Suggestions on a smith to true an action

[TommyD11730]

Like the title says I'm looking for a smith to true a 700 action. The only one local to me has over a year backlog.
Thank you!

 

[rijndael]

LRI

 

[powdahound76]

Your location may help folks point you to someone local so you wouldnt have to ship it

LRI - call about their timeline. Comms were meh for a bit and seem up to normal now. Used to be a pretty quick turn around
Black Canyon Customs
Deep South Tactical
Shultz Precision
Ern @AccuSol-ERN
PVA


People who’s work I have who are still doing rifle work and I think shorter backlogs.

My Ern and Fritz (Black Canyon Customs) rifles shoot the very best.
Thats a lot of rifles and a lot of barrels they stand out in.

I would also look at several others and those 2 guys are darn good.

I do love Fritz as he is local AND the only person you ever talk to or deal with at BCC.
He is a top notch guy and tells a great hunting story too.

 

[themightytimmah]

LRI does some pretty great work - although by the time you get done adding all the custom action features (side bolt release, etc) you’re close in cost to a custom action, even with a free donor 700.

 

[reelserious]

bugholes will do a good job for you

 

[AccuSol-ERN]

As always, thanks for the recommendation.

Let the smith know your intentions after the action is trued. Some smiths cut the tenon threads oversized or to a different thread altogether......eliminating the possibility to run remage (1.062-16tpi) barrels.

Ern

 

[drglock]

Phoenix Custom Rifles

He did two complete builds using 700 actions. Their work is as good as any of the big names.

 

[502Chevelle]

Joel Pendergraft in central NC does great work and is affordable. He is a local secret over here. Very low key.

 

[Gil P.]

Alex Wheeler is the best I've used.
I sent him a 700 and I haven't found a slicker feeling action since.

 

[Ledzep]

Skip the blueprint, save your money, and just put a decent barrel on it, and have the bolt timed (TIG welded too if you want). Only exception to that rule is if one of the lugs isn't contacting the receiver at all. The timed handle will make it run as smooth as it's going to, the rest is almost entirely bullshit.

Capacity for precision lies in proper bedding, proper sighting, barrels, bullets, and powder.

 

[Gil P.]

Skip the blueprint, save your money, and just put a decent barrel on it, and have the bolt timed (TIG welded too if you want). Only exception to that rule is if one of the lugs isn't contacting the receiver at all. The timed handle will make it run as smooth as it's going to, the rest is almost entirely bullshit.

Capacity for precision lies in proper bedding, proper sighting, barrels, bullets, and powder.

Every smith I've talked to has said they won't rebarrel a 700 unless they true the action as well.

 

[Ledzep]

Every smith I've talked to has said they won't rebarrel a 700 unless they true the action as well.

Hmm. Not a bad idea... Maybe I'll start a tire shop and force customers to get wheel bearing replacements when they want a new set of tires mounted and balanced.

 

[AccuSol-ERN]

Hmm. Not a bad idea... Maybe I'll start a tire shop and force customers to get wheel bearing replacements when they want a new set of tires mounted and balanced.

Actually, it would be like installing a new tire on a bent wheel and risking the customer coming back because of a shake and blaming your tire install. Then risking the angry customer not accepting the wheel is bent and motherfucking you and your work on the internet for all to see.

This game is about eliminating variables and customer satisfaction.

Ern

 

[308pirate]

I mean....thats one way to turn a $500 job into a $1000 job....

Margin increase FTW baby!

 

[Ledzep]

Actually, it would be like installing a new tire on a bent wheel and risking the customer coming back because of a shake and blaming your tire install. Then risking the angry customer not accepting the wheel is bent and motherfucking you and your work on the internet for all to see.

This game is about eliminating variables and customer satisfaction.

Ern

Try having a delusional fear of a shake occurring because you installed tires on factory wheels that you didn't cut on.

 

[AccuSol-ERN]

Try having a delusional fear of a shake occurring because you installed tires on factory wheels that you didn't cut on.

You put too much faith in Remington.

I think a 20yr old rusty steel wheel is straighter.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Buy an origin instead. You’ll have less money in it by the time you fix everything that’s wrong with the 700 and you just order a prefit and bolt it on yourself.

 

[Gil P.]

Does straightness = accuracy though?

I've not shot a factory 700 that wouldn't at least shoot 1MOA....most generally ~ .75moa .....hell, my current rig is a factory barrel action in an HS stock shooting .6 MOA with 175gr FGMM...

If a trued action is adding any accuracy.....it's not adding much.

It might not make enough difference for your average tactical shooter to be able to tell.

But like @AccuSol-ERN said, a smith won't want to risk his repution by putting a barrel on a messed up action.

I'd skip the Remington altogether. Save up for a custom action and be happy.

 

[AccuSol-ERN]

Presumably if there is a " risk" of poor accuracy on an untrued action....there must be evidence to support that, right?

What proof is there a "messed up" action causes accuracy issues?

One would think that if there were any substantial evidence of inaccuracy...you'd see that reflected in factory rifles...

if untrued actions cause accuracy issues, how are factory rifles shooting .75 moa without difficulty?

also, why is no one truing savage or tika actions?

Not to beat a dead horse.....that we have all taken a swing at over the years.

