4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2025
⏱️ 76 minutes
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In this episide, Alaskan custom gunsmith Ray Saft and I dig deep into the various characteristics of actions, stocks, barrels, cartridges, and special chambers appropriate for a backcountry rifle build.
To showcase the process of discussing and commissioning a custom rifle, we use a pair of in-process 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser mountain rifles, one with a titanium action and carbon-fiber barrel; the other with a skeletonized steel action and traditional steel barrel.
This is part one of a three-part series we're doing. When completed, we'll discuss the rifles and upcoming test protocols in Part 2. Then in Part 3, we'll share the results and--with some luck, discuss putting the rifles successfully to work in the field. ENJOY!
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0:00.0 | Imagine that you are approaching middle age, but you're a very passionate hunter. |
0:05.1 | And although you've come up with a few new aches and pains and maybe don't have quite the |
0:11.1 | endurance and the energy that you did in your youth, you know, have a little more disposable income. |
0:17.2 | And you've concluded that it's time to commission that dream rifle. What would you build? |
0:24.7 | Well, for me, you know, my first knee-jerk reaction, of course, would be, well, too |
0:29.4 | adequately improved of some sort and a nice lightweight rifle, but I actually already have one |
0:35.1 | of those. I might have two. And so I've decided I need to do something |
0:40.1 | a little bit different. I have the opportunity to do that with a new friend of mine. This is |
0:46.7 | pretty cool opportunity through a gunsmith and Anchorage, Alaska. This is Raymond Saft of |
0:53.3 | Saffed custom gunsmithing, and he's come on the show today |
0:56.7 | with me to tell you about the components we chose, to build process we went through, and |
1:03.3 | kind of a cool testing opportunity that has emerged. Ray, I'm really excited to welcome you on this show today. What impressed |
1:13.2 | be the most about you in our initial conversations was your attention to detail. And I quickly |
1:19.8 | gathered that you're the type of gunsmith that appreciates the nuances, all the finer touches |
1:26.9 | and the finer details that make a rifle be all it can be, if I can use that old statement. |
1:33.3 | And I really was interested in that and impressed by it. |
1:36.3 | I like how you do exhaustive in-depth research on a project and how you leave no stone unturned in achieving the closest thing you can |
1:46.3 | come to to perfection. So if you don't mind, take a minute and just tell our listeners a little |
1:53.3 | bit about yourself, where you come from and how you came to this fine art of gunsmithing. |
1:58.1 | Yeah, I was born here in Anchorage and lived most of my life here. I got |
2:05.1 | married in my early 20s, and it wasn't too long after getting married. I was walking back |
2:11.4 | from kind of my family cabin to the parking lot with my wife, and we were talking, you know, big picture stuff. |
... |
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