First "from scratch" build... anything I'm forgetting?

[BurnOut]

So I am in the midst of my first build that wasn't either based on a factory action or ordered as a complete rifle. So far, I have the barreled action (complete with trigger pins) and my muzzle brake in hand. The action came with a pic rail, and I already have my optic and rings, as well.

I have ordered a trigger and a chassis (along with two magazines)... am I forgetting anything? I'm assuming that the chassis will come with action screws (though I reserve the right to be wrong about this). Other than ammo (and dies), is there anything else that I'll need in order to make this thing shoot?

 

[spife7980]

I'm assuming that the chassis will come with action screws (though I reserve the right to be wrong about this).

Ive never seen one (new) that didnt. Maybe a sling stud/rail to mount a bipod? Not sure what else there could even be

What are the details of it? Give me something to drool over

 

[BurnOut]

Ive never seen one (new) that didnt. Maybe a sling stud/rail to mount a bipod?

What are the details of it? Give me something to drool over

I also ordered a short bit of pic rail for bipod mounting.

The barreled action is a Mausingfield LA w/ 26" 8-twist M24 barrel chambered in 7 LRM from LRI, and the muzzle brake doubles as a mount for a TBAC 338 Ultra. The trigger on order is a TT Diamond with the flat shoe, and the chassis on order is a Cadex Lite Comp in OD green. The magazines are CIP length (3.775" internal length) for 300 WM. The optic is a Minox ZP5 5-25 w/ the MR4 reticle, and the rings are ARCs.

I've been mentally building this thing for awhile... I hope it turns out as nice as I've been thinking.

 

[spife7980]

With that parts list it damn well oughta

 

[WeiserBucks]

Why the 7 LRM? I'm getting ready to start shooting the same in my DTA , just curious what led you down the LRM road .

 

[BurnOut]

I ended up at the LRM mostly because I've got some sort of infatuation with 3000 FPS muzzle velocities, and I've been lusting after 7mm ballistic coefficients for a long time. I wanted a way to be able to hit 3k FPS with the light to mid-weight 7mm projectiles come hell or high water.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Sounds like we're in the same boat , I've got some test rounds loaded but haven't fired em them yet .

Keep us posted

 

[Mossyoak44]

I like everything you have chosen for this build! I’m a big fan of 7mm bullets too. Please post some pics when it’s completed.

 

[300ATT]

I recently took delivery of a "GoLite" rifle put together by MikeHigh on a SA Mausingfield. I think you are going to be really happy with how the gun shoots.

 

[BurnOut]

The trigger and the chassis are each more than a month out, but I'll certainly update this thread with results once I have them.

 

[BurnOut]

Update - just heard from John (longshot2000 here on the Hide) that my Cadex goodies will likely be in my hands by the end of next week! I still haven't heard anything from Trigger Tech on my Diamond, but I just ordered a Timney 517 to run until my Diamond becomes a reality; once the Diamond gets here, I'll swap the triggers and hold the 517 for use on my ARC Nucleus once it gets here.

I'm concerned that the rings I have won't allow my scope to clear the barrel tube on the chassis, but I s'pose I'll figure that out soon enough and address it as necessary. Other than that, I still need to order dies, but in order to do that, I need at least three pieces of fired brass to send to the die maker (I think I'm going to try Neil Jones). I have one box of loaded ammo (at $95... OUCH) so I have a way to obtain the fired brass (out of my gun), and 150 pieces of once-fired brass purchased from Gunwerks... so once the dies are done, I should be ready to hit the ground running.

It's getting close!

 

[BurnOut]

'nother brief update... I installed the TBAC 338 brake/mount yesterday, and as I was drifting off to sleep last night, it occurred to me that the outer diameter of the flange on it might be too large to fit through the fore end tube of the Cadex. We'll have to see... given that I installed the brake with high temp red Loc-Tite, I sure hope it'll fit...

 

[BurnOut]

The chassis landed in my hands yesterday, and I really dig it! The good news is that the fore end tube slid over the TBAC 338 BA mount without any problems... the problem (which I didn't even think about) is that the extended rail that comes with the Mausingfield wants to occupy some of the same space as the fore end tube. Hmm.

