9 replies to this topic

[kgunz11]

We got an order for a 6.5 Creedmoor so I thought I would document the build process to share with you guys. I use my personal time on the weekends to build rifles so it doesn't interfere with the pistol work that comes through the shop.


The components for this project include:
Surgeon 591 S/A
Brux 6.5 MTU contour bbl
Rifle Basix trigger set to 1lb 4oz
McMillan A5 stock
SSG DBM

The first step is to lap the lugs in on the 591 action to get solid contact on both lugs. After that is completed we take our action measurements to turn down and thread the bbl for the correct thread and tenon length.


Then, we chuck the Brux barrel up in the lathe and get it dialed in with less than 0.0001" runout. I use the Gritters method for this procedure and feel it is the absolute best way to dial a barrel in. I am NOT a fan of the range rod method. It seems you can dial a bbl in perfect with the range rod, take it out, put it back in, and the bbl wont be running true any more. All you've done is remove the range rod! I feel the method is flawed. Many accurate rifles are built using this method but the rifles I have been building are shooting around .25MOA so I'll continue using the Gritters method.

Once the barrel is dialed in we'll face off the chamber end to remove the makers markings on the bbl.

[kgunz11]

The next step is to cut the tenon to the correct length and diameter.


Follow that with threading.

Confirm action fit.

At this point, we will time the runout of the muzzle end of the bbl to the 12:00 position of the action. Because of the quality of the Brux bbl used in this build there was almost zero runout on the muzzle end. We do this step so that the high spot of the bore is pointing up and not way off to one side or the other.
Since the action doesn't require indexing, we can move on to the bolt nose recess, finishing that off with a champfer.

[kgunz11]

Now we are ready to begin cutting the chamber. Some people will pre-drill and bore the chamber in this process. Since I am using a piloted reamer and have dialed in the first 3" of the bore running absolutely true, I'm going to let the bushing ride the bore to cut a chamber that is 100% true from the bolt face to the throat where the bullet will enter the rifling.

Once the chamber is cut to a headspace of +0.001 we champfer the chamber mouth and polish.

Now we are ready to remove the bbl from the lathe and work on the muzzle end. Some barrel manufactures believe it's a bad practice to cut the lead inch of the muzzle off in the lathe using a cut off tool thinking that it can induce stress in the bore causing a choke point. Because of this we use a horizontal band saw.

The muzzle end of the barrel is then dialed in exactly like the chamber end. We do this in an effort to have the crown perfectly perpendicular to the axis of the bore. Since this rifle will have a brake on it, we measure the threads of the brake and turn down the muzzle and thread it after cutting the crown.

[kgunz11]

Since this particular brake require timing the action is installed and top dead center is marked.


The muzzle is now turned down and threaded 5/8x24 for the brake.

[kgunz11]

Now we dial in the outside diameter of the barrel to contour the brake to match.


The final step in the brake install is to bore out the hole through the brake with clearance for the bullet.
That completes the machine work on the barreled action. The bbl is then engraved and the barreled action is bedded into the stock. After the bedding cures we mount optics and take the rifle to the range.




Customer receives his rifle, fires 1 shot to zero rifle and then shoots this 5 shot .25MOA group using factory Hornady 140gr Amax ammo.

Recorded velocity was 2840fps.

I hope you enjoyed the thread. We've uploaded a few videos of this work and others like it to our YouTube page.
www.youtube.com/kgunz11

[J-Ho]

Now I need a new keyboard. I just drooled all over mine. Man, that looks great. I'm not big on camo but the group on the target is a thing of beauty.

[Mark R]

Man, that's a nice looking blaster Bobby. Thanks for sharing.

[R-Bros_JLR]

Nice work, and good writeup!

[warpspeed]

You make that look too easy.

[kgunz11]

You make that look too easy.

Thanks! I have a friend that builds rifles and he always tried to make it seem like there was some rocket science to building rifles. Horse wash! It's 100 times easier than building pistols.