Manners/Remington build. Thoughts/opinions welcome

[Swift]

I sold off my bolt gun earlier this spring in favor of an autoloader but wanna get back into it. I have a build that I think offers good bang for the buck and I wanted to get some feedback on what's good/bad or needs to change. Primary pou will be long range rifle matches (now that I found a place that has them)

used 700 donor in .243 ($499)
Manners T4 non adjustable ($475)
mini chassis ($360)
flush cups, hooks and Atlas rail ($94)
3 color GAP ($95)
Timney trigger ($130)

So before optics the total is $1,653. I have a couple trade-ins to take to Gander Mountain where the donor rifle is so it could end up cheaper.

As much as I would love to call GAP or Surgeon or KMW it's just not realistic so I think this is a good alternative. By the time you add a NF, base and rings, you'll end up just a few bucks over the base GAP bolt gun price without optics. I looked at the Shilen barreled actions. The $1,500 price point is good but that's before you add a trigger, dbm, stock, etc.

I think this route is a good value that should/could outshoot it's price point. Thoughts?

 

[BobinNC]

Re: Manners/Remington build. Thoughts/opinions welcome

Bear,

The only fly in the ointment I see, that that a factory Rem 243 barrel is not optimized for shooting the heavier (and better ballistics) 24 caliber bullets used for long range matches.

The 1-9 1/8" twist has trouble stabilizing the long VLD 105 grainer's, and will choke and puke on the 115's.

I see a re-barrel and action trueing in your near budget future....

 

[Dirknar]

Re: Manners/Remington build. Thoughts/opinions welcome

If your on a budget, go Savage.. You can upgrade to a custom match barrel yourself, in your garage with a few tools.

Here's my recent savage build.

Model 10GPX3 (donor action) from walmart= 328
I used the scope the rifle came with for a 22 rifle and I can sell the stock/barrel
Criterion Match hand lapped barrel, in 260rem=250
http://criterionbarrels.com/
heavy recoil lug=28
B&C tactical stock with some slight modifactions=213
EGW 20moa base = 29
SS rings= 35
Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50 30mm tube from here= 310

I just got it done a few days ago so I havent shot it yet. but look into savages.. They shoot.

so proly right around 1200 bucks with shipping costs, for everything except bipod.

 

[Brandon05_88]

Re: Manners/Remington build. Thoughts/opinions welcome

If you're going to use the 9 1/8" twist, there are a few good pills it will stabilize.
Hornady 105 A-max G1 .500 (usually stabilizes)
Sierra 95 SMK G1 .480 (stabilizes)
Berger 105 VLD G1 .493 (as Bob spoke of above)
Sierra 107 SMK G1 .530 (don't think so)
115 DTAC G1 .585 (don't think so)

I use the 95 SMK @ 2950 fps. I've taken her to 860ish yards with no prob. Hopefully to 1200 yards tomorrow.

The slightly smaller pills will need a lil more elevation and windage out there, but 8.3 mils elevation and 2.2 mils windage (10 mph full value) gets me to 1000 (theoretically).

Burn the barrel out, have a true up and barrel put on with a faster twist down the road.

Otherwise, that's one hell of a set-up with scope, stock, DBM and trigger.

 

[Swift]

Re: Manners/Remington build. Thoughts/opinions welcome

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Brandon05_88</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you're going to use the 9 1/8" twist, there are a few good pills it will stabilize.
Hornady 105 A-max G1 .500 (usually stabilizes)
Sierra 95 SMK G1 .480 (stabilizes)
Berger 105 VLD G1 .493 (as Bob spoke of above)
Sierra 107 SMK G1 .530 (don't think so)
115 DTAC G1 .585 (don't think so)

I use the 95 SMK @ 2950 fps. I've taken her to 860ish yards with no prob. Hopefully to 1200 yards tomorrow.

The slightly smaller pills will need a lil more elevation and windage out there, but 8.3 mils elevation and 2.2 mils windage (10 mph full value) gets me to 1000 (theoretically).

<span style="font-weight: bold">Burn the barrel out, have a true up and barrel put on with a faster twist down the road. </span>

Otherwise, that's one hell of a set-up with scope, stock, DBM and trigger. </div></div>

I agree. I think the lighter pills will work for now but it brings me to a crossroads:

A donor action made by Savage is cheaper than a Remington. You can also change barrels without a gunsmith with relative ease. However, on the flip side, I would really like to utilize the Manners mini chassis. I went the AICS/big heavy tactical chassis route and want to keep it a little more traditional this time. I'm pretty set on the T4 but as far as I know, Tom only offers the mini chassis for the 700 action.

What kind of performance difference would one expect to see between the MC and a professionally bedded action?