FINAL UPDATE:
So the rifle is finally done! Here's a list of the "upgrades" that I did and the "upgrades" that I had more talented folks do. For the record, the Talkeetna is a superb rifle that doesn't
need upgrading but I wanted to make some changes and I'm really pleased with the results. I'll be using the rifle on a mule deer and elk hunt in just over two weeks!
DIY
Removed barrel and lapped bolt lugs
Removed rear sight and installed plug to fill hole (front sight hole was cut off when 2" was removed from barrel)
Removed barrel band
Installed sling stud in forend
OUTSOURCED
Had barrel cut down from 24" to 22" and recessed target crown added
Had cone cut into rear scope ring to match ocular bell housing
Had rifle, scope, rings, bases and scope covers dipped
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the headspace has changed fractionally. Intitially the bolt was
very tight closing on a GO GAUGE whereas the bolt now closes fairly easily on a GO GAUGE but won't even begin to close on a NOGO GAUGE. Add in the shorter barrel and I figured I'd have to tweak my handload a little. It seems that 75.1gr of VihtaVuori N540 works quite well (see target below). The previous load used 74.2gr of N540. I need to do a little more testing along with some chronograph work to check the velocity (should be around 2,800 fps) but so far I'm pleased with the accuracy. Here are a couple of photos of the finished rifle and a target I shot yesterday morning. I need to be [strike]2.75"[/strike] 1.8" high at 100 yards for a 200 yard zero so I made a small scope correction after shooting the group shown below.
Here's the target shot yesterday morning. I've found that using the sling and resting my left hand on the rest, in addition to using a properly sized target for the RZ600 reticle, really helps consistency.