Couple of ELR builds (pic heavy)

**Rosco** · 12-12-2015, 01:44 PM

You are very welcome sir. You have a couple of great looking rigs there.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 12-12-2015, 02:19 PM

Thanks for the comments, gents.

Palmetto State Armory got the best of me last night and I bought an upper/lower receiver combo to start my 6.5 Grendel build too.

- .300 win mag, I'm waiting on headspace gauges, a limbsaver, and a crush washer to index the brake. I also decided that I'm going to have the brake, bottom metal, and mag bead blasted and blue them to match the action. I think this will accent the overall look of the rifle very nicely. Need to get the stock prepped & bedded, and then put everything together.

- .338 Lapua, got my action back from the smith. He trued up the receiver face, lugs, bolt head, lug nut, etc. Looks really nice and feels like butter. Just waiting on headspace gauges and the barrel to come in, then assemble everything. Also waiting on my brake from Allen Precision. Need to get some pictures of this rig - will do that when I get a chance this weekend.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so ADD and would just finish the projects that I already have going on rather than starting new ones while the others are still incomplete.

**TopherNJ** · 01-01-2016, 07:01 AM

Great thread, thanks for sharing.

I'm with you 100% on the new project before the old ones get done. I have way too many and have been fighting myself on a daily basis to not start anymore until i've finished what i have laying around.

Best of luck. I can't wait to see pics.

dividingfire · 01-04-2016, 02:25 PM

Looking great.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-17-2016, 06:52 PM

Alright, was able to make a bunch of progress this weekend. Lots of pics so we'll get right into it.

1) Was able to get the receiver on the mill and shave off the lip used to hold the blind mag box in place. Took less than 20 minutes all said and done and allows me to load to mag length or greater:

2) Also got the bolt assembly in last week, installed the Stockade 5/8 handle:

3) Also had the trigger guard, bottom metal, and mag blasted and coated black. Looks much better with the stock and receiver this way:

4) One last look before it all goes together!

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-17-2016, 07:00 PM

Barrel has been headspaced and the brake indexed. I somehow got lucky enough that the brake could be indexed without the use of a crush washer, so I think I'm going to leave the satin/flat SS finish for the time being. I like the contrast, but would be open to suggestions.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-17-2016, 07:02 PM

Also, on a slightly unrelated note, someone needs to keep me away from Cabela's for a while:

LongRange · 01-17-2016, 07:02 PM

That's gonna be a sweet lookin rifle!

LongRange · 01-17-2016, 07:05 PM

On second look THAT IS A SWEET LOOKING RIFLE!!!

And a RPR? Your gonna be devorced soon lol.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-17-2016, 07:06 PM

Up next will be putting the Rifle Basix Trigger in the .300 wm. Have a base on the way and then need to decide on optics. I'm thinking I may put a Swift Premier 8-32x50 on the RPR, and I may end up telling my dad to go the same route depending how I like it. Also in the running are the PA 4-14 FFP and Mueller Eraticator 8.5-25. Going to do some more research before making a decision.

Still waiting on the barrel from Pac-Nor to come in for the Lapua, but will update as I make progress! Looking to have all of these rifles up and shooting by mid March (around when the nice weather really starts making its way back.)

As always, thanks for following so far and keep the comments coming! Good, bad, and ugly... always looking for ways to improve, opinions, experience, etc.!

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-17-2016, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by LongRange

On second look THAT IS A SWEET LOOKING RIFLE!!!

And a RPR? Your gonna be devorced soon lol.

HAHA thank you sir. Luckily I'm young enough that I don't need to worry about that for a while. My gf knows that I have a problem but she accepts me for who I am. Guess that's how I know she's a keeper, lol.

dividingfire · 01-18-2016, 09:24 AM

It looks great. You did a really nice job with that one.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-18-2016, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by dividingfire

It looks great. You did a really nice job with that one.

Wouldn't have been possible without you good sir

Still have a decent bit of work to do prepping the stock and glass bedding it, but once it's done I'm thinking that it should be a tack driver.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-30-2016, 02:16 PM

Got my .338 barrel yesterday and had a chance to mock it up this morning. Still waiting on the new barrel nut & recoil lug, Manson headspace gauges, and AP muzzle brake, but she's coming together nicely. Planning to have this rifle (along with the others) up and running by the beginning of March.

**yobuck** · 01-30-2016, 06:17 PM

Originally Posted by WinnieTheBoom

Barrel has been headspaced and the brake indexed. I somehow got lucky enough that the brake could be indexed without the use of a crush washer, so I think I'm going to leave the satin/flat SS finish for the time being. I like the contrast, but would be open to suggestions.

Very nice Winnie, but i am curious what room that door leads to.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-30-2016, 07:27 PM

Hahaha it's just a big storage closet. Really convenient actually.

**Londerko** · 01-31-2016, 11:42 AM

Hey Winnie,
Kind of off topic, but how do you like that stockade bolt handle in the 300wm? I've been thinking about one, trying to decide between the 5/8 & 3/4".
Also, I noticed it's a flat top bolt handle on a round top receiver, it looks fine, but does he not make a round top bolt handle?

