Blogging my Rifle Build...

[dogdinger]

this will be the first installment of my ongoing rifle build. I am taking jerry taos' advice and putting together a LR rifle on a budget. (i'm gonna call it my red-neck rifle build) i just got my Douglas barrel yesterday.....2wks to the day from when i ordered it...and this was after i had to send the barrel nut and a dummy round to them and that took 3 days in the mail. barrel is 28 inch,SS, Varmint contour, chambered in 6mmX284.

action is a SA, stevens 200

stock is a boyds thumbhole varmint contour in pepper laminate color.

img]http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_003.jpg[/img]

my plan is to sand out the barrel channel for the barreled action to fit into, then to pillar bed and bed the action. so far this is what this has cost:

i had the action from a 22-250 i bought a couple yrs ago for .......279$
Douglas barrel.....................................................................351$
boyds unfinished thumbhole stockwith bedding pillars..................126$


i will keep you posted as this proceeds. feel free to send suggestions and tips. this is my first build so i would appreciate any help/advice. hope you neophites like me out there enjoy this as much as i do....AJ

 

[Slopeshunter]

Thanks for doing this thread AJ. I look forward to following your progress. Any chance you could make your next images a bit bigger? My eyes aren't quite as good as they used to be.

Cheers!

 

[eddybo]

Watching with interest. I have nly owned one of the douglas barrels. I must admit that it shot and cleaned well. I am going to be starting to chamber a few barrels soon and am going to order a few to practice on. Let us know how she shoots.

 

[dogdinger]

for some reason....

my barrel nut and dummy rnd were shipped in a dif package and have not gotten here yet. hoping to get them later today. everyone i talked to at douglas were very helpful and they delivered a week earlier than promised. that kind of service deserves kudos.

slopes...try to copy and paste the url to your browser and see if that takes you to them...these are just thumbnails.

 

[dogdinger]

got the pillars glued in....

used 5 minute epoxy on them and then bedded the recoil lug....letting it cure over night....not real happy with the way it went in , but i think i can live with it....if it comes apart in the morning....it sure has a barrel-heavy feel to it, but looks great so far.....im gonna start on some load development tomorrow.....any suggestions for a starting load? i have h-4350 and h-1000 powder and 107gr sierra's...

learned a few things today....being the redneck gunsmith that i am, i wasnt wearing shoes.....drop the G**$&@( mned tub of turtle wax in the middle of the floor.....and of course you know murph'ys law about how toast always lands with the buttered side down....well it applys to turtle wax also.....i was right in the middle of the acraglass mix so i had to continue on....turtle wax between the toes has a funny/slippery feel.....not unlike warm cow****, but thats a whole nother story...AJ

 

[dogdinger]

coming together...

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_007.jpg[/img]


http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_009.jpg[/img]

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_010.jpg[/img]


got the action together and have bedded the recoil lug area....got the trigger back in......might just get her shooting tommorrow....thinking of firing a few rounds thru it before i do the finish on the stock....

i have never head-spaced a barrel before. all i did was use a new case and snugged it up until i felt a little tension on the bolt handle when closing. did this with 5 or 6 different cases. what signs should i look for for improper head spacing? i loaded 5 shells with a mild load of imr 4350 (40 grns) to test it with.....any suggestions?

 

[KRP]

Run a piece of brass through your FL sizer and use it as a go-guage and then put a piece of tape on the case head for a no-go. That's how I've headspaced all my Savage barrels.

 

[dogdinger]

thanks KRP....

good tip....well it must have worked. i just couldnt help myself. After getting the trigger back together and the bedding all done i just had to know. mounted a scope on it and bore sited it. ran a patch thru to make sure the barrel was clean. first shot was about 3" low and right, dialed it up and over.....2nd shot....5 oclock in the bull......dialed 3 clicks more up and over.....next three shots are a clover leaf measuring .35 center to center.....i am a happy camper!!!!!!here are some more pictures.....

http://www.hunt101.com/showgallery.php

 

[dogdinger]

more updates...

ok...help me extrapolate my info......i shot 5 three shot groups this morning.....started at 41 grs, stepped up one grain on each load.
group #1.....41grs.....2933, 2951, 2948
#2.................42grs....3005, 3013, 3025
#3.................43grs....3030, 3078, 3061
#4..................44grs...3122, 3158, 3194
#5..................45grs...3205, 3185, 3237

no signs of pressure that i can see. no hard lift on the bolt, just a tad of primer cratering on the 45 gr loads.all groups were under and inch. heres a few pics....

