Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

[Judge]

Gentlemen,

I am in the process of buying a .308 tactical rifle and have been debating the pros and cons of custom actions vs trued Remington actions. The rifle would be used for field use/LE work and reliabilty is of utmost importance followed by accuracy. What do you guys recommend and why?

Secondly I'm thinking of GAP or RD Precision for this build. For those that own rifles by these makers, do you think they are equal in terms of performance and quality?

Thank you,
Judge

 

[HotIce]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Custom action, most definitely. You hardly find people complaining about GAP or RD quality of build, so toss a coin.

 

[seven mm]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Custom for sure. Look at the options of a custom and then price out a Remmy and what it would cost to have those same options, then look at your resale. Nothin wrong with a remington, but if your starting from scratch use a custom.

 

[B.Bates]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

it would depend on what you could find a 700 for. mostly likely you are better off going custom, with the rsr, phoenix, stillers, and lawtons all going in the $700 price range they are super tough to beat. they end up costing about the same as a trued 700 and you get a higher resale value, i am a die hard 700 fan myself, but it looks like as i am out of donors unless i can pick up one for $300 to $340 i will go the custom route

lawton has a sweet group buy currently going on

i have personally fingered the phoenix, rsr and stiller all are super nice, and i would be happy with any of them

 

[skeetlee]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Here is my thing. Tactical rifles are Mostly used by overgrown boys shooting steel target and having fun. (I am not talking about our service men here) If you can buy an already trued up rem 700 action for a little over $400 (I just did) why would you need a custom action to play? I have a few custom actions and i really like them, but i always cant afford to go custom. If you buy a rem 700 action you can have it trued for 150 bucks or so. Thats roughly $550 bucks in your action. I dont always see the need for a custom if your goal is to shoot steel targets and play soldier once a month. I know first hand what kind of accuracy you can get out of a rem 700 action that has been worked. I have a good friend that just had a 30BR built on a trued up rem 700 factory bolt and that thing shoots in the 1's thats 0.100 of an inch five shot groups with a shilen barrel. I really dont know were i am going with all this as i usually dont make a lot of since but like i said i know what the accuracy potential is with a trued rem 700. if i were a true sniper or service man, I would have the best money could buy, no question about it!!
I will buy custom actions when i can, and always for a bench type rifle, but for a plate ringer i dont know. I am going to have Jon build me a 6.5 creedmoor and i was going to use a badger but after i weighed the cost Vs what i was going to use it for, and how often i was going to use the rifle i decided to use a rem 700 action. I used to ask myself this same question all the time. Custom or rem 700. I have both now and i like the customs better of course, but for a tactical rig, i am going rem 700. At least this time around. then there is the other way of looking at things. If this is your passion and what brings you joy in your life, then go all out!!!! It's really a personal thing i think. A rem 700 will do the job and do it well, and if you go with a rem 700 I think you will save a little money in the process. The best thing to do would be sit quietly and wait for a custom action to surface on the board at a discount, and then jump on it. but if starting from scratch and in a hurry, its up to the individual thats paying the bill. Lee

 

[Jasmck]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Custom actions probably have better re-sale value. Something to consider.

GAP and RD, probably equal. I have two GAP rifles, and have handles a couple of RD built sticks.

James

 

[jpmuscle]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Me thinks bragging rights plays a big role as well.

 

[sledder]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

There's a bunch of rhetoric out there about "trued Factory actions".The truth is not all factory actions need to be trued,believe it or not Remington does get it right the first time,frequently.I've had several M700 actions trued when rebarreling,they're honest half inch guns and the smith charged me $500 which included the price of a krieger barrel to do so.I've got another M700 that I use for a prairie dog rifle and it uses up a barrel about every three years,it wasn't trued and with krieger barrels it's a boring 1/2 inch rifle also.I'm not sold on the effectiveness of truing an action.

GAP has a big following and when you consider what you're being charged for 1/2inch accuracy,there's a shitload of smiths out there that can hang a premium barrel in a M700 action and mickey stock for a lot less and still give you the same accuracy and reliability.You don't need a custom action to achieve top notch accuracy,you need a smith that has a fuckin' clue when it comes to hanging a barrel.

 

[flyboy]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Your not just buying a 1/2 gun from George at GAP. Your buying a very well built wepons system. Hell if all a I wanted was a half inch gun, I'd go buy my SPS, its better than that but not nearly the cost. There's a hole hell of alot more that goes into a good tactical rifle from the likes of GAP than just 1/2 inch accuracy.

 

[AK10mm]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

C'mon Skeet,Rockchucks and Coyotes are fun targets too!!

 

[Judge]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

I would like to thank everyone for the responses. I wanted to add that recently I fired a rifle with fluted bolt and noticed that dirt and debris got into the action because of the high winds. Since most custom actions now include these fluted bolts is it just me that believe this to be more fad than function?

From the responses it looks like a custom action is the way to go, let's keep the posts coming.

Thanks to all,
Judge

 

[matchking]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

I don't think anyone (that knows anything) will say a trued 700 will be less accurate than a custom action. Custom actions simply offer features the 700 doesn't. If you need/want some of those features (pinned/integrated lug, side bolt release, etc.), the custom actions end up suiting you better and being more economical.

