I have been corresponding with Montana Rifleman, and I have decided to stop by their shop next week to order one of their barreled actions in a 300 Win mag. I am tentatively planning on using their Lightweight Sporter 24� barrel (3lbs/ Muz. Dia. .600�) rather than their Regular Sporter 24� barrel (3.25 lbs/ Muz. Dia. .625�), but I am not absolutely locked-up on this decision. Their action weighs approximately 45 ozs. This barreled action will cost me $836 plus shipping and handling. I am going have them put some low profile back-up iron sights on this project, which is going to cost me $10/tap hole plus the cost of the sights. Because of the muzzle diameter, I�ll have them use a barrel band front ramp sight. I have contacted a local smith in the Kalispell area, and he will do the minor inletting modifications and bedding of the McMillan Dark Camouflage featherweight Winchester Model 70 Classic stock that I will be purchasing for this project. This is going to be my new Metcalf scabbard rifle. At least, this is today�s excuse for having this rifle put together. CP.

http://www.montanarifleman.com/

Inspect you prospective puchase over very carefully with these guys, and be sure you're getting what you pay for. Sometimes the workmanship can be a bit iffy.

Waksupi, thanks for the heads-up. Because I have had a couple of bad experiences with project rifles, I was in part soliciting some comments with my post about this firm. If you have some �watch out examples�, I would greatly appreciate learning about them. Thanks again for your caution. CP.

[ 11-09-2002, 21:15: Message edited by: CP ]

Ric, are you referring to their barrels only, or to the other gunsmithing services? Have you used any of their barrels? I have four of them, and they have been fine.

Please post a report about the finished project. I am very interested in building a .338 Win and/or a .416 Rem on one of their actions. I would like to know about procedure--how do you go about starting one of these projects? Also quality and service. Would you prefer a Lilja barrel to the Montana Rifleman barrels? I am also very interested in accuracy, finished cost, ect. Any information you can provide when it is all said and done would be greatly appreciated.

I stopped by Montana Rifleman�s shop this week and had a chance to examine their action. Ruger manufactures the receiver and Williams produces the one-piece bottom metal (2 screws). Although the action incorporates many Model 70 concepts, it has a Mauser inner collar ring that eliminates the need for a barrel extractor cutout. The bolt fieldstrips easily. The tang area and the front receiver collar are beefier than what is found on a Model 70. Overall I found the appearance of the machining to be good to very good and the action to be very solid. Although they are just completing their first batch of barreled actions and really do not have a track record beyond their barrels, I still decided to give them a try. I ordered a 300 Win mag that I want them to build in January. It will have a 24� sporter barrel with a muzzle dia of .600� and 1 in 10 twist. I want the trigger set at 3.5 lbs and the whole Maryann to be bead blasted. The McMillan stock that I will order will be floated and bedded by a Smith that shares their space. I�ll certainly pass on how things work out for me. CP.

http://www.montanarifleman.com/index.html

They botched a couple gunsmithing jobs for me, and I know others here that have also had problems.

The Ruger #1 they rebarreled for me shot .4 inch groups with the first load I worked up for it. The bore was very easy to clean even for initial break in which leads me believe there was very little tooling marks. This is the only experience I've had with them but I was very pleased. Thinking about having them rebarrel a lefty bolt gun next.