This is the story of a rifle from inception to completion, and is about the process of Bill Calfee transforming various components into a precision instrument. I would like to state up front, however, that I am neither a gunsmith nor machinist and have little experience with either. Therefore, if anyone is expecting a highly technical article, they will most likely be disappointed. But, if you are willing to read it in the spirit it was written, this narrative may prove both entertaining and enlightening. It is an account of the decision to build, the components, the gunsmith, and the various stages of the assembly process.

THE DECISION

I have been shooting rimfire benchrest for about 17 years. I decided several years ago that I wanted a Turbo rifle, and I wanted Bill Calfee to build that rifle. As of 2006, shooters using Calfee-built rifles held 47 world records and many state and club titles, and have won several high honors since. I don’t know if that record is surpassed or equaled, but to say the least, it is impressive. However, those records were not the reason I wanted Bill to build my rifle. I have known Bill since about 1991 and he has previously built two XP-100 conversions for me. Both guns performed admirably with more potential than I could ever realize. That was the only record that really interested me; it was just a simple matter of trust and a known quantity. However, I did not think I would be able to obtain a Calfee-built Turbo. I had approached Bill about the project initially around 2004. At that time, he was sitting on a two-year backlog, and his intention was build only SPEC rifles after those obligations were fulfilled. With a Calfee Turbo apparently out of reach, I continued to shoot in regular open ARA matches and tournaments and continued to admire the Turbos that, in my opinion, have come to dominate the discipline.

I fully committed myself to getting a Turbo rifle while at the ARA nationals in September of 2008. The Monday after the nationals I called Flash Ebert and ordered the action, and then I called Bill Calfee. I did not expect him to build the rifle, and that was not the reason for the call. I called simply to ask him what the reason was for the .900” diameter Shilen barrels that so many shooters were raving about as the “Bill Calfee choice” for building a great rifle. Bill explained the very practical reason for that diameter was simply to be able to reuse a tuner in a rebarreling situation. As the call continued, we discussed various barrels, actions and other components, and I finally decided to ask Bill if he would build my rifle. After all I figured it couldn’t hurt; all he could say was no. Much to my surprise, he said he would build the rifle. I had no idea when Bill would actually get to the project, but I thought I might have it in time for the 2009 season if I was lucky. So, I began the next stage of the project.

THE COMPONENTS

As I have already stated the action is a Turbo. It is somewhat unusual when compared to most Turbo actions seen on the line these days because it is a right bolt, right port action. I am left handed, and the RBRP configuration offers optimum efficiency for me. The stock is a McMillan Edge bedded by Shane Hatfield of Pikeville, Kentucky. Shane is no doubt one of the best in the business and accepts nothing but perfection. I would highly recommend him to anyone lucky enough to get him to do the work. The barrel is a Shilen four-groove ratchet, select match grade and was chosen because that’s what seemed to be winning at the time. I ordered mine at .875” diameter. When it arrived it was 28” long and had .875 stamped on the breech. The actual diameter was .885” and was fairly consistent along the length of the barrel. The trigger is a Jewell and the tuner is a Harrel, and both were chosen simply because I have had success with them in the past. Component assembly, including bedding, took about seven weeks with the barrel creating the longest wait.

With the components assembled, the next step is to contact Bill and arrange a time to begin work. I was expecting spring of 2009 or later, and I am pleasantly surprised when Bill suggests we begin the work on the following Tuesday, and he invites me to watch the process. I am also invited to write whatever I wanted about the project. I learn of the latter invitation by reading it on benchest.com the night before we are to begin. It seems like an interesting project so I decide to do it. The next day I get up early and drive the 169 miles to Bill Calfee’s home in Borden, Indiana.

