Remington 700P + Muzzle Brake + Gunsmith = Problem

D

DTakas

New member
I had a muzzle brake installed on my Remington 700P I chose a Holland’s quick discharge brake. This brake comes already tapered in the back. To fit the brake to the barrel the gunsmith is to turn back the rear face of the brake until the back face matches the barrel’s diameter. I ordered the appropriate size brake for my barrel’s size took the brake and the gun to the gunsmith. I got it back today. He did not turn back the brake at all so the rearmost portion of the brake is .03*” smaller than my barrel. He claims that the end of the taper was so thin on the brake to try and turn it down would have likely resulted in the brake snagging on the lathe’s cutting tool and getting damaged in the process. He further claimed he contacted the company and talked to them about it and they said it had happened before and he should just be careful starting out. He claims they told him not to turn back the end more than .150 (I think) and beyond that he would be removing the threaded portion of the brake. He said even if he were to remove the amount necessary to make it match the barrel he would have to remove a full half of the threaded portion of the brake. That’s not true he would have to remove half of the tapered portion but the threads extend beyond the taper all the way to the first chamber in the brake. I pointed that out and his response was that to take that much off the brake would leave the barrel protruding into the first chamber of the brake. He said if I insisted he would try to turn back the brake and then turn back the barrel so it would not protrude. I told him I would get back to him. At no point did he call me and ask what I wanted. He did a poor job and now that it’s done he has threaded to much of the barrel and to do it the right way now means he needs to shorten my barrel to do it (given it would probably only need shortened about .25”). Finally he for some reason he turned the barrel back at least some already because the face of my barrel is completely flat now, no finish no crown either, just bare flat metal. I know the crown of the barrel can affect accuracy but the walls between the chambers of the brake aren’t crowned so I’m not sure if the barrel even matters since the bullet will pass through them after exiting the barrel. I need advice.

Should I just live with it.

Should I have him re-do it?

If I have him re-do it should I insist he re-crown the barrel or does it matter with the brake on now?

What if he tries to charge me for the work the second time? (I don’t think I should have to pay considering it is what he should have done to begin with.)

Should I pay someone else to do it since I don’t think I can trust this guy’s work?

Here’s a pic I drew to aid the explanation
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info for you

I would contact Darrel Holland and see if he can help you sort the problem out. Contact him via his web site: http://www.hollandguns.com/

Most of the time his brakes are slightly larger at the rear than the barrel is but it matches up pretty well with it. The brake should actually be a little bit bigger than the barrel and the barrel should look like it ends at the brake, not like your drawing shows. Good luck with it.

It might be as simple as the smith used the wrong sized brake for your barrel contour.
 
He's trying to say that the brake should have been machined shorter until the diameters matched.
I'd raise a stink with the gunsmith, try to get ALL your money back, then go to someone who knows what they're doing.
 
Sounds like a lazy gunsmith. I once had a smith drill and tap holes to mount a receiver sight on a rifle. He got the holes crooked. I was pissed but walked away after paying. I'll never go back to him for anything.

HF
 
muzzle brake

Dear Shooter:
Please, my advice would be to forget the "muzzle brake" and get the bbl. recrowned with a target crown (recessed) and forget the brake!
I kinow this goes against many shooters, but the muzzle-brake serves no useful purpose at all other than to reduce recoil by some certain percent.
If the rifle cartridge combination you are using has too much recoil then go to a lighter cartridge - in hunting you generally don't hear the muzzle blast or feel recoil anyway - other than that I think muzzle brakes degrade accuracy because very few smiths line them up properly anyway.
Just my opinion.
Harry B.
 
I also would have to say that the gunsmith you went to was a hack. I am a machinist and it sounds like he screwed something up and didnt want to buy you a new muzzle brake. I would look for another gunsmith and see what he has to say though.
 
muzzle-brake

Dear Shooter:
In installing a muzzle-brake, if you must, it must bear on a shoulder at the rear! The bore must be concentric with the O.D. of the bbl. and you must, after installation run a range rod to be assured that the hole and baffles in the brake are in perfect alignment with the bore!
Another thing; in positioning a brake you MUST NOT screw it on too tight or you will "stretch" the bore at the muzzle area and render the arm innacurate!
Harry B.
 
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