what l do to make a new howa better

[Kelsey Cooter]

Cheers for all the info, how come you want tape on the rear surface of the recoil lug? Isn't this where you want contact?

[marksman]

Cheers for all the info, how come you want tape on the rear surface of the recoil lug? Isn't this where you want contact?

good call, yes you are right that is where you want contact
l taped the rear because it was a pain to tape the front to relieve it and taped the tang twice so there would be contact at the rear of the recoil lug
there is good contact at the recoil lug and a tiny gap at the tang

[marksman]

The big gaps you may find where the rail really needs bedding can be found on some Remington 700 actions. One of mine if the screws were tightend down in the wrong order would change the windage bu 22 MOA the rail would slide or be pulled out from the centre by that incredible amount. The Remington 700 actions are not a fully round action and it is not an isolated issue with many people reporting the same issue.

one of the really good accuracy gunsmiths l use told me that remington actions are hand finished this may explain what you are saying

[marksman]

So what ewuipment & process do you bolt lug lappers use to ensure youve got all the cutting compound out of the area the lugs live in...?

l saturate the area with brake cleaner and squash a rag into the the hole twisting it, then do the same using inox
l also use bent q-tips soaked in inox and lots of compressed air

[marksman]

the first 10 shots through the bore at 50 yards, factory loads, 1st shot is the high one the rest grouped low
the rifle was cleaned after the first 5 shots with minimal copper and after the 10th shot the same minimal copper
the owner then shot 15 shots without cleaning and still minimal copper, he is very happy, it was a very windy day so not very good for sighting in
next he is going to try different factory ammo at 100 to see what the rifle likes



this group at target shows the first shot high seating the action to the stock then another 9 shots that formed a group lower down
what l didn't say previously because l didn't have the photo was that all of these shots were bits and pieces of factory ammo l had in the gun room
different brands and projectile weights, 150gr, 165gr and 180gr, this is why the owner was happy with the group
the reason why we used the odds and sods was to get rid of them and see if there was any copper fouling, to run in l suppose

[sungazer]

[quote="marksman"So what ewuipment & process do you bolt lug lappers use to ensure youve got all the cutting compound out of the area the lugs live in...?

l saturate the area with brake cleaner and squash a rag into the the hole twisting it, then do the same using inox
l also use bent q-tips soaked in inox and lots of compressed air[/quote]

I do the same and sometimes I will run hot to boiling water through the action and bore as well if I have been using a bore past or cutting compound. The water will work well for softening up carbon and heating up the barrel as well which helps all the chemicals with better efficiency.

[marksman]

[quote="marksman"So what ewuipment & process do you bolt lug lappers use to ensure youve got all the cutting compound out of the area the lugs live in...?

l saturate the area with brake cleaner and squash a rag into the the hole twisting it, then do the same using inox
l also use bent q-tips soaked in inox and lots of compressed air

I do the same and sometimes I will run hot to boiling water through the action and bore as well if I have been using a bore past or cutting compound. The water will work well for softening up carbon and heating up the barrel as well which helps all the chemicals with better efficiency.[/quote]

boiling hot water is a good one sungazer, it drys straight away


hmmm not sure what happened there

[Stix]

If its what i think it meant...

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[sungazer]

What went wrong was the multiple quotes thing and trying to get around it. It does make trying to get a flow of conversation difficult sometimes.

[Mini Hulk]

now we all hear how a tikka has such a butter smooth bolt to use, if you cant be bothered waiting till you have cycled your bolt a few thousand times on your howa this is what you need to get it smooth as silk



the lock-ease is for after smoothing out the raceways with my little home made tool that is a piece of wood with some 1000 grit sandpaper attached
my method is to sand the raceways as well as to turn the action upside down sand all surfaces that will be contacted by the bolt lugs including the bottoms and tops of the bolt lugs, never touching the rear where you have lapped
it doesn't take much in fact very very little and your howa bolt will be as smooth as silk, then for added smoothness apply the lock-ease to the raceways

Hi Marksman are you able to give some more info on the dimensions/size of the piece of wood you use to smooth out the raceways? I'd love to give this a go, as my howa's bolt seems to hang up a bit just before it's fully open.

Sorry for digging up an older thread, but I came across it in a google search when I was looking for ways to make my Howa a little nicer.

[Blr243]

I don’t think marksman here anymore

[Mini Hulk]

I don’t think marksman here anymore

Bugger, I guess I'll have to figure it out myself then...