Hi,

What is your favorite reference book pertaining the various things that can be done to a rifle to optimize its performance? I have heard a lot of talk on these boards about various things that can be done, but admittedly, don't really understand what they are or mean. Do these types of modifications/tweaks/etc... really have a significant effect on the performance of the rifle?

Also, I have a few gunsmiths near me, but I don't feel real comfortable guaging which one is good. Any tips you may have in helping me rate a gunsmith (assuming there are different degrees of ability in gunsmiths); it would also be a big help.

Thanks,

Dan

The question you ask is REALLY a broad based question.What are you looking for particulary? Accuracy i,m sure,trigger pull, what? What type of gun do you have,what caliber?How long have you been shooting. How many gunsmiths in your area? gunsmiths as any other trade are of different capabilites and quality of workmanship,as well as correct experience.A person just because he says he has been in business x amount of yrs doesn,t necessary mean that his work is quality per say. ask were one went to school? If not school,whom tutored them.Just llike doctors,theres good ones and bad ones.Ask around. Now back to your question,you have to be a little more specific to answere it.reply then we can go from there. vangunsmith

Dan - there is a pretty wide range of expertise within the vocation of gunsmithing. I would look for two things: reputation and depth of experience. Training and certificates are not a bad thing to have; but the craft is one of those things that you ultimately either have a knack for or you don't - and if you don't, no amount of training can make you a competent gunsmith. Also, you will find that many gunsmiths are proficient in certain types or makes of firearms, and know nearly nothing about others. It is worth your time to poll various gunshops and experienced shooters (particularly upper level competition shooters) before choosing a 'smith.And if you find a good one, send them a good bottle of Scotch every Christmas Good luck. Roskoe

These two gave you some good advice.

I will just add that when you visit a gunsmiths shop look around and see if it is clean and orderly or a mess of crap laying everywhere. The one that keeps everything orderly where he knows where everything is will usually be the one that will pay better attention to your firearm and will likley give better service. Try to see how he takes care of his machinery like lathes and mills. If he takes care of his stuff odds are he will take care of yours.

AS far as accuracy questions....... there are a bunch of things you can do to different firearms that should make them perform much better than out of the box. You will get better answers if you ask more specific questions.

Thanks for the responses.

Vangunsmith - To answer your question; when I was growing up, I hunted every fall with my brother and shot quite a bit. I always used his guns, so never really paid attention to anything other than hitting what I was aiming at. For the past 15 years, I have not fired a single gun. I just picked hunting back up last fall and purchased a Browning Abolt 30-06 w/ VXIII 1.75-6x32 scope. I also have a shotgun for bird hunting and inherited an old Winchester 30-30 that my dad bought.

Within 20 minutes from my house, I can think of 4 gunsmiths. I'm absolutely sure there are more than this, but I'm new to the area and these are places I have actually visited. 3 of them double as hunting/fishing shops and one of them runs the gun club I joined.

To answer your other question, I really don't know exactly what I would be looking to do. I think that is where I could use some help. You touched on two things that obviously I would like to improve upon; most significant being accuracy. I don't really subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" methodology, and am not sure of the best way to get started.

Thanks again for your help,

Dan

I have found that some call themselves gunsmiths and are really gun repairers. parts changers.
Gunsmiths build or do major alterations to guns.
Be careful who you use and like some have said check them out very carefully.If they aren't willing to talk about it stay away and check out the work.
I have a friend who used a so called gunsmith and ended up buying a new stock cause he damaged it. the so called gunsmith wouldnt make good on his mistake.

Just be careful and hunt for the right one.

You gotten a little farther in your quest . Is the rifle synthetic, laminate, or wood stock? If synthetic or laminate stock then your fine as it is. Is your rifle bought new or used? If its new, I personally wouldn't fool around with it as Browning already made the barrel free floating. If used then there are things you can do to the barrel/stock fitting. Other than that there's the trigger, and some other stuff like new barrel, new stock, etc. but then that's customizing. Like most of us, our guns will out shoot us anyday.

I'm not a gunsmith. Farfrom it. In my infrequent trips to the gun range - perfer to shoot in the field because of extreme cheapness, I met a guy whojust bought a new rifle, synthetic stock, and shot groupsthat looked like abunny at 100yards. He wasliterally shooting the same hole. The guy on the other side of me, was a custom gun maker shooting a new 5K gun for a client but was shooting 1" groups. A$600 rifle vs. a 5k custom rifle? It was the person shooting the rifle.So, your question should be "what can make me be a better shooter?"