7mm PRC Project

[Legionnaire]

Thanks. Netted another $50 from selling the original stock, so now I’m $370 in for the barreled action.

ETA: Guess I need to add back in the $20 my smith charged me to pull the barrel ...

 

[Legionnaire]

Nine weeks since placing the order for the barrel.

"The waiting is the hardest part." -Tom Petty

 

[troy fairweather]

Nine weeks since placing the order for the barrel.

"The waiting is the hardest part." -Tom Petty

There growing it in someone's belly, may take a while lol. Still can't believe the time it takes, I'm sure big orders get priority.

 

[Legionnaire]

Contacted McGowen today to see if they could give me an update. Turns out their QC guys wouldn't pass my barrel so they're building another. Don't like the delay, of course, but very pleased they caught whatever the problem was and decided to start over.

 

[troy fairweather]

Contacted McGowen today to see if they could give me an update. Turns out their QC guys wouldn't pass my barrel so they're building another. Don't like the delay, of course, but very pleased they caught whatever the problem was and decided to start over.

They say what the problem was?

 

[Legionnaire]

They did not.

 

[Legionnaire]

Update: Just paid the balance due on the barrel. Should ship shortly. Maybe I'll be able to build a rifle this weekend!

ETA: Looking like Monday delivery. Oh well.

 

[Legionnaire]

Barrel arrived! Spent some time this evening assembling the barrel to the action. Stuck it in the vice just to hold it firmly.



Here's the business end, with the wrench and barrel nut in place,


After lining everything up and torquing down to 40 foot pounds.

Go gauge ...


No Go gauge ...


That's as far as I'll get this evening. Before I install the bolt stop and trigger assembly, I'll need to do some work on the stock. As anticipated, I'll need to relieve for the barrel nut. However, the barrel channel will also need to be opened up a bit. The Remington magnum contour is too fat for it. That's a setback, but the weekend is coming.

 

[Hugger-4641]

Very nice. Love that stock.
You've got me considering a build instead of just buying factory rifle. Can't wait to see it finished and groups you get with it.

 

[Legionnaire]

Installed the trigger. Last thing to do before I work on the stock this weekend.

 

[Legionnaire]

Disappointed that the inletting tools I ordered from Midway didn't arrive this week; I should have paid for expedited shipping. In any event, I was able to rough the barreled action into the stock using tools on hand. I took just enough material out to get a trial fit. The barrel is not yet floated, but it does fit into the stock. Back in the safe until the tools arrive. I have a long weekend next week, so hope to have it together for a range outing. Think I'm going to like the heavy barrel for recoil management.

 

[Legionnaire]

Good day today! I spent the morning at the range with the B14R getting some velocities with the Labradar. Then a meeting with our financial advisor. When I got home, the Jerry Fischer inletting scrapers I ordered from Midway had arrived, so I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the stock. It came together very nicely, I think.





Barrel is a 24-inch 8-twist Remington magnum profile from McGowen Barrel.



Took my time with the scrapers, supplemented with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a spindle. Result is a fully free-floated barrel. I'll need to tear it down again to seal the exposed wood under the barrel, but not until after I shoot it.



Mounted a Vortex Viper HST 4-16x44 in 20 MOA Talley rings. Weighs in just under 11 pounds unloaded and without the bipod.



I'm very happy with the way it looks and feels. I'm taking Friday off this week, so am hoping that weather and schedule permit me to get to the range Friday or Saturday. I have Hornady 175 grain Precision Hunter ammo to try in addition to the 180 grain Match ammo shown.

Range report to follow!

 

[Walkalong]

Sweet!

That's a nice looking setup.

 

[troy fairweather]

Looks great hope she shoots as well, not to bad on the weight considering its a laminate stock and barrel profile. Not having a shoulder on the barrel saved some weight tho.

 

[Legionnaire]

I expect the recoil to be stout, so a little extra weight isn't a bad thing.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I expect the recoil to be stout, so a little extra weight isn't a bad thing.

