First custom build

[Parsons]

Hey guys new to the forum but have been lurking for a little while reading. I am going to be building my first custom rifle in January. I am planning on building the 284 winchester in a long action repeater. The only thing I can't decide on is the action. Right now I am between a BAT HR and a Kelbly kodiak. I know most people here don't use these actions as they are geared toward bench rest and not tactical. The problem is I have not found any place around me in NC to shoot tactical. I live two hours from Butner, NC which is a well known F Class range it seems. I will be moving back to WV where the closest rifle match is also two hours away and shoots F class. I don't want to build a single shot rifle as that seems impractical for pretty much anything else. Kind of want to use this gun for matches and also be able to take it out hunting on occasion.

Just hoping some people here have experience with BAT or Kelbly actions I mentioned. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[swampbuck]

A lot of f class rifles are devoted to the sport with long barrels and would be very impractical for hunting. I'm a tactical rifle guy and use hybrid tacticals for hunting. I would build the rifle that you really want and just try to be as competitive as possible. I would use a defiance or big horn. A lot of the surgeon, defiance or stiller builds run neck in neck. At a 1000 it's all about wind and won't require a BR action. That being said there are a slew o BR actions to choose from. Tactical actions are down to about 3 camps. Surgeon, Defiance, Big Horn. Benchrest has more: Kelby, Nesika, Farley, Bat. I would just go with what I could find.

Short range benchrest is mostly an equipment and time race between retired guys. Who can afford the best rig, replace the most barrels, and spend the most time tweaking their load? In that case I would go Bat.

 

[Parsons]

Thanks for the reply swampbuck. I could do a dual barrel set up for the gun in the future. One longer for competition and then a shorter lighter for hunting. I played with a defiance action at Shot Show this year and was impressed with it. I will look more into them as well as the others.

 

[Parsons]

I am now between the Kelbly long kodiak and the Defiance deviant. Kelbly said there won't be a problem with using their action for a tactical build or hunting. I just emailed Defiance and hope to hear back soon. The one thing I like about the kodiak is that it has a flat bottom which seems to increase bedding area.