Gunsmiths

[lyonch]

I am looking at having some work done on my rifle and really dont trust your standard gander mountain or scheels gunsmiths. There is one guy in minnesota that i know has done a lot of custom rifles and is really good at what he does but am unable to find his number. He is located in new london / spicer area in minnesota. I know his name is Pat Laib (sp). What i am looking at doing is putting a custom barrell on it and then having a different trigger put in. Who do you guys use for work like this?? I know there are a lot of good gunsmiths out there and would like to use someone who i can trust and if it doesn't work to what i want i can bring it back and have them correct it in a timely manner. I'm open for a lot of opinions on this.

[Dcoy]

Chris,I'm a bit out of touch in Mn nowadays but here's a couple points.
First Pat Laib is right on Highway 23 as you are entering Spicer from the north.Very good guy who's specialty used to be shotgun work but now does everything.He's 'grown'and I believe has a few guys working for him now so I'd stop and chat about who would actually be doing the work there first.Again though,a very nice guy.
Right in St Cloud you have Silver Spur Gunsmith-Pete klowkowski or something like that.Pete is a good ol boy that is meticulous in the work he does.I personally have never had him do much more than trigger work but a friend recently had him build a 22-250 and is very happy with it.Again,a good guy(talk an arm/leg off you though )but I don't know how active he still is or anything about his prices.I'd guess he's reasonable though and with his closeness to you,likely worth a visit and chat.
Good luck!

[Dcoy]

Chris,
Was just talking to a friend in Willmar.Its now called 'Laibs Gunsmithing LLC and Custom Guns'or something like that.(320 796 2686).
The other is Pete kloskowski(320 252 4208).

[lyonch]

Thanks a bunch Dcoy

[Pilgrim]

Chris,

What barrel make(s)?

Many barrel makers will do the complete install (fit/ thread/ chamber/ crown/ finish) for much less than the alternative of gunsmith + buying the barrel. Consider that even the gunsmiths themselves often go this route when piecing a custom. It will cost you to ship but the savings are significant and the barrel makers can do this stuff in their sleep, though hopefully not in your case.


Replacing a trigger with a quality trigger is simple. I did my first in less than 2 minutes, removal time included. Factory triggers often require some monkeying around but adding a Shilen, Timney, Jewell .. are ready-to-go with no fine tuning out of the package. Just adjust for pull weight by turning a screw. Otherwise should cost $25-30 for the work.

[lyonch]

i am looking at putting on a stainless steel select match grade shilen barrel and a jewell trigger. Would shilen adjust the barrell to have the proper head spacing and all that good stuff?? I would be more than willing to send it to someone but my only concern is that if something isn't quite right a gunsmith is right there to tweak it for me. I have a really stong mechanical background but just dont have the proper tools to get it done. If the trigger work is that easy im sure i can do that myself. For you guys who know jewell triggers, should i get one that has the safety prebuilt with it or should i get the one that i need to pull the safety from the factory trigger and put it on the new jewell trigger?

Another question i have for everyone is what twist rate i should run. After reading some literature on shilen barrels it seems with the load i shoot 52 grain sierra HPBT at 3,850 fps that i should be running a 1:14 twist rate. That twist rate is only good at stabalizing bullets up to 55 grains. I dont think i will ever shoot heavier than that since this gun will be specifically used for coyote hunting. Also i have a custom thumbhole gunstock on it right now. Would it need to be rebedded and floated?? The stock is floated for my bull barrell right now.

Also what are the chances that i will have to rework some new loads to satisfy the new barrell??

[Tim Anderson]

I was to the gunsmiths place a long time ago when i was first getting into haveing a custom gun built. The place in Spicer looked more like a repair shop than a custom shop so i never went back. A friend told me about SGR custom rifles located in Westbrook MN. about 30 miles from my house.. I went to his shop and saw right off the bat this is the guy for my project..
SGR has his own web site and his prices are reasonable. he does good work.. The owners name is Stan Ware and he also shoots BR matches and builds match rifles for custmers from all over the U.S...
You just need to tell him what you want built and what you are going to use it for. Give him some of the details like cartridge and what bullet and he will get the barrel with the right twist.. I think i have around 12 rifles built by Stan and have not had any problems with his workmanship.. Check out his webb site or just give him a call.. On another note he won't try to sell you anything you don't need done..

[lyonch]

Thats good to know!! Thanks TA!!

[Tim Anderson]

If you rebuild you may need to have the gun glass bedded again, if so you could have it pillar bedded , its a much better platform for the action to sit on. As with most barrels you may get lucky and be able to use same load or you may have to come up with a new load instead, no guarantee.
The safety lever shouldbe interchangable with the new trigger..
A gunsmith can help you with what barrel twist to use..from exsperiance..

[Tim Anderson]

Also if you are going with a 22-250 you may want to think about going with the ackley version. You get a little more gain in vel. about 200 FPS maybe a little more and you can shoot factory loads in it also..

[LeviM]

Whats it take to convert your existing rifle to an ackley?

[Pilgrim]

If Shilen, a local gunsmith is cheaper. If you pay for barrel fit work than it's ready to shoot when you get it back. The only thing they don't do is finish the exterior although a stainless won't need finishing prep. No 22-250 here but I'd go 1-in-14" if I owned one.

If re-barrel of a prior bedded action then no re-bed needed since everything new is forward of the recoil lug. Your barrel channel may need some inletting to free float but you can determine once it's all done or get an idea in advance by noting the Shilen contour dimensions.

Trigger can use the exisiting safety although complete triggers sell easily online so know you can recoup $30 versus the difference in price.

[Pilgrim]

Tim made a great point.

I'd be all over the Ackley! All you'll need is a new barrel chambered for 22-250 AI. Same receiver and bolt face.

[lyonch]

I will take the ackley into consideration for sure!! Im hoping to get this all done this early spring so that i have all summer to shoot it i am going to have to do some more research but i found a jewell trigger online with the safety and free shipping for 190 bucks!! I will be contacting shilen soon and see what they can do for me and some gunsmiths to see what it would cost to have this all done!! I will definitely be keeping everyone updated and and still open for any other ideas or opinions

[Tim Anderson]

[quote][Whats it take to convert your existing rifle to an ackley?/quote]

The smith will have to run a ackley reamer through it and rethread and set head space. There are smiths that will do this but there is'nt a guarantee on how it will shoot.
The problem is depending on how much throat wear you have. On the end of a reamer there is a bushing with bearings that holds the reamer in place, keeps it centered while reaming out the chamber.. If there is too much wear in the throat then the reamer will bounce around and not cut the chamber straight.
My gunsmith has done this from time to time but like i said there is no guarantee. First off he would have to look at the throat and see how much wear there is and then can determine if it canbe done. If you only have a few hundred rounds through the barrel then it is possable, if its questionable then he would recomend you go with a new barrel. You wouldbe money ahead if the other way did'nt work out..