ACCURACY
Frequently, I am asked of what level of accuracy do I guarantee from the rifles I build. ¾ Inch? ½ Inch? Due to constant and excessive variables in all aspects of shooting including differences in barrels, bullets, powders, primers or scopes, firing circumstances such as weather, aiming, trigger handling and shot breaking, no gunsmith can claim to guarantee shooting accuracy. For instance there is a big difference between the accuracy you get from hunting bullets verses match grade target bullets. Whereby one is designed for expansion on game and one is designed for target work only. For these specific reasons I don’t make accuracy claims to customers but I do guarantee them exemplary gunsmith work. While I still won’t make specific accuracy claims, previous work has shown that when all conditions are optimum rifles of 30 caliber and under are shooting around ½ Inch and often times less. Target rifles (i.e., benchrest) have proven to shoot in the
1 to 2/10 range.
This is precisely analogous to an engine builder’s position on a racing team. He can’t guarantee the driver that his "new" engine is going to win the race for him by a margin of "so many seconds" or that he will even win at all. Engine builders, like gunsmiths, are actually only assemblers and the difference between good ones and the not so good ones is found entirely in the care with which they employ their craft. The old phrases "That’s racing", and "That’s shooting" are one in the same. The only differences being the parts in question; an engine or a barrel.
A WORD OR TWO ABOUT TOLERANCES
Bore diameters vary from barrel to barrel (some considerably). For this reason I use carbide and high speed steel live-piloted reamers. This allows me to match individual bore diameter to within tolerances of .0002 of an inch or less. A solid piloted reamer would never permit such a fit unless there just happened to be a perfect match between bore and pilot diameter. Therefore I invest in the best tooling I can get. This produces superior results with more concentric chambers.