THE GUNSMITH

I arrive at Bill’s house about 10:30 A.M on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 with components and notebook in tow. Bill is having breakfast or lunch and invites me into his home. Although I’ve known Bill for many years, this is the first time I have been to his house. One of the first things I notice is a large portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower that would be perfectly at home on the walls of the White House. I also notice that Bill has the movie “Ike” by his television. I assume he is a fan of Eisenhower and ask him where he obtained the picture. To my surprise, Bill replies quietly that he had painted the picture himself. This isn’t “paint by numbers”. The detail is incredible, and I am truly impressed. It becomes apparent to me that Bill is blessed with creative talent and I mention that to him. He simply says painting is like anything else, you just have to get a picture in mind and learn how to make it all come together. This painting, however, gives me significant insight into Bill’s achievements and talent. I believe most rimfire shooters and gunsmiths will agree that rimfire gunsmithing is a little basic science and a great deal of applied art. I believe that type of talent and the ability to see things in that right-brained manner is one of the reasons Bill has been very successful in his pursuit of accuracy. Bill and I discuss the painting, his collection of books, and a few current events and then gather the components and head for his shop.

For those of you that have heard stories of Bill Calfee’s dirt-floor shop, his 1920 lathe, 100 year old milling machine, and hog-fat lubricants, I would like to set the record straight. It’s all true, but it seems to fit Bill’s personality well, and his equipment is very capable of applying the science of rimfire gunsmithing. As Bill says, he could have a million-dollar lathe and a million-dollar milling machine and could not do the job any better. I had always assumed Bill had learned machining at a former job and ask him specifically about his training. I am again surprised when Bill quietly replies that he had learned the craft “at the library”. Apparently, after a life-changing accident, Bill simply decided he wanted to build guns so he simply went to the library and learned how.

After a brief tour of the shop, in which I notice several projects in process and a number of experimental items, we are ready to begin in earnest. It is time for the initial barrel evaluation. Bill dons the official shop apron and again surprises me by tuning a radio to a classical music station.

BARREL EVALUATION

Bill’s first step is to determine if we have a good “motor” as he refers to the barrel. Without a good motor there will be no point in continuing, and he believes good barrel evaluation is the most important step in the assembly of the parts; he does not take shortcuts. Bill evaluates the barrel using the process of slugging or pushing an unfired bullet through the bore with a rod to determine the bore profile. He begins by putting the barrel in a vise, cleaning it, and then pushes the first slug through towards the muzzle. He is initially looking for the point that the slug enters the parallel choke that is created by the taper lapping process, but he does not want the crown cut at that point. He works slowly and cautiously, first pushing the slug toward the muzzle end then pushing back from the muzzle towards the chamber end. He wants to cut the crown at the point where the barrel is tightest in the taper but not so far that the bullet will simply fall away when pushed back towards the chamber.

Bill pushes the slug to the point he believes is optimum for the crown, removes the rod, measures along the barrel and marks the point. He then pushes the slug a little further towards the muzzle into the choke then again back towards the chamber. The slug simply falls away and Bill looks through the barrel. He can see light between the bore and the slug so he knows the bullet was pushed too far into the parallel choke. According to Bill, the bullet should have some smooth contact all the way back to the chamber end. Based on what he is seeing, Bill has an initial idea that the crown has been marked correctly the first time but he must verify his marking. He makes several passes using the same methodical process. I am somewhat nervous, because I know Bill is not shy about rejecting a barrel for lack of taper, and if he does, that’s the end of the day and another seven week wait for a barrel. However, he seems satisfied with the taper in my barrel and continues to measure and mark. Bill is very practiced at this process and the mark for the crown is now falling at the exact same spot with each pass. Finally, he is satisfied that he has found the point where the crown should be cut and he makes a final mark. He turns the barrel around in the vise and repeats the process with the focus now on the chamber. He is looking for the point where the chamber end transitions smoothly into the tapered barrel without undue constriction. He methodically measures and marks and the mark is again falling in the exact same place each time but this time on the chamber end.

After about fifteen minutes and what I counted to be twenty-five total passes through the barrel, Bill is satisfied where his cuts need to be for the chamber and the crown. He cuts the barrel at the crown and chamber marks with a hacksaw. My 28” barrel blank is quickly down to 23.5”. The process may be based in science but the evaluation is a practiced art. The attention to detail is impressive, and it will define the entire build. With the barrel evaluation complete, we move on to the initial machining.

