Remington 700P + Muzzle Brake + Gunsmith = Problem

[DTakas]

I had a muzzle brake installed on my Remington 700P I chose a Holland’s quick discharge brake. This brake comes already tapered in the back. To fit the brake to the barrel the gunsmith is to turn back the rear face of the brake until the back face matches the barrel’s diameter. I ordered the appropriate size brake for my barrel’s size took the brake and the gun to the gunsmith. I got it back today. He did not turn back the brake at all so the rearmost portion of the brake is .03*” smaller than my barrel. He claims that the end of the taper was so thin on the brake to try and turn it down would have likely resulted in the brake snagging on the lathe’s cutting tool and getting damaged in the process. He further claimed he contacted the company and talked to them about it and they said it had happened before and he should just be careful starting out. He claims they told him not to turn back the end more than .150 (I think) and beyond that he would be removing the threaded portion of the brake. He said even if he were to remove the amount necessary to make it match the barrel he would have to remove a full half of the threaded portion of the brake. That’s not true he would have to remove half of the tapered portion but the threads extend beyond the taper all the way to the first chamber in the brake. I pointed that out and his response was that to take that much off the brake would leave the barrel protruding into the first chamber of the brake. He said if I insisted he would try to turn back the brake and then turn back the barrel so it would not protrude. I told him I would get back to him. At no point did he call me and ask what I wanted. He did a poor job and now that it’s done he has threaded to much of the barrel and to do it the right way now means he needs to shorten my barrel to do it (given it would probably only need shortened about .25”). Finally he for some reason he turned the barrel back at least some already because the face of my barrel is completely flat now, no finish no crown either, just bare flat metal. I know the crown of the barrel can affect accuracy but the walls between the chambers of the brake aren’t crowned so I’m not sure if the barrel even matters since the bullet will pass through them after exiting the barrel. I need advice.

Should I just live with it.

Should I have him re-do it?

If I have him re-do it should I insist he re-crown the barrel or does it matter with the brake on now?

What if he tries to charge me for the work the second time? (I don’t think I should have to pay considering it is what he should have done to begin with.)

Should I pay someone else to do it since I don’t think I can trust this guy’s work?

Here's a picture I drew to aid the explination
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18022&stc=1&d=1141850589

[fisherman66]

What caliber is the 700 chambered in, and what is the internal diameter of the brake?

[DTakas]

The gun is chambered in 300 RUM
I'm not positive what internal diameter you are asking about? The gunsmith opened up the exit holes of the brake so they are .020 larger than the OD of the bullets. I assume a .300 RUM is actually .300" so that would mean he opened it to .320" (I don’t have the tools to accurately measure myself) He did test fire the gun (I had to give him 3 rounds when I dropped off the rifle) so I'm not worried about the first round I fire through it hitting the brake if that's what you are getting at.

[Rivers]

Why don't you call the brake manufacturer yourself and discuss this with them?

[DTakas]

I already called them the individual I need to talk to is out until next Monday.

[fisherman66]

I think I would have the barrel turned down to match the outside diameter of the brake, flush. I'm not very familiar with muzzle breaks (except that I refuse the shoot near one at the range.) I wish I had a better understanding of the problem.

[Scorch]

Was this smith's name Gomer? What a boner! OK, you probably need to send it to a real gunsmith or to the factory. Sounds like he had some problems and then tried to face off the end of the barrel where he screwed it up. Whatever the reason, your barrel needs to be recrowned and the muzzle brake nees to be installed by someone who knows what they are doing.
BTW, You bore the back of the muzzle brake and leave the barrel alone (or thread it).

[woodland]

If he did recrown the barrel, I would want a new barrel. Why should you have to live with a shorter barrel, because of his screw up? Even if it is only a .25". The way he did it, yeah, the barrel would extend into the ports, but if you turned the brake first to match the barrel, then you wouldn't be threading so deep on the barrel in the first place.

I hope you can get it straightened out. I know I would want a new barrel, and done right, and probably not by him.

[armedtotheteeth]

I m not sure the crown is important in a braked rifle. I have an Armalite Ar-30 300 win mag. I installed the brake on it myself. (the barrel was already threaded) I did notice the end of the muzzle was perfectly flat. No crown, just a flat end. I have yet to see a rifle that is more accurate than this one, with or with out crown.Take it out and shoot a few groups with it. see how it does. As long as it looks good and shoots good, id leave it alone. If its botched, well, bring it back. I sawed off 1/2 inch of my 303 barrel and only lost 6 FPS (Chronograped) with the handloads i have been shooting for 15 years. .25 inch aint gonna matter as long as the groups are tight .

[woodland]

Yeah, the crown doesn't affect accuracy, it is just to protect the end of the rifling. What I would be concerned about is how well the cutting back was done, as that is the most critical part of the whole barrel.

[armedtotheteeth]

You have to remember , the gasses exiting the muzzle do not affect the bullet after it leaves. All the gases are directed backwards. I guess the crown doesnt matter, as long as the end of the barrrel is square, (the bullet must exit the riflings at the same exact time. Taht is the rednek theory of it anyhow.

[Rivers]

Anybody got any idea what benchrest competitors think about the effects of crown cut on accuracy? Seems to me that they'd know, if anybody would. Maybe the question should be posed on benchrest.com.

[Foxman]

Crown is absolutely critical to the accuracy of the rifle, target generally go for 11 deg chamfer, hunting go with stepped crown with very small chamfer into rifling. Guy does seem to be struggling to understand whats required and he shouldve followed the instructions with the brake! .25 off the barrel aint goin to make a real difference so long as he finished the crown off properly. It rests with you, if you want recompense for a barrel your goin to have to talk to the man and do whatever it takes. Or settle for th crown done properly and try shooting it.