Help... First custom bolt gun

What's the purpose of the build?

Front range precision is the go to place for zermatt actions . Great guy and great prices. https://frontrangeprecisionllc.com/

Ray at Zermatt can tell you exactly which tang for which stock option and answer all your other questions.

Raptor77 said:

Long range fun. Replacing a budget 300 Win Mag I’ve been using, who’s bbl is worn out and can’t be replaced. I like to shoot the mile.

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Comments on your build:

- I'm not a fan of carbon barrels for straight-up target shooting. They tend to be a little finnicky, they cost more, and you actually want more weight, not less - helps balance things out too.

- For the action, the 7 PRC is a long-action cartridge. With that said, why 7 PRC? Why not 300 PRC? It gives you things like Lapua brass, more equipment options (dies, etc.) (if you reload), and more ammo options (if you don't reload). Other options like a 7 SAUM or 300 WSSM also represent interesting choices.

- On the trigger, maybe I'm spoiled, but I'm moving away from my TriggerTechs. They are solid triggers, but there are better ones out there. I just replaced one on my 300 PRC with a Bix n' Andy. I've been in love with my Bix Competition on my 6mm forever and decided to try their "lower end" TacSport Pro. It's more expensive than the TriggerTech, but wow - love this thing too.

I could be wrong but I was thinking the AW type Mag was for cartridges like the 308 Win.

Raptor77 said:

I might consider a stainless bbl, but I want the length to get better speed.

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Length is right on - I have a 28" Bartlein on my 300 PRC ELR build. It's a good combination of speed and usability. Much bigger than that and you will have a tough time with rifle bag sizes unless you get a folding chassis or remove your brake for transport (no thank you).

Raptor77 said:

I’ve never had a Triggertech but have heard good things.

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Not going to bash Triggertech by any means, but the two I have never quite felt "perfect" to me. As mentioned, I'm a bit spoiled with my Bix Competition (but that's a $500 trigger), but I prefer my Geisselle Super 700 (no longer made) and Bix TacSport Pro.

Why a tl3?

Rocketmandb said:

Length is right on - I have a 28" Bartlein on my 300 PRC ELR build. It's a good combination of speed and usability. Much bigger than that and you will have a toughI time with rifle bag sizes unless you get a folding chassis or remove your brake for transport (no thank you).



Not going to bash Triggertech by any means, but the two I have never quite felt "perfect" to me. As mentioned, I'm a bit spoiled with my Bix Competition (but that's a $500 trigger), but I prefer my Geisselle Super 700 (no longer made) and Bix TacSport Pro.

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I have a Geissele Super 700 and its one sweet, smooth trigger. The Timney Hit is a winner as well.

Maggot said:

I have a Geissele Super 700 and its one sweet, smooth trigger.

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I don't get why they stopped producing it.

Huskydriver said:

Why a tl3?

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The "What the Pros Use" for actions came out a few weeks ago and it really struck me how everything other than Impact and Lone Peak (with a little Defiance/Terminus) had almost no representation. Are the needs of PRS shooters, as far as actions go, drastically different from hunters?

Rob01 said:

No. They read the "what's the pros use" from the year before and everyone goes out and plays follow the leader. LOL

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Definitely likely word of mouth gets around but the last action survey PRB did was in 2018 as far as I can tell.

Rob01 said:

Lots of word of mouth. As long as an action runs it can work for PRS especially any custom action. I have run a lot of actions in matches and they all worked fine.

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Not to mention that PRS is a specific discipline that values some aspects over others. The OP wants a "long range fun" rifle. The top action on the PRS list (Impact) would be nowhere near the top for a long-range build - especially a long action.

Rocketmandb said:

Not to mention that PRS is a specific discipline that values some aspects over others. The OP wants a "long range fun" rifle. The top action on the PRS list (Impact) would be nowhere near the top for a long-range build - especially a long action.

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I don't have an Impact so I'm not invested in this but why? Impact has their 777 action which appears to be a long action.