CUTTING TARGETS

The next step begins the machining process. Bill methodically and quickly indicates the barrel into the headstock of his lathe. His first step is to indicate and cut a 60 degree center into each end of the barrel that is an exact center of the lands and grooves. Bill explains that this is a crucial step that allows working between the centers and is integral in almost every machining step from this point forward. The cuts must be precise and the end result must be perfect. Bill uses the indicator on the lathe to center on the rifling and checks his work several times. It is apparent that this is another practiced step, and it all appears simple although I know it is not. After he is satisfied with the centers, Bill makes the cuts. The centers are precise and run true as the barrel turns in the lathe.

The next step is to make an initial cut for what Bill refers to as “targets”, which are lengths of turned down areas on both ends of the barrel. Bill calls this “laying the foundation” and “straightening the geometry” of the barrel. The primary purpose of the targets is to make the outside circumference of the barrel concentric to the centers cut in the two ends of the barrel. They are called targets because he uses them to aim the indicator when there is is a need to reset the barrel in the lathe. Using this method, he can accurately move the barrel shoulder and keep it absolutely square with the barrel threads. Without the targets it would be almost impossible to reset the barrel and move the shoulder without cutting new centers, which would ruin both the crown and chamber. This allows Bill to alter the shoulder and not hurt the crown or chamber.

Bill uses the previously cut centers to set the barrel up on the lathe centers. He then turns the barrel down approximately six to eight inches from the breech end towards the muzzle and about four inches from the muzzle end towards the chamber. I had always been of the impression that Bill would not turn the barrel down after it had been lapped for fear of opening up the bore and I ask him about that potential problem. He replies that he is not cutting enough to make a significant difference in the bore, but that it could happen if the barrel diameter is turned down too much and barrel would need to be relapped. The runout of the unturned center portion of the barrel is still apparent but the targets run true to the precision centers. Obviously, this process decreases the diameter of the barrel on either end. My barrel, which was fairly consistent at .885” now measures .875” on either end but still runs close to the original diameter in the middle even after polishing.

The next step is threading the barrel to fit the action. After cutting the targets, Bill measures an initial cut for the thread with the expectation that the headspace will be about .043” and makes a small cut to establish the shoulder and to mark the area to be threaded. Bill sets the machine up to cut the threads and begins to cut. He does not use a threading die because the South Bend Lathe Company no longer makes parts for his 1920 lathe and he was unable to obtain one. The process is slow and methodical, and Bill remarks that making guns is not a profession for a person without patience. He makes the thread cuts using several passes of the cutting tool until his practiced eye determines that it should be close to a fit. He tries the threaded barrel in the action, but it’s not quite there. Bill puts the barrel back into the lathe and makes another infinitesimal cut. The process is repeated several times until the barrel fits with the precision Bill wants. He wants it to fit in such a manner that an audible snap is apparent in the final turn as the shoulder engages the action face, and the barrel should be somewhat difficult to break loose even though it is only hand tight. Again, there are no shortcuts. It’s just slow and methodical until the desired result is obtained. Finally, this barrel screws all the way into the action and seems to meet Bill’s expectations for fit. So far, so good. The next process is to evaluate the action.

THE TURBO

It is apparent that Bill believes the Turbo action to be superb for a benchrest rifle application. However, nothing is left to chance, and the focus of the action assessment is to make sure the ignition will be consistent and there will be no small problems to come back and bite years down the road. Bill quickly disassembles the bolt and works on some small burrs and uneven points that are a natural result of the machining process. It is very detailed work that he apparently does to all the Turbos he works on and he knows exactly where to look for the imperfections. It is evident that Bill has studied the Turbo in a detail that is almost unimaginable, because these imperfections are small and a person would have had to really look to find them. But it essentially involves making sure that round pegs fit round holes, and insuring there is nothing to create headspace or ignition problems later.

