arizonajake
AH senior member
Well, I received my Remington 1917 rifle from Randy Selby (a.k.a. "The Real Gunsmith) about a month ago. What follows is factual, detailing what I asked for and what I received for the amount of money I paid upfront.
1. Action work:
The rifle feeds flawlessly. However, the magazine box was cut too low and there is a gap between its bottom and the mating surface of the bottom metal. This makes the box drop about 1/8 of an inch and causes the magazine follower to hang-up when loading rounds. As mentioned, no problems feeding. I will be taking the magazine box to another gunsmith to have the bottom edges built-up in 4 places, so it will fit properly and stay in place. No issues with the bolt. Randy did an excellent job of polishing and bluing the bolt. No issues with the Timney trigger.
The magazine follower would hang-up when pushing the bolt forward with an empty magazine. I had to file the rear ridge of the follower to allow the bolt to slide over it.
The bottom of the action was full of grease and the action screws were loose. I had to degrease and reinstall using blue loctite.
The barreled action was perfectly bedded into the stock. Excellent work.
2. Barrel installation:
The barrel was installed by Pac Nor and produces 1-inch groups at 100 meters. Typical excellence from Pac Nor.
3. Sights:
I had asked for a shroud-type front sigh with a hood and what I got was a cheaper, screwed-in front sight, with no hood, which came-off the barrel under recoil while I was developing loads. Upon inspection, I noticed that the screw holding the front sight only engaged 1 turn. The threads on the barrel and sight screw were oily. I had to find a similar screw 1/16' longer, degrease everything and reinstall the front sight using red loctite. I then noticed a gap bewteen the rear part of the sight's base and the barrel.
I checked the rear sight and the screws have remained tight.
3. Bluing:
The bluing is flawless. a rich, dark blue, somewhere between gloss and matte. No complaints here.
4. Stock:
The Richards Microfit stock was very well fished in boiled linseed oil and wood-to-metal fit is excellent. I had asked to have cross bolts installed and no cross bolts were installed. So far, no signs of cracks anywhere in the stock, after approximately 40 rounds fired, mostly from the bench.
5. Scope mounts and bases:
The action was tapped and threaded with larger holes/screws for Talley. Again the mount screws were loose and the action holes and mount screws dirty.
The say "you get what you pay for" and it is mostly true. In this case, however, the verdict is: CAVEAT EMPTOR.
1. Action work:
The rifle feeds flawlessly. However, the magazine box was cut too low and there is a gap between its bottom and the mating surface of the bottom metal. This makes the box drop about 1/8 of an inch and causes the magazine follower to hang-up when loading rounds. As mentioned, no problems feeding. I will be taking the magazine box to another gunsmith to have the bottom edges built-up in 4 places, so it will fit properly and stay in place. No issues with the bolt. Randy did an excellent job of polishing and bluing the bolt. No issues with the Timney trigger.
The magazine follower would hang-up when pushing the bolt forward with an empty magazine. I had to file the rear ridge of the follower to allow the bolt to slide over it.
The bottom of the action was full of grease and the action screws were loose. I had to degrease and reinstall using blue loctite.
The barreled action was perfectly bedded into the stock. Excellent work.
2. Barrel installation:
The barrel was installed by Pac Nor and produces 1-inch groups at 100 meters. Typical excellence from Pac Nor.
3. Sights:
I had asked for a shroud-type front sigh with a hood and what I got was a cheaper, screwed-in front sight, with no hood, which came-off the barrel under recoil while I was developing loads. Upon inspection, I noticed that the screw holding the front sight only engaged 1 turn. The threads on the barrel and sight screw were oily. I had to find a similar screw 1/16' longer, degrease everything and reinstall the front sight using red loctite. I then noticed a gap bewteen the rear part of the sight's base and the barrel.
I checked the rear sight and the screws have remained tight.
3. Bluing:
The bluing is flawless. a rich, dark blue, somewhere between gloss and matte. No complaints here.
4. Stock:
The Richards Microfit stock was very well fished in boiled linseed oil and wood-to-metal fit is excellent. I had asked to have cross bolts installed and no cross bolts were installed. So far, no signs of cracks anywhere in the stock, after approximately 40 rounds fired, mostly from the bench.
5. Scope mounts and bases:
The action was tapped and threaded with larger holes/screws for Talley. Again the mount screws were loose and the action holes and mount screws dirty.
The say "you get what you pay for" and it is mostly true. In this case, however, the verdict is: CAVEAT EMPTOR.
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