# Getting a little concerned....



## germag (Jan 9, 2009)

I sent a new Weatherby Vanguard (Howa 1500) to a local gunsmith for some accurizing work that I don't have the fixtures and machinery to do for myself...adding a muzzle brake, truing the action, squaring up the bolt face and lapping the locking lugs. No problem, right? He said he could do it.

First he calls me a couple of days before it was to be ready and said it's going to be a few more days because he had some health issues and had to go to the hospital for a few days. No biggie...I certainly understand that. I'm in no big hurry.

After about 2 more weeks, I called him and asked him how it was coming...not trying to rush him, I just need to have an idea of when it's going to be ready so I can try to be freed up to go pick it up. So...he tells me he's actually working on it then but he can't get the barrel off the receiver....but he's working on it and he'll get it.

A couple of days later, he calls me and tells me that he got the barrel off, but he had to heat it with a torch to get it loose. At that point he was working on squaring and truing up the action and receiver and was threading the barrel for the muzzle brake. OK...cool enough.

Today he called me and told me two things:

1. He couldn't put the bolt back together. He said that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the firing pin assembly to go back into the bolt. He said he "squeezed the bolt shroud in a padded vice and it still wouldn't go back together."   I had that bolt apart and back together before I took it to him, no problem. He said he's going to have to send it to a Weatherby warranty station to get the bolt reassembled.

2. He said that he had to heat the receiver up so much to get the barrel out that it discolored it and he had to reblue the whole receiver and barrel. 

The things that concern me are:

1. What the heck happened to the bolt? I didn't have a problem with it before I took it to him...the thing was brand new. It came apart and went back together just fine.

2. Did he heat the receiver enough to make it lose it's tempering and weaken the steel? I've seen some barrels that were pretty stubborn, but you usually can get them out with a barrel vice and an action wrench...you might have to use a cheater bar. I can understand a really stubborn one might need to be heated a little to expand the receiver threads a little, but enough to completely discolor it?


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## Twenty five ought six (Jan 9, 2009)

> 2. Did he heat the receiver enough to make it lose it's tempering and weaken the steel?



If he heated the steel enough to change the color of it, he changed the temper.  Don't take my word for it, look it up.  It can be re-heat treated, but not by a goober like this.

I wouldn't fire that receiver on a bet now.


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## germag (Jan 9, 2009)

Twenty five ought six said:


> If he heated the steel enough to change the color of it, he changed the temper.  Don't take my word for it, look it up.  It can be re-heat treated, but not by a goober like this.
> 
> I wouldn't fire that receiver on a bet now.



Yeah...that's kind of what I was thinking. This ain't a pisqueak either....it's a .300 Win Mag. That could leave a pretty good mark if it gives up. 

Man, I wish R.L. Matthews was still alive. I never ran into this kind of idiotic stuff when he was my gunsmith. There's just no reason for this kind of thing to happen.

I still can't figure out what the heck he did to my bolt.


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## Patchpusher (Jan 9, 2009)

If he cannot put the bolt back together I would have to assume he is not qualified to do the rest of the work. Some barrels are screwed in with loctite on the threads. If it won't break loose with a barrel vise and an action wrench then it will need to be heated. But, you do not heat it enough to discolor it. Does he understand that when you lap the bolt lugs you are removing metal from the bolt lugs which can alter the headspace. He may have to set the barrel back one thread and rechamber to get the correct head space. I would be sure he is the one to shoot it first.


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## dawg2 (Jan 9, 2009)

Twenty five ought six said:


> If he heated the steel enough to change the color of it, he changed the temper.  Don't take my word for it, look it up.  It can be re-heat treated, but not by a goober like this.
> 
> I wouldn't fire that receiver on a bet now.



X2


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## germag (Jan 9, 2009)

Patchpusher said:


> If he cannot put the bolt back together I would have to assume he is not qualified to do the rest of the work. Some barrels are screwed in with loctite on the threads. If it won't break loose with a barrel vise and an action wrench then it will need to be heated. But, you do not heat it enough to discolor it. Does he understand that when you lap the bolt lugs you are removing metal from the bolt lugs which can alter the headspace. He may have to set the barrel back one thread and rechamber to get the correct head space. I would be sure he is the one to shoot it first.



Yeah, I'm well aware of all of that.....the thing that scares me is that one of the things he was going to do was to reset the barrel and rechamber to get rid of some of the freebore, but he said that he couldn't get the barrel chucked up straight for some reason having to do with the recoil lug...I told him forget it...I'll just seat the bullets out.

