.30-06 Class Project Rifle

Working with classical finishes (hot blue, rust blue, color case hardening etc) has absolutely spoiled me. I think good bluing does almost any gun justice far more than any kind of paint - despite how durable cerakote is.

I wish the pictures would actually show the parts in full justice. The floor plate has a very nice depth in particular.
 
Finished my bluing today and had a helper take some pictures of the progress.

SPra22Cl.jpg

Warming up the bluing tanks, regulating the salt concentration, and agitating the salts to boil smoothly.

2ciemYKl.jpg

Barrel polished, cleaned and degreased for bluing

X31l6ABl.jpg

Dipped and rinsed for 30 seconds in a very hot soap tank

GTcWvlVl.jpg

Another short dip, this time in boiling water to remove any leftover soap or stubborn impurities. It went from there into the bluing tank (no pictures of that process as it required some careful attention).

FGPTLhIl.jpg

The barrels blued for about an hour and a half to make sure the receivers fully took and didn't purple. Every 30 minutes, they were removed from the salt bath and into a cold "shock" tank where progress could be safely checked.

ynw1sWql.jpg

Our barrels then boiled for about 45 minutes to make sure all corrosive salts were gone before a short oil bath and then a liberal coat of Rem Oil.
 
IUoTzDKl.jpg


We blued in groups of two, and these were our two barreled actions. Mine on the right.

2vSCKZXl.jpg


The metal took a very nice, deep blue. On the rear bridge of the receiver, the very slight shiny spot is actually a spot where the bluing didn't take. The water level was too low and the salts concentrated too much here. Considering this area will be covered by my scope mount, I think I will hit this area with some oxpho blue to blend it rather than trying to re-due the bluing process. I will have to pay attention to areas like this in the future.

KcbuAaCl.jpg


Pistol grip cap installed.


Tomorrow is final assembly, testing and paperwork and it should be ready to go home :D I borrowed a lead sled to test it this weekend.
 
4 semesters, not 4 years. It equals less than a year and a half. I'm taking machining classes to get an associate's as well so it is 2 years for me
 
Got to take my rifle home today. It's not "finished" in that I have a couple tweaks to make but it is done, assembled, and as a complete rifle. I have to do some slight fitting of the bedding tomorrow to get the action to sit fully flush in the stock where it was before, re-mount the recoil pad, and install/boresight the scope.

VYXLHVEl.jpg


The bolt assembly finished and re-assembled. I am hoping to be able to keep it blued. However, it's standard in our class to polish the bolt bodies because the extractor and ejector will scratch the bluing. I like the two-tone contrast of the bolt body with the stainless parts. You can also see a little bit of the nitre bluing on the safety lever here.

3A4oL5tl.jpg


Closeup of the action area. You can see the yellow the trigger here as well.

Y4FGcM8l.jpg


Looking too serious and angry here (I do that if I forget to smile in pictures haha) but here I am holding the finished rifle.

I will be out to the range on Saturday shooting to see how she groups :D
 
Thank you everybody. Got the scope mounted (a Leupold VX-1) and boresighted it today. Also tested the trigger with a Lyman trigger scale; returning an average 2 lbs. 14 oz. with no adjustment on my part. It is a very nice trigger.

I picked up two boxes of ammo today to test it out tomorrow. One box of 165 grain Federal Fusion and one of 178 grain Hornady Precision Hunter. We'll see how it groups
 
Thanks for shariong the entire evolution, pretty nice and your rifle is nothing short of sweet. Years ago I would take short two week courses at Montgomery Community College in Troy NC. These were NRA courses and each visit I enjoyed talking to the full time regular students and looking at their work. Had a guy locally who did incredible bluing but he got out of it, hard to find anyone around me who does bluing work.

Ron
 
Very nice work and fun to watch the progress in the pictures, Dakota! Congrats on a nice looking rifle! How'd it shoot?
 
Dump the wood stock.

No advance in rifle technology has done more for accuracy than no more wood stock.

Take your pick Graphite or pure Aluminum.
 
Very nice work and fun to watch the progress in the pictures, Dakota! Congrats on a nice looking rifle! How'd it shoot?
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the encouragement here. I would hunt with it in a heartbeat based on the results I got, but I'm not where I want to be on paper. The best three shot group came in under an inch, and I'm working on eliminating variables to see if I can get consistent 5 shot groups right around one inch. It seems to be somewhat susceptible to point of impact shifts when the barrel heats up, so I'm working on eliminating different things that could affect it to see if I can tighten that up. I've also only gotten on paper with Federal Power Shok and Remington Core Lokt, so it's possible I haven't found a factory ammo/bullet weight combination yet that my rifle prefers.
 
Dump the wood stock.
No advance in rifle technology has done more for accuracy than no more wood stock
Click to expand...
Well, yes and no. In general, I agree, but synthetic stocks are about as appealing to look at as a tube of toothpaste: perfect in every way, smooth, streamlined, but nothing distinctive or appealing in the least. The most appealing thing about high-end composite stocks is usually the paint job on them. Besides, graphite and fiberglass stocks go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some will enhance accuracy, others may actually have a detrimental effect on accuracy. A well-bedded wood stock can deliver as least as good of accuracy as a poorly fitting generic synthetic stock. On the other hand, most people don't want to put the time and energy into bedding wood stocks so that they will deliver good hunting accuracy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top