Gunsmithing Remington 700 Short Action

[oldirtdog]

Hello All,

I am new to register but have been a forum reader here for some time. There is tons of great information from a lot of knowledgeable people so I almost always find answers to my questions by searching the forums. However, I have not been able to find an answer for my latest debacle:

I am looking to acquire a custom built .308 with a Remington short action. A good amount of work has been done on the rifle but nothing to the action. Upon talking to the smith that built the rifle, he stated that no blueprinting of the action was done (lapping lugs/face receiver) because he checked the (new) action and it wasn't necessary. From my research, I haven't really read about anyone checking and not needing to blueprint. Are some of Remington's production actions that good? Any insight is appreciated.

 

[bohem]

Re: Remington 700 Short Action

That would be a rare action indeed...

 

[LRI]

Re: Remington 700 Short Action

Anything is possible buddy.

It takes Remington less than 20 minutes to spit out a finished receiver. It's not hard to envision things moving around a bit with those kinds of numbers.

If you elect to have the receiver work done the decision your faced with now is the additional barrel work that will have to go into it as well. A std. Remmy is 1.0625-16 for the threads. A full blueprint is going to involve giving the threads a kiss as well to true them up. This opens the pitch diameter of the thread and makes the fit with the barrel tennon too loose. It becomes a cascading effect unfortunately.

Your options (if you have the work done) are to have the existing barrel set back (basically chopping off the threaded portion and starting over) or buying a new barrel altogether.

This all being said I'd encourage you to evaluate the accuracy of the gun and bounce that off your expectations and skill level. If your out shooting the rifle then perhaps it's worth considering. If it's out shooting you I'd opt to say spend your money on bullets and gas money to get to the range.

I have a full service custom rifle shop and would be happy to discuss it further if you like.

Good luck.

C

 

[bohem]

Re: Remington 700 Short Action

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: C. Dixon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anything is possible buddy.
</div></div>

That's quite true, though I'm less than inclined to believe a sales pitch claiming it to be that way.

A better way for me to phrase my comment above would probably be:

"That is possible, but generally, statements like that should raise more questions than answers."


Mr Dixon's advice about shooting more and not worrying about it until the rifle is holding you back is spot on.

 

[x ring accuracy]

Re: Remington 700 Short Action

To chuck the action in a lathe, get it running true, to actually check it and not spend a few minutes to cut a .001 off the face is kinda silly. Same applies to the lug shoulders of the same action. Once it is setup, the truing is the easy part.

 

[oldirtdog]

Re: Remington 700 Short Action

Thank you all for the insight, it is greatly appreciated...special thanks to Chad..I may take you up on the offer to discuss