Barrel Shortening

oggy

Active Member
Eveining!

I have a Tikka T3 Stainless .308 and have added a moderator (the DM80). This means I find the overall length is a bit too long for me to carry the rifle without either it catching on branches or hitting the floor depending on how I carry it.

Can anyone give me a rough idea on how much it would cost to get the barrel shortened by about 4", re-crowned, threaded and proofed?

Havent got the time or money to get it done just yet, but was wondering what ball-park figure is

Cheers

Oggy
 
(best custom work I have seen) charges £195 [

The last time I paid one of the top winning “F-Class” smiths to shorten and thread a barrel it was £65.00……………………………………£195 to shorten a barrel,:eek: still if you are charging £7,000 plus for a tricked up Remmy then that is about right. Fair play to him if people are daft enough.:rofl:

Sam you seen a lot of custom rifles have you? And you have a degree in engineering or something similar, plus 30 years of experience to tell the difference between a good job and a bad one then?

Come on Brit' where are you?

ATB

Tahr
 
Sam you seen a lot of custom rifles have you? And you have a degree in engineering or something similar, plus 30 years of experience to tell the difference between a good job and a bad one then?

To be fair Tahr, you often don't need any qualifications (other than the ubiquitous mk1 eyball) to tell a bad job. The last bad one I saw looked like it had been chewed off by angry beavers and then threaded with a blunt hand die from the pound shop! The bore was off centre by at least a couple of mil:eek:

Anyhow, the shortening, re-crowning and threading will cost between those two figures i.e. 65 quid and 195 quid. If the chap is close to Callum then it may be cost effective (when you consider courier costs etc) to get it done there. If not then the world is his oyster with lots of good smiths easily capable of this sort of work. If it's 1:11 twist or faster then an 18" barrel is as short as you want to go (realistically).

Cheers

G
 
Sam you seen a lot of custom rifles have you? And you have a degree in engineering or something similar, plus 30 years of experience to tell the difference between a good job and a bad one then?

To be fair Tahr, you often don't need any qualifications (other than the ubiquitous mk1 eyball) to tell a bad job. The last bad one I saw looked like it had been chewed off by angry beavers and then threaded with a blunt hand die from the pound shop! The bore was off centre by at least a couple of mil:eek:

Hi Zaitsev

I guess I best expand on my first post, my comment was aimed at custom rifles more than just a barrel threading job, as you say you can get a good idea of the job just by looking at it, I think it is worth pointing out that a threading of a barrel would be a exercise that should be within the ability of an first year machining apprentice.

With a custom rifle how can you tell if you are looking at a polished turd or a first class engineering master piece?

Is the barrel tendon cut concentric with the bore?
Was the chamber also cut concentric?
Is the finish inside the chamber to a high standard to help easy extraction?
Are all the bolt lugs engaging over all there mating surface areas, giving a stable support the case head?
Is the bedding to a good standard, can you release one of the stock bolts and see minimum deflection with a DTI on the barrel?
Does the trigger brake cleanly?
If it is a repeater do all cartridges feed easily and reliably from the magazine?

You know your rifles, so you know what I mean, and at the end of the day if the rifle shoots well we are happy, but saying one smith is work is better than any other without stripping a action down and checking it is meaning less you are simply guessing and trusting to his reputation.

This is of cause why a smiths reputation is some important, for most of us it is the only guarantee that you are getting the job you are paying for.

Every time I shoot a deer with my 243 I thank Callum, for he did a first class job on the trigger for it previous owner.

ATB

Tahr
 
Tahr,

Custom rifles? I dont keep count, but more than enough to know good from excellent ;) Engineering? Myself, I will not lie it extends to playing with land rover, chainsaws and the like. My Farther? 42 years experiance and Phd (Cantab) good enough? And he rates PRS very highly.

What is your experiance? It may be more than mine, my expeirance is limited, and I appreciete that. There are dozens of smiths turning out quality work, I have maybe seen stuff from 20 at a push. But of those Callum Ferguson Emerges top of the pile.

I stand by my statement.

Sam
 
When you talk to a precision engineer rather than a riflesmith, they laugh when you query something like a thread being true to a bore. That sort of thing is day one,week one at engineering school. If simple things were machined out of true how do you think they would react when doing X000 rpm in a 300hp tractor engine?