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_049.jpg[/img]

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_042.jpg[/img]

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/thumbs/rifle_build_041.jpg[/img]

gonna try a different powder next and play around a little with seating depth.....thinking of H-1000. so far so good. im happy with the results to this point. i have to resize some more cases and do the prep so i am gonna take the gun apart now and start the stock finishing. im planning on sanding it with a fine grit paper then spraying it with a clear coat...prob do several layers. Any other suggestions?

 

[dogdinger]

i suck at pictures...

no matter what i do they still come out small. Anyway heres the latest.finished the stock with spray on minwax polyurethane. did about 8 coats over a period of a day letting them dry about an hour between coats. left it for 24hrs then sanded with steel wool. everything came out great. the pepper laminate darkened quite a bit and she looks sexy as hell...put her back together and continued the load development/barrel breakin. best grouping was with 45.5 grs of H-4350 with a MV of 3250, and only a 20 fps spread.. this load seems to be midrange with no signs of pressure. i had 9 rds loaded and ready to shoot early this am. my range points east so i like to shoot just before the sun crests the mtns. first shot out of the cold barrel was dead nuts zero @ 100 yds....two more shots made a clover leaf of about .4 inches....moved to my 300 yd target after letting the barrel cool and running a patch through. im working on my drop chart at the same time so i held for the center to see how far she dropped. first shot was 6" low....second shot same hole.....third shot was touching.....measured about .3inches C2C.....ecstatic would be an understatement!....i am pleased beyond belief. loaded 20 rds for shooting tomorrow....gonna stretch her out to 500 then 600..... i have a bunch of milk jugs filled with water sitting on the range for execution in the morning....i wouldnt want to be in their shoes.....AJ

 

[HRstretch]

AFTER THE NUMBER 500 TAKE THE WORD THUMB OUT OF THE LINK. SEE BELOW

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/rifle_build_049.jpg

 

[Iron Worker]

Well dang that's mighty fine accuracy and performance. You must have a 8" twist BBL ? I have a 10" twist Hart bbl and it won't shoot 95gr VLDs. But 90 gr Lupua and 87gr V-max it will group very well.At aproximatly 3,600 FPS.

 

[mike33]

Re: got the pillars glued in....

used 5 minute epoxy on them and then bedded the recoil lug....letting it cure over night....not real happy with the way it went in , but i think i can live with it....if it comes apart in the morning....it sure has a barrel-heavy feel to it, but looks great so far.....im gonna start on some load development tomorrow.....any suggestions for a starting load? i have h-4350 and h-1000 powder and 107gr sierra's...

learned a few things today....being the redneck gunsmith that i am, i wasnt wearing shoes.....drop the G**$&@( mned tub of turtle wax in the middle of the floor.....and of course you know murph'ys law about how toast always lands with the buttered side down....well it applys to turtle wax also.....i was right in the middle of the acraglass mix so i had to continue on....turtle wax between the toes has a funny/slippery feel.....not unlike warm cow****, but thats a whole nother story...AJ

Now thats funny. i dont care what anyone else thinks.
Mike

 

[NesikaChad]

If you have the time/ambition consider a true oil finish on that wood in a satin/semi gloss.

MAN does it look sexy when its done like that. Very rich without that glossy look that just looks "quick" if you know what I mean.

Should be a nice piece. Do yourself one favor though. Lay that stock on a flat surface upside down and make sure it's not twisted up. You may find that it's not as flat as you'd like it along "show line".

Boyd's does a good job but every once in awhile you'll get one where someone was sniffing too much paint before they put it to the sander.

Good luck on your build.

Chad