HC Precision - Accuracy Riflesmithing by Herb Coates - Custom Varmint Rifles - Custom Benchrest Rifles - Custom Hunting Rifles

Welcome to HC Precision of Gouverneur, NY. HC Precision is proudly owned and operated by Herb Coates, a precision riflesmith specializing in custom BOLT ACTION ONLY rifles for over 25 years. Whether you're an avid benchrest shooter or a seasonal hunter, you know and understand the desire and importance of shot placement. HC Precision offers complete custom bolt action rifles, chambering, Teflon® coating, Cerakoteing®, action blueprinting, pillar bedding, glue-ins and custom stock finishes. You can view the specs and prices of complete hunting rifles, varmint rifles and benchrest rifles under the pricing section. Individual gunsmith services can be found there as well. All labor is performed to benchrest standards. I have only provided basic guides to a few of the services that I offer. If you want it, I can probably do it. ALL ACTIONS ARE TO BE PROVIDE BY THE CUSTOMER. I do not acquire nor provide any actions, no exceptions.

These are not your typical off the shelf rifles. They are built by hand one at a time with the finest components available that have been proven on the extremely tough benchrest circuit and in the field. The rifle will be made exactly the way you want it: the cartridge you want, the weight you want, the color you want, the options you want. The addition of Teflon® metal finish and epoxy paint provide the customer with a truly all weather "working" rifle that requires minimum maintenance. Teflon® coating is a service that I have been doing for a number of years. I do this for many of the top gun builders in the country. This is a coating process for the external metal parts of the rifle. It is a matte black finish with the huge advantage of being rust resistant. The Teflon® product that I use is state of the art industrial coating. Traditionally blued rifles looked fine but were prone to corrosion if not constantly cared for. Teflon® coating will drastically reduce this. I also am doing Cerakoting if you desire different colors. The barrels that I use are match grade stainless steel. Many customers do not like the shiny metal finish of stainless steel,therefore I offer the Teflon® coating which is the preferred coating by most customers and I also offer Cerakoting which is available in many different colors. I coat nearly 100% of the custom hunting rifles that I build. All of my reamers, without exception, are of my own personal design: minimum SAAMI dimensions and removable pilot. I have the throat ground at 1.5 degrees and are throated to allow the hand loader to seat the bullet close to the rifling and feed through a box magazine. Some chamberings will require the addition of an extended magazine box to achieve this (WSM and 284 Win). All chambering is done through the headstock of the lathe: throat indicate, single point bore, finish ream. The results are chambers that are extremely concentric with the bore and minimal in size.

In order to realize the full potential of a custom rifle, it is usually necessary to develop a custom hand load for it. Many rifles will perform extremely well with nothing more than a good grade of premium factory loaded ammunition. Depending on the particular cartridge, many rifles will crowd the one MOA mark by trying various brands of factory ammunition. Most (if not all) customers enjoy developing a specific load with their favorite bullet for the rifle. However, if you like I can perform this for you. It is not cheap as this is very time consuming and loading components are not cheap. I do not provide loaded ammunition but can provide the specifications for you to load them yourself. After 25+ years experience working with custom rifles, I know what works and what doesn't work. The Remington Model 700™ action has been (and still is) the choice of actions for serious accuracy. They are machined from a single billet of steel, are incredibly strong and respond well to accurizing. The Remington Model 700™ has the safest breeching system on the planet. An excellent example is that 1,000 yard shooters use them extensively; they are used almost exclusively by the military and law enforcement agencies around the country and are very popular with varmint hunters. The majority of accuracy riflesmiths will only build bolt guns on the Remington Model 700™'s. Parts are available so you can build that truly unique rifle you have dreamed about. My next choice would be a full custom action such as Borken, Kelby, Stiller, Bat, etc. These actions are excellent but the price is much higher. The resale value of custom actions are also excellent. There are endless substitutions and additions that can be made. I have built these from 6 lb. lightweight hunter rifles, 20 lb. tactical rifles and 30 lb. varmint rifles. The options are endless. Simply put, take a Remington Model 700™ action: properly true it, put on a Hart barrel with a concentric SAAMI chamber, properly bed it to a McMillan stock, add a few details that I have learned throughout the years, properly install a quality scope, tune it and it will shoot!