Buffalo Creek Machine barrel vise/bushing and tikka action wrench review

[craigapphunt]

After some shipping issues, no falt to Kyle at Buffalo Creek I've received the vise, bushing and action wrench to swap my t3x barrel from stock 22" 308 to 20" threaded also 308. Appearance and feel of the tools is top notch. Review of the process and performance of the tools coming soon.

[craigapphunt]

I'll start by saying I paid for all the tools involved in this barrel removal and install. I am in no way affiliated with Buffalo Creek machine. This is my first time removing or installing a barrel on a rifle and I will say having quality tools for the task made it quite simple. The barrel vice and bushing worked great absolutely no barrel slip during removal (100 foot pounds torque on cap bolts). The bushing taper matches the barrel contour perfectly. Action wrench also performed great. It's an outside action wrench which bolts up just behind the front action bolt hole with just enough gap in the tolerance around the action for a piece of paper to be slid in for a barrier to protect from marring.
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[craigapphunt]

I used a short 1/2" drive breaker bar and most of my 200+ lb frame to break the stubborn tikka barrel free. My bench top had a fair amount of flex in it while i was wrenching on the barrel, I think the whole assembly bolted to a stiffer work surface would have helped some.

[craigapphunt]

Ok final thoughts. If your in the market for a action wrench and barrel vise I can highly recommend Buffalo creek machines tools. The design of action wrench so that it utilizes a 1/2" drive for a torque wrench is fantastic. The barrel vise and bushing design are super robust and are of great fit and finish. Price of the total kit was very competitive if not cheaper than with other options on the market and of better design in my opinion. Lastly, there was an issue after I ordered the tools where UPS seemingly lost or misplaced my tools after Kyle from Buffalo creek dropped them off with them. I received a shipping number but the package never tracked. Kyle contacted me after a few days and told me he had been in contact with UPS and was trying to figure out what was going on. After a couple weeks of no delivery or tracking number Kyle told me he was going to ship a second set of tools to me and he would eat the cost of the first set which he did. Flash forward another week or so and both packages showed up on the same day. My point being great tools made by a totally stand up guy at an attractive price. What's not to like.

[craigapphunt]

Forster "go" and "no go" were used for checking headspace after new barrel install. Bearing grease was used for the threads on the new barrel. New barrel torqued to 80 ft lbs.

[craigapphunt]

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