Custom build part II

Well the rifle turned up on Friday and it was with trembling hands I unscrewed the box that Enda Walsh had built around it for protection; nice touch. Lifting it out I was gob-smacked by the transformation! The only thing I could recognise was the somewhat archaic looking CZ527 action as it now wore the fluted, 23” Bergara barrel and quite the most beautiful piece of furniture it has ever been my pleasure to wind into! Hopefully I will get to shoot it before I go to press, but I’m not certain and am champing at the bit to do so.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Weight has been kept down without sacrificing stability with a light/medium tapered forend with a generous free-float on the sporter-weight 2/3 fluted tube. My choice of a 14x1mm thread gives maximum diameter at the muzzle and the invisible thread protector is most pleasing! The butt section shows quite a pistol grip that Enda has shaped to suit my large hands and Chloe’s smaller ones. Though we made the hand casts to allow this I was unsure as to how it would turn out, but it works! On the left of the grip is a slim thumb shelf, with the right side cut out shaped to perfection. Two other concessions to the gun’s dual ownership are the length-adjustable butt pad that uses a 3-pillar alloy plate with a thick rubber pad and a push button adjuster. The combined comb/cheekpiece is height adjustable by twin Allan screws, Enda cut this section from one piece of the laminate so the pattern matches.

Wood to metal finish is 100% with the action and floor plate inletted exactly flush. Inside it’s both pillar and synthetic bedded.

The trigger has been tweaked and breaks at a sublime 1.5 lbs with just enough feel to know where you are with the release. Suffice to say we are very happy with the end result, so now it’s over to Enda Walsh to give us the details.

DUAL USER’S OPTIONS

“Initially you specified that you had a donor action to base the build around and that both you and your daughter were going to be using this rifle for hunting and maybe some range work. The fact that two people were to be able to do so and change setup quickly and easily for each was one of the major considerations of the build.

Secondly, calibre choice which was an easy one for me as you had already decided on 222 Remington, which I consider to be an excellent cartridge for the intended uses. Next the barrel to be fitted to the Cz action which would be of sufficient quality to achieve the accuracy I demand of all my rifles.

I contacted Brian Fox at Fox Firearms who distributes Bergara barrels in the UK with the requirement for a 1:12 twist, .224” cal hunting profile barrel and I was more than happy to hear he had exactly what I wanted! Next was to decide on the stock.

GREEN, GREY/BLACK

The customer specified a green and black laminate wood stock, which allows me great flexibility to design and build what is required. We discussed all aspects and design features the customer wanted and I was left with the job of how to make a rifle optimised to allow two different shooters feel like the gun was made for them. Plenty for me to think about there!

While components were being shipped I took the opportunity to send two hand cast kits to the clients with an instructional video. I find these invaluable in allowing me to optimise the hand position in relation to the trigger and also the shooting positions employed.

I prefer to fit the barrel to the action first and then base everything else off this. Firstly I check bore dimensions and bore scope the lands and grooves for any imperfections. It is very rare to find any on a custom barrel but I like to check just to make sure. I then select a suitable range rod for dialling the barrel in on the lathe.

Now comes the process of setting up the barrel in the lathe and dialling it in. It is critical that this is completed correctly in order to extract every last bit of accuracy. Then follows the process of threading the barrel tennon and reaming the chamber. This is a slow process, continually monitoring tolerances until complete. Next comes the muzzle which gets the same dialling- in process in the quest for ultimate accuracy. It’s first threaded for a moderator and fitting an invisible thread cap, lastly and very importantly a uniform crown is cut.

STAGE TWO

Having received the hand casts back I was able to assess and plan out the best dimensions, angle and cast the grip needed to have. Considering there would be two different length of pull (LOP) needed I had no choice other than design and install an easily adjustable butt pad system. Following some development and testing I was happy with the operation of my push button adjustable butt pad.

Also required was an adjustable cheekpiece so I fitted my usual, tried and tested twin-pillar design with locking screws. Unlike the LOP, which would constantly be adjusted as the rifle changed shooters the cheekpiece once set up is very much where it needed to be! All features and inletting are completed while the blank is still squared off and I generally work to a tolerance of 0.02mm.

THE HARD WORK

Next came the exterior shaping which is done mainly by hand. I put great care and attention into getting the grip just right and also working as much as I can with the balance within the constraints of the design. I have done extensive testing on the effects of balance on my F-class rifles and am under no illusions how important it is.

Next came the extremely important job of stress-free pillar bedding. While inletting I make the necessary alterations to accommodate the pillars and bedding compound. I turn each pillar specifically for each screw to exacting dimensions which is critical in achieving an accurate result. As with so many jobs the key to a successful result is in the preparation and there are a lot of small processes that combine to produce the perfect bedding job. I use Devcon bedding compound and find it an excellent product. After three days hardening the action is parted from the stock and any necessary cleaning up done. At this stage the bedding job is tested to make sure that the action sits in the stock stress free.

WASH AND BRUSH UP

Final stage is the installation of sling studs and finish sanding the stock in preparation for a satin lacquer finish. I use a high quality, two-part lacquer which is hard wearing and provides excellent protection while being easy to maintain.

On this particular rifle I adjusted the magazine to allow for better feeding. One last job was to replace the firing pin spring as the rifle had previously suffered from light primer strikes. I installed the new spring and checked firing pin protrusion and all was correct, it was then test fired to ensure proper operation of all components.”

PETE’S FURTHER THOUGHTS

To be honest I won’t have time this issue to really see what the gun can do, as I’m in studio with the magazine. I have a cross section of factory ammo from Hornady, PPU and Federal to give me some idea of where I need to be going. I also have 100 Lapua 222 Rem Match cases and have already made up some reloads in the following weights 40, 45, 50, 53, 55 and 60-grain options. Never having owned a 222 before I am looking forward to ammunition development. What I want is a 40-grain for pure varminting and a 50/55 for small deer. I’m unsure if the 60s will be viable as speeds are not as quick as 223 but we shall see.

My final thoughts go to future changes as I will probably get the barrel/action Cerakoted in either black or sniper grey. I am considering fitting a one-piece Picatinny rail, which would allow me to fit night vision and swap scopes easily. On that point my Swarovski 2.5-15x56 Z6i P HD looks like it’s going to be the scope for longer range varminting with the lighter Zeiss Duralyt 3-12x50 for deer.

My thanks to Enda Walsh for an amazing job that has really turned a sow’s ear, albeit a good one, into a real silk purse. Next month shooting and load development.

PRICES: Stock design and build €2600 Supply and fitting barrel €854 Shipping €100

CONTACTS:
Stock and gunsmithing: Custom and Precision Rifles, 00353 876611993 (Enda Walsh) www.customandprecisionrifles.com
CZ rifles & Hornady ammunition –Edgar Brothers Ltd, 01625 613177
PPU ammo, Sierra bullets & Lee reloading products – Henry Krank & Co Ltd, 0113 256 9163
VMAC moderators – RPA, 0845 880 3222
Quick Load – JMS Arms, 07771 962121
Carl Zeiss Ltd, +44 (0)1223 401525 www.zeiss.com
SWAROVSKI UK LIMITED, +44 (0) 1737 856812 WWW.SWAROVSKIOPTIK.COM
Bergara barrels – Fox Firearms, 0161 430 8278 07941 958464 www.FoxFirearmsUK.com
Tier1 scope rings - 01924 404312 www.tier-one.eu
Lapua cases – Hannam’s Reloading, 01977 681639 www.hannamsreloading.com