Well, it took much longer than I thought/hoped...but it's together, ready for some barrel breakin/ladders, prior to the barrel going off for Melonite.
Specs:
FN SPR CRF action
Chambered in 284 Win "match" with .317" neck and .088" freebore
McM A4 stock with Joe Ducos (stockdoc) pre-loggerhead cheekpiece
Bartlein fluted M40 measures 25.5" from face of action to crown - barrelwork performed by Bartlein
APA little bastard brake
CDI bottom metal
Alpha type 3 and type 4 magazines
Jewell trigger
Tubb speedlock firing pin and cocking piece
NEAR 20moa base
Farrell 34mm rings
Premier 5-25
I'll be sending the barrel off for melonite, and the action/base/rings for ionbond next week. I'll do my stock finishing work and final de-wax (from bedding) while those parts are away.
Other than the chambering/crown, I ended up building this myself because I didn't like the timelines from smiths. Next time, I think I'll chamber it myself to further improve lead time. I'm not a big fan of waiting...and waiting....and waiting.
The CDI bottom metal required a little machinework to the receiver, which actually worked out well, as I was able to make the magwell in the receiver *just* right for the magazines, eliminating most of the rattle/wobble common to many DBM setups. I used a 3/16" ball-nosed endmill and it came out real nice. I haven't felt a rifle whose DBM fits and locks up as solid and nice as this - I'm a big fan.
I thought I'd need to perform some surgery to either the bolt stop, ejector or ejection port to be able to extract/eject a live cartridge, but I didn't. At 2.950" COAL, they come right out perfect!
It was my intent to have the muzzlebrake contoured with the barrel, so that the barrel/brake formed a long, smooth taper from action to crown - but that got lost in translation. I'm still deciding if I want to turn the brake down before it all goes off for Melonite ...any thoughts on that?
My primary intended bullet is the 162 Hornadys, but this will mag-feed any high BC bullet except the Berger 175 XLD and probably the new Berger 195 OTM. I'm expecting 2950fps with the 162, and hoping for 3000fps. Guess we'll see!
Without further adue:
Specs:
FN SPR CRF action
Chambered in 284 Win "match" with .317" neck and .088" freebore
McM A4 stock with Joe Ducos (stockdoc) pre-loggerhead cheekpiece
Bartlein fluted M40 measures 25.5" from face of action to crown - barrelwork performed by Bartlein
APA little bastard brake
CDI bottom metal
Alpha type 3 and type 4 magazines
Jewell trigger
Tubb speedlock firing pin and cocking piece
NEAR 20moa base
Farrell 34mm rings
Premier 5-25
I'll be sending the barrel off for melonite, and the action/base/rings for ionbond next week. I'll do my stock finishing work and final de-wax (from bedding) while those parts are away.
Other than the chambering/crown, I ended up building this myself because I didn't like the timelines from smiths. Next time, I think I'll chamber it myself to further improve lead time. I'm not a big fan of waiting...and waiting....and waiting.
The CDI bottom metal required a little machinework to the receiver, which actually worked out well, as I was able to make the magwell in the receiver *just* right for the magazines, eliminating most of the rattle/wobble common to many DBM setups. I used a 3/16" ball-nosed endmill and it came out real nice. I haven't felt a rifle whose DBM fits and locks up as solid and nice as this - I'm a big fan.
I thought I'd need to perform some surgery to either the bolt stop, ejector or ejection port to be able to extract/eject a live cartridge, but I didn't. At 2.950" COAL, they come right out perfect!
It was my intent to have the muzzlebrake contoured with the barrel, so that the barrel/brake formed a long, smooth taper from action to crown - but that got lost in translation. I'm still deciding if I want to turn the brake down before it all goes off for Melonite ...any thoughts on that?
My primary intended bullet is the 162 Hornadys, but this will mag-feed any high BC bullet except the Berger 175 XLD and probably the new Berger 195 OTM. I'm expecting 2950fps with the 162, and hoping for 3000fps. Guess we'll see!
Without further adue: