Gunsmithing thinking of building a rifle- the action

[mrwiggins]

Hello everyone.

I intend to buy the parts and complete the rifle with the help of some custom gun builders and gun smiths in my area. i'm thinking a medium weight gun, nothing as heavy as a bench rest gun, but it doesn't have to be ultra light either.

the purpose of this post is action discussion.
I'm thinking of building a general purpose rifle. I've put together a ruger 10/22 before, but now i want to tackle a bigger project, a nice general purpose rifle. I'm thinking 300 winchester magnum,because of load and application variety,and a friend is already set to reload for it. I'm a lefty, so i'm thinking a left handed bolt action that is rugged, weather proof, and easy to clean and service. i would love it to be magazine fed, i like the fact that with my blr, i can have two magazines rather than carrying around extra ammo in a pocket or etc. I intend to use the rifle to hunt whitetail deer and when i ever go after larger game, it could serve that purpose as well, general range shooting.

my purpose here is to see what yall think, get recomendations, required reading for new people looking to build rifles. I have some trained gunsmiths and people who have build before around me, so i'm not going to try to build this thing with out assistance. so what actions are out there

 

[Clark]

Re: thinking of building a rifle- the action

Building a rifle just costs extra money.

You can buy a factory rifle, and if it shoots, keep it.

Then, when you know what you want in a rifle, you can waste the money later.

I have been customizing my rifles for 44 years, and it is never worth it.

 

[mrwiggins]

Re: thinking of building a rifle- the action

but you just can't replace the feeling of getting a project like that done.

i'll take a look around.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: thinking of building a rifle- the action

.300wm is a tad problematic.......because of your parameters



but first................please complete your profile

many have gone before you with the same thoughts in mind, however one always gives up something to sacrifice the needs of the other.....in so many words what works for a comp gun ......tends to be a lousy hunt gun.

 

[Revenge Seeker]

Re: thinking of building a rifle- the action

Wait, are you asking "which action to buy?" or "im going to machine a bolt action receiver from raw stock, what do i do?"

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: thinking of building a rifle- the action

If you are asking about actions, I would use either a Remington or clone of same. Mainly for 2 reasons. They are a good time tested design. Second, there are more accessories for a Rem 700 than most of the other brands. But Savage is gaining ground.

As far as cartridges you can chamber for... 300 WinMag for white tailed deer is kind of like swatting mosquitoes with a sledge hammer. It'll do the job. But a lot of overkill.

That being said. I have a 300 WinMag. But I built it for moose, elk and maybe Alaskan bear.

There are many cartridges from 243 to 30-06 and at least 10 or 12 in between that are capable of putting down deer quiet nicely. And the wear and tear on the rifle will be a LOT LESS. A 243, 7-08 or 308 barrel will last maybe 5 times as long before the accuracy says replace it. 25-06, 270 or 30-06 maybe 4 times as long. But understand these numbers are only an approximation. How you load the lesser cartridges can extend or minimize your barrel's useful life.

Any of the above mentioned cartridges when loaded with a GOOD hunting bullet like a Nosler Partition or a Barnes X type bullet are capable of dropping a deer frst shot out to 300 or 400 yards. Of course glass and bullet placement are always things to consider when talking about killing game. I dare say that I have dropped more deer with a 25-06 than any of the 4 other rifles I have used deer hunting. And when using Nosler Partitions, have all been 1 shot kills. But I always try for placement directly in the heart.

Study the anatomy of your prey and know where you want the bullet to hit.

Of course all the decisions are yours to make. It's your money and resourses. It will be YOUR rifle. You should have the rifle you wish for. Just understand the complexities of what you ask for.

Good luck.

 

[mrwiggins]

great responses thanks guys.

I'm looking at actions and i'm going to work into barrels, stocks, etc. but actions are the first thing i want to look at and decide on.

as for the round, i know 300 winchester magnum is a little over kill for whitetail, but i can load a lighter bullet and lighten the load a little so it is a little more suited to the task. on the same note, i figure i can reverse that, load a heavier bullet and load when i get to go after moose, bear, and elk.

if you guys have thoughts on a better round, let me know. i looked at the 300wsm, because having a short action rifle would have it's benefits, but we are already set up for 300 wm,

what are some good Remington 700 style actions that can be magazine fed, what are some other good options? manufactures?

 

[selfbowhunter]

Re: great responses thanks guys.

since you dont have the equipment to do it yourself on a remington or clone, i would use a savage. you can put together a VERY fine rifle in your garage that is capable of outstanding accuracy and build it exactly how you want to. you will have the satisfaction of taking part in the outcome. before i got started doing my own machine work, i was in love with savages because of the do it yourself spirit.

chuck

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: great responses thanks guys.

Several years ago I had one of these on my mind. I have shot 2 of them. They're pretty slick.

http://www.nesika.com/nesika-actions.html

 

[mjh30]

Re: great responses thanks guys.

Lawton and Pierce are two that come to mind

 

[4Rail_Gunner]

Re: great responses thanks guys.

Rem 700 will serve you well.

Left Handed throws a kink in it for some of the custom actions.

If your just going to hunt with it do you really want to spend the extra 350+ dollars for detachable mag systems?

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: great responses thanks guys.

you can get a savage left hand action from northland. you could get right hand left feed also. try surgeon and FN actions too. CDNN has FN SPR actions on sale at the moment. keep us posted

 

[STR]

Re: thinking of building a rifle- the action

Many great actions out there, stiller, surgeon, kelby, pheonix machine, just to name a few. Also a trued Remington 700 is hard to beat if done correctly. I build them all, if you care to discuss this further contact me at suarez tactical rifles. I would be only to happy to help you even if you do your work with someone else.