I wasn't worried about him heating it up until he told me he had to reblue because he heated it up to the point that it changed the color.....that scares me.

This guy advertises himself as a trained, licensed gunsmith. He's not just some guy that does it part-time in his basement...he has a shop and advertises his services. I picked up his card at a range when I asked them if they knew of any good gunsmiths.

I'm actually thinking about demanding that he send the rifle to one of the gunsmiths listed as Weatherby qualified (on the Weatherby website), on HIS nickel, with a letter explaining everything that has been done up to this point and just let them fix it. I'm going to call one of them tomorrow and have a conversation with them about it and see what they think.

The fact that he can't put the bolt back together really does concern me regarding his qualifications. Like I said, I had the bolt disassembled before I took it to him and had no problem putting it back together.


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## TROY13 (Jan 9, 2009)

Sorry, germag, I'm thinking your gonna want another gun before this over. The positive is if he sends it to Weatherby because of liability reason they aint gonna send back a bad gun. I think the gun goes to Weatherby and Weatherby calls or emails you about the gun. I would want to talk to them about this gun because of its history now.


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## germag (Jan 9, 2009)

TROY13 said:


> Sorry, germag, I'm thinking your gonna want another gun before this over. The positive is if he sends it to Weatherby because of liability reason they aint gonna send back a bad gun. I think the gun goes to Weatherby and Weatherby calls or emails you about the gun. I would want to talk to them about this gun because of its history now.



Oh, yeah...no doubt about that.


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## 7MAGMIKE (Jan 10, 2009)

germag, you would not want to disclose this greenhorns business name would you.  I would surely hate to run into this guy.


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## Hammack (Jan 10, 2009)

Ok, a few things stand out to me.   First how was he gonna true the action and reuse the same barrel?  If he recut the threads as needed when truing an action then the barrel is gonna fit to loose when screwed back in.  Second, take it from a machinst/welder if the receiver was heated it's junk.  Also as mentioned above.  If he couldn't even take a bolt apart and put it back together then he certainly can't do the work that you wanted him to.  DO NOT ACCEPT THAT RIFLE BACK.   He owes you a rifle....


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## Miguel Cervantes (Jan 10, 2009)

Sounds like he owes you a new gun.


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## Wide Earp (Jan 10, 2009)

"Man, I wish R.L. Matthews was still alive. I never ran into this kind of idiotic stuff when he was my gunsmith. There's just no reason for this kind of thing to happen."


a lot of folks miss ol R.L.


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## germag (Jan 10, 2009)

7MAGMIKE said:


> germag, you would not want to disclose this greenhorns business name would you.  I would surely hate to run into this guy.



Well, I want to talk to Weatherby first and let them look at the rifle to make absolutely certain that there's an issue and there's no extenuating circumstances before I go publishing his name. This is his business and he's apparently been in it for while. That's why this whole thing is so mind-blowing to me. But...I don't want to publicly disparage someone and possibly harm their business if it's not completely warranted.

If I find that it really is the way it seems right now, then I most certainly will publish the whole kit and kaboodle in the "recommended gunsmiths" sticky in this forum. If he's incompetent, he can hurt somebody....I have a responsibility to let people know. I'm not saying "If he makes it right with my gun, I won't blow the whistle on him." I'm saying he IS going to make it right with my gun, one way or another. If he's really incompetent, I'll let everybody know regardless.


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## germag (Jan 10, 2009)

Wyat Earp said:


> "Man, I wish R.L. Matthews was still alive. I never ran into this kind of idiotic stuff when he was my gunsmith. There's just no reason for this kind of thing to happen."
> 
> 
> a lot of folks miss ol R.L.



Yep. I know I do.


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## EMC-GUN (Jan 10, 2009)

I believe he is incompetent. I believe he has ruined your rifle. I believe he needs to buy you a new one.


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## germag (Jan 10, 2009)

EMC-GUN said:


> I believe he is incompetent. I believe he has ruined your rifle. I believe he needs to buy you a new one.



Yeah, I think the same thing. So does the Weatherby gunsmith. His words were almost identical to Twenty five ought six's..."I can tell you that I wouldn't fire it unless it was sent back and proven first. I remove hundreds of those barrels every year and have never had to heat one that much to get the barrel off. If you heat the receiver enough to change the color of the bluing, it's ruined and it's not safe to shoot."

He also said you cannot buy a receiver. You have to buy the complete rifle.  And...he said "Those are some of the easist bolts there are to take apart and put back together. I can't imagine a gunsmith not being able to put that bolt back together."