The good news is that I'm 99% sure that I really only need to lose the first slot off of the rail in order to get it together. Also, as the picture shows, for those who are interested in running a Barloc in a Cadex chassis, you won't be able to access the screw on the Barloc without either removing or notching the fore end tube.

In regard to other fitment questions, there's nothing to report... which means that it all fits/functions like you'd hope/expect. The stock in the folded position clears the Mausingfield bolt handle (with the standard knob) without any problems. I plan on contacting LRI (from whom I bought the barreled action) today, re: shortening the rail. I could do it myself, but have limited confidence in my ability to make it look good.

 

[spife7980]

The good news is that I'm 99% sure that I really only need to lose the first slot off of the rail in order to get it together. Also, as the picture shows, for those who are interested in running a Barloc in a Cadex chassis, you won't be able to access the screw on the Barloc without either removing or notching the fore end tube.

In regard to other fitment questions, there's nothing to report... which means that it all fits/functions like you'd hope/expect. The stock in the folded position clears the Mausingfield bolt handle (with the standard knob) without any problems. I plan on contacting LRI (from whom I bought the barreled action) today, re: shortening the rail. I could do it myself, but have limited confidence in my ability to make it look good.

IDk, seems like it would be pretty easy to grind that last slot off, and it really wouldnt be noticeable behind the guard with a bit of sharpie or paint on it. It would save shiping costs. Thats if you have a grinder...

Could you drill a hole in the tube to access the barloc bolt? Also, do you need to support the barloc or will it naturally orient itself? I dont remember it having any pins to the action etc. If it needs to be out to access it anyways then it wouldnt be worth it to drill the forend so its a moot point.

 

[BurnOut]

IDk, seems like it would be pretty easy to grind that last slot off, and it really wouldnt be noticeable behind the guard with a bit of sharpie or paint on it. It would save shiping costs. Thats if you have a grinder...

Could you drill a hole in the tube to access the barloc bolt? Also, do you need to support the barloc or will it naturally orient itself? I dont remember it having any pins to the action etc. If it needs to be out to access it anyways then it wouldnt be worth it to drill the forend so its a moot point.

I definitely have the tools to make a hell of a mess of it, and that's a good point about it being behind the guard. Hmm.

In regard to the Barloc questions, a person could absolutely drill or notch the tube to access the bolt. In regard to supporting the Barloc (say, during barrel swaps), I think it'd just kind of fall to... I guess you'd call it the "chin" of the chassis... basically, where the fore end tube joins the chassis. I'd imagine that it wouldn't be all THAT difficult to stab a barrel through tube through the Barloc, then kind of guide the Barloc into position with the breach end of the barrel as you line it up with the action/tenon threads. It'd likely be even easier if you swapped barrels like a DTA- orient the whole shebang vertically, then remove/install the barrel in, as my grandfather would have said, an "upendicular" fashion.

 

[BurnOut]

Just lose the Barloc and screw your barrel on to 20 - 40ft/lbs. Problem solved. I have 6 shouldered barrels for my TL-3 now that all swap with a hand held torque wrench on machined flats at the muzzle like an AI

That'd work, too. What method do you use to hold the action, a rear-entry action wrench?

 

[BurnOut]

Well, I just got my rail back from the fine folks at LRI, all shortened and cerakoted. It looks great, and should clear the barrel tube on the chassis without a problem now. Additionally, I received my TT Diamond, so I'll be breaking it all the way down to swap out the Timney that was used for initial assembly.

I expect the next problem that I'll run into will be my scope rings being too low to allow the objective of my optic to clear the barrel tube, but I wanted to get the rail in hand so I can confirm interference before ordering more rings. Baby steps.

 

[BurnOut]

Well, got 'er together over the weekend. Fortunately, ARC "high" rings (32mm/1.26") rings were juuuuust enough to get everything to clear. Since they were requested earlier in the thread, a couple of pics: