I heard about Robert Gradous' gunsmithing classes last year and immediately put it at the top of my bucket list. About three months ago I was sitting in Afghanistan thinking of what kind of trip I'd take to when I got home and figured that taking a class from Robert would be just the thing. Robert and I talked about the build over the phone. I researched various aspects of the build here on the Hide and was able to order damn near everything I needed online (thanks to US Optics, Mile High Shooting, 3rd Generation Shooters Supply, and Stocky's).
After getting the parts together, Robert and I settled on four days to work together in October, and frankly I'm surprised we were able to find 4 consecutive days that both of our schedules allowed us to build this gun: a 7wsm on a surgeon action with a 22" barrel. I wanted a hybrid rifle that was light enough to take hunting, but accurate and meaty enough for tactical comps.
Here are the components, each of which I'll review in another post, with an asterisk denoting Robert's recommendation:
1. Surgeon 591R WSM action*
2. Krieger SS 1:9" standard palma 22" barrel* (31" blank)
3. Manners T2 FDE stock with Mini-chassis
4. Jewell trigger*
5. Alpha Industries WSM mags
6. Atlas bipod w/ rail
7. US Optics 3.2-17x mil/mil with H25 illum reticle, very low rings
8. Badger Ordnance thruster brake*
First, my disclaimer: I have never built a rifle, never taken any kind of gunsmithing class, or ever worked on a lathe. The extent of my gunsmithing knowledge has come from trial and error working on my ARs and pistols, but with my bolt rifles, I always send them to a smith.
I flew out of Washington-Dulles early Tuesday morning to head to Robert's shop. As my luck (or lack thereof) would have it, the second half of my itinerary down to Georgia got cancelled when I arrived in Charlotte. US Airways can kiss my ass for that. But, as I was standing in line to get another flight (getting bumped from a 11am flight to a 4pm flight!), I saw a guy with an ACU pattern backpack who was going the same direction as me. Come to find out he just retired from the Army and was going the same direction as me. I got out of the Army last year and figured hell, I might as well have some company on the road. I rented a car, invited him along, and picked up our baggage. The good news was that we arrived safely, the bad news was that I was almost a day behind on my build!
First thing Robert and I did was go over all the parts, all the details of the build to make sure we had everything that we needed. Next, Robert showed me how to make all the necessary measurements on the Surgeon action. Finally we set up the Krieger SS 1:9" twist standard palma barrel in the lathe, making sure that the barrel was as centered on the bore as humanly possible. By now, the day was done and it was time to turn in. Robert drove me down to the cabin and I got to smoke a cigar and read a bit before bed. Work started early the next day.
The next day at 7am Robert and I were back at it. He showed me how to work the lathe and off we went squaring the shoulder, getting the barrel threaded for the 591R action and chambered.
That took the majority of the day since I was getting used to the lathe. Had Robert done the majority of the cutting, it wouldn't have taken half the time. But, one of the major goals of the class was for me to do as much of the hands on work so that I learn how to build a rifle. I was pretty slow on the lathe, but my cuts were good and I didn't break anything. Mission accomplished there.
On day 2, we had to thread the barrel and crown it, and put on a removable Badger Thruster break. We'd contour the break down to look like it was a part of the barrel. If we had time, we'd make sure everything fit properly into the Manners T2 stock.
Once we got the barrel take care of, I sandblasted all the parts to Duracoat them in a dark gray matte finish. I wanted the rifle to have a unique look and blend well with both the stock and US Optics scope that would be sitting on it. For me, the painting part was the toughest because I didn't have much experience with it and I kept getting too much paint on parts which led to runs. Robert was enormously patient with me and showed me how to get an even layer without piling on the paint.
With all the necessary parts together, all that was left was to install the Jewell trigger, mount the scope, and work up a solid hunting load for some Virginia deer hunting next month.
On day 3 I woke up to a picture perfect Georgia morning at the cabin.
I didn't enjoy the view for too long because we still had a rifle to finish. The Jewell trigger dropped into the Surgeon action very well. Only minor cutting was required to keep the trigger from rubbing inside the action. The Atlas rail attached after a bit of work on the stock. We used Robert's Nightforce for the initial load workup before we put mounted my USO.
Here is the finished product:
Robert's got the best reloading room I've ever seen, with the shooting bench facing out the window on his 100 yard range. After seeing the 168 hunting VLDs drilling excellent holes, we moved up to the 180 hunting VLDs that I want to use for my whitetail hunt next month. We started at 66 grains of Retumbo and worked all the way up to 69.8 grains. That gave us these results, and I was pleased as could be.
Had we more time, I'm sure we could have dialed that group in even more, but the sun was setting and I was happy as hell to have a rifle that was light enough to hunt with, accurate enough to compete with, and without toting around a 28" barrel.
As if building that rifle and spending the week with Robert weren't enough (they were!), I treated myself to a nice relaxing Georgia evening.
