Post-gunsmithing troubles

[ShooterJ]

Hi Folks,

Had my .308 110 action timed and trued by a legendary Savage guru (no names, no pack drill). I sent in the barrel as well, so got the whole lot back presumably in good shape. Put on the stock and took it to the range, and..geez. It doesn't seem to accommodate ammo any more, I can barely close the bolt on factory loads. Also, if I rack the bolt too fast, the accutrigger safety mechanism jumps its stop and locks up the trigger, and I have to re-crank the bolt before I can shoot. Have ordered some go & no-go gauges as I figure I better redo the headspace, but is there something I am missing here?

Thanks,
Jon

[Dave Hoback]

(Ominous music playing): "Bum-Bum-Bum"

Reason I learned all this myself. My advice would be talking to the 'Smiff who did the work.

[ShooterJ]

(Ominous music playing): "Bum-Bum-Bum"

Reason I learned all this myself. My advice would be talking to the 'Smiff who did the work.

Yep, but I am 100% sure the answer would be "send it back", and I have a tag for 1st season elk, no time for that...I might just have to reclaim the Remington 308 I passed on to my son and use that this year.

[NF1E]

I would first talk to you smith and ask what he headspaced it to. Did the barrel you sent have a finished chamber?

[wbm]

_.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Well Jon:
Seems like you're NOT in the position to DIY SO, it's off to a smith for a touch up? Too bad you don't have a barrel "Nut" wrench so you could loosen the barrel nut and re adjust the headspace so you could chamber ammo. And not having a "head space" gauge, maybe a fired piece of brass? Adjust accordingly and see if a live round will chamber? (OUTSIDE, SO YOU DON"T BLOW A HOLE IN SOMETHING) At least that will get you up and hunting. Maybe somebody close by that's into Savage rifles? Just a thought.

[Dave Hoback]

Was thinking the same thing. Maybe another member close enough to give you a hand. Where abouts do you live? I'm just south of Philadelphia.....would be happy to get you fixed up for your hunt, if you happened to be near me.

[yobuck]

My question dosent relate to the issue, but just from general curiosity.
Im well aware of the reason some people choose to true an action, but as a rule it relates to a desire for more accuracy, and usually involves other changes to the gun as well.
I also agree that we are all free to make our own decisions, and spend our money as we wish.
But again, im curious as to what prompted that decision on a hunting gun?

[J.Baker]

Also should be noted that headspace gauges (just like dies) have a +/- tolerance. Also, I've run into factory ammo on numerous occasions that chambered a little stiff. This can be caused not only by tight headspace, but also long brass, or a bullet profile that's getting into the lands when chambered.

[Whynot]

Was just talking to a older gunsmith about this the other day. He was talking about how lots of custom people are making their chambers tighter and tighter with minimal headspace (because it's what the customer wants thinking it's better). He said that he built a hunting gun for a guy and that after a few weeks he brought it back to him because "it would almost chamber a no-go gauge." He said that he builds all of his hunting rifles to almost close on a no-go because it takes into account different brands of ammo and dirty hunting conditions. Also- just because a gun will chamber a no-go does not guarantee that it has excessive headspace. A no-go is the maximum sammi length- so it could just barely chamber it and still be good. But most people want them to not even come close to chambering a no-go.

[ShooterJ]

Hi Folks,

Had my .308 110 action timed and trued by a legendary Savage guru (no names, no pack drill). I sent in the barrel as well, so got the whole lot back presumably in good shape. Put on the stock and took it to the range, and..geez. It doesn't seem to accommodate ammo any more, I can barely close the bolt on factory loads. Also, if I rack the bolt too fast, the accutrigger safety mechanism jumps its stop and locks up the trigger, and I have to re-crank the bolt before I can shoot. Have ordered some go & no-go gauges as I figure I better redo the headspace, but is there something I am missing here?

Thanks,
Jon

Thanks for all the replies folks, and especially the offers of help. It turns out that maybe there isn't a problem.

I got a .308 "go" gauge, and the action closes on it just fine. It. turns out the ammo I was shooting was not .308 but NATO 7.62mm (I use cheap military stuff to get the sights on paper, and then hunting ammo for the fine tuning). 7.62 NATO is .005 to .015 longer in headspace - enough to make a difference... I never got around to trying 308 ammo because of the problems I had in the first few shots.

I also found all the threads about the trade-off between trigger pull weight and the Accutrigger tab, so will be fine tuning that to get a good balance.

Cheers
J

[ShooterJ]

I wasn't real happy with the accuracy out of the box, and the action was as rough as a bear's ass. I could get ok groups with the same ammo, but switching ammo was putting it right off the paper at 50 yards, which is crazy. Also I figure on this being a semi-long-range rifle (in the sense of maybe taking hunting shots out to 500 yards) so it seemed like a good idea.

[ShooterJ]

Well Jon:
Seems like you're NOT in the position to DIY SO, it's off to a smith for a touch up? Too bad you don't have a barrel "Nut" wrench so you could loosen the barrel nut and re adjust the headspace so you could chamber ammo. And not having a "head space" gauge, maybe a fired piece of brass? Adjust accordingly and see if a live round will chamber? (OUTSIDE, SO YOU DON"T BLOW A HOLE IN SOMETHING) At least that will get you up and hunting. Maybe somebody close by that's into Savage rifles? Just a thought.

Go gauge arrived today, barrel wrenches and no-go arriving next week. I figure I'm going to be into Savages for the foreseeable future, might as well have the tools. Not sure what gave the impression that I won't DIY.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

"Not sure what gave the impression that I won't DIY."???
I figured if you "had" a nut wrench in hand, you would have already backed the barrel off so you could chamber ammo.
Sounds like you've pretty much got it under control. :cool:

[yobuck]

So the legendary guru wasent the issue after all ? lol

[Dave Hoback]

Just think... had you this drive from the start, you could have saved yourself a buck & been right where you are now, LOL!

Ahh... well, I'm always happy to encourage DIY. Need to DO something for the first time before you can get good at it. Some of the guys here(who are professional Smith's), have been at it for several decades. I'm right around 20years when I started learning...tinkering. Around 15 years for major repairs/building. Never professionally though. Always just for me. Glad for ya.

[yobuck]

Just think... had you this drive from the start, you could have saved yourself a buck & been right where you are now, LOL!

Ahh... well, I'm always happy to encourage DIY. Need to DO something for the first time before you can get good at it. Some of the guys here(who are professional Smith's), have been at it for several decades. I'm right around 20years when I started learning...tinkering. Around 15 years for major repairs/building. Never professionally though. Always just for me. Glad for ya.
I guess my question to you would be if i walked in the door of your shop, would i be seeing a lathe big enough to chamber a barrel, and a milling machine, a drill press, a grinder, etc etc, or would i be just seeing a work bench with a vice and a small box holding a barrel wrench and a few headspace gauges?
I earned my living my entire life in the home building business.
Today a somewhat handy person can walk into a box store and bring home a new front door unit for his house.
And assuming he has basic skills he will install it easily in a day and it will look as though a professional did it.
But does that mean that he is a carpenter?
I guess in todays world it might?

[ShooterJ]

So the legendary guru wasent the issue after all ? lol

Nope, glad I didn't mention names...I must have acquired some sense in all these years.

[wbm]

+1