Good gunsmiths in northern utah?

[shootinfool]

I am in need of a good gunsmith in northern utah that can change a barrel for me. I have a winchester mod 70 .270wsm that has just recently been giving me less than accurate results. I am going to change the barrel to either a krieger or a broughton and need a good smith that can do this work for me. If anyone has any suggestions on a good smith I would appreciate it greatly. Also, any opinions on which barrel to choose (contour, length, maker, etc.) would be welcomed as well.

 

[royinidaho]

If Southern Idaho and Northern Utah are the same there is supposed to be a good fella in Soda Springs.

I've recently learned of a reputable fella in down town Ogden also.

I'll scrounge up some info. But remember, I'm kinda slow.........

 

[shootinfool]

any info would be a great help and very much appreciated. I would be willing to send the gun to someone if the price was right.

 

[silverfoxaggi]

Good Gunsmithing

Are you still looking for a good gun smith? (7-27-08)

 

[silverfoxaggi]

Are you still looking for a good gun smith? (7-27-08) I have a referal for you if you are still looking for one. Feel free to e-mail me if that is better for you also.gun)

 

[shootinfool]

Yeah, I am still shopping around. I want to make sure that I get the best price and the most quality work possible. Any and all referrals are welcomed and will be a great help to me.

 

[Roktoys84]

I'm also looking for a good smith in the Northern Utah area. It would help me and probably others if you could post the info in this thread.

 

[huntinco]

Look no further then Brad Stair out of Ogden...

 

[shootinfool]

I was just at brad's shop the other day in ogden off of 14th street and it looks like it will be amazing when he gets everything set up and going. He seems like he is very knowledgeable and would do a very good job. He preferrs to use pac-nor barrels but is willing to order others and work on them as well, it will just increase lead time. The only drawback is that it seems that he is very pricey.

 

[kiwhite]

You won't go wrong with a Broughton 5C profile barrel form Tim North @ Broughton Barrels.
I have 2, one a 338 Edge Rebarreled by Shawn Carlock @ Defensive Edge @Post faslls Id. The other rifle is a Rem 721 I had Shawn Rebarrel with a Broughton 5C in 6.5-284 Norma. both Rifles shoot under .250" at 100 and out to 1000 Yds. With KG I have shot as many as 100 rounds without cleaning with accuracy holding thru a session.
I had a friends 300 WBY Mag Mark V Accumark rebarreled with a Broughten 5C by a smith here @ Riverton. Since completion this rifle is now Shooting -.5" groups @ 100, 200 and 300 yards with first load test tried. A 185 berger VLD with 7828ssc pushing.
HE SAID THE RIFLE NOW SHOOTS BETTER THAN IT EVER DID WITH ANYTHING IN THE PAST

Anything I have rebarreled in the future will also get Broughton

 

[shootinfool]

I apreciate your help and recomendations on barrels and smiths. Here is what I have found out over the last couple of days. There is the guy that huntingco recomended, brad stair out of wasatch precision in ogden he has an impressive shop and is very confident in his work. This guy preferrs pac-nor barrels. His buisness name and number is in the phone book. I also found that several people have recomended a guy named landin out of perry utah. His buisness is also called wasatch precision (I think it is actually a machine shop). A guy that I know that does inletting and other smaller work such as bedding, trigger work, and all kinds of stuff for handguns (which is his specialty) recommended him highly and said that he does excellent work. I also found another guy that does very good work and his name is lee child. His gun shop is ran out of west haven utah and came highly recomended by alot of the local gun shop counters. It turns out that my dad knows him and has had work done by him also. He uses schillin barrels but will order and install anything that you want. He is more of an old school guy and produces some very good looking and excellent shooting guns as well. his shop is also listed in the phone book under lee's gun shop. If anyone wants numbers or any other info that I might have let me know and I'll shoot you a pm or even an email if an address is provided. Thanks for the replys and recomendations. Also, if there are any other good ones out there I would still like to hear about them and make a note for future use as well.

 

[Derek M.]

Shootinfool, I have an extra Lilja 3 groove #3 contour stainless barrel 1-10 twist sitting in my safe that I bought for a 270 WSM project. If you are interested I will sell it to you for $315 shipped. I paid $315 plus shipping.

I have 3 Lilja barrels already on other rifles and I love them all. But I'm giving another brand a try for this project. And I still haven't decided which one either. If you want, I will have 2 Krieger barrels, turned down to a #3.5 countour, also stainless, 1-10 twist by the end of this coming week or early next week. If you placed an order, you'd be looking at about 4-6 months with Krieger right now, the last I heard.

I have one PacNor bbl on my 30.06 and it is a shooter, so maybe the smith you are looking at that prefers pacnor simply has a good relationship with them.

Just let me know if you have any interest in one of my barrels as you will have little to no waiting. PM me or respond on this thread. I browse LRH about 1-2x per day.

 

[284stak]

In SLC - Guy Malmberg, is an excellent smith. He did a wildcat for me and a buddy and both of our rifles shoot excellent. Very good to work with and knowledgeable. His number is: 801-943-8563.

 

[blackbrush]

OK…here is my suggestion…

Get you a darn good rifle shipping box and ship it to a qualified gunsmith with a defined track record. I bet you could look on this sight and find some talented gentlemen (women maybe) that do this stuff for a profession. Save your gas money...

I am not trying to spend your money, but loose the "great price" or WalMart shopping ideas. You will get what you paid for and quickly learn that your rifle shoots stinky groups and that is the best it is going to get. If you want to reverse it, you have to start all over with another barrel and most likely another gunsmith. The "pros" know close to what the barrel will do with your action, etc., or pretty darn close when they take it apart.

Look on this website or try Varmint Hunters magazine or Presision Shooting magazine for gunsmiths. The guys that mechanic for the competitors have an established reputation and do quality work. They are darn good/great so they don't work for a six-pack of Milwaulkee Best.

Find a gunsmith that you can communicate with, understands what you want in a new barrel, what you want to use it for, listen to his/her recommendations, do some research so you know what he is recommending and ship it off to him.

Now, after purchasing a Pelican case, I ship my rifles to Powers, Oregon from Texas…and I have not one gripe on his work. OK, maybe one...it's not free.

Gotta go...buy some socks at WalMart...my last four pairs have worn out.

Good luck!