My personal impression is that there are very few problems with the Turbo action. It is near perfect as it comes from Flash Ebert, but Bill leaves nothing to chance. He makes sure that the firing pin is polished where it needs to be and that there is nothing to drag on the action and cause inconsistent ignition. He explains the Turbo has great ignition for benchrest shooters because of the relatively heavy firing pin. The spring is used to get the firing pin started and momentum of the heavy pin carries it forward, which allows for very consistent ignition regardless weather or other conditions that may affect spring movement. He acknowledges that this will slow the lock time, but does not believe that to be a problem when shooting from a bench. He shows me other firing pins from other actions which rely totally on the spring for ignition and it is apparent, even to me, that the Turbo should have the most consistent ignition. It is basically a tradeoff. The Turbo, with the heavy pin, appears best for benchrest shooting, while some of the other actions, with faster lock time, appear to be the better choice for position shooters.

Bill continues to make minor adjustments to the Turbo until he is satisfied that there are no binding surfaces and then moves on to shaping the firing pin. He wants a specific shape, and he has Flash send the actions with an unfinished pin. Bill uses a v-block to hold the pin and files it to get the exact angle he wants. He often stops to examine his work with a loupe and he resembles a master jeweler preparing a diamond for exact cutting. With the classical music in the background suddenly playing “Flight of the Bumblebee”, I begin to wonder if I am on reality television.

At last, Bill is satisfied with the firing pin and reassembles the bolt. He then uses a spring system he has developed to imitate a loaded barrel and screws it into the front of the action. It’s time to check the lugs. Bill gets the device screwed into the action as he wants it and checks the action lock up. He then takes a magic marker and “paints” the contact point of the lugs and works the action a few times to see how they make contact. He does not expect both lugs to make perfect contact, but these almost do, and he appears quite surprised and happy. There is little work to do to the lugs, but Bill does lap them with some very fine lapping compound. He checks the lugs again and is satisfied with the contact. He then checks the trigger and the trigger hanger for timing and proper ignition and decides this one needs no adjustment forward or backward for consistent ignition.

Bill installs a slave barrel into the action, inserts a round and shoots into a bucket at the back of his shop. He examines the firing pin indentation with his loupe and it appears that the pin hits as it should. The indentation is just inside the rim with good depth. He then inserts a small piece of tissue into the same case and dry fires. He explains that the tissue will keep the dry firing from projecting primer compound and other nasty materials into the bore. The indentation on the dry fire looks consistent with the live fire and Bill seems satisfied with the ignition. He reassembles everything and checks several times to make sure there is no binding or dragging that would affect ignition. He’s satisfied and moves on to polishing the barrel.

Barrel polishing is accomplished by rotating the barrel very fast and draw filing it from one end to the other while it is rotating. After filing, Bill uses small pieces of sandpaper to impart a smooth reflective finish, moving through a range of 80, 150, 220, 400, and 500 grit paper as the barrel rotates quickly. After sanding, the barrel looks good, but Bill says the final polish will be done just prior to final assembly with 600 grit paper. I can no longer see where the targets have been cut into the barrel as it now appears to seamlessly be of one diameter.

The final step of the first day is to open up the loading port of the action and install a thumb notch to further facilitate loading. Bill sets the action up in the horizontal mill and carefully makes the cut to open the loading port. He then sets the action in the mill to cut the thumb notch. Bill says the thumb notch is his signature on the Turbo. The cuts are made carefully then polished, and they look like they’ve been there all the time.

Day one comes to an end and the components now look like a rifle. The next step will be chambering the barrel. The day has been busy with few breaks. As I drive home that night I contemplate this writing and wonder if I will be able to do justice to everything I observed. I finally decide that it will be difficult but that I will do my best. I have agreed to meet Bill the following Sunday to finish the rifle. The first order of business will be to chamber the barrel.

THE CHAMBER

I make the trip northwest again on Sunday November 23, 2008, and I arrive at Bill’s at 11:30 A.M, about thirty minutes earlier than we had agreed. Bill is home and ready to get right to work, and it is apparent he exudes a different persona than he had on the first day. He is ready to chamber the rifle and notes that after 34 years of doing the work he still gets “butterflies” before chambering. This is the make or break point. The barrel seems to be good, and the action seems near perfect. If the chamber is good, then most likely this will be a good rifle. If not, we’ll have to start over. I can understand why he is nervous, but Bill’s apprehension it is not eroding his confidence. It is merely instilling caution he needs to make sure everything goes well.