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## trckdrvr (Jan 10, 2009)

Wyat Earp said:


> "Man, I wish R.L. Matthews was still alive. I never ran into this kind of idiotic stuff when he was my gunsmith. There's just no reason for this kind of thing to happen."
> 
> 
> a lot of folks miss ol R.L.



Didn't know he died.


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## Hammack (Jan 10, 2009)

I personally would not accept a rifle from him, rather have him reimburse you for a rifle that YOU buy.  That way you know what you get.  The guy is obviously no smith by any means, and is a serious threat to someone's safety....


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## germag (Jan 10, 2009)

Hammack said:


> I personally would not accept a rifle from him, rather have him reimburse you for a rifle that YOU buy.  That way you know what you get.  The guy is obviously no smith by any means, and is a serious threat to someone's safety....



The only way I'm physically accepting a rifle from him is if it is brand new in the box and I can see the paperwork where he purchased it. If he can get a better price by ordering it on his FFL than by purchasing it from a local dealer, I'm not really opposed to that. I absolutely want my sling, scope, mounts, and rings back, though. He can keep the rest of this rifle that he ruined. He also owes me for a muzzle brake. I provided that myself.

I posted his info in "Gunsmith Recommendations".


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## 30ODD6 (Jan 10, 2009)

"This guy advertises himself as a trained, licensed gunsmith. He's not just some guy that does it part-time in his basement...he has a shop and advertises his services. I picked up his card at a range when I asked them if they knew of any good gunsmiths."

There is no 'Gunsmith's License', only an 01FFL (dealers license) or the like. The only thing that determines a gunsmith's qualifications are his skills and reputation. 'Training' takes many forms; I know many excellent gunsmiths and machinists that are part-time/in basement. Anyone with $20 can have slick business cards made.

That said, I am sorry for your bad experience and hope he replaces your rifle.


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## germag (Jan 11, 2009)

30ODD6 said:


> "This guy advertises himself as a trained, licensed gunsmith. He's not just some guy that does it part-time in his basement...he has a shop and advertises his services. I picked up his card at a range when I asked them if they knew of any good gunsmiths."
> 
> There is no 'Gunsmith's License', only an 01FFL (dealers license) or the like. The only thing that determines a gunsmith's qualifications are his skills and reputation. 'Training' takes many forms; I know many excellent gunsmiths and machinists that are part-time/in basement. Anyone with $20 can have slick business cards made.
> 
> That said, I am sorry for your bad experience and hope he replaces your rifle.



I understand that there is no "gunsmith license".....just saying how he advertises himself. He has to have a FFL in order to take guns into inventory and order certain parts, etc....that's not really the point. He has a shop beside his house and a sign on his mailbox. All outward appearances are legitimate....the shooting range down the street from his shop gave me his card when I asked if they knew any good gunsmiths...so I actually chose him on a referral. 

That's what is so bewildering about this to me....the appearance is that he's been doing this in this location for a while. That would indicate to me that he's a relatively experienced smith. That makes the problems I experienced that much more puzzling.

I'm only going by what he told me....I didn't see the discoloration on the receiver, he just told me about it and that he had reblued the entire barrelled action to make the blueing match. What concerns me most is that he doesn't seem to realize that he compromised the integrity of the receiver when he heated it to that degree. What if I hadn't realized that could be a danger? Not everybody knows that heat can change the temper of steel....a gunsmith should absolutely know that, but your average guy off the street might not. What if it was some other guy that didn't know that and the rifle subsequently blew up in his face because of it? What if he hadn't told me that? I wouldn't have known......I would have bedded the action in the new Boyd's laminate stock I have for it, taken it to the range, and possibly blown my face off with it.


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## EMC-GUN (Jan 11, 2009)

I'm just curious if he will 1. buy you a new rifle, and 2. Re-sell that one he ruined to recoup his money. If he said you can't tell than it would just be an issue of his compunction whether or no to sell it. He already tried to peddle off back to you. I would definitely find out the location of this (ruined) rifle after all is said and done. This is disaster waiting to happen!!!


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## germag (Jan 11, 2009)

EMC-GUN said:


> I'm just curious if he will 1. buy you a new rifle, and 2. Re-sell that one he ruined to recoup his money. If he said you can't tell than it would just be an issue of his compunction whether or no to sell it. He already tried to peddle off back to you. I would definitely find out the location of this (ruined) rifle after all is said and done. This is disaster waiting to happen!!!



