Who is good at blueprinting a Remington 700? And what should I expect to pay.

Well I charge $400 to recut the face, lugs, threads and then final lap the lugs and bolt face. (More than some, less than others) But I don't work for Mercans no more because of all the boarder hassles. So I guess I'm of absofuckinglutely no help to you.

I'm still not sure that you really gain anything tangible by doing it either. I think the gains are largely theoretical. But I'm a whore and I'll do damned near anything for money. As long as it's legal!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEkuiriSees

It only gains you something if it was screwed up to begin with. Most Remington actions that I do now are a bit better than they used to be before the advent of CNC machinery. Most seem to need a very little clean up and I don't know if that's noticeable on a hunting rifle.

I just make sure the lugs both seat uniformly and lap them; I have one here now that is only touching on one lug; that is one cut on tape machines; not cnc.
Truing up the face is easy too.
I have reamed and sleeved the bolts too, but that is too much drama when you can buy a stiff, tight action for not much more than the labor.

Greg Tannel gretanrifles.com

He charges $250 for the basics.

Gretan is good. Also Southern Precision Rifles. $210 plus shipping based on their website. Their work is top notch.

Jeremy

Be careful, there is a lot of work that does not constitue trueing up. Some only make a cut actoss the face of the action and lap the lugs and call it done. When I do one, the action threads, lugs and face are cut in one operation. The bolt jugs, face, c'bore are also done at the same time.

Jim

I do it in conjunction with barreling for a total of $300.

Jims right. Some guys do a lot of work that is not only unnecessary but in some ways also damaging to the system. I have seen guys turn the outer dimension of the lugs, bolt nose face and the ring of the bolt nose. All of these dimensions should have free clearance from the dimensions set on the barrel and receiver so truing them is not necessary. On top of that removing any metal from the bolt nose is detrimental to the extraction system and can cause the nose to crack or the front ring to pull off on a hard extraction.

I also don't personally like it when guys automatically oversize the threads to .010 to .030 inch. Totally pointing up the threads is not necessary and is just reducing the strength of the front receiver ring. In most cases only .002 inch or less needs to be removed to clean up the diameter of the circle of the threads and straighten everything up

Another pet peeve I have with action truing is that I have had the opportunity to pull apart and double check a lot of actions that have been trued in the passed by other gunsmiths. The action threads are quite often not even close to straight. And this work was done by some (so called) top name people doing this. Its very simple to lock a stub of material in the chuck and turn a 1-1/16 x 16 TPI thread with a class 4 fit and no shoulder to cheat with and then screw the action on as far as you can by hand, insert a close fitting mandrel and check the runout at 10 inches. If you can't preform that simple test on each one you do and have it run under .005 inch at 10 inches there is obviously something wrong with your system.

I'm the first to admit that it will never thread on exactly the same every time. Trigonometry is not in our favor. The thread extension is too short, the threads are to coarse, it's a V type thread and there does have to be some clearance. But when you get readings of .015 to .030 inch of runout at 10 inches from the action face, something is not right. That's .001 inch over the length of the thread.

But that's just me having a hissy fit again.

If you make your test piece at the proper pitch diameter for your threads, then cut a thread with a thirty degree tool (set your compound at 15 degrees), you can produce a thread which will ride right on the face of the female thread with no interference from root or top. If you prefer, you can cut just past the minor diamter with the 30 degree tool then cut with a 60 to produce the contact surface. The important thing is to be sure there is no interference at the top or bottom of the thread. This should give you a fair check on the true axis of the thread.
A quick check can be made by simply using a mandrel with a centered bore and inserting this into the receiver and having a look through the barrel or through a barrel stub which is known to be straight. I have seen a couple through which I could not see daylight. If there is a significant agular misalignment, that could be a problem but if the thread axis is just eccentric to the bore of the action, it is harmless, within reason. These sorts of things are, of course, more critical in a short range BR rifle where everything matters.
When it comes to hunting rifles, feeding, extraction, ejection, and a consistent cold-bore point of impact, are more important than precision alignment. A 1 inch rifle which always works will get more game than a 1/2 inch rifle which fails to feed, extract, or eject. Most elk won't allow a sighting shot (actually, most of them won't even allow me a good look!). Regards, Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Woodhits:
Greg Tannel gretanrifles.com

He charges $250 for the basics.

Don't know what his lead time is now, but before he moved over the hill, it was about a year. Top notch guy, but overkill for a what you want. I would try to get someone like Tom to do it, and have it back PDQ.

Overwhelming response thank you all for the great info.

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:

quote:

Originally posted by Woodhits:
Greg Tannel gretanrifles.com

He charges $250 for the basics.

Don't know what his lead time is now, but before he moved over the hill, it was about a year. Top notch guy, but overkill for a what you want. I would try to get someone like Tom to do it, and have it back PDQ.

A couple of months ago it was down to 10-12 weeks, not sure what it is at the moment.

I wouldn't waste time and the money.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
I wouldn't waste time and the money.

Damn.

The right answer.

Proof below:

416 Remington, 400 grain Woodleigh, 200 yards.

All I did to the action was to face the front ring and lap the lugs.



I do not think we need more in a large caliber hunting rifle.

If I did not flinch it would have been one ragged hole.

quote:

I wouldn't waste time and the money

Too many excellent clones on the market if you need a super accurate target rifle. On a hunting rifle it is just overkill. Kind of like putting a blueprinted engine in the car your wife takes to the store. Does it hurt anything no. Does it really give you anything other than bragging rights. Not in my opinion.

All that said if you want to do it to your rifle please do.

Call me crazy or OCD but there's not a chance in hell that I'd spend the money on a great barrel, and the work associated with installing it, and forego an action tune-up..
It would just be an itch that was never scratched!!!
I do agree that not all actions benefit from it but you just don't know unless you do it. It's mostly done to find the outlier. ie: The odd one that can be helped.
Zeke

Zeke, that is precisely why I do it on every Remington 700 I rebarrel. It's easy, doesn't take long and so why not? I see it as doing the best I can for my customers.