Adding a personal touch to your rifle

There is no doubt both sides of governments have created a difficult environment for all but a few Australian firearm manufacturers to survive. By doing so, it means the Australian shooting market is reliant on imported firearms and subsidiary equipment. Firearm manufacturers’ imports do compete against each other, producing a reasonably affordable but predictable industry, catering to the needs of most but in doing so display a dearth of imagination.

But there is a niche in the market, created by those among us who prefer, for one reason or another, to deal with someone with the skills to produce individualised firearms or to merely replace the barrel of a favourite rifle. This sector requires the services of a professional armourer, of which Tony Argent of Total Solutions Engineering (TSE) is a true métier.

My first contact with Tony was back in the early Noughties. Remington had not long announced the release of the .338 Remington Ultra Mag (RUM). For some reason I was inspired to own such a behemoth. Though being a left-handed shooter, I was limited in my choice of rifle as no left-handed versions were being produced at the time in the .338 RUM. My only option was to rebarrel an existing rifle.

About this time, I attended a Brisbane gun show. Tony and his wife Veronica had recently taken over as proprietor of MAB Barrels, now TSE. Tony attended the Brisbane show and fortuitously for me had a special on a .338 rifle barrel blank. This was to be the beginning of a great relationship between Tony and me and for myself with the .338 RUM.

Tony had been working at MAB since 1989 so at the time of taking over as TSE proprietor, was vastly experienced in the idiosyncrasies of barrel and rifle making.

Tony and Veronica make a formidable team and recently added their son Nick, to the crew, as a fully-fledged tradesman. Veronica is generally your first port of call, which allows Tony and Nick the time and space in the workshop, attending orders.

Tony’s introduction to the shooting and hunting world came, like many of us, when out and about as a youngster. Strapping his .22 rimfire, purchased from the local policeman, onto the crossbar of his push bike and heading bush he chased the ubiquitous rabbits and foxes for a weekend’s entertainment.

From rabbits Tony honed his skills, becoming a dedicated deer hunter, enjoying nothing more than a walk in the bush with his trusty old Brno, rebarrelled to .338 Federal, as a companion. Tony is also a committed conservationist who understands and practises hunting to bolster that cause. He is devoted to the utilisation of game taken and the control of introduced species within Australia.

Veronica, an ex-physical education teacher and quite a sporting competitor, gave up those pursuits to run the all-important office of TSE. Before the advent of children in their lives, Tony and Veronica were heavily involved in the Metallic Silhouette shooting discipline. This helped Tony expound his knowledge of building accurate firearms. He often travelled long distances to compete but with family duties added to growing work responsibilities, recreational activities slowed down.

Over the journey Tony has acquired a remarkable understanding of the rudiments of the rifle. He tested some of his own work to the point of destruction. This first-hand knowledge of constraints and boundaries holds him in good stead, for building target and hunting rifles. Unfortunately, some shooters’ and hunters’ expectations may be unrealistic, occasionally asking for incongruous work to be carried out on their firearms. It is then Tony uses his experience, to explain: “You can’t have an easy-to-carry rifle with the characteristics of benchrest rifle, shooting over 1000 metres.” There has to be compromises.

The primary vocation of TSE is barrel manufacturing but they also design and manufacture muzzle brakes. These are a great asset for shooters, reducing felt recoil by up to 40 per cent. This benefits recoil-shy as well as older or injured shooters, who are having difficulty coping. They can have the ability to shoot heavier calibres or hunt dangerous game with many of the Nitro calibres and big game firearms. This opens up a whole new world of hunting and shooting to many. Unfortunately for shotgunners and pistol aficionados, the volume of rifle barrels and repairs precludes time to work on shotguns and pistols.

It is not unusual for shooters to come to Tony with what they perceive to be a muzzle jump problem when firing their rifle. Unbeknown to them, muzzle jump is a bit of a furphy. With delicacy and poise, Tony explains their muzzle jump is more likely attributed to one of two things – a badly designed stock, or a problem with shooter technique during recoil. He reminds them of Newton’s third law of motion, relating to action and reaction.

When a rifle recoils, it does so in the opposite direction to the bullet, with the equivalent force used to project that bullet. So, the rifle, during recoil, comes backwards into the shoulder of the shooter which is what the shooter feels as jump-back. Any uplift of the muzzle may be caused by too much drop on the stock, or the technique of the shooter having difficulty controlling these forces. Once Tony explains this to the customer’s satisfaction, the shooter can then work on their technique. Tony can also help reduce felt recoil for them by fitting tailored muzzle brakes.

