My dad's first bolt action deer rifle, bought in about 1960, was a Remington 721 in 264 Win Mag. He had it rebarreled (at the factory) in the mid-sixties due to a shot-out throat, and about the time he gave it to me (five years ago) the second barrel was pretty much trashed. The normal sub-minute groups had grown to about two inches with occasional key-holing. Also, after 35 +/- years of hunting, the stock was a bit rough.
Before the second barrel died, the rifle would shoot under 1/2-inch with 140 gr Nolser Partitions and H4831. The only modification my dad ever did was glass bed the action.
So I went full full steam ahead on a rebuild (with my dad's blessing). ER Shaw barreled the action with a 24" stainless fluted barrel, still in 264. With a bit of trimming and fitting, a McMillan Model 700 stock fit very nicely. The action was glass bedded and off to the range I went.
Winchester and Remington factory ammo (the only offerings) both group consistently at about 1-1/4. I worked up a 140 gr Nosler Partition load that will shoot 5/8", and it ended up being about 1 grain off from my dad's old load with the last barrel. So, I was slightly disappointed that a brand new barrel couldn't outshoot a barrel made in the sixties, but OTOH, the accuracy was plenty good for hunting.
So...this year was the first successful hunt with the new rifle: a nice wide mulie from Wyoming. A fitting re-birth for a GREAT rifle. My dad was quite pleased too, although he wasn't with me on this one.
