about 0.06" or so larger diameter than a Remington 700 action. This adds considerably to the rigidity of the ac- tion, which helps accuracy. The front of the action is about 0.2" longer than a Remington, which gives a longer, stiffer bedding surface, and allows for a longer threaded shank on the barrel. The LV40 is a solid-bottom single-shot action with a milled-in flat portion which will help control torquing in the stock if bedded properly. The bolt handle is longer for smooth easy cocking, and the trigger is mounted in a trigger hanger for easy trigger removal if using a glue-in stock. The LV40 action will fit most Reming- ton 700/40-X short-action stocks with a little modification, which mostly entails enlarging the action area for the slightly larger action diameter. The stock I am using for this proj-
ect comes from Fred and Lisa Moreo of Sharpshooter Supply Co. Many of you know Fred and Lisa as the well-known Savage specialists who have attended many VHA Jamborees. I decided to use one of their Dog Tracker-style laminated wood stocks for this project rifle. The
Dog Tracker has been designed for long range benchrest and F-Class shooting with fast twist barrels. The Sharpshooter website describes this as a low profile stock which incorporates an off-set fore- arm to counteract the torque from fast twist barrels. The bottom of the forearm is 3 inches wide with a channel milled down the center of the stock, leaving two tracking rails to guide it on the bags. This is a very nice feature which Fred calls a “railroaded forearm.” I think another big advantage to
offsetting the forearm on a rifle is that this helps the shooter cock and cycle the action between shots faster with- out disturbing the stock tracking and sight picture on the bags so much. This helps with the “run and gun” method of shooting I mentioned earlier. I know from my own experience that I prefer the advantages of using offset forearms or offset tracking plates on my own 1,000-yard rifles and on a number of my customers’ rifles for just this reason. If I remember right, the first stock
with an offset forearm I ever used was a Dave Tooley stock that I used when
building one of Lee Fischer’s record- setting 1,000-yard rifles. Tooley is a well-known innovative gunsmith who, I believe, was probably one of the first gunsmiths to market this offset fore- end idea. I soon started adding offset track-
ing plates to get the same effect on my own and my customers’ rifles. I found that my ability to cycle the action between shots easier and faster with less tracking disturbance on the bags translated into being able to get my next shot off just a little quicker. This translates into being able to get off your string of shots to complete your group a few seconds faster. Since you cannot see your shots on paper at 1,000 yards (and rarely at 600), this “run and gun” method of shooting often is the best way to the winner’s circle since you are try- ing to get your shots off before the wind has changed much. This very often will make the difference between winning and losing. I have experienced this and seen it happen more times than I can say in the years I have been competing in 1,000-yard benchrest!
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July — September 2011
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