I hadn't really thought about that aspect. I can't imagine that anyone in his right mind, especially a gunsmith, would sell a rifle that is known to be potentially unsafe. That takes one out of the category of "unqualified as a gunsmith" and places one squarely in the category of "unqualified to be a member of human society".

I don't really think he acted maliciously or he's a bad guy at all. I think he just bit off more than he could chew....I think maybe his qualifications for gunsmithing are video lessons from AGI or something like that...and he really thinks that qualifies him as a gunsmith...... and he had never run into a stubborn barrel yet and didn't know how to deal with it correctly. I think the real problems are:

1. I misjudged his skill and experience level.

2. He didn't know when to quit and call somebody for help, or take the rifle to a more experienced gunsmith.

I'm going to have to reserve judgement on the bolt problem until I hear what the Weatherby warranty center has to say about it. It may be that is ruined too since he said he had the shroud it in a vice....I can imagine that putting that kind of pressure on the sides of the bolt shroud could deform it. I dunno....I don't have the entire story yet.

At any rate, you're right. I don't really know what I can do, though.....once I walk out of his shop and leave that rifel I won't have any control over where it goes or what happens to it. I would think that he would strip it and toss the receiver and use the barrel, stock, and other parts for used parts. That reminds me.....I have to get my Timney trigger back from him too.


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## Wide Earp (Jan 11, 2009)

trckdrvr said:


> Didn't know he died.



about 2 years ago? while on a hunting trip to Alabama I believe, only 63


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## germag (Jan 11, 2009)

Wyat Earp said:


> about 2 years ago? while on a hunting trip to Alabama I believe, only 63



His passing left an enormous void.....especially in the gunsmithing world in this area.


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## Patchpusher (Jan 12, 2009)

Weatherby offers the Vanguard in a Sub MOA. The 300 Win Mag would be Item #VMM300N40. It should sell for $750 to $800 range.


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## mikey (Jan 13, 2009)

Any word?


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## germag (Jan 13, 2009)

Haven't talked to him again yet. I'm waiting to see what the story was on the bolt. It hasn't come back from the warranty station yet...he was supposed to ship it out yesterday. I want to find out what Weatherby said about it. 

I did talk to yet _another_ Weatherby gunsmith this morning. He said pretty much the same thing that the other one said on Saturday.

What I'm finding out is this:

It is possible to heat the receiver to the point that it changes the color of the blueing without compromising the temper of the steel, but there is a fine line....once you get to the point of discoloring the blueing, it doesn't have to get a whole lot hotter to soften the steel. I don't know how hot he got it, only that it was hot enough to change the color of the blueing.

The guy I spoke to today said the the chances of a catstrophic failure were very small even if the temper of the steel was changed. The likely thing that will happen is that the surfaces that the bolt locking lugs are in contact with will wear more quickly resulting in headspace issues much sooner than normal.

He is supposed to call me when the bolt gets back. Once I find out what Weatherby had to say about that, then I'll start out with "We have bigger problems than the bolt......"


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## threeleggedpigmy (Jan 13, 2009)

I hope it make it right all around not just to you germmag, but I hope he does not try to resale it to some one else.


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## germag (Jan 13, 2009)

threeleggedpigmy said:


> I hope it make it right all around not just to you germmag, but I hope he does not try to resale it to some one else.



Yeah, that's really a bigger concern to me than getting compensated myself. If that rifle is really unsafe, then I have to try to find some way to make sure it doesn't get sold to someone else. I really, really don't think this guy is the kind of person that would do something like that.....incompetent, maybe so....malicious, no. I think that if he knows that receiver isn't safe, he'll do the right thing and cut it in half with a torch and throw it away. At least I hope he would.

If it comes down to him replacing my rifle, I guess he has the right to keep the old one.....I'm not sure exactly what I can do after that point to control where it goes from there.....

I'm actually thinking about requesting that he send it back to Weatherby for proving. If they say it's safe, then I'll accept it back.

The other concern for me is how much of this sort of thing has he already done on other people's guns and what will he do in the future?


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## tommyjoe (Jan 15, 2009)

I wouldn't shoot that one sandbagged and a LONG string on the trigger!!
Tom


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## T_Fish (Jan 16, 2009)

Better yet take him a scope and ask him to sight it in for you? and watch the look on his face?


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## wildcatt (Jan 20, 2009)

*gunsmith???*

If I had been you I would go to his shop to look at it.what  gunsmith did he send it to OR DID HE.you have not seen the gun or got a straight answer from him.why did you not send it to Whetherby in the first place.what was wrong with it?they are accurate rifles to begin with.
I repair guns but I would not attempt any thing I cannot do.