Bill puts the barrel in the lathe and makes sure the chamber center is running true. It’s a meticulous process, measure, check, measure, indicate and so on. It has to be perfect. The attention to detail is consistent as it has been throughout the process, and there are never shortcuts. The cut must be perfect. Bill has already told me that he will not allow me to write about the entire chambering process and that’s fine with me. I understand it is proprietary, and it is what he believes separates his rifles from others. But he does allow me to watch him start the process. He chucks a long flexible rod into the tailstock of the lathe and runs that into the barrel a few times. I am watching intently to see the initial cut, but I’m not prepared for what is about to happen. After concentrating keenly, Bill makes the initial cut….by hand. Suddenly, he seems very relieved and I am left wondering what exactly happened. There’s no fancy measuring tools here, this is eyeballing. Bill explains that his chambers are always cut by hand, and he does not believe a chamber can be properly cut using only a mechanical process. I look at the initial cut, and it runs true, and there appears to be no runout whatsoever. This is applied art in a big way. To me, it almost seems to be a black art, but everything seems to be going well. Bill says that the chamber should finish well with the initial cut made straight and true. I leave the shop for a break, and Bill finishes cutting and polishing the chamber.

After the chamber work is complete, Bill calls me back into the shop and shows me the finished chamber. The chamber has a mirror finish and it is obvious that Bill is pleased with the work. His demeanor has changed again. He is back to his typical easy going nature and is more talkative. The tenseness is gone.

While the barrel is still set up in the lathe Bill makes the cuts necessary to square the face of the muzzle and a few other small cuts that are necessary to get everything fitting correctly. Then he puts the barrel into the lathe with the muzzle end facing the tailstock and cuts the crown. He uses an 11 degree crown that is designed to work with the tuner without directing the pressure in such a manner that it would try to blow the tuner off. His crown also helps prevent the tuner from fouling easily.

Next, Bill takes the barrel out of the lathe and screws it into the action and checks the headspace. It is at .043” so Bill inserts a bullet and closes the bolt without the extractors installed. He then opens the bolt and removes the bullet to examine the markings. The rifling marks the bullet just past the second driving band and each mark is of consistent length. Bill explains that this indicates the chamber is not canted but has run straight and true through the process. He again checks the headspace and it seems to be right where he wants it. It’s a relief. Nothing has gone wrong, the gun should shoot accurately

COMPLETION

Finally, it’s time to make any final adjustments to fit and finish. But first we need to measure a little more. The Turbo has a mechanical stop for the firing pin, and the pin should not hit the stop during firing because it will cause errant shots. Bill has taken the barrel off the action and now installs it again to make the measurement. I ask him how tight the barrel should be and he replies simply “not very”. There is no real science here; no torque settings. Bill says the barrel should be installed tight enough to stay on but not so tight that it creates a constriction and that’s about the only requirement. He puts the barrel in the barrel vise and tightens it, and it’s obvious this is simply a learned feel for the correct torque. Bill then measures from the tang to the back of the firing pin with the bolt closed but decocked. It measures .803”. He loads the rifle and fires a shot into the bucket and measures again. It measures .787” with the firing pin resting on the fired case. The firing pin is not hitting the mechanical stop. We’re good to go and we now know the rifle will at least shoot in a bucket. At this point Bill pauses long enough to stamp his name on the barrel. There has been a lot of thought behind even this apparently simple process. The stamping needs to be deep enough to show, but not so deep that it will actually constrict the bore. The radio plays Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Since we are almost finished, I can only think of the famous old television commercial “The quality goes in before the name goes on”.

It is now time to cut the extractor slots. Bill cuts his slots at .080” width which is just big enough for the extractors to fit but no bigger. He explains a lot of gunsmiths do them at .100” and concedes that they work no better or worse either way, but he believes using.080” makes the rifle look more professional. He makes the measurement of the diameter, does the math quickly to determine center and sets up the barrel in the mill. Bill makes the cuts and reinstalls the barrel. He inserts the bolt and makes sure there are no restrictions. It looks good and the extractors work perfectly. The cuts for the extractor slots are a precise process but the time taken to do them is relatively short when considered in terms of the project’s scope.

