After checking with the gunsmith I normally use for rifles and finding out that I would be waiting 6-8 months I decided to buy a 284 off of the classifieds. Only problem was that I couldn't find one for sale after waiting a month to see one pop up. I started doing some research to see if there was another competent gunsmith that could build me a 284 without such a long lead time (I know, 6-8 months isn't that long but I'm impatient.)
I found a thread about Roberts Precision Rifles on the hide and decided to contact Aaron Roberts about a potential build. I was impressed by his gallery of rifles on his site and the accuracy some of his customers had achieved with his builds. After many, many questions and emails and a 30 minute phone call I decided to gather the parts and send them all his way.
I decided that after trying my hand at 3-gun that I would just start devoting myself to long range and that this rifle was going to be a match gun. No double duty, just long range shooting. I went with a slicked up Rem 700 Long Action with a Bartlein 8.4 twist barrel.
During the build Aaron was great. He sent me pictures and even a couple videos to explain where in the process my rifle was. I must say that is a first. I went with a McMillan A3 and Surgeon DBM. The barrel length is 29" including the kampfeld brake.
Here is the result:
Aaron's bedding job:
Aaron polished the bolt internals:
I went to the range today and started getting the barrel dirty. After about 50 rounds and getting some once fired brass I shot some groups at 100 yards to see what I had to work with. I'm shooting the 162amax at the moment.
Several different loads shot excellent groups. Here are some typical groups: (no fancy camerawork, there are no bullet holes under the dime)
A good group but it was a little too hot, had a sticky bolt and ejector wipe on this group:
Another one:
Speeds were a little on the lower side from what I expected. 52.0g H4350 and the 162 amax got me 2900. I broke the 3000fps mark but the loads were just too hot and pressure was evident. I might try H4831sc or something a little slower to see if I can get any more speed out of the amax. But this is a good start.
Overall my experience was great with Aaron. He was always available to answer an email or take a phone call. The wait time was exactly what he said it would be. The attention to detail is great and I feel he is on par with the best on this site.
I found a thread about Roberts Precision Rifles on the hide and decided to contact Aaron Roberts about a potential build. I was impressed by his gallery of rifles on his site and the accuracy some of his customers had achieved with his builds. After many, many questions and emails and a 30 minute phone call I decided to gather the parts and send them all his way.
I decided that after trying my hand at 3-gun that I would just start devoting myself to long range and that this rifle was going to be a match gun. No double duty, just long range shooting. I went with a slicked up Rem 700 Long Action with a Bartlein 8.4 twist barrel.
During the build Aaron was great. He sent me pictures and even a couple videos to explain where in the process my rifle was. I must say that is a first. I went with a McMillan A3 and Surgeon DBM. The barrel length is 29" including the kampfeld brake.
Here is the result:
Aaron's bedding job:
Aaron polished the bolt internals:
I went to the range today and started getting the barrel dirty. After about 50 rounds and getting some once fired brass I shot some groups at 100 yards to see what I had to work with. I'm shooting the 162amax at the moment.
Several different loads shot excellent groups. Here are some typical groups: (no fancy camerawork, there are no bullet holes under the dime)
A good group but it was a little too hot, had a sticky bolt and ejector wipe on this group:
Another one:
Speeds were a little on the lower side from what I expected. 52.0g H4350 and the 162 amax got me 2900. I broke the 3000fps mark but the loads were just too hot and pressure was evident. I might try H4831sc or something a little slower to see if I can get any more speed out of the amax. But this is a good start.
Overall my experience was great with Aaron. He was always available to answer an email or take a phone call. The wait time was exactly what he said it would be. The attention to detail is great and I feel he is on par with the best on this site.
