Hi Guys,
Hope you don't mind a few dumb questions from accross the pond here in the UK. It is likely that I will be moving to Alberta in early 2005 so I need to decide if I sell my custom 6PPC varmint rifle or bring it with me. The question is are there any good custom gunsmiths in Alberta or BC? The only one I can find on the net is The Prarie gun works - great guns but there must be more than one outfit like this in Canada?

Try www.rockymountainrifles.com in B.C.

I would suggest Ted Gaillard. He's in Saskatchewan, next door to Alberta. Someone else will have to give you his website though. I'm having trouble with my search engine and can't look it up at the moment. He's very good and does a lot of work for benchrest shooters. Any of you guys help us out here? Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Okay, I found it on a piece of scrap paper destined for oblivion.

Ted Gaillard
PO Box 68
St. Brieux, SK
S0K 3V0 Canada
Tel: 306 752 3769
Fax: 306 752 5969
website: www.shootingpaul.netfirms.com/Gaillard.html

Best wishes,
Cal - Montreal

By all means bring it with you. They are great for varmits and prairie dogs. There are a quite a few benchresters who shoot the 6 ppc. i have a switch barrel gun in 6 br Norma and 6 ppc. There are a handful of good smiths around the prairies. Prairie gun works,manitoba., Ted Gaillard,Saskatchewan., Dave Henry, Pud Stevenson,Ron Smith, Alberta. Smith and Gaillard make some of the best barrels that can be bought. Bill Leeper just over the BC border is another well known Gunsmith. Bring your rig, you'll be kicking you ass if you don't.

Ron Smith in Wimbourne Alberta is a great 'smith, and I'm hearing good things about the gent in Bently, David Henry I think his name is. The fellow who works for Proline in Calgary has put together some nice rifles (I was talking with him at the last gun show, but his name escapes me at the moment). That's all I know for quality work here in Alberta, there may be a couple more. Gaillard does nice work next door in Saskatchewan, PGW in Winnipeg, and there are quite a few good smiths in BC, some of whom post here. - dan

Hello again,
Thank you all for the information. Although it will break my heart to sell my custom 6PPC given the resale value of my gun (prices here in the UK are rediculus) and the current exchange rate of $2.35CAN to the pound my outfit complete with Nightforce NXS scope is probably worth $8000CAN. Now that will buy a whole lot of shooting iron in Alberta!

That depends on what you want to buy. $8000.00 will buy about 4 standard factory hunting type rifles with good quality scopes (and thats not high end european glass) on them here. Now if you want to buy a new custom rig to replace the one you have it will cost about $8000.00 by the time its rigged up and ready for the bench. Maby your getting Canadian prices confused with American prices.

You are probably on the right track. May be well worth your while to sell it and build new here. Do some shopping on the web of US and Canadian sites. Most US items are available here, just not off the shelf, and often at better prices (after exchange). Just remember that it can take time to collect the parts for a top notch rifle. There are Canadian bbl makers which are excellent and will often install what they make and by UK standards they are a real deal. For example MacLennan barrel installed $520 cdn or 220 squids at your rate of exchange. Try to match that in UK! Good stuff too! When you need a stock give us a call.

Thanks for the info Ian,
I am used to waiting my 6PPC which is on a Nesika action took three years to arrive from the US! Even if you have a gun built over here in the UK you are looking at a year at least, but then that sort of quality does not come off the shelf.
If I were to do it again or when I arrive in Alberta I think that I will either re-barrel a Remington or two or buy a SAKO 75 Varmint Stainless. I have one in .243 and it shoots 0.25 MOA with 87 V Max's, a friend of mine has one in 6PPC USA and it shoots as well as my custom rifle but at a third of the cost. Talking of re-barreling, that sort of work costs about �550 or $1300CAN here in the UK; you get the idea why I'm bailing out to live in Canada?

PS. How do you post pictures on this site?

Steve.

Have a look at http://www.cfc-ccaf.gc.ca/en/default.asp you should be able to get a licence by mail so you will be all set when you get here. You can buy most of the target actions off the shelf here and there are several custom action builders. Buying a Sako or other quality action as a place to start is a good idea to avoid waiting but you get stuck with a bbl and stock you may not want for a quality gun.