Two things that I would say; Callum is one of, if not the, best riflesmiths in the county but there are many 'farmyard engineers' who will happily butcher your rifle for you. Pay your money and take your choice.

The last moderator that I bought came with detailed cutting instructions, I would have been happy to have taken it to a local engineer apart from the 'firearm' hassle element.

As to price, I agree that between £65 and £200 is probably the ball park without giving the proof house an un-required piece of the action.

JC
 
Oggy

if the rifle goes for proof you add about 90 to the price - (carriage each way and proof)

There has been much discussion here and elswhere about proof, but if you do not intend to sell the rifle, you dont need it re-proofed, I know of several rifles, including ones ive sent to the PH that have come back without marks on the muzzle (in the case of threaded rifles).

Chop, set up, end face, dial to run 0 run out, thread and recrown is a 1 - 2 hr task max.

18 - 20 inches would suit the Tikka well, I personally would go no shorter.


Pete Walker is close to you, he does a very good job.








The Term "farmyard engineer" has been used for gunsmiths.....


Both examples of factory threading jobs, one originated from Finland:

DSCN1914.jpg



The finished job should be smooth running, free of galling and similar to silk running against silk.....the crown should be razor sharp with no burrs

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I know of only two or perhaps three smiths with "engineering" backgrounds, others I know come from farming, military service, stalking and photography as their minstay employment prior to becoming "names"



Everyone starts somewhere, so long as the job is done correctly, legaly and to the proper standard and tolerances who cares what the background is.
 
Oggy,
have quick drive down to Mike Norris nr Kynnersley, first class work, reasonable price..

regards
griff
 
Custom rifles? I dont keep count, but more than enough to know good from excellent ;)

What is your experiance?

Sam
The Uninformed :D

I wish you would make your mind up, expert or uninformed?:cuckoo:

Sam I don’t want this to turn into a P***ing contest or my dad is bigger than yours, also I appreciate that you are 17 years old just about to get your first rifle, and I don’t want to put youngsters off getting involved in stalking there is too many of us over 40s in it as it is and when I am too old I want someone to come and drag my deer out.:lol:

So you want to know my experience? I tell you what I will PM you a resume of it, and if you think I just might know something about engineering you admit it on here, if not put my CV on here? That way we don’t bore everybody.

Your father has PHD in what? My wife has a Bachelor of Science degree, but she knows bugger all about science. ;)

Andy

Good post from somebody who does a great job, I think the guy who did the job in Finland also did my Browning,:( still I will sort that one my self.

ATB

Tahr
 
I assume you must know something about it Tahr... you talk a good game anyway. PM if you like, but I take your word for it you know something - and I shall bow to your knowledge. P**ing contests arent my thing either, but one rises to the bait :) I am uniformed about Sakos, and many other things, but I hope I can tell a reasonable rifle from a polished turd, I know about rifles I have handled/read about. I have shot a fair few guns with custom work done to them and I still say CF's are the best. I am pretty sure its a Phd in Mechanical Engineering he has got, and I am told he knows something. And its my 4th centrefire Im buying at the moment, and hopefully the last for a while. Is that all your honour? :D


Im getting rather bored of this, shall we agree that there are many good smiths, who charge varying prices - and we shall all choose who we like best? And you couldnt put me off stalking if you had a big stick with a nail in it ;) I am rather good at dragging for thoose clever enough to avoide it, and my services are very reasonably priced.


Sam
 
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Im getting rather bored of this, shall we agree that there are many good smiths, who charge varying prices - and we shall all choose who we like best? I am rather good at dragging for thoose clever enough to avoide it, and my services are very reasonably priced.

Sam

I am not saying Callum is not a good smith or even not the best smith, but I am saying you can not tell the quality of the rifle just by picking it up. Obviously the smiths whose rifles are used in competition rise or fall on the results of rifles they build.

Can you have a FAC under the age of 17 now?

Don’t worry I don’t need anybody to drag for me yet.;)

ATB

Tahr
 
I have held an FAC since 14 ;) And its nice to know that we are on the same page, but I do love a good row every now and again :D.


Sam
 
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