**WinnieTheBoom** · 01-31-2016, 09:18 PM

It's pretty nice. I usually like the BA or heavy tear drop bolt handles, but I feel like the Stockade looks a little more proportional to the type of rifle in this case. I actually ordered this one a while ago and just threw it on there because the factory handle was hideous. Ended up liking it enough to just keep it that way, but ideally it would be a round back. I think the size really just comes down to personal preference, I don't mind bigger bolt handles but they can get to be pretty gaudy sometimes.

I'm not sure if he makes a round top bolt handle... I'd just try giving him a call and asking.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 02-03-2016, 03:50 PM

Pics of the glass bedding job:

Let it sit for 24 hours, voila:

Almost cleaned up, still have a few spots to smooth out and blend but looking much better:

All in all, very happy with how it turned out. Still have a few areas to sand/file with the epoxy, orifices it shouldn't be in, etc., but it's getting close. Once I have that finished, I'll do some more prep work on the stock, re-stain, and then apply another tung oil rub finish. The stock looked like it had recently been done when I first purchased it (dividing fire did a nice job on it), but it has it's fair share of marks from laying around my work area, getting moved and played with a bunch of times, etc.

Waiting on the trigger and base to come in, then we'll get everything together and buttoned up ready for glass. Getting closer!

As for the Lapua, I'm still waiting on the headspace gauges and brake. Other than that, she'll be all set to go too. Looking forward to getting these bad boys finished up and out to the range.

dividingfire · 02-04-2016, 10:13 AM

That poor stock has been gouged and cut and inletted and scraped so many times I almost feel bad for it. haha

I'm really glad to see it finally get put to good use. Good job.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 02-04-2016, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by dividingfire

That poor stock has been gouged and cut and inletted and scraped so many times I almost feel bad for it. haha

I'm really glad to see it finally get put to good use. Good job.

Yeah, there were a few areas that were pretty bad. The main problem was the bridge that supports the rear pillar and action screw was cracked clean through. You could see it flex by putting pressure on each side of the pillar... I was lucky in that there was enough material to be able to install a wooden dowel with some Devcon 3500 psi epoxy to prevent it from getting any worse. Looks like it should hold pretty tight now, but I kept it in the wood vise for a few days just to be sure that it set properly. Most of the recoil is based on the front lug area, so I'm not too concerned about longevity as the epoxy is pretty serious stuff.

Between that and the glass bedding job, I think I was able to address any areas of potential weakness, at least for the time being. Once I'm finished with the bedding area and ensuring that the barrel is free floated, I'm going to sand and re-stain everything. Once that's done, I'll rub another tung oil finish on it and blend any of the older finish with the new. Should look pretty close to new once it's all finished up

**WinnieTheBoom** · 02-15-2016, 12:27 PM

Small updates:

Before staining:

After staining:

Bedding job all cleaned up:

Let it dry overnight, will get a few fresh coats of tung oil today. Going to do the barrel channel as well as some other areas that I sanded. Should be ready to be put all back together by tomorrow

The trigger, base, and new bolt handle should be here this week, and I found a steal of a deal on a Weaver Super Slam 3-15x50 that's going to get mounted on her at some point. This rifle will be ready to go within the next couple of weeks!

As for the .338... still waiting on headspace gauges (Manson is/was out of stock, so I'm waiting on another production run.) On another note, PT&G customer service is awful... I'll be taking my business elsewhere for tooling needs.

**WinnieTheBoom** · 02-29-2016, 11:37 AM

How about some finished product, eh?

At the range:

And the first 3-shot 100 yard group with factory ammo:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say she's a shooter. Still a few small things to fix. I need to change out the mag release spring to a heavier one as the recoil will sometimes drop the magazine. This usually happens with a full payload in the mag, but a heavier spring should do the trick. The other thing is there's just a tiny tiny area on the stock (or epoxy overflow) that's contacting the bolt release when it's fully compressed. This makes it a little more difficult than it should be to remove the bolt, but again, a very small fix. Overall I'm extremely happy with how the rifle has turned out!

Also, I got my Manson Reamers .338 headspace gauges, SSS barrel nut, and recoil lug. That will be getting assembled later this week, and then it's just a matter of waiting for my T4 Terminator brake to come in from New Zealand. Will be updating that process with pics as well, then it's off to the range!

dividingfire · 02-29-2016, 11:51 AM

Excellent job! I knew it would be a shooter!

**WinnieTheBoom** · 02-29-2016, 12:18 PM

Thank you, sir! It's certainly being used as it was meant to be!

Admittedly, my Razor Gen II is way too much scope for this rifle. Not only does it look a bit goofy, but it's big and bulky and makes what is otherwise a fairly lightweight rifle unbearably heavy. I have the order in for a Viper 6.5-20x42 PA, so that should be here sometime within the next few weeks from CameraLandNY. I think that should be about the perfect size and will really complete the look of this badass rifle.