it back up to his shop. Once again, he was very understanding and easy to work with and even shared some personal perspective to help me with what my wife and I were going through. I can’t begin to say how much I appreciate that.
Last Friday I finally got to the shop to pick up my new rifle and I was blown away. It turned out better than I could have ever expected. The workmanship and the fit and finish are second to none. Once again, Tooter spent a great deal of time with me explaining some of the things he had done with the rifle and why. We also talked family, business and solved several of the world’s problems... Tooter is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I have been thoroughly impressed by his work as well as his customer service. Anyone who is thinking about building a gun, I would highly recommend you give him a call. His rates are very reasonable, his quality is second to none and his turnaround time is outstanding but above all, his customer service sets him apart.
Now then, enough yapping… Here are the specs and the crappy cell phone pics:
Long action Remington 700 donor
Manners T5a Elite carbon shell
26” brux 1:8 with break
All trued, lapped and ceracoated FDE
Trigger is a tuned factory Rem but I have a Huber I may end up swapping to
How does it shoot?
On the first trip to the range yesterday morning, I started at 25yds to get it on paper. I fired one shot, and adjusted. I fired a second shot and adjusted again, then went to the 100yd target. One more with and adjustment to fine tune then I shot number 4,5 and 6 for a group…. It measured .310! I spent the rest of the morning printing group after group all less than half an inch. I only had one group that measured .7 and I knew it was going to be bad when the rifle went off. Oh yeah, this is just fireforming brass!
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/D2D78AB7-FA40-422E-9CC8-015C7FCB55CA_zpst7dn07f7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/D2D78AB7-FA40-422E-9CC8-015C7FCB55CA_zpst7dn07f7.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D2D78AB7-FA40-422E-9CC8-015C7FCB55CA_zpst7dn07f7.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/8B44DE6F-5194-420A-9494-4FC6F899BDCE_zpsfhiz5o3a.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/8B44DE6F-5194-420A-9494-4FC6F899BDCE_zpsfhiz5o3a.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8B44DE6F-5194-420A-9494-4FC6F899BDCE_zpsfhiz5o3a.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/72D2C720-2FE9-4540-8213-CEA9C0666361_zpsyedfkwed.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/72D2C720-2FE9-4540-8213-CEA9C0666361_zpsyedfkwed.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 72D2C720-2FE9-4540-8213-CEA9C0666361_zpsyedfkwed.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/7874C91B-CD00-48FE-8A54-3F970E71858F_zpsiirgipdr.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/7874C91B-CD00-48FE-8A54-3F970E71858F_zpsiirgipdr.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7874C91B-CD00-48FE-8A54-3F970E71858F_zpsiirgipdr.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/0EACECC5-2D9A-4AE7-AC14-A3D62DC1B9E5_zpsevwpuxzt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/0EACECC5-2D9A-4AE7-AC14-A3D62DC1B9E5_zpsevwpuxzt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0EACECC5-2D9A-4AE7-AC14-A3D62DC1B9E5_zpsevwpuxzt.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/rustybroadhead/media/E1805F2A-EE54-4EA1-8F46-DAE283C882D0_zpslpggiba6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/y422/rustybroadhead/E1805F2A-EE54-4EA1-8F46-DAE283C882D0_zpslpggiba6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E1805F2A-EE54-4EA1-8F46-DAE283C882D0_zpslpggiba6.jpg"/></a>
