Proof that anyone can build an accurate rifle

[yorketransport]

It was finally time to pull the barrel off of my 338 SnipeTac rifle and retire it after 675 rounds. That's not bad for a barrel that was ABUSED far beyond anything a barrel should be subjected to! It shot .3 MOA at 600 yards with the first full power load I shot in there (140gr H50bmg and a 300gr OTM) so I just stuck with that load for the life of the barrel. I finally called it done when the barrel couldn't hold 1 MOA on my 1578 yard target.

When I went to pull the barrel, the first thing I noticed was how "gritty" the threads felt. This is what I found.
 

Those threads look like a spool of braided wire!  I'm pretty sure I could cut a better thread with a stone ax! LOL But how mad can I be, the gun shot great! And in the smith's defense, when he put this rifle together he hadn't slept in at least 36 hours and was running on a mix of Monster energy drinks and Tito's Vodka about 24 hours before he was deploying.

I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to do the rifle now. I may end up selling the stock/action to Biggerhammer to do something with. If he doesn't take it though I'm thinking about a 416 CT improved. I think I'm going to cut 8" off the breech of the old barrel and use it for a handgun barrel. It's a 30" barrel, so there has to be at least 18" of usable rifling left right?

[Dan-o]

That threading is AMAZING.

[Bushcraft]

Wowser!  What do the threads in your action look like? Any galling?

[j_h_nimrod]

To me it looks like a ss barrel removed from a ss action that was not properly lubed with an anti-sieze before install. Had this happen on a Ruger Super Blackhawk and some other ss to ss threads not properly lubed. Usually you can get an initial threading, but when unthreaded the galling goes crazy. Are the action threads likewise galled or still sharp?

[yorketransport]

The action threads look as good as new, of course it’s a Lawton action so you do have to take that into consideration. 

My guess is that the threads were cut without enough support for the barrel and at the wrong speed. That’s the only thing I can think of that would cause that much chatter. Or he was trying to cut threads during an earthquake. 

[jasnt]

Wow that’s rough

[huntandjeep]

Wow. I had a 18" Benchmark barrel threaded once for a suppressor , that looked identical to that. Smith told me it wasn't anything to worry about because you cant see it with the thread protector or suppressor on . Shop owner didnt agree with that and fired the Smith ,  bought me a new barrel and refunded the original price .

[yorketransport]

So just to cause some trouble, I sent the picture of those threads to the guy who butchered my 27 Boondoogle barrels. I him told that a barrel threaded with a stone ax by a guy who barely remembers doing the work shot better than the ones that he cut. Not surprisingly, the big name smith didn't think that was quite as funny as I did.

[Caseyd]

So just to cause some trouble, I sent the picture of those threads to the guy who butchered my 27 Boondoogle barrels. I him told that a barrel threaded with a stone ax by a guy who barely remembers doing the work shot better than the ones that he cut. Not surprisingly, the big name smith didn't think that was quite as funny as I did.

Truth hurts sometimes    

[mountainman]

So just to cause some trouble, I sent the picture of those threads to the guy who butchered my 27 Boondoogle barrels. I him told that a barrel threaded with a stone ax by a guy who barely remembers doing the work shot better than the ones that he cut. Not surprisingly, the big name smith didn't think that was quite as funny as I did.

Sound like a better smith is in order for both instances

[yorketransport]

Sound like a better smith is in order for both instances

I disagree. If the smith who cut the ugly threads was still in the business I’d send I’m all of my work exclusively. When he got home from the deployment he moved to the east coast and got into something else though. The smith who did my 270 barrels still ends up on everyone’s list of top Smith’s to use for a LR rifle.

Pretty machine work doesn’t make an accurate gun. Neither does a reputation or a name.