Gunsmithing A few Palma Pics.

[LRI]

LRI's latest Palma effort. Still have some color sanding and buffing to do on the clear, but were about there. I got a new camera and I'm slowly picking up the PhotoshopFoo.

The detail this thing pulls just blows me away. I have about 50 photos but these are the ones that don't show lint from the dern towel. Lights getting wrong for outside stuff so this'll have to do.


2014 Ford Kiwi Lime Metallic. WOW is all I can say.


Hope ya like it mystery owner who wishes to remain anonymous.

 

[jbell]

Very nice looking paint, I bet it is bad ass in the sun. Did you make the rail? I would love to see a pic of the completed rifle.

 

[LRI]

Our rail. Got some more work to do on stuff, will post once its completed.

 

[T J]

I have to agree with jbell, I like the color. Make sure you get that bad boy in the sun (if it ever comes out again) when you take your finished pictures.



t

 

[LRI]

Thanks Tyler. These photos were taken in the sun btw. Late afternoon Saturday. It's pretty wild to look at. Got some more color sanding to do and buffing. My buffer works really nice, but I need a different pad for the grip area. It's tough to get in the radius without the velcro edge of the pad catching the paint. That's a MESS!

C.

 

[JGorski]

Yeah, saw those pics on FB, different color but pretty cool.

 

[nitehawk01]

Like the color.
OK Chad, let's get this puppy buttoned up so you can get going on mine! Looking forward to seeing how the camo job we talked about turns out!!

 

[JGorski]

Like the color.
OK Chad, let's get this puppy buttoned up so you can get going on mine! Looking forward to seeing how the camo job we talked about turns out!!

Not sure but I think I might be next, right Chad?

 

[nitehawk01]

Not sure but I think I might be next, right Chad?

That's cool! I know my parts are on the shelf so it will get done soon.

 

[FCrifles]

Mean Green, I like it.

 

[LRI]

A few more:

Just about finished with it. Still have to make the ladder sight and a few other wigits but its coming along. Overcast here presently. The light doesn't do this paint justice. It's pretty wild in direct sunlight!

 

[JGorski]

That's cool! I know my parts are on the shelf so it will get done soon.

Been there since August, so......

 

[LRI]

Almost done. Little more work to do and were all set.

One thing about this rifle that I did differently than ones I've built in the past. Painted stocks (automotive style) are always a biche because your constantly struggling with how much clearance to add to stuff so that it goes together nicely. Palma guns, due to their physical size, and because the owners frequently travel all over CONUS/Internationally need to come apart often.

So, it's vital that a shooter not be constantly faced with assembly drama.

What I did here was to take a very different approach with regards to the trigger guard and the front escutcheon. I machined a .012" thick band of aluminum to match the outer contour of the trigger guard and the inner pocket where it goes in the stock. This band is basically just a sleeve that acts as a liner between the stock/guard bow. The idea being the trigger guard never touches the edges and the risk of tearing the clear coat, or lifting the paint along the edge is eliminated.

Machining a block of AL into a .012" thick x 1/2" deep well presented its own unique challenges, but some creative programming sorted it out easily enough. I think from here out it'll be a standard item on these rifles.

Perty neat to make this work as it's been a source of irritation with me for a long time.

 

[JGorski]

Chad, that's one sweet looking rifle! What kinda trigger is that? 2 stage maybe?

 

[LRI]

Grunig and Elmiger FT300 Two stage.

See our site, it's listed there. LongRifles, Inc. - Remember, Men will bet their lives on the work you do.

 

[LRI]

Got the ladder sight wrapped up today. It's 30mm made from 6AL-4V titanium.

Came out perty well. True 5 moa elevation adjustments based on the actual sight radius of the rifle.

Enjoy.

C.

 

[LRI]

 

[jbell]

looking very good...

 

[Rattler56]

Tell Mr Anonymous, that is one sweet ride.

 

[FourNineThree]

Amazing craftsmanship! Beautiful rifle and your machining is incredible!

 

[LRI]

Thanks gents. Wrapping this one up today. Off to the range to see how it does!

 

[damoncali]

What's the rationale behind the custom front sight? Beautiful work, by the way. Do you sell those rails separately or is it something you have to install?

 

[JGorski]

Thanks gents. Wrapping this one up today. Off to the range to see how it does!

Shooting glasses and load the shells yourself this time, lol

 

[mcfred]

Looks like very nice work. I see you like to work close to the collet too. Customized!

