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These are some pics Mark Penrod sent me as he works on my rifle. These are scanned polaroids ( he had film approching expiration and needing to be used up) and a bit on the low res end of things. Still I thought some of ya'll would find it interesting. The Action is a mid-90's Winchester 70 Classic. Orginal chambering was .300 Wby mag. It will still be a .300 Wby when he's done. Opening the bottom of the action for Blackburn's #4 magazine box  Squaring the receiver face and re-threading the action. The threads were cock-eyed as it came from USRAC  New bolt handle ( .22 BR stock in background)  Next two pics are Shaping the tang   Kreiger barrel fitted, action & bottom metal bedded to a Echol's Legend stock.  Link to larger photo: http://myweb.cableone.net/dSmith-45/penrod-6.jpg From here It's fit the small parts, trigger group, time the safety, Tally bases etc. Blue the metal and paint the stock. IF he sends me more pics I'll post them up. I should have the rifle the end of July/beginning of August. | ||
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That new bolt handle is gorgeous!!!! P. S. I am just curious. Did this rifle shoot poorly due to the crooked receiver threads? What was the best you could get it to do before you had the work done to it? | |||
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Always like it when somebody steps in the right direction.  Do give us a report about the gun and your thoughts about the stock later on. If yuro'e corseseyd and dsyelixc can you siltl raed oaky? | |||
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Love that bolt handle!  Doug Humbarger NRA Life member Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club 72'73. Yankee Station Try to look unimportant. Your enemy might be low on ammo. | |||
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DSmith.45- I, like 22WRF, love that bolt handle. Is that a Jerome Glimm handle or is that from Penrod? .300 Wby a great caliber let us know how she shoots. How's the weather in Bells? Probably the same as San Antonio this time of year. May the wind be in your face and the sun at your back. P. Mark Stark | |||
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Dennis, looks great. It is really nice to see it getting close for you and to think you will have plenty of time to work up loads for the upcoming season. I just dropped mine off at scrollcutter's yesterday for the engraving and will be picking up the stock this week. I was lucky, I got to shoot mine while it was still in the white, before I had the engraving done. | |||
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I'm not sure what bolt handle that is. I'll ask him and get back to ya.  I specified the Blackburn mag box/Bottom metal, Tally detach ring/bases, and the Legend Stock. I told Mark for everything else to use the parts HE likes to work with.While not quite as blazing hot as San Antonio we do have higher humidity here. IF there is anything needing done in the yard ( like today!) it's best to try and have it done by 10 am. | |||
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Actually I never shot it before sending it off. My orginal plan two years ago was two rifles. A .270 Winchester and a .338 Winmag on pre-64 actions. However things kept coming up preventing me to save for the second gun. I stumbled across this M70 classic in .300 Weatherby at a local gun show for $450 I'm familiar with the Wby cartridge as I already had one in a Mark V rifle. Seemed like a good compromise between .270 flatness of shooting and .338 energy on game. Anyways, it was two or three weeks form the time I bought the used rifle to shipping it out to Penrod. | |||
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Thanks, Jimmy! Won't be as fancy as your .264 ( I love the barrel on that rifle) but it will get the job done I'm having difficulty sleeping, knowing I'll have it here shortly. | |||
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Dennis, I remember well when we were both getting started on these projects. At that point you already had the pre-64 270 and we were trying to find a mag bolt face gun for your other gun. I think you made a fine choice and the work on the tang is outstanding. I don't know Mr Penrod but it seems from what other have said, his work is first rate. I;m sure it will be a shooter for sure. I also went with the Talleys and like them, one thing to do, is to de-burr the inside of the rings. They seem to have sharp edges and will cut and scratch the tube of your scope. I look forward to seeing the completed project and try to get some sleep  | |||
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I was at Penrod Precision this afternoon to drop off a Remington Model Seven to be reworked into 250-3000 (or 250 Savage, which ever you prefer). Had a very good visit with Mark who showed me this beautiful Win 64 which he was working on. Later he showed me the pix which he sent you. It is even 'prettier' than the pix show. You will love the rifle and his work on it. Congrats!! | |||
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Sorry, that was a Win Model 70... | |||
