I had a customer bring in a Remington 700. This rifle was supposed to have been from the custom shop. It was a Stainless Steel model 700 with a 5R Mil Spec barrel in a HS Precision stock. The customer paid a preimum price for this rifle.
The reason the customer brought the rifle to me was "it want shoot groups under 1.5" at 100 yards" and I want a new barrel.
He had 400 rounds down the tube. The barrel looked to be in good shape with maybe a scratch 8 inches from the muzzle.
I removed the barrel from the receiver and looked at the internal bolt lug engagement surfaces and only one seemed to be contacting. I put the bolt in a V block and measured the rearward bolt lug surfaces. the right or bottom lug had .019 more reaward surface than the left or upper lug. This would have taken me two days to lap out so I set up the bolt in a truing jig and turned the bolt .020. I then put the action in a action truing jig and machined the inside lug surfaces until I got 1 even surface. this took about .003. I lapped the lugs until I had 80% bilatteral contact. I refaced the bolt and action face.
I dialed in a new 26" Broughton 1:10, 5C barrel. It was indicated on both ends until a .0001 indicator needle was not moving. The barrel was turned, threaded, and chambered in the same setup using thinbit tooling, a PT&G 95 Palma reamer with a .3004 bushing. The chamber was cut within .0015 with a Lambeth/Kiff Micrometer Adjustable Reamer Stop. The factor recoil lug was replaced with a precision ground .250 lug.
The barrel was removed from the lathe and the muzzle was cut 1.250 shorter in a bandsaw. The barrel was re-mounted in the lathe and the muzzle dialed in the steady rest. The crown was faced with a piloted PT&G facing tool then faced with a piloted 79 degree counter bore .100.
The rifle stock was re-inlet and glassed in for 2." then the barrel free floated.
I preped 22 pieces of used 308 Federal Gold match brass. Full length sized, deprimed, primer pockets cleaneed, trimmed to minimum SAAMI spec, and cleaned in a vibratory media bowl with walnut hulls and mineral spirits. I choose a starting load of 42.5 grains of H4895, CCI BR2 primers, and Hornaday 168 HPBT bullets. They were seated at 2.1055 .0035 off the rifling.
I cleaned the barrel with a homebrew mixture of GM Top engine cleaner and Marvil Mystry Oil. Then dry patched it.
I fired one test round with no problems and cleaned the barrel again. I then installed the Ken Farrell bases, rings and Lepould 6.5 X 20 AO Turrent Knobbed scope.
I bore scoped the rifle by eye with the bolt removed at 50 yards.
I fired 5 shots addjusting with each shot getting the POI where I wanted it.
I then shot 5 shots for record at 100 yards. The first group measured .0924. Another customer who was there shot a 5 shot group and he shot .312.
Attached is my first target.
Nathaniel G. Lambeth, Sr
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