The gunsmithing class was a resounding success for me. I learned more in 4 days with Robert than in all previous experiences working on my own guns. He helped me build a great rifle that even without extensive load development is already shooting better than any magnum rifle I own. I'm certain that I've only begun to see how well that rifle will shoot. The best part though was working with a true expert in rifle building. Robert's passion for the art of rifle building never ceased to amaze me, and his dedication to his customers was incredible. I'll certainly be going back to him.
After getting the parts together, Robert and I settled on four days to work together in October, and frankly I'm surprised we were able to find 4 consecutive days that both of our schedules allowed us to build this gun: a 7wsm on a surgeon action with a 22" barrel. I wanted a hybrid rifle that was light enough to take hunting, but accurate and meaty enough for tactical comps.
Here are the components, each of which I'll review in another post, with an asterisk denoting Robert's recommendation:
1. Surgeon 591R WSM action*
2. Krieger SS 1:9" standard palma 22" barrel* (31" blank)
3. Manners T2 FDE stock with Mini-chassis
4. Jewell trigger*
5. Alpha Industries WSM mags
6. Atlas bipod w/ rail
7. US Optics 3.2-17x mil/mil with H25 illum reticle, very low rings
8. Badger Ordnance thruster brake*
First, my disclaimer: I have never built a rifle, never taken any kind of gunsmithing class, or ever worked on a lathe. The extent of my gunsmithing knowledge has come from trial and error working on my ARs and pistols, but with my bolt rifles, I always send them to a smith.
I flew out of Washington-Dulles early Tuesday morning to head to Robert's shop. As my luck (or lack thereof) would have it, the second half of my itinerary down to Georgia got cancelled when I arrived in Charlotte. US Airways can kiss my ass for that. But, as I was standing in line to get another flight (getting bumped from a 11am flight to a 4pm flight!), I saw a guy with an ACU pattern backpack who was going the same direction as me. Come to find out he just retired from the Army and was going the same direction as me. I got out of the Army last year and figured hell, I might as well have some company on the road. I rented a car, invited him along, and picked up our baggage. The good news was that we arrived safely, the bad news was that I was almost a day behind on my build!
First thing Robert and I did was go over all the parts, all the details of the build to make sure we had everything that we needed. Next, Robert showed me how to make all the necessary measurements on the Surgeon action. Finally we set up the Krieger SS 1:9" twist standard palma barrel in the lathe, making sure that the barrel was as centered on the bore as humanly possible. By now, the day was done and it was time to turn in. Robert drove me down to the cabin and I got to smoke a cigar and read a bit before bed. Work started early the next day.
The next day at 7am Robert and I were back at it. He showed me how to work the lathe and off we went squaring the shoulder, getting the barrel threaded for the 591R action and chambered.
That took the majority of the day since I was getting used to the lathe. Had Robert done the majority of the cutting, it wouldn't have taken half the time. But, one of the major goals of the class was for me to do as much of the hands on work so that I learn how to build a rifle. I was pretty slow on the lathe, but my cuts were good and I didn't break anything. Mission accomplished there.
On day 2, we had to thread the barrel and crown it, and put on a removable Badger Thruster break. We'd contour the break down to look like it was a part of the barrel. If we had time, we'd make sure everything fit properly into the Manners T2 stock.
Once we got the barrel take care of, I sandblasted all the parts to Duracoat them in a dark gray matte finish. I wanted the rifle to have a unique look and blend well with both the stock and US Optics scope that would be sitting on it. For me, the painting part was the toughest because I didn't have much experience with it and I kept getting too much paint on parts which led to runs. Robert was enormously patient with me and showed me how to get an even layer without piling on the paint.
With all the necessary parts together, all that was left was to install the Jewell trigger, mount the scope, and work up a solid hunting load for some Virginia deer hunting next month.
On day 3 I woke up to a picture perfect Georgia morning at the cabin.
I didn't enjoy the view for too long because we still had a rifle to finish. The Jewell trigger dropped into the Surgeon action very well. Only minor cutting was required to keep the trigger from rubbing inside the action. The Atlas rail attached after a bit of work on the stock. We used Robert's Nightforce for the initial load workup before we put mounted my USO.
Here is the finished product:
Robert's got the best reloading room I've ever seen, with the shooting bench facing out the window on his 100 yard range. After seeing the 168 hunting VLDs drilling excellent holes, we moved up to the 180 hunting VLDs that I want to use for my whitetail hunt next month. We started at 66 grains of Retumbo and worked all the way up to 69.8 grains. That gave us these results, and I was pleased as could be.
Had we more time, I'm sure we could have dialed that group in even more, but the sun was setting and I was happy as hell to have a rifle that was light enough to hunt with, accurate enough to compete with, and without toting around a 28" barrel.
As if building that rifle and spending the week with Robert weren't enough (they were!), I treated myself to a nice relaxing Georgia evening.
The gunsmithing class was a resounding success for me. I learned more in 4 days with Robert than in all previous experiences working on my own guns. He helped me build a great rifle that even without extensive load development is already shooting better than any magnum rifle I own. I'm certain that I've only begun to see how well that rifle will shoot. The best part though was working with a true expert in rifle building. Robert's passion for the art of rifle building never ceased to amaze me, and his dedication to his customers was incredible. I'll certainly be going back to him.