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## Hammack (Jan 20, 2009)

wildcatt said:


> If I had been you I would go to his shop to look at it.what  gunsmith did he send it to OR DID HE.you have not seen the gun or got a straight answer from him.why did you not send it to Whetherby in the first place.what was wrong with it?they are accurate rifles to begin with.
> I repair guns but I would not attempt any thing I cannot do.



Perhaps he wanted to get all he could out of the rifle.  Germag is not in the wrong for having his rifle worked on.  Not ALL Weatherby rifles are accurate in the first place.  If you read the first post Germag stated he took to rifle to someone who was suppose to be able to do the work since he did not have the means to do it himself.   As far as sending it to weatherby goes....  I've never seen a gun manufacturer that would do the work that germag was wanting done.  The idiot who was suppose to be a gunsmith is the one at fault not Germag.   I still would like to know his reply as to how he trued the action and reinstalled the original barrel.  Truing an action is gonna require the threads to be recut as well as the bolt lug areas in the action and the bolt.   The original barrel will then be to loose in most cases, and the headspace would be off as well.  The headspace issue could be taken care of by setting back the barrel, but the threads can't.


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## germag (Jan 20, 2009)

wildcatt said:


> If I had been you I would go to his shop to look at it.what  gunsmith did he send it to OR DID HE.you have not seen the gun or got a straight answer from him.why did you not send it to Whetherby in the first place.what was wrong with it?they are accurate rifles to begin with.
> I repair guns but I would not attempt any thing I cannot do.



Well, if it matters, the rifle was shooting about 1.5" and I want to improve on that. So...as I stated in the beginning of the thread, I was having the action squared up, having the bolt face squared up, having the locking lugs lapped and having and muzzle brake put on it.

He didn't send it to any gunsmith, he was doing the work himself...he's supposed to be a full-service gunsmith. He ended up sending the bolt to the Weatherby warranty station in Tennesee because he couldn't reassemble it.

So...you sound like you are suggesting that I did something that I shouldn't have done by taking the rifle to a local gunsmith instead of sending it to Weatherby. Care to elaborate? 

Here's the way I see it. It's my rifle. I have a right to have customizing and accurizing work done on it if I choose to. Who I send it to is my choice. If I'd rather take it to a local smith than to send it to Weatherby and deal with shipping back and forth, I have the right to do that. It's not warranty work. It's customizing/accurizing work. If the local gunsmith advertises himself as a full-service smith and tells me straight up he can do the work and accepts the rifle and agrees to do the work, then I have right to expect that work to be completed in a competent fashion.

So....care to tell me what I did wrong? You seem to be the expert here.....


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## germag (Jan 20, 2009)

Hammack said:


> Perhaps he wanted to get all he could out of the rifle.  Germag is not in the wrong for having his rifle worked on.  Not ALL Weatherby rifles are accurate in the first place.  If you read the first post Germag stated he took to rifle to someone who was suppose to be able to do the work since he did not have the means to do it himself.   As far as sending it to weatherby goes....  I've never seen a gun manufacturer that would do the work that germag was wanting done.  The idiot who was suppose to be a gunsmith is the one at fault not Germag.   I still would like to know his reply as to how he trued the action and reinstalled the original barrel.  Truing an action is gonna require the threads to be recut as well as the bolt lug areas in the action and the bolt.   The original barrel will then be to loose in most cases, and the headspace would be off as well.  The headspace issue could be taken care of by setting back the barrel, but the threads can't.



Yeah, I expect to be talking to him again this week.....I'm not sure all of my questions are going to get answered though...if you know what I mean.


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## Tulip (Jan 20, 2009)

germag  just some info. The weatherby accubrake can be installed for $75 labor and $75 parts from a authorized weatherby service center. Just thought I would let you know.


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## germag (Jan 20, 2009)

Tulip said:


> germag  just some info. The weatherby accubrake can be installed for $75 labor and $75 parts from a authorized weatherby service center. Just thought I would let you know.



...and shipping both ways (about $30 each way). Total is over $200 for the muzzle brake including shipping. A muzzle brake from Harrell's precision is $30.00, plus $75.00 installation. That's $105 vs. $200+. I like the 24 port Harrell's brake better. All that is kind of a moot point at this juncture anyway....but thanks just the same.


