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Bulding a rifle. Please advise

Todd Ohlander

Private
Minuteman
Dec 8, 2010
8
0
45
First off: Hello everyone; I am new here, but have utilized information from this site for quite some time. I am in need advice and felt this would be a good place to start, based upon the excellent advice expertise the majority of you have offered others in the past.

Background: I'm 30 years old and have been shooting most of my life; I reload; I have experience with most action types; I have a decent knowledge base of engineering (formal schooling), and machining; I have a moderate understanding of gunsmithing; however, my hands on experience of the latter is very limited.

What I require: A rifle capable of 1200 yards; .6 MOA @ 100 or better; comfortable to carry; as compact as possible -given my desires. A potable rifle of acceptable long range accuracy that is not finicky -it must be reliable- not a 6+ foot long mirror polished bench buddy/safe queen that needs constant attention with Q-tips and a magnifying glass. It can be factory, custom, or any combination thereof.


Stipulations (as in -I’m most likely not flexible, unless your argument is deductively strong and factually supported): <span style="font-weight: bold">It must be left handed</span>. It must be bolt action. It must have a short bolt throw. It must have a superior extractor. It must weigh less than 12 pounds. It must be chambered in 300 wsm*. It must be under; $3000 U.S. complete, less optics --or $2500 U.S. less stock and optics. It must have a 5+ round detachable box magazine. It must not require brass to be fire formed or modified in such a way as to detract from reliable operation. It must be capable of chambering factory ammo if need be. It must function reliably from -10 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The barrel specs (i.e. twist rate, length, etc.) must BALANCE desired accuracy, reliability, and barrel life; in that order. It must be ergonomic -in such a way as to be fired from a verity of shooting positions; not just prone.

*If you know of some rifle that exactly fits, yet for some reason can only be had in a 30 cal magnum other than 300wsm; I will listen, but bear in mind -I REALLY don’t want a belted cartridge.


Picky ol’ me: I have never owned a custom auctioned rifle, but out of those factory available (that I have experience with); I prefer the operation of Kimber and Sako actions, to those of Remington and Savage. I do not like clunky long-throw actions. I have never used a “genuine” Mauser action, but believe Kimber’s to be an improved variant (?). I would like the rifle to weigh around ten pounds less optics.

P.S. Please do not advise me to buy a Remington 700 and build from there; they’re great rifles, with a bazillion parts, but they’re just not for me.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

260 rem maybe (or 260AI or another 6.5 variant at the expense of barrel life)? With the heavier bullets you should still be supersonic to your 1200 yards with minimal recoil and component cost, and decent barrel life. It could also be pretty compact and light and still not punish you with heavy recoil.

Maybe not, lol, but I am just excited since I got mine together this morning...

As to the rifle, maybe look at a Sako TRG? I am not sure what calibers they can be had or how easy it is to rebarrel though. It should be in your price range, but it may be a bit heavy and or bulky based on your stated needs. I will say that it is ergonomic and feels very nice.
The Kimber tactical is not a bad stick either, but I do like the Sako more. Blaser might be worth a look as well.

What exactly are you looking to do with said rifle? Pack it around the bush? Hunt (moose or mule deer etc)? Target? A bit of everything?

Personally I would watch the classifieds on here and try to snag a nice GAP or something similar. That is where I get most of my nice things lol.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: loopyt</div><div class="ubbcode-body">First off: Hello everyone; I am new here, but have utilized information from this site for quite some time. I am in need advice and felt this would be a good place to start, based upon the excellent advice expertise the majority of you have offered others in the past.

Background: I'm 30 years old and have been shooting most of my life; I reload; I have experience with most action types; I have a decent knowledge base of engineering (formal schooling), and machining; I have a moderate understanding of gunsmithing; however, my hands on experience of the latter is very limited.

What I require: A rifle capable of 1200 yards; .6 MOA @ 100 or better; comfortable to carry; as compact as possible -given my desires. A potable rifle of acceptable long range accuracy that is not finicky -it must be reliable- not a 6+ foot long mirror polished bench buddy/safe queen that needs constant attention with Q-tips and a magnifying glass. It can be factory, custom, or any combination thereof.