I put together my first custom as a general long range fun rifle. I don't shoot prs. I think that's where the origin really excels. It's very feature rich and just runs.

NateVA said:

The "What the Pros Use" for actions came out a few weeks ago and it really struck me how everything other than Impact and Lone Peak (with a little Defiance/Terminus) had almost no representation. Are the needs of PRS shooters, as far as actions go, drastically different from hunters?

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2024/04/05/best-custom-rifle-action-what-the-pros-use/

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I think tl3s are great but I think there are better actions or there these days honestly..I would take a terminus for a 60 and a lone peak over a tl3 everytime

NateVA said:

I don't have an Impact so I'm not invested in this but why? Impact has their 777 action which appears to be a long action.

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The Impact seems coarser than the other custom actions I have - it just does not chamber as cleanly. My Impact is a short action, but a good friend has their long action version and I have shot it. He moved away, but comes back in town on business occasionally, and we go shooting long range up in the hills. After shooting my Deviant (300 PRC) pretty extensively on these trips, he says the same thing.

My Deviant actions are my favorites with my single-shot BAT coming in a close second.

Raptor77 said:

Having trouble getting a stainless bbl with less than a six month lead time. Can’t find one anywhere. Carbon fiber barrels are everywhere. Any ideas?

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Did you look into prefits? Looks like PVA chambers prefits in 7PRC if you're interested in that. They carry contours for competition as well as hunting it seems.


And here's a thread about peoples' experiences with them.

Reasons for TLR/Origin.

CRF and mechanical ejector

Swappable bolt heads

Reasons to run an Origin or TL3

I run the Origin because the savings covers a steel prefit AND with a HLR lug I can swap in TL3 barrels.


What is better about the LP or Impacts, or Terminus?
Have tried them all and not worth the squeeze for me.
But an AI isnt either, and yes I can afford one.

Rocketmandb said:

Length is right on - I have a 28" Bartlein on my 300 PRC ELR build. It's a good combination of speed and usability. Much bigger than that and you will have a tough time with rifle bag sizes unless you get a folding chassis or remove your brake for transport (no thank you).



Not going to bash Triggertech by any means, but the two I have never quite felt "perfect" to me. As mentioned, I'm a bit spoiled with my Bix Competition (but that's a $500 trigger), but I prefer my Geisselle Super 700 (no longer made) and Bix TacSport Pro.

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Triggertech blows these all out of the water and proof carbon shoots great. Where are you getting this advice from??

Op get the origin long medium tang and don’t look back.

NateVA said:

Did you look into prefits? Looks like PVA chambers prefits in 7PRC if you're interested in that. They carry contours for competition as well as hunting it seems.

Osprey 7mm Prefit Barrels - All Actions

Precision rifle prefit barrels for all actions, custom ordered and ready to install. No machining or gunsmithing required. Match winning Osprey barrels by Patriot Valley Arms; we Engineer Repeatability. 100% Made in USA

patriotvalleyarms.com

And here's a thread about peoples' experiences with them.

Your PVA prefit experience

Looking to order a PVA prefit to replace a bartlein at the end of the year on my match gun. Undecided on getting another bartlein and waiting, and shipping and waiting or just ordering a PVA prefit. Looking to hear experience, good, bad, ugly. Specifically likely going with a 6.5cm 7.5twist...

www.snipershide.com

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DO NOT LOOK AT PVA. you can go see the long threads on ether fucked up prefits.

Rob01 said:

There's the answer and no 6 month wait. Josh @bohem is a member here and you can talk to him directly. I have multiple Osprey prefits and they are great barrels and work.

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That’s a horrible suggestion for a new guy. They have problems up and down this forum.