We are now ready to install the tuner or “muzzle device” as Bill calls it, but first we need to “ring” the barrel. Admittedly, when I first read of this procedure in Precision Shooting I tried it and decided it had no merit. I simply couldn’t hear any difference. But Bill hangs the barrel by a string and begins to peck away with a little brass hammer. It’s almost comical to watch but the concentration on Bill’s face does not project humor. The barrel rings like a wind chime and actually has a nice tone to it, but after a few tries, it is apparent that there is one area where the tone is not as rich, and it’s about three inches from the crown. If I had performed this procedure, I don’t know that I could have discerned the difference but, I don’t really appreciate classical music either. With Bill doing it, it’s obvious. He says based on the position of the node, the barrel will require about five ounces of weight, which is as expected with the Shilen barrel. The initial tuner setting will be 140 with no extra weight added. It is probably as good an estimate as any for the starting point.

Finally Bill begins to fit the tuner. He wants the fit to be almost perfect so that just a little torque will hold it on the barrel. He disassembles the tuner and chucks it in the lathe and begins the cuts. He cuts and measures, cuts and measures until it looks about right then tries it on the barrel. At that point it’s like the threading. Cut and try, cut and try until the tuner fits, but with no looseness on the barrel.

Bill assembles the rifle, then disassembles it, makes a few fine adjustments. He double checks to make sure there are no binds, and then does a final polish. He reassembles the barreled action and then puts it back in the stock. After making a minor adjustment to the guard screw, the rifle is complete. We are ready to shoot. The radio plays “Ride of the Valkyries.”

TESTING

Bill test shoots every rifle he builds and provides a proof statement with the final product. His warranty is simple. If it doesn’t shoot to accuracy standards, the customer does not pay. That’s been his warranty as long as I’ve known him and as far as I know, he’s always honored it. So, to find out if he will be paid for this one, Bill and I load everything we need and head for the range.

We arrive at the range around 4:30 P.M with about an hour of good shooting time remaining in the day. It is overcast and about 38 degrees. Bill sets up the target and his rest and is ready to fire the first shots. He installs a scope using a newly developed scope base that is designed to prevent the scope contractions and expansions from affecting the action and the point of impact. Essentially, it is a base that allows the use of two rings but is installed on the front of the action only. The rings are about an inch apart and anchor the scope on only one side of the turrets. The idea is that this will prevent the scope from contracting and expanding and affecting the action along its length. It seems to be a solid idea. He has made one for me to try, but frankly I have not formed an opinion on it yet.

Bill uses a target that simulates the 100 ring of an ARA target. We are using unproven test ammo and no wind flags to test the rifle. Bill fires the first few shots to get on paper, and then adjusts the scope. He then fires a few groups until he is satisfied where the gun is shooting. The wind is light with some switch that is obvious by watching the trees. Bill claims that he is not a shooter but reads the wind expertly using just the natural indicators around the range. With three different test lots of ammo, Bill’s shots land in the 100 ring approximately 96% of the time. I am not accustomed to Bill’s rest, and I need the flags. My shots are not as good but still amount to approximately 86% in the hundred ring. There were no shots that would have been 25’s or less. Based on testing to date the rifle will do its job if I will do mine.

CONCLUSION

This was an interesting project from beginning to end. Like most successful people, Bill Calfee is very opinionated in his beliefs. He has dedicated the greater part of his life to the pursuit of accuracy and apparently spends almost every waking moment thinking about ways to improve rifle potential. Some of his ideas have been quite controversial and people have taken exception to them. Whatever a person may think of Bill, it is undeniable that he has earned his spot among the world’s top gunsmiths and particularly among the world top rimfire gunsmiths. Each rifle he builds is apparently treated with the same exacting measures and quality control. Bill is very professional at his trade, and if anything sets him apart from others, it is in the attention to detail and the love of what he does. To him, it is as if each rifle can be personified and is not just an inanimate object. It was a privilege to watch him work and to be allowed to write about it.