Sendero upgrade

[MOOSE39465]

I have a Sendero sf II that im going to start upgrading to for deer hunting at long ranges. So far on my list is Ordering a Mcmillian remington hunter stock. Getting a jewell trigger, lap locking lugs, Target crown and skim bedding the stock. I have decided on a Zeiss conquest with custom turrets and using Mark 4 rings and base. Without breaking the barrel from the action is there anything else that I can do to improve accuracy? I was thinking about getting the barrel lapped also? I do reload and will be doing a great deal of load development. If you can give me some ideas it would help greatly. This rifle is a shooter and if I do my part I can shoot a 3/4 or better group at 100 yards consistent. If I can do these upgrades and get it shooting 1/2 inch or better I wouldn't need to true the action or add a custom barrel.

[IdahoCTD]

Lapping lugs on a factory gun can easily create excessive headspace. Factory chambers are typically quite big already, not neccessarily too much headspace, but the chamber dimensions are usually larger then a custom cut barrel. So unless your prepared to set the barrel back I wouldn't lap the lugs.

[Boss Hoss]

Yes---agreed leave the lugs and tube alone. Make sure the Smith knows what they are doing however, it never hurts to start with a good barrel rather than wasting time and money with a factory 40 dollar tube.

[J E Custom]

If you are serious about accuracy and thinking about taking it to a smith any way this is what
I recommend.

As stated Lapping the lugs can only increase the head space and should not be done by it's self.

Also lapping the barrel will normally be done with the barrel off the action and it will have to be
shortened to clean up both ends (Chamber and crown will be slightly worn from lapping).

The chambers are allways large and most of the time not concentric on factory barrels so If
you have the smith set the shoulder back and re cut and head space the chamber (After lapping
the bolt lugs) it will true every thing up.Have him remove only enough to clean up the chamber
(the most I Normally remove is 1 turn/thread) Saving the barrel is worth the try.

Also while the smith has it, truing the reciever face and recoil lug would be good.

This should not cost near as much as a rebarrel job.

Good luck

J E CUSTOM

[Kevin Cram]

My best recommendation if your not going to be having a new barrel blank installed is work with what you got. I do quite a few accuracy package jobs to Sendero's and can usually turn a 3/4" - 1" moa rifle into a 1/2' - 5/8" moa or better rifle with all the factory components. Here's what I would do for now and why.

Re-Crown - I typically set the crown back at least 1/8" of an inch into good rifling.

Lap Lugs - I check the head space prior to lapping. I rarely find an action / bolt that will not lap in and be out of SAAMI spec. If by chance it would fall out of spec I'll set the barrel back to pick up 0 head space. True the chamber may be a bit larger than a custom chamber but most Sendero's after tweaking can shoot pretty well.

Full Action Stress Free Bed - I'd recommend for know keeping the factory HS Precision stock and bed it. The bedding block if prepped correctly can be made to work as pillars.

If you break the factory barrel in properly you more than likely won't need to have the barrel lapped. Plus barrel lapping is a special process that only a rare few know how to do correctly. In a worse case scenario use the Tubb Final Finish. It sounds like it's not shooting terrible now so I really wouldn't mess with it unless it really takes a bad turn.

You can still order the stock you'd like since it takes about 6 months to get a McMillan stock in. Down the road when your ready to have a new barrel installed that is the time to have the action fully blueprinted, a Holland lug added and when everything is ready to go, pillar bed the barreled action.

You can't go wrong with upgrading to a Jewel trigger anytime.

Your bases, rings and scope sound fine.

All in all in my opinion it may be best to work with what you got until your ready to go with a new barrel then get everything done right at one time. No need to spend money twice.

[MOOSE39465]

Originally Posted by Kevin Cram

My best recommendation if your not going to be having a new barrel blank installed is work with what you got. I do quite a few accuracy package jobs to Sendero's and can usually turn a 3/4" - 1" moa rifle into a 1/2' - 5/8" moa or better rifle with all the factory components. Here's what I would do for now and why.

Re-Crown - I typically set the crown back at least 1/8" of an inch into good rifling.

Lap Lugs - I check the head space prior to lapping. I rarely find an action / bolt that will not lap in and be out of SAAMI spec. If by chance it would fall out of spec I'll set the barrel back to pick up 0 head space. True the chamber may be a bit larger than a custom chamber but most Sendero's after tweaking can shoot pretty well.

Full Action Stress Free Bed - I'd recommend for know keeping the factory HS Precision stock and bed it. The bedding block if prepped correctly can be made to work as pillars.

If you break the factory barrel in properly you more than likely won't need to have the barrel lapped. Plus barrel lapping is a special process that only a rare few know how to do correctly. In a worse case scenario use the Tubb Final Finish. It sounds like it's not shooting terrible now so I really wouldn't mess with it unless it really takes a bad turn.

You can still order the stock you'd like since it takes about 6 months to get a McMillan stock in. Down the road when your ready to have a new barrel installed that is the time to have the action fully blueprinted, a Holland lug added and when everything is ready to go, pillar bed the barreled action.

You can't go wrong with upgrading to a Jewel trigger anytime.

Your bases, rings and scope sound fine.

All in all in my opinion it may be best to work with what you got until your ready to go with a new barrel then get everything done right at one time. No need to spend money twice.

Thanks for the advice Kevin. I ordered my stock this evening and she told me that my stock would be ready 3 1/2 to 4 months so I should have time before season starts if I can find a Smith who can turn my rifle in a decent time limit. If I don't get it ready I have a few other rifles to get me buy until mine gets ready. I have been to your website and your work is really nice from what I can see. I noticed your accuracy package and it's a great price and that is what im looking for. I am going to order TPS steel bases and rings that will need to be lapped in and mounted. If you will would you pm me a quote because I havent lined up a smith to do my work for me. Thanks Tony