Raptor77 said:

I have been waiting on this day for over three years, and it's finally here. Building my first fully custom bolt gun. General idea is Big Horn/Zermatt arms action, 28" carbon fiber wrapped bbl chambered in 7PRC, MDT LSS-XL Gen 2 chassis with AICS mags and Trigger Tech Diamond trigger. I finally have the funds and plan to order the action tomorrow and the barrel and trigger next week. Where I need help is to make sure that I get everything right in ordering the action. Is everything I'm planning compatible?
On Zermatt's website, when ordering a TL3 action (is that the right one for my project?), there are several drop-down options. Some are easy, like right or left hand for the bolt and ejection port. Maybe I'm paranoid, but with my budget, $1400 for an action has to be right. So the option for "size" is short, medium or large. Obviously not short for 7PRC. Long doesn't mean Lapua, I assume. Not many makers of "true" medium actions. I want long for 7PRC, right?
Bolt head would obviously be .535, and I can order others should I want to order a bbl for a non-magnum cartridge.
No need for help with right/left hand, bolt knob, MOA of rail or finish.
So the big questions are, first, Mag cut. AICS I assume. Is MDT chassis and everything else I'm thinking compatible? What about AW mags, or AW mag cut with AICS mags? I have no knowledge or experience in such things and don't want to screw it up.
Second, Tang. Does it make a difference? What's the difference? Options are thick, medium or trim. What difference does it make?

And what might I be overlooking? Compatibility, functionality, etc?

Any and all help advising in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you (the Snipers Hide community) for your help.

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I can build you whatever you'd like, though you probably want to give some of the advice in this thread some thought. There's some good input for the actions and barrels.

I would agree that a general purpose rifle doesn't need a carbon barrel.

For Prefits: PVA pioneered the prefit approach 10 years ago. At the time the only prefits that existed were the barrel nut setups and a few guys who could cut metric threads were making AI replacements. I'm pretty proud of the fact that our push for that approach has changed the way people build/assemble long range precision rifles these days and it's fundamentally changed how action makers approach the market as well.

The TL3 is a really nice action with some very nice features. The ARC Coup de Grace is a great action and all of the mainstream custom receivers will net you a nice rifle. I have several TL3's and I'm still very happy with them going on 10 years and 10's of thousands of rounds later.

I wouldn't get a medium/mid length action for a 7 PRC. The availability of stocks, mags and bottom metal for medium lengths is miniscule compared to regular SA or LA. You're not losing anything on the 7 PRC going to the LA and it actually helps for you to get the longest bullets out of the case if you use a LA instead of being constrained to the medium actions. I personally use a LA for my 300WSM and I run solids seated out long. It makes for a potent long range cartridge past a mile without spending CheyTac or Lapua Mag money on the rifle or the ammo.

As far as the negative comments about my business: We've had issues in the past. The vast majority of the complaints are from half a decade ago and it's the same handful of people still complaining about it. There are a couple guys on here that continue to slam PVA and they've never even done business with us. PVA in 2018 was rapidly growing with the hottest new product in the long range industry and our success exceeded our capabilities to deliver, it also exceeded our vendors' capabilities to deliver. We were very late on things and struggled on it, but the silver lining to that cloud is the product quality was not the issue. I can't do anything at this point except tell you it happened, we made business changes because of it and we're still here putting out some of the best precision rifle barrels on the market. Our lead times are a fraction of what our competitors advertise.

I'd be happy to work with you on your rifle and I know from experience that you're going to get a great project from us. If someone doesn't like me or what we do after this time, that's their business. We have put thousands of Ospreys on the market since 2021 and there are a lot of very happy customers.

Op - call LRI, SAC, Altus, gap, wheeler accuracy. All fine gunsmiths with a good reputation.

Raptor77 said:

Also, what kind of action wrench and barrel vice should I get? And from where?

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Big horn action wrench. They have a special one because of the extractor (others with mech extractor are the same and will work on normal 700 as well)

Viper barrel vise is the budget and very acceptable version. You can step up to the sac if you are looking for something nice for more $. Both will easily change barrels

Raptor77 said:

Where do I find a Big Horn wrench? Everywhere I have looked are sold out

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