Project rifle

We thought that the shooting public might like to know what really goes into a custom rifle; all the things we do as custom rifle makers to ensure that rifles shoot well and look exceptional.

(A few of the things that go into building a rifle - click to view larger image)

Our project rifle is a Remington, Mod 700, rebuilt and restocked into a varmint rifle, calibre, 22-250 Ack Imp, using a VSSF profile Maddco barrel, with a 1 in 14" twist rate, 26" long. We use and highly recommend Maddco barrels, as they have proven themselves every time to shoot extremely accurately in competition, and are second to none; made in Australia to boot!

We will show all the steps possible and tell you why we do certain things and how, why we use certain barrels and twist rates to obtain the best accuracy at all times, and how we pick the best piece of walnut for the job.

We will endeavour to update this page every 2 months so you can keep an eye on the current project.

We invite questions, and we will endeavour to answer some of them in the next instalment.

Action Work

Firstly, the action needs to be completely stripped and the body and bolt washed thoroughly – it is surprising how much filth and grease can be built up. Once it is clean, I cut a thumb relief in the left action rail to allow better access to the magazine box. Little things like this all go the making a better functioning rifle … and that’s what we all want!

I then polish the feed ramp to aid in action smoothness; this should be done whenever someone fits a new barrel. It does not take very long (for the ordinary bloke, about 10 mins) and it has a big influence on how the rifle performs.

For added strength in the scope mount, I drill and tap the holes in the mount to accept larger screws (8.40). I then move onto the action threading and check for squareness, recutting if necessary.

The action is then placed on an action mandrel in the lathe (which is a very snug fit on the bolt raceway) and using dial indicators, adjust the action to get it turning as concentric as possible – ¼ thou runout is all you would want at this point, no more. Take a quick skim off the front of the action and it should all be very square. (You will always see the tool clean up on one side before the other.) When the action is all squared, remove from the lathe and carefully clean it again.

Now I move onto the bolt and machine the bolt face in readiness to fit a bush. Because the old extractor is removed and the ugly under-cut that is left is not acceptable, a new bush is fitted and machined to look as though it was always there. At the same time, square the bolt face, even though most are good, little things like this only add to accuracy – and that’s what it’s all about!

Moving on, at the mill, a groove is cut in the side of the bolt body to accommodate a new Sako extractor. These extractors seem to work very nicely and make a more complete package of a varmint rifle in my opinion. To fit a stronger ignition spring is probably not a bad idea either, as it will set off our hand loads with much more authority, which is also good for accuracy.

Next time we will be fit the barrel step by step. I am trying to explain so everyone can follow what it is all about, and to be quite honest, it’s not that hard to build an extremely accurate rifle, you need to pay considerable attention to detail and take no short-cuts.

(P.S. I intend to have the next instalment out a lot quicker, this instalment was hampered by outside circumstances.)

If you can't find what you want here, give us a call.
Note: our contact details can be found at the bottom of each page.

'Kopje'
PO Box 418
Cowra NSW 2794
Ph & fax: 02 63421184
info@kopjerifles.com
DL: 408022457 - David & Jane Stendell

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Web site by Ben McBeth.
www.bmcbeth.com