This thread seems to be derailing into something else. I would love to know the history here, but in the absence of that, I'll explain things as they happened.
During one of my earlier conversations with
@MikeRTacOps, we discussed a lot about the rifle and about the way it shoots (vertical or horizontal stringing of groups, velocity data, what remedial/diagnostic steps have I taken so far, etc). Here's what we came to the conclusion of pretty quickly ...
Scope - NOT the problem.
I've tried two different scopes personally with two different mounts, I've also removed and re-seated my Mark 5HD a number of times. I also threw out my Wheeler Fat Wrench due to conflicting reports about its accuracy and bought a Borka to make sure I had proper torque. On top of that, Short Action Customs tried a known-good scope when they got the rifle back for evaluation. The scope isn't the culprit.
Barrel - NOT the problem.
There's a reason Short Action Customs is highly regarded in the PRS circuit. There's a reason Short Action Customs has a 1/2 MOA guarantee on their rifles. There's a reason Mike at TacOps holds Mark and his company in high regard. It's because Mark knows how to build a rifle, and that includes a precision chambering and crowning. Mark bore-scoped the initial barrel that was on my gun, found nothing that would explain the issues. He tried a known good barrel that he had in the shop. And he ended up cutting/fitting a brand new Bartlein to see if that would fix the issue, it didn't. The barrel isn't the culprit.
Brake - NOT the problem.
Brake on, brake off, new brake. All groups the same. The brake isn't the culprit.
Shooter - LIKELY NOT the problem.
I have no trophies to show, I have no sniper background to wave in the air. I'm just a relatively-bright guy who has loved shooting for the past 22 years, who has spent the time necessary to understand how to shoot rifles accurately, and who when given equipment that can do it has put together his fair share of 1/4 MOA groups. But through this process, I always entertained that it might just be me, despite the fact that the rifle is crazy easy to shoot (it's got less recoil than my son's heavy-barrel non-braked .223). So when I delivered it to Mark Gordon and he put together almost identical groups to what I've gotten, and given that Mark is who Mark is, I'm going to say that shooter LIKELY isn't the culprit.
Stock - NOT the problem.
The Manners PRS-1 is a stunning stock, and widely used in precision builds. It's easy to verify that the stock isn't putting any undue stress on the barrel or action, and the action screws had been checked and re-torqued numerous times. As a final straw, we went and bedded the action to the stock, and that didn't tighten up the groups seemingly at all. The stock isn't the culprit.
After discussing this with MikeR (our initial phone conversation was over 30 minutes), the only thing left was the bolt and receiver. There's quite literally, nothing else left to the equation as many people in this thread have pointed out.
And I have two issues with my original action. The first was discovered the minute I handed the rifle back to Short Action Customs. Mike immediately (like, I was still standing next to him kind of immediately) noticed that I had brass shavings inside the action. The extractor tension was way too high. Mark was able to fix that easily. The second issue, at least it was from my perspective, was that when the barreled-action was sent back to Impact, it was returned later with a note that it was within spec and that it shot great. The 'shot great' bit is what concerns me, because the rifle has NEVER shot great.
I mentioned to Mike that I wasn't married to any particular action, that it was a toss-up for me on either an Impact or a Surgeon when I originally spec'd the rifle with Mark, and if I've got to swap it out anyway, I'd rather change directions. So I asked him if he has any experience with Surgeon. He confirmed that they make a solid product, so I pulled the trigger (no pun intended) over the phone. Everything I see about Impact online is great, which is why I originally ordered one. But my experience hasn't been so hot, and I'm excited to see what going under the knife is like (see what I did there?).
Billy
