Posted: 1/21/2011 9:27:16 AM EDT
Finally got her finished and assembled, in amongst other jobs. If i,m honest, i,ve bust my gut to get it ready for the Newark show, and i still have more guns to finish for it, but wanted to be certain of this one.
Right and left hand shots. 
close up of the custom fluting 
action, bolt fluting, and custom knob. 
left side showing bolt release and name. 
Brugger and Thomet moderator. 
The rifle specs are as follows. Valkyrie short action with 20 moa rail and custom knob. Truflite barrel finished at 25" and custom fluted. 18mm x 1.5 muzzle thread to accomodate Accuracy international muzzle brake. Brugger and Thomet moderator on left hand thread. Jewell trigger. Nightforce nxs 5.5 - 22 x 50 in Badger rings. AICS stock, action bedded into it. Multicam duracoat paintwork to the stock. Barrelled action done in duracoat "Parker" and flutes on barrel and bolt picked out in tactical flat black. Hopefully get some rounds loaded up and a round or two through it on Sunday. |
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If it will outshoot my 6.5 x 47 then , yes John.
To be honest, i,ve built it purely as a demonstrator, to show the action, paintwork etc, when i,m out and about. I wanted to build a "true " tactical rifle. Its had the best of everything, so it ought to shoot. I intend feeding this the 139 scenar if it likes them. I like their BC. 
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Its a rem footprint Phil. The similarities end there.
Action is stainless steel, so is the .20 moa rail, and bolt handle and knob. Bolt shaft is chrome moly. Bolt tolerances are specifiable on order. It can have repeater tolerances or benchrest tolerances. A straightforward 2 lug design, with a sako extractor and rem ejector and firing pin assembly and shroud. Bolt is fluted for crap removal and looks obviously. The action has far more " meat" inside it than a remmy, none of it has been machined out for weight. The ejection and magazine ports are as small as possible to make it all stronger, but still allow normal function.The recoil lug is oversize and is pinned to the action at the 6 o clock position. Tenon is 1.072" x 16 tpi. Rail screws are m4 instead of the weedy yank threads on a remmy. Side bolt release. Serial number on the inside of the ejection port. This is to stop people machining the action down to remove names and numbers, and rebadging them as their own. Tactical bolt knob , or straightforward teardrop. Available in short action repeater, or single shot, in right or left hand. Available in long action repeater, or single shot, in right or left hand. Available in any bolt face too. Made in Yorkshire. |
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Quoted:
Stops people screwing remington, and aftermarket pre chambered shite onto it Mark . 
I will not support the butchers and messers in the UK industry. Sorry to tell you but that won't stop it. To do that you should've gone the other way. They can still screw a factory barrel in and it will be a little loose but will still work, and believe it or not, work well. It's a nice Looking action though but would look even better with Bradley Arms on it 
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I,ve seen that done too Mark, and you are right, they will nip up, and shoot. Infact, after seeing some of the absolute junk put together from different places, it never ceases to amaze me just how bad a rifle can be, and STILL shoot.
I made a token gesture really. The prototypes were 1.062" x 18 tpi. This would have stopped the idiots, but it also caused problems for me. I,m used to the 16 pitch, and how it "feels" in a barrel vise and wrench. The 18 pitch had so much more "give " in it. It was a nightmare to time up flutes accuratly with it. After half a dozen difficult, time consuming jobs, i changed the spec to 16 pitch, and pinned the recoil lug. That makes no difference to the customer, but a lot of help to the smith.Mainly from the bedding/painting viewpoint. |
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Personally I would've gone with integral lug as that would give a longer thread tenon and a STD thickness lug at that.
I don't see how a thicker lug can have any advantage as the guns don't beat the lug up that much, in my opinion. Also it makes for less work when fitting to the stock as the lug slot doesn't need modifying. Simple on a AICS but a pain on a HS, although slightly less so on a McMillan etc, but a pain none the less |
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Yep, quite true Mark. The reason we went with a thicker lug, is that all the aftermarket ones that are any good, ie, surface ground and holed for a pin....are oversized. I get them from PTG, however, i will be having them made here shortly.
Regarding a fixed lug and rail....watch this space.....the prototype will be unveiled at the Newark show....
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Today has been a perfect day.
I screwed up yesterday by coming home from the shop without any powder, or 139 scenar,s.
So it was into the loft to see what was there. Bugger all basically. I found a quarter pound of vhit 150, which was all i could find data for with a 123 grain scenar, which wasn,t going to be my bullet of choice. Anyway, i loaded 20 rounds up at the recommended starting load charge, which is something i never do. Late to the bloody range, and so was my mate !
Anyway, we put a target up at 100 and got the stick out. I decided to "guinea pig " this barrel, and give it a baptism of fire. I had cleaned the bore last night after what i would imagine would be one, probarbly two, proof rouinds. No copper came out. 
Onto the bench, brand new barrel, and action....and cold. I fired 5 rounds. The group is the bottom one on the card. 
I then shot the middle group . Then i let my buddy have a shot on another target, and he shot similar. I then shot the last group as we were due on range. The heat haze off the mod made it very difficult, and it is slightly bigger than the others. Quite honestly, i was astounded. The gun feels different to any i own , and shoots beautifully . Its slick, and recoil is very mild with the mod on. Either i have dropped on a pretty good bullet initially, or better may come with some load development. I really want to shoot the heavier bullets. I then went on to win the comp with the 6.5 x 47.
I,ve just cleaned the barrel. I swabbed the carbon out with KG, then soaked the bore in sweets for 15 minutes. Here,s what came out. 
First two patches are wet with sweets, the right hand patch is the first out after soaking. There is the tiniest trace of copper on all three. I,ve never owned a barrel that fouls so lightly , and only re-enforces my belief that Truflite are probarbly one of the very best barrels made. I,m pretty sure this gun will take over as my main comp rifle this season and expect great things from it. Sometimes things DO go right .
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