Happy Holidays everyone! Against the better judgement of my wallet, I'm embarking on putting together a 300BLK build in a Cadex Dual Strike Chassis. I am blatantly stealing this idea from a guy's build I saw on reddit a while back. It will have a Q Full Nelson direct thread can and a 8.5" barrel. I don't have an action for it yet, but *think* I want to use a standard Rem700 223 SA. It seems to be easier to find a Rem700 in 308 than it is to find the 223 version. Is the only difference the actual bolt, or are there other differences? I ask in case I ever wanted to "upgrade" to a 8.6BLK barrel / bolt down the road, depending on how development for the cartridge goes. Thanks!
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Just contact Black Collar Arms and get one of these...
That might be a fine option, but 6-8 month lead times plus NFA transfer times makes a long wait and that whole package is not known well. Also, that Full Nelson might already belong to the OP?
You can pick up a Mini Fix pistol and have it in hand with a brace while you F1 it into a SBR. Then you can get a stock from Q for free when it's approved.
You can pick up a Mini Fix pistol and have it in hand with a brace while you F1 it into a SBR. Then you can get a stock from Q for free when it's approved.
Black Collar Arms is VERY well known. They've been doing this for years. You might want to recheck that link... I posted the wrong link the first time. This is a non-integral that you can build out as a pistol with a brace, then F1 it later.
Plus, everyone knows Q sucks.
I'm not so sure a regular consumer looking at 2 products competing in this same market would prefer to wait for one model 6-8 months more just in lead time over the other.
Stating that "Q sucks" paints with a broad brush, but everyone seems entitled to an opinion.
Stating that "Q sucks" paints with a broad brush, but everyone seems entitled to an opinion.
Thanks, but I've already owned one and want to go the route I'm headed for full customization. Great gun though and shot good groups. Do you by any chance know the answer to my question in OP or can you point me to someone who does?
Correct! Full Nelson is already mine and cleared. Appreciate your suggestion on the Mini Fix, but I've shot my buddy's a fair amount and would rather steer away from it for a variety of reasons. Really just trying to figure out if the Rem700 action is completely the same between the 223 version and the 308 version besides the bolt...
I painted with a broad brush intentionally...No thin lines on that front. And you won't find many on here who feel much different than me. There's a couple fanboys, but Kevin used to be a member here, and pissed off just about everyone by being his typical drunk douchebag self.
Well, that plane just got shot down.
As far as actions that would allow you to do both at different times, maybe the ARC Coup De Grace. It uses a 700 footprint, and I think it has interchangeable bolt heads, and you could simply change barrels, bolt heads, and AICS mags, and you should be able to swap that easily between them.As far as smiths that could do something crazy like that... I'd contact Chad Dixon over @LRI in S. Dakota. He does pretty amazing work. There's plenty of other great smiths on here, as well.
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If that's all you want to know, then yes, a completely stripped .223 action vs. a completely stripped .308 Win action should only have a bolt face diameter difference. What I can't remember, is if the bolt stop is longer on the .223 action to keep the bolt from coming all the way back like the .308 action... That would be a question for Chad.
Looks like they're member only? Super interested if I can qualify to purchase.
Appreciate the info.
Looks like the ARC Coup de Grace comes with an integral top pic rail which wouldn't work. I'll reach out to Chad Dixon, thanks!Well, that plane just got shot down.
As far as smiths that could do something crazy like that... I'd contact Chad Dixon over @LRI in S. Dakota. He does pretty amazing work. There's plenty of other great smiths on here, as well.
Family Firearms shows 223 actions in stock. I built mine with a new 700 action and an old Remington 700 300 Blk barrel.
Any reason why a Bighorn Origin wouldn’t work? Swapping bolt heads is very easy.
Man, thanks for chiming in. This is the exact color scheme and scope combo I'm hoping to run. Almost embarrassed to rip off your build but it seems perfect. Purchasing an action now, appreciate the link. Mind sharing who you had spin up your barrel and how long you went with it, in addition to what can that is (looks like Half Nelson)? I have a Q Full Nelson and a Sig SRD762 Ti Direct Thread that are both 1.75". Trying to figure out how much they'll stick out relative to barrel length.Family Firearms shows 223 actions in stock. I built mine with a new 700 action and an old Remington 700 300 Blk barrel.
One last question. Looks like your action says Rem700 but the bolt (knob at least) looks different. Mind sharing the details? Thanks.
Your not ripping off my build, you’d be copying @Conqueror, because I copied his.
I have a local guy do most of my custom bolt action work. I went with 9” but when I get it re-barreled, I’ll go with an 8”. I can not hear a difference between the Full Nelson or the Half, so I went the shorter Half Nelson route. Conquerer’s pictures in the Cadex thread are with the Full Nelson. The bolt knob is from Badger.
I have a local guy do most of my custom bolt action work. I went with 9” but when I get it re-barreled, I’ll go with an 8”. I can not hear a difference between the Full Nelson or the Half, so I went the shorter Half Nelson route. Conquerer’s pictures in the Cadex thread are with the Full Nelson. The bolt knob is from Badger.
