The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Gunsmithing Dear God, Why?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Why cant there be a decent gunsmith in Eau Claire that knows what they are doing? Is that too much to ask? Last week I took my daughters rifle into what I thought was a reputable looking gunsmith. I wanted to have the barrel taken off so I could install the the new brux barrel I had on order. Seeing that I didn't need the barrel and the whole thing was going to be Cerakoted later, I let them know that it was ok if they marred up the finish a little- just get the barrel off. Well, I got it back today and was less then impressed with their handy work. They informed me that despite their best effort, they were not able to get the darn thing off. I suggested making a cut around the receiver to relieve some of the pressure, should pop right off. If that didn't work he could chop the barrel off at the action and mill out the remainder. He didn't seem to think that a relieve cut would do any good and that chopping the barrel off would turn it into a SBR- turning him into a manufacturer. His suggestion was that I call Howa and see if I could send it back to the factory. My frustrations were further exasperated on the condition of the action. I realize that I gave the go ahead to ding it up a little but this thing was over the top. The action was blackened around the front of the receiver from where I assume they heated it up. Judging by how dark it is, I'm a little concerned that about how that affected the heat treat. Then, they had misplaced the bolt and bottom metal. Not a huge issue but I would have like to run the action to make sure they didn't crush or twist the receiver. I got a call about two hours later saying that they had found it. Its great that they found it and everything but now I have to go and make another unnecessary trip back over there. Having the barrel home, I hastily made the decision that I would try to take it off my self. I grabbed the hacksaw and carefully made a relief cut around the barrel to what I thought was thread depth. Afterward, I was able to twist it right off, no action wrench needed. "though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression." ---Thomas Jefferson | ||
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Howa barrels are one of the toughest to get off that I have worked on. I relief cut all of them just to make it easy, and I am a novice hobby smith. I think Howa uses Sumo-in-training as their barrel fitters. Sorry to hear your issues with this gunsmith, using the term loosely. I wouldn't worry about the receiver. It takes heating above 1000F for several hours to affect the heat treating on an alloy steel receiver. Jeremy | |||
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Yes Howas are installed by Igor/Bubba and won't come off. But parting them off works fine and then they unscrew by hand. As I have said, there are never any good local gunsmiths. They are all far away. Clearly they are hacks of the first order. | |||
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 Maybe it's the cold up here, but I never have any trouble with the Howa actions. I just toss them in the vise, put the wrench on them and pop them off. Odd. When I was a kid. I had the stick. I had the rock. And I had the mud puddle. I am as adept with them today, as I was back then. Lets see today's kids say that about their IPods, IPads and XBoxes in 45 years! Rod Henrickson | |||
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you're only a few miles from jim kobe | |||
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Once I actually bent a Howa 1500 sporter barrel trying to unscrew it. Grabbed the barrel about 7" in front of the ring. Lesson learned. Have done many since with no issues. Grab the barrel "short", as near the receiver as possible, make sure the action wrench is tight, and off they come. A little rosin juice (rosin mixed with denatured alcohol)and a sticky note between the finish and wrench and barrel bushing, and Bobs your uncle. | |||
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No point in risking a warped receiver. | |||
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Probably the altitude here, 'cause I've pulled dozens of those Howa barrels and never a one caused me problems. Move to a higher place, I guess. John Farner If you haven't, please join the NRA! | |||
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Eric has done good work for me. A bit north but a easy drive up 53. Eric Meitzner Gunsmith, Solon Springs, Wisconsin 715) 378-2211 | |||
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Because life just sucks sometimes... How about this one.. Me - "Can you perform this re-chamber job because some gunsmiths say its tricky and feeding may be an issue." Gunsmith - "No problem, I do them all time be about $250." Gunsmith calls - "Your gun is ready. BTW the bill is $200 more than the $250 I quoted you because it was hard to get it to feed and it only feeds the second round about 50% of the time but I figured you didn't want to spend any more on it so send me a check for $450 plus $25 and I will ship you the gun." Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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If you're ever in need again, I'm not too far away if you find yourself in the Tomah area. I would have taken it off for you while you waited and sent you on your way with just as much $ in your pocket as when you arrived. Shoot straight, shoot often. Matt | |||
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Your gunsmith is an asshole. | |||
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The worst are the local ones you trust with a simple job, a job that any decent practitioner should be able to do, and one that they tell you they do all the time, only to see them f*ck it up to a fare thee well, and then swear it was done right. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Thanks for the all the suggestions. I honestly thought that this was a job that was so simple, so bubba proof, that it couldn't be screwed up. I was wrong. I have learned my lesson. From here on out, I'm taking everything an hour west. "though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression." ---Thomas Jefferson | |||
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That's funny, sad but true. I had a similar experience with a rifle I shipped back and forth with a notable "smith" from AR fame here and a safety issue. The rifle would AD when you operate the safety quickly, he kept saying it's perfect I kept saying it would AD when you flicked the safety off. I ended up fixing it myself after watching a youtube video and spent 175$ in shipping plus his fees to fix it myself. | |||
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A buddy took a contoured/tapered barrel blank for a Shilo Sharps to a local long time smith for threading/chambering/installation. Went to pick up and found it with the skinny end at the breech. The smith's response (seriously),"Hmm... , ah, it'll be alright". And the thing is, the guy ain't a rookie. | |||
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If temperature really is something to do with it, perhaps you could put the barrelled action in the freezer; then take it out and warm the front receiver ring with a wet, microwaved poultice or two and try to unscrew the barrel. | |||
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