If you are basing customer satisfaction on .75 moa......(3/4" @100yd and holding that moa beyond 100yds)......that is your first mistake. I've had customers complain their rifle doesn't shoot .25moa with ALL AMMO.

Having said that.....most of us understand that 90% of a rifle's accuracy comes from barrel quality and barrel fitment.

Can you grind off one bolt lug on a rem700 and put a good barrel on it and get it to shoot......probably......is it right? Is it the sign of quality workmanship and high standards?

There are a lot of times in life redneckery and halfassing can make something work.....but there is the correct way to do it.....and more often than not it is more expensive to re-do it.

What happens when your untrued action doesn't shoot well? Do you true it and blow your headspace and oversize the action threads compared to the original barrel threads? Or do you motherfuck the barrel maker or builder? Do you ask the builder to eat the re-do work because you went the cheapskate option and it didn't work out?

As a builder there is a reason we prefer to use more expensive top quality parts......it minimizes a bad customer experience and a shit ton of non-billable hours on our part trying to remedy the issue.

Can you luck out and get a $60 green mountain barrel blank that shoots .25moa......maybe......am I going to guarantee that......HELL NO.

To answer your quantifiable inaccuracies of the rem700......lets see here.....tapered tenon threads, uneven bolt lug/seat contact, bolt face receiver face non perpendicular to bolt centerline, recoil lug thickness variance, scope base holes drilled off from action centerline, etc.

FYI - aftermarket actions exist for a reason......clearly some people think its worth it.

Congratulations you are satisfied with a rem700. Some guys are satisfied with a New England handi rifle in 45-70........

Ern

 

[Mike Casselton]

Not to beat a dead horse.....that we have all taken a swing at over the years.

If you are basing customer satisfaction on .75 moa......(3/4" @100yd and holding that moa beyond 100yds)......that is your first mistake. I've had customers complain their rifle doesn't shoot .25moa with ALL AMMO.

Having said that.....most of us understand that 90% of a rifle's accuracy comes from barrel quality and barrel fitment.

Can you grind off one bolt lug on a rem700 and put a good barrel on it and get it to shoot......probably......is it right? Is it the sign of quality workmanship and high standards?

There are a lot of times in life redneckery and halfassing can make something work.....but there is the correct way to do it.....and more often than not it is more expensive to re-do it.

What happens when your untrued action doesn't shoot well? Do you true it and blow your headspace and oversize the action threads compared to the original barrel threads? Or do you motherfuck the barrel maker or builder? Do you ask the builder to eat the re-do work because you went the cheapskate option and it didn't work out?

As a builder there is a reason we prefer to use more expensive top quality parts......it minimizes a bad customer experience and a shit ton of non-billable hours on our part trying to remedy the issue.

Can you luck out and get a $60 green mountain barrel blank that shoots .25moa......maybe......am I going to guarantee that......HELL NO.

To answer your quantifiable inaccuracies of the rem700......lets see here.....tapered tenon threads, uneven bolt lug/seat contact, bolt face receiver face non perpendicular to bolt centerline, recoil lug thickness variance, scope base holes drilled off from action centerline, etc.

FYI - aftermarket actions exist for a reason......clearly some people think its worth it.

Congratulations you are satisfied with a rem700. Some guys are satisfied with a New England handi rifle in 45-70........

Ern

Hey now, waitadangminnit.
My NEF Handi Rifle in 45-70 is a damn fine shooter.
It just kicks like a Missouri mule.

Well, it does with 400+ gr bullets. The 300s are pretty darn mild.

Now, let's talk about that 16" Contender Carbine with the same loads.
No, I'm not satisfied with it unless somebody else is pulling the trigger.


Back to the conversation.
I have exactly one trued Rem 700.

It's the best shooting rifle I own.

Is it because it's trued? I doubt it. It was a super good shooter with its original 243 barrel. I had Steve Kostanich work his magic on it back in 1999-2000 time frame. It became an actual BR rifle with its Shilen barrel, Weaver 36x scope and the MacMillan 3" stock. And it shot very, very accurately.

When it came time to put together a long-ish range rifle, I just went out and bought another Rem 700 ADL with the varmint weight barrel. That barrel got shot out in short order.

Did I consider having it trued and rebarreled? If course. But I didn't because it needed the bolt face bushed and the firing pin turned down. It also needed the shitty primary extraction fixed to.
Then of course, I'd want a new bolt knob too.

A few seconds of math told me it was a waste of money.

Instead, I bought a Kauger action and had Larry Archer fit and chamber a proof barrel in 6-BR.
It has a TT diamond and an MDT ACC chassis.

Does it shoot better that it would have if I had used the Rem 700?
I have no idea. What I do know, is that I have a much smoother, nicer action that the primary extraction works like it's supposed to. The bolt face and firing pin are correct. The action is straight. It looks great.

And... I can have prefit, shouldered barrels made for it and not have to use the same gunsmith every time.


Will I ever rebarrel a 700?
Maybe. But, it'll most likely be with a Remage setup.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Phoenix Custom Rifles

He did two complete builds using 700 actions. Their work is as good as any of the big names.

Yep PCR is who I recommend. Have 2 and very pleased w the outcome.

 

[AccuSol-ERN]

I am not going to argue against "the factory remington 700 is God's gift to accurate shooting past, present, and future".

Seems like this was hashed out decades ago.

Have a nice day.

Ern