I know it's a CADEX chassis, but what's the chassis model and handguard specs? Got a link? I've been wanting to build another bolt .300BLK and this is exactly what I was wanting to do, except I would be running an Otter Creek Labs Hydrogen-S or Hydrogen-L can.Family Firearms shows 223 actions in stock. I built mine with a new 700 action and an old Remington 700 300 Blk barrel.
That's a Dual Strike (with their Lite Comp stock) - the fore-end on the Dual Strike has a significantly greater inside diameter, so if you're planning on having the can be partially covered by the fore-end, that's the model you'll want., I believe all the other models have a much smaller ID on the fore-end.
Cadex Dual Strike. Just like B’N’F stated, I ordered it with the skeleton stock option.
I built mine to semi-replicate the original concept gun that AAC showed off at SHOT show when they announced the 300 Blackout. It was an integrally-suppressed Rem 700 built on a first-generation Remington RACS chassis, using the early Leupold LPVO with the cool tortoise/hare reticle. Cadex helped Remington design the RACS originally and then Remington kinda fucked them over and started making the chassis themselves as I recall.
Since the RACS is unobtainable and Cadex has made improvements to the system over the years, I went with the Dual Strike. They don’t advertise the option, but you can order it with the skeletonized folding stock which looks better, though it loses the quick-adjust cheek height. The wide forend is needed to accommodate a suppressor. I can even fit my old AAC Titan .338LM suppressor which is 1.85” diameter, though just barely (it very lightly contacts the inside of the accessory mounts while threading it on).
I used a stock REM 700 AAC model which was 300blk from the factory. It has a Triggertech 2-stage trigger now. The barrel is 8.5” (had to check the Form 1), cut and threaded by Morgan at Class 3 Machining with the appropriate taper for the Q Full Nelson. I’m brand-agnostic but the Full Nelson is well-known to perform exceedingly well on 300blk and I happened to find it for $399 from a distributor that was going out of business, so I pounced on it.
I could not get it to feed with the metal Accurate Mag magazines. There’s a folded metal lip on the front that catches the tip of the bullets and jams them. The polymer MDT .223 AICS mag feed well. It looks like @michealj88 got his to work with some other metal magazine.
I originally had a Trijicon 1-8 on it, but I really wanted a bit more magnification and a Christmas tree reticle for longer shots, so I upgraded it to a Vudu 1-10 with the LE5 reticle. There aren’t many LPVOs with exposed target-style turrets which is pretty important if you want to lob 300blk bullets way out there. I used APA’s ultra low rings to mirror the look of the original AAC gun but it’s harder to use with my clip-ons this way. Maybe someday I’ll put a 1.5” mount on, but then you have to set the cheek riser a thousand miles in the air so who knows lol.
I do know that it puts a huge shit-eating grin on the face of everyone who fires it. With subsonics it’s so quiet that you can hear the powder sizzling inside the can as the gases vent. It’s not a fun gun to carry around at night; a mini fix or a 300blk AR is far handier. But it has a look that is pretty cool and unique and I think that’s why multiple people have cloned it, which has been fun to see.
Since the RACS is unobtainable and Cadex has made improvements to the system over the years, I went with the Dual Strike. They don’t advertise the option, but you can order it with the skeletonized folding stock which looks better, though it loses the quick-adjust cheek height. The wide forend is needed to accommodate a suppressor. I can even fit my old AAC Titan .338LM suppressor which is 1.85” diameter, though just barely (it very lightly contacts the inside of the accessory mounts while threading it on).
I used a stock REM 700 AAC model which was 300blk from the factory. It has a Triggertech 2-stage trigger now. The barrel is 8.5” (had to check the Form 1), cut and threaded by Morgan at Class 3 Machining with the appropriate taper for the Q Full Nelson. I’m brand-agnostic but the Full Nelson is well-known to perform exceedingly well on 300blk and I happened to find it for $399 from a distributor that was going out of business, so I pounced on it.
I could not get it to feed with the metal Accurate Mag magazines. There’s a folded metal lip on the front that catches the tip of the bullets and jams them. The polymer MDT .223 AICS mag feed well. It looks like @michealj88 got his to work with some other metal magazine.
I originally had a Trijicon 1-8 on it, but I really wanted a bit more magnification and a Christmas tree reticle for longer shots, so I upgraded it to a Vudu 1-10 with the LE5 reticle. There aren’t many LPVOs with exposed target-style turrets which is pretty important if you want to lob 300blk bullets way out there. I used APA’s ultra low rings to mirror the look of the original AAC gun but it’s harder to use with my clip-ons this way. Maybe someday I’ll put a 1.5” mount on, but then you have to set the cheek riser a thousand miles in the air so who knows lol.
I do know that it puts a huge shit-eating grin on the face of everyone who fires it. With subsonics it’s so quiet that you can hear the powder sizzling inside the can as the gases vent. It’s not a fun gun to carry around at night; a mini fix or a 300blk AR is far handier. But it has a look that is pretty cool and unique and I think that’s why multiple people have cloned it, which has been fun to see.