11lbs...you aren't gonna notice much recoil. Should be great from a bench or bipod, probably not gonna want to lug it up mountains or shoot offhand too much with it.
I like it.

 

[troy fairweather]

Should be fine on recoil, my 7wsm is a good 3 pounds lighter and doesn't kick much at all.

 

[C-grunt]

That is a gorgeous rifle. Almost like a modern take on the old M40.

 

[LoonWulf]

Came out great, cant wait to.see how it shoots!

 

[Legionnaire]

Came out great, cant wait to.see how it shoots!

Thanks. Me too!

 

[JmacD]

Good day today! I spent the morning at the range with the B14R getting some velocities with the Labradar. Then a meeting with our financial advisor. When I got home, the Jerry Fischer inletting scrapers I ordered from Midway had arrived, so I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the stock. It came together very nicely, I think.

View attachment 1152840

View attachment 1152841

Barrel is an 8-twist Remington magnum profile from McGowen Barrel.

View attachment 1152842

Took my time with the scrapers, supplemented with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a spindle. Result is a fully free-floated barrel. I'll need to tear it down again to seal the exposed wood under the barrel, but not until after I shoot it.

View attachment 1152846

Mounted a Vortex Viper HST 4-16x44 in 20 MOA Talley rings. Weighs in just under 11 pounds unloaded and without the bipod.

View attachment 1152845

I'm very happy with the way it looks and feels. I'm taking Friday off this week, so am hoping that weather and schedule permit me to get to the range Friday or Saturday. I have Hornady 175 grain Precision Hunter ammo to try in addition to the 180 grain Match ammo shown.

Range report to follow!

Very nice! I am anxious to see how it shoots! I gotta say, that light colored laminate look is growing on me! For a long time, it had to be dark, walnut and shiny bluing, or I didn’t like it I am thinking that stainless and light laminate are in my near future

 

[Legionnaire]

Range report. Got to the range for the first time with the 7mm PRC build today. Cleanup day at the range, so the first hour and a half was helping mow, weed whack, and otherwise maintain the facility. Good turnout of members and we got a lot done in 90 minutes. Then everybody left and I was the only one on the range for an hour or so before others started showing up to shoot. Calm and sunny with high overcast, temps just above 80 degrees.





The good. Everything worked as it should. My Labradar worked perfectly and registered every one of the 39 shots after the one-shot sight in at 50. The rifle functioned as it should. I did a barrel break-in consisting of shoot and clean for five shots, then shoot and clean for two pairs, then cleaned between three-shot groups for the next several groups. 40 shots total of Hornady 180 grain ELD Match.

The interesting. I didn't get anywhere near the 2,950 fps published velocity out of my 24-inch barrel. I averaged 2,831 fps with a high of 2,869, low of 2,806, spread of 63 and a SD of 13.89. I expect the next time out there might be less dispersion when the barrel settles in and I'm not cleaning every few rounds. Nor did I get the accuracy I was hoping for. Average for 10 3-shot groups was 1.100 inch. I hope the barrel will settle in a bit more. Next time out I'll try the 175 grain ELD-X Precision Hunter ammo. And I'm sure I'll be able (eventually) to work up a load the rifle likes. And don't worry about how the groups move around on the target; I adjusted the scope a couple of times. Oh, and I pulled the left-most shot on the lower left of the second target.





The stupid. I didn't realize how high the raised comb on the stock was. The first time I ran my cleaning rod down the bore the handle of the rod hit and scuffed the comb, taking out a chip. Bone headed move. I'll have to fill it and fix the finish. Dumb.

All that said, really happy to have gotten this far. I built this as a hunting rifle, and the accuracy is good enough for that out to reasonable distance. Looking forward to seeing if I can improve on it.

 

[troy fairweather]

Nice, barrel should speed up 100-150 fps after a few hundred rounds by then it should stabilize and group better.

 

[Legionnaire]

Took a long time to shoot the first 40 rounds. The 7mm PRC really heats up a barrel!

 

[LoonWulf]

Not bad for a first outing. I've found full builds usually take 50-100rnds to settle in.