 

[LRI]

What's the rationale behind the custom front sight? Beautiful work, by the way. Do you sell those rails separately or is it something you have to install?

For some silly reason, I have a pet affection for these rifles. It's a curse at times because they are very, very labor intensive to build. One would think a stupid single shot bolt gun would be a slam dunk. They are till you start the inbreeding with exotic triggers, cheek hardware, sights, etc.

Then comes the paint. . .

I built the sight out of TI cause I didn't want a black sight on a rifle that was either green or in the white. There's no connection and it would have thrown the whole thing off. AL would look like crap a week after you own it, so TI sounded like the right thing to do. The advantage here too is the shooter is getting a true 5moa elevation change because the tooth pitch is dialed to the sight radius on the rifle.

We don't' get to build many of these at this level and its kind of evolved into a flag ship item for us, so I will confess that its a chance for us to show off a bit. The owner was gracious enough to give us a very long leash on this one. It's a switch barrel. 95 Palma and 6mm Competition Match.



Anyways, were gassing up bullets and heading to the range. She's all done and here's the final outcome:

Thanks for lookin! The next one is in wood. REALLY NICE wood at that! That should be cool too!

C.

 

[JGorski]

Love the engraving on the barrel, Chad!

 

[Joe Fogg]

Now that is impressive work, nicely done Chad

 

[LeftyWilbury]

That is truly a thing of beauty. Thanks for showing it off!

 

[Bluejazz]

Beautiful craftsmanship as always, Chad

 

[LRI]

Thanks guys.

Yesterday's trip to the range sealed the deal. This gun is boring. Very boring. The load was just tossed together. Some winny 243 brass gassed up with H1000 and loaded with Booger 105's from about 15 years ago. (My hording started long before the ammo crunch began) Didn't do much else. just stuffed the bullet in the case till it looked right and headed out.

Once upon a time I did ok behind a pair of iron sights. Not so much anymore. . . Age sucks.

Being right eye dominant didn't help as this piece is left handed. In spite of this the first 3 shots out of the rifle went literally through the same hole. My elevation guess was spot on. It waterlined right away. Windage was out about 7 inches at 9 with the rear sight set to MZ.

Kalli about pissed herself as she spotted the splashes through the spotting scope.

It was only 100 yards, but its enough to feel very comfortable shipping it out. Those three stellar shots was all I was good for. I started moving the front sight to shift impacts to center. Once I climbed back in the groups hovered around 1/3rd moa and slowly opened to 1/2.

15 rounds in all.


The owner is a HighMaster card holder with a couple state championships under his belt. It'll be really cool to see how this thing does with that kind of talent behind it.

Fun stuff! Again, thanks for lookin and the remarks. These are pretty cool to see once they are all done.

C.

 

[lw8]

Thanks guys.

Yesterday's trip to the range sealed the deal. This gun is boring. Very boring. The load was just tossed together. Some winny 243 brass gassed up with H1000 and loaded with Booger 105's from about 15 years ago. (My hording started long before the ammo crunch began) Didn't do much else. just stuffed the bullet in the case till it looked right and headed out.

Once upon a time I did ok behind a pair of iron sights. Not so much anymore. . . Age sucks.

Being right eye dominant didn't help as this piece is left handed. In spite of this the first 3 shots out of the rifle went literally through the same hole. My elevation guess was spot on. It waterlined right away. Windage was out about 7 inches at 9 with the rear sight set to MZ.

Kalli about pissed herself as she spotted the splashes through the spotting scope.

It was only 100 yards, but its enough to feel very comfortable shipping it out. Those three stellar shots was all I was good for. I started moving the front sight to shift impacts to center. Once I climbed back in the groups hovered around 1/3rd moa and slowly opened to 1/2.

15 rounds in all.


The owner is a HighMaster card holder with a couple state championships under his belt. It'll be really cool to see how this thing does with that kind of talent behind it.

Fun stuff! Again, thanks for lookin and the remarks. These are pretty cool to see once they are all done.

C.

Awesome work.

Ballpark cost for a build like that?

 

[-R-]

Your attention to detail is amazing. Awesome work.

 

[nitehawk01]

Good looking build and it's a lefty! Shows a master at work. Makes me want to build a Palma rifle next.... and I don't even shoot Palma matches!!! Looking forward to the next build posts.

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

Super trick, I like it! I really like the modern touches you put into your rifles. The engraving and various finishes really make this come to life; reminds me of a race car.

 

[blackfoot]

Ballpark cost for a build like that?

Probably close to what a ball park would cost Probably only a AAA one though.