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I’d just buy a factory R700 rifle to form 1 and chop. You’re not gaining anything on something like this by having $2K tied up in a custom barreled action vs $700 tied up in a factory barreled action.
Current config on mine. Need to put some Hawk Hill feet on the bipod.
How much was it with the lightweight stock. I can’t see prices on their website unless I sign up…
Around $2500, adding the skeleton stock didn’t affect the price or lead time which was about 10 weeks. Depending on what you're after, Eurooptic shows they have the standard stock in stealth shadow available for around $2100.
Guns with a plunger ejector like the R-700 can have ejection problems with short little cases if the case falls off the extractor. This leaves you with an empty case in the gun.
I tried a R-700 that started life as a 17 Fireball and it was 95% ejecting empties. I tried about everything as did my gunsmith. I never got it 100%.
I also had a Bighorn/Zermatt TL3 that worked, but it wouldnt feed 223 Ackley. Sold it.
I ended up with a DTA Covert. Nice short gun with no stamp needed. Feeds, extracts and ejects 100%. Hollywood quiet with Thunderbeast Magnus. I put a Kahles 3-18 on top once load development was done.
I tried a R-700 that started life as a 17 Fireball and it was 95% ejecting empties. I tried about everything as did my gunsmith. I never got it 100%.
I also had a Bighorn/Zermatt TL3 that worked, but it wouldnt feed 223 Ackley. Sold it.
I ended up with a DTA Covert. Nice short gun with no stamp needed. Feeds, extracts and ejects 100%. Hollywood quiet with Thunderbeast Magnus. I put a Kahles 3-18 on top once load development was done.
How do like the bipod I’m thinking about buying it but can’t put the trigger on the price. Which one is that you haveGuns with a plunger ejector like the R-700 can have ejection problems with short little cases if the case falls off the extractor. This leaves you with an empty case in the gun.
I tried a R-700 that started life as a 17 Fireball and it was 95% ejecting empties. I tried about everything as did my gunsmith. I never got it 100%.
I also had a Bighorn/Zermatt TL3 that worked, but it wouldnt feed 223 Ackley. Sold it.
I ended up with a DTA Covert. Nice short gun with no stamp needed. Feeds, extracts and ejects 100%. Hollywood quiet with Thunderbeast Magnus. I put a Kahles 3-18 on top once load development was done.
Sorry for hurting your bank account. You have to admit though, hard to see why you wouldn't NEED this in your collection
I can help answer this. I have the double pull version of this and love it. Started with a Harris, went to Atlas Cal, then Cyke Pod Gen 2 and probably won't go back. Ease of use, durability, and flexibility of application are all great with it.
I like it for hunting and field matches. Other than that I prefer my Thunderbeast.
My current "issue" is finding custom actions that don't include an integral top picatinny rail since the Cadex chassis uses its own. Open to thoughts. Still thinking the best best might be sticking to a Rem700 action. What are the options for prefit barrels with a Rem700 action? My lack of bolt gun knowledge is brutal, I know. Currently reading about pinned / integral recoil lugs, and the different barrel replacement options.
With a Rem 700, you’re either going with a shouldered barrel installed by a gunsmith or a “remage” style prefit with barrel nut.
I’m fairly certain the Bighorn origin does not come with an integral rail (just remove the screws and off it goes). Going the Origin route (or a few other custom actions) opens the door for shouldered prefits.
I’m fairly certain the Bighorn origin does not come with an integral rail (just remove the screws and off it goes). Going the Origin route (or a few other custom actions) opens the door for shouldered prefits.
I really almost did the same thing. Love the look. Whats the internal diameter on the forend of the Cadex?
Allows up to a 1.8" barrel according to their site
Man if you ever decide to sell lemme know! I have my eye out for one as well.
Of course I just put an EFR into a McMillan A1-3 but the cadex would be sweet. I don't know why more companies don't build their folders so they go over the bolt handle.
Do you know if they are all the same diameter? Lite strike vs dual strike, etc?
I missed that on the website, thanks!
The other chassis options are smaller diameter
My calipers show 1.9” ID.
Good, my 1.75" can shoot fit then
Quick question - who did you have do your barrel chop / thread and where did you choose to engrave the action?
Dual Strike is the only chassis with the large ID handguard/forend - everything else is smaller.
EDIT: I can't comment on the max ID of the competition chassis with the bridge installed, but otherwise the above holds true.
The receivers are the same. The only difference is the bolt face diameter. If you are planning to use a detachable magazine it should work provided that the case rim overlaps the nose of the bolt sufficiently enough to ensure reliable feeding. If you load a magazine and insert it, just make sure you can see a portion of the primer when viewed from the rear. (Tangent to the 6 o'clock position of the receiver bore)
If you have that, it should run like shit through a goose.
Good luck.
Great rifle idea, gentlemen! And may I assume these things are also begging for a clip-on thermal?