Stipulations (as in -I’m most likely not flexible, unless your argument is deductively strong and factually supported): <span style="font-weight: bold">It must be left handed</span>. It must be bolt action. It must have a short bolt throw. It must have a superior extractor. It must weigh less than 12 pounds. It must be chambered in 300 wsm*. It must be under; $3000 U.S. complete, less optics --or $2500 U.S. less stock and optics. It must have a 5+ round detachable box magazine. It must not require brass to be fire formed or modified in such a way as to detract from reliable operation. It must be capable of chambering factory ammo if need be. It must function reliably from -10 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The barrel specs (i.e. twist rate, length, etc.) must BALANCE desired accuracy, reliability, and barrel life; in that order. It must be ergonomic -in such a way as to be fired from a verity of shooting positions; not just prone.

*If you know of some rifle that exactly fits, yet for some reason can only be had in a 30 cal magnum other than 300wsm; I will listen, but bear in mind -I REALLY don’t want a belted cartridge.


Picky ol’ me: I have never owned a custom auctioned rifle, but out of those factory available (that I have experience with); I prefer the operation of Kimber and Sako actions, to those of Remington and Savage. I do not like clunky long-throw actions. I have never used a “genuine” Mauser action, but believe Kimber’s to be an improved variant (?). I would like the rifle to weigh around ten pounds less optics.

P.S. Please do not advise me to buy a Remington 700 and build from there; they’re great rifles, with a bazillion parts, but they’re just not for me.

</div></div>

loopyt,

Your build has to start with it's most important component: The action. Left handed actions, that have a WSM bolt face, and are not a Remington 700 or a Savage, are rare or non-existent.

Left hand Kimber WSM's, that could take a DBM are non-existent. Montana Rifle Company actions can be had in Left hand WSM, but I know of no DBM that would fit it.

You can find Winchester M70 WSM's in left hand, in the $1k Range, and they can be built up into a nice rifle, but will likely exceed your $3k limit after all is said and done.

LH Sako's with a WSM SA bolt face, again are rather rare. But a Tikka's LH WSM's can be found, if that action will do.

Unfortunately, by excluding the most popular and easily obtainable and upgradeable LH Remington 700 action, you are painting yourself into a corner, component wise and $ wise.

Find a LH action that will support your needs first, and the rest can then fall into place. The action is the hard part....


Bob
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

I'd say go with a long action sporting a 280. This will kick less than your 1200 yards. Hell stretch her legs you can shoot 1500 easily with them. I'm not sure how easily it is to find ammo in your neck of the woods but you for sure can find it online. As far as left handed actions go... you got me there. I'm not left handed so I'm not sure how hard it is to get an action. If you could find a left handed long action in a Rem 700 you'd be set.

Rem 700 Action- $500 Max (don't know if left has anything to do with price)
Mcm/Manners stock- $500 (options added will cost more)
Match barrel and smithing- $600 about
trigger- If you want to go all out and buy a jewell or something $200
Base- $100-200 depending on what you want
Bipod- $100 Harris
DBM- Expensive way Badger M5 $400 or Rad Tac DBM $250

With every expensive part listed you can get this for $2500.
That's what I'd do but if you have other tastes or want something different go ahead.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

I suggest you get a Sako in either 308 or 300 Win Mag. It is the closest thing to what you specify. Sako actions are 60 degree throw and are ready to go out of the box.

If you insist on semi-custom, you can start with a Surgeon action (they come in WSM) at $1300, a barrel at $550, magazine and bottom metal at some $1000 and a stock at $500, you will be over your budget, but it might come in at about $3500 or so. It will take months to put all that together. Delete the magazine and go with the magazine well in the stock and you might make it at $3000.