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OK new pics from Mark. Bottom metal on a jig for polishing  Built up and checkered bolt release, also shows how the trigger was narrowed & re-profiled to more of a pre-64 style  More on the bolt release and how the new tang shape sits in the stock  One more of the trigger and of the bolt handle  At this point the trigger is repinned with an oversized & hardened pin and done, the safety timed. Mag box work is done it holds four down of .300 Weatherby + 1 in the chamber if needed. To me it looks almost done. However Mark reports there is still quite a few things to do. The devil is in the details, as they say, and Mark seems to be very detail oriented. Still not getting much sleep, Jimmy | |||
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Thanks, Allen! Not just for the compliment but for answering many 'what if' questions from me and for putting me onto Mark in the first place. Have to chuckle though at your mistaken ID of the stock. You own three or four of them yourself but direct from D'arcy. | |||
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I'm just jealous now  Welcome to the forums, Wil ! | |||
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Some new pictures from Mark Penrod today. The rifle is finished and I assume testfired since the teh bolt is re-jeweled. He told me he does this after test firing. Here's the bolt:  Some general "beauty shots"     | |||
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Congratulations...I'm sure it shoots as well as it looks.  | |||
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Thank's for posting... that's a nice business-like rifle! | |||
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Sensible, useful changes. A real hunting rifle rather than a glossy ego piece. Enjoy! RELOAD - ITS FUN! | |||
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Very nice indeed !! | |||
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Dennis, very nice rifle. congrats | |||
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Patience sure pays off!! That's a really nice piece. Let us know how it shoots. FiSTers... Running is useless. | |||
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Looks like a great rifle. You are a man with fine taste. I've dealt with Mark and he's a great guy and superb riflesmith. | |||
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Damn nice and now ya can get some sleep   | |||
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Dennis, Congratulations, very nice. Thank you for sharing, Roland | |||
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DSmith.45: That is good looking and well concieved rifle. I'll be it feeds perfectly and won't cost 10 grand either! I especially like the bolt handle. Who makes it please? Also, what contour is the barrel and what do you expect the finished weight to be without the scope? Thanks, Jordan | |||
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Very nice! | |||
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Thank you all for the kind comments. Penrod shipped the rifle Monday so I should have here the latter part of the week. Still don't know who made the bolt handle. As seen in the pics it's put on a bit staighter, or rather, with less sweep than the factory bolt. I like it the look of it. I'm sure I'll like the feel as well. The contour is Penrod's own. I believe Mark gets plain blanks from Krieger and machines the contour on his own. It's .635 at the muzzle, 26" barrel. I didn't specify a finished weight. I'm not sure if Mark weighed it before shipping. I seriously doubt I'll weight it when it arrives. It weighs what it weighs. I don't get caught up in the weight of the rifle . Thanks again for the comments! | |||
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| <allen day> |
Dennis, I love your rifle! If I were having Mark build another one for me, those are the exact-same features I'd have him put together down to the last detail. VERY few riflesmiths could have created a synthetic-stocked rifle as rich in quality details, precision, or finish. Your project is a demonstration of riflebuilding done right. You and Mark worked together, and you came up with a functional rifle that also carrys a lot of style and class. Synthetic-stocked rifles don't have to look like just another piece of machinery, and all of this trend toward things "tactical" really leaves me cold. In many ways, your 300 Weatherby is the best of all worlds, and you built it without compromise. Good work, now it's time to go hunting! You and I ought to team up on another antelope hunt, then I'll get to see that rifle in person! AD | ||
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Bolt handle is a McFarland. Mark has Krieger contours his barrels to Marks own contours. The rear reciever tang is contoured to Gene Simillons contour, with Genes blessing. | |||
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Had someone inquire about the rifle via the PM system. I was going to ask Allen to join the conversation but that is not possible with the board software. I went into a little more depth concerning the work Penrod did and thought the open forum might like to read it as well. Actual moeny amounts removed for the open forums.
