Had a few in the featherweights with the claw extractors in 30-06 and 270. Found the actions far smoother than the Sako rifles, those to me were "bindy"
Of all of them, then and especially now, first thing you do right after you get it out of the box is open the floorplate and take up on the bedding screws. I mean crank em down. Most I've seen come out of the box with the screws LOOSE! You don't address that right from the start you'll be chasing groups all over the paper. And, they may be more like patterns than groups :wink:
I go as far as to put slippage marks on the screws with red nail polish. Just a dab at the outside of the screw head will tell you if they loosen up.
Now comes the fun, try and close the floorplate. I've seen some off as much as a quarter inch. Get out the files and start filing. Only way I know how to do it short of machining the plate.
Now for the good news, that puppy will shoot! Yet to have one that wouldn't go under an inch with a good load, some even with factory stuff, Federal in particular.
Winchester, as well as Browning's quality has gone South IMO. Would I run out and buy a Winchester? Not in a hurry. But then I say that of Browning too as I've seen their quality dwindle. Again, both are now owned by a foriegn country.
How bad has it gotten you ask? Well, I bought the wife a high grade BAR a couple a years ago. The butt plate does not match the stock by a good quarter inch, and that's on a high grade!
Had a Winchester Timber Carbine a few years back, sold it, wanted another. So I plunked down the froggies and ordered one. The barrel band shows a 16th of daylight between it and the barrel. Gee, that's close. Is the band a functional part of the rifle, or is it just there for ornament? Can't be holding much in place with that much space between the metal.
Now should you decide to throw a scope on the lovely Timber Carbine, you best be planning on using some awfully high rings, since if you attempt to use the hammer spur you'll break your knuckles when you try to lever the gun. They seemed to have drilled the hole in the hammer to the frame side in favor whereas it should have been to the other side. In any event, it don't work. You can grind some off the bottom side of the cylindercal hammer spur and get it to function, but is that required with a new Winchester purchase as responsibility to the new owner?
Now if you decide to shoot the Timber Carbine, like say in excess of 20 rounds, you'll notice that the forearm slides forward! Another neat feature. If you attempt to tighten down on the band screw you'll crack the forearm.
Remington is in there with these two also. We just had a hunter killed up in VT not long ago. Seems like the guide pulled up to check on a hunter with another riding in back of him. They exchanged
What did ya sees" and started to take off. The hunter on the ATV had a 7mm mag Rem 700. It went off and Killed the other hunter. After the fact, witnesses reported that the rifle was malfunctioning all day previous. Gun does that to me but once.
I now own two Remington pumps in 28 ga. The first one is the Express jobbie, dull plain Jane stock, parkerized metal, cast trigger group. It was cheap money but it's a good gun. The bore of that barrel shines like it was chromed and there is not a tool mark to be seen the entire barrel. The following year I ordered up a 870 Wingmaster in 28 ga, the fancy one, like they used to be as standard, and now, more than double the price of the express model. Nice wood, good checkering, lovely blueing. Alas, the bore of that barrel looks like it was reamed by Rotorooter! What a hack job. Had anyone in quality even done a visual they'd have thrown that barrel in the dump. But had that happened, well that would have affected the EBIT line on the P&L....SHIP IT!
Maybe I'm too fussy, but I've been around guns all my life. There is a reason why pre 64 Winchesters are STILL in such high demand, regardless of what the gun writers say to the contrary. Newly manufactured Winchesters are NOT what the old ones were, I doubt they ever will be again.
You see, ours has become a country where the coporate profit is the prime directive, not customer satisfaction. As we've seen, they even cut corners on safety to make a buck.
One can still get superb quality and attention to detail from folks like Weatherby, Kimber, Freedom Arms, DAkota, and a host of custom builders. Sad to say, it's at a price that eludes the average man.
We have become all to tolerant in this country. Dodge has been blowing up automatic transmissions in their trucks since the "new" design cab came out. It's rare to have one go 50,000 miles, some let go in as little as half that milage. It's not a secret, it's a well known fact, and yet, we march right down there and buy another Dodge truck. Sure, I've bought em, and loved em....with 5 speed Getrags in em, wouldn't even consider their automatics.
Consumer confidence.....seems we have little of that these days. Any wonder why?
Myself, I think it's time we start telling the business world that we are tired of having our jobs and economy destroyed by moving operations to third world nations in the name of bigger profits for multi billion dollar corporations who somehow manage NOT to pay taxes on the profits while we continue to pay more and get less.
This political correctness and multicultural diversity crap has got to go. Americans are fast becomming a minority in our own country! Gee, does that sound familiar, once there were but the Redman.....
There, I feel better now. Hope I didn't rile to many folks up :wink:
Coug
