Enda Walsh Competition

gearoidol

Hi Lads,
A few days ago I was driving to a job in Rathmore when I saw Enda Walshs name come up on my phone.
He told me to make room in my cabinet ,a guard in dungarvan had pulled my name out of a hat that morning
and I had won the competition he was running i was stunned.





So I am posting this thread to get ideas and opinions on how to spend the money and also to show the progress of the build to completion.
Basically I have €3600 and whatever I choose to put with it to build a full custom rifle of my choice.
I currently have a Cz 455 17Hmr for rabbits ,a standard tikka 223 lite for foxing and a semi custom tikka 243 for longer range varminting,
target work and the occasional deer.
When I bought the 223 it was quite good out of the box and I expected the same for the 243 but unfortunately it was
great with 58's but only very fair with 95's etc.
I decided to remedy this and after only 8 weeks I bought a grs decimal sporter stock ,March 5-50x56 scope and I got enda to rebarell with a 24" 1in8 Krieger, and now this is
how it will shoots the 95's at 200 yards.



This is how it turned out





To say I was delighted was an understatement and it shows me how well enda can build a rifle which makes this competition all the more exciting.
With that in mind the only logical option is to build a new foxing rig to replace my beloved tikka 233.
I will be going with a 204 with a 22" barell which means I will loose a little speed but have great manoeuvrability
which I wouldn't sacrifice for going over ditches and under trees at night while lamping.
Enda is busy shooting the Europeans in bisley this week but this is the build I have come up with in his absence


Stock:
Primarily enda is a great stock maker and I hope he can build something like this sako 85 in grey/black laiminate
but give it a modern twist,





Action:
Im thinking something like this batt sv action but the final decision will be made depending on availability

Barrel:
Krieger 22" Sporter Stainless,threaded m14 in 1:10 twist to shoot the heavier 39-40 grainers.
Trigger
Arnold Jewell with a break of 1-2 lbs
Extras
Aics bottom metal and mag system and a hausken moderator.
I will use my zeiss victory 6-24x56 that is currently on my 223.
Well guys any thoughts or opinions ,Id love to hear them
because when it comes to custom actions and triggers etc I have no real experience
barring what ive seen
Gearoid.

fish slapped

Well done sir, best of luck with it. Enda does top class work, I know it'll be a shooter. Wear well.

Spannerman7

Be watchin this one closely, ya lucky fecker ;-)
Good choice on barrel weight, it's only the first shot that matters.

FISMA

Excellent choice on the Bat Action. When you hear they are made in Rathdrum, you'd almost think they were guaranteed Irish.

I would get a Bat action for a 700. You would have all the benefits of the 700 parts on a Bat action.

Also, consider a McMillan action.

Krieger barrels are great. I believe they cryo-treat all of their barrels. Have a look at 300° Below's website.

As for triggers: Jewell and Timney are great. There's a new Timney for the 700 models called the Calvin Elite that breaks as low as 8oz.

With names like this, that 3600 is going to go real fast...

If you change your mind and think about going benchrest, consider a right bolt with left port.

gearoidol

Update 1

I met with enda yesterday and finalised the build.
We made a few changes mostly due to supply issues with some
components from the USA and also I got fitted for my custom stock.
I have never been fitted for a custom stock before and I am very excited to see what
the end result will look like.Enda used plaster of paris to make a cast of my hand to ensure the most comfortable
swell around the grip of the stock and to ensure the trigger is located just right.The stock will also be made to suit my
exact measurements for length of pull

The barrel chosen is now a Benchmark 22" sporter profile and factory fluted.
I have come across the benchmark name before as the importer in the uk
is the same crowd I bought my march scope from earlier this year,but enda has been using them
for years and his international medals won with them give me all the confidence you could ever need.
Reading several threads in the us sites also suggest they are top notch.

Luckily Enda had a brand new jewell trigger on the shelf so thankfully
no waiting time for this bit of kit.

With the action we have decided to go with The Valkyrie Odin action , with recoil lug and built in rail.
Because these are in the Uk it makes it abit easier if I ever decide to go with a different bolt
and make a switch barrel setup for my new rifle.The bolt will also be diamond fluted.




The barrel and action are expected to be delivered in about 10 weeks ,allowing the build to begin around then.

Gearoid

fabwing

Your custom rifle will be a quality build when finished and should last you a long time,congrats and enjoy

Vegeta

Hey Gearoid, do Valkyrie export to Ireland? If so that's great news as it says otherwise on their site. Reason I ask is I'm thinking of a new rifle next year and was wondering bout actions myself.

Looking forward to seeing the results of this. You lucky fecker, I'm super jealous

hillbilly jack

I can have the same man that makes the valkyrie actions make whatever action I want to any specifications I want
Cheers
Enda

gearoidol

Vegeta wrote: »

Hey Gearoid, do Valkyrie export to Ireland? If so that's great news as it says otherwise on their site. Reason I ask is I'm thinking of a new rifle next year and was wondering bout actions myself.