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## wildcatt (Jan 22, 2009)

*???????????????*

I did not blame you I asked why you did it.perhaps weatherby could make it better its a shame that any one has to have a new gun reworked.that was my thought.
   and when I asked about a gunsmith I was refering to the weatherby  man


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## TROY13 (Jan 22, 2009)

wildcatt said:


> I did not blame you I asked why you did it.perhaps weatherby could make it better its a shame that any one has to have a new gun reworked.that was my thought.
> and when I asked about a gunsmith I was refering to the weatherby  man



Reworked???


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## germag (Jan 22, 2009)

wildcatt said:


> I did not blame you I asked why you did it.perhaps weatherby could make it better its a shame that any one has to have a new gun reworked.that was my thought.
> and when I asked about a gunsmith I was refering to the weatherby  man




Well, in reality very few rifles shoot 1 MOA or better out of the box. If you really want to have a "shooter", 999 times out of 1,000 you're going to have to do some work on them. You can pay extra money for "MOA Guarantees", and sometimes that may be the most logical thing to do. In this case, I got the rifle for a really good price knowing that it was going to need some accurizing. My goal is 1/2 MOA or better....a tough goal with a factory sporter barrel, but it is attainable with some accurizing and good handloading. When I bought the rifle I immediately ordered a brake and a laminated stock and pillar bedding kit. I took it to the range with a dozen different loads to see how it was going to shoot and try to determine exactly what I needed to do to it. Once that was established, I found what was _supposed_ to be a good smith to do the work for me.....not so sure it's going to work out right, though. I may be starting over with a new rifle.


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## chiefsquirrel83 (Jan 22, 2009)

know a gunsmith out of commerce and he was the one who told me to stear clear of weatherby vanguards....he says that he cannot work on them....but sounds like you are certainly gettin the run around


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## TROY13 (Jan 22, 2009)

Just out of curiousity what shot good in it. The powder and how much , the brass, the projectile. Give it to me, please.


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## germag (Jan 22, 2009)

TROY13 said:


> Just out of curiousity what shot good in it. The powder and how much , the brass, the projectile. Give it to me, please.



The best groups so far have been from 70.5g of H4350 behind a 180 gr Hornady SP flat based bullet (boat tails didn't group as well for some reason), using Hornady (Frontier) brass and WLRM primers. When I finally get the rifle finished I'll be playing around with some AA3100, RL22 and RL19.


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## Hammack (Jan 22, 2009)

chiefsquirrel83 said:


> know a gunsmith out of commerce and he was the one who told me to stear clear of weatherby vanguards....he says that he cannot work on them....but sounds like you are certainly gettin the run around



Alot of people can't work on the Howa/Vanguard.  Mainly because the barrel threads are metric, and alot of the older lathes aren't set up to turn metric threads.


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## wildcatt (Feb 1, 2009)

germag:I DO hope you make out all right.my remarks may have upset you but I was trying to understand for myself.
goog luck in your endever,I have been there myself but not on guns.


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## germag (Feb 1, 2009)

wildcatt said:


> germag:I DO hope you make out all right.my remarks may have upset you but I was trying to understand for myself.
> goog luck in your endever,I have been there myself but not on guns.




Thanks. I understand...no worries.

The receiver is being tested for hardness now (Rockwell testing).


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## threeleggedpigmy (Feb 9, 2009)

germag said:


> Thanks. I understand...no worries.
> 
> The receiver is being tested for hardness now (Rockwell testing).



How are the results so far?


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## germag (Feb 9, 2009)

threeleggedpigmy said:


> How are the results so far?



The Rockwell test came back within tolerance, so all is good. I can continue with my project now. The tolerance range for that rifle is 40-48, it tested at 42. My suspicion is that it was likely closer to the upper end of that range before it got heated up, but since it's still within the tolerance I'm OK with it. It's been test-fired several times and all is good.


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## threeleggedpigmy (Feb 9, 2009)

germag said:


> The Rockwell test came back within tolerance, so all is good. I can continue with my project now. The tolerance range for that rifle is 40-48, it tested at 42. My suspicion is that it was likely closer to the upper end of that range before it got heated up, but since it's still within the tolerance I'm OK with it. It's been test-fired several times and all is good.




I am Glad to hear that.  

What is the next step on the project?


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## germag (Feb 9, 2009)

threeleggedpigmy said:


> I am Glad to hear that.
> 
> What is the next step on the project?



The next step is pillar bedding the barrelled action in a Boyd's laminated stock. Then I'll start working up a load for it. That's the fun part......many trips tp the range.


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