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If a job is even remotely related to hunting and shooting, the gunsmith often gets the nod. Here are tools I built for hunters using a crossbow and a muzzleloader. [...]

In '.224 Valkyrie Precision Problems' (August 2019) author Joe Carlos discusses the titular cartridge in detail. This prompted me to expound on the effects of the inner chamfered or beveled [...]

More than ever before, today's gunsmith is faced with both the need and ability to improve and to demonstrate the accuracy potential of the guns being worked on. Here's how [...]

A variety of rifle models have been important in my accuracy and research work for well over a half century. I've worked with more than a score of Model 40X [...]

Here I will show how an old military rifle was transformed to a cherished beauty that looks and shoots with the best of them. The rifle was purchased with plans [...]

As a devoted shooter, a wide variety of firearms have aiways been of interest to me, including handguns. Back in the early sixties I became particularly interested in semi-automatic .22 [...]

Every once in a while we may be faced with a gunsmith/shooting situation that turns out to be more elusive than anticipated. I had built a rifle chambered for the [...]

The .222 Remington barrel used in this project came into the picture as a take-off barrel with a well-established history of accuracy. With its 1:14 standard twist, this barrel would [...]

Not all rifles are readily alterable to switch-barrel use but those that are can offer the shooter a wide range of shooting performance. As a practical switch-barrel application the set-up [...]

Not all rifles are readily adaptable to meet our specific needs, but with a bit of ingenuity we may arrive precisely at that which we are seeking. Here I am [...]

As the opportunity presents in the design and makeup of a gunsmithing tool, as good or better than that which I can buy, and at less cost, I get right [...]

My son brought to my attention a picture of a rather crude ring made from a cartridge case, presumably with minimal tools by someone in the military. By the looks [...]

An Improved cartridge is essentially an enlarged version of an existing cartridge, fire-formed or expanded in the forward half of the case body and shoulder over the parent cartridge. These [...]

Unlike most other bolt rifles, where the rear trigger guard screw serves to draw the action snugly into the bedding, the Model 112 Savage does not. Ordinarily, the rear Fillister [...]

It all began as a most unusual dream. My brother and I were in a courtroom awaiting the decision being imposed upon us by a panel of jurors and a [...]

This treatise is a spinoff of my American Gunsmith article in the May 2018 issue covering precision scope mounting the Remington XP-100 pistol. In that article I wrote, 'In the [...]

In the past I have worked with several Remington Model XP-100 handguns, including a totally rebuilt model of switch-barrel status with four barrels and two bolts. The Model XP-100 is [...]

Rifle builders and shooters alike must understand that bullets propelled by burning powder gas leave carbon and bullet jacket deposits in the bore and also cause bore erosion. Repeated firing [...]

In my long journey as a rifle builder there have been numerous improvised and modified parts adaptable to the performance improvement of many of these rifles. Such was the case [...]

My first experience with a peep sight was back in 1952 as a U.S. Marine. I had never used the peep sight before and managed to earn an Expert Rifleman [...]

Fitting a barrel onto a Remington Model 700 series receiver while maintaining proper lug-to-receiver alignment can be a tricky job. I had put up with this problem long enough, so [...]

Editor's note: Deer & Deer Hunting has presented numerous articles on the controversies surrounding shot placement and wounded deer over the past 40 years. We present this article not as [...]

When asked if I would have a look at an old shotgun with thoughts of repairing it, I agreed to see it. The man was soon in my shop with [...]

It has been proven that even a short section of horizontally-suspended railroad track will have a finite flex or bend to it. As I pondered these phenomena I wondered just [...]

In the process of developing extreme rifle accuracy, trigger control has always been a critical issue. This can be much improved with some form of remote control trigger release, where [...]

Allow me to hark back to my own, long-term experience dealing with cartridge cases. My earlier work in this area was published in the 1966 Gun Digest as 'Case Neck [...]

As I was growing up back in the 1940s, the common American crow played a part in my becoming a more observant and skilled hunter. I would have a field [...]

As the gunsmith/rifleman takes on the role of machinist and ballistic technician in the extreme accuracy arena, his or her every skill will be tested. In this treatise I will [...]

An avid squirrel hunter brought me his Henry Golden Boy lever action .22 rifle to be sighted-in with the existing buckhorn-style open sights. 'It's hitting way left, 'course my eyes [...]

It began with a phone call from a hunter whose son had dropped his M77 Ruger .270 WCF from a tree stand and broke the stock. Both were saddened by [...]

Installing a recoil pad on modern synthetic stocks can place a real demand on your skills. The job becomes even more involved if a stock needs to be cut off. [...]

The Sako-style extractor kit we'll be using is available from Brownells (#562-102-000AD) and fits medium-size bolt faces, including .22-250 and .308. The Remington Model XP-100 incorporates the same size bolt [...]

Over the past 16 years I have added bolts and scores of barrels to a good number of switch-barrel rifles. This has included bolt selection from the three common bolt [...]

No single chambering reamer will form a leade to meet the needs of all handloaders and shooters. Bullet shapes and lengths, as well as rifle loading restrictions, dictate this. Therefore, [...]

As a measure in the process of eliminating--or at least reducing--the effects of accuracy-robbing scope canting, we can install a scope leveling device designed for the purpose. These levelers are [...]

Perhaps you won't find the word 'downchambering' in the dictionary or as a commonly used gunsmithing term, yet this is precisely that which will be undertaken here. In this somewhat [...]

There are times when refinishing and bluing an entire gun is neither practical nor necessary. Partial refinishing may be a viable option and can be performed with a minimum of [...]

Attention to detail must be observed in forming the headspace gauge from a cartridge, but basically it is an uncomplicated procedure. Begin with a new or fired case of the [...]

We should not throw a gun away or quit using it simply because a part isn't readily available. A good gunsmith can make the part, although doing so might becoming [...]

Case rims, as used on some custom or wildcat cartridges, frequently require turning to fit the bolt face of a different rifle. Making a special fixture for this purpose is [...]

With the increasing crossbow popularity, hunting and sport shooting advances have been made to enhance its performance. More recently, noise levels have been reduced by dampening string vibration but not [...]

I noted your interesting Editor's File reviewing The Anti-Tank Rifle in the November 2018 issue. I was a U.S. Marine Gunner on the 75mm recoilless anti-tank rifle from 1952-1954. That [...]

A fireman walked from a burning house with an old Stevens bolt-action shotgun. Here's how I repaired this fire-damaged gun. The old, fire-damaged shotgun was brought in with a plea [...]

In the accuracy arena, where 1/8 minute of angle makes a difference, overall rifle balance can play a huge part. Among the more useful aids in achieving stock/rifle balance is [...]

While some law-abiding homeowners shun the idea of having a gun in the home for protection, for those that desire this protection a good, reliable defense gun can be an [...]

The proper use of an adjustable stock forend bedding system can be an effective way to dampen barrel vibration and improve rifle accuracy. A capable craftsman can make and install [...]