If the 700 does what you need it to do and you can get it cheaper than a custom, go for it.

 

[Explorer]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Its very debatable, as shown above. Nothing wrong with a properly set up Remington 700, but if you buy it and pay to have the work done that odds are you could have bought the custom and had bragging rights, a smoother action (probably), and better resale (but in a higher dollar market).

Its all about economics and what you want. If I had a lathe in the garage, I would not have bought custom. My first bench gun was a Rem 700, it shot great.

 

[Cinch]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

If you already have a donor receiver, build on it. If you're starting from scratch, go custom.

 

[McCrazy]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

I have a R700 that was trued by RD Precision and it shoots fantastic. I also have a Surgeon action in a GAP rifle which I have yet to pass judgement on since I am still waiting for primers so I can load some good rounds for it.

In the end though buying a custom action almost guarantees you a solid foundation for accuracy. On the other hand taking a R700 action to a gunsmith may get you a very well set up action; or an abortion and a waste of money.

 

[SPM]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

IMO, there is nothing wrong with a remmy, I use one in a 6br that shoots in the one's although it has been blueprinted. Since you are going to use it for LE work the low tolerences of a remmy might be better in case it gets dirty. Is there an action that has been more battle proven than the 700? SPM

 

[KNIGHT11B4]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Custom action, I love my GAP Templar

 

[Slinky001]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

what are you going to have faith in?

If you buy a 700 and are always second guessing it, it will just be a waste of yout time and money.

If you understand that it can and will shoot as well as any custom if put together correctly then go that route!

If not, buy the custom!

 

[7mmRM]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

Nothing wrong with a custom action. Nothing. With that said, for a FIELD use rifle, a properly trued up 700 is nearly impossible to beat.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Judge</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I would like to thank everyone for the responses. I wanted to add that recently I fired a rifle with fluted bolt and noticed that dirt and debris got into the action because of the high winds. Since most custom actions now include these fluted bolts is it just me that believe this to be more fad than function?

From the responses it looks like a custom action is the way to go, let's keep the posts coming.

Thanks to all,
Judge</div></div>


so....are you intending to go play in the dirt ?

if so....AND if you have not got much trigger time behind many and varied different bolt guns.....me thinks you won't perceive a spit of difference between a custom action that cams on two surfaces during the bolt throw.....vs a blueprinted remmy 700.

OR a Jewel trigger vs a stock trigger that has been made love to by a great gunplumber.

OR....a tuned muzzle brake vs a (insert any popular muzzle brake here ).

 

[wnroscoe]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

There are a ton of working rifles that were/are built on the Remington 700 and with the right smith working on them, they can be made to shoot extremely well. <span style="font-weight: bold">If starting from scratch</span>, I'd opt for the Surgeon RSR or 591. The RSR comes with a .250" thick pinned recoil lug, over sized scope base holes and drilled receiver for their double pinned scope base, side bolt stop/release, fluted one piece bolt and your choice of one of three different bolt handles. All of this for $765.00. For an additional $146.00 you get the Surgeon 20moa pinned scope base. The 591 has an integral recoil lug and scope base, other than that their same/same. The bolts will even innerchange. The RSR is hard to beat and you won’t do it going the Remington 700 route. Add that receiver to a McMillan Rifle Stock, Match Grade SS Barrel, after market Trigger and custom assembly by a top notch smith and you'll have an extremely accurate precision rifle.

For a working rifle, I'd want the very best I could afford.

 

[USMCj]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

+1 on the Surgeon RSR! why mess with anything els?

 

[Terry Cross]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Judge</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I wanted to add that recently I fired a rifle with fluted bolt and noticed that dirt and debris got into the action because of the high winds.
</div></div>

I would like to pose the probability that your dirt and debris would have gotten into the same action even if the bolt were not fluted.

If you inspect any action with two lug bolt and 90* bolt lift, you will see that there are at least two large areas where debris can enter the action regardless of bolt fluting. The receiver has raceways for both lugs to run in during bolt cycle. These raceways extend a good bit past either side of the bolt body. With the bolt closed you can see the gaps toward the front of the ejection port as well as toward the rear of the ejection port. The bottom floor of the right raceway is also visible running the entire length of the ejection port parrallel to the bolt body.

Mauser styled actions (Mauser, Win/FN, CZ)have full length guides and extractor claws that run in this raceway. This can help plug the gaps but the potential for dirt entry is still there.

I guess I'm asking you to inspect a few Rem style actions whether factory or custom, fluted or non fluted and you will see what I mean. If what I say above has any merit, it has to be reasoned that dirt and crap can enter the action via the ejection port and contaminate the bolt/receiver interface regardless of flutes or no flutes. If the potential for it to happen exists in both designs, then you have to ask yourself which will remain running smoother and channel the crap better until it can make it to the rear for a clean up.

Food for thought either way.

Good luck with your project.

Terry

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

oh heck Terry....just take the hankie out of your breast pocket and sashay it through the open action and make the schmootz go away.....

 

[Terry Cross]

Re: Custom Action or Trued Factory Remington???

You said "breast". . . huh huh. huh . (my best Beavis and Butthead laugh).

See you at TigerValley. I'll be there with my hankie and doin my best sashay!