Barrels and gunsmith

[Brad]

Correct again

I know the gunsmith, have had a rifle built by him and yes it can take time but I'll will talk about my rifle in particular - it's an absolute tack driver! Nothing wrong with Panda/Lilja.....the wait sucks but the end result is top notch!

That said, it's your time and money -

[SPI200]

Hi,
I contacted a few different gunsmiths from all over the country for a new build, some did not return my email, others said 18 months if gear was available but pay up front. Like you found, some only want to build to there receipe and believe they know best as too what you want because they are "Hall of Fame" shooters so what would you know. I too have used that gunsmith from Qld and waited 2 years for a build, life is too short for that.
I met a gunsmith from the south coast of NSW at a National Benchrest comp, great guy who answers all my silly questions. I looked at over 60 top rifles on the line that day and his was the only ones worth taking a photo of, just outstanding workmanship. So I asked around the the range that day, and one guy I respect tells me he is one of the few gunsmiths "who still give a shit", as too many are too old, close to retirement or have enough work from their existing mates they don' need your business. Who is he - Warren Gardner "Wazza" from Shoot Ya Load gunsmithing - he will build you a top rifle in 3 months to your specs and a excellent price. Why would I be tempted to go back to rude gunsmiths, or try to get a response from one who can't answer their phone or email - All I want to do is give them money for god sake.

Cheers

Dave

[John23]

Seeing the cat is out of the bag.

I have not had any work done by warren from shoot ya load yet although he will be the next gunsmith I will be using .

Warren is a absolute gentleman to shoot along side of and is very passionate about his business and the sport.

The oz fclass crew may not be familiar with him yet has he shoots in the 500m fly community.

On top of being a great fitter and machinist he also has cnc stock building facilities , is a master welder , is a representative for Borden rifle actions and even has some innovative products that I won’t mention here as I am not sure if they are in production yet, although you will see them if you look at the pics on his Facebook .

[Greyhound]

Thanks for your feedback guys. I found it quite helpful. I shot my highest score today. I got 57.4 at 300m for Ftr. I have only shot 72 rounds through it but it shows promise. As for barrels thanks for making me aware of the available options. I guess it would be dishonest of me to say the rifle won't shoot when it did today.

[superx10]

Hi Greyhound
I have had one custom f class gun and several barrels made by the said gunsmith, the following is a list of the plusses.
* If you provide the action and or barrel he can get things done relatively quickly.
* He is in a central position and close to the Belmont shooting complex.
*He is very honest.
* He had good communication skills and always returns emails.
The negatives.
On close inspection of the custom gun bedding job it was not at the same level of the bottom of the stock that is when the action was pushed into the bedding compound know consideration was given to it been level with the bottom of the stock, I also asked for pillar bedding but on pick up it was not done. Also, I feel that the compound used was construction glue.
About half the barrels I got chambered were very good. The lilja barrel I got was a dud, I had my own personal range out to 300 yards at the time so had plenty of time to try and experiment it was never good enough for fclass, okay for hunting.
The last barrel I got from him came wrapped in newspaper without any tape to secure it, on exiting it fell out and damaged the thread, and the action screws were not from my gun as I had the engraved 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

I feel that at his peak he was terrific, and would use him no problem, for a hunting gun.

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