- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
- Messages
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Several years ago, I naively bought a blued Omega .50 cal at a gun show without checking the bore. Shouldn't have done that. When I got it home, I pulled the breech plug and looked inside. The bore was so badly corroded and pitted that I almost screamed out in horror. After hours and hours of fire and hand lapping, about the BEST it would shoot is three inch groups - at 35 yards. I am presently in the process of cutting off the QLA and re-crowning the muzzle, but I'm not expecting any miracles to occur.
Recently, a used Omega barrel showed up for sale on another forum, which I purchased. It was advertised as a stripped Z5 stainless steel barrel with no action. I assumed/hoped it would fit on my standard blued Omega, and I would have a decent shooting rifle.
Should have done more research before buying it (are you seeing a pattern here?)
I learned that it actually is not SS, but regular steel with Weather Shield coating. Not a big deal to me; I would have bought it anyway.
This time, the issue is not the bore, as it's in pretty good condition. When I went to swap out the pivot block assembly, I saw that the blued model uses pins held in place with hex set screws; the Z5 uses pressed in pins, which were not included. Well, I figured that I'd either have to try to buy some somewhere or make them myself. More bother.
In the meantime, I went ahead and assembled it with the pins I had. The action worked normally and closed with a good firm "snap".
Then, I saw a problem I have not heard anyone else mention anywhere. When the pivot block rotates up and meets the rear/breech of the barrel, it's supposed to be a nice tight square fit, right? Well, with this combination, the pivot block is tight at the bottom half of the breech, but there's a gap in the upper half. When looking sideways at the breech, I can actually see light through the upper half! Obviously, this is a major issue and I never attempted to fire it. Somehow the geometry is off kilter and not allowing a nice tight lock up. I cannot see any way to make this combination work.
Has anyone else out there run into this debacle before and have a remedy for it?
Recently, a used Omega barrel showed up for sale on another forum, which I purchased. It was advertised as a stripped Z5 stainless steel barrel with no action. I assumed/hoped it would fit on my standard blued Omega, and I would have a decent shooting rifle.
Should have done more research before buying it (are you seeing a pattern here?)
I learned that it actually is not SS, but regular steel with Weather Shield coating. Not a big deal to me; I would have bought it anyway.
This time, the issue is not the bore, as it's in pretty good condition. When I went to swap out the pivot block assembly, I saw that the blued model uses pins held in place with hex set screws; the Z5 uses pressed in pins, which were not included. Well, I figured that I'd either have to try to buy some somewhere or make them myself. More bother.
In the meantime, I went ahead and assembled it with the pins I had. The action worked normally and closed with a good firm "snap".
Then, I saw a problem I have not heard anyone else mention anywhere. When the pivot block rotates up and meets the rear/breech of the barrel, it's supposed to be a nice tight square fit, right? Well, with this combination, the pivot block is tight at the bottom half of the breech, but there's a gap in the upper half. When looking sideways at the breech, I can actually see light through the upper half! Obviously, this is a major issue and I never attempted to fire it. Somehow the geometry is off kilter and not allowing a nice tight lock up. I cannot see any way to make this combination work.
Has anyone else out there run into this debacle before and have a remedy for it?