Newbie's first build: Model 14, lefty

Folks,

Newbie Mawgie here. I just joined the Brotherhood of the Barrel Nut, and am grateful for all the information here. I am in the middle of my first build, and will update this thread with pics for those interested.

Our surgical candidate is a really nice example of a left hand .308 WIN Model 14 American Classic, Accutrigger/walnut/blued. I am the original owner, but have never been thrilled with walnut/blued as a finish combination. (I had few lefty choices when I bought the gun.) After a brief period of mourning at the prospect of tearing into such a nice traditional deer rifle, I started ordering stuff, and away we go. My changes will include: new stock, pillar bedding, action bedding, Duracoat the metal, new bolt handle, new scope. (I have no professional affiliation with any of the companies/products I will mention in this thread. My thoughts are only to try and help members of the Brotherhood making choices similar to those I have made.)

To begin, after much research, I purchased a left hand Boyd's Prairie Hunter stock, fully inletted, laminate, pepper, with the Boyd's adjustable comb and a grind to fit Limbsaver pad installed. Ordering from Boyd's was easy using their online configurator, and the stock was delivered less than 2 weeks after I ordered it. Well packed. Here is a picture of the original gun disassembled, with the minty fresh new stock.

Here is a close up of the adjustable comb. It is not super long in terms of length, which might be a detriment to a dedicated range / tactical shooter. For me, looking to elevate my cheek weld in a hunting rig that will also be used at the range from 100-400 yards, I think it will work out great. The comb is very nicely integrated into the stock. It adjusts with two allen keyed bolts through the top of the comb. Really nice and neat. Very pleased with this $60 upgrade.

Overall, I am very happy with the quality of the Boyd's stock, especially for the price. The laminate has many plies, and is void free. The finish, while not super thick, is laid on pretty well for a production stock at this price. I am going to shoot it as is for awhile, and may refinish the stock in the future to suit personal preference. I am very happy with the inletting. The barrel/action/trigger assembly dropped right in with no clearance issues of any kind noted. Barrel floats free all the way to the nut. Check it out!

Looks good. First pics I've seen the adjustable comb option on a Prairie Hunter stock.

I am happy with the tang fit and finish. First, it floats, so I don't have to relieve anything underneath. Second, the stock has a fair amount of wood behind the tang before it breaks to slope toward the butt. I had anticipated wanting to reshape this, but after some time with the barrel/action test fitted, I actually like the way my thumb reaches the safety when in shooting position. So, for now I will shoot it as is. I may reshape it in the future, we shall see.

The Model 14 American Classic series comes with action pillars from the factory. Here is what the OEM pillars look like. I am not too impressed with the way the factory fitted the pillars in my gun. Ummm, aren't they supposed to be level with the stock surface to allow for metal to metal contact? I think I can do a little better than that, but thanks Savage for at least putting some pillars in. I should also note that this gun is an MOA to slightly sub MOA shooter in its from the factory configuration. (Here's hoping I don't make things any worse with my fancy upgrades!)

The first major step for me was pillar installation. For the pillars, I used metal spacers that I purchased from Lowe's (in the drawers in the hardware section). After reading up, I opted not to relief cut the rear pillar for trigger group clearance before installing it. I thought it would be more idiot proof to leave it whole, and then trim the installed pillar to fit with a Dremel after the epoxy set. For bedding, etc I used the gold standard Devcon 10110 two part industrial epoxy. There are bazillion tutorials on how to do this part, but in general summary: 1) enlarge the action screw stock holes to accommadate the pillars; 2) cut the pillars to length to ensure metal to metal contact; 3) score the pillar and the inside of the pillar holes to give the epoxy a toothier bonding surface; 4) apply release agent as required; 5) epoxy it up it up.

Some observations. 1) I used a thin diameter round file to deburr the interior of the pillars after cutting them to length, and to slightly enlarge the interior diameter of the pillars. You want the action screws to ride inside the pillars without touching the side of the pillars. 2) If you err, err on the side of cutting the pillars a tad long. They can be trimmed back down with a dremel or manually using sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. 3) Notching the installed rear pillar after the epoxy set to make room for the trigger group worked well for me. 4) I used the action screws to hold the pillars in place while the epoxy set. It seemed to me that the alternatives of wrapping tape around the action or clamping the action/barrel to the stock would introduce point loads that would differ from those of the actions screws.

The first picture below show the stock clamped in the drill press to drill holes for the pillars. The second photo shows the rear pillar immediately after installation, and before I notched out the area that protruded into the trigger group.

Here we are most of the way done with cutting the notch into the rear pillar. Patience and working slowly with test fits as you go will be rewarded here.

I see you're familiar with the Savage accuracy improvement tool (dremel).

Nice work. Good to see other lefties handiwork.

Here is the Boyd's stock mostly prepped for bedding. To fill the mag well, I cut a piece of cardboard a little bigger than the hole, press fit it in, then used plumber's putty to plug gaps.

Here is the action, now bedded. I used bowling alley wax, and had no problems with the release.

For the metal, I went with Duracoat in #5 HK Black. I purchased the aerosol can (two part) kit, which includes: 12 oz can of Duracoat; an aerosol can of Duracoat TruStrip degreaser; and a little piece of scrub pad.

For prep, I also bought a spray can of no residue brake cleaner, and deep cleaned thoroughly with that first. Then I scuffed all the metal, then I used the brake cleaner again. Then I scuffed again, and finally followed that with the Trustrip degreaser immediately prior to applying the Duracoat.

Use gloves for 100% of this process. Don't get any fingerprints on the metal. Also, use a serious respirator, rated for automotive paint. This two part Duracoat is nasty stuff, and contains isocyanates.

COLOR: The Duracoat color chart on their website is absolutely terrible. The #5 HK Black I bought works out to a deep, satin black. Not quite semi gloss in luster, and definitely not matte, either. It does have a little sheen, but not too much.

Application: it goes on fine, but tends to clog nozzles between coats. That is to be expected. Duracoat gives you two nozzles and I paid $1.50 extra to get an adjustable nozzle, which helped to save material. Laying on light coats is the idea, but you also have to get enough on to float a uniform layer of the material. I hung the barrel from a wire, so that got painted while hanging vertical. I painted the bottom of the magazine (after taping off the sides and internals) sitting flat on a piece of cardboard.

The pictures below tell the story. First the not great news. In an effort to avoid runs with the barrel hanging vertically, I laid the Duracoat on a little too light. It did not level out as well as it should in a couple of spots, which is my application error. Here is what it looks like. (Not to worry, it won't be looking like this for too long. Me no likey.)

Now, on to the much better news. When the application is correct, this Duracoat looks fantastic, 100% pro grade. Here is what the magazine looks like.

I am going to order another can of Duracoat and will recoat the barrel and action. From a foot away you can't see any imperfections, but I'd like to get it right! In addition, I note that the extended prep of cleaning and degreasing with brake cleaner then the Trustrip seems to have worked out well. Adhesion appears excellent everywhere.

The Duracoat appears very hard, and doesn't lay down super thick. The serial number and the barrel text are still perfectly legible.