TSE does not do woodwork or stock-making, generally. Though, having been in the industry for years, they have developed close relationships with a few stock-makers, so these contacts can satisfy the most discerning client. Fitting dangerous game rifles with ornate walnut or lightweight synthetic stocks, Tony will be help direct you to the right people.

Tactical rifles seemingly have become the latest catch cry of the modern shooter. TSE manufactures many add-ons to make a rifle as unique as the owner desires. From fancy bolt handles to extravagant shrouds and rails, the firm customises metalwork for various types and disciplines of firearms.

This can mean fluting barrels and bolts or manufacturing barrels with integral open sights with sling swivel, from a single piece of steel. And also, barrels with fancy flutes or just straight-line run-of-the-mill barrels, all made to the required specifications of the owner. Talking to Tony soon helps sort out some of the myths and complexities of rifle design and function, helping the owner to design a rifle they will be proud to own.

All barrels are made locally in shop, being drilled on a purpose-built deep hole drill, looking something like a lathe. The barrels are profiled to a shape and length chosen by the owner on a CNC mill, utilised for a multitude of chores including fluting barrels and bolts. If the owner requires, the valley of the flutes can be contrasted against the remainder of the barrel. The barrel is coated with a special high-wear heat resistant paint then the raised portion polished to remove the paint. This leaves the valleys of the flutes painted and in contrast to the polished barrel.

Tony has a flair for building dangerous game rifles and has created many over the years including my own 416 Ruger. This is put on a left-handed Winchester M70 Classic action. From my experiences with this rifle, Tony has done a wonderful job. Though it is used mostly in competitions, I have hunted two animals with it. A scrub bull and water buffalo both fell emphatically with one shot each. Bench shooting the rifle is always a challenge but it does consistently score 1″ groups.

Approximately six years ago I commissioned TSE to build me a mountain hunting rifle. It was to be assembled on a Ruger 77 Hawkeye which began its life as a 7mm Rem Mag. I wanted it rebarrelled to .300 Win Mag, the action lightened as much as possible which required drilling and machining excess metal off the action and fitting a 24″-skinny barrel. Then it had to be mounted into lightweight MPI carbon fibre stock.

Finished and fitted with a Leupold VX3i 2-8×36 scope plus three rounds of ammo in the mag, it weighed 2.95kg – about the same the rifle weighed originally minus scope, rings and ammo. It shoots like stink but most importantly it is a breeze to carry. My ‘go to’ rifle, particularly when hunting the mountains. I have been using this for nearly five years and absolutely love it. When on the odd occasion I need to hand the rifle to someone while crossing an obstacle, it usually yields a comment about its lack of weight.

Some years ago, I had Tony rebarrel a Remington 700 to .240 Weatherby. For whatever reason I couldn’t make this rifle shoot. I pulled out every trick I knew, checking bedding, ensuring the barrel had no pressure points. I adjusted my loads but still couldn’t force the thing to work. I rang Tony who suggested I bring it down to Brisbane and he would take it to the range to see what was wrong. Which he did. Within a week Tony rang me to say he had replaced the barrel and my rifle was ready to go.

For whatever reason that barrel wasn’t a shooter. Once Tony confirmed it was the barrel and not me, he was quick to rectify the matter. Tony stands by what he makes and that is of the highest quality, being all you can ask of any manufacturer. Anybody who constructs items will know occasionally things don’t quite go the way we hope. As the consumer, all I ask, is the manufacturer does what Tony did and remedies the matter.

In a sport and industry so reliant on imports it is reassuring to know most items you acquire through TSE are Australian-made, a rare occurrence in this day and age. I have had the firm make at least 10 barrels and build a deer hunting and dangerous game rifle for me, fitted breaks to several rifles and I am yet to be dissatisfied. If you are in the market for a new barrel or some custom metalwork, contact Tony. I am sure you will come away satisfied. I also have a tip for forwarding a firearm through the mail for Tony to work on. Remove the stock and be sure you use a stout cardboard box and plenty of packing material. Bubble wrap or similar is suitable but don’t over use sticky tape. People have in the past forwarded rifles without protecting them in wrap and the firearm has been damaged with triggerblades or forward sights broken. Each state has a requirement for firearms travelling through the mail system. Make sure you comply and you will have little trouble. I hope you are inspired to use TSE, run by a fellow shooter and a truly Australian-owned business.