Looking for a gunsmith to work on Shultz and Larsen M65DL

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eshift

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Northern Ontario
I'm looking for a recommendation for a gunsmith in central Canada to set back the barrel and rechamber my S&L M65DL in 7mm Rem Mag, as the throat is compromised and accuracy has gotten poor.

I used to deal with Calvin Pritchard for many years - he was based in Thunder Bay, but he sadly passed on several years ago. I am pretty rural, close to the Manitoba border, so I realize I'm likely shipping it a distance to get a shop that does this sort of work.

I did speak to a gunsmith in Saskatchewan, but he declined the job as he wasn't keen to work on an action he wasn't familiar with.

By my looking it over, it seems a pretty straightforward operation with this action with the locking lugs on the rear of the bolt. But I'll let a gunsmith decide.



 
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eshift said:
I'm looking for a recommendation for a gunsmith in central Canada to set back the barrel and rechamber my S&L M65DL in 7mm Rem Mag, as the throat is compromised and accuracy has gotten poor.

I used to deal with Calvin Pritchard for many years - he was based in Thunder Bay, but he sadly passed on several years ago. I am pretty rural, close to the Manitoba border, so I realize I'm likely shipping it a distance to get a shop that does this sort of work.

I did speak to a gunsmith in Saskatchewan, but he declined the job as he wasn't keen to work on an action he wasn't familiar with.

By my looking it over, it seems a pretty straightforward operation with this action with the locking lugs on the rear of the bolt. But I'll let a gunsmith decide.



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iron cat and many others are top notch guys with a wealth of information to pass along freely.
Sometimes the answers especially gunsmith questions are better posted here https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/forums/gunsmithing.91/
Nice looking rifle btw and trust the recommendations provided will help it shoot better.
 
The rifle was a bucket list item for me - more to collect than hunter - found it on ####### from a shop in BC - it was pretty rough, and I have refinished the stock and a couple of small repairs like a new bolt stop from Denmark - touched up bluing etc - but it throws fliers at each range session (3-4 inch groups), and the once-fired brass has dirt necks - I have a borescope ordered to confirm the throat erosion but - I'm pretty sure at this point its my problem. Bedding and barrel clearance have already been addressed. I realize that a rebarrel is maybe a better option, but I'd like to keep this rifle as original as possible, so I'm leaning towards the setback and re-chamber route.









 
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The cost to set the barrel back and rechamber is not worth the small gain in barrel life you may or may not achieve. You might as well put that money into installing a new barrel.
Not much collector value to that used rifle.
 
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Before you go off throwing away money on fixing a problem that may or may not exist you should look at other possible reasons you are getting those 4 MOA groups.

You say the case necks are getting dirty? Are you using factory ammo or handloads? Dirty necks usually point to low-pressure loading which the 7mm Rem Mag generally doesn't like. Have you tried different loading and different bullet types?

You say you looked at the bedding. These old Schultz & Larsen rifles have a habit of shrink-cracking (due to age) vertically in the stock right behind the magazine cutout. Was this checked and repaired if necessary before you bedded the action? When you replaced the action in the stock were you certain you torqued the front action bolt to spec before the rear?

The Schultz & Larsen barrels are among the best made in the world and your's was built when they were all chambered by hand. I really question if that rifle saw enough rounds in its lifetime to burn out the throat unless someone sat at the bench and blew off a couple hundred rounds in under an hour.

Have you checked the rifle with a different scope mounted? How about the bases and rings? Were they all installed correctly and torqued evenly? You also have that scope mounted rather high. How is your cheek-weld on the comb? If you are lifting your head even slightly when shooting the parallax difference at 100 yards would be enough to open up your groups.
 
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1) factory ammo - full hunting loads - 139 grain - 150 grain - 165 grain - 5 or 6 brands/bullets all mediocre results
2) bedding is full glass bedded and no stock isnt cracked - action properly torqued - I've been in this game since the 80s so not a newbie here. Generally, I can make them shoot quite well - I've put about 200 rounds through it in 2 years
3) I'm with you - I've rarely seen a hunting rifle really shot out - this one was pretty rough when I got it, and after all the tinkering, and its still won't group its getting more likely - the borescope should decide it.
4) had 3 different scopes on it - the latest one was rebuilt by Phil at trace scope repair, especially for it so it's not a scope issue. The bases are the original Redfield mounts, and the present Redfield 2x14x scope is a tight fit - I'm going for all period correct example in my collection so I'm not looking for newer scope.
5) I've shot this off bags and lead sled as you see in pics - I can get heavier calibers to consistently get moa, so I think my shooting technique will suffice. I'm 61 years old so these eyes will never get back to eagle-eyed 20-year-old.

I appreciate the suggestions and advice here - thank you!

I think I should be able to post some borescope pics once it arrives, and I figure it out.
 
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