WSM action is usually a 308 length action, but a mag bolt face, BTW.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

Hello again everybody. Great advice so far; I have considered AIs in other calibers, but want to stick to 30. I already reload for 300 wsm and 300 win mag. I want to stay there, preferably 300 wsm. As far as the barrel goes; I was trying to emphasize that I want it not to be too extreme, so as to require “special” treatment; it does not by necessity need to have -unusually long- barrel life for the caliber. Yes, being left handed severely limits my selections, insert fat frowny face. I wish I liked the 700 platform (I do admire it don’t get me wrong, it’s the Chevy 350 of the gun world); the reason I specified not to suggest it is that right now I am looking for other options, I really don’t want a 700, but of course --will do what I have to in the end.

again, thanks for the info and keep it coming.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

....Also, what about about Mauser actions, as I said before, I've never used the genuine article (aside from kimber), or a custom variant; any of them fit my criteria?

As far as the TRG-42 goes, I do not believe they come in LH, nor does the tikka tactical. Shoot, I would build a rifle on a LH Tikka action, if I was told (by reliable sources), that it wasn't a stupid thing to do.

BTW -$3500 MIGHT be manageable.... hmmmm, might.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

I think Barnard makes an action that would work for you. They definitely make a 60* throw, lefty action that takes Badger bottom metal. They say that make a variety of bolt faces, so WSM is probably available. Probably run about 1200 by the time it gets to you. Add a scope base for another 100 and you have a great platform to build off of.

Then order your barrel. It will probably take a while to get. Go with a medium palma contour to keep the weight reasonable.

Then order your stock. If you really want to keep weight down, you should probably call Manners and have a carbon stock made. McMillon makes a light weight series of stocks as well.

When it all comes in, ship it off to any of the great gunsmiths here on the site, and have them put it together. You should be able to stay close to or within your $3000 target and have an excellent rifle to make all your dreams come true.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

The Barnard actions are quite lovely, and may indeed be in my price range. I sent them an email.

That aside:

Why is it so hard to get what exactly what you want out of a gun? I've heard before that when utilizing heavier bullets (over 180), seating depth and DBM feeding becomes an issue, causing people to use long actions for LR shooting (I've never loaded beyond 180s for my hunting rifles); now it appears worse than I thought. If I go with a long action, whats the point in even having a short cartridge ---just so I can say I don't have a belted magnum? Oi, looks like I'm gonna be spending another year behind a computer screen, instead of a rifle stock.

I might as well buy a remington 700 in 308 and shoot myself with it! JK.

Maybe I should go back to looking at the 300 RUM, or maybe I'm not giving the 300 win enough credit? though I'm not building a hunting rifle, I've killed more animals with it than any other round..... but those short stubby cartridges are just sooo cute. I love my 300 and 270 WSMs for hunting. is it really too much to ask for unanimous consent on "the best 30 magnum," or to have my cake and eat it too?
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

Get the action you want!!! then build off it, the gun may not come in a 3k...but it will be exactly what you want. At the end, that is what really matters. Besides whats another 500.00 when you are already spending 3000, it only cost a quarter more to go first class. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

+1 on the stiller. there is a group buy going on right now with great prices and you can go left handed. Im stuck deciding on a short action for 6.5 cm or long action for 6.5x55 sweede...dang choices. I know how it feels. but group buy ends this month so dont dilly dattle around.

But start with a good action and build up from there.
 
Re: Bulding a rifle. Please advise

if you dont want remmy and you want reliable, find a used win 70 sa with crf, sell off everything but action/trigger and order a manners msc-t stock with cdi dbm inlet and rem varmint contour barrel. order dbm from cdi precision choose a barrel manufacturer of your choice and smith to put it together and bam. you have a reliable rifle controlled round feed, 5rd dbm, light stock, good trigger and barrel of your liking.

stock $500 shipped
action estimate $600ish
barrel $600installed
cdi dbm $285
rail $100

by my math that puts you at $2085 now add in for bedding, coating if you want, action truing and you should still be under $3000 and easily under 12lbs probably under 10lbs if you flute and get carbon fiber shell stock.