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| <allen day> |
Dennis, for one thing, Echols' magazine box system is milled from thick, heat-treated stainless-steel, and it's otherwise a bit different from Blackburn's. You can only get Echols' box on his rifles. He uses Burgess bottommetal, not Blackburn's, and you can't get this unit anywhere else. His scopemounts are entirely his own, and are of one-piece construction. The lower ring-halves and the base are one integral piece, and the rear base is held down by three 8X40 screws. You can't get these anywhere else. I don't know all that Mark does with the action internally, but Echols blueprints the entire receiver, including the bottom of it; welds up a portion of the ejector slot and remachines it to help stiffen the action; opens up the factory scope mount holes AFTER the receiver is blueprinted to line up perfectly with the centerline of the bore; remachines the locking lugs and lug seats, then laps them; replaces all screws, pins and springs; completely re-times the safety/trigger system; machines a graceful scallop in the bolt sleeve to eliminate the slap of the safety when it's released, narrows the trigger to pre-64 M70 dimensions; and installs a checkered bolt release. There's more, but I can't name everything else off the top of my head He also completely breaks-in the barrel, tests for accuracy and the most suitable loads, both factory and handloads, etc. He never sends out an untested rifle that he isn't 100% sure of in every way. A significant portion of the cost of these rifles goes into the range work that D'Arcy puts into them. Lots of hours...... On rifles chambered for 300 Wby., he will throat the barrel for use with Weatherby factory ammo if the client wishes him to. I'm not going to list any prices here..........it might create an international incident. AD | ||
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I'm sure that you will be absolutely thrilled with your Penrod Rifle. I've had Mark build me two rifles (so far) a 338 WM and a 416 REM and both have been real shooters. His craftsmanship and quality is outstanding. Congratulations on your good sense in choosing Mark to build your rifle.  Jeff | |||
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| <allen day> |
Dennis, I echo what Jeff has said. Your 300 Weatherby is a lifetime/multi-generational rifle that can be used with prefect success in any hunting field of the world with zero problems and superlative performance. I think Mark offers the most value, the best quality and workmanship, and the best rifle for the money that is available from anyone. Plus Mark has a sense of style and class that is matched by very few riflemakers.... I have 280 Rem. metalwork -- a full-house effort -- that Mark recently finished for me, and I'll try to get it posted to this forum ASAP. A lot of guys will be surprised with it, that I promise! AD | ||
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I am very impressed with the rifle and thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie and REAL rifle knowledge demo'ed on this thread. I would like to have a rifle like that in .338 Win., especially if someone built a rear Talley style base, incorporating an adjustable ghost ring sight and then fitted a barrel band plus Euro post front sight, this with two sets of Burgess rings and two Leupys. It is a hell of a rifle and I am happy for you, good luck with it in all your future hunting! | |||
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Thanks for the quick & thorough reply, Allen. Not trying to turn this into a Echols v Penrod thread. The question was asked & I didn't know. Not sure myself what all Mark did to action outside knowing for sure he had to recut the receiver threads on my particular rifle. I would hazard only Mark himself knows for sure what all he does on his blueprint jobs. With my rifle the trigger was repinned with a larger, hardend pin, the face narrowed and contoured to go with Blackburn's bottom. I specified the Blackburn BM as well as the Talley mounts. I have a straight six power Leupold ordered that will be backup to the 3.5-10x40 mounted in the pics. I know the safety is timed perhaps not in the way D'arcy does it but should be a damn site better than off the rack USRAC. Mark test fired it and I believe is including a test target. The bulk of the barrel break in is left to me which should take place Sunday, weather permitting. I sure quite a few touches are there that wasn't necessarily spec'ed out in the work order. I agree about the international incident .......I would like to get back out to Kirk's for the '07 pronghorn season for sure. Maybe '06 but I doubt it as of right now. Thanks, again! | |||
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WEll. I don't have kids of my own just a nephew that's going to be really really lucky after I pass to get this rifle. Totally agree with the second paragraph. Very good value, indeed. Looking forward to your .280 pics. | |||
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| <allen day> |
Kute, that's one of the strong points of what Penrod is doing. Mark will build mounts for detachable rings, special open sights, etc. -- just about anything you want. D'Arcy will include all the bells and whistles that you want on his 'Classic Grade' rifle with a walnut stock, but not on the 'Legend'. For example, you can get either open sights or fixed scopemounts on the 'Legend', but not both -- at least not anymore. I have one of his early 'Legend' rifles in 375 H&H, and it has EAW open sights plus detachable rings from Tom Burgess on bases D'Arcy made himself from specially heat-treated steel. You can't get a 'Legend' that's setup with way any more, in part because D'Arcy strongly prefers Burgess detachable rings, and those just aren't available very often. They're as scarce as hen's teeth. I found the Burgess rings that went on my 375 H&H (two sets) in-the-white from a gunsmith in Idaho, and felt lucky to have acquired them. You'd be amazed at how many guys come to my place and fall in love with that 375. I wouldn't sell it for anything....... But if you wanted to send Penrod an action, a set of Talley detachable rings, and instructions as to what sort of open sights you want, he'd build you about the same rifle as my 375 H&H. AD | ||
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