Model 111 Hunter in 338 Lapua Mag

Friend has one of the above listed rifles. He wanted me to mount and bore sight his Night Force 8 to 32 power scope for him. Got the scope mounted with medium height Night Force rings but ran into trouble trying to use my Bushnell collimator to bore sight the scope. bore spuds are too short to reach the barrel behind the muzzle brake (MB). Not a problem, remove the MB and then bore sight........NOT! The Muzzle brake appears to be screwed on in front of an AR style crush washer. I secured the action and tried removing the MB with an open end wrench on the flats. MB wouldn't budge but the barrel started unscrewing from the action! Barrel has moved approximately 1/2" totally screwing up the head space. The damned thing has the smooth barrel nut and that is still screwed up tight against the receiver face. Apparently a gorilla on the assembly line attached the muzzle brake. The crush washer is completely flattened. How do I remove the smooth barrel nut, pipe wrench and duct tape? I have a 338 Lapua Mag "GO" gauge coming but need to remove the barrel nut and replace it with a better slotted one.

Yeah,....mb's can be a pain in the azz to remove. Might have to soak it in a penetrating lubricant.

Pipe wrench with leather will remove the smooth nut, but unless he's opposed I would replace with the slotted. I think the 111 in 338 lapua is a large shank btw.

Clamp bbl in barrel vise and use rosin! then remove break. Although honestly I would leave it attached.

Secure rifle in lead sled or similar and remove the bolt. Stick a thumbtack in the wall and get it centered in bore, when looking through from the action. Then simply adjust crosshairs to tack. That will get you close. Or if you have access to a range use the target centered in bore to adjust scope.

Hopefully bbl threads are all in good shape. I can't believe you managed a 1/2" of rotation without the nut just coming loose!

[QUOTE=RustyShackle;416846]Yeah,....mb's can be a pain in the azz to remove. Might have to soak it in a penetrating lubricant.

Pipe wrench with leather will remove the smooth nut, but unless he's opposed I would replace with the slotted. I think the 111 in 338 lapua is a large shank btw.

Clamp bbl in barrel vise and use rosin! then remove break. Although honestly I would leave it attached.

Secure rifle in lead sled or similar and remove the bolt. Stick a thumbtack in the wall and get it centered in bore, when looking through from the action. Then simply adjust crosshairs to tack. That will get you close. Or if you have access to a range use the target centered in bore to adjust scope.

Hopefully bbl threads are all in good shape. I can't believe you managed a 1/2" of rotation without the nut just coming loose!

Yeah, I can't believe it rotated 1/2" and the nut or MB didn't budge. I use the vent stack on my neighbor's house that's 100 yards away from my shop. Center the bore on the stack and dial the cross hair. Gets me on at 100 yards every time.

Got the barrel straightened back out using a "GO" gauge to insure good head space. Still can't get the lousy smooth barrel nut or the muzzle brake to budge....