Looking forward to seeing the results of this. You lucky fecker, I'm super jealous

Not sure how its coming in Vegeta but doesn't seem to be a problem,enda had a price list and all.

Thanks a million it was the first thing I ever won and enda is a real gent to deal with.

Vegeta

hillbilly jack wrote: »

I can have the same man that makes the valkyrie actions make whatever action I want to any specifications I want
Cheers
Enda

Ah that's brilliant, thanks for the info guys. All the best with the build, can't wait to see how it turns out.

Spannerman7

Have not been on in ages but this came into my head today, how are you getting on with the rifle, did you change anything from the spec, must meet up soon

gearoidol

Spannerman7 wrote: »

Have not been on in ages but this came into my head today, how are you getting on with the rifle, did you change anything from the spec, must meet up soon

Hi spannerman,

The build has remained the same and Enda estimates it will be ready in March so not so long now , looking forward to it now tbh, but it's a nice time to get it , now with the weather improving and the longer evenings, I'll post a few pics of the action etc over the next few weeks

gearoidol

latest update on this

After a bit of a delay the barrel and action are on there way into the country, both expected to land next week and Enda expects the rifle to be ready in the next fortnight. Pics of the action and barrel to follow next week,
and im sure it will be a great bit of kit.

Gearoid

steyrman

8 months later and still no gun you have more patients than me tbh

tac foley

My eyes are bleeding to see it!

tac

gearoidol

tac foley wrote: »

My eyes are bleeding to see it!

tac

me too tac ,the greatest mistakes ive made with guns have been selling my 22 and getting rid of a 204 out of my cabinet,i sorted the 22 last week ,it will be nice to have a 204 back as well

tac foley

Mr Walsh's stocks are beautiful works of art in wood.

If G*d had intended stocks to be made of plastic, then HE would not have invented the walnut tree.

tac

gearoidol

The barrel landed today with the action in transit and expected to arrive the start of next week.

The barrel is a Benchmark match 204 barrel, 22" light sportor contour 1in10 twist stainless fluted and will be threaded M14.

Enda is now doing cerakoting and also has kindly offered to cerakote the barell and action foc.

Looking forward to seeing the action next week .

zeissman

Should be a great rifle when its finished, my 204 also has a 1/10 twist barrel and it shoots all bullet weights very well.

steyrman

Not before its time when ever rest arrives and assembled the novelty would have wore off me tbh

gearoidol

steyrman wrote: »

Not before its time when ever rest arrives and assembled the novelty would have wore off me tbh

yeah steyrman there was obviously along wait for this one ,having got the inside story and without going into detail online ,the action was never coming any quicker due to factors outside endas control.

gearoidol

Nice start to the weekend ,the John carr custom action arrived to enda today so the rifle should be ready over the next week or so,
delighted and really looking forward to getting a hold of it

Vegeta

Niiiiiiiice. Bet you're like a kid at Christmas

gearoidol

Barrel meets action today so things are really moving now.Really looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Enda reckoned it would be sacrilege to cerakote that polished custom action and id say hes right so I am going to leave as is as,
it can always be done in the future if I change my mind. Cant wait now to see how it shoots.My 243 that enda built shoots so well if this rifle is the same there will be no complaints.

Next job thread the barrel M14 and fit the jewell trigger and then its start work on the custom black laminate stock .

gearoidol

most of the gunsmithing nearly there now, barrel fitted to the action and the jewell trigger fitted
Next up is the custom stock

davycc

been following this from afar and im a jealous boy now seeing the latest pic had to comment on its unique beauty already even in this early stage,,:cool:

almost be a shame to cover that action with a stock

gearoidol

davycc wrote: »

been following this from afar and im a jealous boy now seeing the latest pic had to comment on its unique beauty already even in this early stage,,:cool:

almost be a shame to cover that action with a stock

Thanks Davy , appreciate it , should have it next week , all going well . I'm about 3hrs from Enda but have been so tempted to go down this week to see it but couldn't get away from work.

gearoidol

Got to pickup my new rifle from enda last month and finally after abit of shoot and clean got a day today where
the wind played ball,here is how it turned out and a nice 5 shot group at 100 yards









Wasn't happy with no windage turret on the Zeiss so was lucky to pickup another march second hand from the uk

Vegeta

That looks like an absolute belter of a rifle. Congrats n best of luck with it.

What model is the March scope n how do you find it?

gearoidol

Vegeta wrote: »

That looks like an absolute belter of a rifle. Congrats n best of luck with it.

What model is the March scope n how do you find it?

Thanks Vegeta,

It's the March tactical 5-50x56 illuminated
Mtr-1 reticle on the 243 and Mtr-3 reticle on the 204

They are a serious scope , great mag range, light weight for spec , glass slightly ahead of Swarovski and zeiss imo, but expensive .